I am shamelessly using Engie’s post prompt that she got from Stephany who got it from a recent episode of the Girl Next Door podcast when the hosts discussed where they keep various standard household items.
In our house…
KLEENEX
We have a box in our family room (downstairs) and living room (upstairs) and in every bedroom (in the master, it’s a box in the bottom drawer of my bedside table). Extra boxes are stored in the linen closet in our main bathroom. I also try to have some travel-sized packages in each purse and vehicle.
We don’t have open boxes of Kleenex in any bathroom.
MEDICINE
Things we use more regularly – allergy relief, pain medications, vitamins/supplements and any prescriptions – all live in a cupboard by our sink in the kitchen along with protein powder and smoothie supplies. This is also where we store our thermometer.
Less frequently used items – things like Tums, Gravol, cough syrup, topical creams, Vics VapoRub, Halls – live in a plastic bin in our linen closet.
BANDAIDS
Our Bandaids hang out in a white vase in our main linen closet. After years of fighting with flimsy boxes, I opted for an open container. We perpetually seem to be running low on large-sized Bandaids. Why do they even make tiny Bandaids? Who uses those microscopic sizes! Are people bandaging mosquitos?
HEATING PAD
We don’t own any heating pads, but we have FIVE microwaveable grain sacs (I call them all Magic Bags, but none of ours are actually branded) and they live in a basket beside our microwave. Someone uses one almost daily year-round.
NAIL POLISH
All the nail polish – and related supplies – are in the bottom drawer on my “side” of the master ensuite vanity.
WINTER GEAR
Goodness, we have a lot of winter gear. In the off-season almost everything lives in our furnace/storage room. All our boots are in a wooden hope chest I inherited from my sister. Our hats, mittens, gloves and snowpants are in two giant plastic bins. And all the ski gear and ice skates are on open shelving in the same storage room. Our winter coats are hanging in the guest room closet.
In the winter, we each have a small plastic bin for our individual gear (the kids bins are below our entry bench and John and I have bins in the entry PAX wardrobe).
SCISSORS
I have a thing for scissors. We have about 20 pairs of scissors in our house. I may pursue minimalism in many areas of my life, but scissors is not one of them. When I want a pair of scissors, I WANT THEM TO BE CLOSE AT HAND.
Kitchen: 2-3 pairs (always at least 2, sometimes one of the pairs might end up in another room and take a while to make it back to the kitchen); one pair is in the knife block, one pair is in our utensil holder, and one is in a drawer.
Bedrooms: the kids each have at least 2 pair of scissors in their room.
Bathrooms: both upstairs bathrooms have a pair of hair-cutting scissors which can also be used for removing tags from clothes etc. I also have two pairs of mini sewing scissors in my sewing kit (main bathroom).
Office: I have three pairs in my desk drawer.
Laundry room: Multiple pairs; one for crafts and general use, thinning sheers (technically scissors), and two pairs of hair-cutting scissors.
TWEEZERS
Tweezers are a different story. I own one pair. I’m not sure where I got this pair and honestly cannot remember a time when I didn’t own them. I adore my tweezers. They’re an unusual shape and I think they are amazing. A few times when I’ve travelled with them I have misplaced them and had mild panic attacks.
That one pair hangs out in my top drawer of the master ensuite (along with my makeup and hair supplies)
AIR FRYER/SLOW COOKER
We don’t have an air fryer, but we have two slow cookers (one big, one small – both wedding gifts) that stay in a cupboard under our microwave. This is also where I store our food processor and panini press. Our rice cooker is in a cupboard by our dishwasher.
TOWELS
We use our towels for multiple uses. Sometimes I put dirty towels directly into our main laundry basket (in a corner of our room), other times I just go into the bathrooms and grab towels in my arms and take them directly to the washing machine.
Clean towels are all on one shelf in our main bathroom linen closet (this is where the primary shower is located). We have a shower stall in the basement that looks like something straight out of The Shining. I usually leave a few clean towels on open shelving in our basement laundry room in case someone showers downstairs and forgets to bring one.
In-use towels hang…everywhere. Sometimes the kids store them on their bedroom floor. *RAGE BUILDING* Sometimes they store them on the hooks on the wall opposite the bathroom sink. Sometimes they store them on the hook by the shower, or on hooks on the back of the bathroom door, or on hooks in their room. John and I mostly store our to-be-used-again towels on hooks on our ensuite bathroom door (we don’t have a shower in the ensuite, though, so they do have to be carted to the main bathroom when we shower).
TAPE MEASURE
One in our catch-all drawer in the kitchen, one in our dining room (in a cupboard that has other general handy supplies like a hammer and nails), and then one soft tape in my sewing kit.
GIFT WRAPPING SUPPLIES
These are all over the place. I have a hard plastic stand-up tote for rolls of wrapping paper in our laundry room. In the bottom drawer of a dresser in the laundry room I keep small gift bags and tissue paper and ribbon. Most of my Scotch tape is in this dresser as well. Large general-use gift bags + all Christmas gift bags are on a shelf in our furnace/storage room, mostly because there’s no space for them in the laundry room, not because it makes any sense to separate wrapping paraphernalia like this. I also keep a tote full of gifts in my storage room – it means things I collect throughout the year all have a specific place to live until I’m ready to wrap them.
LIBRARY BOOKS
This makes me a little sad because for years we had a basket in our living room full of picture books. Now the kids store their library books in their own rooms (though they’re also often strewn hither and yon in the living room). My library books all live in the top drawer of my bedside table. I have a reusable bag in my closet and as soon as I finish a book, it goes there. When the bag gets full, I head to the library.
BOOKMARKS
These stay in an organizing dish in the top drawer of my bedside table (where I keep my library books; seems logical?). I have 3-4 “normal” bookmarks, and then I have various cards/postcards that I’ve received that I also use as bookmarks.
PENS
Everywhere – as they should be! The main spots: a magnetic pen holder on the side of our fridge (also has pencils and Sharpies), each of the kids rooms, the top drawer of my bedside table, and on/in both the desks in our office. I also have a pencil case in which I keep pens, pencils, highlighters and a Sharpie. This goes with me just about everywhere (in essence, it’s attached to my planner which also goes with me everywhere).
SUITCASES
John and I keep our carryons in his side of the closet (he needs his so frequently, it makes sense to keep it close at hand). Our larger suitcases + the kids carry-ons are in the furnace/storage room.
I also store all our packing cubes inside my carryon (in this picture I hadn’t put them away after our recent trip but eventually they’ll end up inside my suitcase).
WATERBOTTLES
Whatever we’re not using lives in a drawer in our kitchen. I hate it because it is not space efficient, but I didn’t want to use up valuable cupboard space. I’d love to get rid of all our extras but, alas, my kids are good at misplacing waterbottles – it’s one of their many skillsets – so it’s important to have backups on hand.
Our regularly used items (my Stanley, L’s Gatorade bottle, A’s TWO Stanley’s, and John’s insulated cup he uses for water) are usually on the dining room table or kitchen counter.
DOG LEASH
No dog. No leash.
KEYS
I store my house and vehicle keys in the front zippered pocket of my fanny pack (which hangs on a hook in our entry way). John stores his keys on a little hook inside a cupboard door. We rarely misplace our keys because they have very clearly defined “homes.”
GAMES
We have an IKEA hutch at the end of our main living/dining room that contains most of our games. The rest (games we rarely play) live in an entertainment unit in our family/TV room in the basement.
JEWELRY
I don’t own much jewelry. Everything I have – almost exclusively earrings – is in the top drawer of my side of the master ensuite vanity! The earrings I use regularly are on the front right; the rest are in the divided plastic container at the back. This is also where my makeup and hair items live. (This picture was taken when I had foolishly tried to stray from Surreal mascara. I remedied that mistake quickly.)
Your turn. What other categories should we discuss? I’ll make those answers a Part Two. Do you have enough scissors and pens in your house? Do you have a go-to home for your keys or do you regularly misplace them?
Header photo by Uliana Kopanytsia on Unsplash
Katie
I keep an extra set of Tweezers in my car- lol- my mom always plucked her eyebrows when she was waiting on us somewhere and I do this too now.
Your pictures inspire me to get organized, in particular the winter gear! Ours is all over the house/closets/garage unfortunately.
Elisabeth
How interesting – I have only ever had a single pair of tweezers and I basically only ever use them in my bathroom. But what a great way to fill spare time in the car.
Winter gear seems to spawn and spread. In the winter, it is EVERYWHERE.
Jenny
I definitely have enough scissors now- it turns out, scissors are not expensive, so it’s worth it to buy a lot of them. But! We definitely have a pen issue, and I like your MAGNETIC PEN HOLDER ON THE SIDE OF YOUR FRIDGE. I am getting one of those!
We have a little shelf inside the front door which we call the “key shelf.” My keys and sunglasses always go there. My husband sometimes puts his keys there, and sometimes puts them in a random place in the house. Then when he’s frantically looking for his keys I’m thinking “you should have put them on the key shelf!”
Elisabeth
The magnetic pen holder is awesome and I use it all. the. time. I also have a little bin on top of our fridge full of small pads of white paper. I use those daily and it’s so handy to have a go-to spot to keep them all. Anytime I need to jot down a list, I know exactly where to go to find paper.
I have a go-to place for my sunglasses but John doesn’t. Guess who misplaces their sunglasses regularly (and it isn’t me).
NGS
Okay, where do you keep your keys is a good question? We have two key hooks right inside the door and use them with gusto. Where do you put your purse/wallet is another good question. Sunglasses? I am terrible with my sunglasses and can never find them. It doesn’t help that I regularly drive both cars and have prescription and non-prescription sunglasses. *sigh*
Elisabeth
I keep my wallet inside my fanny pack which hangs on a hook right inside our door. And that fanny pack also has a pouch where I keep my keys. It’s awesome and I almost never lose them.
I put my sunglasses on a window ledge inside our entryway.
Suzanne
I love this post because it’s so fun to see how people do these everyday things, but also because it is so fun to get little glimpses of your beautiful house!
For part 2… where do you keep your extra bathroom supplies (toilet paper, tampons, pads, etc.)? Where is your silverware? Where is your coffee pot? Is there anything you keep OFF the kitchen counter that most people keep ON the counter? If I were staying over and needed an extra blanket, where would I find it? Also I just made a huge mess and need to know where to find the vacuum! Are there secret treats in any of your cupboards?!
Elisabeth
Ohhhhhh. Such great ideas for a Round 2 and I will be referring back here. Thanks for so many suggestions. I might have to do a Round 3 as well.
Birchie
We are kindred spirits on scissors. There is no reason not to have a pair in every room.
For towels, I’m going to brag on my family. They have a million annoying habits and things that they could do better which is why our house looks like a disaster at all times but THEY HANG UP THEIR TOWELS!!! 100% OF THE TIME!!!
It is not acceptable for me to ever be without a pen or my keys, plus a few other things like eye drops, and I just realized that’s why I carry my purse with me in the house at all times so that I’m guaranteed to have access to those items. Everyone else in the house uses a central key drop.
Elisabeth
I could not agree more about the scissors.
I would also brag if my kids hung up their towels…even 75% of the time.
Wait, you carry your purse with you INSIDE the house. That strikes me as both highly unusual and very genius!
Coree
I am so, so bad about my keys. I have them on a lanyard with my staff card, but regularly lose them in the house. I’m trying to put them around the bannister to see if that helps. If I’m cycling, I normally have them – I need keys to open the garage door and lock up my bike at the bus stop, but if I’m walking / my family is home, I’ll forget my keys.
Elisabeth
Apple AirTags are soooo handy for this. My husband even has a wallet that has a little clip pouch where an AirTag can fit. We don’t have to use them often, but when we do they are so helpful!
Lisa's Yarns
I find this topic so fascinating, too. I love an inside look at how people manage their households! We have a good number of scissors – 3 food scissors and probably 6 other scissors? I like to have them in various places in the house so I always have access to one if I need to cut a thread on a shirt or cut a tag off something, etc.
We have a lot of pens in our house, too! They are mostly either in a basket for pens in a drawer in the kitchen or in my basement office.
This will probably surprise you – Phil does not have a carry-on suitcase. He exclusively has a duffle bag for travel! He does not travel for work so if he did travel for work, that would probably have to change. But it doesn’t seem like he’ll have to travel for work so can continue to get by with that duffle bag!
Elisabeth
Duffle bags are actually so handy for travel, but I just wouldn’t want to schlepp that through a long walk in an airport. I can totally see a duffle bag working if you didn’t travel frequently (or weren’t travelling with kids in tow that inevitably need you to do something with their bags as well).
Diane
I’m with Suzanne- I want to know where people keep their period supplies! This has been the source of a bit of disagreement in our house!
Where do you keep:
Light bulbs?
Batteries?
Incoming mail?
Spare chargers?
Photo albums?
Needle and thread?
Boxes that “we’ll need one day”?
… okay, I might just be looking for solutions for my own life here…
Elisabeth
Ohhh…goodness, you and Suzanne are knocking this out of the park. Like I said to her – I think I’ll have to do a Round 3. I can answers ALL these questions and more so stay tuned 🙂
mbmom11
I wish I could have scissors I every room, but I have someone with busy fingers who furtively uses scissors for impromptu haircuts, so they are restricted contraband in our house. Kitchen only.
Nail polish lives on an upper closet shelf, far from those,same busy hands. And I just had to move meds from bathroom to a kitchen cabinet because of the same. Everything else in pretty standard locations, and with ragweed season, Kleenex boxes everywhere.
Elisabeth
Scissors can be a mixed bag in the hands of others, so I can see why they are off limits. Same with nail polish and meds. It’s a bit startling that I now don’t put anything up and away. Cleaning supplies. Nail polish. Makeup. I don’t think I really paid attention to when that switch happened, but all of a sudden my kids are so much older and not in the least inspired to tinker with cleaning supplies (now of course I WISH THEY WOULD and use them to CLEAN).
Gigi
This was a fun post when Engie did it; and it’s still fun now that you are doing it.
KLEENEX
We keep an open box on the kitchen counter under the bar. We have an open concept house; so it’s easily accessible from just about every room. Extras are stored in the “linen” closet portion of the master closet; which is accessed through the master bathroom.
MEDICINE
Daily types of medication are kept in the kitchen cabinet next to the fridge. Bandaids, cold medicines; etc. all live in a plastic boxed labeled first aid in the master closet.
BANDAIDS
See above.
HEATING PADS
The one we own lives in the bottom drawer of my night stand. The “magic bags” that you mentioned; we have two. One is sitting on the chair in my “dressing room” (really, it’s an extra bedroom I commandeered after determining the “master closet” was built for one person) and the other lives in a basket in the master bedroom.
NAIL POLISH
All my polish and most nail accessories live in the box in the master closet.
WINTER GEAR
It goes without saying, our winters are significantly milder than yours – but we still have some winter gear but our collection is not nearly as impressive as yours. Most winter coats are stored in the front closet near the front door (that we never use). The coats we use the most are on hooks beside the door to the garage. I can usually find my gloves shoved into a coat pocket. Scarves are either stored with the coat or can live either in a dresser drawer in my dressing room or a box in the closet in my dressing room.
SCISSORS
We are scissor sisters – we have them everywhere. Currently the kitchen houses two pairs of scissors, kitchen shears, and garden shears. With my sewing supplies I have a pair of scissors AND a pair of pinking shears; this is stored in my dressing room. Also in my dressing room is another pair of scissors to remove tags. In the guest room/office, there are at least three pairs one for “office” use; one for gift wrap/ribbon use and a pair of embroidery scissors (I usually embroider in there as well as work). In the master bath there are two one exclusively to be used for hair and another small pair to be used to remove tags or trim The Husband’s facial hair. In the garage, there is at least one more pair of garden shears, most likely another random pair and loppers.
TWEEZERS
Three pairs here. Two in my make up drawer. My favorite ones and a back up pair. Another pair is in the kitchen “junk” drawer used for removing splinters, etc.
AIR FRYER/SLOW COOKER
The slow cooker belongs in a free standing cabinet in the kitchen; but is currently residing in the garage because The Husband got lazy and neglected to bring it in after taking it to an event (it’s clean). The air fryer (maddeningly) lives on the kitchen counter.
TOWELS
Towels that are in use are hung on the towel racks/hand towel racks in the bathrooms. Fresh towels in the “linen closet” and on open shelves in the guest bath. Dirty towels go straight into the wash. I also keep old towels in the closet of my dressing room to clean up messes.
TAPE MEASURE
SEVERAL reside in the garage; but yet The Husband can never find one. I have two tape measures in my dressing room. One soft one in my sewing kit. A tiny one that lives on my dresser to be grabbed if I think I’ll need it when out and about.
GIFT WRAPPING SUPPLIES
All of this resides in the guest room closet. I put the wrapping paper standing up in an open top box. Christmas gift bags go in one large Christmas gift bag; the rest in another. The ribbon is also segregated by Christmas/Regular into two fabric boxes.
LIBRARY BOOKS
Books that are currently being read are stored on top of my nightstand. Library books the need to be read or returned live on a stool under the bar – they basically live there so I’ll remember to return them.
BOOKMARKS
I have a few that are stored in the top shelf of my nightstand. But odds are good that I’m using the receipt from the library to mark whatever I’m reading.
PENS
Like you, they are everywhere. Some are in the junk drawer in the kitchen. Most are in the “general” drawer in a dresser in the dining room. My office is littered with them.
SUITCASES
Actual suitcases reside in the master closet; but I’ve got a couple of weekend type bags that live in the closet in my dressing room.
WATER BOTTLES
No water bottles here. About three Yeti-type cups (not counting the Yeti-type wine cups). All live in a free standing cabinet in the kitchen unless they are in use.
DOG LEASH
No dog; no leash.
KEYS
The Husband stores his keys in a box on the bar in the kitchen/dining room area. My keys, funny enough, are usually stored in my car. I do keep my car in the garage though, so it’s not like I’m daring someone to come steal my car.
GAMES
The few games we do have are in the front closet. I think Catch Phrase might be in the drawer under the tv. Cards are in the general drawer in the dining room.
JEWELRY
All my jewelry is scattered about in my dressing room. The pieces I wear most often reside in a little dish on my dresser.
Elisabeth
Love how you answered everything!!
It’s interesting how different house configurations (e.g. open concept vs a house with a lot of room divisions) impacts how we store and access things!
I live in fear of locking myself out of my vehicle so I think storing my keys in my car would cause extreme anxiety.
Can I just say how much I love that you have A DRESSING ROOM (and call it a dressing room). My mom always stores sets of gloves in her winter coats. Mine – and definitely the kids – always seem to end up wet so mostly they live over drying racks on our ducts in the winter and we grab a pair when we need to go out the door and hope they’re dry!
Gigi
Since I’ve posted a reply three times and it has yet to appear; I’m guessing it was too long. So, I’ll respond in a couple of comments to see if that gets through.
TOWELS
Towels that are in use are hung on the towel racks/hand towel racks in the bathrooms. Fresh towels in the “linen closet” and on open shelves in the guest bath. Dirty towels go straight into the wash. I also keep old towels in the closet of my dressing room to clean up messes.
Elisabeth
I think they actually all came through? Maybe it took longer to post because of the length. My comments section does not work very well. I really need to get on solving the issues. Sigh.
Maria
This was such a fun read and felt like a peek into how your brain organizes things. I’ve been feeling disorganized and wanting more organization so this sparked a few “hmm what if I moved X…” thoughts.
Scissors and pens are things that are a bit of a struggle for us. They need to be accessible and obvious for the adults and not for the kids. The thought of 20 pairs of scissors gave me anxiety to be honest. Keeping track of four pairs and being sure they’re not where small hands can get them is hard enough.
Outdoor gear… oh it’s such a struggle. There’s so much of it. The rain gear. The light jackets. The snow gear. All. The. Snow. Gear. We sort of had a system that worked last winter of a drying rack near the garage door but it was definitely a “sort of worked” situation not a true success.
Suggestion for the next part of this: the things you struggle with where to put (if there are any!)
Elisabeth
Yes, I can’t remember how many scissors we had when the kids were younger? I’m sure we had both fewer pairs AND kept them in more restricted areas? It’s not like it was that long ago we had to be careful about things like this but I cannot remember what we did?!
Living in Canada means you always have to have weather gear for two seasons. Like in the summer you need warm things, but we can also have COLD days (I always take a headband for my ears when we go to the lake to see my parents). Fall? Need light jackets AND winter jackets. And need to change about a dozen times a day because the weather can fluctuate so much.
Love the suggestion for the next round. I’m looking forward to answering all these fun reader questions.
San
These posts are so fascinating to me, mainly because sometimes you’re like “yup, that’s where I have that item too” and then there are instances where people have completely different ways of organizing/storing things LOL
We do have a go-to spot for our keys and I have thankfully not misplace them yet. I am impressed how many scissors you have at your house, but I do agree that they come in handy (so it’s good to have a few in strategic places ;)).
Elisabeth
I just seem to need scissors…a lot? Like I use all the pairs I have fairly regularly.
Erica
This post is really making me aware of my cluttery ways! We have… eleven(?!) boxes of tissues running in our house, including 4 in the master bedroom and one in the mudroom/entryway so if we need a tissue right after coming in we can get it without taking off our shoes.
I also use cards and notes as bookmarks! I’m not sure if I picked it up from you, but it’s a great way to get a bit of use, and a few extra warm fuzzies, out of them.
Where do you keep things you are planning to give away? I keep clothes on a shelf in the closet until it gets full, and then I bag them up and take them to a clothing drop. I keep toys under my desk until there’s no room for my feet and then try to give them away all at once, and junk (random party favors, old art not precious enough to save, etc) in the bottom drawer of my nightstand as a staging area before throwing it out. Also, how do you keep your kids from accumulating infinite stuff? Somehow mine have a massive amount of junk that I did not actually buy them; they get it from parties and friends and school and the dentist and possibly their bodies just attract cheap plastic garbage like magnets…
Elisabeth
Hey, when you need a tissue, you need a tissue!
I have loved using cards/postcards as bookmarks. It’s a sweet little jolt to see/remember a special memory.
I will answer your questions in a Round 2. They’re great ones and I have answers!! I’m with you on the never-ending stream of things entering the house from all the same sources. Treat bags at birthday parties are the bane of my existence. I do think it’s slowing a bit now that they’re getting older but it is a perpetual struggle!
Nicole MacPherson
You are so organized! Your drawers are like, organizational porn for me. HOO BOY BETTER GO WAKE UP ROB.
I kid, it’s like 4:30 am.
Also, you just reminded me that I need to buy bandaids. We don’t go through them much anymore and then I forget to restock.
We are opposites for Kleenex – we have them in the bathrooms, and Rob has a box by his side of the bed, and that’s it. Of course I have them in my purse though. We are also opposites for scissors, I have three pair in the kitchen and a small pair in the office, I guess we are not scissory people.
Elisabeth
Oh Nicole, 4:30 am and you’re awake and witty. I live amazed.
How can people live with so few pairs of scissors?!
Joy
What a fun “getting to know you” question!
Elisabeth
Maybe that’s how I should start small talk moving forward. So…tell me, perfect stranger, where do you keep extra TP in your house!
Joy
Fun! I love hearing how everyone else does things so this post makes me so happy.
Kleenex – a box by my side of the bed, one in my son’s room, one in my book room. They tend to live next to the one who needs them the most, which is me. I should have bought stock years ago! Extra boxes live in the linen closet in the master bathroom. I also have small pocket-sized ones in the purses I carry most often and my car.
Medicine and bandaids- vitamins, allergy medicine, and painkillers live in the kitchen; prescription meds, over-the-counter medicines, bandages and bandaids, cough drops live in the master bathroom linen closet.
Heating pad – lives in the master bathroom linen closet but I must get a magic bag. They sound amazing!
Nail polish – I live in a house of men so it’s divided between the bottom drawer in the master bathroom sink (clear for nylon repairs) or in my closet (colored for painting my nails). Clippers live in my closet, bottom drawer and middle drawer of master bathroom, and with the vitamins in the kitchen. Like scissors, there can never be too many nail clippers.
Winter gear – Living in Virginia, we don’t need this too much of the year. It all lives in our very large front hall closet. The boots are lined up on the floor; the coats hang, and the hats/gloves/scarves are in a box on the floor.
Scissors – I am with you on this–never too many pairs. I also believe in different kinds for different tasks. In the kitchen, we have two pair in an old measuring glass that belonged in my grandfather’s store next to the coffee maker (along with the coffee measure and a chopstick I use to stir French press coffee). Another pair lives in the utensil drawer next to the stove. I use this for opening packages and cutting string while cooking. My cooking shears (for cutting food) are hidden in the drawer with the rolling pin, kitchen scale, and measuring cups. I hide them or they would get used for all sorts of unspeakable things and then I wouldn’t have them for cooking anymore. I have a pair of scissors in my desk drawer and a pair with the wrapping paper/ribbon box. Then there are sewing scissors. These are also hidden–one regular pair and two pairs of pinking shears in my sewing box that goes with my machine, one pair of regular scissors in my knitting bag, one pair in my hand sewing box, and several small embroidery pairs with various projects.
Tweezers – two pair – one in my makeup drawer in my bathroom and one hanging on the side of a cup of regularly-used makeup utensils by my sink.
Air fryer/slow cooker – I don’t have either but I do have an instant pot, which lives in a cupboard in my kitchen along with other extraneous things and my water bottles. I use the instant pot for a rice cooker, canner, pressure cooker, and slow cooker. I love that it is one thing rather than four. 🙂
Towels – live where they are used so both full baths have them (under the sink in the hall bath and in the linen closet in master bath), half bath they are stored under the sink, and in the kitchen they are stored in a drawer next to the kitchen sink. In use–hooks and rails in the bathrooms and on the rail on the oven door in the kitchen.
Tape measure – metal tool-type in our tool drawer in the kitchen; soft sewing one in my knitting bag and one in the sewing machine box
Gift wrapping – this is all over the place–Christmas ribbons, tags, paper (other than the big rolls) in our storage shed; every day paper, ribbons, gift bags in cabinet in laundry room; big Christmas rolls in the back of my closet until needed.
Library books – I am the only one in the house who borrows. I kept all of the kids library books in a big basket in our living room for years and then used that myself once they moved out. A few years ago, my husband bought me a beautiful cabinet with two shelves, a drawer, and doors. It’s great because I keep all of my books there unless I’m actively reading them and if it gets too full, I know it’s time to take some back (I work in a library and have a tendency to borrow a lot just to look at for future reader’s advisory).
Bookmarks – a pile downstairs in my desk drawer next to a tin of book darts and a pile upstairs in my grandmother’s writing desk next to a second tin of book darts.
Pens – as you said, everywhere – in my purse, in my desk drawer, on my bedside table, in the writing desk, and in a pouch to go with my planners. My fountain pens live separately–in my lapdesk upstairs and in a small container on my bookshelves downstairs.
Suitcases – in the attic; my packing cubes are in my suitcase.
Water bottles – see above
Dog leash – no dog; no leash; the cat harness for our one cat who likes to go out with us in good weather (otherwise they are indoors) in the laundry room
Keys – mine are ALWAYS in the same pocket in my main purse/tote; my husbands live in the pocket of his gym bag (he goes every weekday); our extras are in a small dish in my desk drawer. This never changes so we don’t lose them.
Games – I have a couple of packs of cards in my desk drawer. All of the rest of the games live in my son’s room. Once he moves out next year, I’ll have to figure out something new if he doesn’t take them all with him.
Jewelry – the good stuff is tucked away; everyday stuff is in boxes in my top dresser drawer with pins (I inherited all of my mother’s and grandmothers’ pins which I change out almost every day) in an old silver box of my mother’s on top of my dresser.
Elisabeth
Your comment about having a “book box” gives me all the feels since I had one for years with picture books for the kids. I just love that you have a dedicated space to keep books.
You must try Magic Bags. They are life changing. Seriously, we use them virtually daily all year round.
I think having a concrete system for keys is the only way to ensure they’re always where you expect them to be when you need them.