Perfect Clips for Small Electrical Cords

Don't forget the door when counting your closet space! Try an over-the-door shoe organizer on the backside of a closet door to organize scarves, belts and other accessories. Or of course, shoes too! Would you rather have your shoes out where you can see them? Make this easy-to-build shoe rack with modern style!

Salvage the hidden space at the recessed ends of your closets by adding a set of wire shelves. Wire shelves are available in a variety of widths. Measure the width and depth of the space. Then choose the correct shelving and ask the salesperson to cut the shelves to length for you. Subtract 3/8 in. from the actual width to determine the shelf length. Buy a pair of end mounting brackets and a pair of plastic clips for each shelf. Want more tips on organizing your closet? Check out these 11 clothes storage ideas.

Countertops are a landing pad for paper—mail, news clippings and other assorted notes. Get that mess off your counter with folders and a file holder. The one shown here (from an office supply store) mounts with screws or double-sided foam tape. If you don't have suitable vertical surface, get a file holder that sits on the countertop. It will take up less space (and look neater) than a stack of papers. If you're short on space and could use a home office, read up on how to turn your closet into a makeshift home office!

Hang spray bottles from a rod to keep them upright. It can be hard to keep spray bottles from falling over and making a mess under your bathroom and kitchen sink. To keep them upright, hang them from a short tension rod (about $12 at discount stores) in your cabinet. An old rod can come in handy in a number of spots in the house.

An empty rectangular tissue box makes a convenient holder for small garbage bags, plastic grocery bags and small rags. Simply thumbtack it to the inside of a cabinet door. It's one of our favorite kitchen storage ideas.

Like a lot of other people, my wife and I love large plastic bins. But remembering what's inside each bin is tough, and reading a small label is nearly impossible when your bins are stored high on garage shelves. We solved both problems by labeling our bins with large numbers. Each number corresponds to a page in a binder that lists the contents of each bin. It's simple to change the list, and it's a heck of a lot easier to find what you need by checking the binder than by rummaging through each bin. — reader Gerald Naumann Editor's Note: When it comes to bin I.D. tags, we like adhesive storage pouches that let you slip index cards in and out easily. You can find these at office supply stores or online retailers. Find out another reason why three-ring binders come in handy around the house.

Keep seven years' worth of business-related backup documents to support your tax returns, like final budgets, receipts, and contracts. You can toss nontax related items such as old conference materials, first drafts of final documents, and outdated business cards and brochures. Check out how to get your home office organized to avoid clutter.

If you don't have cabinets or shelves in your tiny laundry room, buy inexpensive plastic crates at a discount store and create your own wall of cubbies for some small room organization. Screw them to the wall studs using a fender washer in the upper corner of each crate for extra strength for DIY laundry room shelves. The crates hold a lot of supplies, and they keep tippy things like your iron from falling over. Here are some more ideas for small space storage solutions.

Family Handyman   Hate the messy look of curling irons lying on the vanity or the toilet tank? Here's a tip for you. Use hook-and-loop tape to attach 5-in. lengths of 2" PVC pipe to the vanity door to hold the curling irons. Do the same thing with 3-in. pieces of 1-1/2-in.-diameter pipe to hold the cords. Just measure your curling irons to see how long your "holsters" need to be. Let your curling irons cool before you stow them away.

Clothes you haven't touched in two years need to go. The two-year rule accounts for warmer-than-usual winters or unseasonable summers when you may not wear something you'd usually wear. It also accounts for clothes you've been saving for chores like yard work or painting, without letting you hold on to these items indefinitely. If you're not willing to take the time to try something on to confirm that you still love it, then you can let it go. Learn about Swedish Death Cleaning and if you can apply some of the principles. Just be careful what you donate, there are a number of items you should think twice about donating.

If you happen to have inherited your grandma's rolling pins, knotty wooden utensils, and/or well-worn cutting boards, you have a design opportunity waiting. Consider storing these beloved kitchen wares out in the open as authentic décor elements by hanging them on available wall space. Just make sure you mount them in such a way that you can easily take them down for use. Plus: See how to work in your favorite workshop staples into your home decor.

A shortage of storage space in kitchen cabinets would sour anyone in need of maximum stowaway room. Kitchen cabinet rollouts give additional capacity to cabinets and make it easier to find items so you can smile while you snack. Learn how to build your own rollouts for your kitchen here with the help of the Family Handyman’s DIY University.

You come home from the grocery store with an armful of fresh fruit, but lo and behold—there's no spare fridge or counter space available. A stylish solution for this storage problem is to hang a single or tiered wire basket from the ceiling. You can store your apples, bananas, and oranges as well as potatoes, onions, and garlic here. Plus, a hanging basket adds visual interest to your kitchen.

Baskets, bins and boxes are all excellent storage tools in an organized mudroom. You can separate items by bin, such as shoes and hats, or assign a bin to each member of the family. No matter how you organize it, you'll never regret using these handy pieces.

Keep only these must-have medical supplies for kids:

• Child-safe insect repellent
• Child-safe sunscreen
• Infant and/or child thermometers (both digital and ear or rectal)
• Rehydration fluids for children with tummy trouble
• Children's and/or infants' acetaminophen and ibuprofen, as recommended by your doctor, to relieve fever and mild pain
• Phone numbers for your pediatrician or emergency contacts
• The American Association of Poison Control Centers' national emergency hotline: (800) 222-1222

Move over flatware, because the school supplies are taking over! Reuse any silverware tray as a craft and school supply organizer that easily fits into a drawer or cabinet.

This sturdy workbench is not just for carpentry - it's also perfect as a potting bench or laundry room table. If you want a surface that's easy to clean and protects against spills, apply two coats of polyurethane varnish to the top and the shelves. We used a water-based finish that dried quickly and was hard as nails by the next day.

As a general rule, put items that you frequently use on the lowest shelves (dishes and bowls, olive oil, glasses, etc.), and items you rarely use on the highest shelves. It's a bit of common-sense organizing that goes a long way when it comes to open shelves, and it will help you keep everything easily accessible and looking great. Just remember to group like with like: Have at least a few cups in a row rather than alternating dishes all over the place.

Let's say that you do have some clutter on your open kitchen shelves, but you can't really get rid of any of it. A potential solution is separating your shelving out into sections. Keep one section for all your cookbooks, for example, while using another section to store coffee supplies and so on. When done correctly, this can turn clutter into a casual-chic look ideal for smaller kitchens.