Organizing the Little Things

At my house, it drives me crazy when one type of thing is scattered throughout the house.  I have to collect everything and have it in one place.  It’s just a weird, annoying habit I have.  Zip lock bags (that come in all sizes) are great for corralling small things together.  But, I had a bunch of things in zip lock bags that I knew could be better organized.

Even though having things contained in bags is better than having things all over in different drawers or cabinets, it’s not always the best practical solution.  Every time I needed to hang a picture or was looking for a hook or outlet cover, I had to dig through the bags and I couldn’t easily tell what I had.  I found a pair of small acrylic storage boxes at The Container Store for $14.99 that would be perfect for these little items.  
Removing the packaging helped me fit everything into the little drawers.  
I like that the container is clear so you can see exactly what’s inside, but that didn’t stop me from making labels.  I printed labels in my labeler and affixed them to colorful Martha Stewart tags.  You can find those at Staples.  She has a beautiful collection of office accessories. 
Even though the drawers are clear, having the pretty labels makes me smile. 
The zip lock bags of stuff were previously in my pantry, but these boxes fit perfectly in the mudroom cabinet shelf. 
So much better!
How do you keep your little things organized? 
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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

23 Comments

  1. I have something similar in my laundry room and it works well for lightbulbs, batterie, etc. I'm not organized to actually label it, lol. I'm sure it would help when the boys are tearing the drawers apart looking for batteries for their xbox remotes!

  2. This post couldn't come at a better time. I could be called the "bag lady" I am a big believer in using ziplocks to store things, but I agree it ends up being a jumbled mess. This looks awesome! Nice work!

  3. I corral all extra hanging screws, felt pads etc. in one one container along with a ruler, leveler and small hammer..you carry it around like a briefcase and it works great!! Just curious though….if you only have X amount of doors in your home and most likely they all already have door stoppers then why would you keep an extra stash of them? It's not like you will be adding more doors to your home right?

    1. Ha! Great question- those are door stops we've removed because when my son was small, he was always playing with them or trying to chew on them so we took a few off and haven't put them back. I wanted to keep them for if/when we do want to.

  4. That's so smart. Ziplocs are my go-to organizing solution too but they can easily get out of hand.

  5. Great idea. I love the idea of printing out clear labels and putting them on the brightly colored ones. I never even thought of that. I have to have all of that little stuff organized, too. Well done and I love all of the Valentine projects on your sidebar.

  6. I used to be organized in our old house, but after moving 2 years ago nothing has a place. It is all in plastic bags in different drawers. My husband would love for me to get the small stuff organized. Thanks for the idea!

  7. Love this post! I use those MS labels as well! I've already bought two packs because there is so much to use them for. And then we recently got a label maker, so they really get used. Now if they could just keep putting the MS products on Clearance…

  8. The Container Store always comes to the rescue! This is a genius solution to our kitchen junk drawer that houses many of items you organized. Thanks for the tip.

  9. Love how you took all the stuff from the plastic ziplocs and into those little storage chest. I have some of them for office supplies and want to buy more after seeing yours tonight. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

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