Putting those do-dads in their place.

November 12, 2010 7:26 AM

I need help figuring out where to put all my teeny, easily lost, stuff.

There are a few types of things in my life that I both use rather frequently and lose rather frequently, things like knee-high socks and tights or bobby-pins, hair combs, and clips or lip balm tins.

So often its like these things are in essence disposable because I use them, take them off, and never see them again. Does anyone have any ideas for storing these types of items that are cute (or at least not ugly) and practical?

posted by stormygrey to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (28 answers total)

I keep a bowl on my dresser for the non-clothes type of things. As for the socks and tights, that's what the hamper is for.
posted by ocherdraco at 7:28 AM on November 12, 2010

I have a basket in my entry hallway for keys and wallets, and it has also become my default temporary storage for barrettes, lip balms, etc. that I don't feel like immediately returning to their homes for whatever reason.
posted by something something at 7:30 AM on November 12, 2010

Valet tray for the itty-bitty things.

For knee highs and tights I just stuff them in my sock drawer.
posted by like_neon at 7:37 AM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

I put a small popsicle mold (looks a lot like this ) on the vanity counter in my bathroom and it's been really useful for organizing all my small-sized makeup and other sundries. I like that the plastic is clear, so I can see if there are bobby pins hiding anywhere. It keeps everything neat, and I think it looks pretty cheerful, too.
posted by pluot at 7:37 AM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

I find that it helps to have a landing spot in each room for these little things. In my bedroom, I have a glazed plate from the thrift store. In the bathroom, it's a 3-section wooden container from the thrift store, as well as a set of pharmacy bottles for the smallest things (earrings, rings). In the office, I've got a basket on my desk... from the thrift store. As long as I have a landing spot close enough to be convenient, I'll use that instead of just dropping my hair clips on an end table and then never seeing them again.
posted by specialagentwebb at 7:38 AM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

I keep one of these on my dresser. At a store, you can probably by one at a time instead of six.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 7:53 AM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sounds like attractive baskets would be your new friend!
posted by DarlingBri at 7:53 AM on November 12, 2010

Bobby pins go into a cute souvenir shot glass on my shelf.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:55 AM on November 12, 2010

This is pretty much what import stores are for, I think. Visit your nearest china/korea/pakistan/thai/japantown neighborhood and find yourself one of those stores that seems packed to the gills with things. Inside, you'll probably find a wide variety of little bowls, trays, boxes, bottles, and just generally decorative containers for a reasonable price.
posted by Mizu at 7:56 AM on November 12, 2010 [3 favorites]

re: socks and tights. The issue might be that they're getting lost when they're washed.

Try this: buy a lingerie washing bag (they're cheap at Target or the dollar store) and keep it near your hamper or laundry basket/pile. When you take off your socks/tights make a point to put them in the bag for washing.

I used to have this sort of trouble with my son's tiny little socks, but since I started using lingerie bags as storage/washing containers we lose far fewer.
posted by anastasiav at 8:06 AM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

For small itty-bitty things, I have one of these in my closet (as well as something like this for a few of the less-itty-bitty ones).

They're especially handy when coupled with a labelmaker. I'm not an organized person in the slightest, but I've found that these tiny bins are very easy to adhere to in terms of organization, and help keep me sane! If there's one near you, go take a trip to The Container Store. It's a magical place.

Back when I was a traveling IT repairman, I used to carry around one of these in the trunk of my car, with my most frequently-used small fiddly-bits in it. It totally beat any larger toolbox that I've seen, and can be thrown around without the tiny parts migrating to other bins. Right now, it's filled with a handful of precision screwdrivers, wireties, various screws nuts and bolts, a set of torx/hex keys, a few SD/CF cards, a few miscellaneous adapters, and an emergency stash of small change for parking meters.

I've also got a few plastic rubbermaid containers on the top shelf of my closet with some infrequently-used clothing items in them. One of them has "Winter Hats and Gloves" written on one end, and "Swimsuits and goggles" on the other. I exchange the contents and flip the box around every year in October. There's also one for winter socks.

I also have a few of these on a bookshelf, mainly because they were cheap.
posted by schmod at 8:09 AM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

you can clothespin a lingerie bag to your hamper, or put a permanent hook for it near where the hamper lives, or just toss it on top of the hamper if you remember to keep rescuing it, and put socks and tights in there.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2010

Seconding the import stores. I keep my makeup in a three-tier bento box.
posted by JoanArkham at 8:48 AM on November 12, 2010

I have a set of drawers from Ikea - wooden ones with nine compartments. I put things that have no home here.

For craft stuff, I like Really Useful Boxes. Very strong anf come in several sizes.

For slides and clips, I have a bowl that sits on my chest of drawers and everything goes in there.
posted by mippy at 8:56 AM on November 12, 2010

I keep my desk supplies (lots of little things, like paper clips and pushpins and tape flags) in a 6-cupcake baking tin.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:10 AM on November 12, 2010

My friend found an old library card file and keeps it in her room for socks and ephemera. It looked great too, because it was finished wood and had all those awesome drawers with room for labels!
posted by ShadePlant at 9:12 AM on November 12, 2010

I've seen that "old library card catalog" idea before, and I love it. So I'll tack on the (obvious, I think) question: where would you go to find such a thing? I have to assume that these are getting thrown out all over the place due to computerizeimification and so forth.
posted by madmethods at 9:27 AM on November 12, 2010

It's not a classy system, but I've got one of those cheap bookshelves you build yourself from like Target, and do the tension rod "curtains" over them so you can't see my clutter, but it's all contained by level. (One's for jewelry, one's for hair and make up products, one's got my stockings and socks in a bin, etc.) On the jewelry shelf, things are organized in cheap little trays and bins and jewelry holders (cute ones are a dime a dozen on UO, TJ Maxx, etc.). A friend of mine does a clever thing with her earrings where she took wire mesh or whatever and put it in a cute frame and hung it. The earrings get attached through the mesh so it's like having framed earring art almost, ha.
posted by ifjuly at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

And cubbies with pull out modular cloth shelves are also an option, from the same brands at Target.
posted by ifjuly at 9:29 AM on November 12, 2010

My name is Shazzam, and I am a disorganized, messy, unable to keep track of tiny fiddly things person.

Some solutions that have absolutely worked for me:

- cute oriental box for bobby pinss
- shallow glass jar for hair elastics
- ice cube tray for stud earrings
- tights get knotted up and all stored in a drawer separate to socks
- knee high socks are folded, regular socks are rolled
- valet trays for lip balms/lipsticks/lipglosses (1 compartment per "type"
- little baskets/trays in drawers for makeup
- separate shoe boxes for pouches/wallets/little bags
- big plastic crate at bottom of wardrobe for handbags
- scarf holder for scarves
- belt holder for belts
- dangly earrings hang off old wine glasses, bracelets/necklaces sit IN them
- bathroom cabinets have shoe boxes in them which categorise items (hair, face, body)


Lots of great ideas above for looking in Asian kitsch shops for cute containers. I am on the verge of buying a Japanese tea set so I can use the cups for bobby pins & hair clips, and the pot for cotton balls for example. Also, thrift stores for old crystal ashtrays, serving plates and divided trays.
posted by shazzam! at 9:44 AM on November 12, 2010

I once got one of those hardware drawers and it was AMAZING. Suddenly, my messy junk drawer is easily organized because I have a compartment for my lipbalms, bobby pins, safety pins, etc. They're not pretty, but I'm sure you can decorate it yourself.
posted by lacedcoffee at 9:48 AM on November 12, 2010

I have small decorative dishes in several spots around the apartment where I tend to take off jewelry and hair ties: a small silver paperclip dish on the computer which has never held a paperclip; a red ceramic candy dish on the end table; a cute ceramic soap dish on my bathroom counter; a decorative pedestal bowl on my dresser; a small basket on my nightstand.

This does mean I occasionally have to check in several locations to find a specific pair of earrings when I want them, but they are virtually guaranteed to be in ONE of those places. I haven't lost an earring in forever (knock wood) except for one time when I dropped a pair into my purse to put on later and one mysteriously disappeared.

Stuff like lip balm that I use frequently I'll generally have in multiples so I can keep one in all the places I'm likely to be. I have a little basket on the computer desk that holds my meds so I stuck some lip balm in there, plus I have one in my bedside basket, one in my purse, one in the bathroom, one in my desk at work.

I also use one of those little plastic drawer thingies linked above, kept on the bathroom counter to hold things like tweezers, manicure supplies, small items of makeup, and it is also the mother lode from which all the hair ties and bobby pins originate.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:00 AM on November 12, 2010

Saw these pill boxes while out shopping yesterday. There's a plastic box inside separated into 7 compartments for daily pills, but it's removable. I thought it would make a great container in your purse or backpack for all the little thingies one needs to carry around.

Tackle boxes are great things to store lots of little things, like earrings or loose buttons.

And have you ever been to a Container Store? Lots of ideas there. If you're close to a bricks-and-mortar store, go check it out. Just wandering the aisles can give you lots of ideas for repurposing containers to suit your storage needs.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 11:57 AM on November 12, 2010

If you go to a jewelry/bead/crafting/hobby store like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. they should have somewhere in the bead/jewelry section some clear plastic containers that have lots of small compartments for jewelry makers to keep all their different beads.

These also have snap-open lids which are quite handy for keeping your stuff in the box and in their own spaces if you knock it off a shelf, or even for carrying the whole thing around.
posted by DingoMutt at 8:30 PM on November 12, 2010

It's a bit pricey, but I like Muji for this kind of stuff. They have a whole line of clear acrylic containers that are simple and sleek. Their stationery department also has pen cases, pen holders and other containers in aluminum, plastic and cardboard that would hold the little items you're talking about quite nicely.
posted by Paris Elk at 4:17 AM on November 13, 2010

I have a ring holder for hair elastics, a thick velvet ribbon hanging on the wall that I clip hair clips to. Lip balm gets stored with the other make up when it isn't hanging out at the bottom of a bag. But I still have baskets with stuff on my dresser and bedside table. Sigh.
posted by kjs4 at 8:19 AM on November 13, 2010

Thanks to everyone who posted, from all of this with this problem!
posted by IAmBroom at 11:14 AM on November 15, 2010

Etsy is another great source for things like little felted bins, boxes, and bowls. Papaververt is one vendor, but there are plenty more.
posted by jeri at 9:14 PM on November 19, 2010