{"id":11954,"date":"2019-02-06T23:51:45","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T06:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneyppl.com\/?p=11954"},"modified":"2022-08-08T00:11:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T07:11:57","slug":"50-home-organizing-ideas-for-less-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.moneyppl.com\/50-home-organizing-ideas-for-less-on-a-budget\/11954\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Organization Ideas For Those On A Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
Keeping your home organized can be a real challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of innovative products out there that will help you keep your house or apartment tidy. Best of all, these suggestions don’t break the bank. Here are 55 organization ideas for under $50. You can keep your house organized and still keep money in your wallet. Every room in your house can stand a cleanup, so go ahead and order your favorites on this list. After you set up your affordable organization products, you will wonder how you ever got along without them! Get ready to find shower caddies, decanters, photos boxes, and more that will transform the clutter in your house. <\/span><\/p>\n It would indeed be a shame to fully organizer your entire house beautifully only to go outside and need to get something out of the trunk of your car and be met with a nightmarish mess of old grocery store bags, pet bowls, snack bars for the kids, and more all rolling around loose in your trunk or the back compartment of your SUV or minivan. Many of us spend a great deal of time every day in cars shuttling kids around to activities, ourselves to work and back, and more so, it’s just as vital that we keep our car organized and user friendly as our homes.<\/span><\/p>\n A must-have item for an organized trunk is at least one trunk organizer. These handy caddies come in a wide variety of materials, including fabric, metal, and plastic. They can be customized or bought for many purposes, including baby-focused organizers, organizers for supplies for traveling with dogs, and organizers for emergency and roadside assistance-type items. Many newer cars now come with bungee cords to strap organizers into your car so they don’t move around, making them ideal for keeping items safe and secure whenever you need them. It adds a lot of peace of mind to driving; you know that things aren’t flying around your trunk if you need to stop on a dime!<\/span><\/p>\n If you have dogs, you know what a pain their giant, unsightly food bags can be. They often have to be stored in a closet somewhere and, unfortunately, often attract mice or rats thanks to the foods’ tasty smells and high nutrient content. That makes it extremely difficult to store the bags in a basement or garage and necessitates getting expensive galvanized steel garbage cans to keep out raccoons and other pests. However, now stores like TJ Maxx and HomeGoods are selling adorable pet food canisters or buckets that hold dog kibbles and measuring scoops for easy access and safe storage.<\/span><\/p>\n Many dog food storage canisters have a 30 pound or more volume capacity, meaning you don’t have to keep any unsightly bags on hand but can simply dump their fresh bag of food into the canister and have worry-free, air-tight pet food for Fido to drool over. You can safely keep that canister in a basement or garage or, if you like the design, even keep it right in your living room or dining room near your beloved pooch’s food and water bowls. More and more cute designs come on the market that can go with any aesthetic and room design.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the best space savers you can add to your kitchen is rack organizers for cans. These organizers can hold standard-sized soup cans, like those for condensed Campbell’s soups, and are ideally made to hold 12 fluid ounce soda or carbonated water cans. If your home enjoys soda or drinks like La Croix, storing them in a rack organizer for easy soda-machine-like delivery saves a ton of space over standing them all up on a shelf. It also makes it much easier to display multiple flavor options side by side where sitting them upright could obscure someone’s favorite flavor.<\/span><\/p>\n Do you certain condensed soups that you frequently use for cooking in your pantry? You can dedicate an entire inexpensive rack organizer to that soup, so you always know if you are about to run or, even worse, have already run out of your favorite soup. You can even label the organizer, so children or spouses helping you put away the groceries will know where to put your most-used soups for organizational purposes. Many cans like diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and more will also fit in rack organizers to help organize your entire cupboard for faster, simpler cooking.<\/span><\/p>\n If you have an extensive nail polish collection, you know just how quickly all those seemingly little bottles can start to take up truly massive amounts of space. Plus, nail polish is toxic and flammable, so it has to be stored up safely out of the reach of pets and prying little fingers that all the pretty colors may entice. If this is all sounding applicable to you, you may want to invest in floating shelves to store your nail polish along the wall to keep it up and safely stored while also freeing up valuable shelf or countertop space.<\/span><\/p>\n You can buy custom shelving meant for nail polish similar to what you see in salons for a premium price. However, any kind of floating shelf that can withstand the weight of glass nail polish bottles can work, especially those with a lip or edge around the shelf to prevent spilling in the event of being bumped or an earthquake. Plus, wall-mounted nail polish can become a focal point and work of art in and of itself if you color-coordinate your polish collection and make it visually appealing. You already know you deserve to treat yourself to beautiful nails, so treat your polish nicely too!<\/span><\/p>\n How many times have we all decided to go clean a room only to realize we’ve forgotten a rag or grabbed the wrong cleaning spray for our cleaning closet. Each time you have to go back and grab a forgotten or misplaced item, you lose more and more enthusiasm for the cleaning task at hand. There is an easy way to avoid this annoying back-and-forth pattern of wasted time and energy. Make a multi-purpose grab-and-go cleaning station. Store all of your commonly-used cleaning supplies in one handy caddy with a carrying handle for convenient transportation around the house.<\/span><\/p>\n Do you use expensive or homemade cleaners and don’t want to make or buy whole second sets of bottles for your portable kit? You can buy inexpensive plastic bottles at the dollar store to store all of your chemical cleaning supplies in your portable caddy. Make sure you include your favorite type of duster and cleaning cloths or paper towels. You should have a caddy that’s ready to go from room to room. That way, you don’t have to worry about forgetting something or needing to interrupt your cleaning groove to grab an extra cloth. No one enjoys cleaning, so make it as easy on yourself as possible!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you keep your mops and brooms in the corner of a closet, you may have already experienced shuffling your products around, knocking things over, or getting frustrated when you can’t find something. A perfect solution to the problem is getting mop and broom hooks, which can go on the back of the closet door. That frees up tons of space in the rest of your closet, and you should always be able to find what you need right away. On Amazon, you can buy 2<\/span> Command broom hooks for $12<\/span><\/a> or buy a larger<\/span> broom hanging station for $14<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n In your garage, similar style racks can be used to organize rakes, shovels, and many of the other tools that tend to lay around in our garages and sheds and either trip us up or become damaged over time from being improperly stored. Such wall-mounted racks save enormous floor space and allow brooms and mops better ventilation for air drying after use, preventing odor and mildew. Keeping a pleasantly organized cleaning area can also make your weekly cleaning chores feel less onerous, which is a huge mental boost and benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo boxes are great for keeping your photographs, greeting cards, and other keepsakes that you want to keep for an extended period organized. You can slip these under your bed or can even sit out on display on a shelf, thanks to the fun variety of colors and prints available. Amazon.com has two for $12, but you can probably find them even cheaper at places like Marshalls, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, or Hobby Lobby. A great benefit of these boxes is the paper labels that allow you to write the contents on the outside for quick, easy identification.<\/p>\n If you want a more rustic look, you can always stack and hide these boxes inside woven or fabric baskets, although many photo boxes now come with beautiful prints that can fit even shabby chic aesthetics with ease. These boxes can also be modified with either directly applied chalk paint or attached chalk paint labels to make them easy to relabel if you are frequently changing or rearranging the boxes’ contents. Photo boxes are ideal additions to craft rooms for holding paper, pens, and inks, and more and are also great for holding small items in children’s rooms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you need a place to put your coats, keys, purse, and other essentials and are limited on closet space, you may want to create an entry space in your home. Usually, the key elements to an entry space are hooks, a small table, basket, or a shoe rack. The cost for completing your entry space is going to vary, depending on what you put there. Most people can rearrange items they already own to make their space work. Search<\/span> “entryway” on Pinterest<\/span><\/a> for tons of photos of beautiful inspiration in every style and aesthetic that you can imagine.<\/span><\/p>\n Even if you have ample closet space, an entryway area can be a great place to visibly display wallets, keys, sunglasses, hats, and other items that are easy to forget on the way out the door on a busy morning. These entry space areas can also be a great way to introduce a bit of inviting style to your front door, making guests feel welcome and at home while also offering them a nice non-intrusive place to hang their things instead of having to dig into a closet.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Keeping leftovers organized or bringing homemade food into work can be challenging if you don’t have great containers. While many of us likely have a shelf full of old take-out containers that work to keep leftovers in the fridge, they don’t travel well and aren’t microwave safe. It is best to buy an air-tight brand because it will help prevent accidents if they tip over, and it will also keep your food fresh for a longer time. These are sold practically everywhere, and you can usually find packs for $10 or less and on sale for even less.<\/p>\n Suppose you are interested in meal prepping, in which you spend one day cooking to have prepared food for the entire week. In that case, high-quality air-tight food containers are an absolute must to ensure the food you spent time and energy preparing stays fresh and enjoyable throughout the week. Color-coded containers can be beneficial to separate foods by which meal they’re for, one person’s dietary restrictions, etc. If you are worried about plastics, there are many shapes and sizes of Pyrex-type glass food containers available that are microwave and dishwasher safe and won’t pick up stains or smells like plastics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you are folding your clothes the way you see them in a retail store, chances are, you are not utilizing your space to the max. Check out YouTube for instructional videos about the “Konmari Method” of folding. That helps get your clothing into the smallest possible cubes to put away in your drawers. As a bonus, you will be able to see every piece of clothing when you open the drawer instead of digging through a pile. Best of all, it’s free! While you certainly can add various plastic or cloth storage cubes to help organize, the clothing does tend to stay organized on its own.<\/p>\n However, if you decide to add in additional storage cubes, you will have a truly boutique-like closet and dresser with everything in its perfect place. Woven baskets, acrylic storage containers, and cloth baskets all work beautifully with the Konmari folding method and keep clothes exceptionally well organized. Suppose you have children who work best with organization and routine. In that case, the Konmari method can help them confidently find and pick out clothing for school without having to search through piles or overflowing drawers for that perfect shirt or pair of socks. Truly the best part of the Konmari method is that it can be done free or very inexpensively.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These unique jars aren’t just for hipsters as cocktail glasses in rustic barn-themed weddings. They are fabulous for storing food and small items around your house, like nails, thumbtacks, paper clips, etc. Boxes of mason jars are available at Walmart, Target, and some grocery stores, especially during autumn and in rural areas where people are still more likely to produce fresh fruits and vegetables before winter. Prices vary depending on how many jars you buy but expect to spend $20 to $30. However, many church rummage sales and estate sales will also include many canning jars, and you may be able to score a lot for a low price.<\/p>\n If you are storing non-food items, any age or model of canning jar is acceptable, including beautiful old vintage jars that come in shades like blue, amber, and green, adding a lot of visual appeals whatever they store. Herbs and dry goods like heirloom beans look especially beautiful out on a pantry shelf in a nice clear mason jar. Suppose you enjoy a rustic, artisan, or shabby chic aesthetic in your kitchen. In that case, mason jars are an ideal and infinitely reusable (and environmentally friendly) storage solution that you can combine with chalk-painted tags or painted on chalk labels for great organization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n People sometimes use these organizers for shoes, but you can use them for anything. If you need more space in your pantry, you could use these plastic sleeves for food items. If you have a crafting and sewing room, this might be great for yarn. The possibilities are endless, and it’s just<\/span> $13 for two on Amazon<\/span><\/a>. With the ability to see whatever you store inside, the sky is the limit for these organizers, and best of all, since they go over the door, you don’t have to worry about damaging walls in your pristine home or rule-laden apartment.<\/span><\/p>\n This type of storage is most often used for shoes. However, the plastic compartments are durable enough to hold heavier items like rocks for display. They stretch out wide enough to accommodate skeins of yarn, bolts of folded cloth, and more making them ideal for children’s or adult’s crafts and hobby rooms. They can easily organize packets of drink mixes or instant soups in the kitchen and are ideal for organizing spices in cupboards with limited flat shelf space. You really can’t have too many of this type of versatile organizer, so if you see a sale be sure to stock up!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whether you have shelves in your closet, a bookshelf, or a built-in media center, your random items might clutter your beautiful space. An easy way to hide your stuff is to buy woven baskets, so you can slide your items away without having to look at them. That is perfect for extra wires, DVDs, wallets, or any other odds and ends. These baskets are sold at Target and Home Goods, and prices will vary depending on the brand. If you cut a hole in the back of these baskets, you can even hide entire video gaming systems like the Nintendo Switch inside to avoid cluttering up your living room.<\/p>\n Woven baskets can easily hide plastic boxes inside, so they can combine beautifully with other storage plans to organize things like socks, bras, and underwear in bedrooms that lack a dresser or wardrobe. You needn’t just toss things into a basket thanks to the vast number of smaller storage options that can fit nicely inside, making your home look rustic and casual on the outside while still being neat and tidy once you look inside. Woven baskets are also rapidly coming down in price as more and more stores, including inexpensive stores like Walmart, are now manufacturing and selling them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have an extensive collection of things that end up in identical closed boxes for storage, a label maker just may be the solution you need. For example, if you have baseball cards, comics, crafting supplies, etc., all you need to do is label the category of items inside each container. This way, you can pull out the appropriate box whenever you need it. The purple DYMO label maker featured above is $35, but DYMO sells black ones for $20 that are just as good. The only drawback is that label tape typically doesn’t adhere well to fabric boxes, so you may need to still invest in tags for those.<\/p>\n Label makers can also be ideal for spice racks if you end up decanting spices into your own set of matching jars for aesthetic or utilitarian purposes. Label makers can also be handy to add information like passwords to a router for guests or add instructions onto a printer or other piece of machinery for operation. The label maker tape is far more adhesive and durable than, say, a PostIt note, making it ideal for long-term solutions where a label or instruction is needed. It’s merely a convenient device that most homes will find a surprising number of uses for.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have a large collection of pots and pans, you already know that pan lids get in the way, especially the massive glass lids that come with large frying pans. Some genius out there invented pan lid organizers, hanging over your cabinet door like a shoe rack would on a room door. There are also wall mounts and standing wire towers where you can slide in your lids, too, so there’s something for every style of kitchen and amount of space available. The price will vary from $15 to $50, depending on the style and where you find these miracle space savers.<\/p>\n Even if you have your pans fabulously mounted on a hanging rack like something out of a French bistro, you will still ultimately have to deal with the lids since they cannot be hung in the same way as pots, thanks to the lack of convenient holes that pots have in their handles. While the pot lid racks don’t look nearly as artisanal or exciting, it’s almost always a hassle rummaging through piles of lids on a traditional flat shelf to try to find the one that fits. Plus, they’re less likely to get chipped or damaged if they aren’t being jostled in a shelf.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chalkboard labels are great if you plan to use mason jars or decanters for food and drinks. You can erase and reuse them over and over again. Thus, they tend to pay for themselves in a short amount of time. They are available at most craft stores for under $10, but you may be lucky to find them at a dollar store. You can also make your own labels with cheap dollar store labels or wooden decor pieces and then spray or hand painting them with chalkboard paint widely available at most hardware stores and often even Walmart and Target.<\/p>\n The chalkboard paint market has taken off since the rise of Pinterest. It is now widely available in spray and traditional paint bottles and a wide variety of colors beyond the traditional black. You can upcycle old wooden or metal items into fancy new chalkboard labels or simply hit the dollar store for whatever type of gift tags they have in stock to make fast, inexpensive labels that will last for as long as you take care of them. Having large labels to write on can also save money and increase your food quality by allowing you to date your food purchases!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have a liquor collection that is beginning to look like an eyesore on your countertop? Decanters are a great way to organize your alcohol in a way that looks fancy instead of like a dorm room or frat house bottle collection. Prices will vary drastically depending on the brand you buy, but Target and Home Goods sell decanters for under $20. Macy’s and Nordstrom also have sales periodically for high-quality crystal decanter sets for under $50. While decanters won’t save you space, they dramatically transform the used space your liquor is currently occupying into a beautiful feature.<\/p>\n Suppose you don’t mind hunting around for a bargain. In that case, vintage decanters are widely available at thrift stores, antique shops, estate sales, and more. Besides, they tend to have a wider variety of styles and colors of glass than are currently available in most HomeGoods and TJ Maxx type stores, which often only have cut glass crystal styles. If you do search out a vintage decanter, make sure you clean it extremely well before use since it will undoubtedly be dusty and may have some residue from previous liquid residents inside. Also, make sure the glass is safe for food products, so avoid uranium glass!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Suppose you have an Amazon Alexa in your home to listen to music, ask for recipe guidance or unit conversion, or any of its other amazing myriad functions. In that case, you have to find a spot for it on a counter or bedside table. If you would instead bring it up off the table or counter to free up space, a great solution is the Alexa Wall Mount. It sells for just $10 on Amazon.com. You can attach it to any plug-in in your workspace to keep Alexa handy. Luckily, it is also up and out of your way while working.<\/p>\n Being able to wall mount Alexa is of even more value if you have a workspace that tends to get wet, dusty, or dirty, like painting, jewelry making, and many more hobbies and occupations. It will not only keep Alexa just as easy to use but protect your tech investment from being damaged by water or the mess that you may generate while cooking, working, and more. Anything attached to a wall in a room or workspace with limited flat working surface should be since it’s such a benefit for maximizing your limited space.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have an extensive jewelry collection, it is essential to store your pieces so that chains don’t get tangled, which can often lead to damage, and so you can see all of your options in front of you. There are tons of options out there for jewelry boxes and organizers. Etsy has chicken wire hangers for earrings that you may be able to DIY for less than $5, and if you want to spend the top-end of your budget, Bed Bath and Beyond has super fancy over-the-door jewelry boxes like the one shown above for $50, which includes a mirror door.<\/p>\n Many reasonably priced jewelry boxes on sites like Amazon come with lovely velvety fabric finishes inside and plenty of indented compartments for rings, earrings, and more. These cases often have latching glass lids to keep dirt and dust off of your fine jewelry. Suppose you wear non-traditional jewelry like nose rings or studs. In that case, you may need to do a little extra searching for a jewelry box that has pockets with the right dimension for your jewelry. However, there is indeed a wide variety of options of all shapes and sizes. Thus, something will undoubtedly fit your collection to perfection.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These clear plastic shelf dividers will help make your closet look like a retail store. It’s perfect for anyone whose purses can’t seem to stay up on their own or just to have a more sleek-looking system. A set of 6 is<\/span> $44 on Amazon<\/span><\/a>. While that may seem sort of pricey, it’s significantly cheaper than paying for a whole new closet system. Suppose you’re tired of sweaters slumping over on each other and blankets refusing to stay put on the shelf. In that case, these simple acrylic sheets can make your life so much easier and less stressful while giving you a genuinely glamorous boutique-looking closet.<\/span><\/p>\n55. Trunk Organizers<\/span><\/h2>\n
54. Pet Food Canisters<\/span><\/h2>\n
53. Rack Organizers for Cans<\/span><\/h2>\n
52. Mount Your Nail Polish<\/span><\/h2>\n
51. Grab and Go Cleaning Station<\/span><\/h2>\n
50. Mop and Broom Holders<\/strong><\/h2>\n
49. Photo Boxes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
48. Hallway Entry Space<\/strong><\/h2>\n
47. Airtight Food Containers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
46. Fold With the “Konmari Method”<\/strong><\/h2>\n
45. Mason Jars<\/strong><\/h2>\n
44. Clear Over-The-Door Organizers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
43. Woven Baskets<\/strong><\/h2>\n
42. A Label Maker<\/strong><\/h2>\n
41. Pan Lid Organizer<\/strong><\/h2>\n
40. Chalkboard Labels<\/strong><\/h2>\n
39. Decanters<\/strong><\/h2>\n
38. Alexa Wall Mount<\/strong><\/h2>\n
37. Jewelry Boxes and Organizers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
36. Shelf Dividers<\/strong><\/h2>\n