Last week I discussed ways to help you prepare for your organization in 2011. Without proper preparation, this whole organizational quest will fail and we don’t want that. Today I will show you some clever ideas to put your new organizational skills to work, and help you with some clever ideas to make it easy and fun. Yes, fun!

1) Book storage

Cataloged books by color

If you are like me you love books. I recommend donating the ones that you have read and have no use for, but for the ones you still love, and read again and again, this system is superb and easy to use. With ordinary craft paper wrap your books into categories. Using colored paper for particular categories makes them easy to find, and easy to return. My home decor books are green and cooking is red. So when I see a red covered book from across the room, I know it belongs to cooking. It makes a beautiful display in your bookshelf, and it is a terrific way to stay organized in an easy fashion.

2) Pantry Storage

Pantry organization

Most people have a bermuda triangle when it comes to their pantries. Simple tags from a hardware store  (like this one) can be applied to the shelves of your pantry, helping you keep manageable categories. Even if the categories are a bit messy, as long as you keep like minded products in their general area, it will help you keep stock of what you have and not over buy. I have categories for pastas, crackers, canned foods and an entire shelf for snacks. It is an easy system to keep in place once it is started and it really helps you feel organized. When bad weather strikes I know at a glance which categories are lacking, and what I need to stock up on. OMG! It’s going to snow and I have no candy!

3) Easy office solutions

Easy office organization

We all have binder clips laying around our office. In fact Harley even likes to steal them from my top desk drawer. But binder clips are an easy and effective way to manage cords, with little expense. This keeps everyday cords handy and easily accessible when you need them, instead of crawling around on the floor hunting for them amongst the dust bunnies!

4) Jewelry organizer

Jewerly organizer

Cutlery boxes are an easy thrift store staple that can be found for less than a dollar. With a few coats of paint, scraps of fabric and a few decorative tacks or knobs they can be hung on the wall for a clever way to store jewelry in a decorative and fun way. And they double as artwork! Love that!

What are some fun and easy organizational tips you use?

Harley’s attempt at organization

Seriously, who has the time to organize? I have so many more important things to be doing….

images: the roxie, found, re-nest