Under the sink is one of the overlooked spaces that can be utilized to neatly store everyday items, including kitchen gloves and kitchen towels, according to organizing expert Amy Bergman.

“Pair a binder clip with an adhesive hook to hang rubber cleaning gloves under the sink,” she says. “It keeps them dry, easy to grab, and off the counter.” The same applies to kitchen towels. They can be kept discreet but handy.

Households are full of urgent paper reminders of upcoming events, animal vaccinations, to-do lists, and more. Rather than let them run loose on countertops or buried in purses, keep them in sight with the use of binder clips.

“Use binder clips with pushpins on a bulletin board to hold important papers, permission slips, or reminders,” advises Bergman. She suggests color-coding your binder clips for each family member.

In order to make the most of your toothpaste, Bergman recommends sliding a mini binder clip onto the end of a toothpaste tube and moving it up as the tube empties. “This makes squeezing out every bit easier and neater,” she says. Professional organizer Meghan Cocchiaro notes that this method can also be used for any similar cosmetic tubes to help boost efficiency.

When it comes to cash, binder clips can act as a space-saving, instant wallet. They can also serve to help with cash budgeting. Cocchiaro recommends using binder clips to hold money as an alternative to the envelope method. Additionally, binder clips can also be used to organize currencies and coupons or a stack of gift cards.

How many times have you lost a work glove in the fray of your garage clutter? Having them stored together might seem easier than it actually is. Enter the binder clip! Bergman recommends keeping your work gloves clipped together and hung from nails or hooks on the wall. “They’re also great for organizing extension cords, or string lights,” she says. “Just loop and clip.”

It may seem ingenious to collect and store your items in bins—unless you neglect to label them. To streamline your system, Bergman recommends using jumbo binder clips as DIY labels on storage bins in both the garage and the pantry. “Just clip a handwritten or printed label to the front and you’ve got a removable, reusable system,” she says.

Office cables can easily become a tangled web. To keep your cables organized and off the floor, Cocchiaro recommends using binder clips of various sizes. “The cords can be pulled through the opening and clipped onto a desk or shelf to secure the cord," she explains. To keep the tip in place, simply thread it through the metal piece.  

The same process can be used to store cords and cables of any type and size in drawers and bins or on shelves. According to pro organizer Carol Appelbaum, you can even "stand them vertically in a drawer organizer like a file system."

The same rule applies to nightstand lamp cords and any charging cables that you keep by your bed at night. "Clip a large binder clip at the edge of a desk, vanity, or nightstand drawer,” says Appelbaum. If you thread the cord through the metal arms, it will stay accessible but out of sight.

When cooking, it’s imperative to have the recipe at eye-level to refer to as you go—but you risk getting grease and food on your printed recipe or laptop. To simplify food prep, Bergman suggests attaching a binder clip to the top of a recipe card or printed page and hanging it from a cabinet knob at eye-level while cooking. Points for neatness and creativity.

Try opting for a binder clip as a placeholder the next time you embark on a new book. According to Cocchiaro, “Binder clips make great bookmarks because they are much tighter than traditional bookmarks and can be easier to use than magnetic ones, as well."

When you have a case of jet lag, the last thing you need is for the sun to be pouring through the gap in your hotel curtains during precious sleep hours. "Hotel curtains always have a little space where the outdoor light comes through," says Appelbaum. "Binder clips are easy to travel with and an ideal solution, so you can sleep well through the night or sleep in the next day," She recommends clipping the curtains together wherever there is a visible space in order to fully darken the room.

When using kitchen appliances, having a manual handy can be a game-changer. Unfortunately, instruction booklets are usually stacked in a remote drawer, not easily accessible in the critical window that you need them. This is where the binder clip comes in.

“Keep those hard-to-find user manuals for your blender, air fryer, or coffee machine right where you need them,” advises Appelbaum. She recommends clipping the manual or quick-start card with a binder clip, then hanging it on a push pin or adhesive hook inside a cabinet door near the appliance.

As carefully as you may have packed, your luggage is likely to get jostled, and jewelry tends to get tangled. The latter can be avoided by some preventative organizing.

According to Cocchiaro, binder clips can be used to separate necklaces or bracelets when packing jewelry for travel. “This helps them from getting tangled up with other pieces,” she says.

Another wonderful use for binder clips is holding your wrapping paper rolls in place, keeping them organized and pristine for whenever the next celebration rolls around.

"Binder clips are a great way to secure a roll of opened wrapping paper and keep it from unraveling," says Cocchiaro, as they're easier to work with than tape or rubber bands. For the best result, use one small clip on each end.

Freezer-burned vegetables are both disappointing and wasteful. Cocchiaro recommends using binder clips to secure open bags of frozen foods. This may help protect items from freezer burn—but best of all will keep that bag of frozen peas from spilling all over your freezer.

Hair accessories can become disorganized far too quickly without a plan in place. Appelbaum recommends using binder clips to keep hair ties, scrunchies, and headbands orderly. "Group items by type and secure them with individual binder clips," she suggests. Then, "line them up in a shallow tray for a boutique-style display. It’s tidy, visual, and easy to maintain."

Bergman notes that larger binder clips also work well for keeping hair tools’ cords neatly looped and clipped to the inside of a cabinet door.

A disorganized laundry room or pantry shelves can lead to product chaos and clutter. Binder clips to the rescue! Cocchiaro suggests using binder clips as shelf labels to help identify the contents of various shelves. "Simply open [the clips] and slide them onto the shelf with the wide bottom part now facing you, and apply a label," she says.

There’s no need to purchase more plastic or metal clips from the grocery store when binder clips will do an even better job. “Large binder clips make great chip clips,” asserts Cocchiaro. “They actually have a tighter grip than most proper chip clips.” She recommends using large and extra-large sizes for the best result.

They'll similarly work for sealing coffee, bags of sugar, rice, beans, and most pantry items that need to be kept fresh for a short time, adds Appelbaum. She recommends using matching clips if you desire a more uniform pantry aesthetic.

We’ve all sat down to an outdoor dinner in the summertime and felt the tablecloth pull from a sudden gust of wind. If the wind is particularly strong, table settings might shift, and your tablecloth could even blow away. 

According to Appelbaum, binder clips can "keep your table settings in place without damaging your linens." She advises using binder clips underneath the table, hidden from sight, and clipping the corners of the cloth to the table edge to keep things from blowing away.