Today's Organizing Tip

[Indiana]

Hanging vs Folding Clothes

Many garments look their best when hung on proper hangers in closets that aren't overcrowded. Other clothes benefit from being neatly folded. Shirts and blouses made of linen, rayon, or 100 percent cotton will stay virtually wrinkle-free when hung upon hangers. Use padded hangers for slippery silks and satins, as well as delicate fabrics that crush easily, such as velvet, raw silk, chiffon, and taffeta. Curved suit hangers help maintain the shape of outdoor jackets, overcoats, suit jackets, and blazers. Skirt hangers have moveable clips to accommodate most skirt sizes and styles. And trousers hang nicely over the sturdy rods of wooden hangers, or held by the cuff with clamping trouser hangers.

Knitwear, including tops, pants, skirts, and dresses, should usually be folded. However, if you're tight on drawer space, a sweater can be folded in half, shoulder to shoulder, and draped over the bar of a wooden hanger with a piece of tissue paper in between. Casual pants and shorts made from rugged materials, such as jeans, khakis, and corduroys, also can be folded. And you should fold long evening dresses, particularly those weighted with ornamentation, because hanging can distort their shape.

[Indiana]

Appliance Manual for Guests

House sitters, house guests, caregivers and child-care providers may be baffled by the nuances of your stereo, climate-control, and burglar-alarm systems. Provide them with a handy guide to using your keypads and remote controls: Type or write instructions, and collect them in a convenient book like the ring binder shown here. Mark sections with tabs for each piece of equipment. The label can be photocopied or scanned for the cover.

Don't forget to include coffeepot, stove, electric blanket, etc. for guests.

[Indiana]

Coordinate Containers

Metal baskets once used for milk bottles and other groceries make perfect storage units for the kitchen or office. For maximum impact, choose similar containers, but vary their sizes and shapes (the metal ones, at left, feature punched holes and wire grids). Line baskets with canvas, and group them together to organize an entire roomful of odds and ends.

[Indiana]

Crazy Crayons

Heat makes a crayon a little loopy; it may melt into a swirl or pool into a whirl. With this in mind, chop up crayons and bake them in shaped mini cake tins, making large blocks that are easy for toddlers to hold and will surely inspire older artists. Encourage kids to come up with combinations: A blue-and-white blend for drawing the sky, for example, and a mix of reds and oranges for sunsets.

Tools and Materials
Kitchen knife
Old crayons
Mini-cake tins

Crayon How-To
1. Parents can use the knife to chop crayons into pea-size pieces, taking care to keep colors separate so kids can combine them as they like.

2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees while children fill the tin with crayon pieces, arranging them in interesting designs.

3. Bake just until the waxes have melted, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Remove the shapes after they have cooled. If they stick, place tray in the freezer for an hour, and the crayons will pop out.

[Indiana]

Setting Up A Pantry

An organized pantry streamlines cooking preparations, making it easy to find ingredients and keep track of their need for replenishment.

Keep the following points in mind when setting up your own pantry:

1. A pantry can be as large as a room or as small as a bookcase -- just make sure the space has good ventilation and circulation, low light, low humidity, and a relatively cool temperature.

2. Store items that are used together next to one another. For example, group baking staples such as baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cocoa, salt, and molasses on the same shelf.

3. Most items keep best in airtight containers; glass, metal, and heavy plastic containers are least likely to become infested with pests. Containers for oils and dried herbs should be opaque as well as airtight. Store grains, dried beans, dried chiles, rice, and dried fruit in tightly sealed canning jars.

4. Make sure that jars of food you've canned at home are properly labeled and dated. It's a good idea to mark the purchase dates of other foods such as flour and spices as well, so you can tell at a glance if something is past its prime.

5. A cool, dark space in the pantry is an ideal place to store hardy vegetables such as potatoes and onions. Don't store potatoes and onions right next to each other, however, as they hasten each other's spoilage.

6. The pantry is also a convenient place to store non-food items such as lightbulbs, candles, matches, baskets, serving trays, pots, pans small appliances used infrequently and pet treats.

[Indiana]

Book Page Placeholder

Sometimes bookmarks fall out and you're left thumbing through page after page, trying to remember where you left off. Or you have to look up that often-used recipe in your favorite cookbook because its ribbon markers already hold the places of other tried-and-true dishes. Avoid these annoyances with placeholders that fit onto the corner of any page.

To make one, cut a bottom corner from an ungusseted paper bag (the kind card shops use) or a colorful envelope. Make it about 2 inches long from corner to cut. Create several to track your best-loved recipes or when planning the menu for a special dinner.

[Indiana]

Tidy Cords

Eliminate the tangle of unused extension cords by storing each one in a piece of pipe insulation -- foam tubing with a slit along one side. Using a utility knife, cut insulation to desired length (about thirteen inches for each six feet of cord). Fold the cord to size, insert it, and label the foam to indicate the length of cord enclosed.

[Indiana]

No Slip Dish Towel

Hanging a dish towel from an oven door makes sense -- the towel is always at the ready, and the oven's warmth quickly dispels dampness. Here's a way to improve on the idea, keeping the towel from slipping off:

Make it into a loop by attaching Velcro strips to two ends, one on the front and one on the back, below. Stitch in place, or use iron-on Velcro strips.

Hang towel over the oven door handle and velcro the end.

[Indiana]

Lid-Rack Mail Sorter

A wooden pot-lid rack is ideal for holding mail; all it needs is a fresh coat of paint. For easier viewing, place smaller items, such as letters, bills, and postcards, near the front, and larger catalogs and magazines toward the back.

[Indiana]

Cloth Storage-Box Covers

Add a splash of color to basic storage boxes that aren't behind closed doors. Cut a plus-sign shape out of book cloth, measuring fabric so each side panel covers box with an extra 1/2 inch on both sides and 2 inches on end. Spread paste on center cloth panel; set box on top. Spread paste on side panels, and cover box, folding excess cloth over top edge, around corners, or under itself to hide seams. Hold in place with clothespins; let dry overnight. Cover lids if desired.

Edited to add: Be sure to check Harriet's post which is next for embellishment ideas.