Guest Post - How to Organize Your Bathroom

Morning person or not, having a well-organized bathroom can help ease any stress you’re experiencing. You can start your day right and get to work on time without having to rush out of the door every morning.

No matter how small, a bathroom is where most of us unwind after a long day’s work. Having a clutter-free space makes life so much easier. After an exhausting day at work, you can light some candles, open a bottle of wine, and run a nice hot bath.

Who wouldn’t want a calming space all to themselves?

If you need a little help with organizing your bathroom, you can follow these tips, and create your stress-free sanctuary.

Quick Tips for Organizing Your Bathroom

The bathroom is often the smallest room in the house. Compared to much larger rooms, it will be easier to organize. And when you’ve done so, it will be easier for you to clean.

Here’s how you can start organizing your bathroom:

Declutter: Take a good look at your bathroom. Find items that you don’t actually want or use, and dump them in the bin. The makeup products you’ve never opened and perfumes you never liked, you can give them all to charity.

Clear out the counter: Remove all unnecessary items from the counters. You can leave a few products that you actually use and bundle them together. Whether you use a tray or a wicker basket, your items should only take up a third of the space in your counter. This makes it easier for you when you’re getting ready.

Add organizers for extra storage space: Hang extra shelves on the walls. Add a few cabinets. You can gain so much storage space by using these organizers. These items can make your bathroom clutter-free and stylish at the same time.

Add a laundry bin: Place a laundry bin for your wet and dirty towels. This way, you won’t have to worry about towels on your bathroom floor. Also, it will make your laundry routine so much easier and quicker.

Use clear acrylic containers: You can easily find what you’re looking for when you store items in clear containers. The great thing about its design is that it’s versatile. No matter what theme you have going on, these will surely blend right in.

Label your drawers: Make it even easier for your family to find the items they need by adding labels on your drawers. Everyone’s morning routines can run smoothly with these labels in place. More importantly, labels make it easier for the family to maintain a well-organized space.

7 Bathroom Organizers

Having enough storage space is important for any bathroom. From modern ladder shelves to rolled-up towel racks, these are the most functional and fashionable ways to keep your bathroom organized.

Over-the-Toilet Shelves

Buy on Amazon

Don’t have enough space for traditional cabinetry? No worries. You can add modern ladder shelves over the toilet to make the most out of the space you have. Depending on your shelf, you might be able to place a few rolls of toilet paper, towels, or a plant or two.

Corner Shelves

Whatever layout your bathroom has, corner shelves can fit perfectly in your space. You can store extra rolls of toilet paper on these shelves, and even a few plants and candles.

Cost: $27.99, wayfair.com

Rolled-Up Towel Racks

Buy on Amazon

Make your bathroom clutter-free by adding rolled-up towel racks. Whenever you decide to switch up your décor, you can always transfer this to your kitchen. Your wine bottles can fit perfectly in the towel holders!

Functional Wall Décor

Consider getting a functional wall décor if your bathroom has enough space for it. It can hold your candles, bottles, toilet paper rolls, and potted plants, all while looking stylish.

Cost: $29.40, etsy.com

Drawer Dividers

Use drawer dividers to keep all your things in place and prevent them from moving around. Your morning routine can run smoother, and you can make cleaning a whole lot easier.

Cost: $16.99, ikea.com

Mason Jar Units

Buy on Amazon

If there isn’t enough space in your drawers for your makeup brushes or your cotton balls, store them in mason jars. You can do a DIY project, or purchase one from Amazon.

Wicker Baskets

Do you have jute baskets that don’t fit in any of your cabinets? Well, place them on your walls! You can hang two baskets right above your toilet for easier access to those toilet paper rolls.

Cost: $9.99, ikea.com

How to Organize the Shower and Bathtub

Showers and bathtubs aren’t always the easiest areas to organize, especially if you live in an old house that’s yet to be modernized. That’s because a lot of these tubs and shower spaces weren’t built with storage in mind.

As mentioned, you can always use organizers to add extra storage space. You can use corner shelves to keep essentials such as shampoo, conditioner, and soap within reach.

How to Organize the Sink and Countertops

To keep the counter organized, you can place items closest to where they are used. For instance, hand soap should be next to the sink for easier access. You can place your items in a tray to keep everything neat. If you need more space, you can have mason jar units on your walls.

Author Bio: Nicole Andrews is the marketing manager for euromarble.com in Sydney, Australia. With a background in interior design, she enjoys writing about the latest industry trends. In her spare time, she walks her dog Rusco down at Bondi Beach.

Guest Post - 5 Practical Tips for a Well Organized and Clutter-Free Garage

There is something irresistible about pushing that key fob button and watching the garage door slowly roll up as you pull your car inside – if it can fit among all that clutter! How about a garage where everything is in place, items easy to locate, every corner well-lit, and the whole space appealing to look and walk into? Back to the reality check, the garage is an area that is consistently an issue in every home. A combination of a parking spot and general storage, with items accumulating haphazardly often pushing the car out on the driveway. Don’t wait until you retire to take care of it. Using these practical tips, you can easily declutter your garage, and at the same time, increase its storage capability.

Add some shelving

If you’re keen on DIY projects, get some L-shaped brackets and a piece of lumber, which is all you need for one shelving unit. If you want to get creative, you can create several levels of shelves stacked on top of each other. On the other hand, if carpentry isn’t the sharpest skill in your trade-box, there are plenty of pre-built shelving ideas in home improvement stores. Steel storage racks are easy to assemble, relatively affordable, and capable of holding a ton of weight. If you don’t like their gray powder coat finish, you can paint them any color you like. They also work hand-in-hand with the next solution – plastic bins.

Go for plastic bins

When it comes to de-cluttering virtually any space, plastic storage bins are manna from heaven, as every local home improvement store is bound to have a wide selection of them. True, cardboards boxes cost less money, but they aren’t nearly as sturdy or practical. Fill them, label them and stack them on their shelves, or even one upon another, as they are built to be stacked. Their airtight rubber seal keeps the moisture out, which makes them perfect for storing your family heirlooms, Christmas decorations, and other fragile items. Even if you don’t label them, clear bins let you check the contents at glance, so you can make self-contained, ready-to-go kits like camping cooking gear, plumbing tools, etc.

Get more light in

A series of strip lights fit perfectly over your workbenches, even inside tool cupboards, with fridge-like door activation. A single canopy light on the inside above the garage door works well if you like to park in reverse. Keep in mind that garages are tricky places to rewire, since often a great deal of utility pipes runs through the walls. The recent home improvement boom and have prompted even countries like Australia, which have traditionally had very stringent electrical safety regulations, to update their standards. That’s why most homeowners over there are more likely to leave their DIY enthusiasm aside, and hire a good Sydney electrician, whether they need a new lighting scheme or extra outlets installed.

Exploit vertical space

Your garage walls and ceiling provide valuable square footage as well, making them perfect for hard-to-store items like rakes, bikes, and other gardening equipment. Add some wall hooks and racks and de-clutter the floor and corners. If your garage has a high ceiling, you can even consider installing a ceiling storage lift – perfect for bulky items like bikes, kayaks, surfboards, spare tires, roof boxes, etc. The key is to make everything as accessible as possible – in other words, you don’t have to move three items to reach the fourth.

Fill the cabinets

Sleek and sturdy metal storage cabinets are a fail safe way to declutter and organize almost any garage. While giving tons of vertical and horizontal storage, cabinets protect your items from damage in ways that other containers can’t. Their construction makes them resistant to moisture and rodents, and makes them easy to keep clean. Since they go up on the walls, you have a plenty of room below for floor storage, or pegboards. Invented in the 1800s, these perforated plywood sheets are synonymous with tools that see a lot of use around the house such as screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, hand saws, and everything else that isn’t worth storing away.

However, before you move forward with any purchases or DIY projects, consider your current options and habits to see what works for you. What makes sense to one family, may not work for another. On the other hand, getting your garage in line might even inspire you to get more decluttering done around the house, or get on with those projects that have been lingering around.

About the author: Mike Johnston is a home improvement blogger and DIY enthusiast from Sydney. He is a regular writer at Smooth Decorator and contributor on several interior design, lifestyle, real estate and eco-friendly blogs. Mike’s goal is to create and share meaningful content that helps and inspires people.

Guest Post - Smart Storage Solutions for a Productive Home Office

Storage space is a crucial element of any productive, full-fledged home office. If you ask me, it is quite difficult to be organized while your work environment is in disarray. Ideally, you have a whole separate room set up as an office, but even then there are some practical challenges to tackle. The good news is that there is no shortage of smart and creative solutions that keep clutter and mess at bay. You do not even have to break the bank to make a difference. So, here is how to turn your office work-ready.

Box and file it

Storage boxes are a common unit that can hold basic office supplies like paper, cords and envelopes. They do the trick just fine, but you should make an effort to label them. That way, you will be able to find everything quickly. Another popular organizational tool comes in the form of file cabinets below the work surface. You cannot deny their utility, although some people deem them unsightly. Well, a bit of spray paint, color-coding and new handles work miracles in terms of visual appeal.

Divide and conquer small items

Next, focus on smaller items and knick-knacks. It is easy to lose sight of them or give up due to their peskiness, but solutions like DIY mail organizers or even old muffin tins are highly effective in dealing with this nuisance. Use them to store bills, keys, paper clips, pencils, business cards, etc. Also, before you invest in new storage, see if you have some old mugs and masonry jars lying around. They are a great tool to keep your desk space tidy and clean.

Commercial-grade greatness

You can always take your game to the next level by drawing inspiration from corporate environments. Do your research and find providers of versatile commercial storage solutions in your area. You can go for various environmentally-friendly contemporary units that will make working in your home base of operations a pure joy. From small wall hooks to large, multi-tier shelving, the commercial storage world is teeming with possibilities.

Wall-mounted storage

Furthermore, try to maximize the vertical dimension to save floor space (and keep it dust-free more easily while you are at it). Open shelving is an office staple that is easy to set up and can serve as storage for various items and supplies. As an added bonus, you can place potted plants and framed pictures for a splash of personality and style. And if you fancy DIY projects, feel free to create your custom box or dowel shelves. Another option is to hang a rod and clip system on the wall to store small devices, important notes and other items. The list goes on.

Built-in solutions

In case you are feeling pressed for space, do not fret. Take advantage of built-in and custom-made storage units like integrated shelves and purpose-built bookcases and chests of drawers. They make good use of every inch of available space, even those awkward and corner areas. What is more, you can keep things you do not need on a daily basis out of sight. The only thing is that it may cost you more to integrate these units. In my opinion, though, they pay dividends.

Plenty of storage sets a nice stage for good work habits and uninterrupted workflow. Namely, fostering a positive change in your immediate surroundings reflects on your work performance. Every piece counts and adds up, regardless of how small it is. So, it is time to set order to your zone of productivity and banish clutter for good. Feel free to get creative and explore DIY options— add a utilitarian feel and stylish touches. You will be able to keep the work mojo going and get more things done every day.

Lillian Connors can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of green living/home improvement projects and spread the word about them. She cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit, but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out on Twitter

Guest Post - How to Unlock Your Child's Organizational Skills

Kids probably aren’t the first demographic you think of when you hear the words “neat” and “tidy” – but that still doesn’t mean that you and your kids must accept chaotic mess as a daily reality! The stress of living in a disorderly family home can have hugely detrimental effects on a child’s development, not to mention your sanity as a parent: and since it’s entirely possible to rear conscientious and tidy little people, why not start now?

Since it can be difficult to know which strategies to implement to best encourage your child to unlock their organizational skills, we’ve gathered the best tips on how to start for you below. Just keep reading!

Treat them like little adults

When it comes to learning new activities, kids love being spoken to like adults. Learning how to organize your own belongings and responsibilities is a critical part of growing up. Lead your kids through importance of organization – first by helping them plan, then assisting them, and finally – letting them organize their things by themselves. By helping your children become enthusiastic about these chores, you are setting them up for good habits in adulthood.

Try your best to explain to your kids the reasoning behind organizational activities like tidying up. For example, you might let them know that organized kids do better at school, and that tidying up immediately after mess is created saves significant time in the long-run.

Teach them the essentials of organization

For children, important things to organize include:

-Getting ready for school the night before, including packing lunch

-Making sure that each item (especially clothing) has a place in a drawer or container

-Keeping track of both what you do each day, and what other people need you to do

-Doing your homework at the same time every day

-Time management and prioritization (what's the most important thing on your list, and how much time must you reserve for it?)

Supply them with the right organizational resources

Kids like – and need – tangible reminders for organizational tasks, such as the spring-clean they're supposed to do next Wednesday or the room clean you expect of them daily). Help them eradicate any excuses by making use of checklists, diaries, calendars, and other fun stationery which will allow them to visualize what's left to do.

You might especially consider helping your kids create their own personalized routines for before and after school, which are usually the peak times where parents and children must both be organized. Work with your kids, checking off your list of family duties as well as their individual to-do lists.

Designate them their own “working” space

People with school-age kids will be familiar with the homework struggle. How can you teach your kids to fully focus on their work, rather than do it in front of the television?

One smart solution is to designate one room in the house as the kids’ study room. If you don’t currently have the space for this, consider an add-on or extension room. This kind of separation between the social, familial area of the house and the “focus” area can do wonders for your kids’ study habits into the future.

Lead by example

You may run a fine line when trying to get your kids keen on organization and cleaning. Children watch your reactions to chores – if you don’t look excited about de-cluttering and organizing your space, your child will very soon realize that, in fact, most people don’t enjoy cleaning up. However, if you keep your enthusiasm up, you still have the opportunity to frame organizational tasks and duties with positive associations - so pump up the music and make it a family tradition to dance through your nightly tidy-up!

Harper learned organizational skills from her parents at a very young age. Her hard work paid off – with her organizational skills coming in very handy in her professional life for scheduling, managing work, and meeting deadlines. And this all began with a pink paper planner her Mum handmade for her while she was in primary school. To know more about Harper and read more of her written works, visit Harper Reid.