Basement Organization…

Probably the most uncreative title I’ve ever written for a blog post. But- to use my least favorite sentiment ever- it is what it is.

Our basement was one of the last things on our renovation list. There was a disgusting amount of dust and debris pushed through the old subfloors into the depths of the basement. It housed all our tools and paint from the reno once we moved in and it was probably a good home to a fair amount of spiders for a while.

We knew we would eventually get it cleaned up. Maybe put a fresh coat of dry lock on the walls, some paint on the floors- but as the baby stuff started to pile up (and then be outgrown so quickly) we knew that storage was not just a wish list item but a must have.

As usual, my Dad deserves the majority of the credit for this. He did the backbreaking (and head bonking) work of sweeping, power-washing, painting, etc. But once we had a clean slate, Jared and I spent many a night and nap time, assembling shelving and hauling all our bins and boxes from our guest room down three flights of stairs to the basement. There was also a handful of things left in my parent’s basement that finally came home to ours.

So don’t expect a HGTV-worthy reveal. This makeover wins in function not fashion. It’s a huge difference from feeling like you needed to wear work boots to trudge through your disgusting basement before to now moseying down in white socks to grab a roll of paper towels. And speaking of paper towels- woo hoo to bulk shopping again! Holy cow it’s so nice to be able to get the 5,000 pack of baby wipes from Costco and have a place that’s out of sight to store them.

OK, so here’s the basement way back in Spring of 2013 when Dad and Jared were taking measurements for the rennovation before we even moved in.

IMG_1292And now…

IMG_1284The shelves give us a ton of space! Along this stretch I have all our house bulk items, cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, batteries, entertaining stuff like platters and cake stands.

IMG_1285Holiday stuff, crafting, and gift wrap run along the back wall.

IMG_1286I even have an old desk down here that got pretty beat up in the move. But it totally works as a space to wrap a quick gift or break out the sewing kit to hem a pair of pants.

IMG_1287Baby stuff, as you can see is accumulating…

IMG_1288And if you notice the black and yellow post above- that was another genius suggestion by Dad. These lally columns are all over the basement and have nasty rusty schmutz all over them. Some are worse than others but while we were assembling all these shelves, we lost a couple of t-shirts to rubbing up against the rust. A cost-effective solution- rope!

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We’re really, really happy with the space. It’s added so much to our everyday lives knowing that we have all of our things properly stored in a clean space and being able to access everything in sans knee high rubber boots! Did I mention a new subpump and dehumidifier are also contributing to our peace of mind?

Anywho, I know we’ve had more dramatic and definitely more beautiful room reveals, but to be honest, this is one of my favorites.

 

 

Don’t Grow Up! It’s a Trap!

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How did this tiny naked boy go through so many clothes in the span of 11 weeks? Well no matter how, he did. And he’s getting bigger every day! As much as I love looking back at the photos of him when we first brought him home, I couldn’t be happier to have a perfectly plump (and super tall!) boy.

Yup, our little man of just over 2 months is wearing almost exclusively 6 month clothing! So to make room for all these new clothes, I’ve been throwing all the tiny tops and bottoms, hats and booties, jammies and onesies in two bins under his crib. Well those bins were starting to bust at the seams.

Time to organize and label, label, label!

I know if everything is organized and labeled by type and size it will either help me out in the future if we have another boy, or help whomever we pass on the clothes to. (I’m looking at you cousins! That baby-making train isn’t far from the station! Toot toot!)

So first I dumped out everything I’d been storing and sectioned them into piles.

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There’s newborn jammies, hats and socks, 0-3 month sweatshirts, 3 month pants and onesies, and 3 month jammies. Oh yeah, and those newborn cloth diapers from when I was blissfully pregnant and said I was going to “give it a try.” I think one week in, Jared looked at me after Eli’s fifth poop of the day and said, “remember when we were going to try cloth diapers?” and immediately we both just bust out laughing. All power to those who do and those g diapers we bought are insanely cute but cloth diapering falls under my parenting mantra of “good for them! not for me.”

So after the sorting I corralled some essentials…

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Then started folding and bagging my piles and labeling each bag.

vscocam-photo-3And before long…

vscocam-photo-4And all of these bags fit nicely into one under-the-bed bin.

vscocam-photo-5Now hopefully the 6-9 month clothes last a little longer. And if they don’t, thank god for Carter’s 25% off coupons and Old Navy 50% off sales!

Purge & Merge

Back for more? Woo hoo! Let’s clean!

Cleaning House

Yesterday I told you about my Purge & Merge method. Getting rid of unwanted items and grouping like things together. I use it when approaching any project from packing up a whole house for a move to tackling the pantry. Let’s use the latter as a for instance.

Does your pantry look like this? By the way, you have no idea how much anxiety this photo gives me.

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Start with the purge. This should be easy. Expired food? Gone! Unhealthy choices? Chucked. Cans with the labels off? No one likes surprises when hungry.

OK, that was easy right? On to the merge. Think of your pantry as your very own grocery store. Baking aisle, canned goods, snacks, international foods, etc. Group like items together and you’ll never have to wonder just how many jars of peanut butter may be lurking.

Merge 1

And while you’re grouping, baskets are great tools to corral loose packaged items like granola bars or oatmeal packets. I like to put the small containers like baking powder, vanilla extract, and food coloring together. The basket comes with me to the counter when I’m ready to bake! And I love all the snack tips from the Mommy Blogs. Kids can basically pack their own lunches when the options are there for them!

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There’s really every canister and container under the sun for pantry items. Have fun with labels or colors but in the end, when organizing the pantry the Purge & Merge works every time. Happy cleaning!

Spring… err… Still Winter Cleaning

It’s no secret that I love to clean. And I know I’m not alone in wanting this damn winter to be over. I know it’s not quite spring, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to get a jump start on spring cleaning. Any takers? Eh?

Well even if you don’t love cleaning and organizing as much as I do, it’s a necessary evil. So I’m starting a two week series on arguably the thing that I do best… cleaning. From cutting clutter to scrubbing stains, follow my lead and we’ll have spring cleaning done before the vernal equinox!

Cleaning House

I start every cleaning project large or small with my patented (not really, but please don’t steal my idea and make millions) Purge & Merge. Tossing or donating unwanted/unloved items and moving like things together. It’s the basics of organizing. It’s Cutting Clutter 101.

People have such an attachment to things. I once worked for a professional organizer in Richmond, Virginia and on one job, a woman had enough craft supplies to fill two rooms. Trying to get her to toss a scrap of fabric was like getting her to give up her first born. I don’t understand it (and thus, I never committed to the professional organizer business). If something is in your home- it just has to have a purpose. Especially since most of us don’t live in thousands upon thousands of square feet of living space. So please, look at your things and ask yourself these three questions:

  1. Do I use it? (actually pick it up and use it within the last month or seasonally!)
  2. Do I love it? (does it make you happy? a piece of art or a pin that your grandmother owned)
  3. Will someone else love it or use it more than me? (be selfless people! yes, that third black handbag is cute but you have two others that you use (see question 1) and love (see question 2) so why not send that third bag off to Goodwill and free up closet space for say, a green one!?)

It really doesn’t have to be that difficult. Man yourself with black and white trash bags. Black for the garbage and white for the donations. And make the decision in one minute. That’s right- sixty seconds of decision-making. Use it? Love it? Will someone else? Done.

Good job! You’ll be cutting clutter in no time!

Trapped in the Closet

That’s an R. Kelly reference just in case anyone was worried about my sexual orientation or if I was indeed physically trapped in a closet.

But moving on…

Ever since we went back to IKEA last weekend I’ve been a little obsessed with the master walk in closet. IKEA has fabulous closet organizational systems and products. Our closet measures about six feet deep and almost five feet across and like the rest of the house, has 9 foot ceilings. There is a window in the closet which is an obstacle but also makes for great light in a small space.

At our last apartment, Jared and I shared a walk in closet that was probably a little bigger than this one. Jared took up a small space of hanging shirts, suit jackets and pants as most of his clothes are folded stored in drawers. I of course took up a lot of hanging space for shirts, a small space for pants, and a decent size space for dresses and skirts. Shoes were stored in see through boxes that stacked five high and the length of the closet (don’t judge). Bags were perched a top the hanging clothes around the perimeter of the closet. There were two baskets of accessories- scarves, sunglasses, etc. and a pin board with hung necklaces.

I figure with IKEA’s system and my own personal organizational skills, we can fit all of that into our new closet. Here’s what I’m thinking…

This is the left side of the closet. This will house all my clothes & accessories.

Left Side

This is the back wall of the closet. The shelves flanking the center unit will be corner units. The one on the left will house my dresses. The right will have drawers for all Jared’s clothes and shelves for bulky sweaters. The center unit will house all Jared’s hanging clothes and shoes.

Back Side

This right side of the closet has the window. I can stack my see through shoe boxes below the window at least. Then the remaining small corner will house all my bags.

Right Side

Keep in mind, all measurements have not been figured out but in an ideal world, this will work! Here’s hoping.