Storage room

 

 

Today I tackled the storage room. Wiped down the shelves, counter and floors. What a job! I moved the pyrex collection and gave it more space. The bowls are too heavy to overload the shelves. I would consider selling (at cost) some of these items, email me if you are interested! In fact, I day dream* about dumping the entire contents of the shelves on the curb...Wouldn't that be liberating? (Don't even get me started on the grey bins...)

ps. Toys have taken over! These clear plastic bins are almost useless. Too small....but hey, they look good!
pps. we moved the elliptical into the corner of the basement...

*as if, I am always saying this, but I would never dare

New Shelves in Storage room

We used white melamine boards and the most basic utility brackets to create more storage space in the basement storage room/laundry room. We needed to create a new spot for toilet paper, paper towels, detergent and other cleaning supplies, since toys took over the lower half of the bookshelves. 

I don't think I can squeeze another inch of storage out of this room...we are at full capacity!

The curtain and the large counter are awesome!! Empty boxes, bulk purchases, extra bowls, thrifty purchases and other miscellaneous things often get dumped onto the counter en route to their final destination. That's ok with me! They are never there very long! I sweep them into place whenever I get a chance. It never takes more than five minutes to make this room pristine again!

It may not look like much, but this room is a hard worker!    



Summary & Materials:
14 - 10 x 12 white brackets ($2.28 each)
3 - 96" boards cut down (free) to four boards in the following sizes: 42", 42", 71 3/4", 71 3/4" , ($19.97 each)
2 - boxes of wood screws (on hand)

This project took 1 1/2 hours of my younger brother's time (he volunteered you guys!).

It also took three separate trips to Lowes. The first time to get the wrong brackets and the wrong shelves. The second time to switch to 8x10" brackets, wrong size again! The third time to switch the boards (the two 73" melamine shelves and the one 96" cut down to two 42" boards that we originally bought, were different thicknesses), and to switch to 10x12" brackets.

ps. The shelves at Home Depot cost $28.99, so we decided to use Lowes for this project.
pss. I also work out in there! 

Measuring Once...Twice...Three times...

This is the next project I would like to complete...plain white melamine shelves, wall mounted, in the storage room. I have my measurements! I know what we need to buy!! Now I need to get to a building store, charge the battery on the cordless, locate the studs, and ...yikes...

Can I DIY this (by myself?)

Will I find the time?

Will they turn out level?

Stay tuned!


ps. I am not crazy about the transition from window to shelf...but I am going to ignore it for now, and work toward emptying a row of bins to unblock the window.

Storage room counter installed

The countertop is done!

The junk in this room used to be piled in a jumbled mess.  We cleared it out and hired Kerry's dad to install a maple plywood countertop (cost: $700 for materials and labour).  Then I hung up a canvas curtain to hide the junk (cost $23 for canvas and $4 for velcro).

As an added bonus, we 'borrowed' my parents elliptical machine.  (I've used it at least 10 times in the last three weeks - love having it here!). 

There is one last round of organization that needs to take place. The area above the washer dryer will be fitted with shelves and bars to hold cleaning supplies and hang clothing.  (We are doing this ourselves).




I'd love to hear what you think!?



ps. From time-to-time, I've regretted that we didn't divide this room into two: one for storage, and one for pretty laundry.  Now, the room FINALLY feels 'on purpose'...



Before:

Storage Room Upgrade!

We have emptied the storage room in anticipation of one of the greatest things that will ever happen to us:* SIXTEEN FEET OF COUNTER SPACE!

We are going to install a basic plywood counter top above the washer and dryer that will continue across to the far wall (where the ladder is).  We intend to hang a curtain under the counter to hide away sixteen feet of clutter!**   

I can't wait to have the counter built, so I can jam all the ugly underneath it! Can you picture it?  Soooo good, right?

Mr Hale***, Kerry's Dad (First Time Fancy), is going to work his magic next week (I hope!)!  Boy he sure does have his hands full! 

*I am not exaggerating!!
**Except we have 40 feet of clutter!!! 
***You may recall Mr Hale also built us a 10-foot-long outdoor table

Basement Storage Room

The garage sale was a success! We cleared away a lot of unnecessary clutter.  Now we only have necessary clutter (and a bushel basket!)! This wall gets a passing grade for being organized:

New Ikea boxes for my better half's electronic bits and bobs

This side still needs improvement:

We need to get our act together one day and make the area above the washer dryer functional.  However, the machines sit a good six inches away from the wall, so I don't know how you reach anything if you have mount cupboards on the wall above.  Are we the only homeowners who have a washer/dryer that practically sit in the middle of the room? What do you do with this space?

Progress!

A lot of wires, cables and old unidentifiable (by me) do-hickies will be tossed....there may even be computer nerd stuff in the garage sale!  I am caught between wanting to stay away from the disaster that is unfolding, and wanting to watch history in the making...

WHAT A DUMP!!!

Collected

I will admit, I was in awe of Emma's friend's creative space.(my jaw dropped)...those overflowing shelves of interesting 'stuff'!!  So I called an assembly of balloons, feathers, sticks, pompoms, streamers, ribbons, pipe cleaners, buttons, felt letters, and sewing supplies...

There is SOOO much going on in the storage room...organizing it makes me happy!

ps...the lighting is uneven and harsh, I haven't learned how to correct it/compensate for it! (yet....)
pss...i tried a warming filter on the photos, using photoshop...and I think the images looks less harsh 
psss...cropped the first two...a bit better

Shopping and Puttering

We went to IKEA to fetch a few things...

We also bought a plant and some supplies from Home Depot.


Do you putter around the house as much as I do?  Because I seriously putter, putter, putter...I could spend all day puttering...

1. New IKEA Alvine Rand Rug- we need a large rug just for the winter...we like to keep the marble safe, and give family lots of room to remove their boots and coats...click here to see the summer rug
2. New IKEA Trampa Mat, sliced horizontally with exacto knife & trimmed down in order to fit beneath the rad (to keep snowy boots toasty warm)
3. New IKEA Gubbskar mats (already full of lint!)
4. Moved the rug from the foyer back into the bedroom...
5. Home Depot plant and planter...

Moving a bunch of things around the house!

We had four ikea bookshelves upstairs full of books, DVDs, CDs, board games, and misc. Two of the shelves were in the office, two were in the guest bedroom (on the wall to the left of the guest room bed, always just out of view when I took a photo)...

I attacked the shelves today...took them apart, and moved them downstairs piece by piece (my DH helped move the long sides this evening)...now, here is where they stand:

The CDs and DVDs are on the ledge...

The books are stacked in the office...

Removing the bookshelves from the office left me some room to play.  I moved the desk from its previous spot in front of the windows, and slid it into the corner...Why? Because our next door neighbor's new window looks pretty much straight into ours.  Besides, it let me push the leather chair into the corner between the windows, creating a cozy reading nook.

The sewing machine needed SOMEWHERE to go in this house...so it is getting cozy next to the desk.

The guest room is opened up again and ready to accept the wardrobe (once I clean the wardrobe...I still haven't addressed the smells...its just 'airing out'...I haven't even sniffed it lately to see if its improved...)

You can see my two Craigslist chairs are waiting to become part of a vignette next to the  new armoire.  Patience my pretties.  I also began to round up all the misceallaneous unhung picture frames and stacked them in the corner of the guest bedroom...

Sorry I didn't take pictures this morning...these rooms looked very different...but I snapped some photos now because we will be making improvements to the office, and to the guest room in the upcoming days and weeks... These two rooms definitely need a lot of work...

Update: Ahhh...I am feeling too cluttered today...maybe the sewing machine needs to be stashed in the  storage room...

Jute rug and new wall of matching rubbermaid bins

We moved the West Elm jute rug from the dining room into the basement.  I was happy enough with the look of the rug in the dining room, but the texture was not appropriate.  It drove me crazy.

Its perfect downstairs ...well, that is, until I get some other bright idea...

I also organized the clutter...