A Simple Organizing Trick

I used to be organized, super organized. I had to be because of the work I did, but since I am no longer in the work force I seem to have slacked in a few areas. Don’t get me wrong, my house is not dirty, although some areas do become cluttered when I collect items I want to work with. Having the energy and time to work on items is sometimes difficult so these areas keep collecting until I do a thorough cleaning.

I like to try and keep the office area straightened up as much as possible, since this is where all our important papers are, like insurance policies for the house, bank statements, medical bills and other important documents.

While I do have a rather old, and much used file cabinet, I often find it to be a real chore to open those bent up drawers all the time to file papers or look for documents. I saw this idea in a letter I receive from other blog sites about re-purposing items, and would love to share the link but have already deleted that e-mail.

I recently switched out my wire dish drainer for a large plastic one. It was rusting on the bottom and it just wasn’t big enough for the amount of dishes we go through in a day. These small wire strainers are great for someone who works all day and prepares a small meal in the evening, but for two adults who are home for the largest portion of the day, who eat at least two healthy meals and two healthy snacks, it just isn’t large enough.

It is really simple to do and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. You simply take your wire rack and decorate it however you want. You can paint it or glue or wrap decorations around the edge. In this case, I had some salmon colored cord that I had picked up about a year ago in a batch of yarn I found in one of our thrift stores. It was too thick to actually crochet with, but I held onto it for I was sure I could find a use.

I simple tied the cord to the back end, wound it tightly around the edges and then tied it off again. It came out perfectly and fits right under my desk. It now holds files that I need to get to on a consistent basis, my morning devotional books, my phone book and my calendars. Total cost of this project was $0.00 since everything used was something I had collected over a year ago.