3 more DIYs to keep your office functionally organized

It’s one thing to be organized. It is another thing to be functionally organized. Have you ever organized an area of your home and then a week or two later it is right back to being on the hot mess express? Well I have been there and done that. Then I realized that I was organizing but I was not making the space functional. I will make a separate post on how to make any space functionally organized. But in this post I will show you 3 DIYs that will keep your office or home school space functionally organized. You can probably whip up all of these in less than 30 min.

DIY file organizer

This is my favorite one. I think we all probably have a milk crate in our basement. If you don’t then I recommend finding some kind of square basket or container in your home that will fit a folder. Worst case scenario you will want to check your local thrift store or shop a friend’s basement. A milk crate is the perfect size for a file folder.

Once you find the crate or basket you are using then you can paint it whatever color you want. Or in my case give a good clean first and then paint it. Don’t judge me I told you it was in my basement 🤷🏽‍♀️. I chose copper because that was the color that matched the room that it was going in.

After you are finished painting it then you can add in your file folders. If you are homeschooling this is also perfect for holding all your kids’ notebooks,textbooks, and binders. You can have a basket or a crate for each child.

If you like this idea pin it. And save it for later

DIY pen holders

For this project you will need

• Mini Buckets/ plant pots/ recycled tin can (dollar store)
• small curtain rod, wooden dowel, or pvc pipe (whichever you have or is easier to get)
• S hooks or dollar store binder clips
• Pipe straps ( less than $1 at most hardware stores )
• Spray paint ( optional)

STEP 1

One of the first things you want to do is cut your rail to the proper length. Your “rail” would be the pipe or wooden dowel that I mentioned earlier. You want it to be long enough to hold as many buckets as you need.

Step 2

If you are using the dollar store buckets or plant pots like I did then you want to remove the handles and place your binder ring or S hook through the hole on the side. If you are using a tin can then you will need to drill a hole first in order to be able to hang the container from the rail.

Step 3-Assembly

You can spray paint your rail and your buckets whatever color that you want. Then when you’re ready you will attach the rail to the wall using pipe straps

After you hang your rail then you can hang the buckets using binder clips or S. Hooks. And you will have something that looks like this when you are done.

Then you can use this to hold all your pencils, pens, markers, chalk , highlighters etc. but aside from writing utensils you can use this for any loose office supplies like paper clips, scissors, rubber bands, push pins and more.

But for the small things I found that these small spice containers from the dollar store work best. I got a 3 pack for $1 and simply painted the lids to match my decor. These items may no longer be in stock but you can use any spice container or other small container.

I created a DIY floating shelf using a piece of scrap wood and the gold wire baskets from the dollar store to hold the spice containers. I painted the scrap wood and cut the wire baskets using a wire cutter to create the shelf. See the photos below.

Pin this so you can make this later

I mounted the shelf to the wall so that my spice containers wouldn’t take up space on my desk. I used this shelf to keep my small office supplies but this shelf would also make a great spice rack in the kitchen as well.

DIY paper trays

It wouldn’t be an office or a school without paperwork. The dollar store has these plastic baskets that fit paper perfectly. To give them an industrial farmhouse look I added black spray paint. They look like metal wire baskets when painted black. But you can paint them whatever color matches your decor.

Then I lined them with cork sheets which I also got from the dollar store. The dollar store cork sheets have adhesive on one side. I stuck two sheets to one another and then placed them in the bottom of the tray.

These are perfect for organizing any paperwork that you need to keep close by.

So far these DIYs have helped me to keep my office functionally organized and my desk free of clutter. if you want to try any of these DIYs feel free to save any of these images to Pinterest and try them later. If you give them a try please tag me on Instagram @peaceofrefuge. Subscribe to this blog to get future posts delivered straight to your email. If you are on a smart phone please scroll down to subscribe and if you are on a computer then just check the side bar. For DIY home improvement subscribe to my YouTube channel Peace of Refuge. Thank you for reading. I hope this helps you keep your workspaces and homeschooling spaces in tip top shape. 🕊