DAISO 101: 9 products to organize your home

Daiso. It's a place the kids love to go, since they get to pick something from the store (usually they end up with stickers). It's a place that used to elicit groans from the hubby, whenever I asked to pay a visit. However, I would sometimes find him wandering the aisles with a glassy-eyed look, clutching some tools and random foodstuff, saying "it's only $2". So yes, we love the place. Many of our craft materials are purchased from Daiso, and I love how the products are of pretty decent quality. I've blogged a fair number of posts on their products, but today I'd like to share about how we keep our things organized at home using Daiso products: 

1. Tension Rods:

These come in various lengths, and can be adjusted to fit any corner or shelf. The thinner rods can take a weight of up to 2 kg, and I've read about thicker rods that can take far heavier loads. These are great as "instant shelving", and I've seen people transform their shoe storage and wardrobes with these rods. For us, the rods are handy for keeping some of our washi tapes organized (this is great especially when you want easy access, yet do not want tapes getting kidnapped by kids to be used liberally as bandages!):

The rods have been great for creating shelving where it was so badly needed. This was our "drinks cabinet", before the tension rods went in:

As you can see, we had recently purchased those dry food jars from IKEA, but everything was still stacked on each other and stuff kept toppling. All it needed was 2 tension rods, and 10 minutes later I had a shelf, and a much neater cabinet! (I used two of the frosted plastic boxes from Daiso too, to allow for easier access to breakfast spreads and various large tea packets. More on those boxes later.)

These tension rods are pretty amazing, and if you'd like more inspiration on how to use them, read this. 

2. Compartment boxes:

Daiso stocks plastic boxes with compartments, and these come in various sizes. These have been really handy for keeping small objects sorted, like crafting material (buttons and flowers), as well as kids' stuff like goggly eyes and beads. 

3. Frosted plastic boxes: 

We have a whole bunch of these! These can be stacked, and come in different heights and sizes. My only grouse for these is that you can't get covers for them. Otherwise, they are great for holding almost anything and everything, and they look a whole lot better than the average primary-coloured plastic box. I use them to hold various learning materials, I have a few in my craft trolley for holding stamps, inks and mists, we have a few in our fridge for keeping fruit, vegetables, medicines and bottles sorted. I know a friend who bought a whole pile of these to store her DVDs! 

4. Lipstick organizer:

I hardly wear make-up (I can count with my fingers the number of times I've applied lipstick!), but these lipstick organizers are great for keeping little things sorted. Like my bento food picks. This sits in a shallow drawer in the kitchen, where I can get at them easily when prepping the boys' lunchboxes. 

5. Vacuum storage bags:

We have to store a fair bit of clothes, because the kids' clothes get passed down from brother to brother. There's also the coldwear to store, as well as seasonal stuff like my maternity clothes. It's a fair bit of clothing to be kept stored, so using these bags really helps to reduce their bulkiness! I like the smaller ones that come in a pair, and they get labelled so that we can find stuff easily. 

6. Hooks

We stick many of these little hooks inside the doors of our cabinets. Those inside our bookshelf hold stuff like cables, room keys and earphones, while those in the toilet keep my hairties tidy. 

7. Wooden boxes:

These are really a steal at $2 each, and I love that Daiso changes the designs over time. We use them to store art materials, wooden blocks and chalk.

8 & 9. Baskets (and plastic shoe boxes):

The plastic shoe boxes are really great for toy storage! They keep all our building toys organized inside our Besta cupboard in the living room, and 3 boxes fit snugly on one shelf. The boys can see what is inside the boxes, and cleaning up is relatively easy! 

We use the woven baskets for storing toys such as their play food, as well as to hold thin books in the bookshelf. I find these thin books are best kept facing forward, or the kids would keep taking out the whole pile to find one title. The spines are too thin for titles to be printed, so having them in a basket means the kids can easily flip through the pile.

And there you have it: 9 versatile products, each costing only $2, that go a long way in helping to keep your home organized! If you're headed down to do some shopping, here are more posts that you might want to check out:

:: 5 great buys from Daiso

:: Another 5 things to check out in Daiso

:: Some art materials in Daiso

:: Bento tools from Daiso

:: Under the sea party packs using some stuff from Daiso

:: How to make rainbow building blocks using materials from Daiso

:: How to make a light table using the LED lamp from Daiso

:: How to make house building blocks using materials from Daiso

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This post is part of the "DAISO 101" blog train that is being hosted on this blog. Click on the button below to get the full list of Daiso posts, and happy shopping! 

Next on the blog train is Cynthia from B.C.D.E. That's Us. A FTWM with 2 boys who are 6 and 4, she blogs about her parenting journey, simple cooking "hacks" and fun activities the family enjoys - basically the forgettable and unforgettable moments as the boys grow up and the adults grow old. Do hop over to her blog tomorrow to read her guide to the $2 store!