5 Shares
If you've been following along with my recent transition to Evangelorganizer you've probably wondered what organizing tools I bought to help me. Not a lot actually. Let me explain.
Going from this,
to this ...
It took 3 sets of stainless steel shelves and a bit of thought on how to organize things in containers for easy access.
I still need to paint the cupboards and it still looks like a before photo but I don't care.
Without getting rid of stuff & going through everything you own, shelves aren't going to do a thing to help you.
For the most part I didn't specifically buy things that were for "organizing", I bought things I felt would make my life easier in some way.
Why? Because my goal in all of this wasn't really organizing, my goal was to make my life easier. Organizing was just a means to an end.
Every one of these 8 things has made my life a lot easier and after using them for 5 months I feel good about recommending them all.
8 Items That Make Life Easier
1. Pull out cabinet shelves that have adjustable widths. I got these at Costco. In the one I can fit my deep fryer, Vitamix and stand mixer (learn how to make decals for your stand mixer).
The second sliding shelf I'm using for snacks of the human and dog variety. All the white ceramic canisters with wood lids are from the dollar store (Dollarama). The rest are ones I already owned.
The nice ceramic containers are filled with dog treats and bones. Everything else is human snacks like nuts, dates, chips, popcorn and liquorice all sorts.
2. I found this stick down pull out shelf (also adjustable width). There's no screwing or measuring to do. You just peel the back off of the sticky strips and stick it down.
These plates are way too heavy for it, but the shelf has remained stuck with no accidents since January.
It does however protest so I'm going to switch out the plates for something lighter.
3. THIS IS MY FAVOURITE PURCHASE. These are very flat motion detection lights. They have flat, small metal brackets with adhesive tape on the back of them. Stick the brackets wherever you want. The light is magnetic and just sticks to the bracket.
They LED, rechargeable (so no cords) and for my purposes I've find they last about a month before needing recharging.
I've put these strip lights in a few places in my kitchen that always seem dark. But the absolute BEST use for these is in the abyss of yuck known as the under the sink cabinet.
As soon as I open the cabinet door the motion sensor the light comes on and I can see. The light automatically turns off after 20 seconds.
This helps make life easier in 2 ways.
I can SEE if what I'm chucking into the garbage actually makes it into the garbage and I can also easily see all the cleaning products that are kept on the left side of the cabinet.
A bonus benefit is when your sink/garbage can area is bright you're more likely to keep that area clean because you can see the true filth of it.
4. Rubber floor mats (made for gyms and garages) to completely cover my cement basem*nt floor. They're warmer, easier to clean and infinitely more comfortable for standing on.
5. Squish it. Anything that's bulky & airy (pillows, duvets, sweaters etc.) can be sucked down to a fraction of their original size with a vacuum bag.
I did this to all my guest pillows and could then stack them all in a single suitcase.
6. I was hoping that I could use the pull out shelves from Costco to hold my dehydrator but it wouldn't quite fit, so I took a piece of old shelving, put the same type of drawer slides I used for my sliding picture frame tutorial on the bottom of it & made my own sliding shelf. It makes turning the dehydrator on and off and adjusting the temperature (which is at the back of the machine) WAY easier.
7. This wall in my basem*nt had some narrow boards of wood up to act as small shelves. They were here when I moved in and up until January they stayed.
I got smart and bought these plain stainless shelves to stand on the concrete wall that surrounds the basem*nt.
Then I placed clear containers with specific things and labels on the shelves so I can see everything and grab what I need immediately.
One of the best things to keep in mind when you're simplifying is to keep things off of the floor. The floor isn't for dumping things, it's for doing cartwheels and you'd do best to remember that.
8. A metal tool chest was pilfered from my mother's basem*nt. It was my father's. I am stunned I went this long without a tool chest. I'm ridiculous. This should have been one of the first things I bought when I got my house but I was young, stupid, and didn't have that many tools then.
The tool chest has made one of the biggest differences in my day to day life because my day to day life involves fixing, making and eventually swearing at things.
Where I once had to search and wonder, I can now grab and go.
Easy Life Essentials
- Richelieu (19.7in. × (12.5 to 20.2in.) pull out shelf
- Stick down pull out shelf
- Under sink lights
- ½" exercise mats for basem*nt
- Stainless shelfs
- DIY pull out shelf with old drawer slides
- Space Saver vacuum bags
- Tool chest
NOT SO GREAT PRODUCT
Bamboo drawer dividers I didn't love them. I think with the perfect sized drawer they might be good, otherwise they slip around a bit.
Here's the bad part of organizing. You have to keep doing it. That literally means if something comes into the house, something has to go out.
I used to think that was a ridiculous notion, reserved for imaginary humans you might meet at a unicorn race.
Today I bought a Cricut & a small heat press. I left 2 shelves with nothing on them when I organized. Now I have to decide whether to put these 2 things in the space I left for this exact type of situation or do I get rid of something else and save those open spaces for next time?
Smart money is betting on the unicorganizer.
