10. Laundry room emergency kit.

Stain sticks, needle and thread, lingerie bags, recently separated socks, safety pins, dry cleaning tickets, spare buttons.

9. Jewelry

Thanks to Ellie for this.

If you regularly wear jewelry, make it all visible and keep chains from tangling. Especially good if you tend to wear certain accessories together.

8. School kid clutter

Keep track of sports schedules, permission slips...heck go all the way and assign each kid their own row. Make it their responsibility.

7. Photographs

Great idea via ThriftyFun.

Before photos go into albums, use the caddy to organzie them. Frees up your desk!

6. Toiletries

People have been using this one for ages. Hang a caddy in your bathroom and organize your makeup, brushes, and whatever other tubes and bottles are taking up counter space.

5. Small tools

Loose screws, those tiny things shaped like "L"s that are apparently important, rolls of tape, small extension cords, batteries. Whatever is cluttering up your tool box can go into one of these, making it easier to get out your hammer and socket wrench from the tool box (they're too heavy for the caddy).

4. Organizing outfits for wee kids.

I have yet to do this, but I know of it, and if someone does it, please take a photo. Typically Shoe caddies have 4 pockets in a row. So that's one pocket for underwear, one for little pants, one for a top, and one for socks. It's a great idea for preschoolers who are learning to dress themselves. You can do it with multiple outfits for each day of the week, or you can just make a column of each clothing item and let them choose themselves.

Yes, actual outfit organizers are sold. Here is a fine example. However, if you don't feel like shelling out twenty bucks and already have the shoe caddy...good to go.

3. Pantry

Spices, obviously. Also birthday candles and tubes of frosting. Toothpicks. Less frequently used tools in there (think nutcracker and corn on the cob holders). Baby spoons. Oh, HEY! Picnic utensils! Separate them buy f/s/k, and you'll never buy a multipack of plastic ware that you really don't need.

2. Action figures, and their ilk.

Each little dude gets his own pocket and you never have to dig through a bunch of pointy plastic feet to find the "right" Spiderman again! Also works for The Groovy Girls and Barbie's many clothes and accessories.



Also, the shoe caddy is ideal for Thomas and his friends. You can even put sticky labels on the pockets so when one of those little trains goes missing, you know who it is (Gordon or Edward? Skarloey or Rheneas?). I mean, your three year old will tell you, because at a glance he knows the difference between Donald and Douglas, but if you want to find someone before the tantrum starts, it's a help.

1. Office Supplies

Thumbtacks, rubber bands, sticky notes. I was pretty tired of my husband asking me where they all were. Look, it's on the door, in clear pockets. Nothing is jumbled together, and we have a lot of drawer space freed up.