The best space savers to keep organised?

[bebemoohatessnot]

Tell me what has helped you save space the most. What has made the most difference to getting and keeping organised? Anything and everything.
I need to organise this house, but not sure where to start or what to do.
I'm looking for some inspiration!

• plastic boxes and trays for shit completely necessary stuff under the kitchen sink

• likewise for the crap that accumulates in the kitchen cupboards (stops pots falling on my head when looking for lunchbox lid)

• those vacuum bag thingys for shrinking clothes, duvets etc. Fabulous.

I have a few things.........

My desk from ikea is fab it's got enough space for my computer, printer, magazine rack at the side for folders etc, a whiteboard to write on and put magnets on for important stuff, and extra shelf for paper, stapler, hole punch, a little cubby hole bit for pens, blank cd's etc then a set of draws underneath, the bottom draw has hanging files in then a draw for wires for the camara, chargers etc then the top has stamps, highlighters, ink cartridges etc.

In the living room I have a sideboard which has loads of stuff in and I'm actually going to spend today sorting it out (just having a cuppa) I have 2 draws that get my post put in for when I have time to file it away (will be doing that today) and 4 draws have my work stuff in, and dh gets the 2 biggest draws for his stuff.

The tv cabinet is good for all games and dvds.

Our wardrobe is good too, it's got some hanging space but also a shelf above and below too so I put handbags at the top and the bottom is full of random stuff tbh (might sort that a bit if I get chance today) there is a side bit with trouser hanging space and more shelves, this is where I keep my box files (which I'm also sorting today cus they are all full hence me needing to do some filing)

Why am I still sat here? I have too much to do! See you later and good luck!!

The most important thing IMO is not having too much stuff. I have regular clearouts of everything (yes, including books, and I'm a huge book lover; we have a couple of thousand) and that really really helps. eg last night, I sorted through DCs toys. I got rid of one bin bag to the charity shop, and another bin bag of broken and incomplete toys to the bin. I also need to go through my wardrobe and get rid of a few things, and the linen cupboard too. If it hasn't been used in a couple of years it gets chucked (freecycled, ebayed, charity shopped, recycled, given away, binned). We don't have the storage space to be sentimental.

We also have a lot of books. The books are really our biggest trouble besides the clothes and crafting stuff and bits of DIY leftovers and cds and dvds and ... every time I try to have a clear out of the books DH gets utterly sentimental and says I can't get rid of that!!! (And I'm the one who's the avid lover and reader of books...)
I'm also finding it hard to have the kids books accessible as they're so big and heavy when all together. When I try to divide them up though they end up all over the house...

I was inspired by this blog (he's in publishing so has more than your usual number of books). I got rid of 500 this way last year and will try for another 1-200 before Xmas. I had a book swap party, where we all brought along a couple of books to swap. I left out 500 books on my kitchen benches and about 2/3 were nabbed by my friends; the rest went to charity. It was a huge success. (having said that, my husband, who's a hoarder, donated a massive TEN books to the pile )

I am seriously considering paying someone to put all my CDs onto an ipod and then I can send all ours up into the loft.

trofast storage for ds' toys. they stack nicely out of the way in boxes which can come out one at a time. Its fabulous.

Regular clearing out. and ruthless - especially with paperwork. Somethings need to be kept but do i really need my old uni notes? nope they get to go asap - its on my todo list.

My children love doing my shredding for me

Lots of draws - they are so handy. And put stuff in the shed if you can?

Most importantly - declutter as much as possible! Frecycle is fab for this

The garage and shed are also filled... We're in dire straits here ;)
But these are all good ideas. I think it's very right- you need to stay on top of the everyday stuff (shredding), putting the toys away every night.
I've started clearing out the kitchen and any dishes/pots I've not used in the 3 years since we've moved I've freecycled. :) It feels really good. I think I may move the contents of the cupboards around too and see if I cannot get some the contraptions which are currently covering my countertops into the cupboards.

Talked things over with dh and told him this weekend I want to clear out the attic and then the garage so that the things that actually need to be in those places can be organised (and out of my wardrobes and closets) which will leave me more room again too.

Is there any charity group which does a winter jacket collection? Every year about this time back home the Salvation Army had one, but I''ve not seen any in the UK... I've got a number of jackets which could go.