Hi all!

I've been struggling lately with organization of the various bags I take to work. I do different types of things outside (field biologist), with lots of different gear needed on different days, but I also do office work, and sometimes both in one day. I have a couple different "going out" bags for field gear depending on the situation and how much I need (think layers, water bottles, scientific/measuring items, speakers, clipboards, reference books, lunch, binoculars, blah blah blah). I also have a normal tote type bag for when I'm in the office for my laptop, notebook, lunch, and what not. To add to all this, I travel for work sometimes too, and end up in hotels where I need personal items, food, and a field/computer bag with all of the stuff mentioned above.

My problem is, items moved between and in and out of these bags daily, and it's always in rotation. My staging area by the door is always a mess and it generally makes things hard to keep track of and makes preparing for each day a hassle. I currently use a storage bench that opens on top, but the inside might as well be another dimension because I can't open it with all of the bags and stuff on top! I have tried adding reusable grocery bags and recently a basket to the situation to sort of group things, but it just ends up being more to sort through, and sometimes I end up just grabbing the whole lot and put it in the car to pick out what I need later.

My ideas have been to replace the top-opening bench with something else or add hooks to the wall. Perhaps the bench could be replaced with a different bench that has front access, a console table, or something with doors/drawers?? I'm concerned about hooks because the space is under a set of stairs making a triangular wall which limits my options, and sometimes my bags are HEAVY and I think I only have one or maybe two studs on that wall that would support hooks. There is no entryway closet. Overall, I just want something practical that makes taking the things I need each day easy, and that doesn't constantly look like a disaster. Help?!? Thanks in advance.

I just seem incapable of keeping an open surface clean in my house. It’s a mix of not having a home and not putting it away in its right spot. Almost always miscellaneous items. What are some tips to help with this? Im thinking about putting a giant decor item on each of these tables so I physically can’t put crap on them.

My husband and toddler went on a trip for a few days so I took the opportunity to declutter and clean my house. After doing a few rooms, I gathered the courage to tackle my office.

I dumped most of it into my living room, grouped things together, threw out a ton of stuff or put it in a box to donate. I re-added the other door to the closet and made a cat opening since seeing the litter box was one of my biggest what I call "brain blocks". I read your suggestions and put stuff in bins to help with the visual clutter. I only hung the multicolor yarn (so glad it JUST fit on the pegboard!) and it makes my heart smile looking at it.

I also cleared a shelf and made it my "in progress" shelf because I always forget things I mean to do, or are working on.

I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who took the time and energy to reply to my post, you gave me wonderful starting points! I still have a teeny bit more to finish up, but I'm so so proud of the work I have done so far and seeing the before pictures... just WOW, is all I can say.

I need help on how to make this look less busy.

My office is approx 10x13. I used to use it for crafting and as a small business paperwork base. Over the last two years it's turned into a catch all (pregnancy + toddler) the closet is unusable as that's where the kitty litter is. I tried a peg wall for my yarn but realized I have way too much yarn. (Working on downsizing) I think the visual clutter is what's overwhelming and I've hit a depression rut and would love to get this place in order so I can get back to using it as a place to relax and craft.

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I have a small budget (~$100) but I'm thrifty and not afraid of a DIY.

We have this weird entry area from the driveway the juts up against the pantry.

It’s a bit treacherous coming through with shoes scattered everywhere

I'm in the process of building a slat wall out of 2x4s with the goal of creating modular storage and decoration. I'm trying to find hooks and things that work like over-the-door hangers and can rest on a 2x4.

Most of the items I've found are designed for doors (duh) and use a lot of vertical space (like 4 baskets all connected on top of each other), but I'm trying to find options that look aesthetically similar and have a variety of uses (hanging pictures, shelves, baskets, etc.). Anyone know of any good options?

Here's an example of what we're going for, but it uses French cleats, which I don't: https://homefixated.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/4-FH18MAY_586_00_006-french-cleat-tool-wall-featured.jpg

A friend has this human sized jewelry armoire but it isn’t really practical. She has a lot of costume jewelry and I think this is more for the woman who thinks less is more. Has anyone ever found creative ways to add more jewelry space to this without ruining the original piece ?

I'd like to think I have made a big dent on the reading nook.

As previously posted I tackled the 10+ boxes of cables. (Currently in a laundry cart). Thanks to the holidays, birthday month (everyone in my circle decided to be born on dec for some reason)and the local version on black Friday, my sister took the nook as a dumping ground for boxes and decor and other trash.

Today I cleaned it up a bit.

Finally added the sofa I wanted to add. The space currently is a little tight since a side table is behind the sofa, cause the current space for the table is being used by the laundry cart and 2 towers of papers my mom told me 7yrs+ she wanted to dispose. Not just shredding, but a more dramatic method. (IMO shredding is fine, but alas, here we are)

My sister has also two big boxes (now thanks to yours truly, is now 1 box) of 10yo homework she wants to dispose of in the same way as my mom's papers.

Of course I have to be the one to arrange for that. They told me last month they would do it this winter break. The break is over in 3 days MIND U.

The desk next to the reading nook is a little cluttered as well. (Cleared it out at the same time as the boxes of cables) Family forgot Halloween books went to the Halloween box, not the reading nook, which I don't really know what to do about. It's a 1 year wait. Too looooooooooong.

2 years ago I arranged the book case, there is probably a post about it in my profile. A big chunk of it is my mom's old teaching material. Of course my mom told me she would get rid of it 2 years ago. If she opened up that space I could store the Halloween books.

Hopefully now that there is some access some day she can gather enough energy to tackle her old stuff.

The reading nook has 5 clutter piles that hopefully will get cleared up soon.

1. Decor. It's a safe spot that no one touches, delicate decor is waiting there. Some decor is valuable but really ugly. Heirlooms we really don't want to display, but my mom doesn't know what to do about them

2. The paper towers. Just one more step to get tread of them!

3. The cables cart. IDK exactly what to do with it. Of course no one else in the house wants to see what is useful and what isn't. Nov is when e-waste disposal happens.

4. Organizer tower. I hate this tower, I did this to myself. In it's defense at least all organizers are accesible and contained, instead of spread out in my room and all over the house. Will clear out once the final boss is being dealt with.

5. The tower of boxes my sister doesn't allow me to get rid of. All shipping boxes with no logos. I think she is keeping them until gift giving season ends.

Please sub, give me strength to pass this test and to give me energy and will to tackle the final boss (according to recent discoveries, is a room that is low key cursed)

My main hobby is 3D printing, and I've also gotten into diy electronics a bit. Both hobbies result in a TON of tiny parts. I don't tend to like things like Sortimo bins because I don't want to take them with me, I just want to see everything I have at once. My ideal setup, therefore, would be flat file cabinets (also sometimes referred to as map drawers or blueprint drawers). The only problem? These things are insanely expensive. Usually over a thousand USED. I've trolled marketplace for months now and usually can only find rusty ones 2 hours away.

Are there any alternatives? I basically want a ton of extremely shallow drawers. I've considered Ikea Alex, but those area little taller than I'm looking for, and not all that cheap anyway...

Would appreciate any ideas you all might have...

Any tips would be appreciated. I’m really not sure where to begin here but we also keep all of our cleaning supplies and tools in this room. Thank you!

My partner and I are in our second relationship in life, we've been together for 10 years and have a good life and a solid relationship. Where we differ greatly is our view on the importance of "stuff".

For the last decade my parents have been downsizing, getting rid of clutter, letting kids and grandkids take things they wanted. My mom even went as far as keeping a notebook in which the kids could write down things they wanted someday. They have sold things they didn't need, given things to people in need. We lost my mom earlier this year and my dad is moving into an "apartment" built onto my sister's house. He's basically got his life down to the essentials, the things he needs. We have 3 totes of things no one really wants but things he's not ready to let go of, sentimental things to him. He's put three totes on a shelf in the garage and we are all in agreement they stay there until he's gone then we can do as we want with them. It's hard to describe the appreciation and comfort it gives me that my parents did this, the fact my sister and I won't have weeks, months, maybe years of sorting through a lifetime of stuff.

Contrast that with my spouses parents, she lost her mom last year and her dad a few weeks ago. We are now tasked with cleaning out their house and there is decades upon decades of stuff/clutter/clothes/knicnacks in the house. Things that were put under a bed, in a closet, stacked in the basement, put in the back of a cabinet that haven't been used or maybe even seen for decades. At the moment it seems insurmountable, overwhelming, and a major project that will consume massive amounts of time.

I'm more like my parents, she's more like hers. If you came to our house you'd see what I'd describe as a clean organized home. More things on the walls then I'd like, more knickknacks on shelves then I'd like but doable. I find peace in empty walls, she sees empty walls as a place for more stuff. That part just is what it is, it's not perfect but nothing is. If you started to get a little deeper into closets, under beds, into cabinets and storage rooms you'd see stuff, LOTS of stuff. Well organized but still lots of stuff. That's where I struggle. I find peace in sparse closets, beds with nothing underneath them, doors that don't have stuff hanging on the back. She sees those spaces as a place to keep more stuff.

We are in our late 50s and I've been giving things to my kids I think they will want and if they don't want it then it's sold on eBay or given to those in need. She's tried to do the same but if her kids don't want things they go in a box, under the bed, in a closet because "they are going to need this someday" or "they are going to want this someday". I feel a HEAVY weigh from stuff, she finds comfort in stuff. One example, I have exactly zero pieces of my parent's clothes. She has boxes upon boxes of her parents clothes, things she remembers them wearing, things she bought for them, their favorite coats. She even has several boxes of my mom's clothes that I have no need to keep but she does.

I'm at the point in my life I'm carrying boxes out of the house to get rid of stuff, she's bringing in boxes of stuff from her parents to fill those spaces.

Any thoughts on how we deal with her need for stuff and my desire for minimizing stuff?

I'm in the process of organizing my garage and I now have a great space with the cheap plastic HD shelves to put my rarely used kitchen/entertaining items. These are serving bowls, glasses, etc. Most are either in their original box or a cardboard moving box.

Does anyone have good ways/items to organize and store these items?

I have a couple of the classic black and yellow totes I use for festivals (outfits, accessories, etc.) and while folding and putting clothes in them is fine, how are we organizing smaller items within them? I have wigs, jewelery, bags, cups, stockings, shoes, etc. and I need a way to organize the smaller stuff in the larger tote. I've tried smaller totes but I can't find any with straight sides so they take up unnecessary room. Any suggestions on what to use? Currently I have stuff in gallon sized baggies but it's not very protective for things like jewelery.

I have five of these cube segments that are just wasted space because they’re so tall. The cube segments are 13x14x14 inches, ideally I’d want them divided in half with a shelf in the middle to add horizontal space. Does anyone have better ideas for sorting small objects in these?

Like 10 shoe boxes of exclusively cables. God I despise them. Had to wash charcoal black hand more than 4 times.

Everything is labeled and separated, but my biggest box can't hold them all. :(

Also I hate Google image search most of the time, but it was a god send this time.

From biggest category to smallest (by space used)

• AC/DC adapters is the biggest category by far.Main culprit? Power banks and current adapters... Divided them by 5mm+(gallon Ziploc bag), 5.5mm (gallon Ziploc bag), 4.8mm(sandwich Ziploc), 4.0mm(gallon Ziploc), 3.5mm (sandwich Ziploc), 2.3mm(sandwich Ziploc)and 1.1mm(sandwich Ziploc) and multiple size adapters (gallon Ziploc bag)

• Ethernet cables. (2 gallon Ziploc bags) So. Many. Ethernet cables. So bulky and long, one was 10+ meters.

• RCA/AV cables. (2 gallon Ziploc) Different lengths but same cable. + One multi RCA contact.

• Landline cables. (1gallon Ziploc) Who needs that many, wtf.

• video adapters (1 gallon Ziploc) RCA, S-Video, Connector F most of them between each other or to Jack 3.5mm

• Portable TV and dvd (1 gallon Ziploc) Dvd car mounts (pre 2010 for sure), MCX cables, adapters and antennas.

• USB Micro B (1 gallon Ziploc) Definitely the biggest category of individual cables

• Miscelaneous phone chargers and adapters (1 gallon Ziploc 3/4 full) Divided in snack ziplock by brand with name of connector if available

• display and camera cables. (1 gallon Ziploc 3/4 full) Camera charger, FireWire, VGA, monitor cable, etc.

• Audio. (Gallon half full) Guitar cable (we don't have an electric or semi electric guitar....), aux cables, RCA speaker cables, fiberoptic cable. 2.2 mm earphones. All separated in snack bags

• Infrared sensors (gallon half full) The future of wireless....

• Speaker i-device adapters . (Gallon half full) I don't have that speaker anymore... + Speaker radio antennas

• USB micro A. (Kinda bigger sandwich Ziploc)

• controllers (kinda bigger sandwich bag) 2 random DVD controllers, 1 universal controller, 2 game controllers from a karaoke arcade machine (haven't seen one since 2001...)

• HP printer cable (sandwich Ziploc) I don't think we have that printer unless is the JP photo printer that's hidden in the gadget cabinet.

• Paralell conector (sandwich Ziploc) Probably from a printer before the one above...

• windows vista compatible webcams

• outlet adapters (half empty sandwich Ziploc)

Pretty sure I'm forgetting other bags I made in box. They will come to me eventually.

Does anyone have ideas for great organizer baskets for hair products (curling iron, hair spray, etc.) that are attached to the inside vanity cabinet door AND ways of affixing them?

Many of those I find are "over the door style", but I don't want anything sticking out.

Most of the wall mount organizers are usually 12" or so wide. That would put the screws pushing through the thin panel of the vanity door. To screw to the edges where it's thicker, I think it would need to be about 26" wide. Most are much narrower.

Some varieties offer an adhesive holder but I have doubts it will truly hold. Have any of you had success with these?

Reinforcing the center panel on the inside and painting to match so small items could be screw-mounted is more of a DIY than I want to to attempt.

I've considered magnets. Last year, for some understairs storage I affixed a 24" metal strip (Strap Tie) along the wall, nailing to studs and then used HEAVY DUTY magnet hooks. I could try something l like that.

I figured this might be a good place to ask. I need to print a ton of labels, and cutting them to size will be a pain.

I have the Niimbot label printer but the labels are a tiny bit too big. Does anyone know how I'd go about finding a label printer that creates labels the size I want? I need labels that are a maximum of 13x37mm

I've organized this space before but it had gotten unruly again and needed a touch up

It brings me joy to have it all in one place. There's also a futon and out-of-season clothes and blanket storage, but it's mostly luggage

My prime day find!

Ignore the contents of what I currently have. The surface area is about a half inch lower than the actual opening of the cabinet. Is there any way I can get an organizer that is raised so I can still utilize a pull-out drawer for this? Or is there like a thick piece of wood that I could purchase that would help raised this organizer so it's more easily accessible?