22 Ways You Can Use Tension Rods to Organize Your Life

Who knew tension rods could be the solution to some of your most annoying organizational problems?

store-crafts-ways-tension-rods-Rocky89iStock/Rocky89

1. Cleverly store crafts
Organize craft materials by using a tension rod to hold rolls of ribbon in your craft drawer or closet. Tension rods can also be used to fashion a rack for wrapping paper and other paper materials, keeping them organized and standing so that they take up minimal space.


2. Hang photos at work
Decorate a desk or nook by placing rings with clips (like those you would use to hang a shower curtain) and hanging your favorite photos. This will keep the photos from getting damaged by tape or pushpins, and allow you to change them out as often as you like. Never leave these 9 items on your desk.


3. Beautify your desk
Conceal ugly wires and clutter underneath your desk by putting a tension rod directly under the desk’s surface and hanging pretty curtains from it.


4. Conceal bookshelf clutter
Place tension rods on the top of shelves or cubbies to hang mini blinds that will hide cluttered shelves and give your home a more streamlined, minimalist look.

place-window-ways-tension-rods-SaklakovaiStock/Saklakova

5. Place window treatments
The most common use for tension rods is as a cheap and convenient way to hang window treatments in your home. However, tension rods come in many sizes and lengths and are super easy to install and remove, as they do not require any hardware or additional materials. Therefore, they can be used in many other creative ways around your home. Use these tips to dress up ugly windows.


6. Make your own dust ruffle

Add a sense of elegance to your bedroom by hanging a valance from a tension rod under your bed to create a dust ruffle that will hide clutter or stored items. These organizational tools from Amazon will have your life cleaned up in a jiffy.

paper-supply-ways-tension-rods-gerenmeiStock/gerenme

7. Install a never-ending paper supply
This trick is super-easy and convenient for homes with small children that require constant entertainment. Install a tension rod under your kitchen table and hang a roll of paper on it. When your kids are bored, roll the paper up and over the table for painting and coloring projects. The paper can also act as makeshift placemats or protect your table when kids are doing other crafts. These adorable projects will keep your kids entertained all day long.


8. Organize your kitchen
Use tension rods in your kitchen drawers to divide different containers and make everything easy to find. You’ll never have another exasperated search for matching Tupperware containers and tops with this easy trick, and placing a rod directly inside kitchen drawers will make stove lids easy to find if you wedge them between the inside of the drawer and the rod. Vertically placed tension rods can be an organizational solution for cookie sheets or cutting boards that are constantly in disarray, and a rod thrown up between cabinets can act as a catch-all for dishrags, hanging pans, and other oft-needed materials.


9. Build a plant rack on a window with no ledge
Grow small plants and herbs in your windows while adding a decorative touch. Hang a tension rod across a sunny window and hang strong S-hooks from the rod, two for each plant you plan to hang. Place your plants in small pots with handles at each side, and anchor each handle on an S-hook for an instant, low-maintenance home upgrade.


10. Create a spice rack
A tension rod can help you make the most of your cabinet space when correctly placed. Throw a rod in the back of your cabinet, towards the top of the space, and line your spices up on top of it. This elevates spices and makes them easy to see/reach despite the presence of other, taller containers in the cabinet. Tension rods can also be used as dividers in a spice drawer.


11. Limit counter clutter
Get rid of your annoying paper towel holder and instead hang paper towel rolls from an easily accessible tension rod under your kitchen sink.

stop-pets-ways-tension-rods-chendongshaniStock/chendongshan

12. Corral pets
This trick will only work in homes with large pets, but a few well-placed tension rods can serve as a cheap alternative to a pet gate, and can confine your furry friend to certain parts of the house.


13. Hide a litter box
Stick your cat’s litter box in a cabinet and remove the panel. Use a tension rod to hang a small curtain your cat can easily snake behind to use the box, while keeping eyesore concealed the rest of the time. This is how to alleviate litter box odor and other odd stenches in your home.

cover-closet-ways-tension-rods-Dainis-EglavsiStock/Dainis Eglavs
14. Cover your closet
For a closet without a door, hide its contents by hanging a long curtain with a tension rod to give the room a cleaner look.


15. Hang jewelry
A small tension rod placed in your closet or bathroom is a great solution for cluttered or tangled jewelry. Hang pieces from the rod to keep them organized and intact. This trick can also be used for scarves, belts, and bags.


16. Compartmentalize your closet
To keep better track of everything that’s in your closet, it sometimes helps to create several divisions or compartments using tension rods. This can be done by placing a shelf of cubbies in the middle of the closet, and then placing tension rods on either side. You can place them at different levels for clothing of different lengths, and even place more than one on each side to maximize space.


17. Organize cleaning products
Hang spray bottles from a tension rod under your kitchen or bathroom sink so the items are easy to orderly and prevent the possibility of annoying spills and leaks.

shoe-rack-ways-tension-rods-as3diStock/as3d

18. Fashion a shoe rack
If you have a small span of wall in between a corner and a door molding, or some other unused nook in your closet or bedroom, hang rows of tension rods and use them as a rack for heeled shoes, keeping them organized and making it easy to snag the right pair in a hurry. Plus, check out these easy cleaning hacks for every shoe in your closet.


19. File documents
Desk drawers become all the more useful and easy to organize with tension rods creating ledges for hanging files.


20. Dry clothes
Constantly searching for easier ways to air-dry your clothes? Throw a tension rod up in your laundry room and use as an indoor laundry line.


21. Hang outdoor decorations
Make holiday decorating easy by hanging flags from tension rods placed on porches or outside windows. Taking them down will be as easy as putting them up.


22. Declutter your shower
Hang a tension rod against the wall in your shower, then add S-hooks and hang small, water-resistant baskets from them to keep all your products in order.

Reader's Digest
Originally Published in Reader's Digest