Drowning in clutter (Full Version)

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AthenaSurrenders -> Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 5:42:28 AM)

Any organizational geniuses out there with bright ideas?

First off, I'm well aware this is a total first-world problem and I'm very lucky to have it, lest anyone think I'm ungrateful for having lots of stuff.

We have a decent sized house for a family but it has no storage at all. No closets, no attic, no basement, no garage. There is a shed, but it is rotten and the landlord doesn't want it taking down, leaving no room for anything else. I'm absolutely drowning in clutter and being a slob by nature I find it really hard to keep the place presentable when so much stuff doesn't have a place.

Three main problem areas:
We have a small playroom which is pretty much just toy storage - I try to rotate the toys so we don't have loads out at once to keep it manageable. We also have indulgent parents who like to spoil their grandbaby so there's a constant tide. Again - nice problem to have but a problem just the same.

Our next problem is books. We probably have a couple of thousand. We have two massive bookcases but the toddler can reach all but the highest shelves and so they're stored in cardboard boxes. No chance of getting rid of most of these, my husband is very attached to his books and since he already left so many behind to move up here, I don't want to force the issue. Also I feel we will want them again when the kids are older and less destructive.

And lastly it's the kitchen. It's teeny tiny, so we always have things sitting out on counters and stuff goes to waste in the cupboards because everything is shoved in and can't be seen. I have just thrown out tons of unneeded stuff and I still struggle to make room for dinner.

Ideas? Inspiration? I keep searching pinterest but all the people who write how-tos seem to have enormous US style houses with big airy rooms.



ExiledTyrant -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 5:44:54 AM)

Are you willing to pour money into a rental?



CandiDanielz -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 5:47:26 AM)

Okay so theres a few things.
Storage under the bed,
shelves, re arranging furniture could make or free up space,
my friend is in exactly the same situation , shes in a tiny 2 bed with absolutley no space for anything.
store thigns at the bottom or top of a wardrobe?

wish i had the answer



Blonderfluff -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 5:51:40 AM)

For a small space, make your clutter work for you. If things must stay in boxes, get boxes that can double as furniture. Use them for end tables or stack them high and place things at the top, away from little hands.

Anything that has potential to hold or store things, and can be used for a second purpose, is a great way to maximize space.



jlf1961 -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:04:18 AM)

If you find a workable solution to the kitchen problem, let me know. It is the only area in my house that was laid out in the most awkward fashion possible.




theshytype -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:04:39 AM)

I, too, am a fan of storage furniture. Wherever and whenever possible.

What I'd probably do with the books is purchase more shelves, wall shelves, as many as possible, and have them going up the wall as high as possible (like a library).
With the bottom shelves that once stored books, find baskets that fit where toys can be stored in.

The kitchen is the toughest. If you're saying teeny tiny, I'd imagine there's also little wall space or places for storage furniture.
If there's room for shelves, I'd add them to store dishes and other like items you wouldn't mind seeing in the open to free up cupboard space. Ceiling-hung racks for pots and pans is always an option.
There are organizational items that can be installed inside cupboard doors for additional store, such as Tupperware lids and kitchen wrap boxes, or you can use magazine boxes for the same.
I know you stated you threw a lot away, but double check to see if there's anything else not necessary.

That's all I got.



ExiledTyrant -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:05:28 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

If you find a workable solution to the kitchen problem, let me know. It is the only area in my house that was laid out in the most awkward fashion possible.




Do you rent or own?



ChatteParfaitt -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:09:01 AM)

This sounds like my problem as well. Himself and I are *both* collectors, which is a storage nightmare.

I live in an old house built in the 1890s, and so I understand no storage.

We've had to make a lot of our own. Before we even moved in here, we had a carpenter come in and build three 12 foot long heavy duty shelves for Himself's miniature collections.

I have a large eat in kitchen, with little counter or cupboard space. I found used furniture to give me the storage I need here. Most of this was found in the university's used furniture warehouse.

Books are a constant issue for two people who both collect books. We don't have room for more bookshelves, so yes we have stacks of books on the floor.

I do try to organize what I can in plastic tubs. I have tons of craft stuff that's mostly stored away.

I spent several years at garage sales looking for anything that could be used as storage. We could use more.

I am also a basket collector, so I use lots of baskets for smaller items.

My suggestion is take one room at a time and find or buy storage. Any purchase of more than a few bucks make sure the storage is versatile. Since life changes and your storage needs will change.





jlf1961 -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:14:49 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: ExiledTyrant


quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

If you find a workable solution to the kitchen problem, let me know. It is the only area in my house that was laid out in the most awkward fashion possible.




Do you rent or own?


Own, but it is a modular double wide, a renovation is out of the question.

And dont let anyone tell you different, a modular is a fancy name for a mobile home you can never move again.

My other property that I have has some old air force installations on it, which I am renovating as I can.

And I am considering selling both and moving out of Texas, since every asshole in the fucking county has decided to build subdivisions (which makes a lot of sense, I mean the town is growing, kinda. No new industries have moved in to the area, two have moved out of the area, and no one can afford a mortgage on homes that start at 250K.)



WinsomeDefiance -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:15:04 AM)

1. Utilize wall space. My washer and dryer are in my halway leading to my bathroom. I put up a single bifold door that I screwed into the cabinets over the washer and dryer to separate and 'hide' them from the living room with an over the door hook to hang coats on in winter and in spring and summer I hang beach stuff for quick on the spur out the door trips to the lake.

2. Furniture that also serves as storage. Ottomans or trunks used as end tables, benches. ( have a bench along my stairs that serves to hold shoes taken off under it and for extra seating when people come over. When my grandkids are over it serves as a craft table for them.

3. Under stuff storage containers for under beds and couches. My grandkids have fun customizing theirs with stickers that we change out on a whim.

4. Around here we have a Habitat for Humanity Restore. If you have something similar, go pick up some inexpensive cabinets with doors. Paint them and use as a base to lift your bookshelves out of toddler reach. Put childproof locks on the cabinets or just store their toys in the bottom half and your books on top.





evesgrden -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:24:37 AM)

Since the house doesn't come with storage, you need to create storage. Shelves, cabinets that you buy or assemble. Utlitity shelving. Stackable bins against a wall behind drapes. Even the stuff you keep that is low frequency use needs a home. Can you devote one room to storage? One wall in each room? Floor to ceiling labelled stackable bins.

The boxes of books get stacked. Away. If you really have a lot of stuff that you know you are going to keep but will not get to for some time like the books, have you considered a small storage locker. They can be quite inexpensive. You can even keep your Christmas decor and other once/year stuff there. That could make a huge difference.

Empty your cabinets. Immediately put back the stuff you KNOW you're keeping and is used frequently. It's your low use stuff you need to be ruthless with. If you can't part with it, it goes into the least accessible place you have for storage.

Do you have a china cabinet? Do you actually use that china? If not, box it. Foam lined dish containers, and put stuff you use frequently in that cabinet. Just arrange it nicely if it has glass fronts.

There's now collapsible tupperware, colanders and the like. While you may not want to spend money on something you already have, replacing it could still be money well spent. Stackable measuring cups, mixing bowls which really fit inside each other. Do you really need a salad spinner? Look at your big items with a critical eye.

Organize that playroom first. It can be more than just toy storage. Keep weeding out toys and throw out the broken and give away the ones the kids have out grown. But perhaps you could turn that room into a bonafide organized permanent storage room. Stackables, cube shelves, armoire/type storage.

But perhaps your first runthrough just to break the ice, is pull out anything you can donate or that needs to be tossed. The ones you know can go with no regrets. That's the easiest and least overwhelming and don't think beyond that for now. Just take that one step and it will clear up some room and make you feel better.

Next step is what to do with never used .... consider self-storage. Depending on where you live you might find something quite reasonable.

What you use most frequently hast to be the easiest stuff to get to.





AthenaSurrenders -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:46:57 AM)

Wow, I wasn't expecting so many replies this soon. Apparently I'm not the only one bothered by this.

Thanks for all the tips. Quite a few of these things we've already done - storage boxes in the bookcases for toys, books stacked up in the spare room, footstools which are actually storage, containers under the beds.

I will have to give some serious thought to what other storage furniture we can bring in. None of the rooms have a lot of space for extra furniture - two of the four bedrooms won't fit a single bed and a wardrobe in, they're too small. It's clear we do need a total re-think about what we do and don't keep. Storage locker is a possibility, there is a place pretty close to us, it's just a case of scraping together the funds.

Theshytype mentioned fittings inside the kitchen cupboard doors which I am going to look into right away - seems like it would be very useful for things like spices which take up a lot of real estate. Unfortunately hanging things from the kitchen ceiling isn't an option because the ceilings are too low here - my husband would bang his head. Our old house would've been perfect for that.



ExiledTyrant -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:48:07 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961


Own, but it is a modular double wide, a renovation is out of the question.




I'm handier than a pocket on a shirt. I used to renovate houses, then started having fun in the yacht market (repair, renovate, profit), it kept me too far from the mini-tyrants when they were very mini so I gave up coast bouncing and got into RV renovation (repair, renovate, profit). When I was flipping houses, making the kitchen as efficient as possible was job one. Older houses were designed by men; nice living room, great dinning room, fucking awesome man cave/den, teeny tiny kitchen. Way back when, I was making glide tracks out of wood for gliding pantry shelves, making layered pantry shutters to maximize storage, and now you can buy most of this stuff at Lowe's and Home Depot, so a lot of the long hard work has been reduced to plug-n-play. In yachts and RV's space is PRIME REAL ESTATE, so I got even gooder at it.

If you're handy, and I suspect you are, you can pull all your cabinet/pantry doors down, shadow box the insides of them with 1X3's, add 1/4"XW" plywood shelves, piano hinge them if you are going to line them with cans, and reattach them. It moves your kitchen 4" closer to you, but gives you major square footage in space. Under this premiss, you can store cans, glasses, dishes (you'll have to dowel the shelves), Knife Block Slot a shelf and get the knives off the counter, the possibilities are endless. A hanging pot rack does amazing things for small spaces, hang one out of headache range.

Now for space savers:

[img]http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/108195_max.jpg[/img]

[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31BJQNQ5EHL.jpg[/img]

[img]http://0a0ba5ca2e775bb6b845-e7f38ab18111ddee0b4d07aa945234ca.r98.cf1.rackcdn.com/2012/05/Finehomebuilding-Built-in-above-sink-dish-rack-224x300.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/theliebertfamily/blog4/bd488fef.jpg[/img]

[img]http://im-6.eefa.co/rv-5cw2-2122-cr-s6.jpg[/img]

This handy little sucker folds up and goes away freeing up counter space:
[img]http://www.lnt.com/photos/product/standard/1713180S5129/dish-racks/dish-rack.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.best-toaster-ovens.com/wp-content/gallery/images/mountable-toaster-oven.jpg[/img]

[img]http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a7/28/f8/a728f8f456b9aae7c04bf170fb8657be.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.1stclasscleaningnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/Awesome-Modern-Minimalits-Wooden-Style-Pantry-Kitchen-Cabinets-Storage-Ideas.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.hac0.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kitchen-pantry-storage-design-ideas.jpg[/img]

You get the idea.

Exiled



TieMeInKnottss -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:48:26 AM)

IKEA is your friend! Many of my neighbors get temp (4-6 years) assigned to Germany and, apparently, European houses have no storage.
IKEA sells a lot of items that are meant to solve this problem.
For toys, I used the EXPEDIA Shelving which has 30 cubbies. Put bins in for small toys, stacked game boxes in others. Stuffed animal-build them a "hammock" in a corner



UllrsIshtar -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:55:51 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: AthenaSurrenders

Our next problem is books. We probably have a couple of thousand. We have two massive bookcases but the toddler can reach all but the highest shelves and so they're stored in cardboard boxes.


Not intended snarky, please don't take it as such.

Do yourself a favor and put the books back and teach the toddler not to touch them. Toddler are capable of learning such things from the moment they are mobile enough to start getting in serious trouble. Books are not dangerous, and so they are a great way to practice learning to stay away from the stuff mom tells not to mess with, instead of having to learn it with something that IS dangerous.
Childproofing a house only serves to delay teaching a child that the world is dangerous, and some stuff isn't allowed, something they ought to learn slowly, by little mistakes and experiments one step at a time.



ExiledTyrant -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:56:55 AM)

Yes, do not child proof a house, house proof a child.



AthenaSurrenders -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:57:25 AM)

Those ikea cube shelves are what we have, they are a wonderful invention we'd be much worse off without them. The stuffed animal hammock is a good idea. I should go down to ikea and see what little kitchen storage ideas they have.

Exiled - what are those top two pictures? I can't even figure out what they're supposed to replace. I'd love to change our kitchen cabinets to pull out like the bottom one but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be allowed under our lease. The cling wrap holder is a good plan.



WinsomeDefiance -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 6:59:11 AM)

This may sound weird, but I store my iron pots and skillets in the oven, which freed up a lot of counter space.
I wash my dishes by hand and store them in my dishwasher - more cabinet space freed up :)

I put baskets on top of my refrigerator to capture clutter, because people are always wanting to stack stuff on top of it. Adds color and hides stuff nicely. If the clutter stays in the baskets more than a few months, I assume they don't want it any more and I rehome it.

I turned my microwave cabinet back against the side of my fridge extending my kitchen a bit and it got my microwave off the counter. It has a drawer (I store my need in a hurry tools) and bottom cabinets so, extra storage plus I have a wooden bread box on top of the cabinet. Someimes, there's even bread in it.

Decorative jars on my counters look pretty and hold things nicely.

I have hooks under my cabinet and hang garlic, onions under from them but you can hang coffee cups or whatever.







UllrsIshtar -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 7:00:18 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: AthenaSurrenders

Exiled - what are those top two pictures? I can't even figure out what they're supposed to replace. I'd love to change our kitchen cabinets to pull out like the bottom one but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be allowed under our lease. The cling wrap holder is a good plan.


First one is a coffeemaker.

Second one I think is an under the cabinet toaster.



ExiledTyrant -> RE: Drowning in clutter (3/17/2014 7:01:54 AM)

Coffe maker

Can opener



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