Cottage style decorating, renovating and entertaining Ideas for indoors and out

Back-to-school season means back to school organization season. It’s more important than ever to keep the clutter and bay and keep everything tamed between the homework, sports equipment and extra bags. Then there’s the fact the less downtime every day means your own bills, supplies and accessories get less attention and before you know it everything is strewn about the house.

But the good news is that taming the mess and getting ahead on back to school organization just takes a little bit of mindfulness, some basic reminders about easy tools and a few easy new tricks. Scroll through the gallery below for a refresher and some new helpful ideas!

Photo by Slava Keyzman/ Unsplash

Re-Entry Strategy

Even if your home’s entryway isn’t prepared to act like a mudroom every day, during the school season, switch out some decorative areas and convert them to functional areas. This might mean removing photos or books on your shelves to trade them out for baskets and trays that can hold your junk. Or maybe you add wall hooks in where art used to hang in order to provide a landing spot for bags and totes. The point is, some back to school organization can and should be temporary.

Jackson Design and Remodeling/ Photo by Bret Gum

Get the Hang of It

You don’t need a designer budget to get the look and functionality of a custom laundry room. A simple tension rod, available for as little as $10, is a great way to get vertical space to help you organize and maximize your laundry room. Install it above the washer/dryer to use as a clothesline or below a shelf to help you store and organize supplies. BONUS: tension rods can be used anywhere (under a desk, in the hall closet or mudroom) you need an extra quick dose of space to add a hanging storage system.

Photo by Bret Gum

Editing Time

Particularly at the beginning of the school year, it’s a good idea to pare down and scale back on your displays and accessories. By simplifying your tabletops, shelves and walls, you make room to add in storage-minded pieces like shelves and baskets and you help clean up the aesthetics of your space during a busy and often harried season when you can use all the help you can get to tone down the stress!

Jackson Design and Remodeling/ Photo by Bret Gum

Basket Case

Simple, lightweight furniture is great for small spaces—and usually great for the budget, too. However, these easy pieces may leave you at a loss for storage. Here’s a simple solution: Use beautiful baskets as open containers to store extra supplies, materials and books. They not only look great, but they keep everything easily accessible.

Photo by Hero Images

Rethink Your Solutions

If you don’t already use the area below your beds as your secret weapon for creating extra storage, what are you waiting for? If you are and are ready for an upgrade, maybe now’s the time to look into investing into new furniture with built-in boosters like extra drawers and pull out organizers. This space designed by Jackson Design and Remodeling features a custom bed riser that offers extra storage concealed by these handsome shaker-style cabinet doors. The soffit beside the bed is a built-in shelf to keep books and supplies within easy reach.

Work Your Way Up

Are you forgetting one major piece of real estate when it comes to customizing storage solutions for your spaces? Your walls! This small desk spares no storage tricks especially when it comes to simple and attractive hanging racks that keep notes and paperwork off the table and right in sight.

Photo by Elsa Noblet

Work into Works of Art

This wall of hanging clipboards is a clever and eyecatching way to file your paper goods. Everything from magazines and folders to handouts, papers and fliers could be elevated into your next easy-to-swap-out system for getting your important reference materials organized and easy to find.

Photo by Jason Briscoe

Step it Up

An often overlooked way to kick up productivity and add a bit of extra space to any desk? A computer riser. According to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration a monitor riser or laptop stand which raises your monitors to 2-3 inches below your eyeline can be helpful in reducing neck strain and poor posture resulting from hunching down to see your monitor. Bonus? The extra space created underneath your device can be used for storage!

Photo by Jeff Sheldon