"It is my job to make sure that you grow up to be a productive member of society and not a burden to it!" ~ my dad.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

WFMW

Organization Bins, Boxes & More!

I could not survive without my organizational items. I about fainted the first time I walked into an Organized Living store. I thought for sure the Mother Ship had called me home. I won't tell you what happened when I first discovered IKEA. This is, afterall, a family friendly site.

I will use any excuse to go to the storage section of a store and snatch up the latest, cutest, handiest little square box, cloth bin or set of drawers. For instance, I am not a jewelry-kinda-girl. I'm probably one of five women on earth who actually tells my husband NOT to buy me jewelry. As a result, I do not have one of those sophisticated, grown-up, faux-velvet lined jewelry boxes. Instead, I have this:

And because my daughter has more-than-her-fair-share of hair, she also has more-than-her-fair-share of hair accessories (okay, I'm a bit addicted to the hair pretties). I have found those little compartment trays work perfectly for keeping her barrettes and smaller items neatly arranged. Another three-drawer unit works great for her larger hair ties and headbands.

Here's a tip: Go to a hardware store to look for these little bins first before heading out to your local craft or scrapbooking store. They sell the same exact thing to men for less! Go figure!

Since we have moved in with my IL's, all four of us are sharing one bathroom. Albeit a large bathroom, but still. In one closet I needed to find room for myself, hubby, two little ones, medicine cabinet items and cleaning supplies. Yikes!

I simply could not have all of these items just thrown in there willy-nilly. Walmart $2.50 bins to the rescue! This is only half the closet. The organized half!

Target has a nice selection of closet organizers, as does Lowes' and Home Depot. There is also as assortment of cute and colorful cloth bins to keep your stuff hidden yet easily accessible. The unit below is in the kids' room. The different bins hold a selection of various toys. This also helps to make clean-up easier for the kids.

Your organizational items needn't be just square or plastic. They can just as easily be decorative as well. I found these silver topped glass jars on the sale table at Pottery Barn years ago. They are perfect for my bath salts and cotton balls. The poodle bin holds yet another stash of my daughter's hair accessories as does the little crystal jar.

The three vintage soap dishes help designate a spot for a few of my pretty things while adding a bit of shabby style. You can easily find items like these at garage sales or thrift shops. The white one on the right (holding the butterfly clasp) I found at a thrift store and was originally brass. I simply spray-painted it white giving it new life! My brother taught me that anything, anything, can be painted. So give that dingy old thing a second look before you pass it by and simply envision a new coat of paint on it. You'll be glad you did!
And that's what Works For Me!

Check out a slew of other great ideas over at Rocks In My Dryer.

My other Works For Me Wednesday posts:

A Place for Necklaces

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm addicted to storage containers too. I get many at the hardware store. Great photos. Thanks for sharing

Amy said...

Oooh... I like your variety. I'm looking for new storage ideas for kids' toys... the bins are cute! Thanks!

Mom2fur said...

Nothing draws me, especially at garage sales, like awesome storage containers--baskets, bins, boxes. My only criteria (unless it's too pretty and cheap to resist) is that they have to be square or rectangular. They just sit together better that way.
Oh, and I'm one of those five 'no jewelry' gals, too!

mother of seven said...

love it!!!! Looks like you are getting settled. thanks for the tips:)

Anonymous said...

I love the color of those square containers all lined up! My kids will go bonkers!

Containerizing...that's my dream. I'm living a rather scattered life at the moment. Will you come to my house and containerize all my closets and kids' rooms? Pretty please??