Closet Storage

If I told you this mass of crazy mess lived in my house would you believe me? Well if I told you that today, I'd be lying, but if I told you last week I would unfortunately be telling the truth.

Sometimes even organized people have contained messes. It's true. Don't let us fool you too much!

The story behind this mess is simple. Due to lack of motivation and utter laziness this closet became a bottomless pit. I have seen this happen in so many people's homes. It is so easy to let the space fall by the wayside and allow junk to build up and take over. It became a problem in my house right off the bat when I moved in because no shelves were installed and nothing in particular was done to create an organized space. But that is no longer the case in my house! All I needed was a little motivation and a couple of hours.

Here's what I did to fix the problem:

I went on a mission to Target and Lowe's and found some stackable containers and a few shelves and I came back not having spent a whole lot of money, then got to work.

Small items now are housed in stackable containers and clearly labeled. Thank goodness for this shelf! You can also maybe see that I have photo albums and old yearbooks lined up here too. My loose photos are contained in either gift boxes or photo boxes.

I found these shelves at Lowe's - Target has a similar version. They are extremely inexpensive (yes, they look inexpensive too, but they do the job!) and easy to put together. They were just what I was looking for. I used the shelves to neatly store games, candles, magazines, old 3-ring binders and college paperwork that I am just not ready to part with, and wrapping paper/accessories. Hint: I use stackable bins to store ribbon and miscellaneous accessories and I use a gift bag to store other gift bags in. Wrapping paper is happily standing next to the shelf waiting for next Christmas.

These drawers I have had since I was in college, and boy did they come in handy in my dorm room! The top drawer is mostly an organized junk drawer - there is everything from a 3-hole punch to my camera to a box of checks. But! It's organized. In the bottom drawers I keep wires and electronic stuff. The wires are all coiled up individually and secured with a zip tie. If you don't have any zip ties, rubber bands or the twist ties that come on a loaf of bread work just as well!

We still haven't decided on any bookshelves that we can both agree on. So all of those books that were causing the problem in the first place are still here. But now they are neatly stacked in the corner instead of piled on top of each other.

I have high hopes that this new system of organization for the closet will work for me because everything is easily accessible, it's well-displayed and I am able to see everything inside the space to know what's there. No more laziness here! All I needed was a little time and a lot of motivation and the rest is history.

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Organizing on a Budget

While the current economic state is still in recovery mode, I am in spring cleaning mode, so I thought that I'd put together a melange of options and ideas for organizing on a budget this spring. It is completely possible with some creativity and time!



Let's start with the kitchen since that's where I started my spring cleaning this year.

Stackable Bamboo Organizers



These are perfect for silverware, utensils or even your junk drawer or office drawer. As low as $2.99 at The Container Store - wow!

Mesh Packet Holder



I have to admit, here, that I had never seen this before! I love this idea and really think I'm going to get one of these. We all have single packets of this that and 12 other things in our pantry, but this is an excellent idea on keeping them together and organized. Nice job Container Store.


Silver Mesh Storage Bin



If only I had more of these! I've got a mesh storage bin like this in my pantry where I keep coupons, pens, pencils and post-it notes.

Cupboard Shelf



I have a couple wire shelves that I stick in my cupboards for extra elevated storage. They are wonderful! The best ones I have are in my bathroom cupboard and under the sink - they maximize space and promote the ease in finding your stuff.

Cabinet Organizers



If you have as many spices as I do - this is a great organizational tool for being able to find spices in the back of the cabinet.

Spice Jars



I love the idea of transferring store-bought spices into cute individual jars. These are adorable. And totally multi-functioning - you could use this easily as a multi-tasker.

Ceiling Pot Rack




This is a fantastic space-saving idea if you have an excess of pots & pans and not much extra storage space to give.

Let's move to closet and storage organization.

Over the door hooks




These are a wonderful space saving option for bathrooms, closets, storage rooms and kids play rooms. $2.99 from The Container Store is a great steal!

Over-the-door shoe organizers



There are tons of options for over-the-door shoe organization currently on the market. Here is Crate & Barrel's take.

Shoe Storage




Keeping your shoes off the floor allows for a clutter-free closet. This is a great solution to storing your shoes on the floor.


Sweater Bag Drawer



Don't have enough room in your closet for your winter and summer clothes? That's ok - grab a few sweater bags or containers and slide them under your bed with your seasonal apparel.


The Container Store is currently in Spring Organizational Sale mode - click here to find the closet location to you.

I happen to enjoy Crate & Barrel and The Container Store; neither company knows who I am or is in any way affiliated to Organized Ali. I write about products I use or would like to use.


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Organizing Your Finances

A pressing issue across our nation right now of course is the economy. I'm not a financial planner, nor am I by any means a financial expert, but I do know that it is pretty easy to let your pocketbook get the best of you if you don't account for what you are spending your hard earned money on. My best suggestion for getting your finances organized is to create a budget. And stick with it. I've also heard (and experienced) that if you write down every penny that goes out of your wallet you become more aware of what you're spending your money on - the idea here is to pin point areas that you can cut out. This is where the budget comes in. Budget for everything you are planning on spending money on - I'm talking about buying lunch at work, your daily Starbucks, cigarettes, etc.

I have included a mock-up of my budget, of course I have changed all of the monetary amounts. But, I want to explain to you how easy it is to create. Take a glance at it and notice all of the different columns and inclusions. You can modify this however you want, but I think that it is a relatively realistic budget, but of course you probably have different expenses than Steve and Sally do.

I created my own document using Microsoft Excel that outlines my monthly expenses and income. If you're not comfortable using formulas in Excel, go to www.office.microsoft.com and you can download various templates for all sorts of different budgets. Those templates will have all of the formulas and you can pick and choose what you want to include. There are many other online or computer programs that can help you to create a budget, or if you prefer, you can just create one by hand. So, browse the web and find a budget worksheet that works well for you. Some websites that come up on a search may be beneficial in helping you find things that you can eliminate from your monthly expenses.

Below is Steve & Sally's monthly budget. If you click the image it will enlarge so that you can read it.



Some things to note:

The budget that I created is for the most part very much set in stone. If you have a lot of variable expenses that come in to play, like kids sporting expenses, emergency car service fund, or Christmas gifts, you may want to add a column in your regular monthly budget that includes some wiggle room that you have already claimed to use for those variable expenses. In Steve and Sally's budget that is where the miscellaneous column comes in.

I also really like the idea of setting aside money for a rainy day. Yes, this is saving money, but to me, it really is just setting it aside. You're planning on spending it once it accumulates, instead of putting it in a high-interest account. This "slush fund" can be included in your budget too - but should be kept separate from any investments, savings or retirement fund contributions, as well as your disposable income.

Lastly, if you are in any amount of debt, make sure to include paying off credit card bills or loans in your monthly budget. I think that it can be very beneficial to include a plan of how you will pay off your $10,000 credit card bill, or whatever it is. I have to believe that if you sit down and create a plan of how much you're going to throw at your credit card bill each month and determine how many months it will take you to be in the black again you'll have a sense of relief that it is possible to get it paid off.

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