Organization: Thinking Inside the Box

I'm a real believer in maximizing the use of containers to control the chaos of storage space. Unfortunately, my kids seem to have a talent (bordering on super-power) of destroying my storage containers. Maybe I need to teach them the difference between a step-stool and a laundry hamper. *chuckle* My solution – don't spend too much on storage containers for my kid's rooms, since some will probably be cracked and ready to be replaced every 3-5 years.  I'm not willing to drop a fortune just to have the inside of my cabinets look like Martha Stewart's.  I'll save the pricier, sturdier items for other parts of my house where they will last free from kid-destruction.

 From baskets for toys, to the little square rubbermaid containers that hold paperclips, my life would be one messy melange of stuff.

 The dreaded desk drawer - doesn't eliminate mess, but contains it slightly.

 I'm not blessed with a spice-cabinet, so I use these to organize spices alphabetically in my pantry.

 Laundry and cleaning supplies.

 My favorite camping-supply boxes (affectionately called "bob boxes" by my inlaws) on overhead garage shelves.

 Legos.  Need I say more?

 Upper shelves of closets hold scrapbooks, and other sentimental memorabilia.

The more I watch friends and neighbors move, the more I feel inspired to have as much of my storage areas organized with plastic storage boxes that just need a lid and viola! It's cleared out. Sometimes I actually utilize “double-boxing”. Double-boxing is my term for stacking two storage boxes together, so that you have an empty storage container to use at a moment's notice. I watched an emergency preparedness video that showed what to do if you had 5-10 minutes to evacuate your home. Since then, I've got an empty storage box (double-boxed so as not to take up extra space) on the top shelf of my coat closet.  While the inner container holds camera equipment, the outer box's purpose in an emergency will be to hold all paper files, documents and back-up cds.

Another way I use double-boxing is with my kid's laundry hampers. Most of the week, they sit stacked up in their closet holding their dirty clothes. But on laundry day, they are to take the one hamper downstairs with their dirty clothes leaving an extra hamper in their closet. The reason I do this is because while they are in school, laundry tends to drag out – by the time they get home, and shift it from the washer to the dryer, then that night (hopefully), get it folded . . . you can see that it might drag laundry out over 1-2 days. (That's the price I pay for having them do it themselves.) But in the interim, there is still a laundry hamper to collect their dirty clothes, and they are less tempted to simply pile the dirty clothes on top of the folded, not-yet-put-away clothes in the bottom of the hamper. And yes, that happens ocassionally. *chagrinned*

I've still got a long way to go on maintaining an organized home, (how much longer will the kids live here?) But we're baby-stepping it one little box at a time.  

So - let me know what marvelous ways you organize the trouble spots in your home.  I'm always looking for a new-and-improved system!