Repurpose your Household Items

In the realm of organizing, there are many tricks to the trade some which are original and some that we all pick up from magazines and others along the way.   At Ship Shape Organize we always like to use what clients have before rushing off to The Container Store or Target to purchase bins and baskets.  I was on a walk recently and came across this mailbox with bungee cords right after I had drafted the article below.  So, here’s one more way to utilize those bungee cords that are hanging around your basement.

•  For example, think about using a shoe box to organize socks or stockings. You can always cut the height if your drawer isn’t deep enough.
• Tackle boxes are great for everything from hardware (hooks, nails etc.) to batteries and even jewelry.
• Or, how about those i-phone boxes! They are sturdy and indestructible. We’ve used them to store paper clips and other sundry office supplies.
• Do you have a rainy day to organize all your gift cards? Forget the card organizers that can raise your credit card bill. Instead use a shoe box or any small, deep box you have and just cut tall pieces of cardboard to divide the sections: birthday, father’s day, anniversary, get well, thinking of you, blank.
• I have a friend whose family goes through milk jugs as quickly as the cows can produce the milk. She had an ingenious idea to hang a long rope with a knot at either end from a hook in her garage. To add a milk carton, she just unhooks the rope and hangs all of her gallon jugs for the week
• Bungee Cords! Use them in your garage, attic, and even closets. Here are some ideas:
  • Wrapping paper all over the place? Use bungee cords to corral all the rolls. You can put hooks in the wall and have the rolls standing vertically.
  • Tall Umbrellas can go in a basket or umbrella stand or you can use bungee cords in the back of your closet.
  • Bungees clip on easily to any wire shelving and you can loop them so they hold your recycled milk bottles.
  • Keep large balls and sporting equipment in a cubby. Just add a few hooks and bungees and you are good to go!
  • Rakes falling and don’t want to head to the store to purchase an organizing tool? Just screw in two hooks and stretch the cord across the rake handles towards the top so you can easily remove a rake from the bottom when needed.
  • Use a bungee cord over the lid of my trash barrel to keep the animals out.
  • String long bungees along the ceiling to store lightweight items like fishing rods.

Just think out of the box and you will come up with ingenious ideas that also save money. Or, if money isn’t an issue, I have to say that shopping at The Container Store can be fun because they have solutions for almost everything.