18 Clever Organizing Tricks and Storage Ideas

Use Colored Bins

Assign a colored bin or basket to each family member to hold items they’ll want to grab as they leave the house (keys, permission slips, mail, umbrellas, gloves, etc.).

Color-coded bins also work for sorting recyclables (green for glass, white for paper); instead of letting junk mail pile up, dump it directly into the appropriate bin. (To curb junk mail, sign up at precycle.tonic.com, which charges a $10 fee to get your name and address removed from many marketing lists.)