10/13/09

Pretty Clever Storage for FREE


Not all homes look like Model Homes.  That's because people (WITH children) live in them.  Yes, this is a real picture of my family, I think it's my favorite.  Most of the children are mine... the crazy looking older ones are my brothers and sisters.  

I can't tell you how many times I look at a new house and think, "Why can't my house look like that?"  Uuhh... because we eat and produce laundry piles and our kids have papers that come home... we also receive mail.   Pretty Empty Organized Palaces are pretty but meaningless.  Model homes don't have to look for a place to hide acne cream, tampons or Preparation H.

This is a real house with pretty real people inside (8 of them!  Yes I fit 8 people in this house AND their stuff!-  I can fit 12 in that car.... Oooo I know you're all getting Van envy:).  Storage challenge is my life!

Here's just a few of the ideas I found this weekend... more to come in Part 2 this week.



Stereo Equipment- Most guys have no clue how ugly it is.  Do I hear a few, "Amen, sister Amens" out there?  Check out this idea my mom came up with!





A teenagers room?



Trust me, this space gets used!  Yes, my brother has a gun under his bed... he's a real life Grizzly Adams... those are quarts of peaches too.  Real. Life. Survivor.

Jack up the bed on those Home Depot cinder blogs... super cheap.  Ta-da!  Extra storage!
Pretty furniture.

Pretty Storage... we need this because maniquins in model homes don't get cold or read. My mom uses an ottoman to hide "life."

Pretty Bed. (Notice the lack of headboard... haven't had one for 14 years of marriage.  This mistreatment has been up for 6 years- works great!)

Pretty storage.  Hand-me-down 70's cedar chest. Timeless and FREE.

Give me a desk with a ton of drawers... I'll fill them. Um, glaring light?  For all you regular visitors, this is why I NEVER take pictures of my house.  I hate it.  I have no patience for lighting or uploading or sorting photos... I hate using the camera.  Really.  I just sketch all of my children.... no not really, they move too fast, all my sketches turn out blurry too.

Furniture leave a space in the corner?  I use the corner. If you bend over that couch and look behind, you'll find neatly stacked Rubbermaids and probably a few AWOL Lego guys!

Yes, I inherrited an organ (it's a well known muscicians law that you never give away musical instruments.. you collect them- this is Mr. Organized's collection.)  There's a giant space back there... I use it and stuff all kinds of unsightly things right behind that unsightly organ.  Remember 8 people stash their stuff in this house.

**** I'll have Christian based letters from Santa coming soon!  Mr. Organized is putting the final touches on the North Pole Secretary Website and I'll be kicking off the season with a HUGE sale and promotion! Stay tuned!  This is sooo much fun for your kiddos (and me!)***

7 comments:

Amy J said...

Amber has that pic of your family up at our work. I love it! When we lived in an apartment, we had all our food storage under our bed. Worked great!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

I love pieces that do double duty, like those storage ottomans. At my house I also use under the sofa in my living room {skirted} and under the beds {dust ruffles}. In fact, I have to remember which bed I put my dining room table leaf under.

Valencia Jones-Edwards said...

The storage ideas are wonderful!! I will just have to get a storage ottoman!

Kim said...

You are just too hilarious girl. And I love you for baring yourself to us the way you do - it is SO refreshing. Face it, we're all basically in the same boat here, and you always find a way to make us feel good about it! Thanks. Kim

janet said...

I love your blog and I really love how you have spoken about how real families live, good for you! We have 5 of us living in a 1150 square foot bungalow so you need to be creative. I too look at these tv and mag rooms and love the way they look but i then come back down to earth and realize that they just wouldn't work for us, they just feel too perfect to have back packs, school papers and such strewn all over. Our decor is strictly done on a budget, for example our tv cabinet which houses lots of storage was a 10 dollar yard sale find and add another 15 dollars to paint it. Thanks for sharing how real families live, which makes me feel good about our home even though its not lux like we see on tv.
hugs
janet

Jane In The Jungle said...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait!!!!!
Glad to see you store and hide like I do!

Myrnie said...

You are so funny :) Your brother has a gun and PEACHES under his bed? I wonder what he's preparing for... :) Your family is adorable, and I love how you've painted the house!

 
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