Help!!!! This will be loooong, sorry!!!
Alrighty... We may possibly be moving and while our rental home doesn't have a ton of closets, it's a good size so we've always had a play room. Fast forward to the prospect of buying a (mobile) home that is a good size but is really lacking in closet space and won't have room for a playroom.
Under the bed storage was our bright idea... but the bins don't fit under our bed... They'll fit under DD's crib, I think but DS's twin is just on the floor, no box spring (as will DD's when she's ready). The closets aren't huge, but I was thinking of getting some type of organizing drawers that we can install (my mom has a setup like this).
It lacks 2 things I did notice... A linen closet in the bathroom (which may or may not be IN it, I didn't go all the way in because someone had just used it, if you catch my drift) and a closet for shoes/jackets.
And toy storage... We have a toy organizer but most of the kids toys are shared. I've decluttered a TON (and have a ways to go, moving into a smaller space) but I still don't quite know what to do with the toys. There's no where to put the toy organizer in the living room and I don't want to put it in DS's room because he's 4 and I don't want him to be all 'the toys are MINE'. I've gotten them down to a small bin (the toy organizer bins) of cars, a small bin of misc toys (play shovels, cameras for each, play cell phone, etc.), a large bin of stuffed animals but our mega blocks collection is HUGE. Currently taking up a medium sized plastic bin, a xerox box and the mega blocks bag. I don't want to get rid of blocks, because they do use them and build with them.
How would you incorporate storage into the living room? I thought about putting the blocks into the under the bed storage containers (if they'll fit?) and storing them under DD's crib and then using this: http://www.target.com/Castela-4-Draw...3&searchPage=1 (I have this, but mine is just 3 full drawers) for the rest and putting it in the living room under our wall mounted TV. I wonder if under the bed storage bins would fit under the sofa? Hrm... Now I need to go find the measuring tape!
Any suggestions for the lack of linen closet? In the master bathroom, they yanked out the garden tub, so it's just a recessed area (they have a shower curtain there and they are using it for storage) so I was thinking about putting a small cabinet in here. I actually have one already that I think will fit. I figured I could keep most of the towels in there and then maybe do an over the toilet contraption in the main bathroom (to store toilet paper) and towel racks mounted to the walls?
And then I need suggestions for what to do with the food we buy in bulk! We buy toilet paper, canned tomato sauce, some cereals... Not a ton, but enough that I'm scratching my head wonderful where to put it. There's a lot of cabinet space but I don't think there's *that* much.
ooooh! Storing things like clothing, holiday stuff, etc.? There is a good sized shed. Is it a bad idea to pack these things in rubbermaid type bins and store them in the back of the shed (we'd sit them on something... DH could bring me some wooden pallets from work so they wouldn't be on the ground). I'm obviously declutting mega but I'm pregnant with our 3rd and not inclined to get rid of DD's baby clothing because this baby will use it or my pre-pregnancy clothing. I also have clothing that has been given to us that goes up in sizes for DS and some of DS's stuff gets handed down to DD (shirts, non-boyish pants, etc.). We are on a tight income and I can't imagine giving all this away, I can't afford to replace it! The shed is locked and I'd obviously rewash everything before wearing.
Thank you ladies! I'm sorry this is sooo long. Its hard to think of losing space (even though we've been in smaller than the rental we're in now), even though we'll own and be paying much less a month than we are now.
Alrighty... We may possibly be moving and while our rental home doesn't have a ton of closets, it's a good size so we've always had a play room. Fast forward to the prospect of buying a (mobile) home that is a good size but is really lacking in closet space and won't have room for a playroom.
Under the bed storage was our bright idea... but the bins don't fit under our bed... They'll fit under DD's crib, I think but DS's twin is just on the floor, no box spring (as will DD's when she's ready). The closets aren't huge, but I was thinking of getting some type of organizing drawers that we can install (my mom has a setup like this).
It lacks 2 things I did notice... A linen closet in the bathroom (which may or may not be IN it, I didn't go all the way in because someone had just used it, if you catch my drift) and a closet for shoes/jackets.
And toy storage... We have a toy organizer but most of the kids toys are shared. I've decluttered a TON (and have a ways to go, moving into a smaller space) but I still don't quite know what to do with the toys. There's no where to put the toy organizer in the living room and I don't want to put it in DS's room because he's 4 and I don't want him to be all 'the toys are MINE'. I've gotten them down to a small bin (the toy organizer bins) of cars, a small bin of misc toys (play shovels, cameras for each, play cell phone, etc.), a large bin of stuffed animals but our mega blocks collection is HUGE. Currently taking up a medium sized plastic bin, a xerox box and the mega blocks bag. I don't want to get rid of blocks, because they do use them and build with them.
How would you incorporate storage into the living room? I thought about putting the blocks into the under the bed storage containers (if they'll fit?) and storing them under DD's crib and then using this: http://www.target.com/Castela-4-Draw...3&searchPage=1 (I have this, but mine is just 3 full drawers) for the rest and putting it in the living room under our wall mounted TV. I wonder if under the bed storage bins would fit under the sofa? Hrm... Now I need to go find the measuring tape!
Any suggestions for the lack of linen closet? In the master bathroom, they yanked out the garden tub, so it's just a recessed area (they have a shower curtain there and they are using it for storage) so I was thinking about putting a small cabinet in here. I actually have one already that I think will fit. I figured I could keep most of the towels in there and then maybe do an over the toilet contraption in the main bathroom (to store toilet paper) and towel racks mounted to the walls?
And then I need suggestions for what to do with the food we buy in bulk! We buy toilet paper, canned tomato sauce, some cereals... Not a ton, but enough that I'm scratching my head wonderful where to put it. There's a lot of cabinet space but I don't think there's *that* much.
ooooh! Storing things like clothing, holiday stuff, etc.? There is a good sized shed. Is it a bad idea to pack these things in rubbermaid type bins and store them in the back of the shed (we'd sit them on something... DH could bring me some wooden pallets from work so they wouldn't be on the ground). I'm obviously declutting mega but I'm pregnant with our 3rd and not inclined to get rid of DD's baby clothing because this baby will use it or my pre-pregnancy clothing. I also have clothing that has been given to us that goes up in sizes for DS and some of DS's stuff gets handed down to DD (shirts, non-boyish pants, etc.). We are on a tight income and I can't imagine giving all this away, I can't afford to replace it! The shed is locked and I'd obviously rewash everything before wearing.
Thank you ladies! I'm sorry this is sooo long. Its hard to think of losing space (even though we've been in smaller than the rental we're in now), even though we'll own and be paying much less a month than we are now.
) and then I would put a shelf in there with baskets to organize. We have a wierd space in the enclosed area of our bathroom - shower, toilet, then a space big enough for a vanity and sink, but nothing there (the vanity is right outside the door)...so I put a wide plastic 3-drawer Rubbermaid piece in there. Top drawer has extra toiletries and bottom 2 drawers have DH's undershirts, socks, undies, etc. We also have an odd vanity - one half of it has nothing under it, no cabinet or shelving, and the vanity counter is pretty low. I hit Ikea and picked up a coffee table for cheap and put 4 baskets on the coffee table that can slide out to hold my hair stuff, makeup, etc.
