Okay, so what you’re doing is working for you.  You’ve got a scheduling system that you like, you’ve found a desk that gives you the room and storage that you need.  But that doesn’t mean that you should stop looking for solutions and new things to try.  You never know what might work for you.

And chances are it’s in your home right now.  That end table that you never use in the living room?  It would make an instant shelf in the closet.  And the glass shelf in the bathroom?  All of a sudden, it’s a new portable device holder in your office.

It could just be the missing piece that makes thing run that much smoother or makes life that much easier.

And it didn’t cost you a dime!

Two Might Be Better Than One

Beth Dargis, creator of My Simpler Life, recently posted about using 2 monitors in her office.   Even though my fella uses 3 at his office, I was amazed that Beth, an organizing and simplicity expert thought it was time-saving.

Huh.

It made me rethink it for sure.

Repurpose Your Furniture

Recently, I saw a television stand remade into a lovely table and storage unit for the bedroom.  I wouldn’t have thought of it, but now I can see how reusing furniture made for something specific can really be useful.

Interesting.

I bet that butcher block will fit right beside the washer and dryer – instant storage and organization!

How A Mug Became So Much More

Often when you need something to hold something else, you look to traditional boxes from organizing stores.  But really, you have a ton of containers right in your own home.  I’ve been using food jars, plant pots, coffee mugs and recently a tall noodle bowl my Mom gave me for Christmas to hold my pens, markers and other assorted office supplies.  The box that notecards my fella gave me came in remains in my rolltop desk as a little drawer to keep clips and other small desk items.

It doesn’t have to come from Ikea or an office supply store for it to be a great solution for storage.  And what’s nice about using something special like things people have given you is that you get to use and enjoy them all the time, instead of just for the occasional cup of tea or bowl of soup.

Those Thousands of Reusable Bags

Now that we’re not using plastic ones anymore, it seems that households are now bursting with reusable bags – more than they could possibly use to do all of their weekly shopping.

Why not keep some on your doorknobs so that if you need to transfer items from room to room, you can toss them in the bag and take them when the bag is full or when you’re next on your way to that room – especially great for trekking stuff to the basement or attic!

I also like using the ones with the flat bottoms for storing magazines and file folders.  They slip right in and stay organized without having all that bulk of bankers boxes.  You can easily move them when you need them (what I nice way to retrieve your tax files, don’t you think?).  And it goes without saying that the prettier, the better.

These are just a few ideas.  I’m sure once you start looking around your house, you’ll see a bunch of things that can be moved and reused.

And just think of all that money you’ll save.  Maybe you can get that new pair of wedge sandals after all…

Stephanie Dickison is the author of the recent book, The 30-Second Commute: A Non-Fiction Comedy About Writing & Working From Home, which covers her career as book, music and restaurant critic.  She has been a journalist for over a decade and now spends much of her time writing about travel, food, beauty, style and celebrities for various publications and websites.

When she’s not writing, she’s eating, cooking, organizing, filing, making lists in sumptuous notebooks (you must use your beautiful journals) and colour-coding her ever evolving calendar.

She is one of the few writers still using technology AND paper.  But at least her paper is organized into pretty file folders…

http://www.stephaniedickison.com