It’s common practice for Professional Organizers to advise their clients to use their vertical spaces. Oftentimes, rooms are so jam packed with furniture and your 4 walls are like, hey…look up here…there’s all this great space! Take a picture of each of your walls and really see how much space is being underutilized.
Now, close your eyes and think of the magnetic surfaces in your home, like appliances, file cabinets and bathroom cabinets. You use their interiors for food, files and toiletries respectively, but what about their exteriors? Aha! They offer vertical spaces too! Remember learning your alphabet with those magnetic block letters and using your refrigerator as a surface for organizing words or to document your trips with
fun magnets? Bingo!
No, I’m not going to tell you to use those spaces. Besides, anyone with a Stainless-Steel refrigerator knows that they can’t use the front. Plus, I don’t want them to get cluttered up!
I first became intrigued by the idea of using metal surfaces for storage from a product named Grundtal (oh, those names!) from Ikea. It is a set of three magnetic spice tins. Designed to show what’s inside with a clear top, I thought of all the things that they could store aside from spices. There are the paper clips for your office, beads for crafters, and nails for your tool area.
So sure, there are magnet boards that you can buy to put such items on, but how about getting creative and creating one of your own! Try some of these other applications to get your stuff off surfaces and up on the wall!
Metal Serving Trays – Head to flea markets and garage sales, even thrift stores to look for these. To know for sure that they are magnetic, simply keep a small magnet in your pocket or purse and test it out. Spray paint your treasure in a color that you love and hang it up! Another idea is to frame the tray and use a colorful scrapbooking paper on the surface or wrap the tray taut in fabric!
Baking Sheets – I know what you are thinking…baking sheets are aluminum and not magnetic. True, however, with a coat of magnetic paint, it instantly becomes a magnet board! You take a regular cookie sheet, coat it with magnetic paint (available in a spray can) and it instantly becomes a magnet board!
Disclaimer: I have not tried the magnetic paint spray, so I’m not sure if it works. Reviews are mixed as to its magnetizing success.
The possibilities are endless with ideas of how to use these items for storage. Try them in:
…Your Entryway – using some magnetic caddies in various sizes for your sunglasses, your wallet, and a magnetic hook for your keys.
…Your Kitchen – using a small magnetic caddy for pens and note paper, invitations to parties (think one board for each family member) and of course for the above-mentioned spices in the Grundtal containers.
…Your Office – for inspirational pictures and quotes, your to do list, and small office supplies again in the Grundtal containers or ones like it.
…Your Bathroom – Listen up ladies! Look on Pinterest and use the search term “magnetic makeup organizers” and you’ll see a booming trend of using trays to hold makeup items vertical…genius! Glue those small disc magnets (from your local craft store) onto the back of products like powders, blushes and eyeshadows. For items like mascara, eyeliner and brushes, attach a small magnetic cup and store them there.
There is a myriad of other possibilities. Where would this work for you in your home?
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