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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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I had an idea last night.. I think I need something like
This set of bins for my desk.
My desk is a folding table so rather long.. at the moment I have a short bookcase on the one end. But I have another space I could put the bookcase.. and I'd love to put bins in that space.
My desk is always piled up with stuff.. and if it was just me I could handle it in other ways.. what I want is to be able to give space for all those things that just get laid on my desk so that when the bin is full it'll be easy for someone to take the bin and go put the stuff away. If it was closed or you had to pull out a bin to put it in.. it won't work.. it needs to be just about as easy as laying something on my desk.
But other than that one is a "Cars" motif, I also think the bins are too small and flimsy for what I want.
Does anyone know of something that would work like that that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
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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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stefoodie
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 1:29pm | IP Logged
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We got a similar setup from Costco (or maybe it was Sam's) several years back that was about the same price too -- and it didn't have a design, just primary-colored bins. My kids use it for their toys.
I'm kinda looking for a solution too.... and not finding one yet at the moment... I've gone from hanging folders to drawers to shelves to baskets and there still isn't ONE solution for everything.... but right now I've got half a bookcase for all my stuff. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.
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stef
mom to five
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 1:41pm | IP Logged
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I need to spend some quality time with my file folders.. I can use them but I've gotten overwhelmed and couldn't maintain.. getting rid of what I didnt' need to keep etc and so keeping the folders so that I could manage them. 2007 was the last year I got organized.. so really not that long ago.. but hmm come to think of it.. the end of 2007 and 2008 my dh had very little time off work (he's normally in leave without pay status for a month or more and those years were a few weeks at most) I wonder if that's why I haven't gotten to that. If it is.. then I know the solution.. I just have him take a day or two off so that I can work on it even if he's not on leave.
If I could do something so that my desk stayed sorted better then I could work on little bits to get things put away again.. instead of spending the time sorting and never getting things truly put away.
That's when I thought of the bins. I thought first if everyone had their own bin and if they were setting somethign on my desk they could set it in their bin.. but then I looked at my desk closer and that's not quite the solution but the bins could be.. just set up for different things.. categories rather than people.
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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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Mackfam
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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Jodie...I hear you on the needing a good block of time to really work on something.
How 'bout just gathering the whole lot of the contents of your desk into a big rubbermaid bin which you store under your big table/desk...then you can dust and tidy all the computer cables, peripherals...ugh...that menagerie of wires around a desktop (I think I'm remembering right? you have a desktop, right?)...anyhoo...you can deep clean/wipe the space and then set up your filing/organizing system. Then, as you have time, go through one wad of paper/stuff from the rubbermaid bin at a time, organizing as you go.
I'm an ok "filer" but I think I prefer to gather/stack...could you be a "stacker" and not a filer? If so...what about something like this?? There are variations on this same design I've seen in different places and there's a double wide version. You could take off the wheels and situate it on some no-skid/slip type stuff on top of your desk. Label the drawers for incoming bills, things to be filed, projects, give each of the the kids a drawer, whatever. Just throwing it out there for a potential idea...something sans Disney Cars motif! 
Other ideas...
This multi-drawer storage unit is nice, or maybe a paper storage cube would help give items a place to land until you can further sort and file - it's inexpensive and could be covered with kid's artwork and pictures.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 4:37pm | IP Logged
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If it was just me Jennifer I could handle drawers.. but I don't think they'd work for managing everyone else.. yes just the step of opening the drawer wouldn't happen.. that's why I was thinking bins.. I think I could get everyone else to set things down into a bin.. and also it would help to partially sort things as they're set down AND you wouldn't have to deal with all the bins at once.. it could be just whichever was starting to overflow that would need to be dealt with right then.
And yep, I could move everything off the desk into boxes.. they coudl join the other 3 or 4 in my room from the last couple of times.. and yep I probably will again so that things are nice for Christmas.. but this time.. dh will be on leave without pay status for a bit so maybe.. just maybe i could start working on those boxes.. part of it is that I need to get the spaces for putting things away ready for having things put away before I can even work on those.
I can organize.. I can. My boxes for storing off season/ off size clothes are in lovely order. And my table and buffet in the living room manages to be mostly kept nice and cleaned off.
I'm just abyssmal at maintaining order if I haven't hit on somethign that works for that area yet.
I only have 2 spaces of horizontal clutter that I have not foudn a way to manage yet.. my desk and the tops of dh's and my dressers.
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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.
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ladybugs
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 4:48pm | IP Logged
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My best way of organizing is called a bonfire - just throwing entire collections of junk away while cozy around the fire.
I know I am of no help today. Just feeling silly.
Thanks for obliging me.
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 4:59pm | IP Logged
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ladybugs wrote:
| My best way of organizing is called a bonfire |
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Effective!
Jodie - what about mounting some simple wooden shelves to the wall - mounted close together - I'm envisioning a length (4-6 ft) with about 6 inches of space between each shelf. Purchase shallow bins or baskets to place on the shelves...everyone drops in *stuff* in their own bin. I was just thinking...since dh will be around...maybe he'd be up for a shelf hanging project??  It's something I've always thought of doing...so I thought I'd throw it out there.
Good luck with this challenge!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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ladybugs wrote:
| My best way of organizing is called a bonfire |
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Yes and I when I sort those boxes of things I pull off my desk I have one for going into the wood stove 
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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.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 5:03pm | IP Logged
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Jennifer I was wondering if dh could make me a stand like that Cars one.. and I could get dishpans to put on it (those are pretty sturdy) I like that they're tipped so that you can add stuff without having to move them.
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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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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 5:05pm | IP Logged
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Or if I found some afforable in the right size/shape I could use baskets
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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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Mackfam
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It'd be easy to make, Jodie - we have a variation of the *Cars* one - just the two sides and 3 dowels strategically placed for each level. Use substantial sized dowels for dishpans though. We bought ours from Costco several years ago...but I used to see them all the time at Target...sans character motifs.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Servant2theKing
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Jodie, there are some very interesting ideas, with pictures, on pp. 40-41 of the Nov/Dec 2009 edition of HSLDA's "Home School Court Report" (the one with a tribute to Chris Klicka). One of the ideas given is to use a skirt or curtain in front of various types of furnitures to hide storage units inside. You could incorporate Jennifer's idea of dishpans and the dowel rack into the above idea. If you don't find a suitable dowel-type rack perhaps a heavy-duty shoe rack could serve the same purpose...there are some made of stainless steel that would hold dishpans for paperwork quite well (I've seen them quite often at our local Goodwill). Hidden behind a pretty curtain, beneath your desk, who would ever know whether everything is in tiptop shape or not? You could keep the curtain open for easy access most of the time, then simply close it whenever you need peace of mind or for those times you don't wish to display all the lovely fruits of your daily labours to the rest of the viewing public!
One of the best solutions we've come up with for ongoing paper storage is wall pockets...ours are antique hymnal racks from the back of old pews (bought for a song on ebay)...these hang on the sides of two cabinets facing either side of our "command center" desk...office supply stores also sell nifty plastic wall pockets that are either regular letter size or legal paper size in width.
We also have a neat multifile organizer, called Pendaflex, that transforms from a regular pocket standing pocket organizer into a hanging organizer with multiple pockets, which fan down to hang above one another, about 2 in. apart. (I don't know if these are still available as I purchased it a few years ago for extra bill infor., but it was around $10 at the time)
Still another idea...our local Dollar Tree store is currently selling designer file folders, 3 per package...the file folders are displayed in coordinating cardboard display boxes, with angled sides, that make a lovely vertical holder for the files...at our local store I noticed one of the displays was close to being empty, asked if they throw them away when they're finished with them and walked away with a lovely FREE matching "file folder and a dozen floral file folders for $4! I have a temporary project going, for a local charity, that required extra space I really didn't have to dedicate to it...the box is now a floating unit that travels about the house, wherever and whenever I'm able to work on things, a bit at a time...when I'm not working on the project, it rests safe and secure on the bottom of our hall tree. Jodie, you could easily let the file folders sit atop your desk during the day, then stack them neatly into a file folder holder. If you can't come across a find like the one I described keep your eyes open in the stationary sections of stores...many items, such as pocket folders, spiral notebooks and such, are stored in similar boxes, which are simply pitched when they're empty. You could even cover one with fabric, giftwrap or contact paper...very similar to wrapping a gift to yourself!
Jennifer, you've discovered my "secret" filing method...I've beev a gather 'n stack fiend for years...a few times a year I simply gather and stack stray horizontal paper items from the far recesses of our home, plop them all into a rubbermaid, slap a lid on and voila!...everything is whisked away to our handy dandy basement storage, a.k.a. the Black Hole!
Maria P, I've had many a daydream involving gathering ALL the contents of ALL those rubbermaids-multiplying-like-rabbits to feed a giant bonfire when we finally finish homeschooling, going on 5.5 years from now, but who's counting...when all is said and done, we will have embraced this incredible way of life for 25 years...I'd say that warrants a whopping celebration, complete with bonfire!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 18 2009 at 11:09am | IP Logged
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Thanks Servant, part of my problem is that we do have a very small house.. I don't have anywhere for "rubbermaids-multiplying-like-rabbits" and precious little other space.. I need to go up but even that is pretty limited. But those hanging pockets sound interesting.. maybe I could hang some on the back walls of the closets in the kids rooms to help with their stuff. but even backs of doors are pretty used right now (I put hooked on the backs of the kids doors for their swim bags in summer and snow gear in winter.. with 4 kids to a room that doesn't leave any door space left.. but under the hanging clothes at the back of the closet.. now that might work.
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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.
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: *storage bins.. for my desk
