To expand on my earlier post, Organizational Starters, I have some additional pictures
(I have no idea why this picture loads upside down!!)
The silverware drawer had an organizer in it when we moved in, but there was so much dust/food leftover in the cracks that I threw them away! I found these bamboo trays to store them in.. Next, this drawer:
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Entry Way Part 2
The tubs weren't working, as you can see on the left.. everything just ended up on top. So I moved the tub upstairs to the closet, and brought the baskets down!
Adalyn's room: We were using plastic totes for her clothes, and the bureau was being used downstairs for her toys, diapers, etc.. the bureau has been replaced with 31 storage totes, and her clothes are now in Jason's bureau that he has had since he was a little boy.
How cute is this Winter Gear storage container!
I can finally put up some of her room decorations- there are no shelves in Adalyn's room, but now I have a flat surface!
One section of the closet! From piles of clothes to totes and hangers..
Another side of the closet.. we took off all of the doors, too, so that it's one open room now instead of 4 different closets in a room
My storage totes from 31 (thirty-one) and my bureau helped clean up all of my clothes
I have decided to use a hanger until I find better storage for scarves and belts.. I've seen that shower rings on a hanger actually work really well, so maybe I'll look into that!
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More 31 (thirty-one) bags for storage in the playroom- holds Adalyn's toys, diapers, bottles, and our DVD's
And lastly, here are some more pictures in the playroom that we hung a few weeks ago. They make it feel more like home in here!
Again, thank you for your feedback and comments/ideas
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We had NO storage in our old house. our old house had only 1 closet upstairs, and a downstairs pantry, so we had to make things work with no place to put anything. We also didn't have a lot of wall space or shelves, so hopefully these tips help you.
ReplyDeleteLACK OF WINDOWS IN KITCHEN:
- Buy a large picture of outside scene: ocean, wine country, camp, anything and frame it. You can also paint an outside scene- can accent with wall lights/sconces for candles.
LACK of SHELVES FOR STORAGE/DECORATION:
- curio cabinets or portable closets can come in handy for additional storage
- you can add onto window sills, and make shelf.
- can buy decorative shelves often at Christmas tree shop, and stagger them- alternating with photos it looks nice.
- Use shelves (book shelves or plastic shelves) and store toys in totes/baskets and store them on the shelves
- Build (just buy at home depot and you can put them together) industrial shelves for work rooms, basements, laundry room, or storage areas- can store tote bins on them.
- Use end tables/small tables/plant stands, esp in corners of room and you can place photos/ ornaments on them
- Use bookshelves and place stuff in baskets/totes. If there is stuff you don't want people to see- you can throw a nice table cloth over it, and use the top for displaying things. We do this at Christmas- we have stuff stored, and it doesn't look right with Christmas decorations, so we place a Christmas decorated Table Cloth over the shelves part, and then set up decorations on top of the shelf.
I thought about buying an outdoors picture for above the sink, right where I put the pictures of Adalyn and the rack for the towels
DeleteWe plan on using a lot of shelves for our storage, but they're expensive, so buying just a couple at a time!
Thanks for your ideas, especially the table cloth over totes!
ReplyDeleteLACK OF WALL SPACE TO DISPLAY PHOTOS:
- We found a patch of wall, bought 2 matching bookshelves- placed them side by side, and displayed photos/corresponding knick knacks on shelves and then also in a collage above the shelves on the wall.
- Use end tables, plant stands, small tables and you can place them in corners with photos on them.
Lack of Cabinet/Cupboard Space: - This was HUGE problem for us in the old house as i have TONS of Kitchen Stuff
- Islands can be bought for "Cheap" and offer storage and additional counter space, can also do this with a table and get book shelf or something for underneath it.
- Place items you need, but don't use frequently (for us it's entertaining stuff, holiday stuff, and baking stuff). Place them in totes with a cover on it, label it, and store it in a dry area (on a shelf somewhere).
- We bought wire wracks and had one in a closet and one in the corner of our old house, and had baking stuff/appliances on it- saving the counter space. We have toaster oven stacked on top of microwave with bulk items stored beneath it- then i freed up the space on the counter for work space rather than appliances. The racks also had hooks on them which we hung: plastic bag holders, pot holders, etc.
CUT DOWN PAPER CLUTTER: This is a huge challenge.
- Try to switch to paperless billing and then use a secure internet based calendar to keep track of bills, this cuts down on paper received.
- When you receive catalogues, immediately read through for coupons, clip them, and recycle catalogue- it's all online
- when you receive books of coupons: immediately clip coupons you want, and recycle the left overs
- Have a bin by the door for mail, and immediately sort into 3 sections: keep, recycle, and burn/shred (personal information).
- Kitchen/recipe clutter. Take any recipe cards you have or recipes you find here and there or most used from cook books- type them up, print them, and put them in sheet protectors into a binder, and that saves on tons of cook books, and instead of 5 different books, you have one binder with the ones you use all the time or your favorites. :)
- I have a binder with page protectors divided into all our bills and then divided into charitable given. I put all our bills in that, and put receipts into ziploc bags to save for taxes/charities and it all goes into the binder. i also keep a checkbook and stamps in there. This way the papers are consolidates into a binder. This helped cut down on paper A LOT- then when it's tax time, everything is organized, and when we do our taxes- the year of bills/checks gets filed with the tax documents also.
- I have ziploc bags to put Holiday Cards/Birthday Cards/General cards that i want to keep, but don't have a place for- they get put in the baggie, dated with the year and then filed in a scrap book box.
- I have a ziploc bag that I put coupons and gift cards into, then when we go shopping- i just grab that bag and I have all coupons and gift cards ready :)
Love the idea of the ONE binder for recipes, instead of having 10 different cookbooks. Although I do like having the cookbooks for decoration, maybe I'll try doing that at some point for the ones I actually use.
DeleteAlso the binder with bills/charitable.. however, all of our bills are online- maybe I can save them as files!
Next, I do need to figure out what to do with my Christmas cards!
GENERAL ORGANIZATION TIPS:
ReplyDelete- I have all towels and wash clothes (well I used to) in cheap bakets from Wal-Mart in the closet, so that you can clean around them, and the closets look neat. I do this in our drawers too for underwear and socks to keep clothing drawers organized.
- I put spare blankets and sheets into covered totes and store them neatly in a closet.
- They sell organizers for like mops, brooms, swiffers, etc for kitchen- they go on the wall, and then you put the handles into them, adn they hang on the wall- great for kitchens, basements, garages.
- Pencil holders in office or work area and kitchen
- Always have a tote available for things to donate to Goodwill/Salvation Army, and as soon as you have stuff you want to get rid of, don't hold onto it, it goes right into the bin, and then off to donate! We have people who are notorious for giving us STUFF, and we felt bad getting rid of it, but now this Christmas as we opened stuff, we had a bin ready to put stuff in, rather than holding onto it. :)
- You can buy a package of hooks for cheap at home depot, and can place them in cabinets, above sink, make your own rack and store items. :)
- Label ALL totes, and I find color coding helps some too when possible- like Christmas goes into Green bins, but now we have so much, it's just labeled. But then in storage areas, we have shelves that all the totes go into. And we do the plastic totes with lids, so not to accumulate dust over everything.
- Biggest thing is to let go of attachment to stuff or the guilt of getting rid of it, otherwise stuff will take over and clutter your life, which makes it hard to keep organized. One thing that I did to get rid of stuff I had a hard time getting rid of. I gave myself one bin, and once it was full nothing else could go into it- if there was something I wanted to keep, i had to swap it with something else in order to make room- this cut down on a whole book shelf full of stuff I may use or want some day to one bin that a lid could cover shut.
- Get rid of wall paper, and paint with neutral/comfortable colors that will match with anything. I personally hate wall paper, and I think it adds to much business and takes away from the displays in front of it.. that's just my opinion.
Good ideas having everything IN totes, even though they're in drawers or closets!
DeleteI want a bin for everything.. need to organize the basement and bring my tubs up! I plan on having 3 or 4 for recycling; paper, aluminum, glass, plastic. One for donations for goodwill, etc.!
I also have bins downstairs for future yardsales, so that they're all in one place instead of all around the house
I'm SO excited to paint my rooms with regular colors instead of wallpaper.. just need to wait until summer, and the money for paint!!!
Looks like we're basically on the same page, I just need to save up to buy all the shelving, totes, paint, etc.!
Thank you so much for your tips!
I guess also one of the issues is, I want those storage bins, but there's no place to put the bins where they're convenient. The kitchen has no space for them, the laundry room has no room; the only place is the living room.. which means they're out in the open. So, I'm hoping to eventually get a "bar" with just a shelf underneath, no cupboards.. and put all of the totes on that, and cover it up with a door in front. That way, the totes are stored away, and look like they belong, and all I have to do is open the door to put things in their place.
Delete