OWNorganizing ideasdesk organizationorganizing tips

5 Clever Ways To Organize Your Drawers

5 Clever Ways To Organize Your Drawers
|

Your drawers aren't getting any bigger, but your pile of stuff is. So, try these oh-so-simple ways to maximize your storage space.

By Pamela Masin

Reach Your Dishes More Easily
AndreaDekker.com
If you're tired of standing on your tippy-toes to reach your plates, try storing dishes in a deep pullout drawer for easier access. To keep them from moving around inside, install a pegboard to the bottom of the drawer and use wooden dowels to secure the plates in place (and prevent chips and scratches). An even handier approach: Pick a drawer close to your dishwasher to speed up how long it takes to put dishes away, giving you a few extra minutes to relax before your favorite Tuesday-night show begins.

Thing to remember: Make sure you can wedge your dowels into the pegboard before you purchase them, since hole sizes can vary among manufacturers.
Stick It to Chaos
7th House on the Left
To keep organizing trays from sliding around inside your drawer, stick adhesive strips on the bottom of them, so you won't have to search for pens when you're trying to write a fast "pick up milk" note for your partner before rushing out the door.

Thing to remember: If you want to be able to bring the tray to another room, use Velcro sticky strips, which will let you remove the tray, then snap it back in place after.
Have Your Drawers Work Twice as Hard
Me and My DIY
It's a two-for-the-price-of-one storage trick: Take a deep drawer, create a second level that rests above the original, add drawer slides so the new level moves across the top, then marvel at how easy it was to double your space without doing a major renovation. Follow Debbie Thompson's guide, on her blog Me and My DIY, to creating a two-tier drawer system, and then use it to streamline kitchen utensils or to keep cosmetics all in one place.

Thing to remember: Your drawer should be at least 3 and 3/4 inches tall to be able to accommodate a second sliding level.
Put Your Tees into a System
Ainhoa from A Little Bite of Everything
The answer to your stressful (and messy) T-shirt drawer was hiding in your office all this time. Instead of stacking shirts one on top of another, Ainhoa Vega, of the lifestyle blog A Little Bite of Everything, created a filing system -- so she could see all her options at once -- by attaching two towel rods to the front and back of her drawer, and then folding tees on thin metal rods that slid perpendicular.

Thing to remember: To find the right-size top rods, measure the distance between the two towel rods, then add on 3 or 4 more inches, since both ends need to be bent into "c" shapes around the horizontal rod so they can slide.
Upcycle After Sunday Brunch
Pamela Masin
Egg cartons are just the right size to corral small, loose objects like paper clips, thumbtacks and erasers in your desk drawer; sewing supplies, such as threads, buttons and safety pins in a junk drawer; or, condiments (placed upside down) in your fridge, which puts an end to having to continuously bang on the ketchup bottle to get it to come out of the bottle.

Thing to remember: Wash foam egg cartons with soap and hot water, and cardboard ones with rubbing alcohol, before using the egg cartons, in order to kill any bacteria on them.

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Organizing Hacks for Your Tiny Closet
The "Leave No Space Behind" Answer to Those Stubborn Angles(01 of07)
Open Image Modal
Even though your closet is called a "reach-in," the name doesn't quite fit, since the only way to retrieve clothing from its dark corners is with a stretch, a yank and a pull. If you're frustrated with the dead space on the sides, try blogger Melissa Smith of 320 Sycamore's ingenious solution. Remove the long rod and shelf that go straight across the closet side-to-side and replace it with one that is the width of the doorframe. In one corner of the closet, install two closet rods, one lower and one higher (basically, perpendicular to the new, shorter left-to-right rod). The top bar should hang approximately 75 to 80 inches from the floor; the bottom bar, ideal for shorter items such as shirts and skirts, approximately 36 to 40 inches. Tension rods make this a snap (if you're storing lighter-weight items). For more detailed information, see Melissa's tutorial here. (credit:Courtesy of 320 Sycamore)
The New Home for Your Strappy Party Shoes(02 of07)
Open Image Modal
Not all shoes are created equal -- which means wear-only-for-special-occasions heels often get short shrift. But instead of keeping them out of sight in shoe boxes, use crown molding along the back wall of your closet (or even on the inside of the door) in one or multiple rows to create shoe organizers. Just 30 inches of molding can hold four pairs of shoes. If you need more guidance, this Home Depot community forum outlines the how-to steps you can follow to build the shoe racks. (credit:Roeshel at <a href="http://diyshowoff.com/" target="_blank" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="DIYShowOff" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb7a2fae4b05eed788bd71e" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://diyshowoff.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="13" data-vars-position-in-unit="22">DIYShowOff</a>)
The Upcycle That Will Double Your Space(03 of07)
Open Image Modal
Before you recycle that Diet Coke can, pull the tab off to use as a quick way to double the hanging space available on one hanger. As shown in this tutorial from Idea Bottle, simply slide the tab down the hook of a hanger to its base, and then slip another hanger hook through the lower hole of the tab. Voila! Now you can store more clothing on a single closet rod. (This also is a great way to pair outfits together.) (credit:Tara Charlton from IdeaBottle.blogspot.com)
The Leftover Hooks That Are Afraid of Water(04 of07)
Open Image Modal
Wondering what to do with the surplus shower-curtain rings lurking in your linen closet? Laura Wittmann, author of Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It!, and blogger behind -your-scarves-hats-with-shower-hooks.html" target="_blank">I'm an Organizing Junkie, clips shower-curtain rings to a hanger and then loops scarves through them, which saves space and keeps everything wrinkle-free. (The same trick works for hats and belts.) (credit:Laura Wittmann of <a href="http://orgjunkie.com/" target="_blank" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="OrgJunkie.com" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb7a2fae4b05eed788bd71e" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://orgjunkie.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="8" data-vars-position-in-unit="17">OrgJunkie.com</a>)
The Slipped-Your-Mind Solution That Takes Less Than 1 Minute(05 of07)
Open Image Modal
You could spend $30 on a set of felt hangers; or, you could try one of these DIY methods from blogger Jill Nystul of One Good Thing By Jillee. Take a few pipe cleaners; wrap one around each end of a hanger, starting slightly after where the neckline of the clothing would sit. Rubber bands work, as well. However, Jill's favorite solution is to use a hot glue gun to make a zigzag pattern along the top of the hanger to create a grip, which, she says, is just as effective but the clear glue is less noticeable. (credit:One Good Thing By Jillee)
The Trick You Learned at the Office(06 of07)
Open Image Modal
We've worked in offices. We've also woken up to realize the one T-shirt we wanted to wear was at the bottom of the dirty-laundry pile. But it was Ainhoa Vega of the blog A Little Bite of Everything who put two and two together. She installed two towel rods lengthwise, one across the front and one along the back of the drawer; and then placed several metal rods that slide perpendicular to the towel rods, joining them. The result? An at-home closet-filing system where you fold T-shirts on rods in drawers so you can see all your options at once. For a complete how-to explanation, visit her blog post and say goodbye to T-shirt clutter once and for all. (credit:Ainhoa from A Little Bite of Everything)
The Third Shelf You Didn't Know You Could Fit(07 of07)
Open Image Modal
If you've already doubled your closet space by installing two levels of hanging rods, you might not realize that there's space for one more rod -- and no, it's not at the ceiling. If you put a third tension rod right below your lowest rod, you can use loset-boot-storage-day-4.html" target="_blank">pants hangers to corral your boots, store flip-flops with bent wire hangers and dangle purses or hats from S hooks. (credit:Roeshel at <a href="http://diyshowoff.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="DIYShowOff" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb7a2fae4b05eed788bd71e" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://diyshowoff.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="3" data-vars-position-in-unit="12">DIYShowOff</a>)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip