Home Tips

Read these 8 Home Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Organize tips and hundreds of other topics.

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How can I store hair pins?

Hair Pin Organizer

Tired of hair pins becoming scattered throughout your bathroom space? Consider making your own hair pin organizer! This simple project recycles items that you probably already have within your home.

To create this project, you will need:

- A metal mint container (Altoids tins work best)
- A business card size magnet (like the promotional ones you obtain from restaurants, doctors, etc.)
- A hot glue gun

Begin by making sure that the magnet will fit down inside the tin If not, trim it with a pair of scissors. Add a bit of hot glue to the printed side of the magnet. Adhere the magnet side up and the printed side down in the bottom of the mint tin. Decorate the exterior of the tin, as desired. Add the hair pins inside the tin. The magnet portion will help keep them in place. Enjoy!

   
How can I organize my kitchen?

Refrigerator Organization

The refrigerator has potential for organization just as any closet or drawer does. Try using plastic boxes in your refrigerator for gathering items together that may be rattling around loose on the shelves. Or you might want to combine condiments together in a box so that the next time you make sandwiches or hot dogs, you can pull all the needed condiments out of the frig in one motion.

   
How can I avoid clutter in my drawers?

Mix Packet Storage

Don't chase loose drink mix packets in your cabinets or drawers. Instead, keep all the drink mix packets in an inexpensive index card filing box.

   
How can I organize my kitchen?

Packing Lunches

See the Basic Principles section for the tip on creating "Toolboxes", a method for keeping everything together to complete a task. I've used the Toolbox strategyT for speeding up packing school lunches in the morning. We keep lunchbox items such as granola bars, pudding cups, and bags of chips together in a plastic bin in a cupboard of our kitchen, together with lunch bags and plastic spoons. This also makes it obvious and easy for kids to know what items to grab if they need to pack a snack or a lunch in a hurry.

   
How can I save time while cooking?

Clean Up Time

When cooking a meal, use the time that you have in between steps to do some of the dishes you just used. At the end of the meal, you can spend less time cleaning up the kitchen and more time visiting with your friends and/or family.

Copyright © 2002 Linda M. DePaz

   
How can I make my bedroom look clean quickly?

Making the Bed

Make your bed as soon as your feet hit the floor, then you won´t have to worry about it the rest of the day. Your room looks much tidier and you have a nice bed to get into at night. Copyright © 2002 Linda M. DePaz

   
How can I neatly store canned goods in the pantry?

Storing Canned Goods in the Pantry

If you have limited space, storing canned goods in the pantry can seem like a difficult task. However, there are a few ways to combat this that will not cost a fortune.

First, consider investing in a soda can rack from your local chain retailer. (Walmart, Target, etc.) These are most often wire but can be made of plastic or other material. Most soup, vegetable, and fruit cans will easily stack in this type of holder keeping your pantry space neat.

Second, always know what is in your pantry. Keeping a list and marking off what is used and what is bought as you go can help keep you from purchasing more than you need, thus saving space. This list should easily be able to be posted on the inside of the cabinet door for use.

These are just two of many different ways you can help keep canned goods stored in your pantry efficiently!

   
How can I keep my closet more organized?

Closet Clean Out - Monthly

Cleaning out your bedroom closet monthly can be one of the easiest ways to stay organized. By consistently knowing which items are in there, there is little guesswork when it comes time to find something specific. Here are a few hints on how to make this possible.

- Set aside an hour or two to do your monthly closet clean-out the first time. The more consecutive months you actually stick with doing it, the less time it will take. (Cleaning in the future will be quick and easy!)

- Remove any clothing that is out of season, outdated or no longer fits. If you still want to keep items for later, store them in plastic totes or other similar storage containers. If you are ready to get rid of a few pieces, donate them.

- Place other miscellaneous items, including keepsakes or anything else you have stashed on shelving, in plastic shoebox totes. (These are usually available at your local chain retail store for under a dollar each.) Label each container. During your monthly closet clean out, evaluate what can be kept and tossed.

Again, the more consecutive months you do this type of clean-out, the easier each step becomes. And remember, just because you kept an item during the previous month's clean-out does not mean it is necessary to keep this month! Continually examine and reevaluate items as you do your monthly task.

   
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Joe Wallace