Clutter-Busting Strategies For Every Room

Hanging shoe bags are great for closets, but they can also cut the clutter in your garage, workshop or laundry room. A shoe bag like this one costs about $15 at discount stores.

Store smaller containers—spray paint, putty cans, glue bottles—right in the wall! Screw shelf brackets (6-ft. lengths are sold at home centers) to the studs, then install shelves, cut from standard 1x4 boards, on adjustable clips. The boards fit perfectly; there's no need to saw them to width.

Turn any closet into a useful hang-up storage space by adding S-hooks to wire shelving. This provides tidy storage for mops, brooms and other cleaning tools.

Are all your wrenches stuffed in a plastic bucket? Here's a better idea. Screw a tie/belt rack (available at discount stores) to a bare spot on the wall over your workbench and hang the wrenches—SAE and metric—where you can swiftly nab and put them away in an orderly fashion.

Use elastic cords to make a portable tool organizer for chisels and other hand tools. Fasten one end of the cord to a 1x8 with an electrical staple, lay the cord straight without stretching it, then staple the other end. Add staples every 3 in. to create holders, leaving the staples just loose enough so the cord can still move. Then fasten the 1x8 to the wall.

Keep your car's maintenance records in the car itself and you'll never have to ransack your house looking for them. Just put them in a locking plastic bag and slip them under the carpet in the trunk.

If your remote controls are cluttering up your coffee table and getting lost behind sofa cushions, here's how to neaten up. Apply adhesive-backed hook-and-loop strips to the underside of the coffee table and to the backs of the remotes. To avoid snags on upholstery and clothing, put the soft (loop) material on the remotes. Now all the controls are hidden from view, but you'll always know where to find them. Hook-and-loop strips are available at home centers and discount and hardware stores.

Nothing clutters up a space more than the spaghetti heap of cords and plugs needed to recharge all those cell phones and other electronic toys. Create a discreet charging station with a small bread box and place a power strip inside. Drill a hole in the back to run the cord to the receptacle. Plug in your power-hungry devices and close the door for an orderly desktop or kitchen counter.

A length of chain and a wall-mounted coat hook provide a secure hangout for bulky electrical cords, ropes and other cumbersome coils. Hang one end of the chain on the lower hook, then loop the chain around the coiled cord and attach the other end of the chain to the upper hook.

To store elastic cords safely and neatly, pull out the spine of an old three-ring binder. Punch out the rivets and screw the spine to the garage wall. The rings are the perfect spot to hang cords without dangerous tension.

Store your appliance and tool manuals in three-ring binders so you can find them when you need them. Insert labeled dividers to organize them for quick reference.

If you're getting rid of your old dishwasher, hang on to the lower dish rack. Slip it under a bed for convenient roll-out storage.