I love when my house is neat and organized, but I don’t really love the act of organizing. It takes a certain amount of time and effort to do, and I usually find myself wondering which organizing system would be the most helpful in any given area. But recently I’ve found myself going “back to basics” so to speak, and re-embracing the simple idea of color coding things. One of the advantages of color coding is that it makes it incredibly quick and easy to identify things. This saves me plenty of time throughout my day!
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Color coding can also be quicker, easier, and cheaper than other organizing methods. You can use things your already have around the house to color code your stuff, like washi tape, permanent markers, rubber bands, and even nail polish! With simple supplies and just a few minutes of work, you can implement a color coded system that will save you tons of time and energy down the road. Today I’ll be sharing 11 examples of things you can color code around the house to make your own life easier! :-)
11 Things You Can Color Code To Make Your Life Easier
1. Keys
If you have a keyring full of similar-looking keys, it can be tricky to remember which key is which. To solve this problem, grab a few different shades of nail polish! Just paint the end of each of your keys with a different color of nail polish. You could use yellow for your front door key, red for your storage unit key, etc. Use whatever colors you’ll be most likely to remember, and you’ll never have to struggle to find the right key again!
2. Cords & Cables
In this day and age, many of us carry cables, cords, and other charging implements so we can charge our smartphones on the go. But since all those cables tend to look the same, it can get tricky to remember whose is whose! To solve this problem, use a distinct colored or patterned washi tape to mark your cords, cables, and plugs. You’ll know for sure which ones are yours, and you can skip the arguments and accusations. And since washi tape is easy to remove, you won’t have to worry about leaving behind sticky residues on your cords.
Another way to keep cords organized is by storing them in toilet paper tubes. Use color-coded washi tape to identify what kind of cord is in each tube.
Related: 12 Surprisingly Practical Ways You Can Use Cardboard Tubes
3. Medications
Wrap colored rubber bands around the lids of your medications to color code them. There are a few different systems that can be helpful depending on your situation. You could color code them according to when you’re supposed to take them (like a green rubber band might indicate once daily meds, while a blue band means twice daily.) Or if your family keeps medication in one central place, you could color code them based on who they’re prescribed to.
4. Bills
Use colored stickers or colored clothespins to group together important papers and bills. For bills, you could use a green clothespin for bills that have been paid and a red clothespin for bills that still need paying.
5. Spices
Color code your cooking and baking spices by using colored rubber bands, stickers, or nail polish on the lids. You could use green to signify dried herbs, yellow for baking, red for the spicy ones, etc.
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6. Recipes
You can use stickers or washi tape to color code your recipe cards, or just buy different colored index cards! This makes it easy to track down a particular recipe based on type (like baked goods, main courses, side dishes, etc.)
7. Holiday Storage
Color coding can be extremely helpful when it comes to holiday decorations! Your seasonal decor stays stored away for most of the year, which leaves plenty of time for you to forget where you put things. Use different colored storage bins to keep things organized, or mark your current storage bins with colored duct tape. Use an orange bin or tape for Halloween decorations, and a green bin or tape for Christmas decorations, etc.
8. Laundry Bags
Use laundry bags in different colors to pre-sort your dirty laundry. Then when laundry day comes around, you’ll know exactly how to wash the clothes in any particular bag without having to sort them again!
9. Cutting Boards
Color coding can be a great way to ensure you’re using good food safety practices in the kitchen. Using a color coded set of cutting boards like this one from Amazon can help reduce the chance of cross-contamination. This set has a red cutting board for red meat, a yellow one for poultry, a green one for veggies, and a blue one for fish. You could also color code your existing cutting boards by marking them with permanent markers.
10. Planners & Calendars
Whether you prefer to use a paper planner or an online calendar, color coding your appointments can help you stay on top of things. If you are keeping track of appointments and events for your whole family, try color coding events by which family member they’re for. Or you could color code events by type, like social events, work events, etc.
11. Towels
Towels come in tons of different colors, which makes it easy to implement a color coded system at home. You could designate different colored towels for different jobs, such using blue towels for kitchen cleanup and yellow towels for bathroom jobs. You could also color code the towels you already own! Just make a small slit in one corner of each towel, and tie a scrap of colored ribbon through the hole to mark it.
Related: This Is Why Microfiber Cloths Are The Ultimate Cleaning Tool
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What’s your favorite way to color code things at home?
I taught my children how to do laundry as soon as they could reach the dials and buttons on the washer and dryer by using the color-coded laundry basket system. In addition to the baskets, I placed stickers colored to match the baskets on the washer and dryer dials. They just took a basket, set the the dials (or pushed the buttons) with the matching colors.
When my children were younger, they frequently argued over which towel was theirs in the bathroom they all shared. I solved the problem by buying them each a set of towels in their favorite colors. No more arguing over towels!
I may be missing something, but instead of having different colored cutting mats for beef, chicken, pork, fish, etc., I reserve 1 mat for raw meats and use another for veggies. That simplifies the number of mats needed.
As long as you’re washing it well between uses, that should be just fine! :-)
Hi Jillee
Always wanted to buy colored bins for holiday storage but never wanted to spend the money. Now I can just buy colored tape. Truly a “Why didn’t I think of that?” moment.
Thanks again for another great post
Angie
I organized my closet by putting like colored clothes together. I did it in rainbow order. I did it for my husband too. It did make me realize that I have a lot of black clothes.