Monday, February 4, 2008

Contain the Clutter

Anyone who's seen my home office knows that I am not exactly an expert when it comes to organizing! (Watch the blog for my upcoming home office re-do...I'm saving up...and soon it will be a beautiful before-and-after story!) But, anytime I can contain clutter and make it "pretty" at the same time, it makes me happy. Have you ever found there are just certain things that pile up in certain areas of the home? Remote controls, magazines, and coasters in the living room. Napkins, sugar & creamer, salt & pepper in the kitchen...toiletries, wash cloths, perfumes in the bathroom. First, group like items together and see what you've got that needs to be contained. Next, find around the house - or go shopping! :-) - one of the following two items:



#1: A beautiful tray. This can be wooden, metal, rattan...whatever fits your style. It's my favorite way to corral all the little things and make them look like part of one larger unit of items. Pictured here is the tray I have on my coffee table, holding a few current magazines and some coasters. (By the way, my current coffee table is actually made up of two end tables placed right next to each other...so the photo below is of the other "half" of the coffee table).





#2: Baskets. Since they come in just about every shape, size, and color...not to mention, with lids or without, with handles or without, etc....they are a great solution for containing and hiding clutter. Pictured here is the cracker basket by Longaberger, which is perfect for holding my family's FOUR remote controls (perhaps one day we'll take the plunge and actually invest in a universal remote control!).

2 comments:

  1. Great ideas Courtney. The nice thing is that organizing doesn't have to be expensive, simple containers can be beautiful when used in a different way.

    What does your home office look like? I am intrigued.

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  2. I bet you are, you organizer you! One day soon I will post a photo. Basically, it was my husband's office & domain - very messy - and now he's in the midst of moving his stuff to the basement...at which point I'll be moving into the space and it will become mine! I've already been madly purchasing containers, etc. from Ikea and the Container Store! More info to come!

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thank you for commenting, dahling! I can't wait to hear what you have to say. :-)