Let’s get one thing clear.
I am not an organization guru.
Heck, I’m not really a guru of any sorts. I just fly my freak flag and do what works.
I have my own weird methods for organizing and storing stuff.
For example, the kid has three different boxes in her room for small toys.
One holds things that could potentially be living: plastic dinosaurs, My Little Ponies, Smurf figurines, Little People, California Raisin figurines, etc.
I don’t know where I come up with this stuff either.
Or why I consider Smurfs and California Raisins to be potentially living things.
Another box holds non-potential living things: wooden blocks and plastic easter eggs.
I know, it makes no sense.
And the last box holds paper items: stickers and things to write on.
Shocking. One box actually makes sense.
See what I mean when I say that I do what works for me?
I knew you would get me – you’re my people.
This is my latest “what works for me” organizing method:
Color Coded Organization
And shockingly, this may actually make sense to more people than myself.
Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and ridiculous organization methods are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Here’s the deal.
I hate clutter.
(Thus why I shared the 15 days to a Clutter Free Home Checklist last week.)
That doesn’t mean clutter never happens around here.
It happens all the time.
And then life happens.
And I don’t have time to pick up all the clutter everyday because I was chasing the kid trying to make her keep her clothes on while its 30 degrees outside.
In an effort to combat the clutter and at least corral it, I picked up cheap plastic bins and then assigned a color combination to myself, the kid, and Grunt Labor. The bins stay in the living room and each of our bins contain our own items. At the end of the week, we each go through our bins and put whatever has accumulated there over the week back into its proper place.
Make sense?
Good. Here’s how I made them.
Color Coded Organization Bins
Materials & Supplies Needed:
- Plastic Bins (Mine were $3 each at Target in the Dollar Spot.
- Paint Colors of your choice. (I opted to give these a bit of a cohesive feel by painting everyone’s bottom stripe, Modern by Velvet Finishes, a bold blue. The kid chose Bold, a bright yellow, for her other color, Grunt chose Vivid, which is a fabulous red hue, and I went girly and opted for Glamorous, a pink color.
- FrogTape
- Paint Brush
Steps
Step 1:
Tape off where you want your stripes to be.
You could actually get much more creative and decorative than I did with this and opt for a different pattern or design. However, I am in a “simple” mode right now (probably also referred to as a lazy mode), so easy stripes were just the ticket.
Step 2:
Paint your color on.
As I said above, I used all Velvet Finishes colors on these bins. To be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure if this paint would work on plastic – but it did. No priming it at all! That’s totally why my heart has been captured by this paint – its the lazy girl’s paint.
I did three light coats of each color and was impressed by the fact that I still got super saturated, pretty colors.
Step 3:
As soon as you’ve painted on your final coat, remove the FrogTape. If you let the paint dry before removing the tape, you risk the tape pulling some of the paint off.
Put the bins where everyone can easily access them and lay down the law.
If you have crap in this room, it goes in your bin.
Yea, I’m still working on getting the two year old to understand that.
I have to say, I was a little worried about these sticking out like a sore thumb with the decor, but I am digging their colorfulness.
Have you done any color coded organization before?
Or maybe you just have an organizing tip you want to share that doesn’t involve classifying Smurfs as potential living things??
More Organization and Storage Ideas:
5 Simple but Life-Changing Storage and Organization Ideas – super affordable too!
10+ Kitchen Ideas for Decorating, Organizing and Storage – and they’re pretty!
You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.
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