By Jackie Leffner
July is a month we focus on independence, and many come together to celebrate the 4th of July. Well, at Meat and Potatoes Organizing, we are celebrating independence all month long – by declaring independence from all our household clutter. Based on our experience in homes, we have found 4 primary areas that people struggle with an abundance of clutter:
- Bags – plastic, paper, reusable – they’re everywhere!
- Junk Drawers – yes, we all have one 😉
- Front Hall Closet – how many pairs of shoes does each person in your household have in there?
- Kitchen Utensils – how many spatulas, mixing spoons, or tongs need to be readily accessible?
This blog series is going to focus on helping you declutter each of these areas over the next 4 weeks. This week’s blog post is going to focus on bags! So, make sure you are tuning back in to help you declutter these primary sticking areas at the end of the next 4 weeks.
So, let us dive in! We’re going to break this into 3 sections: reusable bag storage, paper bag storage, and plastic bag storage.
Reusable Bags:
As professional organizers, we love using reusable bags! It decreases the amount of waste coming from the home, but we also recognize that it’s another thing to find storage for – which can sometimes be a challenge. We have found these reusable bags to be particularly great because you get 10 of them and they’re machine washable – just in case there is a spill! If you’re looking for a larger option, these large utility totes are also great! They fit great into a grocery cart and can be easily transferred to your trunk.
Now, reusable bags are a little bit different than plastic or paper bags because you are typically buying these. So, before you organize them, you have to take the time to declutter. Gather all the bags to inspect them and decide if they’re worth keeping. Give yourself a number and size limit. Do you really need 50 reusable bags?
We have found the method of creating a bag of bags is the best storage solution for these. If you have a bag like the large utility tote linked above, use that to store all your reusable bags. By using a bag to store your bags, you’re also putting a limit on how many of them can accumulate. So, choose a bag size that makes sense for your home and your space. We recommend putting this near your garage closet and/or your kitchen, so they are easily accessible, and it is an easy reminder to grab them on your way out rather than needing to use paper or plastic bags.
Paper Bags:
Our professional organizers pride ourselves in reusing and repurposing items to ensure we are creating as little waste as possible as we work through your home. Paper bags are an awesome thing to repurpose – so we’ll give you some fun ideas for that as well 😊 We have been loving this paper bag organizer from Amazon. It fits so nicely into a smaller cabinet in the kitchen and will give you a good limit to how many of these you can keep on hand. We recommend folding them down to ensure they are taking up as little space as possible. Now, if you’re not going to repurpose them, we recommend recycling them right away so that you don’t keep items you won’t use. But, if you’re like us and like to repurpose – here are a few ideas:
- Use them as your recycling bag in your recycling bin! It makes it so easy to take your recycling out when the bag is itself also recyclable.
- Compost! If you have a compost bin, brown paper bags can be torn into small pieces and composted.
- Leaf collection – instead of filling up plastic bags of leaves, fill up paper bags 😊
- Craft Table Protection – if you have kids, you know just how messy an art project can get! Use your paper bags to cover the table to allow for easy cleanup.
Plastic Bags:
Although we always encourage people to use reusable or paper bags whenever possible, plastic bags are sometimes the only choice and can be reused! Again, we have been liking this plastic bag organizer from Amazon. It’s flat on the back making it easily attachable to the inside of a cabinet and can hold so many plastic bags. Rather than throwing those plastic bags out, we would highly recommend reusing these! They can be used for:
- Lining trash cans – they work perfectly for small trash cans in offices, bathrooms, etc.
- Dog Poop Bag – if you have a dog, instead of buying more plastic bags to pick up after them, bring along a plastic bag you received for free 😊
- Reuse for future groceries. If you regularly shop at a store that only provides plastic bags and you don’t have reusable bags to bring with you – make your plastic bags reusable 😊 Pack them with you on your next grocery trip so you don’t accumulate more.
Now you have a few uncomplicated ways to declutter your spaces by organizing your bags. The trick will be, once you organize them – to keep using the system you put in place. Check back next week for ideas on how to declutter your junk drawers!
Not sure you can tackle this alone? Reach out to schedule your complimentary consultation with one of our professional organizers today! Meat and Potatoes can help you declutter one area at a time. We would love to help spark joy in your everyday life by transforming your home into functional, beautiful spaces, one area at a time.
