Inspired by an article I read in HGTV Magazine’s March issue, today’s Helpful Hump-day Hints show how I use everyday kitchen items to organize my life.

I’ll start with the most obvious – coffee mugs.  I have a ton of coffee mugs (it is the go-to teacher gift, people must think we love telling ourselves we are the “world’s best” or “#1” each time we sip our java.)  I’m also extremely guilty of purchasing new mugs that I think are cute, even though I absolutely do not need anymore at all!

This adorable owl mug serves a different purpose in our house.  It is the home of the lost toys!  Anytime I find some small piece to a game, puzzle, or princess somewhere around the house, I put it in this owl mug.  When I hear “Mommy, I can’t find….”  I point to the owl mug.  Sometimes I see my daughter checking it all on her own. When we are doing a big clean up, the stuff in the mug goes back to its rightful home.

Currently in the owl mug are Elsa’s crown, Anna’s boot, an acorn from The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game, the letter N, and even a Ninja Turtle accessory. (Pax’s mom – if you are reading this and he is saying – “Mommy I can’t find”….. it’s in the owl mug! We have it!)

My next coffee mug organizer is my favorite apple green polka dot mug which holds my sharpie collection.

I even use a coffee mug at school to hold my sharpies, dry erase markers, bookmarks for my students, and my glasses. My kids know they can use the stuff in the mug, but everything (except the bookmarks) must be returned. Things heard in Room 415: “Who has Ms. Mullin’s green sharpie?  It’s not in the mug!”

My classroom colors are orange, apple green (of course) and some shades of aqua and navy.  I also have a chevron theme going on.  When I saw this orange chevron bowl in the kitchenware section of Target, it jumped off the shelf and into my cart.   It’s perfect for holding paperclips, thumbtacks, and rubberbands.

You know what I do not do a lot of in the kitchen?  Bake bread.  Do you know what I do spend time doing? Measuring out medicine, cleaning medicine cups at the sink and pouring water to wash it all down. Even though I do have a place for all our medicines in our linen closet, there are some go-to night time Rxs that I keep all together in my fancy Williams-Sanoma-I’ve-never-baked-a-loaf-of-bread-in tin.

Cough medicine, TheraFlu, and a thermometer all fit perfectly and can be stored away in a cabinet, or in my case, right on top of the refrigerator.

On my vanity in my room, I keep an egg cup.  The jewelry I wear most often I keep in it so it’s easily accessible. This way I can just grab and go when getting ready, instead of digging through my larger jewelry box that has all the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings I have ever owned.

You can read a post I wrote once before about egg cups and why they make an unusual, but great engagement gift here: Egg Cups Aren’t Just for Eggs. 

The last item isn’t necessarily a “kitchen” item, but mine began piling up in the kitchen before I thought of a good use for them.  What am I talking about?  All of the tin lids to my mason jar candles.  Even when my candles aren’t lit, they still make a room smell great, so I never put the lids back on them.  I couldn’t figure out what to do with these and they started piling up in my kitchen cabinets.  Finally, I realized they were like mini trays and could corral smaller items.  Here I have a travel size lotion and hand sanitizer that I keep in our bathroom.

Do you use any everyday kitchen items to help you keep your life organized?  Leave me a comment and let me know.  I love hearing about new ways to use things already lying around the house – especially if it helps makes things neater and simpler! Thanks for reading!

I want to send out a special thanks to my colleague, Christy Chang, for taking the beautiful pictures in this post.