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Organising our homes can feel like a never-ending task. From finding the right organising systems and the right bins, to knowing exactly where to place them and what to store inside them, it can feel like constantly trying to put these pieces of the puzzle together and constantly failing. 

I do believe there’s no perfect system for everybody, because our lifestyles and our homes are all so different. I also believe that decluttering needs to come first—getting rid of the items we don’t need, and then finding the systems to organise what we do need.

But despite all of that, there are certain organising systems that have made my life as a mom of two a lot easier.

So today, I’m going to share 10 IKEA organising items that I love in our home—items we’ve used not just here, but in many of the places we’ve lived over the years, including our small flat in London.

Keep reading below or watch the video:

1. Fabric boxes

The Skubb boxes come in various sizes and are sold in packs of six. They fit perfectly in drawers, and I love using them in wardrobes.

I use them in our wardrobe, in the drawers for both myself and the kids—whether it’s for my underwear, storing my leggings, or anything else. They’re incredibly useful and don’t cost much.

And if I don’t need some of them right now, they fold flat easily and take up hardly any space when stored away. I love the versatility of pieces like these.

2. Felt boxes

We started using these Jaegmaestare felt boxes a few months ago for our kids’ toys, and I really love them. They’re nice and soft for when the kids play around them, and they’re a really good size. 

We got the larger size and they fit nicely in our Ikea Billy bookcase that we built. They hold a good amount of toys without getting too overwhelming.

I found that when we used a larger box for our daily rotation toys, it ended up being a bit much. When they pour out the whole basket and it’s very full, it becomes much harder for them to tidy up at the end of the day—or for me to tidy, for that matter.

So having slightly smaller bins can actually be really helpful for toys. This way, we can categorise them a bit better, and it’s not going to be an overwhelming amount of toys in each bin.

We have six felt boxes at the moment for toys, and it’s been working really well for us downstairs in the living room where the kids mostly play.

3. Rattan baskets

We used to use the Branas baskets for toys, and they were great for storing them in the daily cupboard. But when they were full to the brim, it felt a bit much, so we kept them about halfway full. Yet I found the felt baskets worked a bit better for the kids’ toys.

So now I’ve repurposed the baskets. Some of them are on the kids’ wardrobes, and when we do a toy rotation, I store some of the toys up there. That’s where I also keep their out-of-season clothes or the ones that the kids may need to grow into, or things that we just don’t need daily access to. 

I also have some of these baskets in my husband’s and my wardrobe, just at the top. That’s where we keep seasonal items, like out-of-season clothing and other things. They’re really useful for a whole range of purposes.

And we have a similar one in our airing cupboard where we keep the coats, iron, and some random bits like that. And we have a mix. Some are white, and some are bamboo colour.

4. Napkin holders

One thing that’s technically not really an organising system is the Cissan napkin holder. It comes in two different sizes. We have a few of both sizes, and I find them really useful for certain areas in my home.

We use one of them in our entryway, where we drop our keys, wallet, and all the little things we come through the door with. That’s where we pop them. Having a little drop zone at the entryway makes it really easy to find things when we leave the house.

I also have a few napkin holders in our kitchen cupboards, in the drawers. I find them useful for little things that I need to organise. 

And I’ve also put one in our kids’ play kitchen, because it’s really nice to store away the play food. So it can be a good storage for little toys as well.

5. Magazine holders

One thing that’s probably the cheapest on this list—but I found it really useful as well—is the magazine holder. 

Ikea has these really cute Tjabbain magazine holders, made just out of cardboard, with a little smiley face on them. People always comment on them on my Instagram, because they’re really cute, but they’re also very functional.

We use them for some of my and my husband’s paperwork, and also for the kids’ artwork. My son likes to write his own little books and he has written quite a lot of them. So one magazine holder is for him to store all of those in there. It just helps organise items like that. 

I find that when things have a home, when all that artwork and all the pieces have a place where they belong, it’s a lot easier to tidy, and it’s a lot easier to find things when you need them.

6. Book-ends

We also love the Hossla bookends from IKEA as they’re minimalist and simple. 

Some bookends can take up space, as oftentimes they have little ornaments on them, which can be really cute. However, for us, I wanted something really simple that can go in a lot of different places in our home. 

We’re using these book-ends with our books and some of the kids’ books and magazines in our Billy bookcase. These’s also one in my daughter’s bedroom where she keeps her little toddler books.

I even use the bookends for some of my son’s Nintendo Switch games. 

I probably don’t even need to explain why bookends are useful. It’s just nice to have books standing properly and not have them fall all over the place. Just makes organising a shelf a lot easier, making sure it actually stays that way.

7. Glass jars and food containers

The IKEA 365 Plus glass containers are some of my favourites. They’re like regular Tupperware-style containers, and we have them in a variety of different sizes.

We like using them for leftovers and anything that I need to store in the fridge. For example, if I want to wash and put together all the fruit in one container, I’ll use one of these glass containers. 

These food containers can also be really helpful and are a good option if you, like me, are trying to get away a bit more from using plastic food containers.

I also use the 365+ glass jars with lids for the dry foods that I need to store in our pantry cupboard, like pasta, rice, and all of those kinds of items.

8. Simple boxes

I really love the Ikea Kuggis boxes, and they come in lots of different sizes—with or without lids.

We have a few with lids in my son’s wardrobe, and they’ve been so helpful for organising all sorts of things. One holds his Lego train tracks, another has some of his artwork and paperwork he wants to keep, and another one is for all his swimming gear.

The Kuggis box also comes with a little tray insert that sits on top, which is great for sorting smaller bits and pieces. They’re super handy if you’re organising a pantry or an upstairs cupboard with things like batteries and other little items.

9. Mesh baskets

The Risatorp mesh baskets are ones I’ve used quite a bit. I keep a few in the kitchen—for things like potatoes and onions—and I really like how breathable they are. Plus, they fit perfectly in the little drawer we have down there, which makes them extra practical.

I also use them in our Billy bookcase to store arts and crafts for the kids—things like Play-Doh, their painting sets, and all sorts of other supplies. They’re really useful for keeping everything in one place.

10. Clothes-baskets

It might not be strictly an organising item, but I really love the Blaska laundry basket. We typically use it to carry wet laundry to hang up to dry. But it’s also been super helpful when I’m decluttering. I’ll grab the basket and take it around the house, collecting items I want to declutter. It’s a simple but effective way to organise things.

And this basket is what I use when I have items I need to relocate around the house. So I will go around the living room, for example, pick up all the items that belong in the kids’ rooms, put them in the basket, and then take it up to the kids’ rooms. It makes tidying up quicker and easier than carrying everything up by hand.

A lot of people also loved the previous IKEA article I wrote, where I shared the larger pieces we have in our minimalist home—things like our sofa, rug, and other furniture. If you’re curious to see that, you can read it here.