Favorite Things: 3 Essential Home Organization Tools

Favorite Things: 3 Essential Home Organization Tools. My clients may think I’m the best personal organizer and de-clutterer around town (or at least, their favorite), but I’m nothing without the tools of the trade. Just like any good baker, jewelry maker, photographer or fashion designer equips herself with all the right professional tools, the best personal organizer also arms herself with the right home organization tools to make the job effective.

I’ve put together a list of my favorite home organization tools to give you a jump start to organizing your home in a way that is easy, feels (and looks) good, and makes sense.

Home Organizing Tool 1–Label Maker

My favorite label maker brand is Brother. They have several styles that work well. They are also the easiest to find refill labels for. Make sure your Brother label maker is set up horizontally like a computer keyboard rather than vertically. Your brain works more quickly and comfortably with systems it already knows and understands.

Home Organizing Tool 2–Label Tape

Opt for the ½” label tape. It’s easiest to work with and read. If you want to make large 1” labels, purchase a Brother label maker that will print on 1” label tape. This is fantastic if you need larger images, or if you like the Pinterest style look of large cursive typeface labels.

I always have the following styles of label tape on hand:

Black writing on white tape—This is great for clear boxes, white surfaces, and general function labels.

Black writing on clear tape—This is good for streamline labeling on wood, colored surfaces or clear containers where you want a very specific and clean look.

White writing on black tape—This is great for dark surfaces, cable labeling, and labeling important things onto computer screen frames where you usually stick Post-Its.

The least expensive place to buy labels is on Amazon or Costco for around $10 a cartridge, instead of $20+ at office supply stores. Keep in mind that Costco only sells the black writing on white label tape.

Home Organizing Tool 3–Boxes

My go-to organizing boxes and storage containers are clear with clear lids that lock into place solidly. This helps make your stored goods visually appealing. I prefer storage bins that don’t taper, making for maximum storage space because they are either square or rectangular. When organizing your home, you ideally want storage containers that are all the same brand so they stack nicely on top of one another without sliding around.

It’s important to purchase sturdy organizing boxes and storage bins that can support the weight of other storage bins stacked on top of them. I recommend purchasing organizing boxes in multiple sizes so that you can create large and small categories as needed. It’s more important to have categories that match the way you organize in your mind than it is to have all of the same styles of the box. Uniform boxes are beautiful but don’t meet the need for customization and refined categories.

My favorite organizing boxes and storage containers are the Iris boxes from the Container Store. They meet all my home organization needs. Although they may appear basic at first blush, my clients end up loving these storage bins after just a few days of using them, and don’t know how they ever lived without them! These essential storage containers allow you to seamlessly create categories and are easily stackable, for optimal home organization.

My most used styles of home organization storage containers include:

• Shoe Box

• Men’s Shoe Box

• Sweater Box

• Accessory Box

My second most used styles of home organization storage containers include:

• Tall Shoe Box

• Boot Box

• Deep Sweater Box

Who knew that organizing your home could be such a detailed (and fun!) process? Now that you know some of my home organization secrets, I recommend making a list including the number of organizing boxes and storage bins you will need for each room in your home. So that your shopping doesn’t get too expensive too quickly, simply focus on one or two rooms at a time.

You’ll be surprised how quickly and effectively you’re able to pull your home together with these simple home organizing tools and tips.

Next up, 3 Easy Organizing Tips You Can Implement Today for a neat way to get your boxes and bins in place!