We live in a small flat, and although I am in not as bad as Mr Messy needing the help of Mr Tidy and Mr Neat, things can sometimes become slightly less than immaculate.
I have been following the Tots 100 home organisational challenge with interest (I love peeking into other people’s homes and also have a bit of a Right Move addiction too), and have been given a heap of ideas for better home organisation. Here are some changes which I have made recently.
Brabantia Kitchen Organisers – I love these, I have one on the kitchen worktop containing ingredients I use regularly – salts, pepper, oil, vinegar and sauces. All the drips and bits stay in the tray, and when I make bread or pastry I can pick up the entire unit to move it to give me more space or to clean the worktop. I have another one in the bedroom containing toiletries and a small one in the bathroom with all the tiny sample tubes in that fall out of the wire vegetable rack the rest of my lotion and potions sit on. I can see they would be great for craft too. Sturdy, easy to clean and will last for years.
Brabantia Kitchen Organisers are available in 4 sizes, stockists and prices TBC.
Bodum Universal Knife Block – A brand new addition to the house. It currently holds my 7 “good” knives with room for a few more. It has replaced the Jamie Oliver block which I had before. The Bodum block is sleeker & takes up less space on the worktop. It is a sturdy rubber case, filled with plastic rods which are moulded to a base. Rods and base are removable and scrubable so are considerable more hygienic than a traditional block which slowly fills with crumbs. My only gripe is that is not quite deep enough to hold my bread knife which has to sit in the block at an angle.
Bodum Universal Knife Block from £40 avaiable in 5 colours from John Lewis or Amazon
Ikea Samla Boxes - I first saw these in Sarah’s organised kitchen, they are a storage dream, and well worth the hellish trip to Ikea to buy them. Semi opaque; so you can see what is in them, cheap (shallow box and lid are around £3), stackable and available in a range of sizes. They fit perfectly on top of my kitchen cupboards holding baking tins, props and cake decorating equipment. Stacked up in the hall cupboard they hold old photos, christmas decorations and spare toiletries.
Printer & Paper Storage – My sitting room is also the office and last time I had a rejig I installed the printer into the cupboard out of sight. I made a (free) homemade stand from an upturned cardboard fruit box and keep the printer paper underneath, easy to grab and where it will not get bashed and creased. I also bought a 3m printer cable so I do not need to take my laptop to the printer, I cannot empathise how much this small purchase has improved my life; no more crouching by the printer balancing my laptop. If you put a printer in a cupboard please remember to always turn it off when not in use as ventilation could be a problem and you do not want it to overheat!
USB Sticks – I do not know how I get quite so many, I am sure they breed when my back is turned. All are now contained in a pot, together with business cards awaiting entry to the database. Once I am done with them they get reformatted and donated to a good cause who needs them.
What are your top fuss free organisational tips?
Here are Mr Neat & Mr Tidy doing their stuff on poor old Mr Messy
Many thanks to Brabantia for my kitchen organiser samples.
The knife block looks settled and happy in his new home – think i might have to follow suit with that one.
I too am a fan of the plastic ikea tubs and have a big stack of them on top of my fridge filled with all manner of kitchen and kiddie stuff.
I also use the wicker hampers i’ve been sent to stash my food magazines in and all those hessian bags to organise all the children’s gear into categories that can just be grabbed out of the utility cupboard as needed: waterproofs, swimming, football etc…
i’m such a storage geek – i wish i could line the house and shed with lidded, labelled boxes… I’m kind of doing it by stealth and bring a few more back every time we go to ikea!
Ed and I are delighted with the new knife block. Smaller foot print, holds more, easier to clean. Win. Win. Win.
Great storage makes lining in a smaller space so much more pleasant.
I think I need Mr Neat and Mr Tidy to come round and help me…although I did always find that a heartbreakingly sad conclusion to Mr Messy’s story. Why couldn’t they leave him as he was…he was happy!
In today’s world Mr Messy would probably sue both Mr Neat & Tidy for assault!