Desk Drawer Organization

It's one thing to organize the top of a desk. But what about the bottom? Besides a bunch of cables and a foot stool, I had this bright red 2-drawer cube.

In my old space, it did its job. It's where I put my extra note pads, batteries, rulers, etc. All the extra desk stuff that I didn't want to display on my desk. However, in my new space it quickly turned into this... (WARNING! Scary image coming up!)

I know, it's like a scary movie - you want to cover your eyes and run away! I've been complaining about these drawers for a while. I thought about replacing them with a tall rolling set of drawers, but I kind of liked the shape of mine and how the cube was short enough that i could store something on top of it if I had to. I had to find a solution of the same approximate height, but something more organization-friendly. I was having a tough time finding something I liked!

Then came boxing day this past December. My mom was browsing through Michaels when she came across this:

The Recollections 4-drawer Storage Cube. It's a cube! It's appropriate height! It has four drawers - perfect for separating items! The best part is... it was on sale! Woo! Thanks Mom! :)

This cube has been sitting in my room until a few weeks ago when I decided it was time to put it together and finally clean out the old red cube.

How did I do? :) I absolutely love this thing. It looks so clean! I also love that there are several add-ons within this brand. I may invest in more items down the line as my collecting of crafting tools grows!

Do you own anything similar? Let me know in the comments!

--Anita

Bathroom "Top Drawer" Organization

One of my 2015 new year resolutions is to organize areas of my home that are used on a daily basis and tend to get cluttered easily. One of those areas is our master washroom. Since this is the room we first walk into in the morning, and we last walk out of at night, it's important to me that everything in there looks tidy and clean. It's not fun waking up on a Monday morning to an ugly messy space.

The first thing that had to be fixed as soon as possible was the "top drawer". You know, that drawer that holds all your basic odds and ends... toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hair clips, extra cotton balls, etc. This drawer became a nightmare space in a hurry after we moved in. Even though only my own stuff resides in it (hubby has his own space for his stuff), it quickly became a dumping ground for too many items. Here's a photo:

Ugly! I realized that the reason it looked so messy was because everything was literally just dumped into it instead of separated neatly. I needed a drawer organizer. I searched Amazon and finally found one that looked perfect for what I needed.

I loved the long space in the middle. Perfect for toothpaste and toothbrushes! The whole thing ended up fitting perfectly in the drawer and I was able to sort out my stuff in it. Some things, like travel sized shampoos and soaps, I opted to remove completely and store in a different area. I only need those a few times a year, so why should they cramp my drawer on a daily basis?

To add a bit more flash, and to hide the ugly paint scrapes at the bottom of the drawer, I cut up a piece of gold wrapping paper left over from Christmas, and lined the drawer with it. I love this idea because it's cheap and I can easily change the paper to match my mood throughout the seasons.

The only extra thing I left in the drawer is the bag of little cotton pads and some q-tips. I use these every day to remove makeup. I have some stored on top of the counter, but since I use them so much, they have to be refilled quite often and it's a pain to run to a different room all the time to get them. Since the bags can be tucked in behind the organizer quite easily, I thought that would work for now.

What do you think? Have you organized your drawer in a similar way? What areas of your home do you plan on organizing first this year? I'd love to hear about them!

-Anita