Filed under: Your Home, Storage & Organization
Smart ways to keep every room in your home clean and clutter-free.Check out these great tips by our friends over at Real Simple!
Try Real Simple's easy strategies to help turn your house into a place of order.
Mudroom Stuck in a Rut?
The goal: To create an organizing system even the kids can maintain.
The solution: If the kids use the mudroom to get ready for school, transform the area into a way station. Real Simple organizers turned Expedit shelving units ($70 each, ikea.com) on their sides, then slid labeled Nostalgisk boxes ($15 for two, ikea.com for stores) onto the shelves. Each child has a column of storage, and extra columns contain miscellaneous items. Lockers roll out for easy access to kids' shoes.
Kitchen a Dumping Ground?
The goal: To create a more functional work area and free up the countertops and other work surfaces for cooking.
The solution: Real Simple turned a makeshift office into command central with an array of wall-mounted tools: a magnet board ($25, umbra.com), a magnetic calendar, a magazine pocket, a mail bin, and a multislot organizer. A rolling file cabinet (it slides into the adjacent pantry when not in use) keeps paperwork in order. With the surfaces clear, the island and the counter to the left of the stove can be used for food prep.
For more ways to tackle clutter in the different rooms in your home, hop on over to Real Simple.
Also check out these stories:
The Worst Cleaning Jobs Made Easy
How to Solve 19 Kitchen Cleanup Conundrums
Essential Everyday Forms