The $13 Target Find That Keeps My Kitchen Clutter-Free

I’m one of those people who is constantly searching for keys, headphones, electricity bills… you name it. The door to my apartment opens up into the kitchen, so the counter closest to the doorway had become a dumping ground for odds and ends. Because it’s a small kitchen, though, any kind of clutter makes the whole room look messy. For a while, I had some hooks set up by the doorway, which were handy for my keys, but not much else.

During a recent Target run, I couldn’t stop myself from browsing their home decor section—even though I didn’t really need anything for my apartment. But I saw something from Target’s Project 62 collection, which I’m obsessed with, and a lightbulb went off in my head.

Buy: Decorative Gold Envelope, $13 at Target

There it was. This perfectly cute metal envelope. I instantly knew it had form and function — and could solve my kitchen clutter dilemma. I knew it could be the perfect catch-all for the many things I keep misplacing, the piles of bills, and the random stuff that somehow ends up in my kitchen. (I really don’t understand why I find a tube of mascara by the kitchen sink at least twice a week.)

Here are my favorite things about this dreamy golden envelope.

Because the envelope is super lightweight, I was able to hang it up with Command Strips, which took less than five minutes. No, seriously … I did it while I was microwaving popcorn. I live in a rental, so in addition to making installation a breeze, the strips won’t damage the walls when I eventually move out. I used the Velcro-like Command Strips to hang it up, so the envelope is also pretty easy to take down and clean out every once in a while.

The envelope fits in with the rest of my kitchen aesthetic, and most of my visitors think it’s just a decoration. What they fail to realize is that it holds all of the bills I need to pay, mail I want to deal with later, random loose change, emergency hair elastics, and so much more. It looks small, but it actually does hold a lot — although not so much that the mess gets out of control.

I couldn’t believe the low price of this envelope! For the price of one Sweetgreen salad, I could instantly declutter the biggest problem area of my apartment, and also added some metallic pizzazz to the space.

Now, whenever I can’t find something, this magic envelope is the first place I look. Chances are, I’ll find what I’m looking for.

Do you have any little organizers like this that helped you declutter your kitchen? Tell us about them in the comments below!

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: The $13 Target Find That Keeps My Kitchen Clutter-Free