I think this was my major uncluttering breakthrough! Putting things on a hook automatically gives things a home, makes them easier to find and looks better, thereby encouraging tidiness. And I have started hanging lots more things as a result. I just hung my dustbuster on the side of a kitchen cupboard with some Velcro sticking tape. I love its new home, it's where the mess is usually made and everyone knows where to put it back :) What surprising/interesting/weird/useful hanging spaces do you have for things? And what do you use to hang things with? Are 3M command strips the world's best invention or what?
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Posted 11 months ago #
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For years and years, my hammer hung on 2 nails in a corner of our kitchen. There are a lot of hammers around here, but that one is MINE and if it disappears everyone gets to hear about it til it gets put back (we got new drywall, so now it hangs in the pantry instead.)
I have special little metal hooks for hanging up mops & brooms, since the only place we have to keep them is the stairwell.
And I keep lots of things in bags - library books in a tote on the coat tree, curent knitting project in a tote in my closet, all the stuff we take to the swimming pool in a gym bag on the coat tree, etc. We have a lot of bags, but then I can just grab n go.
Posted 11 months ago # -
We hang a lot on hooks or nails. I prefer to keep things off the floor because it complicates cleaning the floor.
In the kitchen: the mop and broom are hung on hooks.
The garage: We nailed a couple of boards across the framing then hammered in nails to support the long handled tools. There is pegboard in a couple of spots on the walls in the garage with hangers made for pegboard that fit into the holes. These hold all sort of things from garden hand tools to cushions for the outdoor chairs. We have hooks by the front and back door for coats. An over the door hanger in the bathroom to hang wet towels. 3m hooks on the back of our bedroom door for our bathrobes.Hooks are easy. :)
Posted 11 months ago # -
I have an over-the-door hook on the door between the kitchen and the utility room, which leads to the garage. I hang the reusable shopping bags there so we see them when we are walking out to the car.
We hung my MIL's cane on a hook (a command strip one!) next to her chair so it doesn't keep falling on the floor where she can't get to it.
Posted 11 months ago # -
You learn something new everyday! I never thought of hooks for my broom and mop!! They are inside a small closet in the hall with shelves that I use for a pantry, but there is carpet on the floor of it. When I use the mop I have to stand it upside down, or keep it out until it dries. The broom wouldn't get so misshapen if it was hanging! Quite a revelation here! Thanks!
Even though I have coat hooks by the front door and all kinds of hooks in the garage for every sort of thing, and a cute little hook rack for my scissors in the sewing room. I think I could use a hook inside my closet to hang my robe, too! It is always in the way of seeing the rest of my clothes since I need it right in front.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I'm a professional organizer, and I recommend hooks to my clients all the time, for their ease of use - and I use them myself. My keys go on a hook by the front door. My semi-dirty clothes (worn, but still wearable again) go on hooks on the back of my bedroom door.
Interesting idea: One of my blog readers suggested using wreath hangers, which serve just like hooks:
http://jdorganizer.blogspot.com/2011/06/reader-tip-organizing-with-wreath.htmlPosted 11 months ago # -
Stuff I hang up, mount or generally put up on vertically/on a wall rather than horiontally/on a shelf:
- keys, on a key hook (pretty basic, but still very handy)
- in the kitchen, we have a hanging paper towel holder rather than a standing one. We also went for a magnetic spice rack that's attached to the fridge, so it takes up no counter space.
- also in the kitchen, I put up a hook for colanders and strainers, in an oddly shaped nook, so they no longer need shelf space, and I'm using space that would otherwise go unused.I also have a catch-all closet that holds anything and everything, including tools, leftover paint, giftwrapping stuff, camera bags, yoga mats, extension cords, spare paper towel and toilet paper rolls, the vacuum cleaner, the iron and ironing board and a hundred other things. The closet is built like a standard clothes closet (one rod, with a shelf on top) and since we rent, I can't rip it out and put in shelving instead. One thing I did was to buy cheap but sturdy shower curtain hooks/rings, put them on the rod, and used them to hang up thing like yoga mats, badminton equipment, camera bags etc. I also bought a hanging shoe organizer from IKEA (the kind that hangs on a closet rod and has a bunch of shoe-sized compartments) and I use it for things like extension cords and power bars, remote controls and small electronics, and other smaller things that would get lost or get messy on a shelf.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Hmmm, lots of good ideas, thank you! I need extra hanging inspiration, especially in my understairs cupboard and my new shed. I think I will start a new thread on what to do in my understairs cupboard, it's a conundrum! However, I love some of these ideas. We live in a smallish house with lots of small rooms and therefore lots of doors for hanging stuff off, I need to make better use of these rather than relying on the odd nail currently there.
Rosa: I also use bags, they are a lifesaver! Tennis, swimming, gym bags, I even hang my trainers on a coatrack near my back door. I have a whole little swimming/gym kit base on the back of that door! It works so well: I go to aerobics 3 or 4 times a week so the sweaty gear goes straight into the wash and the swimming stuff hangs to dry. Then when the gym gear is clean and dry it goes straight from the line into the 'clean gym stuff' bag, which has everything I need down to socks. The little towels I use (actually terry squares) live in another bag which is also handy for the kids to use when they go swimming too.The most organised bit of my life, and it all hangs up!Posted 11 months ago # -
We hang coffee cups on small hooks in the cupboard to save space.
Posted 11 months ago # -
love the hooks!
in the kitchen, all of my tools are on hooks, keys are on hooks, cups are on hooks.
in the bathroom, we've got hooks over the door for towels, hooks for washcloths, hooks for a couple of hanging baskets.
in the office, i have hooks with clips, for photos and bits of paper i need to gave handy for a day or two onnly.
behind the kitchen door, i have a few scarves hanging.Posted 11 months ago # -
I use hooks everywhere too. One really helpful set was on the back of the bathroom door. Everyone has their own hook for bath towel. That way they can use a couple of times before I have to wash them. That really helped in the amount of towels in the laundry. Outside we have our own hooks for pool towels.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Love hooks too. In addition to what's been mentioned, I keep my small jewelry box in my bathroom cupboard but it doesn't accomodate my necklaces so I put two "removable" plastic hooks on the back of the cupboard door to hang the chains.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Forgot to mention bathroom stuff. We too have over-the-door hooks for our bathrobes (I prefer a bathrobe to a bath towel, and the boyfriend seems to have been converted as well), and wall hooks for hand and face towels. I sewed some strips of ribbon onto all my towels so that they hang neatly and securely and won't fall off the hook if someone (or somecat) brushes by them.
On a quirky note: I've been to an open house recently and in the master bedroom there was a wall-mounted tie rack (kind of like this one: http://www.armadiclosets.com/images/closet-accessories/l/A53.jpg except the individual hooks swiveled sideways to lie flat against the wall); not in a closet, just on one of the bedroom walls. I guess the previous owner really loved his ties?
Posted 11 months ago # -
Anita, that's hilarious! I bet it was not used for ties, though - we have a built in tie rack in our closet (which let me remind you is 18 inches deep and 32 inches wide! But, tie rack) and we use it for just about everything - ties, belts, my strapless bra. A big one would be nice for someone who had a lot of scarves or something.
I have a metal shoe rack in our office closet that I hang handbags & fancy hats & wigs on. Because we just don't have that many ties or shoes.
Posted 11 months ago # -
jewelry would hang nicely from that rack also, although it's not that pretty to look at.
I've made/decorated a few peg racks over the years to hang necklaces and bracelets. it's just like art on the wall!Posted 11 months ago # -
Tie racks are good for spaghetti-strap camis and tank tops, too.
I've got a metal board in my bedroom. I've got magnetic spice containers for earrings and a row of magnetic hooks from the office supply store along the bottom and sides that I hang necklaces on.
Posted 11 months ago # -
My spice racks and paper towel/tissue rack are hung on the kitchen wall. (As are a long, low centerpiece, three boomerangs, and various small pieces of art.)
Most of our wall space is occupied by art. I don't like to keep tools or utensils in the open because of dust/cat hair issues, and of course I am the lucky one with acres of cabinets. :-)
Posted 11 months ago # -
I put up a coat rack hanger in my hall way. Before that, everything ended up on the table or the chairs.
Now I have an easy and accessible place to quickly hang up things. It is all mine! It works wonders for me. One of the best things I ever did for my living space!Posted 10 months ago # -
I repurposed the plastic-covered wire grid from some shelving I found at the Goodwill.
Using small wooden strips to hold it away from the wall, I was able to make a vertical hanging pot rack in wasted space where the pantry door opened against a wall. It has "S" hooks to hold the colander, pots and those bulky BBQ utensils.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Those 3M hooks are magic. Magic, I tell you. Suddenly the key to the lock on my storage room has a home, instead of sitting on a shelf in danger of being swept into the garbage can.
One of the ways I've dealt with the No Storage Space in my kitchen is by hanging a bag from a set of shelves and keeping my dishcloths and towels in there.
I have a heavy-duty magnetic hook on the fridge to hang the clipboard where I keep my grocery list, and another one for my oven mitt.
I had hooks and organizers hanging on both sides of every door in my apartment before I moved, and I wish I still had that many doors in my new place to hang things from.
I keep a small umbrella hanging on the doorknob, in case it's raining when I'm getting ready to leave, so I don't have to scrounge one up. I've put it on a d-ring (or d-clip, or whatever it's called) so I can clip it to the handle of whatever bag I'm carrying. (wet umbrella stays outside the bag, stuff inside the bag stays dry)
Posted 10 months ago #
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