Make life simpler and organize the most important living spaces in your home with these 9 super fun hacks you can do in a day.
There’s nothing like enjoying family time or entertaining friends in a well-designed living space.
A beautiful, spacious kitchen with a traffic flow you and yours can easily navigate? Check.
A comfortable bathroom that melts away stress as you take care of your daily needs? Check.
But life happens.
You love your furry friends, but they make messes and can’t pick up after themselves. Your kids leave shoes, backpacks, sports equipment, toys — you name it — in the oddest places. (And heaven forbid your partner does the same.) Your meet and exceed your quota for eye rolls and sighs a little too often, it feels like.
But let’s be real: Nobody’s perfect. We all live busy lives, and sometimes things pile up. Chores, to-do lists, errands, unexpected emergencies. Life happens.
That’s why we go to great lengths to share with every customer that we custom-build living spaces not just to suit your style — but also to suit your lifestyle.
How do you live from day to day? Are there ways of organizing that can help you function at your best?
Questions like these are what we ask hundreds of homeowners in Toledo, Sylvania, Perrysburg, Maumee and beyond. We know life is hectic, so knowing what your life is like — and what you’d like it to be like — helps us help you get the most of your dream kitchen or bath.
Some things take time to shift. Changing behavior can take up to 2 months sometimes (for example: rearranging your cleaning schedule, hanging your keys by the door or getting the young ones to clean up their play space).
And sometimes a simpler, smoother life is just a quick fix away, something you can do DIY.
We’re always here to help you with everything kitchen and bathroom (and everything plus!) — you know, the things that take an investment of time and money that you’re not able to handle yourself. (When should I hire a kitchen designer? )
But we also believe that if there’s something super small and simple you can do to make enjoying your dream living space a possibility, you should Do It Yourself!
So we’ve pulled together 9 extremely easy hacks you can do yourself to make your kitchen and bath function the way you need for a more fulfilling home life. Remember: A little effort over the weekend — and summer’s the perfect time to knock it out — can save you from daily headaches for the foreseeable future. Ready to start?
Organize your coffee pods
This is a perfect one to start with, since so many of us start our days grabbing a coffee pod and popping it into the Keurig machine.
Your current setup might have you reaching into a drawer to fish out a pod, hopefully your favorite blend. Or maybe you’ve got the box right out on the counter, taking up valuable counter real estate. Pretty unsightly, too.
If you’re like a lot of people, you want to grab a pod of the right blend easily. “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee,” right?
If you’ve got a little space underneath a shelf or cabinet, you can get your coffee pods quickly and nicely organized using T-molding. It’s got grooves you can just slide your pods onto and grab them when you need them.
If there’s something super small and simple you can do to make enjoying your dream living space a possibility, you should Do It Yourself!
Here’s how to get your joe in a jiffy using T-molding:
1. Pick up a section of T-molding from your favorite home improvement store (you can get a 4-ft. Section for around $20).
2. Use measuring tape to figure out the diameter of your coffee pods (sizes may differ).
3. Measure the length of your shelf or cabinet, and cut the T-molding appropriately.
4. Predrill holes on the T-molding. Then screw them onto the underside of the shelf or cabinet. Use brass screws for a slightly more sophisticated look.
BONUS: You can use this same idea for wine glasses! Just make sure to measure the diameter of the foot or base so you can space the T-molding appropriately. And don’t forget to give the glass enough room to hang from the underside of your shelf or cabinet.
Use a lazy susan for condiments
One of my biggest pet peeves is opening or closing the fridge and having the condiment bottles and containers collapse into each other on the door shelf.
That, and when I have to kneel down and dig to the back for that condiment, hoping it didn’t spoil while it was stuck who-knows-where!
There’s an easy fix to make kitchen life a little more worry-free: Just use a lazy Susan.
Go ahead and stock it up with your go-to condiments and give it a spin. You’ll go from disorganized to neat ‘n’ tidy in no time.
Don’t have enough room to fit a lazy Susan on the shelf? Instead of tossing your cardboard six-pack holder into the recycling, stick it in the door shelf and fill it up with your condiment bottles and sauce jars. They’ll stay in their place, even when the kids swing the door open looking for an afternoon snack.
Declutter bathroom drawers with a kitchen drawer insert
While the kitchen is often the most important room in a house to buyers, the bathroom is always neck and neck as a crucial consideration (especially the master bathroom).
This makes a lot of sense. Think about it. We eat meals morning, noon and night. And we also carry out our hygiene routine and use the toilet throughout the day.
Fun fact: In a poll of 2,000 adults by UKactive, most of the time spent in the bathroom goes toward using the toilet — close to 92 days over a lifetime, to be exact.
When your cabinets or drawers are cluttered and you can’t find what you need, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This is true for your bathroom as much as your kitchen.
Because we all live busy lives, it’s important these 2 rooms are as functional as they are comfortable. And organization is the key to functioning smoothly.
A common organizational tool you see in almost every kitchen is the drawer insert, also called a drawer organizer, utensil holder or silverware tray. It helps you keep your kitchen tools in place so you know where to look without thinking too much.
When your cabinets or drawers are cluttered and you can’t find what you need, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This is true for your bathroom as much as your kitchen.
So it might be a good idea to put a drawer organizer in your bathroom to keep things in order.
- Do you normally keep your toothbrushes in a holder on your bathroom counter? Probably not a good idea. Use a cutlery tray instead, so each toothbrush can stay separate from the others — and remain safe from nasty airborne particles when you flush.
- Tired of keeping the toothpaste tube on the counter? Make it a routine to put it in the organizer in your bathroom drawer.
- All the various hygiene tools like disposable razors, floss, creams and medicines can be neatly organized in the different-sized compartments so you’ll never have to scrounge around again.
Keep your kitchen or bath drawer organizer still with a pool noodle
So you’ve got an organizing insert in both your kitchen and bathroom drawers. Great!
But they have a tendency to slide around. If you have to constantly reach in and pull the organizer forward, it’s not much of a time saver, is it?
The solution is probably on a shelf in your garage. If you have a pool noodle that doesn’t get used anymore, grab it along with measuring tape and a utility knife.
First, measure the distance between the back of the drawer and the back of the organizer. Then cut the end of the noodle that length, and cut that piece in half lengthwise. Put one piece flat side down behind the organizer to hold it in place, and use the other piece in another drawer.
Voila!
Hang cleaning supplies on a rod
You know how it goes. You’ve got a mess on the counter or a mess on the floor. You squat down to peer under the kitchen sink, looking for the right spray bottle to aid the cleanup process. But the bottles, along with all your other cleaning supplies, are facing every which way — and now’s not the time to line them up properly.
Make it a cinch for when you need the right cleaning supply by using a short tension rod.
Here are at least 3 ways to use a tension rod to make keep your tidying supplies, well… tidy:
- Hang your spray bottles by their triggers along the rod to free up space below. Put them in order from most to least used so you know just which one to grab in a hurry. (And why not try making your own all-natural cleaning supplies?)
- Slide a paper towel roll onto the rod if you’ve still got room. That way, you can tear off what you need while you’re grabbing your spray bottle. (Or better yet, stack a dozen bar mop cloths in there so you can buy and use fewer paper towels.)
- Toss a few dish-drying towels as well as rubber gloves over the rod for easy access when it’s time to scrub the cups, plates, silverware and such.
Corral your hair ties
Hair ties are like socks. They mysteriously disappear (did they go to a farm upstate or what?), especially when you need them the most.
But then again, they’re everywhere when you don’t need them — chilling on the bathroom floor, collecting dust behind the nightstand, getting attacked by their feline foes.
Well, we’ve found 2 extremely simple ways to keep them together so you can nab ‘em when you need ‘em.
Loop them on a carabiner, or wrap them around an empty toilet paper roll. Then put the roll or the carabiner in your bathroom drawer organizer.
Mind-blowingly simple — and you won’t have to pull out your hair in frustration over misplaced hair ties anymore.
Cache your small cords with toilet paper rolls
Speaking of toilet paper rolls… you can take this next DIY trick out of the bathroom into a closet or storage drawer.
We live in a technology-filled world. And almost every single one of your devices has a cord with it for charging or connecting to your computer.
Rather than shoving a rat’s nest of cables into a box, first stack as many toilet paper rolls as you can vertically in the box or container. Then carefully wrap each cord and place it in a roll.
No more untying knots. No more frustrating detangling sessions. Just pick out the right cord, plug it in and put it back when you’re done.
Reuse bread tabs to label your cords
But I’ve got too many cords to know which goes to what, you say. Understandable. This tip utilizes one little kitchen item to make organizing those cords in the box even better.
That item? A plain ol’ plastic bread tab. They often come in different colors (here’s why), and they’re sturdy, so you can just clip them onto your cord or cable and use a sharpie to write on the label what device it goes to.
Super simple, right?
You could even put those labels on cords that are already plugged into a power strip, so you know what you’re unplugging if you have more than one cable plugged in at the same time — no more yanking on a cord and praying it’s the right one.
BONUS: You might even use bread tabs on the stems of your wine glasses at your little shindig so you know whose drink is whose. No doubt there are a dozen more fun ways to put these tabs to use. So don’t throw away those bread tabs!
Turn a picture frame into a message board
Raise your hand if you’ve ever shaken out of a trance, and the last thing you remember is logging onto Pinterest to peek at inspiring mood boards.
All of us? Okay, good. So you know there are tons of cute, fancy little ideas to make your kitchen feel homey, to radiate warmth and to keep your family functioning from day to day.
But some ideas are less practical than others, especially when it comes to message boards:
- Chalk message boards? Chalkdust and chalky erasers should be nowhere near your food preparation. Pass.
- Dry-erase boards? Simple enough, but not so attractive. And some markers don’t erase well.
- Changeable letter boards? Retro, vintage and chic. But oh-so unpragmatic. They’re more ideal for inspirational quotes, not to-dos or reminders.
Why not try a picture frame instead?
All you need is a picture frame — any size or type will do — some decorative paper to set behind the glass, and a marker. You can make it work for your kitchen, no matter your style, because you can pick out any frame and any decorative paper cut to fit the frame.
And the greatest part is that glass makes for a superb dry-erase surface.
Make your living spaces a joy to live in with these simple DIY fixes — or with help from Kitchen Design Plus
If you’re looking to make your dream kitchen or bath come to life, start by implementing these fun Do-It-Yourself hacks. You’ll save yourself lots of hassle, no doubt. And for the more complex solutions, we’d love to help you out. For quality kitchen and bath remodeling and installation services in the Toledo area, send us a message or give us a call at 419.536.6605. Experience the KDP difference.
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