When you get the urge to deep-clean a closet—or rip everything out from underneath the sink and start fresh—you might also feel compelled to buy some organizing accouterments. As far as storage hacks go, clear plastic bins are a perennial favorite for decluttering enthusiasts who want to create Insta-worthy displays, but beyond that you may have noticed there are more than a few rolling storage carts and back-of-the-door pocket organizers on the market to choose from.
Resist the temptation to add containers and shelves to your shopping cart. Instead, consider all the ways you could tidy up your home without spending a dime. Ahead, find 10 storage hacks from organizing experts that don’t cost a thing.
1. Convert an old wine bottle rack into a water bottle organizer
Have a wine rack that’s been languishing in the basement, or one that’s collecting dust in the corner of your parents’ kitchen? Repurpose it for something more practical: storing your vast collection of water bottles, say Danica Carson and Cathy Orr, founders of The Uncluttered Life blog and creators of the Declutter Deck, a set of organizing prompt cards.
Stanley cups and Hydroflasks alike can easily slide into the spaces previously reserved for wine bottles, bringing harmony to the cupboard that once sent aluminum bottles ricocheting out every time it was opened.
2.Arrange pot lids with ease
The pros know that tension rods can bring order to even the most chaotic of spaces. Barbara Costello, the cheerful personality better known as @BrunchwithBabs on Instagram and TikTok, is one of them. “Use a tension rod in a large drawer to tame those runaway pot lids,” she says.
Take a spare tension rod and affix it closer to one edge of the drawer, creating a pocket for the pot lids or plastic storage container lids to stand. This way, you won’t lose lids under piles of pans and bowls.
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3. Corral cords with binder clips
There are countless devices out there for making sense of twisting cords and chargers, which can become unsightly in a flash. To corral the chaos without investing in something fancy, Carson and Orr recommend you snag a few binder clips from your desk drawer to bind the cords together.
4. Line your medicine cabinet with magnets
Instead of perching small self-care tools on the shelves of your medicine cabinet, try gluing small magnets to the inside of the door. The geniuses on Reddit’s r/organization point out that your nail clippers, tweezers, eyelash curlers, and other items can easily cling to the magnets, freeing up space in the cabinet itself.
5. Give plastic bags a home
Perhaps you have a “bag of bags,” or a main bag that holds a host of other plastic bags and trash bags. One way to organize bags is to buy a special bag dispenser for holding them, but Costello reveals a much simpler solution. Instead of buying another organizer, find a spare plastic or cardboard box you have lying around the house. Cut a hole in the box to mimic the dispensers you can buy. “Just thread the first bag through the hole and you have easy access to trash bags each time,” Costello advises.
6. Reserve a few skirt hangers for hats and scarves
Clip hangers are the kind of hangers with fasteners on the bottom for hanging clothes like pants and skirts. Take a few of your extra clip hangers and use them to eliminate the pile of hats and scarves at the bottom of your closet. Simply affix one item to each clip to see them clearly, say Carson and Orr. And if you run out of clip hangers, grab some chip clips or clothespins from the junk drawer to make more space on the hangers.
7. Fasten jewelry to a cooling rack
Have an old cookie cooling rack taking up space in the drawer beneath your oven? Repurpose it into a homemade jewelry holder for displaying earrings, necklaces, rings, and more. Carson says you can frame the cooling rack to make it prettier to display, or you can leave it as is. Some leftover window screens can serve the same purpose for larger earring collections.
8. Stack paper towel rolls under the sink
Similar to Costello’s lid storage solution, designer and organizing whiz Lisa Burningham swears by tension rods to create a niche for stashing paper towels and napkins. This involves affixing the rod to one end of the cabinet, allowing for a narrow slot between the rod and the wall to stack paper goods. “You can store loads of paper towels and free up shelf and floor space,” Costello says of the hack.