Ready to cure your clutter? DIY Dollar Tree hacks will make your small space feel lux for just pennies. I’ll show you how I master my tiny home organizing.
“Do you want to keep this?” Finally, after weeks of sorting through box after box of accumulations, treasures, and tiny objects, I banned this question.
My brain, numb from combing through Legos and letters, couldn’t make one more decision.
After our youngest child left home, my husband I made the brave decision to de-clutter and downsize. In the end, we sold our 6 bedroom, 4,000 square foot home and rented a 3 bedroom, 1,100 square foot duplex.
Cure Your Clutter
By the time we arrived at our tiny rental property, we felt like we’d been run over by a truck. The move taxed our aging bodies more than we cared to admit. While our aches and pains slowly healed, the emotional overwhelm of clutter sapped our energy.
Moving is hard, and if you’ve done it lately you have my deepest respect. I may not be able to help you clean your new kitchen, but I can offer some inexpensive tips to clear the clutter-and your mind.
Dollar Tree is a great resource for sturdy, inexpensive, organizers. Here are my top favorites for organizing even the smallest spaces.
Plastic caddy
This handled caddy has 3 deep pockets to help cure your clutter everywhere from the kitchen to the bathroom. Use it, as I have, for various sized storage bags in the kitchen pantry.
I also use these for keeping basic cleaning supplies in each bathroom for quick tidying whenever I have a few minutes.
Use these caddies for toiletries, hair supplies, condiments, or utensils. They are small enough to fit under a sink or cabinet or in a pantry.
Small wastebasket
Thought trash baskets were just for discards? Think again! These small, powder room containers are perfect for organizing vertical or round objects like rolls of paper, silk florals, dryer balls, etc.
Put upper closet shelves to use with several of these stacked next to each other.
Lazy Susans
This is a trick I’ve adapted from other bloggers, so I can’t take all the credit. For just 2 dollars and change you can multiply cupboard and pantry space.
For each Lazy Susan, you’ll need 2 aluminum cake pans, (not pie tins). The cake pans have straight sides versus the angled edges of the pie pans.
Pour some ball bearings or bbs (you can find a large container in the hunting section at Walmart for less than $5) between the cake tins. Now you have a wonderful, spinning tray that will contain small items.
Lazy Susans retail for $10 and up, so this little trick will save big bucks. It’s the best solution I’ve found for accessing items on narrow kitchen cabinets and laundry room shelves.
Pizza tray magnetic board
When space is at a premium, take advantage of walls for holding notes, shopping lists and receipts. These 2 magnetic boards stand guard in my laundry area, ready to hold small papers.
You can use the pizza tins as is. For a more decorative project, I used Mod Podge to attach wrapping paper to the metal, then added a little paint and edged them with rope.
Mount them with your favorite removable adhesive, and you can easily reposition them anytime.
Drawer organizers
Kitchen and bathroom drawers can quickly turn into a mess. To cure your clutter and keep utensils from shifting around, using Dollar Tree plastic organizers for each grouping.
These little gems come in packs of multiples, making them the best deal in town. Grab a variety of shapes to keep on hand.
Magic eraser jewelry organizer
Dollar Tree’s version of Magic Erasers come 2 to a pack. They make great sponges, but you’ll love them to keep small jewelry within sight.
I bought several white, lucite jewelry trays from Charming Charlie’s when they went out of business :(. Although I love the sleek look of the stackable trays, I felt like I had to use a magnifying glass every time I needed to find a pair of earrings.
Just use any small box and cut the sponge to fit very snugly inside. For earrings, simply poke the post through the sponge, and keep earring backs in their own spot.
For rings, use a sharp edge to cut a line half the depth of the sponge. Now you can mount rings within clear sight, like having your own little jewelry store!
Plastic stacking boxes
By now, I sound like a broken record. When you’re short of space, go up!
Shoebox
Although I edited my shoe collection several times, I just couldn’t part with some of my fancy heels.
Though I rarely wear them, I wanted them in clear sight. They fit perfectly in a tiny corner of my closet shelf.
Under sink bins
If you haven’t already, check out my post on making your under sink look fabulous.
Over the years, I’ve tried just about every organizing system known to man in this tricky space. These Dollar Tree stackable boxes are my favorite.
They come in several, bright colors. Since I usually prefer white, I simply spray paint them. Although they stack together, I glue them in place to prevent toppling.
Baskets
These roomy, square baskets can be stacked as high as you need them. My craft closet was in bad shape and they came to my rescue.
Since I use these materials frequently, I chose to stack them just two units high.
Collapsible Storage Cubes
Top of closet shelves are notoriously tough to use. But, when space is at a premium, every square inch counts.
Use these collapsible Dollar Tree boxes to cure your clutter and organize like items. I was able to free up plenty of precious drawer space with this method.
Cooling racks
Another fun idea to maximize vertical space is using the inside of cabinet doors. Instead of storing recipe cards, face masks, and coupons in countertop containers, hang them from these racks.
Use decorated or plain clothes pins to clamp these items where you’ll be able to access them quickly.
Nowadays, our tiny living space is much more manageable. Thanks to these inexpensive Dollar Tree goodies, I was able to make the most of every drawer and shelf.
I am proud to say, there are even some empty spaces in my cupboards! Your organizing project may seem overwhelming today, but take one tiny step at a time.
In time, your brain fog will lift-along with your clutter.
