Magazine holders are perfect for stashing those copies of the monthly glossies you simply can’t part with. Did you know they’re perfect for a lot of other things, too?

Since our housecleaning duties include organizing in every room of our homes, you’ll be glad to know that magazine holders can help you with these jobs. From the kitchen to the bathroom, the living room, dining room, and beyond—these holders are perfect for organizing way more than just magazines.

The magazine holders come in a variety of styles, too. Some are made of cardboard. Others are made of heavy duty plastic. Still others are crafted from metallic mesh. Higher end holders are even made of wood. Regardless of what they’re made of, they’re very useful. You’re about to find out just how.

Magazine Holders — Start Your Housecleaning Organizational Duties

Before you embark on these organizational duties—whether they’re part of your spring or fall housecleaning or simply a burst of inspiration—make sure you have the following things readily available. They will make your job much easier, whether you’re reusing magazine holders you had stored away in your attic, or simply wiping down some of the items you’ll soon stash in the holders—items that may have collected some dust or debris in their previous homes.

• Magazine holders
• Non-static cleaning cloth
• White vinegar
• Cleaning cloth or clean rags
• Trash bag
• Contact paper or craft paper and adhesive

Use Them for Magazines

This is a no-brainer. Use any of the magazine holders in your home for magazines—whether in the living room, bedroom, or bathroom. They corral your favorite subscriptions so they aren’t littering every room in your home. If you have leftover holders—or even if you have to go out and buy some—get ready to see what else these useful receptacles can do.

Plastic Wrap, Tin Foil, Etc.

Screw one of your magazine holders to the inside of one of your kitchen cabinet doors. This will likely free up an entire drawer in your kitchen when you stash your plastic wrap, tin foil, wax paper and baggies inside. You’ll find they fit almost perfectly when stood on end, and are easy to access when you open your cabinet door.

In the Pantry

One housecleaning chore that is just plain tedious work is organizing the pantry. Magazine holders help make the job a bit easier.

Stand a few holders on your pantry shelves and free up tons of usable space when you stack your canned goods inside. After you’ve dusted off all the canned goods in your pantry or on your cupboard shelves, arrange them in the magazine holders by expiration date. Place those soonest to expire on the top with those bearing a longer shelf life date on the bottom.

Cutting Boards, Cheese Boards

Give cutting boards, cheese boards, and other similarly sized items a new home. Affix a magazine holder to the inside of yet another kitchen cabinet door and store them vertically. Once again you are saving cabinet space and preventing the need for hunting through the entire kitchen when you need to chop an onion or serve some crackers and cheese.

Do You Knit or Crochet?

If you are talented enough to knit or crochet, you likely have a stash of yarn taking up space somewhere in your home. Stand a few of these periodical holders on a closet shelf or bookcase and stash balls or skeins of yarn inside. You’ll be surprised at how much yarn will fit inside each holder.

Satisfy Your Inner Stylist

If you use a variety of implements to style your hair, you no doubt have an excess pile of these items in your bathroom. Clean up the clutter during your next bathroom housecleaning with—you guessed it—yet another of these repurposed holders.

Stand one or two inside your bathroom closet and stash your blow dryer, curling iron, straightener, and if you’re still living in the early 1990s—your crimper—inside. If you don’t have a bathroom closet, get crafty. Cover the holder with pretty craft or contact paper and set it on your bathroom countertop. Either way you’ve corralled the clutter and can find your hair styling implements easily every time you need them. You can make a matching one for makeup, too.

Got Mesh?

If you have mesh holders for your magazines—or even plastic ones with plenty of holes in them—take them directly to the kitchen. Stash onions and potatoes inside of them and place them on an open shelf.

Some people think onions and potatoes need to be refrigerated. That’s not so, and storing them in a vessel with good ventilation helps them last even longer.

No Flipping or Flopping

During the warm weather months does your house become overrun with flip-flops? You probably try stacking them—one pair on top of another—in an effort to save space, but likely to no avail.

Stand a couple of magazine holders on your closet floor and slip your flip-flops inside. You’ll be shocked at how many pairs each holder can house!

Got Wood?

If you’ve purchased—or were gifted—any of the higher quality wooden magazine holders, you’ve actually got a useful piece of furniture on your hands. Before you roll your eyes, read on.

Place the solid corner of your wooden holder into a corner where two walls meet. The opening will face you. Affix the holder to the wall using anchors and screws.

Now you have a wall-mounted corner table. This is perfect in a place where you don’t have room for an end table or even a bedside stand. Stash books or magazines inside. The outside provides a space for a beverage, your glasses, or even a tiny lamp. Okay, so who’s rolling their eyes now?

Packets and Pouches

If you’re like most people, you have one cabinet shelf in your kitchen that is overrun with packets and pouches—gravy mixes, taco seasoning, chili mix, etc. Even if the shelf is shallow, you can lay the magazine holder on its side and slip all of these packets and pouches inside.

Even better—affix a piece of paper to the front that lists the items that are inside. Scratch each item off as you use it and add new items to the list as you purchase them.

Put Your Money Where Your Magazine Holder Is

If you change wallets with the season—or maybe even every Saturday night—you no doubt have several of these money holders in your bedroom. Stand up a magazine holder on a closet shelf and all your wallets can stand inside. This works perfectly for smaller purses and clutches as well.

Make sure to wipe down these items with vinegar and a soft cleaning cloth as you transfer them to their new home. That way your organizational task becomes a housecleaning one as well—killing those two birds with just one stone.

Hopefully these ideas for using magazine holders for things other than magazines has inspired you to come up with a few unique ideas on your own. Just take a long hard look as you ponder organizing items in every room. You’ll no doubt find that these useful storage pieces will go to work for you in even more creative ways.