organizing on a budget

Containers represent one of the biggest investments in getting organized. But containers don’t have to be expensive. Use these strategies to save money on containers, while adding a bit of creative flair to your projects.

Use storage containers you already have:

If you are in the declutter mode, you will inevitably free up storage containers that can be repurposed for your new organizing projects. When working with clients, I commonly find that they don’t need to purchase any containers at all. They have plenty already in their homes, just waiting to be reused!

If you can’t come up with any storage containers but still don’t want to spend the money, you can easily improvise with items commonly found in most homes. Here are some ideas.

Bowls
Plastic cups or coffee mugs
Tin cans

Baby food jars
Ceramic flower pots
Glass canning jars, or jars from your recycle bin

Mini galvanized buckets
Your child’s pottery projects
Shoe boxes from your closet and copy paper boxes from the office.
Extra food storage containers

Use your imagination to find lots of different uses for the above items…and let us know what you’ve done!

Use what you have…and then buy on sale. Using containers you already have on hand can be a permanent solution or a temporary one—it gives you a chance to live with your new organizing system and work out the bugs before shelling out cash for new containers. The process of trying before you buy will help you purchase containers with confidence and stretch your organizing dollar, too!

All in all, getting organized does not have to be an expensive proposition; instead, it can actually save you money. When you know what you have and can easily find it, you avoid overspending on items you already have or don’t really need. Plus, when you get creative with container solutions, it won’t require the upfront investment you may be imagining.

Fore more organizing ideas, visit my website: www.andreadekker.com