Multi-purpose furniture are ideal for small spaces, or if you don’t like to have a lot of furniture in your room.  When you can store a multitude of items in one piece, it can alleviate clutter in your room and make organizing a lot easier.  One of the most popular multi-purpose furniture pieces today is the Armoire.  Armoires are used to store and organize clothing and crafting supplies. They are also used as TV entertainment centers, or as a  small office that you fold away at the end of the day.

Another multi-purpose item that is perfect for both teens and adults is the Nightstand Valet (pictured above).  This valet stand comes with 2 shelves, a pull out drawer, a hanger for suit coat or shirts, bottom shelf for shoes, top shelf for personal accessories, side bar for trousers and the other side comes with hook for additional hanging storage.  It is the epitome of multi-purpose. 

CD organizer

Cosmetics organizer

Your teenager or pre-teen can get organized the night before school by choosing their outfit, including their shoes, packing their backpack and selecting the books and other items they may need for school the next day, and all can be stored in the Nightstand Valet.  On the left you’ll see some additional organization products that can help your children keep their rooms organized from Home Storage Warehouse.

 Visit Home Storage Warehouse to learn more about the Nightstand Valet and other organizing products to help kids keep their rooms organized and clutter-free!

Find more organization product ideas and back to school tips for your kids here.

Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and President of the NAPO Baltimore Chapter, she helps homeowners to clear their household and paper clutter and organize their home or home office.  Jacquie also offers home organizing workshops to the general public and brief time management classes to businesses. Jacquie is the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  If you want to take control of your clutter, visit CastAway the Clutter to get Jacquie’s free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Organization products, like toy bins, pop-up storage bins, pop-up hampers, over-the-door organizers and hanging shoe pockets are just a few of the many organizing products available to help keep your children’s rooms organized and free of clutter.  Summertime is a good time to get those organization products in place in time for back to school.  Once your kids get busy with homework and afterschool activities it’s going to be even harder for them to keep their rooms clean and organized, so every little bit helps. 

Most children can do basic room upkeep chores on their own.  However, it’s best to continue to build confidence in them by showing them how to do routine tasks, like, picking up toys and putting them away, putting away their clean laundry, light dusting and even vacuuming. 

At the very least, all children should have easy access to a laundry hamper as soon as they are able to dress themselves.  Begin by explaining the rules and consequences, if you decide to have consequences.  One example of a consequence would be to not wash anything that’s not placed inside the hamper!  After a couple of weeks of this, they will soon realize that there is very little left to wear, except maybe a handful of their least favorite clothing! 

Purchase a fun or decorative hamper for their room or bathroom that they actually won’t mind using. Here are some fun kids’ hampers for both young children and teens at Home Storage Warehouse.

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More back to school organizing tips
More Organization Products for Keeping Your Children’s Closets Clutter-Free

Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and President of the NAPO Baltimore Chapter, she helps homeowners to clear their household and paper clutter and organize their home or home office.  Jacquie also offers home organizing workshops to the general public and brief time management classes to businesses. Jacquie is the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  If you want to take control of your clutter, visit CastAway the Clutter to get Jacquie’s free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Over the door shoe organizers, sometimes called over the door shoe pockets, have a multitude of uses.  Don’t limit yourself to just organizing shoes! If you’re short on space and tired of picking up random small items that seem to have no home; or your kids have a gazillion little toys that get lost in toy boxes, consider an over the door shoe pocket organizer.  Over the door shoe pockets fit on any standard sized door and take only a couple of minutes to install.  No tools or handyman required!  These organizational wonders are also excellent for homeowners on a budget, since most are priced below $20 and can store and organize almost anything.

Here are 8 ideas and uses for an over the door shoe pocket organizer:

1. Organize small toys, e.g. die cast cars, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls etc.

2. Organize tools:  Hang over a door, or if it has grommets, attach to a wall and store small tools, nails etc.

3. Organize toiletries:  Not enough bathroom storage? Keep one in the bathroom to store your hair brushes, lotions, make-up, etc.
4. Organize sewing supplies:  Use to store a myriad of sewing supplies that can create clutter, including threads, trims, buttons, scissors, sewing patterns, sewing machine supplies, etc.

5. Organize craft supplies:  It can be craft supplies for children or adults.  Store and organize small craft paints, paint brushes, glue, scrapbooking scissors, trims and ribbons, etc.

Over the Door Shoe Pocket Organizer

6. Organize winter accessories:  Store gloves, scarves, mittens, knitted hats etc. for the kids or the whole family. 

7. Organize gift wrap:  Use together with a gift wrap holder to store and organize gift wrap ribbon, scissors, tape and gift tags.

8. Organize office or homework supplies:  Use in your home office to store and organize tape, scissors, stapler, etc.  Plus, school supplies, e.g. markers, crayons, colored pencils, calculator.

Over the door shoe pockets come in a variety of styles and colors.  The most popular are the clear pockets, because you can see what’s inside.  When placed in a child’s room, it’s a great way to help a child learn organizational skills from a young age.

If you liked this, you may also like: How to Cope with a Small Cluttered Closet on a Small Budget

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie is also the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  Visit CastAway the Clutter to get a free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Closets come in all shapes and sizes and are one of the first things that prospective homeowners look for when searching for a new home.  Walk-in closets are what’s expected today, but are not always available, especially if the home buyer is looking for an older, more classic home.

Custom closet installation is not in everyone’s budget, so it’s always good to know what organization products are available to help homeowners to maximize the space that they currently have.  Worrying about the lack of closet space, without the means to make structural changes isn’t going to make the problem go away. As a professional organizer, when working with a client, I recommend that we start by going through all of their existing clothing first to determine what they are actually wearing now.

At the end of the day, you want to be able to access the clothing that you’re wearing and eliminate the rest.  This task alone can relieve some of the problems of not having enough closet space and the frustration of not being able to find the clothes you need. 

If you are currently living in a home with a small reach-in closet, you can still have an organized closet, without the expense of a remodel.  By educating yourself with what’s available in the marketplace or getting the help of a professional organizer, you will discover a myriad of inexpensive closet organizers that will maximize the space in your closet, without spending a lot of money.  Here are a few to consider:

Swivel Tie Hanger

Handbag organizer

Shoe and Sweater Organizer

Revolving Shoe Stand

Shelf organizer bin

Scarf Hanger Organizer

 

There are many organization solutions in the marketplace today that can help keep closet clutter under control without spending a fortune on high-end custom closets.  Outfitting your child’s closet with a custom solution may not always be the best idea when they still  have a lot of growing to do.  It might make more sense to use less expensive organization products that can be changed and adjusted as the child grows.

Here are a few ideas that can be incorporated into your child’s existing closet, assuming you do not already have built-in shelving installed:

Hanging organizer shelves for clothing
Storage cubes to corral small toys
Hanging shoe organizer to keep shoes off the floor
Shoe stands, also to keep shoes off the floor
Quality hangers to take better care of clothing

Closet hanging shelf organizer

Magic toy pop-up cube

Closet hanging shoe organizer shelves

Stackable shoe shelf organizer

Childrens' wood hangers

Folding canvas bins

Rolling bins or carts to hold folded clothing or toys can also be helpful.  Find more closet organizers at Home Storage Warehouse.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie is also the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  Visit CastAway the Clutter to get a free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Does your children’s clothing spend most of the time on the closet floor or hung on the clothing rod?  If your child is too small to reach the rod, you may find that you’re spending way too much time picking up clothes and trying to keep the closet organized.  Many closets consist of a single rod and shelf, but there are many affordable closet organizing solutions to help with eliminating closet clutter. To begin with, store their most frequently worn, or favorite garments at their level so that they can be responsible for putting away their clean laundry and choosing their outfits for the day. 

By incorporating some additional storage options inside the closet, you can also teach your child to be responsible for keeping their closet neat and organized.  Set up an easy organizational system so that they can select their outfits each day, with very little help from you.  One way to do this is to install a hanging pocket shelf organizer. Hanging shelves, which usually include at least 5 pockets for each weekday, are a great way for them to feel grown up because they get to pick out their pre-selected outfit for the day, without help from you. 

Here in the mid-Atlantic area, it’s about that time of year when the weather begins to warm up and time to pack away the sweaters and lighten up.  I’m a bit of a wimp where cooler weather is concerned, so I tend to keep my cardigan sweaters out year-round!  However, for the warm blooded, simply thinking about a sweater may make you sweat!  Anyway, I digress.  Switching the closet from winter to spring/summer is an event in my home.  I love rediscovering clothes that I had forgotten about and creating new outfits that I hadn’t thought of.  For me, I always feel as though I have a new wardrobe again, especially if I had purchased a few items on clearance at the end of the season.  

This is also a great time to purge items and to really think about whether or not you will wear something again.  I use this time to be honest about whether I love an item, or if I’m keeping it just because I’ve spent X amount of dollars on it. 

Taking the time to review your clothing from last year will also save you money.  Try some items on and mix and match separates that you hadn’t thought to put together before. You’ll find that you needn’t rush out to stock up on new summer clothes after all!

What if you live in a year round warm state, like Florida or Southern California?  It’s still a good idea to take the time to switch your closet.  Even if you don’t have dramatically changing seasons, it’s simply a good habit to go through your closet once or twice a year. 

So, schedule a weekend morning or afternoon, put on some music and dance your way from winter to summer!

By now, you’re probably in a pretty good routine with the daily school schedule. However, even with a solid routine, mornings can be a little chaotic, especially when Junior decides he’s not going to cooperate about what to wear to school today! Consider trying a different approach – let Junior think that he’s in charge of what he’s wearing by planning ahead with the kids closet organizer.

Your pre-school or elementary school aged child will feel all grown up choosing their outfits from the 6-day closet organizer! This brightly colored organizer features the days of the week on the front section of each storage area with the last section being for shoes. Find yours today at Home Storage Warehouse.

Jacquie’s Tip: At the weekend, after you’ve checked the week’s weather forecast, help your child to select several outfits that can be worn each day of the week. This will save time and frustration in the morning!

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners and businesses how to reclaim their time and space. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

Click here to see these and other shoe organizers and shop their Summer Sale.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners and businesses how to reclaim their time and space. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

Young children need all the help they can get to stay organized. Being organized is usually not their focus! Make it a little easier for them with organized storage solutions and teach them how to use it.

Manufacturers are designing unique organizing products specifically for children, creating fun shapes in bright primary colors. Check out the fun Fire Truck Over-the-Door Hook Rack. Its bright red color and fire hydrant hooks add a fun twist which will grab their attention!

Check out the following clothes hangers sized for children’s clothing and the underbed storage bag that fits easily under the bed to store their off-season clothing and/or bed linens.

Visit Home Storage Warehouse for more children’s organizers. Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners and businesses how to reclaim their time and space. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.