If The Current State Of Your Life Right Now Can Be Described As “Chaos,” These 30 Things Will Help It Feel More Manageable
1. A motivational planner complete with space for you to keep track of appointments, water intake, priority and to-do lists, daily achievements, meals, gratitude reminders, notes, and dates. It’ll make getting through even the busiest, most stressful days feel a little more manageable.
Each planner comes with 50 tear-off sheets the size of a standard piece of paper.
Promising review: “These notepads helped me reframe and focus everyday working from home during the pandemic. I used to use a daily planner but working from home changed how I need to plan my work tasks, and personal tasks. I found this helpful for both!” —kristenjoann
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
2. A grocery cart bag set for separating your groceries how you see fit at the store (frozen, refrigerated, produce, heck, maybe even an entire bag devoted to ice cream). It’ll make unpacking groceries when you get home a quick and simple task.
Promising review: “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. It fits all the shopping carts and you can detach them and take only one to tow all of the bags if you are shopping for smaller quantities. I’ve been using these for a few days now, and I love it. I used to have a bunch of different bags in my trunk and it was very messy. With Lotus Bags, I can finally get rid of all the other bags and have these sitting nice and pretty in the trunk. The cooler bag is especially awesome to keep the items cool while shopping to transporting them home. The bags look very well made and sturdy.” —Rossi
Get them from Amazon for $44.99.
3. Command cord bundlers to help keep wires behind gadgets and appliances nice and tidy rather than snaking across your surfaces.
Promising review: “I have one of these attached to almost every cord-having thing I own and for maybe $30 in total I feel like my whole life got a facelift. My stand mixer looks better on the counter, and it stays clean even when everything else is a mess. My space heaters store so neatly in the linen closet. I have an HDMI cord bundled to the back of each TV. There’s a bundler stuck between my car’s dash and console, which holds two phone chargers. Truly, especially for the price, I could not recommend something more highly.” —Amber Stewart
Get a pack of six bundlers and 12 strips from Amazon for $16.20.
4. A hanger stacker so you can keep unused hangers in one organized spot. When you DO need a hanger, you won’t have to spend a million and one minutes untangling them.
Promising review: “Great functionality. I gather hangers as I gather dirty clothes. This stacker lives in my laundry room between the washer and dryer. It keeps my plastic hangers under control and I no longer suffer ‘clothes hanger rage’ from them getting tangled and not cooperating with me.” —msw
Get it from Amazon for $21.92.
5. A time marked water bottle because you have a hectic schedule, and sometimes, hydration isn’t top of mind! But!!! It’s important, so let this pretty bottle help remind you throughout the day!
Promising review: “Saw it on TikTok and thought it would be a great bottle for work. It is very sleek and lightweight enough to carry when you have other items in your hand. I love the modern look and cleans very easily! The time increments really do motivate, definitely ordering again for myself and gifts. Fast delivery and very nice packaging.” —Rosa
Get it from Amazon for $24.99+ (available in three colors and two sizes).
6. A set of drawer trays for keeping the contents of your desk, dresser, and even your token junk drawer more orderly.
The six-piece set comes with two 3″x3″ bins, two 6″x3″ bins, and two 9″x3″ bins.
Promising review: “Great product! I bought these to put in my nightstand drawer to store small things, as the drawer is very deep. I’ve got ChapStick, hand lotions, a small flashlight, and other bedside items in them, so they’re not just rolling around the drawer. I just bought some more for my bathroom vanity. They fit together nicely but also lift right out of each other. The plastic is sturdy, and they came individually wrapped to keep them from scratching.” —Sparkyj
Get a six-piece set from Amazon for $12.99 (also available in larger pack sizes).
7. A set of Shoe Slotz space saving units that’ll take your collection of shoes from an overwhelming messy pile of who knows what to basically resembling the aisles of a DSW because you’ll *gasp* actually be able to see your shoes.
Sally Elshorafa / BuzzFeed
My colleague Sally Elshorafa swears by this for organizing shoes. Here’s what she has to say:
“This product SAVED MY SHOES! I have an awkward set of built-in shelves in my closet, and it was the only place I wanted to put my shoes. As you can see from the before pic (above), it was a big mess; my shoes were piled on top of each other and getting really dirty. Traditional shoe caddies or boxes didn’t really work because there’s not much horizontal space, so I tried the Shoe Slotz. It fixed the problem perfectly! Because the design smartly stacks one shoe on top of the other, you save 50% of the space you’d normally use to store your shoes.”
Get a pack of 10 from Amazon for $32.99 (also available in larger pack sizes).
8. A handy “Did you feed the dog?” tracker for a foolproof way to stay on top of your fluffy friend’s feeding schedule. The next time they come up to you and give you sad (but adorable) puppy dog eyes, you’ll know if they’re actually hungry or trying to trick you.
Promising review: “I use this to keep track of whether or not I gave my dog his pill in the morning and evening. It has eliminated the ‘did I or didn’t I’ question. I’d recommend this to anyone with a dog or who needs to remember anything.” —Rachel Senterfeit
Get it from Amazon for $7.95.
9. A floral bill tracker to make managing your finances a more organized, simple process. Look at you #adulting! So proud of you!
Daisy & Decor is an Etsy shop that sells beautiful and super useful items to help make life feel more organized like kitchen recipe journals, notepads, cosmetic bags, and more!
Promising review: “This meets all my organizational needs for financial record keeping in one beautiful place. It was exactly what I was looking for and is the perfect size to keep thorough records.” —Melisa Sellar
Get it from Daisy & Decor on Etsy for $15.99+ (available in four patterns and with or without stickers).
10. A magnetic cloud key holder for anyone who’s ever gone on a panicked, frantic search for their keys while rushing to make it to an appointment. It’s like your keys know you need to be somewhere, and they’re trying to play hide-and-seek with you. Sorry keys — you lose!
Promising review: “So, yes, TikTok made me buy this, but so far I really like it. It’s obviously very adorable and offers a charming spot to keep my keys that works with my entryway. I’m really surprised by how strong the hold is for such a small object — I carry my car fob and a few keys and so far it’s holding strong. I hung it with Command strips to avoid any potential damage to the wall, and I will say to make sure it’s level as the hold is not so good on an angle (but that was from the original in-hand testing). Definitely recommend and for the price, I’m very tempted to get one for my at-work office.” —D. Carter
Get it from Amazon for $7.68.
11. A habit calendar that’ll make it simple to set new habit goals for yourself and keep track of them. Let’s say you want to get in the habit of going to sleep by a certain time — all you need to do is write it down and check off the days you stick to it. Easy peazy!
Free Period Press
This cool calendar is undated so you can start a new routine or resume an old one whenever you’d like! It also features a brainstorm section to help give you inspo for any new habits you might want to try integrating into your daily life. Free Period Press is a Queer-owned small business based in Cleveland, Ohio that sells super cute notebooks, stickers, prints, and more!
Promising review: “LOVE my habit calendar. Perfect for tracking daily exercise goals. I’ve been using it to track my training for my upcoming black-belt test. Before, I was using a regular calendar and putting stickers on days when I trained. But this way I can track which specific training I did (push-ups, crunches, etc.) each day. Cannot recommend enough.” —Summer Ballentine
Get it from Free Period Press for $19.99, from Amazon for $18.95, or from Free Period Press on Etsy for $19.99.
12. A set of gold cable organizers for a simple (and pretty) way to keep wires from charging devices, appliances, and gadgets in order, aka not getting all tangled.
Brighttia / Etsy
Brighttia is a small biz based in New York that sells industrial and modern interior light and decorative pieces!
Promising review: “These brass cable organizers are beautiful and high quality. I’m using two of them to keep a plug-in sconce cord attached to the wall and to direct the cord to the electrical outlet. These little gold pieces add a touch of functionality and glamour to the sconces. Exactly what I was looking for.” —Amy Margolis
Get a set of two from Brighttia on Etsy for $11.48+ (available in 12 colors).
13. A food bag organizer/dispenser so you say goodbye to messy piles of boxes and hello to a smarter storage solution.
YouCopia is a woman-owned small biz that sells home organization products.
Promising review: “I like it very much. Not so large. Lightweight. Would look nice on top of the counter. What I like is that you do not have to wrangle the box into the slots. Simply pick up the roll of bags from their packaging and put them in the designated slot.” —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in three- and four-slot models).
14. An internet address and password logbook to help keep track of your important login info for social media, online banking, school portals, and more. Sorry, but yourname123 isn’t a good password, no matter how easy it is to remember.
Promising review: “When we have so many internet addresses and passwords to remember, it gets really hard — especially when you get older and have trouble remembering what silly password you gave something. And, we are supposed to change or update passwords from time to time, so this is a great tool to help us do that. It certainly makes more sense than scribbling on a random piece of paper on your desk and then misplacing it. The trick, however, is to not misplace the book! I HIGHLY recommend this!!” —Carole P
Get it from Amazon for $8.99.
15. A cable management box that’ll keep unsightly cords, surge protectors, and charges neatly hidden away. I don’t know about you, but I’d personally rather see this chic-looking box than a messy tangle of wires.
Promising review: “This made a corner with lots of cords, much more appealing! We were able to stuff all those cords inside and hide them away! Box is cute too!” —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $12.99+ (available in two colors and three sizes).
16. A pill tracker for attaching to any pill bottle or packets you may be taking so you can accurately keep track of your daily dosage. No more frantically trying to remember every single move you made that day or panicking because you forgot to set a reminder on your phone.
Take-n-Slide is a small biz that makes these helpful medication trackers and reminders.
Promising review: “I love this thing! Kept forgetting to take the one medication I had mid-day. Now I can look at the bottle and know for sure whether or not I took it. I just refill the bottle with this on it so I can reuse until it breaks. It’s working great so far!” —MarciNish
Get a pack of five from Amazon for $19.99 (available in two colors).
17. A set of refrigerator bins because every time you clean out your fridge you swear you’ll keep it nice and tidy…then you go grocery shopping, get caught up in your chaotic schedule, and the cycle goes on and on. No more!
Promising review: “This set of organizers was exactly what I needed to organize my refrigerator. I was tired of reaching around items to get items from the back. All my condiments and containers fit in these. I am now able to slide the container forward to get to what I need. This really saved me from the clutter in my fridge. I am able to see what I actually have so food gets used and not spoiled. Thank you for selling this as a set. Great value as opposed to trying to buy pieces individually.” —Judith Freels
Get the set of six (including an egg drawer) on Amazon for $18.49.
18. A self-cleaning litter box so your purr-fect bestie’s potty break is odor-free, and you don’t have to change the litter or scoop 💩 until the tray is full!
Each litter box comes with a pre-portioned package of litter that you pour into the tray. It will start cleaning 20 minutes after it’s detected that your cat has left the box. When the tray is full, simply remove it and dispose of it.
Promising review: “Admittedly, I am a lazy cat owner. I hate taking the litter out every day. This is a dream. I have one cat, and I change this once every month. Very limited smell (I use the purple crystals). This is the only thing I’ve ever reviewed on Amazon because it’s THAT worth it. Worth every penny to not take the trash out every single day. My cat adapted perfectly and he’s picky as can be. Everyone needs this. Literally everyone.” —Stephanie
Get it from Amazon for $149.95+ (available in three styles).
19. A Mac OS shortcuts sticker because somewhere between taking on new adulthood responsibilities and getting older, you have become less acquainted with technology and all of its wonderfully confusing shortcuts and updates. This little sticker is here to help.
Amazon
Promising review: “Literally for any new or old Mac user, or even a user that’s used to any device other than Apple! Super helpful for how to copy and paste and do other minor tasks! I mainly use the mouse pad on the laptop, so as my hands rub or grace over the sticker, it has never come off or ripped off at any point in time. It is perfectly still down to the computer part, and I’ve had this for over a year now!! 10/10 recommend!🩷” —Reyn
Get it from Amazon for $5.95+ (available in eight styles).
20. A weekly meal plan pad that’ll make figuring out your meals and grocery lists a less overwhelming task and maybe even…fun?!
Sweetzer and Orange is a small biz that sells greeting cards, calendars, postcards, and more!
Promising review: “The magnet is great, sticks to fridge very well, does not slide or move. Perfect for planning meals and adding needed grocery items to the right side. Then you just tear off the right side and head to the store. This has made our family meal planning so much easier!” —SandyBeach
Get it from Amazon for $8.99 (available in two styles).
21. A leggings organizer because if you’re anything like me and leggings are pretty much the only “pants” you wear these days, there’s a good chance the drawer you keep them in is so full that it’s difficult to close. Time to move some of your leggings to the closet, and what better way to do so than with this genius hanger?
Each hanger holds 10 pairs of leggings.
Promising review: “I bought these because I have limited closet space. The ability to hang 20 pairs of leggings saves me tons of room. I also like the clips that hold the leggings; they do not leave marks on the waistband!” —Sarah
Get them from Amazon for $12.47+ (available in two colors and packs of one, two, and four).
22. A cleaning checklist to help make the overwhelming task of cleaning your living space feel manageable. This printable sheet organizes cleaning tasks by different rooms on different days of the week so you don’t feel like you have to tackle everything all at once.
Creative Type Store / Etsy
Creative Type Store is an Etsy shop based in Warman, Canada that sells illustrated prints to help make your life more organized.
Promising review: “Great for what I needed! I had started my own schedule, but felt like I was forgetting things, too much to do in a day, etc. This is super helpful!” —Erin Brie
Get it from Creative Type Store on Etsy for $3.40.
23. A battery organizer because scattered throughout a junk drawer is not a good storage spot for batteries, FYI. Now they’ll be tidy, and you’ll be able to easily take inventory of which ones you actually have.
This *safely* holds 82 batteries of various sizes. You can store in a drawer or mount on a wall!
Promising review: “Something so simple saved me an entire drawer’s worth of space! We had a battery drawer in the den desk, but it was a mess! Opened battery packages, half of them had new batteries, other batteries floating around loose in the drawer all willy-nilly, all different sizes and brands mixed together. It was an eyesore and a pain every time I had to look for batteries. Now, thanks to this little helper, our batteries are organized and easy to find and grab, right inside the basement stairs doorway. The wattage tester is super helpful, and I was able to toss out half of the batteries we’d had that were dead or nearly dead from being old or accidentally put back with the new batts instead of into recycling. It feels a little thin and flimsy, but it just holds the batteries, you don’t move or bend it, so it’s moot. So glad I bought this; it’s fantastic!!” —Amanda S. Michniewicz
Get it from Amazon for $14.97.
24. A mouse pad that’ll keep your to-do list, useful notes, and important business cards and documents as close by as possible. Like, right under your computer mouse close.
Amazon
Promising review: “What you see is exactly what you get. There are two transparent sheets to keep notes/cards and such separated. Writing on the mat is very comfortable, and I love being able to use it as a mouse pad as well. This is plastic type sheets so you can just wipe them off. Since this mat can be cleaned, I don’t see having to ever buy a replacement unless this one becomes torn. Of course, I did end up buying another one because I originally purchased this mat for work and loved it so much I purchased one for home use.” —JC
Get it from Amazon for $13.88 (available in two colors).
25. A set of clothing storage bags featuring clear windows because every season without fail, you find yourself reaching for that sun dress or sweater on a rare weather day, but can’t find it anywhere. Now, you’ll be able to find the exact clothing item you want to wear without having to rifle through every storage container you own.
Promising review: “Best TikTok find for storage. These are the best storage bags/containers I have bought. So much so that I reordered and got three more not too long ago. One of them holds all the items from my six-drawer dresser, which included everything from tank tops to heavy sweaters and crewnecks. I also use it to hold my seasonal shoes, extra blankets, and, yes, even more clothes! Since reordering, I now have six but I am only currently using four. They are machine washable and good to go in the dryer on low heat. Overall, it is worth the purchase!” —Harley
Get a set of three from Amazon for $17.99+ (available in six colors and various sets).
26. A magnetic visual grocery list pad to hang on your fridge and keep track of which items you need to stock-up on during your next trip to the market.
Amazon
This pad includes 50 tear-off sheets!
Promising review: “It really helped when we were out of a grocery item to just circle it on the list for the family, so when I ordered groceries I knew what we needed. It didn’t stop the family from putting empty cartons in the refrigerator, but at least they let me know that we were out. LOL.” —Live Laugh Love
Get it from Amazon for $11.95.
27. A universal remote attachment because having to use more than one remote to operate a single television is SILLY! What’s the point of living in a high-tech world if you need one remote to turn on the TV, another remote to change the volume, and yet another to switch between streaming apps and cable?!
Promising review: “Before: three remotes, one for the screen (on/off), a separate one for the sound system (volume) and of course the Fire Stick remote. After: just the one convenient integrated unit. No more scrambling to find the which remote to do what I want, cause it’s all right there in the one unit. I wish I’d have bought one years ago cause the multi-remote tango got old real fast.” —Chapman Baetzel
Get it from Amazon for $29.99.
28. An acrylic dry-erase board that can be used to sketch out a calendar each month, keep track of to-do and grocery lists, write down important reminders, or whatever else would help you in your day-to-day life!
1801 & Co. / Etsy
1801 & Co. is a small business based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that sells purposeful home products and custom prints.
Promising review: “A calendar never looked so good. Love it!! It came super fast, packaged well, and I was so pleased that it was everything I hoped it would be.” —Martha
Get it from 1801 & Co. on Etsy for $14.54+ (available in various sizes and three hardware colors).
29. An auto shut-off outlet — simply plug it into an outlet, use the button to control how many hours before it automatically turns off after using, and uh yeah, it’s literally THAT easy to give yourself some peace of mind.
Features a push button so you can set the hours for eight, four, two, one, or hold.
Promising review: “I’m very pleased with this. I use it mainly for at-home hair styling. I often like to leave my styling wand on for last-minute touch ups before leaving early in the morning but, in haste, I often get on the freeway and worry that I forgot to unplug it. No more worries with this attached to the plug. I wish I’d gotten it sooner.” —JDubya
Get it from Amazon for $11.79.
30. A hairpin holder for keeping bobby pins and magnetic hair clips in one tidy spot rather than all over your bathroom counter/makeup vanity.
Reviews in this post have been edited for length and clarity.
