Martha Shares Her Top Organizing Tips for the New Year
When it comes to organizing around the house, no one does it quite like Martha. Our founder appeared on Today alongside co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, to promote her new book, Martha Stewart's Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routines ($20.49, amazon.com). During the segment, Martha shared her tips and tricks for tackling the laundry room, desk space, and closet during the new year.
Martha noted that a conundrum many homeowners run into is finding a place to store and unfold an ironing board; to eliminate the hassle, Martha crafted her own ironing board using fabric and plywood. "If you have a washer and a dryer, you can make a big ironing platform to put on top of your machines," she said. Buy muslin, bump cloth, and felt at the fabric store, then layer and staple it all to a piece of plywood. Martha also recommended storing a stain remover kit, detergent, and any other laundry supplies on shelves above the machines.
Martha also showed how to create a functional and stylish desk space. "You can build a home office in a closet or a hallway; all you need is a desk with some drawers and shelving," said Martha. Our founder demonstrated how to transform a memo board as a display unit for a wall calendar, greeting cards and mail, and keys. Another one of her tips is to evaluate your desk space and toss anything that is no longer used.
If your hall closet needs a revamp, try color-coding everything in the closet for each member of your family. "If you have three kids, make three different colors so they have their own bins," said Martha. For example, paint the hangers in specific colors so each kid knows what belongs to them. Martha also added a small chalkboard to the inside of the closet door so that family members can share specific memos and reminders.
Watch Martha's Today segment here.
