Organizing Products: Where To Spend, Where To Save And How To Buy Local
Buying a million containers does not make you organized, in many spaces you can be effectively organized without any containers at all. So how do you know what is really worth the money, where you should spend, where you can save and what you should leave behind?
For me, the whole point of getting organized is to save yourself time, money, and energy. And while there might be an initial cost to set a space up here are some tips for keeping it low (and local). I aim for versatility in every piece, that way if you move or renovate the items you’ve purchased will still work.
Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of your home, where you cook for your families, share meals and stories. This is one of the focal points for organization. When everything has a place, meal prep becomes easy, lists for groceries are obvious and no one is asking “where are my snacks?”
Some food storage kitchen essentials include Risers, so you can see what you have, canisters or bins for bags and odd-sized packages, and a turntable for oils and vinegars. You don’t have to have everything in a bin or canister, and you also don’t have to take everything out of their boxes to put in bins. I only recommend them for bags and odd size packaging (Pasta, rice, lentils Etc), and sometimes to make it easier for kids to grab snacks.
Matching spice jars are optional. Decanting can add extra work and it’s not necessary unless you’re buying your spices in bulk. If you’re buying your spices in jars they don’t have to be uniform, do what makes the most sense for you. If your spices are in jars, add a riser so you can see everything you have or lay them flat in a drawer with a drawer liner so they stay in place.
The kitchen is not a spot to save, it’s a high-traffic area that includes a lot of handling so buy good quality containers or you will be purchasing things again when they break down. One exception is glass canisters and spice jars. Dollarama ones work well and last, so do mason jars or recycled pasta sauce or jam jars. For your plastic items, I do recommend a higher quality product- brands like Oxo, I-design/ Inter design.
In the fridge: other than an egg holder, I have no bins, keep it simple and split shelves by food group, save one for drinks, and leftovers.
Kitchen utensils: Drawer dividers and organizers, or an all in one are best for these tools, make sure to use double-sided tape on the bottom to make sure they don’t move around.
Pots and Pans and tupperware: two of my favourite versatile items are a pegboard drawer organizer and a pot lid organizer to keep things separate but together. The key is accessibility.
Home Office
We’ve all spent a lot of time in our home offices this year. These spaces should look beautiful but you don’t have to spend a lot to get it to look that way.
Keep it simple with drawer dividers and organizers, baskets, and magazine holders. Plus a good filing cabinet and efficient system.
Bathroom
Getting your bathroom organized will save you time every morning. This area is high traffic but the containers aren’t handled as much as in the kitchen so this is a spot where you can save by using cheaper drawer organizers to hold everything in place. Measure your drawers and buy small bins to put loose items into. Group items either by end-use (daily, weekly or monthly) or by product type. Under the sink use a riser to add vertical space and use the walls. Hot hair tools can be hung with a command hook on the side of a cabinet.
Playroom
For a detailed guide see this post for organizing your playroom. Simply put a Kallax or Trofast and canvas bins are all you need to keep toy clutter at bay.
Closet
The closet is my favourite place to organize and while it doesn’t take much there are a few things that make it easy to maintain. Drawer organizers for undies and socks, drawer dividers and a good file fold are game-changers, so are shelf dividers. They keep piles separated and create zones for drawers and shelves. I always recommend slimline hangers, they can be velvet, wood or rubber but must be slim because it will add so much room to your closet, I usually buy from winners since they have a variety and I have always had good experiences with quality. For bottoms stick to Tiered bottom hangers to maximize space. Go for the clip ones, not the fold-over. Shelves and shoe racks are my favourite way to store shoes, to create more space rotate one toe forward, one heel forward. or on a slight angle.
Linen Closet
Keep it simple, a basket or 2 will do but you don’t need any additional supplies to organize a linen closet. Good folds towels and sheet sets will keep you organized!
Storage areas Garage and Basements
Keep it uniform. Matching Rubbermaid bins win every time. They’re big, functional, and they last FOREVER.
Living Room
Baskets are a great way to add texture, and colour to a space, they’re also a great way to hide unsightly toys and clutter. This is where you can spend. Buy something beautiful that will add to your space.
Where to Buy
Baskets
Containers, storage, drawer organizers/ dividers
Home hardware These are family owned stores across canada, a great way to support local.
Loblaws- They have a variety of Idesign products and
Homesense/ Winners
Dollarama- they have a lot of options, and for low traffic areas the bins are great. I have the glass canisters and spice jars from here and have had no issues with quality.
These 3 aren’t in Kingston but if you’re ordering online or heading to Ottawa or Toronto they are worth a visit.
Now that you know what you need see how I can help you get organized!
Happy Organizing
-Jocelyn