Many people use the excuse that they can’t afford to get organized because they don’t have money to fund the endeavor. But I’m here to tell you you can get organized without spending much money. It takes some creative planning, but people have done it. This week, we will discuss the characteristics of a frugal organizing person, how you can adopt their habits, and cheap ways to organize a room in your home.
These tips for organizing a room are cheap ways to organize any room in your home and can give you peace of mind that you do not have to spend money to get organized.
Jump to:
- Four Characteristics of a Frugal Organizing Person
- Five Places to Visit to Affordably Organize Your Home
- 12 Awesome Products to Repurpose when Organizing your Rooms
- 1. Cardboard Paper towel or toilet paper rolls (affiliate)
- 2. Small, Medium, and Large Soup/Sauce Cans
- 3. Egg Crate Containers
- 4. Jumbo Muffin Tins
- 5. Mason Jars Small, Large, Wide-mouth Jars
- 6. Over-the-door plastic shoe organizers
- 7. Plastic bags and Zipper baggies (Gallon and Quart)
- 8. Unused, cleaned trash cans
- 9. Shoe Boxes (Amazon (affiliate) Affiliate)
- 10. Cleaned Food Containers (Amazon (affiliate) Affiliate)
- 11. Ice Cube Tray (Amazon (affiliate) Affiliate)
- 12. Leftover Cleaned Cut PVC Pipes
A frugal organizer has a different viewpoint when organizing their homes. They look at their home as a process and not a stumbling block. These people are looking for solutions to problems. Below are four characteristics of these people:
Four Characteristics of a Frugal Organizing Person
- They tend to be creative in their solutions. They love to find new ways to think outside the box. These people don’t look at going to the store and picking up stuff to organize a room. They are people who find other ways to get organized without spending money.
- They repurpose items from other areas of the home. These people have many items they can pull from and repurpose to organize a room. Where it is a basket that was used as decor and is now used to hold hair supplies. These people see items differently. They look at items as if they are purposeful and are not intended for one use.
- These people ask family or friends for bins. They love to get items second-hand and repurpose them to organize a room. No need to buy anything anymore. They know there is another way to find items without spending money.
- These people visit second-hand stores and discount stores like Marshalls and T.J.Maxx. They look for items when they are on sale in January or February. They like to buy when they see a sale, and they have a purpose for these items.
You, too, can be like these frugal organizing people. If you want to be like these people, read on for more specific tips and learn how to make smart and cheap ways to organize any room. Let's get organized!
First, list places near you where you can get cheap organizing items. These places can vary depending on your area. Below I listed some general types of places that may spark an option for you.
Five Places to Visit to Affordably Organize Your Home
Dollar stores
Discount stores
Yard sales
Flea markets
Second-hand stores
You can even visit our "Locations to Donate Your Stuff" page for charitable locations that may sell to the public in your area.
If these places are too far for you to visit, you can also look for items in your home that you can repurpose. Below are twelve household items you most likely have access to in your home right now.
12 Awesome Products to Repurpose when Organizing your Rooms
1. Cardboard Paper towel
or toilet paper rolls (affiliate)
or They can be cut longways and used to hold fabric, wrapping paper, and other things contained in a roll.
2. Small, Medium, and Large Soup/Sauce Cans
Did your granddad have cans used for nails in his garage (affiliate)? These cans can be used for storing a varsity of small items in various areas of the home. I like using them for rubber bands (affiliate), hair accessories, and pencils and pens.
3. Egg Crate Containers
They work great for small items like earrings and rings. Placing these items inside drawers helps give them support.
4. Jumbo Muffin Tins
You can store them for bracelets, costume jewelry (affiliate), Bobby pins, and a lot more.
5. Mason Jars Small, Large, Wide-mouth Jars
Mason jars (affiliate) are my favorite ‘go-to’ item for repurposing and reusing items. There’s something about glass jars, isn’t there? You can do so much with them. Check out this post I wrote that shared ideas on using these Mason Jar (affiliate) Marketplace flip-top lids (9 CREATIVE WAYS TO ORGANIZE WITH MASON JARS). It was a fun, sponsored post to work on.
6. Over-the-door plastic shoe organizers
These items are super affordable and can be found at the dollar store and discount stores. You may even have a few in your closet. They are great for storing supplies in the bathroom and closet and work wonders in kids' dorm rooms.
7. Plastic bags and Zipper baggies (Gallon and Quart)
These staple items are in the kitchen all the time, so why not use them in your closet, bathroom, and bedrooms too?
8. Unused, cleaned trash cans
Did you ever think you could use a trash can (affiliate) to organize stuff? I’ve seen it done. People use it for wrapping paper rolls and tools (affiliate).
9. Shoe Boxes (Amazon (affiliate) Affiliate)
(Yes, we all have shoe boxes (affiliate) in our homes. These boxes (affiliate) can be used to organize cleaning supplies, pantry (affiliate) bottles, and hair supplies. You can easily decorate the boxes (affiliate) with self-stick wallpaper so they are pretty in your linen closet. Look for ones with taller sides so items will not fall when you move them on the shelves (affiliate).
10. Cleaned Food Containers (Amazon (affiliate) Affiliate)
(Did your grandma have many Ricotta Cheese containers that she cleaned and repurposed for take-home food from parties for her guests? Well, these are really good reusable items you can use to organize stuff in your cabinets. Use ones that have less of a slope and are more vertical because this will allow you to put items in them and make them stand upright. The square plastic food containers (affiliate) work nicely, too.
11. Ice Cube Tray (Amazon (affiliate) Affiliate)
(These trays work great for small items in drawers. You can stack them on top of each other to minimize the space needed to store them.
12. Leftover Cleaned Cut PVC Pipes
I have used leftover, never-used PVC pipe to store gallon and quart baggies in my pull-out drawer. Here’s the post: DIY FOOD STORAGE BAG HOLDER
I hope this list of cheap ways to organize a room with repurposed items and where-to-buy items empowers you to take control of your clutter and helps you feel better about yourself and your home situation. What items do you repurpose to organize your home? Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
Feel free to visit our other posts that talk about saving money and decluttering while you organize a room:
10 AFFORDABLE ORGANIZING ITEMS TO FINISH YOUR NEXT ORGANIZING PROJECT
9 ITEMS YOU CAN SELL FOR CASH TODAY
9 CREATIVE WAYS TO ORGANIZE WITH MASON JARS
Visit these other online posts that also help you organize with little cost.
52 Totally Feasible Ways To Organize Your Entire Home
Visit our DIY projects below to support you to stay organized.
Nancy Haworth says
I love repurposing items for storage solutions! Before buying anything for storage in my home or in my client's homes, I always look to see what can be repurposed first. Many times, small boxes (like the one cell phones come in) can be repurposed as drawer organizers. Also, tall clean trash cans are great for storing tall things like hockey sticks, kites, or rolls of wrapping paper upright.
Linda Samuels says
I have to admit that as I read your post, I thought about my grandmother. She was very organized and loved finding new uses for things. She used old instant coffee jars to hold other kitchen items like chocolate morsels, sugar, flour, and more. And she also labeled them by putting a piece of masking tape on the front surface of the jar and writing in pen what was inside. So even though you could see through the glass jar, she still labeled it.
The funny thing is that when my mom and I cleared out my grandmother's house after she passed away, my mom took those labeled jars. And when I cleared out my mom's house, guess what I found? Yes! On the very top shelf in one of the kitchen cabinets, there sat my grandmother's labeled jars. I opted to let them go as they had been sitting around for at least 30 years.
I guess the "organizing" genes were passed down to me. 🙂
Janet Barclay says
We use empty toilet paper rolls to keep our chargers tidy when they're not in use. Each one has a name written on it so we can easily find the right one when it's needed. I've noticed they're getting a little ratty but fortunately they can be replaced for free whenever I get around to it!
Sabrina Quairoli says
I love that idea! We have done that as well. It really does work. I love that you can label the cardboard roll so people know what should be inside each roll.
Seana Turner says
I've used some of these projects along the way. They can be great solutions, especially inside drawers and cabinets where "appearance" doesn't matter. They can also be great to use in the short term while you are organizing. You can always go back later and buy other supplies once you are finished organizing if you decide you want a different look.
Sabrina Quairoli says
I agree, Seana! Using repurposed items work great for the interim until you establish a system that works effectively. No need to buy stuff right now if you can organize the area and see if it works for you.
Janet Schiesl says
Re-purposing containers is my favorite, but I also shop at Dollar Tree for storage solutions. It certainly doesn't have to be expensive. I like reusing/re-purposing so it doesn't go into the landfill.
Julie Stobbe says
I really enjoyed this article. It is a good reminder to recycle and reuse when you're decluttering a space. In addition to reusing items, your own or family and friends you can decorate them so they suit your decore. Especially in January, with the many sales on organizing items, it is easy to spend more money on gadgets than is necessary.
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thanks, Julie.