Ten Things Everyone Needs in Almost Every Room of the House

In my mind, living should be organized, so things are convenient. If something is not easily at hand, how easy is it to put off the task? How many times have you needed to do something, but since the tool you needed was not at hand, you put it off until later — much later? If you are like most people, this happens often. Here are ten things most rooms in your house need to run more smoothly, be more organized, be safer, and cleaner.

1. A pair of scissors, and the right scissors for each task. I have scissors in every room of my house. I have them in my den/office space for helping open packages, cutting out coupons and more. For that, a long sharp cutting edge is good.

Once you use a pair of scissors for paper, it is ruined for cutting fabric, so if you sew or do crafts or even mend, you need a pair of scissors just for fabric. I have multiple kinds of scissors in my hobby room: some for fabric, some for crafts, and others made especially for doing needlework.

I have scissors in a drawer in the pantry, for cutting open bags of sugar, flour and more. I have scissors in a drawer in the living room, the pets’ room (opening bags of food and kitty litter), the all purpose room (for cutting out recipes and wrapping gifts).

There’s a pair of scissors in my walk-in closet for cutting tags off clothes, trimming stray threads, and more. I have scissors in my bedside table, and I use the blunted end scissors for this for safety. Every bedroom needs its own scissors.

I have scissors in the kitchen, and this is another place you need the right kind of scissors for the task. Some are for help cutting up chicken and cracking bones. Others are for scoring things, and for cutting open the plastic on store wrappers and twine for tying up roasts. I keep scissors in the bathrooms for slitting open plastic wrappings on shower curtain liners, bath tissue, and other toiletries.

2. A wastebasket. Isn’t it just common sense to have one in every room, every place where people might make a mess? If there’s no wastebasket, things end up on the floor. Not only does my house have one in every room, but in high use areas, they get emptied every day. It helps keep clutter out of sight to have a wastebasket in every room, especially in kids’ rooms. You can find them in all colors, to match or go with almost any décor, and if not intent on having stainless steel everywhere, you can find them at reasonable prices.

3. A pen and something to write on. Who knows when the phone will ring and you need to write something down? An electronic tablet is nice, but unless you carry it from room to room, and you are the only person living there, old fashioned pen and paper work just fine. A friend of mine uses the backs of envelopes that mailings came in, saving money on buying paper. I use them for making lists, so they are needed in the bedroom, kitchen, pantry, or anywhere where you might think of something you need to do or buy later.

4. Tissues. People need them. You should have them everywhere! In some rooms, I have them in four or five spots. Convenience is my mantra.

5. Lip balm. I have them in every room in the house. My lips get dry. If yours do, you need this too.

6. Hand cream. If you live in a cold climate, you need to use this all the time. If you are a teacher who is grading papers or anyone who works with paper, your hands get dry faster. If you wash your hands frequently, you need to give your skin some help. It’s easy enough not to use it, if it is not at hand. I have hand cream in every room in my house and sometimes more than one in each room.

7. A brush and or comb. You never know where you may be when someone rings the door bell and a quick spruce of the hair, the dreaded bed head, is gone.

8. Screwdrivers. Both a Phillips and straight edge. You’d be surprised how many times you may need one of these. If you don’t have them anywhere else, you at least need them in the bathroom for a quick adjustment to the workings in your toilet, and in the kitchen for tightening a handle to a pan or for piercing something.

9. A flashlight. They can be tucked into drawers, in cupboards, and bookshelves. When the lights go out, you will thank me for this.

10. A phone. I know some of you carry your cell phones with you, but if you are old-fashioned and have corded phones, portables, and cell phones (I say you should have all three), you will have a back-up, should the cell phone battery die and you must make a call, especially if you are older or have a medical condition that might mean the difference between life and death. In some of my bigger rooms in the house, I have two phones in the room, on different ends, easily within reach if I need them.

Be prepared. Be safe. Be smart. But above all, make it convenient.