It’s clear. The mood for January is: declutter and reset. I just spent all weekend assessing countless piles of accumulated clutter and the bountiful re-organization needs of my house. How ’bout you? If you’re following Em over on Instagram, there’s a good chance you saw her doing just the same, and I’m impressed. She’s been crossing off one cluttered area at a time (nightstands, kitchen drawers, kids’ closets), slaying the chaos with vigor and determination. Maybe you caught the awesome storage round-up Jess just shared last week, highlighting some of the best organization solutions out there for just about every spot in your home (my personal faves being the over-the-door storage and this perfectly narrow shoe cabinet).

In many cases, buying new, specific solutions for your organizing needs makes perfect sense. This post isn’t meant to discourage you from seeking out a ready-made system to get you going. If your linen cabinet is exploding and your sheets refuse to stick together, I think these sheet organizers are an incredible, affordable, EASY solve. But this weekend, as I began to take down my Christmas decorations (yeahhh I’ve been procrastinating that one), piling it all next to my “must take to recycling” heap of cardboard boxes, I wondered about what I needed to buy in order to properly store it all ’til next year…and then a lightbulb went off. Did I really need to purchase a new, plastic tote to keep it all together? Or could I just make the most of the Amazon boxes in front of me? I DIY’d my Christmas decorations from brown paper bags and old magazines; what was stopping me from giving these boxes a similar facelift? And what other items do I (or you) have at home already that could be repurposed or reimagined for storage? Well, here are a few organization DIY-deas that I (and the internet) came up with:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reorganize With Cardboard:

Cardboard, to me, is such an underrated material. And it’s one I know we ALL have in our homes. My plan for my big pile of empty boxes is to paint or cover them in patterned paper or fabric to give them a new, slightly more aesthetic life. Painting feels like the easiest and most playful method for me, but how cute are these fabric boxes if you wanted to spend a little more time? I’ll store my holiday decorations in them, so I think I’ll paint them to reflect what’s inside, with big snowflakes or little collections of trees and stars. Are they going to be perfect? Probably not! And that’s fine with me.

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Boxes of smaller sizes could be decorated similarly (or not, just leave ’em as is!) to be used as drawer organizers. Are you one of those people that holds onto their iPhone box for years and years just in case? Use that perfect box in your bathroom drawer to store your hair ties or bobby pins! OR you can follow this tutorial (so easy) to make a custom cardboard drawer divider, just by cutting strips of cardboard to interlock with one another, adding tape to finish the edges. Totally customizable to fit whatever you like 🙂

@thecardboardqueen My Top 5 tips for Cardboard crafting!! 📦📦📦🤎🤎👸 #cardboardboxes #cardboard #crafting #crafts #crafttutorial #craftvideos ♬ original sound – Sherri Madison

More easy cardboard ideas? Use toilet paper rolls to group and organize loose cords. Take cereal boxes, cut them diagonally, and cover them to make magazine holders. OR cut out one side, stack, adhere, and decorate to make a paper organizer. A milk carton can be cut down and decorated to make a great pencil holder (or use a tin can or glass jar wrapped in fun paper, or not!). An empty tissue box is a great way to store loose plastic bags that can be easily pulled from the top. A shoe box is lidded storage just waiting to be customized! Cut a hole in the side, and you have a cable/cord organizer. You can really let your imagination run wild. This woman’s video has some great tips to keep in mind when working with cardboard. I think I’ll try the inside-out method for my Christmas storage to avoid all the labels!

Level Up With Wood Crafts:

@paige.falk I love a good shelf 🫶🏼 #diy #shelvesdecor #shelvesidea #roomdecor #newhomeSLAY ♬ Let's Have Some Fun Alt – The Desperados

I hope I’m not the only one with random wood scraps scattered around. If you’re like me in this way and you’re not afraid of a little sawing, there are plenty of easy DIY storage builds to make. I’ve made a “floating shelf” like this before. A little paint or stain could take this to the next level, but a narrow plank of wood and a few L brackets/screws make a perfect little storage ledge.

@allstylelife My thermostat just got promoted to wall art 🖼️🙌🏼. I love this easy DIY for hiding those little eyesores around the home. All you need are two @IKEA Rödalm picture frames, a couple of hinges, and magnets to keep the frames closed. I used @Command Brand strips to hang mine—so simple! Would you try this DIY? #ikeahack #diypictureframe #torontolife #torontocreator #diypictureframehack ♬ Man I Need – Olivia Dean

This fun idea takes a couple of simple picture frames and some small hinges to create hidden wall storage! A great place to hang up your keys or the perfect way to hide an ugly wall electronic behind a nice piece of “art”. Take it up a notch using a vintage frame and some scrap wood to build it out from the wall a bit and hide shelves inside, like this girl did here.

@tinalemac After moving into this apartment from living in a house, I quickly realized that I needed to add more storage. I got creative with these DIYs and hacks to maximize these small spaces and they are still some of my fave projects to this day ☺️ Can’t wait to see what else we will create in the new place!! #diyideas #diyhome #diyproject #apartmentideas #apartmenthacks #renterfriendly #kitchenideas #diyhomeprojects ♬ After Midnight – Chappell Roan

This girl is making DIYs that are a little more advanced, but I TOTALLY want to steal the sofa sleeve/table idea! Essentially, just attaching three pieces of wood with either L brackets again or pocket holes if you have a jig, then decorating how you like! If you can build that, you could easily build some custom shelf risers using the same method. Or, similar to the cardboard drawer dividers, you could make an interlocking X-shaped, wooden organizer (great for magazines or books), and this tutorial shows you just how easy it is to build. Even easier? Cut small boards to the depth of your dresser drawers to create sturdy dividers to be attached with wood glue, nails, or little screws.

Re-Imagine Existing Storage Solutions:

@purrfecthomee Ikea hack #home #kitchen #organize #homeimprovement #favourite #ikea #organization #decoration ♬ Come Inside Of My Heart – IV Of Spades

Now, let’s say you don’t want permanent drawer dividers, and you’d rather not spend the money on the classic expandable drawer dividers. One of the most versatile, pre-existing storage solutions is this plate holder from IKEA. Look how this person uses them to organize a drawer! So clever. You could also place them out on your desk and store mail, loose papers, art, or, of course, use them as they were intended–for organizing plates (or pans, etc) in the kitchen!

@kylenct At $10 per rack (I got 2!), this is a super affordable and beautiful way to display your books! I’m also downsizing my book collection bc I am not really a maximalist in that way, so it’s fun to highlight a more curated selection in a way that doubles as decor. Original idea by @Grillodesigns ! #diybookshelf #bookshelfhack #livingroomdecor #bookstorageideas ♬ RUNAWAY – pluko

But did you know you could ALSO hang these on your wall as a floating bookshelf?? How cool is this? And again, your creative options are endless with paint or stain. Alternatively, you could take the pieces apart, turn them 90 degrees, and only hang up the doweled sides to function as a peg rail to hang jewelry, hats, scarves–you name it!

@thedoerandthedreamer I have a full blog post about the mudroom too if you want more details! . This is the easier DIY though and can be so customizable! #diyproject #organizationhacks #mudroomideas #shoestorage ♬ original sound – Tara – slow DIY & home ideas

Speaking of wooden dowels, another great idea I came across was using a closet rod as shoe storage! This girl installs it just as you would a normal closet rod, but super low, so you can tuck shoes in between it and the wall. But if you don’t have two walls to hang between, you could always hang a curtain rod low to the ground to use in the same way. An easy way to get your shoes off the ground (but maybe put some contact paper or a back it with a piece of wood to protect your walls from excess dirt).

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We can’t talk rods without talking hangers. You might already have some of your kid’s hangers hanging around, and if you do, they’re perfect for hanging pants or jeans in the closet because they’re a way more efficient size for draping clothing over the bottom. Great for slinky tops or skirts too! Another great idea for jeans is to hang them in your closet using S hooks on the rod. Just hook the belt loops onto the S hooks and you have a super simple way to store your pants.

I’m having a bit of a jean storage issue at the moment, and have actually been thinking about using the shoe rod storage technique on the wall behind my bedroom door, but for pants. Think about it, a few small rods stacked and hung up on the wall with just enough space between them to fold and drape my jeans along them? I’m still workshopping this idea, but for now, I don’t hate it.

There are SOOOO many more DIYs I have saved and could share here, but I’m running out of time and don’t want to keep dragging on. So I’ll end with this. Storage is something I think we alllll have to deal with, some more aesthetically than others. In the past, I found it absolutely necessary to buy all matching bins and boxes from IKEA or The Container Store and would go HAM on the plastic drawer organizers. And if that’s your jam, more power to you! But as I take this time to sort through and declutter, I realize just how much STUFF I have lying around. Stuff I need to purge, stuff I need to store, stuff I could repurpose to stuff my stuff away. Of course, it’s so tempting to just buy it fresh and new, and for some things, I still do. If you’re less DIY-inclined, I highly encourage you to check out your local thrift store or Facebook Marketplace for storage solutions. There are so many baskets and bins out there already that might just be the perfect fit for your space. But if you have the time and are craving the creative flex, maybe give one of these storage ideas a try or let one of them inspire a completely new solution! And if it does, please, feel free to share your clever ideas in the comments 🙂

Sincerely, Gretch

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: Finally Organizing Four Huge Problem Areas (…And My Case For Loving January)