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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 6:17pm | IP Logged
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We can live in our house. Its not huge but its not teeny tiny, either. Its just under 1700 sq. ft on the main floor with a finished basement (fam. room, computer area, open floor space to play in the winter, one bedroom and a craft/hs storage/extra food/freezer storage room that is overflowing.
I have a few areas on the main floor where stuff just isn't fitting. I think I've dejunked as much as I can and I don't know what to do to fit everything in. The bedroom space basically looks like this: oldest in basement bedroom and he has plenty of space (in fact, I wish I could go back and make that room smaller so I would have more storage space!), I have 3 girls in one bedroom and their storage space is extremely limited, I have 2 little boys in one little room, and then mom and dad's room. What I'm short on is closets! Can you help me brainstorm? I'm also open to being called out to dejunk more if necessary, but I'll need some help figuring out what to get rid of. I'm not a pack rat by nature.
1--everyone currently only has 1 set of sheets (per season...cotton in summer/flannel in winter), but I need it to be 2. One isn't working anymore. I have zero linen cupboard space and don't know where to put them.
2--I have one teeny hall closet and it has a lock on it. I use it for medicines/tylenol/band aid/heating pad/barf buckets stuff, one box of gift bags, maps and AAA books, light bulbs, batteries, one box with liturgical stuff I like to have on hand easily, and camera stuff. The closet has shelves to the top and I have neat bins that stack perfectly on them, but in between the bins is becoming crammed with odds and ends that have no home.
3--My one cupboard that holds towels also holds extra deodorants, shampoos, toilet paper etc that I buy in bulk when they go on sale. Its overflowing. We also have my two oldest's shaving stuff and nail polish stuff that isn't safe to have in their bedrooms because of wandering toddlers/preschoolers. These things sit directly *on top* of the deodorants and shampoos because...well, that's all the space left.  There isn't even enough room for the towels and I don't think I have more than 12 total (including pool towels!) for a family of 8. Under the bathroom sink are the bath toys in a dishpan bin, a trash can, and 3 humidifiers because if I need one, I usually need 3 since everyone always gets sick at the same time. That pretty much takes up the whole space.
4--My front hall closet has shelves in it and is supposed to hold the homeschool stuff that we are using for that year. Currently two shelves are completely taken over by board games, which means the books are piling up on the floor at the moment!!!  I don't know where to put the games since we don't have any more closets!
5--My stack of scrapbooks is shoved in the bottom of a cabinet in the basement that holds dvds/vcr tapes, etc. They don't fit there in the slightest and I am nervous about having them there anyway because of basement humidity. I bought IKEA cubbies for all the toys in the basement (its finished) which are working great, but it does mean I am low on wall space for more shelves/cabinets.
I refuse to believe we are outgrowing our home. Big Catholic families have been raised for hundreds of years in houses much smaller than ours...although they probably didn't have as much stuff as we do in modern society.
I am totally  to admit these spots to you, but I am completely flummoxed as to how to fix it. The rest of my house is in good order with lots of room to breathe. Help, please???
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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LisaR
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 6:28pm | IP Logged
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we have one set of sheets per kid, and that is it. oh and a few sets of flannel that everyone fights over in the winter 
I just washed and dried sheets today. It is doable to just whip them off, wash and dry 9even on the clothesline outside! and just pop them on right before bedtime.
We have about 10 towels. not a big linen closet here, mine sounds like yours!
I store extra deoderant and stuff in a cupboard under my bathroom sink. if it is from Sam's Club, I take it all out of the packaging, as opposed to a BIG box, kwim??
Our extra toilet paper and paper towels are up on top of our freezer in the basement.
My homeschool stuff is in the "dining room" in two bookshelves. OUR front hall closet is crammed full of puzzles, games, and the library books!
Our home is 1600 or so sq feet including the used to be finished section of the basement 
I've learned not to stock up quite so much anymore. something is ALWAYS on sale, and shuffling through the 10 containers of deoderant and toothpaste to find the bandaid box just wasn't cutting
it anymore...
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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LisaR
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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PS we got rid of all the bath toys. bathtime is very quick, they all take showers, even Maria! Our bathroom is pretty small, so I wanted function, not fun...
maybe get rid of the odds n ends that have no home???
now, thanks for the insiration. I'm off to sort through the paper pile in the kitchen!!
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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PDyer
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 6:47pm | IP Logged
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| 1--everyone currently only has 1 set of sheets (per season...cotton in summer/flannel in winter), but I need it to be 2. |
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People here have talked about putting the second set between the mattress and box spring of each bed. Any underbed storage?
Bookswithtea wrote:
| 2--I have one teeny hall closet and it has a lock on it. I use it for medicines/tylenol/band aid/heating pad/barf buckets stuff, one box of gift bags, maps and AAA books, light bulbs, batteries, one box with liturgical stuff I like to have on hand easily, and camera stuff. |
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Any room in the garage? We put light bulbs and batteries in the garage. I am down to almost no maps because I end up googling a map when I need it; the maps I still own are in the car. I would put the rest of the stuff where you have it, so no help there.
Bookswithtea wrote:
| 3--My one cupboard that holds towels also holds extra deodorants, shampoos, toilet paper etc that I buy in bulk when they go on sale. Its overflowing. |
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When I lived in my old house with no closets, we put one backup shampoo, etc in the bathroom and the rest of the overflow in the basement, on shelves, but it sounds like that option isnt' the best either...Now, my extra TP is on top of the cabinets over the washer and dryer.
Bookswithtea wrote:
| Under the bathroom sink are the bath toys in a dishpan bin, |
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Would these fit [/QUOTE] in a mesh bag stuck on the side of the bathtub/shower?
Bookswithtea wrote:
| Currently two shelves are completely taken over by board games, which means the books are piling up on the floor at the moment!!! |
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I vote tote bags for the school stuff, games on the shelves.
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 7:10pm | IP Logged
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Bookswithtea wrote:
1--everyone currently only has 1 set of sheets
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between mattress and boxsprings would be good.. or what about in a tote on a shelf in a bedroom closet? then you can put away the off season sheets and keep the current 2 to use in the space you're currently using.
Bookswithtea wrote:
2--I have one teeny hall closet and it has a lock on it. I use it for medicines/tylenol/band aid/heating pad/barf buckets stuff, one box of gift bags, maps and AAA books, light bulbs, batteries, one box with liturgical stuff I like to have on hand easily, and camera stuff. The closet has shelves to the top and I have neat bins that stack perfectly on them, but in between the bins is becoming crammed with odds and ends that have no home.
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There is always somewhere that gets those homeless things.. my desk is it here  what about making space for one bin in the closet for misc things.. no lid so it's easy to drop them in instead of stuff between bins.. and then once a week or so clear it out?
Bookswithtea wrote:
3--My one cupboard that holds towels also holds extra deodorants, shampoos, toilet paper etc that I buy in bulk when they go on sale. Its overflowing. We also have my two oldest's shaving stuff and nail polish stuff that isn't safe to have in their bedrooms because of wandering toddlers/preschoolers. These things sit directly *on top* of the deodorants and shampoos because...well, that's all the space left. There isn't even enough room for the towels and I don't think I have more than 12 total (including pool towels!) for a family of 8. Under the bathroom sink are the bath toys in a dishpan bin, a trash can, and 3 humidifiers because if I need one, I usually need 3 since everyone always gets sick at the same time. That pretty much takes up the whole space.
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bath toys in a mesh net
what about a cheapy tool box that you can put a small lock on for the older kids items.. then they can safely keep them in their room and transport to the location they need to be used.
Can you put some sort of storage in the basement space for the stocked up items? I use space in my garage for that. Maybe put the humidifiers there too since they're not a use all the time thing. Slip them in a plastic bag to protect from dust.
Bookswithtea wrote:
4--My front hall closet has shelves in it and is supposed to hold the homeschool stuff that we are using for that year. Currently two shelves are completely taken over by board games, which means the books are piling up on the floor at the moment!!! I don't know where to put the games since we don't have any more closets!
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put the game pieces in ziplocks and into a small tote and the boards all in one stack and ditch the boxes the games came in. That should get the space you need for them way down.. then they can either go in a tote and in the basement (you said there was a family room there right? great place to use the games  ) or if it freed up enough space leave them where they are
Bookswithtea wrote:
5--My stack of scrapbooks is shoved in the bottom of a cabinet in the basement that holds dvds/vcr tapes, etc. They don't fit there in the slightest and I am nervous about having them there anyway because of basement humidity. I bought IKEA cubbies for all the toys in the basement (its finished) which are working great, but it does mean I am low on wall space for more shelves/cabinets.
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hmmmm tough one.. my thought was high shelves maybe over the cubbies or just on top of the cubbies? it would be warmer near the top so maybe less damp?
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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LisaR
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 7:13pm | IP Logged
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love the idea of the sheets being stored between mattress and box springs- 4 of my kids are in bunks without boxsprings- think it would be too lumpy if I still put them under there??
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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amyable
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 7:42pm | IP Logged
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LisaR wrote:
| love the idea of the sheets being stored between mattress and box springs- 4 of my kids are in bunks without boxsprings- think it would be too lumpy if I still put them under there?? |
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My kids don't seem to mind. I just unfold them a bit and lay them flat on the slats, then put the mattress back down.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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amyable
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I'm loving these ideas so far! What has helped here are TALL bookcases in the family room for books and homeschooling curriculum, and two large, tall metal shelves in the unfinished basement area: one for toys/games overflow kitchen items like my crockpot/ice cream maker/grain grinder, and one for the "pantry" (we have no pantry space near the kitchen) -- all the extra food cans/bottles, shampoos, etc. I used to think it was a pain to have to go downstairs to get our food all the time (where is the drama queen icon?) but then I realized people all over the world are walking 5 miles for water.
We also bought a HUGE mirrored medicine cabinet for the bathroom, for things that could fit in there.
We are trying to make use of every "under" storage: under beds, under one couch...
Decluttered big time - I sitll want to do more. I'm going for the Little House on the Prairie look.
OH - the family closet! We bought two industrial strength garment racks on Amazon and they are a few paces away from the washer/dryer downstairs. I hang adult clothes waiting to be put away there, and the girls keep their clothes there permanently. Frees up space in their small closets for other things.
We haven't done this yet but want to get some storage benches and/or ottomans to do double duty.
OK, bedtime chaos here, I'll come back if I can think of anything else later.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Bookswithtea
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There are some good ideas, here! I think we can do the sheets under the mattress storage (we have several on bunkie boards, but if they are spread out, I think it'll be ok).
I might be able to make the game thing work by using baggies...That would definitely cut down on the box storage.
Garage is stuffed to the brim. We have land and are in desperate need of a pole barn. Until we can do that, I don't get to keep anything in the garage except the dog food and the shoe rack (per dh's stern instructions! )
I have two big cabinets with extra food storage. I might be able to clear off one shelf and make room for the shampoos/toothpaste, etc. I'm also going to think about not buying so many...maybe that's one of the things I can give up in order to live within our space.
I'm not ready to give up bath toys yet...too many who use them, but I will look into the mesh net. I've seen them before but I was worried they might not stick to fiberglass tubs...Anyone know if they work on fiberglass?
Tote bags definitely won't work for the schoolstuff. It also holds all the manipulatives and montessori type toys for my kids in that age range. The daily workbook type stuff like math books go in a square box per child on the floor. After the manipulatives, the shelves are filled with the books for that year and the resources I use constantly. Too much for that. What I need is for that closet to be *only* schoolstuff. Maybe if I shrink the space needed for games with the ziploc idea I can find another space for them???
I'm taking notes and still listening! Thank you!
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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LisaR
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Bookswithtea wrote:
I have two big cabinets with extra food storage. I might be able to clear off one shelf and make room for the shampoos/toothpaste, etc. I'm also going to think about not buying so many...maybe that's one of the things I can give up in order to live within our space.
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maybe you could even get it down to one cabinet for food, one for non food items?? we really don't have a pantry, but we have one white double doored cabinet for food items, and use the other one for toys.
I think it does all depend on where you live, too. we live one mile from aldi and kroger, and about 5 from Sam's Club, so there really is no need for me to be stocking up for much at all. If we lived farther "out" maybe I'd need more room.
I'm so glad to find some great ideas here!!
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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Angi
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Our bath toys are in a small plastic basket (from $ store) and kept in the tub when not in use. If someone showers in there, we remove the toys, return them after the shower.
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PDyer
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| I'm not ready to give up bath toys yet...too many who use them, but I will look into the mesh net. I've seen them before but I was worried they might not stick to fiberglass tubs...Anyone know if they work on fiberglass? |
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Never a problem here...
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
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MarilynW
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Bookswithtea wrote:
I refuse to believe we are outgrowing our homes. Big Catholic families have been raised for hundreds of years in houses much smaller than ours...although they probably didn't have as much stuff as we do in modern society.
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I love this quote. My house is about the same size as yours - and I sometimes want to move - but I shall copy your quote to remind myself that my house is actually plenty big enough. I have ours fairly well organized - I need to go through your post and see if I can give you any hints. Our problem is our basement storage room which is overflowing - I am tackling it with dh tomorrow
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Bookswithtea
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LisaR wrote:
[
maybe you could even get it down to one cabinet for food, one for non food items?? |
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I'm feeding 8 people and I'm 30 minutes from a grocery store or Walmart and almost an hour from Costco and Target. Its really important, esp. in the winter when road conditions can be terrible, to have a decent food pantry here. That's not really negotiable. We have 2 big food pantries, 2 full size fridges and one full size deep freeze. Without them, I couldn't stock up at Trader Joes when we go 1ce every 3 months or so, couldn't get our sides of beef, and all sorts of other stuff. Now that I think about it, that's probably why I started stashing extra toothpastes and shampoos!
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Bookswithtea
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Great. I'll look into it!
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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LisaR
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| I'm feeding 8 people and I'm 30 minutes from a grocery store or Walmart and almost an hour from Costco and Target. Its really important, esp. in the winter when road conditions can be terrible, to have a decent food pantry here. That's not really negotiable. |
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well that makes all the difference!! I just asked because we know plenty of people like us right here in town but they have been in the habit of stocking up like Y2K! (but know that they could pare down a bit and gain MUCH more storage room!! )
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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JodieLyn
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food storage isn't just about having things on hand either though that's very nice. It's also about being able to buy at a good price. Ideally, everything in the pantry could be bought at a reduced price and enough to get you to at least the next time that item goes on sale. So that the vast majority of your food is not purchased at full price. It makes a great deal of difference to the grocery budget.
oh and our net bag of toys just hangs on the holder that hangs on the shower head (you know what I mean?) I get the cheap plastic coated metal ones and pinch the neck with pliers and it stays very nicely where it belongs.. so no suction cups in use.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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amyable
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Another non-suction cup bath toy idea:
over the tub bath toy holder
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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LisaR
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JodieLyn wrote:
| food storage isn't just about having things on hand either though that's very nice. It's also about being able to buy at a good price. |
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yes, Irealize this . it might jsut be the part of the country I am in, but I NEVER pay even close to full price for the majority of our food/non food items. even though I'm at Sam's very infrequently, I find the dent and ding toilet paper/ paper towels/food items whenever I am there. Same with Kroger, Aldi (my ALDI is always putting the bread at a quarter, I got butter for 1.90 for 6 weeks in a row, etc. So I don;t "stock up" much because I do have a weekiy shopping rotation, and 90% of the time what I want/need is on Sale/Clearance!!
One of my big finds lately has been the Kroger meat sale cooler. I got Turkey products (breast, tenderloin, legs) for 1.00!!! for 24-32 oz packages for quite awhile!!
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 10:01am | IP Logged
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LisaR wrote:
| we know plenty of people like us right here in town but they have been in the habit of stocking up like Y2K! |
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This made me giggle, Lisa. I know Y2K stocker uppers, too. I am more of a pantry principle person (learned from the Tightwad Gazette lady whose name I cannot type!) than a Y2K stocker. I am absolutely dreading getting into the cupboard with the maps and first aid stuff. I asked dh if we could get rid of the maps or put them in one of his storage spaces. I need to find a better way to store the first aid stuff. I wonder if I could get the humidifiers in there if I got rid of the map bin?? That way I could store towels under the bathroom sink and capture some more space in the towel cupboard...
I appreciate the advice, everyone. I am feeling a bit more hopeful, now, although its still a formidable task to me. Usually I enjoy dejunking, but the stuff that's in there is not stuff that I feel is de-junkable. This is more about moving stuff around than about getting rid of stuff, and that's just not as much fun, kwim?
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: I need some creative storage ideas...
