If you are anything like me, you dream of having a beautifully organized home, but find that it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to make that dream a reality. I am fairly organized, but being organized does not always equal pleasing to the eye. Diaper boxes with magic marker labeling, even when stacked neatly, always make me feel as though I've not yet settled in. Those boxes are meant to be for temporary storage, not a long term commitment. As
a homeschooling mother who is actively pursuing the arts for
her family...let's just say that I have a lot of
'supplies'. Every year, I try to go through all of the cabinets, drawers, and boxes to clear out the clutter while condensing and re-organizing; always striving for that perfect combination of function and form. But how can that be achieved?
{Let me note that I have been blessed to have a husband with an incredible talent to be able to fix pretty much anything. Without his direction and hence the realization that I could 'fix' things too, objects that really would be 'trash' to someone without the means to fix them have become wonderful possibilities instead.}
So....
Let
me first start out by advising that if you find yourself in a storage
crunch, take a serious look at all that you feel the need to keep. If it
has no sentimental value and you haven't pulled it out in the past 12
months, you may want to reconsider your reasons for storing it. Is it
really worth the space that it is taking up? Do you (ladies) really NEED
that walk-in closet? I love fashion as much as the next girl, but I
simply do not
have the luxury in budget, space, or conscience to accommodate all that
I like. Are we ever going to use those fabric scraps or make that
amazing scrapbook? How many cookbooks will we really use? Think about
your choices seriously and make wise decisions about what you will keep and what you will bring home in the future. The first step to conquering the clutter is to not keep adding to it unnecessarily!
Once
you've narrowed down what you really want/need to keep, think about how
often you will need to access it. This has always been a problem for
me; especially if it's school or craft related. It's not doing me any
good to know that I have it, if I also know that I'm going to have to go
scrounging through a crawl space in the attic when it's 100+ degrees
outside. Take a good look at all of your furniture and collections. You
might be surprised at where you can discover some great storage space.
But what do you do when you have no real storage that is hidden? Older homes often have small or no closets and so many Americans are lost without their accustomed built-ins. I was raised in a home with many closets, so it was a challenge for me to rethink the traditional storage concepts. This is where our love of historic architecture has come to our aid.
If you are lacking a bedroom closet in which to hang your clothes, look for an old wardrobe. They are often found in antique malls, flea markets, or on an online sight such as Craigslist. These are what were used in the old homes in place of closets and they can be made to look beautiful, even if they are from the 70's, and many are just being given away :) What's not to love about that?? Whether you choose to keep the natural wood or paint it to match the rest of your furniture, you will have a portable means to store your clothes. If it doesn't already have one, a mirror can be mounted to the inside of the door, saving you even more space. Shoes and 'out of season' clothes can always be stashed under the bed. This particular wardrobe is half closet and half drawers, but there are all manner of arrangements available.
I've always had issues when it came to storing bath towels and bed linens. After taking a good look around, I decided to use an old wash stand (a trash pick from Philly given to us by my in-laws) for storing exactly what it had been made to accommodate. It looks spectacular and, whether in the bathroom, hall, or living room, no one would guess that it was really storing my towels and sheets!
It has since evolved in its purpose to hold some school and art supplies for the kids. As an antique, it has the added bonus of being solid wood and having a lock! You can always find skeleton keys at antique malls and flea markets. Eventually you will stumble across one that will work. The larger the key, the larger the lock that it was probably meant for, so a stand like this would use a medium sized key. Once you find the right arrangement of teeth, you are set. Keep your eyes open while you are there and keep a note card with you that details your workable dimensions. You never know where you will find the perfect solution to your other storage issues.
I also love to use baskets around the house. They fit in with our things and look as though they 'belong'. I keep my current needlework project in an old picnic basket which makes it portable and fashionable. If you notice the basket on the floor next to the stand above, it's function is to hold the diapers and wipes, while looking right at home with the decor.
Another basket in our room holds our toddler son's clothes until Gorg can get the drawer boxes built for the older boys' built-in captains' beds in their new room. I refuse to buy another dresser when I will soon have several to gift away.
One in the kitchen holds the cat food, but could just as easily hold picnic-ware, garbage bags, cleaning implements, and if lined with a solid can inside, bulk foods. I personally can not put food on the floor level because we will get the occasional mouse who decides to help herself to my stores.
All of the laundry hampers in our 'public' rooms are also woven and look much more in keeping with my style than a plastic hamper would, but work with your own style. Don't allow yourself to be limited by something that was marketed for a 'specific' purpose. See what you can find that is 'you' and if it is the right size for the space, then put it to work!
This is a gorgeous piece that Gorg made for his graduation project. The lower part is his handmade secretary made from bleached walnut, finished with an aniline dye stain and shellac. The top is an antique butler's cabinet that he did restoration work upon. They've held everything from clothes to books and are currently holding my paperwork for the house and some of the children's games.
Since I have decided to go ahead and jump into my artwork as more than just a hobby, I have accumulated a lot of supplies. I had already been carrying a good bit around with me that had come from my grandmothers and my mother, but had been storing it in boxes in the attic or in the back of a closet. My thread was kept in old glass-topped Mason jars and it was a royal pain to dig it out when I needed to mend something, but it did give me a use for the jars and kept the thread from rolling all over the place. However, it was almost easier to just go buy new supplies all of the time so it was not the ideal solution.
Well, I was trying to solve this problem and also find the space for extra school supplies, when I received an email about a 'clearance' auction. Auctions are another wonderful place to find good bargains on quality furniture; especially if they are not going to be having a cut off on the prices.
I saw a couple of items that would fit the bill, but was determined to not pay much for any of them. The one that I had in mind was a giant china cabinet. It would have a ton of storage for all manner of things! However when we arrived, while it ended up being shelved when no-one would even bid $50, Gorg was after the older piece that had caught my eye as well. Of course, it came up for bid right after the china cabinet so it was a risk, but...enter my new needlework cabinet into our home...
Notice that your supplies can be arranged in an artistic fashion. They don't always have to be shut away just because they are raw materials. I was finally able to show off a couple of tins that my mother-in-law had given to me that had been hidden from view for years because I just couldn't find the right spot for them. Old lace and leftover trims can be wound around pieces of cardboard to make them easy to find and a ready source of inspiration for use on a garment or as an addition to something around the house. In the mean time, they are beautiful just as they are and I won't be embarrassed to show them off once this piece finds its home in our living room. (Some furniture rearranging is in order before that happens.) The two center drawers are perfect for keeping a large stash of needles right at my fingertips, while my yarn, scrap fabrics, and needlework hoops can all be held neatly in the bottom.
{We have found so many pieces of great furniture at auctions and antique malls. Don't let your small budget fool you into thinking that you have to settle for 'cheap' furniture. Struggling with this problem also, we had been sleeping on the floor for years because I didn't want to waste money on a bed that we didn't really like. At that same auction, I was able to buy an old brass bed for $50 and it's so much more than I had ever hoped for; at least until Gorg has time to build one for us. Then this one can go into the guest room!}
Now that my sewing supplies are all in one place, it has freed up the hall built-in for the kids videos and puzzles. It also allowed me to move the linens and towels into storage closer to the bathroom.
I realize that most people keep their videos as close to the television as possible, but do you need to have them on display in your living room? If you don't really care for the large entertainment centers, why not look for alternative places to keep videos and games so that your television fades into the background of your decor when not in use?
Since we only use ours for videos, (it helps to keep the bills down and with places like Netflix and Hulu, we have more than enough options to keep us entertained) I moved our TV into the solarium. A new corner shelf made by Gorg is very accommodating for the VCR and DVD player while an old blanket chest not only holds the television, but also stores extra bedding, blankets, and winter wear that we don't use every day. Having the TV out there also allows us to visit with adults in our living room while the kids can have their friends over to watch cartoons. Glass pocket doors allow for more privacy, but still allow us to keep an eye on things from our vantage point.
One of my personal pet peeves is seeing my kids' shoes laying all over the floor next to the door, but where to put them? A shelf next to the door is better, but they are still highly visible if you don't have a mudroom. Our solution was to use the bottom of the cabinet in which I keep my good dishes. The dining room of our home has always been right near at least one entry point. This piece came out of an old barn that we tore down and it was a complete disaster until Gorg worked his magic upon it.
If I ever needed more room, a simple wire rack would double or even triple the amount that it would hold. (The bottom right door is a replacement as well as some of the pieces on the upper doors, but it's a rare individual who would be able to spot them.)
I mentioned before that we were blessed to find a home that would allow me to keep my dining room free from school supplies, but what if you face that very problem? I have found that using an old piano bench for seating at the table also doubles as excellent storage for coloring books or workbooks. An older child should be able to keep their books in their room or in some other part of the house.
A small stand that was another trash pick, holds all of our coloring books in the hall between the library and the dining room. I keep the crayons in a tin so that the littlest ones can't have free access to express their creativity on my walls ;) After all, art does have it's place.
If you collect tins or jars; baskets or hatboxes, don't allow them to sit empty. Fill them up with odds and ends that would normally find their way into a 'junk drawer'. Use them to hold bathroom necessities for your own personal touch. Don't allow your creativity to be limited to storage either.
I like curtains, but they are an expensive investment and mini blinds are such a pain to keep clean. If you carry a note with you to remind you of your window sizes, you may stumble upon a clearance sale on some pretty window treatments. I have started to use the bamboo blinds in our house. They allow for privacy, but look so much better than traditional blinds and don't even need curtains, if you choose to go without. I hate any blinds in a dining room, but ours catches the full brunt of the evening sun. So, my husband came home from an auction one day with some cracked, but still usable reproduction stained glass. They promptly went up in the windows to diffuse the blinding glare and they look amazing.
I hope that this inspires you to give your storage/decor solutions a second look. You don't have to settle for cheap furniture just because you have a small budget. All it takes is some patience and an open eye. Some of our 'solutions' were not cheap, but they were still less than the cost of buying at a furniture store; possibly not even more than a bargain store. They are all solid wood and will last for many more years; even with children in the house. When you really think about it, quality is always a bargain in the long run! Paying reasonable prices for it because you have patience and have trained yourself to look beyond something's intended purpose or hideous 'makeover' are just icing on the cake =)
