Are you tired of losing items in your garage cabinets? Does it drive you crazy when you are unable to open your desk drawers because so many things are stuffed in them? Do food items go bad in your pantry before you get to use them? Organization is the solution to all three of these problems. Here are a few tips on reorganizing your space to make it the most efficient and functional for you.

Pantry: We have all seen the pictures online of the pantries that have all of the food items in separate containers labeled and looking brilliantly perfect. This isn’t something that you need to do in order to have an organized pantry. Instead of buying containers try just labeling the shelves of your pantry. This will help you maintain organization and will help others find what they need and properly return them.

Cut down on food and waste by marking the date of when you purchased an item and when you opened it. This will help you use food before it goes bad. Also, when you are putting your food away arrange them so the oldest is in the front and the newer items are towards the back.

Garage Cabinets: Group items that are similar together. For example in our garage we have a shelf dedicated to anything that has to do with car upkeep so there is oil, leather cleaner, sponges, buckets, and a pressure gage.  Labeling your shelving will help you and others keep your cabinets organized.

Keeping small items like bolts, nails, washers, etc. together is essential to not having clutter in your cabinets. Jars are a great way to do this. Try attaching the lids of small jars to the top of one of your shelves.  The result is a group of hanging jars at eye level keeping your small items together at easy access.

Desk Drawers: Desk drawers can be magnets for clutter.  When you start organizing your desk take all of the items out and toss or giveaway anything you don’t use. If you have a ton of pens choose 2 or 3 and then use a Tupperware container to store the rest until the others run out. You can purchase organizing trays or drawer dividers to keep your items neat and tidy. Or you can find items around your home that will do the same thing. For example canning jars, small Tupperware, or even a muffin tin can be used to group small desk items together. The items you use most should be placed in places that are the most convenient. This is normally the top drawer closest to your dominant hand.