18 organising ideas for hard-to-store stuff

To keep light-duty extension cords organised, slide them into toilet paper or paper towel tubes. Write the length of the cord on the tubes before you put them in a drawer or bin. You’ll be able to find the right cord easily, plus you’ve made good use of the tubes.

Here are more incredible uses for cardboard tubes.

Extra-large Ziploc bags are great for storing camping gear, patio cushions and out-of-season clothes. Here’s a slick trick for getting all the air out of the bag before you seal it. Put your items inside and push out all the air you can by hand. Then seal the bag but leave an opening large enough to fit a drinking straw. Use the straw to suck out the remaining air and then finish sealing the bag.

Get more genius garage storage ideas here.

Can you actually find what you’re looking for in your stack of saved magazines? Here’s a great way to archive magazines, a method that one of our editors has been using at work for years. All you need is a bunch of hanging folders and a drawer that’s set up for hanging them. Cut off the bottom of each folder a couple of centimetres below the rod. Drape your magazine over the rod and hang it in the drawer. The spines are easy to read, so you can find what you need quickly.

Ever wish you had one more garage wall to hang stuff on? Well, you do. Your garage door is a perfect place to store lightweight items like extension cords. (Yes, they’ll stay put when the door opens and closes.) Install screw eyes diagonally about 20cm apart and thread bungee cords (with the ends cut off) through them. Now you have a perfect bungee “corral” to hold your extra extension cords.

Here’s how to squeeze more stuff out of small spaces.

An extension ladder is one of the most difficult things to store. When you need to use it, it has to be easy to get to. But there are long stretches when it just gets in the way of everything else in your garage. Here’s a good solution: Mount it on your garage ceiling on sturdy racks made of scrap pieces of wood that are screwed into the ceiling joists. Use two 8cm screws at each joint to make the rack secure. These racks make it easy to slide the ladder out when you need it. Just make sure to position the racks where they won’t interfere with your garage door.

Check out these clever storage solutions for your workshop you never thought of.

Where do you store your belts? How about on this inexpensive and easy-to-make belt holder? All you need is a wooden hanger and some cup hooks. If some of your belts have unusually thick buckles, just widen the cup hook slightly with a needle-nose pliers. This is a great way to hang small handbags too.

Learn more ideas to organise the messiest spots in your house. 

If you occasionally put your hammer down to strum a guitar or banjo, you know how tricky it can be to store them. Floor stands are pricey and they leave your instrument accessible to curious children, rambunctious pets and people who can’t carry a tune. It’s a better idea to hang your instruments on the wall, but instrument wall hangers cost $20 a pop. Instead of hitting the music store, hit the home centre. Plastic-coated utility hooks will hold most instruments at a fraction of the cost and they’re just as tough.

If you have lots of small hardware on hand, constantly opening drawers or containers to find what you need is a pain. Here’s one solution: Store hardware in small, sturdy zippered craft bags (thicker than sandwich bags and available at hobby stores). Punch a hole in the bag and hang it on pegboard. The clear bags make finding what you need a snap and keep dust, rust, and moisture at bay. If you need to find a matching piece of hardware, just hold it up for a side-by-side comparison.

Here are 43 more tips for a cleaner, more organised garage right now.

Very few people have too much closet space (and if you do, don’t brag). Here’s an easy way to add space for hanging clothes (or at least clothes that don’t require a tall space). Hang a second clothes rod from the upper rod with lightweight chain. Attach the chain to screw eyes directly or use S-hooks or carabiners. Carabiners make adjusting the height of the extra rod a snap. This system works well in kids’ closets since they grow quickly (and their clothes grow along with them). It also works well in an adult closet – you can hang pants on one rod and shirts on the other.

Here are 20 things professional organisers would never do in their own homes.

If you have kids, you have balls – basketballs, soccer balls, rubber balls, and other round objects that roll around underfoot. Here’s a perfect way to use that narrow gap between a pair of garage doors (if you’re blessed with such an awkward spot). Just install angled “ball ramps” made from scrap wood. The balls fit neatly in the gap, and because the ball ramp is right there at the edge of the garage, kids are more likely to use it. Here’s a brilliant trick to store your recycling bins in your garage.