Organizing For Lazy People

Sale PSA: A simple cotton cardigan from Madewell, now 70% off, very cute linen shorts from Caslon, now $25, an easy and cozy lounge skirt from Barefoot Dreams, now 55% off, a diamond Alhambra pendant from Van Cleef on Fashionphile (this is my favorite necklace I wear everyday and I would wait for it to hit a discount), and an adorable monogram botanical tray from Anthropologie, now just $7.

I’m not a big organizer. Like, I like the concept of a very organized house but not the actual work in doing it. Like many however, I am now spending a lot of time in my house (understanding I am one of the fortunate ones) and all my children’s stuff, toys, and snacks are threatening to blow up. I am definitely not an organizational guru but just having two kids plus the homeschooling is forcing me into having some order…here are some of my most used storage items, in the hopes it will help some of you, too!

Threshold Milk Crates: I LOVE these. I had a ton already before Covid-19 went down and now I have even more. My favorite is this extra large size (I have two, and another two on order). It’s the one on the bottom of the picture above. Each one can fit 2-3 blankets, or a TON of stuffed animals, or a bunch of balls/toys for the garage. In my experience, it is hard to find cute storage so large (and at a reasonable price). I also have the small size for organizing items in my bathroom, and the large for more toys, etc. I used to also use them to organize food in my pantry but determined that I am not an aspirational blogger who will be photographing my kitchen and so switched them out for shoe boxes to try to be a little thrifty.

By the way, shoe boxes are one of my favorite organizational tools. I use them in my pantry, in my kids dressers to separate socks/underwear, in my kitchen cabinets to separate tools, etc.

Muji Storage Boxes. Ahh – I miss going to Muji! One of my favorite stops at Stanford Shopping Center…I usually never left empty handed. These storage boxes are one of my favorite items of theirs – well priced, well made, incredibly versatile. I use these to get more room in my closet because I don’t want to dedicate an entire drawer to say, hoisery. They are clear but no TOO clear and are useful for either overflow or items I use a lot and don’t want to dig out (for me it’s leggings, etc). I also have some in my bathroom closet that I use for the little hand towels that I use every day and launder.

Target Underbed Storage: This is one of my FAVORITE finds. These open boxes (they don’t come with a lid) are $13, which is a great price. I also have multiple of these and my favorite new use is isolating all the loose shoes we have inside the house! We have shoe cabinets but we have some pairs that we wear in and out and are always in a mass near the entrance. It’s neat and large enough to hold four pairs of adult sized sneakers.

And finally a favorite item from COSTCO. Yes, the mothership. These collapsible laundry baskets aren’t the most beautiful pattern (they kind of look like something you’d see in a Sheraton or something) however they are well priced, HUGE, durable, and light. I bought them not for laundry but for holding toys and random stuff in our garage. Cheap enough that I’m not worried about getting them dirty and I think they still look good enough to use inside. Costco never lets me down!

What are some of your favorite organizational tools?