Put That Where?
It’s a backwards Works For Me Wednesday, where we get to ask a question and soak up the answers that come our way. I’ve got a quick question that I hope someone can answer.
We’ve got a lot of stuff. Crayons, glues, pencils, papers, notebooks, scissors, and so on. Unfortunately not a lot of space. The closets in this house are tiny, and already cramped full. Counters are limited, shelves are stuffed, and we’re basically living in too small of a house. It is unnerving, because compared to most people we know we barely have anything. Yet in a house that seems to have been made for newlyweds our family is bursting at the seams.
So give me some good storage ideas. Something that doesn’t look tacky, but that doesn’t cost much. If I can do it for free or next to it that’s even better. But it also has to be able to withstand nosy cats and a curious toddler.
What would you suggest?
works for me wednesday, storage
January 8th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Try adding some high shelves. Like find a free or cheap shelf that you can put high along … say, your dining room - like a plant ledge sort of thing. Then throw your odds and ends into a bunch of different baskets. At that height, no one can see the stuff inside. Yet, you just have to hop up on a chair to grab what you need … and also put it BACK to keep it away from little hands!
Another thing that we have done is to use under-bed storage boxes, but put them under OTHER places - like couches or TV cabinets, etc. The Rubbermaid-ish kind have little latches on the end that are a fairly good deterrent for little ones. However, if you just get the cheaper cardboard kind, you can tie ribbon around the handles on the end to tie the lid on - double knot it!
Baskets can also go on the tops of cabinets. I’ve used things like aluminum buckets and empty plant pots (interesting ones I pick up second hand - or from dumpster diving!). The funkier the container, the more you’ll enjoy stashing your stuff!
If you have cabinets that are not filled to the top, you can find ways to utilize that space. Sometimes those little wire shelves can be turned upside down and fastened with nails, so that you have a shelf actually hanging down. I have stored toiletries this way, over towels that don’t quite fill up a space … or kitchen cabinets that have unused room - where you just can’t pile things higher. If you can’t go higher, work from the top down!!
As you know, we have more space now than we’ve ever had in our lives (so, of course, we’ll be adding more kids to fill it up! ha!). However, the previous eleven years of marriage have been spent in some teeny spaces. I’ve learned to just look around (which usually means looking UP) for open space and then ponder, “How could I stick something there?”
Heh. Heh. That’s what she said.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I’d start with pencil boxes from the local second hand store. Then I would get really sick of bursting at the seems and decide its time to downsize the stuff. There are always things you can really do without. And I’d get the kids excited and start purging stuff. Then create a nice area with pencil boxes or juice cans, etc to hold the items. That works for me. Good luck!
I guess I”m really just thinking make sure you’re using your small space the best you can. That way you can enjoy it and not feel liek you’re your cramped in.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:38 am
I think I can help!! Whenever I see the word storage I get all excited and had to come on over. I’m obsessed with organizing, come on over to I’m an Organizing Junkie and see for yourself!
Laura
January 9th, 2008 at 12:41 am
First thing, you must purge!
I know you use all that stuff for homeschooling, but surely there are duplicates items that are often passed over to use the ‘nicer’ one.
I have found that 2/3 of all pencils in our house go unused because the lead is too soft, no eraser anymore, too short, or whatever.
Go through your things with a hard heart. Pitch it or give it away and the smaller pile you will end up with will be much more easily organized.
Have a specific place for each thing;
pencils in the yellow box
pens in the blue box
plain paper in the white folder
and so on.
When the kids do not put something away properly, do not do it for them. Have them come right back and do it again.
Also, for other ’stuff’, that just collects, once it outgrows your space, it is time to get rid of things. Period. Whether it belongs to you or the kids.
Actually, I am off to purge the girl’s room this afternoon!
Happy Sorting
January 9th, 2008 at 12:47 am
My answer became too long for a comment section. I left some storage ideas my family settled happily with and continue to use today. You can find it here: http://tookshire.wordpress.com/?p=376
There is some investing, unless you already have some of the storage items (many things are repurposed). Taking advantage of sales or visiting garage sales, thrift shops is another idea for some of the containers.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:30 am
It’s not necessarily cheap - but if you are limited on storage space like us - consider finding a used china cabinet/hutch and filling that up. I see them on Craigslist from probably less than $100 (people just want to get rid of them).
The cabinet looks nice and contains everything in one place. Get one with shelves and drawers and cupboards if possible.
We have a small house - so I know what it’s like. Also make sure you are weeding out the stuff you don’t use/have outgrown, regularly. Don’t hold onto something unless it’s really special/loved. Even books can be a clutter…if I don’t like it, the kids don’t read it or we’ve taken the lesson from it - donate it.
A year or so ago, my dh and I re-thought our basement - tore out some useless things - and made some built-in book shelves.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:29 am
This is one I have dealt with though now we live in a much bigger house I still use what I learned while living in a little condo. Put door pockets anywhere you can put them. (You know those pockets that you can put your shoes in to store them on your door? WE have one hanging in the back hall for gloves and hats and outside summer things (like binoculars and bug kits), in the bathroom for extra storage, in fact they are in every room we have. They are great for putting crayons, markers etc (I put the crayons in old tins/platic wipes containers then in a pocket. They also sell smaller ones that work well for inside cupboards. I found some really nice cloth wall pockets for about $4 each at Homedepot but different places have different types and sizes. We even have one that is designed for in the shower to store bathtub toys. Also good is to use plastic bins under everything that can fit something under–we have large ones as drawers under every bed–in our room we have all the extra season/size shoes stored, in the kids rooms-toys, smaller ones under the couch storing games and photo stuff. Something else that we found works well is a backpack over the back of each kids kitchen chair–they store their books and basic school supplies there when we are in “school” mode.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Oh, another thing we learned–use bureaus and shelves instead of tables. None of our surfaces are empty underneath except our kitchen table. Our surfaces in the living room (where the kids spend a lot of time) are all trunks (for storing blankets and things) or old bureaus/bedside tables (for storing musical instruments/building supplies/Leappads/drawing things/etc. Everything plays double duty.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I would suggest you try to maximize your storage by expanding vertically and into rarely-used areas like behind doors and under the couch. For Art supplies, a shoe organizer works well, you can hang it on a door or the wall, or even hang a clear one over a window.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Purge all you can would be my most basic advice. When you look at some of the 1930’s-1950’s homes around 800-1000 square feet and remember that people happily lived in them usually with many kids you have to wonder how? Less stuff.
Dollar tree has great containers for the small stuff–measure your shelves, cabinets, and drawers and try to purchase sets that will line up to fill the whole space to maximize it. If you have a garage, attic, or basement consider large plastic bins to hold off season clothing, extra school supplies, etc.–they’re on sale everywhere right now and stack tidily. If you have to keep them where your kiddos/pets can get to them the lids snap on tight.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Get a clear vinyl closet door shoe holder. I have one in my son’s room inside his clost door & it holds all of those little baby essentials. We also used to have one in our hall closet (before we moved to a house with a tiny hall closet- a shoe holder is too wide for it now!) and in the winter it held all of our winter hats, gloves, etc as well as misc. household items.
It would be an easy way to keep store art supplies too.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:39 am
When I taught younger children I recycled milk gallon containers and cut the top third of the front out, leaving a base and the handle. They were big, FREE, easy to carry, and fit nicely together on the shelf. I teach fourth grade now but I still have several of them for math manipulatives.
Happy New Year!
January 9th, 2008 at 10:59 am
We have some basic white cubes from Target that are supposed to be “closet organizers” but look really nice along one wall in our school/play room. I had to put them together, but we have one with doors for paint and other messy supplies while everything else is either in a cube or on a shelf that is labeled so that anyone can put things away where they belong. I really like the higher shelves idea, we just haven’t done that yet. Love everyone’s ideas!
January 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I save every shoe box I can get my hands on! Cover them with contact paper and slap a label on it then stack ‘um up anywhere.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I don’t really have much to add, but I wanted to thank you for asking this question. I really enjoy organizing things. (I know, I’m crazy.) And now I have new ideas to implement.
I really like the little storage containers with drawers. They are more expensive than baskets from garage sales, but we use them constantly. I found some that were small enough to fit in a pantry-type closet that we converted for school use. The craft supplies are easy to access and the drawers are easily put back in place.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Don’t know where you could put them without looking but if you want a really cheap storage option that isn’t hideous… Get regular old cardboard boxes (or shoe boxes if you want lids) and cut the top flaps off and wrap them in wrapping paper. You can find plain colors for cheap or go with a pattern that matches your decor.
I did my linen closet like this and it works great. You can put labels (even pictures from magazines or drawings) to identify what is in them.
So, that is my idea if you want to go super cheap!
January 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
The best thing that has worked for me when we’ve lived in small places was to make sure that everything in your house is storage. Use a coffee table that opens and has internal storage. Ottomans, side tables, under the bed, etc…. all of it can be storage inside. Also, you can store things in illogical places if you need to….just fit in the house where they fit. Definitely use your walls for vertical storage… this has worked well for me in the past for coats, clothes, pot lids in the kitchen, spices, dishes, office/craft supplies, etc.
I’ve often found that in a very small space it costs more money to get it as organized as you need since you really need a specific type of item for a specific function. But, once it’s all organized just right, it all feels so perfect because your furniture and stuff is exactly how you need it to be - and everything has a purpose.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I have always lived in small, no storage houses…with 4 kids. Look at your spaces with out-of-the box thinking. For example, I had sort of a sun porch in one house. Never used except for the washing machine. That became a playroom. I have an small entry by the front door in my current house. It’s now my scrapbook/computer nook. Under the bed is another great place to store things. And don’t be afraid to purge. Good Luck!! It’s a challenge I share.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I know how you feel. We live in a 1960’s construction house that is about 1075 square feet in size. All of the closets are tiny! In fact, until just recently, all of my husband’s clothes were in the guest bedroom closet because there just was not enough room. I complained all of the time about how we just needed a bigger house…bigger closets…more space! Then it hit me, how much of my stuff am I actually using? I am a major pack-rat. I am always afraid of getting rid of things because I just might need them later. This fear is crippling when it comes to organizing a small home.
So, I know other people have said this, but throw things away or give them to Goodwill! I cut the things in my closets in half. I also went through things that were just sitting out around the house and decided right then and there whether I really needed it and would use it. If not, it went in the trash or a box for Goodwill.
Don’t try to do this all at one time. Pick a room or a particular spot and start there. Take it one thing at a time.
Other things that have worked for me is to use photo boxes or shoe boxes to organize craft supplies in. I also have put some in a shower organizer (one that is made to carry to and from the shower) that I got for a dollar at a garage sale. Anything that can group things together like that will help.
Going vertical has helped us, also. We got those wire shelves that will stack on top of each other to put all of my craft stuff on. It is in our guest room- we don’t have guests all that often, so we should be able to use that room for ourselves, right?
Well, I will stop writing my book, now. I hope these things help you. I am no expert by any means. Good luck!