There’s no better time to get organized!
March couldn’t have been a better month for our organizing team challenge! With the country practicing social distancing and finding things to do around the house, it went right in line with our goals for last month’s friendly team challenge – lots and lots of organizing!
Did you catch our other monthly team challenges so far?
- In January, we did a water drinking challenge
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In February, we struggled to not eat out (geez…that would have been much easier to do in March if we knew all of these restaurants would be closing.)
Hip News: Speaking of social distancing, head here for the very latest regarding Coronavirus updates, including freebies for healthcare workers, store closures, kids crafts & activities, online deals, restaurant delivery discounts, and promo codes, plus more.
Here’s what we did to get ourselves started on the right foot:
Our entire team was stoked to get their spring cleaning kicked into high gear, so in order for us all to stay on track all month long, I created this fun printable for our entire team to print out (which you may have already seen if you caught my recent decluttering post).
Basically, each week is designed to help you tackle all of the main areas in your home. Often times, they’re the spaces that become the most unorganized from daily use – especially if they’re not very functional to begin with.
Here’s what our team accomplished in March:
*Note that any in-store photos shared below were taken prior to the COVID-19 crisis and we do not suggest going to any stores to purchase non-essential products at this time. All items listed can be purchased online from the safety of your home. #StayHome
We organized so many drawers.
Irene went to town on her kitchen utensils. As you can see, the before didn’t allow her to find anything in a functional way and by using just a few inexpensive organizers, she was able to organize every utensil by function and now she can easily find everything she needs!
Here’s what she said about her drawer organizers:
“I found these organizers for just a dollar a piece at the Dollar Store! I only spent $6 total to organize all of my kitchen essentials and it took me less than 5 minutes to get perfect, organized drawers. Easy peasy and love how functional this drawer is now!”
Lina also tackled her kitchen towel drawer. In the before, she couldn’t even find the miscellaneous items without having to sift through numerous towels and hot pads. Now with her beautifully folded towels and functional placement, she has ample space for everything!
Side note: You may have noticed Lina splurged on some towels (she bought this classic logo set and this striped set). Sometimes organizing can lead to realizing you need more or less of something… and sometimes you realize you want to make your organized drawers a little more pretty. Just know that it happens to the best of us and we support you. 
Want more drawer inspiration from our team?
I shared previously how I ditched my knife block and made the perfect home for all my kitchen knives. Not only was it so nice to get them off the counter, but they look so pretty every time I open the drawer! You can read more about what I used here.
And Andrea on our team recently moved into a small studio apartment and shared how she made use of her tiny drawers. She combined beauty and function with these under $10 organizers! You can read more about what she used here.
We also tackled and organized our kid’s toys.
The closet in Chelsey’s daughter’s room was almost impossible to see past. Stuffed animals and shoes don’t mix and as you can see, she totally eliminated almost all of the stuffed animals leaving tons of room for all the shoes and clothes in her closet. The best part? She didn’t even throw them away!
But where did they go?…
Chelsey really thought outside the box on this one! She decided to go for a bean bag chair that you fill with stuffed animals – making her daughter’s room super tidy and giving it more function for daily use. Comfy and functional – brilliant!
Here’s what she said:
“I ordered a stuffed animal bean bag chair and it is awesome! My daughter has so many stuffed animals that they were over flowing in her closet before. This solution cleared up so much space in her room!”
We tidied up our cabinets, too.
Lina scooped up some of these highly-rated cabinet organizers and totally revamped under her bathroom sink! She even claims that these are the best under sink organizers ever! They’re super sturdy, fit tons of stuff, and don’t move around at all! You can read more about them and take a look at the before here!
Lina also consolidated and organized her cleaning supplies cabinet. She used a metal tiered pull-out basket to store smaller miscellaneous items, a decorative basket from Home Goods for her frequently used cleaning products and a larger Lazy Susan for other cleaning essentials that make it easy to rotate and find when needed.
Collin was so excited to get her pantry all organized, and absolutely loves these storage baskets from The Container Store! Here’s what she had to say –
“If you’re looking for the absolute best containers to get your pantry organized, look no further! These super durable Clear Handled Storage Baskets from The Container Store are awesome! I love how these are designed with the handle at the front of the basket to easily grab items inside. These containers are awesome for food storage (in the pantry and fridge), medicine, cleaning products, hair accessories, craft supplies and more.
To save on space, these baskets can be stacked together when not in use. Love that!”
Stacy was also able to find a solution for her pots and pans. She loves that this organizer is able to tidy up pots, pans, and even lids, which is also adjustable. Plus, it can be stacked vertically or sit horizontally so it meets all your cabinet’s needs. Here’s what she said about it:
“I love this adjustable organizer! It has a wide base so you can even use both sides and it would work great in a double cabinet that has an open middle. It’s awesome for pans, cookware, lids, or whatever you need.”
We organized and labeled our spices.
It was so enjoyable to consolidate my spice cabinet and make these pretty labels (which were super easy and I’m totally not even crafty!), plus they fit perfectly on this lazy susan I picked up. It didn’t take much time at all and now they look totally Instagram worthy while being completely functional in my kitchen!
You can read more about how I made my spice labels here.
We made easy changes in our closets.
Closets can be a huge task to get cleaned out and organized, however, one simple change can totally transform your space – matching hangers! But not just any hangers, our entire team are huge fans of velvet hangers! Look at what a difference they make…
By switching to velvet hangers, you can maximize your space and also keep your clothes from slipping off. We shared all the other reasons we love them here and also shared our top recommendations for where you can find the best and most affordable ones!
We organized our cosmetics so getting ready is easier.
Jessica organized her cosmetics with this organizer from Amazon. It has tons of space for all her beauty products and definitely makes it easier for her to get ready in the morning!
“I love my make up organizer – it holds SO much stuff!! You can also change the configuration how you want it by either placing the boxes side by side or on top of each other. I chose taller so I have more counter space but any way works!”
If you’re looking for something a bit smaller and even more affordable, then we also spotted this plastic tiered stand for just a dollar which can fit smaller items like cosmetic scissors, lipstick, and nail polish!
Hip Tip: Speaking of making getting ready easier, here are 12 ways to make your whole day better!
One other tip Collin mentioned is thinking outside the box and using what you already have on hand to organize cosmetics and other bathroom essentials – or hitting up thrift stores to score organizational products on the cheap.
To get ya thinkin’, she reused a cute Starbucks mug she had gotten as a gift to hold all of her makeup brushes, and that storage chest pictured was from a thrift store and keeps all her cosmetics contained.
And here’s how our very own Stetson did on this challenge –
Oh, wait…he thinks we’re still on the no eating out challenge, but needless to say, we’re still impressed. 
Great job, Stetson!
But the mother of all winners for our team challenge was… Michelle. 
Not only did she clear out her entire office, but she actually turned it into the most amazing pantry that left our entire Hip2Save team wanting to move in – I call window seat! She said:
“We have lived here for 14 yrs and didn’t have a pantry. Well I decided it’s time to make the space how we want it to be and enjoy it. So we tore the carpet out of the office that is by the kitchen, and turned our unused office into the pantry of my dreams…”
GOALS! GOALS! GOALS!
Go, Michelle! Not only is it incredibly amazing, stunning, organized, and just EVERYTHING amazing in this world, but she did it on a super frugal budget! Here’s what she shared with us:
“We did our pantry on a strict budget and it was a long time coming since we paid cash for everything. We tiled ourselves, which was stock tile from Home Depot. The cabinets were built by a very inexpensive carpenter referred by a friend ($950 for them all – not painted or caulked). We paid a guy we always use for painting so that was another $350.
I have learned so much through this process and have so many ideas for organizing now. Costco and Sam’s club have jars on sale. For baskets, I went to IKEA, At Home, Ross, and Walmart, but I found Home Goods to be the cheapest so that’s where I ended up getting most of mine. One of my favorite things are these can organizers that I scooped up off Amazon.
We learned it’s much more cost-effective to change things in our house than just move so I try to make the space how we want it. So often people worry so much about resell value and don’t make it how they want it. Granted it took us 14 yrs to do this but so glad we did.”
We’re so glad you did it too, Michelle! 
Hip Tip: If you need ideas on how to organize your pantry at home, here are some easy strategies that Lina used to do hers.
Overall, we learned that minimalism is the key.
Here’s what one team member shared about her own journey to minimalism:
“I have been following de-clutter and minimalism books and blogs for a while now and have been going through each area (more than once) of my home too. My most difficult trials have been with books I have loved, expensive jeans (that I don’t wear anymore), and my beloved CASE LOGIC CD binders (CDs I admittedly don’t listen to.
For books and jeans, as well as kitchen items I swore I may need someday, the turning point was finding two organizations where I live that are likely in your town, too. One is an organization that helps refugee families get settled and provides them with basics like beds, linens, cookware and such. A second good place to make donations of all kinds is a local organization that helps women leaving their homes due to domestic abuse. If I could imagine the blessing of a great book I loved in one of those woman’s hands or my tragically cool Miss Me jeans that I don’t wear giving a woman some quality jeans to wear that will last… well, sign me up right?! 
Having good places to imagine my donations going is the motivation I needed in my harder areas to becoming more of a minimalist, so I hope this helps you, too.”
Hip Tip: I recently shared other ways you can become organized and live like a minimalist here.
Want to try our organizing challenge for yourself?
Make sure to use our FREE 4-Week Cleanout Challenge printable (and let us know how you do)! You can even use this free BINGO chart to help you declutter – make sure to share it on social and tag us!
…in the meantime, we’re already dreaming about what our next challenge will be. 