Cheap Organization- Don’t Underestimate Storage Totes

Storage Totes are a wonderful thing, and believe it or not you can use it for more than just storing things away! I look for clearance prices on them after Christmas (around $2.50-$3 each), or occasionally I’ll find a great deal online (just bought 20 at Lowe’s last month for about $10!) I started out using these storage totes for storing things in the attic & garage, but have come to realize that you can find a lot more uses for these totes than just basic storage!

My son had books ALL over his room that we used to just stack up in the corner. Bookshelves are quite pricey and we just couldn’t fit it in the budget, so I turned a storage tote over on its side and stuck in in my son’s room for book storage. Now there is a specific place for his books and they won’t be thrown all over the room!

Having a boy, we have a crazy amount of train tracks, and not all for one set! We have several different types of tracks! No matter how much we try to keep the tracks neat in his room they always end up everywhere! So I’ve finally decided that ALL his tracks- whether they match or not- will go in a huge track bucket! You can do this idea for anything from train tracks, play kitchens, or just big stacks of toys!

But storage totes aren’t the only thing that are great for organization! You can find even cheaper ways to organize. Check out the picture below- I found a bunch of apple orchard baskets someone was throwing away once. They have come in handy for holding toys, as well using the large baskets for making beautiful gift baskets. These have quite a large variety of ways to use them- and if they get damaged- I won’t feel bad about throwing them away!

And last but not least, the nemesis in my house, random shoes ALL over the place! I found an old basket at a garage sale or on the side of the road (can’t remember!) so I have deemed it my son’s “Shoe Basket”. If he takes shoes off, or finds a pair of kids shoes he knows exactly where to put them- in the shoe basket! I found this a better way to keep their shoes together than putting by the front door where my little one will misplace them all. Another cheap yet efficient method of organizing!