Would you help me find ways to organize?

[MtnMama]

If I were to post pictures of a room in my house, could anyone be willing to give me ideas on things I could buy to be more organized? We have some money set aside to buy stuff to help out, but I am not a visual person and am having a really hard time "seeing" what to get so that it can be better.

The thing is, is we live in a small house -- 750ish square foot. It's poorly designed and I wanted to sell it and upgrade when I was pregnant with DD bc I just couldn't see how it would work adding another person's stuff to the mix. There's not a lot of storage and I'm not great at organization. Well, I'm pretty good at it once there's a system, but I have no system. Now that I'm pregnant again, my first desire was to SELL THE HOUSE, but my DH and i have had a lot of heart to hearts and we feel like it would be a better move, financially, with staying here for at least another year. :sigh

I know we need some vertical storage. A lot of our stuff is on the floor or crammed on the few pieces of furniture we do have. I wonder about selling some of our furniture and replacing it with more practical furniture, with a small space in mind. My house is always a cluttered mess, and after I throw away the excess, we're still left with stuff thrown in drawers or whatnot because it doesn't have a home. I crave a house where stuff has a place to go.

So before I post pictures of my home, I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to give me ideas.

[KatieMae]

I've seen lots of other posts doing exactly what you're talking about, so yes! I'm sure we'd all be happy to make some suggestions :smile I might even have my architect husband give me his opinion ;)

[milkmommy]

BE gladd ans would love to hear solutions we have similiar issues a small place ours is around the same square footage like zero storage areas so am always open to ideas. :)

Deanna

[Nightingale]

:yes

[milkmommy]

know one thing I'd love to get would be a decent entertainment unit with storage where I could have one place for not just the TV ans stuff but also the books and filing stuff we have scattered in old odds and end furniture that while all have a use could be streamlined better. I'd also like to get a smaller computer desk.
My biggest problem area is our master bedroom the size actually isn't too bad but its oddly shaped making it weird and we have a king sized bed..

Deanna

[KatieMae]

know one thing I'd love to get would be a decent entertainment unit with storage where I could have one place for not just the TV ans stuff but also the books and filing stuff we have scattered in old odds and end furniture that while all have a use could be streamlined better. I'd also like to get a smaller computer desk.
My biggest problem area is our master bedroom the size actually isn't too bad but its oddly shaped making it weird and we have a king sized bed..

Deanna


I'll trade my normal-shaped bedroom for your king sized bed anyday! :giggle

[milkmommy]

I'll trade my normal-shaped bedroom for your king sized bed anyday!
:lol Oh don't get me wrong I DO NOT want to give that up :giggle That was the first thing we bought and although it like barely fits I will notgive it up :P~ Our master is long but not very wide so placement of things are weird a smaller bed would still precent the same challanges.

Deanna

[purstrength]

:hug2 :yes Definitely! I've actually been organizing things around here. When we first moved in, everything just got put somewhere...anywhere! :giggle Now that school is done for the semester, I've taken several days cleaning and organizing.

[crunchymum]

sure! post pictures! you might even be surprised at how you can maximize what you already have - when my friend came to help me organized, she found all sorts of space i didn't know i had. :)

it's really not all about buying storage stuff, and more about planning the space and making sure things work... *then* you know what to buy, kwim? :)

[Maggie]

What a great idea! I would like to do this, too. But not in a public forum 'cause my house is VERY disorganized... :shifty

[purstrength]

sure! post pictures! you might even be surprised at how you can maximize what you already have - when my friend came to help me organized, she found all sorts of space i didn't know i had. :)

if you want, pm me and i can send you some of the "homework" she had me do... it's really not all about buying storage stuff, and more about planning the space and making sure things work... *then* you know what to buy, kwim? :)


This is so true! I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I already had that I was able to put to a better use! I had baskets that I didn't know what to do with, yet had an ugly blue plastic thing out. :doh I'm now using more baskets! :giggle

[MtnMama]

What a great idea! I would like to do this, too. But not in a public forum 'cause my house is VERY disorganized... :shifty


LOL, I've been decluttering and cleaning up today and my back is KILLING ME (sciatic/changing posture with pregnancy). But I really need help with ideas... I just don't have any. :shrug I'd rather not buy a lot of stuff, but we've been married for 9 years and we've bought next to no furniture. We love hand me downs... partly lazy, partly we just don't know what to buy that would make the most sense in the long run.

As an example, my dh want to build a long shelf on one wall (probably a wire shelf in the living room, LOL) and I agree that we could do something with that space, but when I ask what we would put on the shelf, he hasn't thought that through. Me, neither and i'm not throwing stones. I'm just saying what happens when we try to brainstorm. We have a missing piece. It goes: Step 1 -- get organized. Step 2 -- :whistle Step 3 -- have made better use of our space!

Anyway, I will post pictures tomorrow, probably.

thanks, guys for saying you'll give me hints and tips (I'm assuming without judgment, of course! :O)

[Mama Calidad]

We're living in about 500sq ft, so I'd love to share and receive new ideas. :popcorn


As an example, my dh want to build a long shelf on one wall (probably a wire shelf in the living room, LOL) and I agree that we could do something with that space, but when I ask what we would put on the shelf, he hasn't thought that through.

In our last house, DH put a shelf about 18" down from the ceiling all around the room. We used wooden fruit crates to store things in up there. Since the crates were aesthetically pleasing (at least to me) it provided an incredible amount of extra storage space.

[crunchymum]

oh, i wanted to say that "organizing from the inside out" was great for looking at organizing in a whole new light - i used to totally be the person who would say "argh!!!! i can't handle this mess, i need to get organized!!!" , go out and buy a bunch of rubbermaid containers, and they sit there like :scratch what do i do now? :giggle

[MtnMama]

Oh, that's too funny. I keep resorting back to wanting some tubs to put stuff in. Yeah, but where do I put the tubs?!

And Mama Calidad, that's a pretty cool idea. What kinds of things did you put in those crates? I bet it gave your room a cozy feeling. :heart

[Mama Calidad]

And Mama Calidad, that's a pretty cool idea. What kinds of things did you put in those crates? I bet it gave your room a cozy feeling. :heart


Winter clothes, Christmas decorations, extra school supplies that I bought during back to school sales...whatever we truly needed to keep but didn't need to get down more often than once a quarter or so.

[Garland]

I'd be glad to give you some ideas too! Did you take any pictures yet?

[ArmsOfLove]

I love these threads--I always get cool ideas :)

www.ikea.com :rockon

we are 7 people living in 1100 sq ft and thanks to IKEA we can do it comfortably :rockon

[MtnMama]

I've got to get these pictures on here so I can get some ideas!

[jewelmcjem]

I love these threads--I always get cool ideas :)

www.ikea.com :rockon

we are 7 people living in 1100 sq ft and thanks to IKEA we can do it comfortably :rockon


:yes We're 6 in a 1080 sf bungalow, we are really having to get creative with space!!! Even if I don't buy IKEA stuff, the catalog sometimes helps me repurpose things we already have in order to get organized.