Family Launch Pad

I've dreamed about having a place to organize all of the things to help us get out the door on time in the morning. A place to corral homework, shoes, backpacks, instruments, and mittens. While I don't have a big, beautiful mudroom to store all of this stuff, I blogged about turning a small space into a functional "mudroom" here.

 

 

I recently made a trip to Ikea and was able to put some of my mudroom plans into action.  I have a very unusable, nonfunctional hallway in my house that has been sitting empty.

 

 

A few hours of assembly and no we've got this nice little family launch pad.

 



I put an Expedit on the floor and added black bins.  Each child gets an area to store their shoes and other stuff.

That black door heads out into the garage.

I also hung two Expedit units on the wall.  I thought they were fine "as is," but my daughter was lured by the shiny mirror doors and requested that we add them.  I'm so glad that we did, because now everybody can shove their stuff inside and it still looks neat and organized.

I also hung some filing pockets, also from Ikea.  It's called the "Kvissel," in case you're curious.  Now, when the kids are looking for important school papers, I just have to say, "Check the Kvissel."

Next up is creating a family calendar.  A few weeks ago, I stuck some tape on a white board...just so we could have something!

Soooo embarrassing, I know...but it's working!

I would love to have something like Carmel's:

Source: ourfifthhouse.com via Carmel (@ Our Fifth House) on Pinterest

My walls are super-textured, so I'm not sure this would work very well.  I'm thinking I might be able to do something with Washi tape or vinyl.

Does anyone else have an ideas for a cute family calendar?

Starting Simple

I haven't completed any big projects lately, but sometimes completing the simplest things can be just as gratifying.

For example, I have the dreaded junk drawer in my kitchen.  I cringe every time I open it and then quickly try to slam it shut and cram all of the clutter back in.

While Mary was playing in the kitchen, I decided to empty the entire drawer.  It's only be bothering me for 3-4 months!

I emptied the stuff and sorted it into litte plastic containers I had around.

While it's not perfect, it's so much better.  This little project only took me about 10 minutes and zero dollars after 3-4 months of procrastinating!

I have a house filled with little projects like this that need to get done.  I just need to start simple, not stress about making it perfect, and get things done. 

What little projects do you have around your house that you've been avoiding?

On My Mind: Small Space Mudrooms and Family Launch Pads

Since school started almost two weeks ago, I have been feeling inundated by school papers, notices, backpacks, homework, band instruments, lunch boxes and all of the other stuff that comes home from school each day.

I've been considering ways to corral the clutter, and of course, I dream of having a huge mudroom with everything perfectly organized.  Since this isn't happening in my home, I've been looking at ways to turn a small, unused hallway into a mudroom/family launch pad area.

I've rounded up some of my favorites from Pinterest. 

I originally thought about building a bench with storage underneath.  I had never considered putting bins on a low shelf.  I like it!!!  And, so much less work than figuring out how to build a storage bench.

Source: livethemma.ikea.se via Suzanne on Pinterest

With the amount of paperwork that comes home from school, file folders are essential.  I'm thinking one per child that can hold their homework for the week and other important notices.

Source: tipjunkie.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Each child will need a place to hang her backpack and coat.  Rather than bulletin boards above each hook, this is where I will put the file folders.

Source: via Suzanne on Pinterest

I'm picturing an Ikea Billy shelf for the wall as well.  The girls can stash their gloves, library books, instruments, etc.

Source: ikeahackers.net via Amy on Pinterest

Other elements I want are:

• A calendar.
• A chalk board (I already have one I can use) - this can be for meal planning, grocery lists,  and important reminders.

Here are a couple of other nicely organized spaces.

Source: emmas.blogg.se via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: thehandmadehome.net via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I'm sure you've seen these Ikea hacks, but I still love them and think they are so smart and stylish.

Source: bhg.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: reallyrenata.blogspot.com.au via Suzanne on Pinterest

I think a trip to Ikea is in my future!  Unfortunately, the closest Ikeas are both 5 hours away.  Luckily, I have a trip planned to Denver (but not until the end of September).  My oldest daughter, the gymnast, and I are going to see the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions - a performance by this year's gold-medal gymnastics team as well as former Olympians.

Organizing Tips at Living Savvy

Tiffany at Living Savvy is hosting "Organizing Month" on her blog during March. She has asked bloggers to give her organizing tips, which she is posting every day. Click on over to Living Savvy to see my little tip on how to organize all of the things kids bring home from school.

I think clicking on the button will bring up all of the organizing posts.

Office Obsession

Just over a year ago, we turned our office into a bedroom for our 7-year old. She had been sharing a room with her older sister, but they both needed their own space.  Since then, my husband has moved his desk into our bedroom and my stuff is scattered all over the house.

The busier I get, the more I realize I need a dedicated space for my stuff: computer, files, supplies, etc.  Right now, I move my laptop around and have my files in plastic storage bins.  I've also been known to leave important files on the kitchen counter, the kids' craft table, my dresser, or just about anywhere.  It's only a matter of time before something gets lost or ruined.

Here's my dream office:

Source: blog.poppin.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

However, since we don't have an extra room for an office, I've been obsessing over "cloffices," closets turned into offices.  Here are a few that I really like:

Source: thebloominghydrangea.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

This one from Ange at The Blooming Hydrangea has everything I need: a desk, a filing cabinet, and some shelves with boxes to hide other supplies.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

If only I had a little closet in my bedroom.

Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Lea on Pinterest

How pretty and functional is this space from Country Living?

Cassie at Primitive and Proper also made a fun craft closet:

Guess what?  Much to my dismay, I realized that I don't have a closet that can be spared to make a cloffice.  How about a hallway instead?

This hallway is really just a useless, wasted space in our home.  I brought in a table to see how it would fit.

I would need to be the size of a toothpick to fit in here!
The hallway is narrow, so I need something small.  I brought in this little table from the garage to see how it would feel.  This table is only 18 inches wide.  I don't think I could use anything much wider.

This size is much better.  I'm still trying to decide if I could work here, or if it might be too claustrophobic.

If I decide to make my "hloffice," I'm hoping to DIY a desk out of two file cabinets and a board.  I also want to mount two or three shelves on the wall above.  First up, finding the file cabinets. 

Stay tuned.  Hopefully this idea will be taking shape soon.  Unfortunately, "hloffice" doesn't have the nice ring of "cloffice."


Here's a sneak peak of something else I worked on this weekend:

In other news, Sarah at Pewter+Sage is hosting another edition of Mood Board Monday today.  The challenge this time was to design a room around one of three choices of art from Etsy.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to design a mood board this time, but I'm definitely stopping by to see what everyone else created.