Written By Florena Davies of Organize By Flo as part of our Organizing Blog Collab.
If you’re going for a Pinterest picture home the organizing bill can really add up and completely bankrupt people. Organizing bins can be phenomenally pricy, especially the bamboo and acrylic. I am here to tell you exactly how to save on your organizing venture. It might not be completely Pinterest picture worthy, but it will be environmentally friendly and very easy on the account.
Declutter and organize first
Before you head out to your local Canadian Tire or Container Store declutter and organize the area of choice, ore even your whole home. You have no idea how many times I get a call from a potential client asking me to organize their home and saying they need bins, dividers etc. and I get to their home and start working and they realize they really don’t need any product, or they need a LOT less then they originally thought
Write Lists
While you are going through your organizing process write lists of how many bins or dividers you exactly need. This step will keep you from over buying too many products which will keep you from spending extra or having to drive all the way back to return the products, and with the cost of gas these days everyone can really save on an extra trip.
Use Boxes from your home
While you go through your organizational process you will probably find lots of boxes. Shoe boxes, purse boxes, phone boxes, old cookie tins etc. Use these first, recycling of any sort will always help the environment as well as save you money. This will help save the environment as well as save you from purchasing a lot of bins. Some people even cut down cereal boxes and use them in the desk drawer as pen organizers. It might not be the most attractive, but it creates a functional system and saves the account. iPhone boxes create really nice organizers, and they are quite sturdy. As a professional organizer I often use client’s boxes and other items that look nice to organize socks, papers etc.
Do your research
There are many places to buy inexpensive organizers that you may not know about. Home sense usually has a lot of attractive organizers at a great discounted rate. The dollar store always has organizers and if you shop around you can usually find some nice ones that can look as nice as the high-end ones. Ikea also has a lot of fantastic storage options if you are willing to spend some time to find the ones you exactly need. Be careful however as you can really get caught up in Ikea with the maze of beautiful products you will “think” you need as you trek through the entire store.
In all, Consumerism will make you think you need all these beautiful organizers to embark on you organizing journey. It is there to make you feel you need to go into debt just to have so form of a beautiful home that social media sets out to show you. it just isn’t true, the options are endless and minimalism is key especially if your are on a budget and into saving the environment, so be cautious and really be honest about if the items you are choosing to hold on to are things you truly need and love.
