15 GENIUS DECLUTTERING HACKS
1 PACK YOUR BAGS Hang onto those cardboard tubes when you use up your paper towels or cling wrap, and use them to store extra (reusable) plastic bags tidily in a drawer. Similarly, you can recycle wet wipe canisters for the same purpose.
2 OUT OF SIGHT Conceal files, tax receipts and office supplies such as folders inside a storage chest.
3 ALL SORTED Try this Oprah-approved trick: hang all the clothes in your wardrobe with the hangers facing inwards. When you wear an item, hang it the opposite way when you return it. Every six months, do an inventory of the items that haven’t been worn, then sell or donate them.
4 DEEP POCKETS Over-the-door shoe hangers can be repurposed for kids’ belongings such as soft toys, craft supplies, Barbies, action figures, toy cars and more.
5 CENTRAL STATION If space allows, set up a cart or station close to your dining table, much like they do in restaurants and cafes. Cutlery, placemats, napkins, glasses and condiments can all be stored within a small cupboard or trolley on wheels to save multiple trips to the kitchen every time you sit down to eat.
6 ART GALLERY Hang your kids’ paintings instead of cluttering up your fridge. Set up a simple stringand-peg display system on an empty wall or along a window frame, and rotate them regularly. Old artworks can then be reused to wrap gifts.
7 BOOK NOOK Don’t have enough space for a bookshelf? Use picture ledges as floating shelves to display your books.
8 BRICK TRICKS Avoid the pain of stepping on a Lego brick with storage ideas such as a toolbox with pull-out drawers, storage tubs with colour-coded labels, compartmentalised craft organisers or a play mat and storage sack in one.
9HANGING OUT Buy a pack of shower curtain rings – they’re surprisingly useful! Loop onto a hanger or piece of dowel to hang belts, scarves, ties, handbags, hair elastics, baseball caps, necklaces and more!
10 SHELF LIFE Attach a series of floating shelves to the wall to hold miscellaneous belongings such as reading glasses, books, a clock or framed photos.
11 COLOUR COLOURCOD CODE Help little people find (and more importantly, put away!) their belongings by assigning each child a different colour. Then you can buy them a storage tub, toothbrush, towel and so on in that colour, or use coloured dots or thread to “label” their belongings.
12 ORGANISED SED CHAOS Limit yourself elf to one small “dumping tray” or “junk bowl” where re you keep odds and ends without an n obvious place elsewhere. Think errant ant buttons, receipts, business cards, loose change, trolley tokens and maybe a pen or two. Choose something decorative so you’re more re likely to keep the mess to a minimum. um.
13 CHEAT SHEETS Cull your linen closet contents to two sets of summer sheets and two sets of flannelette (if needed) per bed, plus two full sets of towels for every person in your home. That’s seriously all you need – one set in use, one in the wash. Go one better and store each set of sheets in its matching pillowcase, so you have complete sets at the ready when you need them. m.
14 IN SUSPENSE Store kids’ bath toys s in inwire wire fruit baskets suspended from your shower rod or frame.
15 HIDDEN TREASURE Invest in double-duty furniture with hidden storage options. Think ottomans where you can hide throws and cushions; coffee tables with slide-out drawers for magazines, colouring books or puzzles; bench seats with shelving underneath; or tall bookshelves with inbuilt cabinets for surplus vases and candles.
I ALWAYS PUT MY KEYS IN A DISH BY THE FRONT DOOR SO I CAN’T LOSE THEM. UNFORTUNATELY I LOSE MY PHONE 17 TIMES A DAY! REESE WITHERSPOON