Get Organized in the New Year! | Ernest Homes
If you’re like many homeowners (or soon to be homeowners!) you’re always looking for new ways to store your stuff. There’s nothing better than knowing where your things are and being able to get to them easily, but for some of us, that’s one of life’s greatest challenges. If you could use a little help getting your home organized, the folks at Ernest Homes are here with some great ideas you can use to take your tidy to the next level. First of all, don’t confuse “clean” with “organized”. Your house can be spotless, but still look a mess if there isn’t a dedicated place for everything. Visible piles of clothes, even if clean and folded, still make a bedroom look like a disaster zone. Stacks of books don’t make your house look like a library – they merely add to the clutter. Make sure that the things you keep in your house enhance its appearance instead of turning it into one giant, disorganized storage closet. Here are some of our top hints and tricks for keeping your life (and your house…) organized.
Repeat after me…Space Bags. These handy storage gadgets come in a variety of sizes and shapes to hold big, bulky or out-of-season items in a smaller space than you would ever believe possible. Simply load the bag with last season’s clothes, extra bedding or other squishables you don’t need on a regular basis. Zip it shut, pull the air out with your vacuum hose, and VIOLA! You can store three times the amount of stuff you’d expect in a closet or under a bed. The bags are sturdy, reusable and readily available at most discount and home goods stores.
A New Way to Fold… Have more shirts and shorts than will fit easily in your dresser drawers? Try this technique instead; instead of folding clothes in half and in half again and laying them flat in the drawers, fold them over again and slip them into the drawer this way… 
Gain Closet Space If you have standard sized closets, double your hanging space with a handy closet doubler, or these multi-tiered hanger holders. You can also invest in hanging shoe holders, sweater shelves or even closet kits like this one that help you fully utilize your closet space.
Repurpose Over the Door Shoe Organizers Load up the pockets with school and art supplies, small toys, beauty items, spices, pantry staples, cleaning supplies and lightweight tools. Your things are off the counters, tables or floors, easy to find and out of sight behind the door!
Freezer Storage Use clear plastic shoe bins to keep your freezer tidy and know what you have in stock at a glance! 
Manual Labor When was the last time you could actually find the user’s manual for your stand mixer? Keep all manuals and warranties in pocket folders within a binder…that way you’ll know exactly where they are when you need them.
Wrapping Paper Rolls – Taming the Beast We all have partially used rolls of wrapping paper cluttering up our world. Put them in a clear, zippered garment bag on a sturdy hanger and store them at the end of a closet rod. Simple and effective!
Become a Kitchen Whiz! Install a bookshelf on open wall space for your cookbooks — or browse our Design Studio inspirations to spark ideas. Use lid racks to hold pot and container lids. Consider hanging pots and pans from the ceiling or underneath cabinets. Sliding storage organizers like this one can also get kitchen items tucked safely out of sight. 
Utilize wall space under your kitchen cabinets by installing towel rods, mug hooks, wine glass holders, or additional shelving. Use airy baskets or colorful bins to store small items out of sight on open shelves. Hopefully you’ve picked up some ideas to give your home a less cluttered, more polished look.
In our next post, we’ll dive deeper into organizing mistakes that people commonly make. Some tactics seem logical but just don’t work…we’ll help steer you clear next time!
