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Forum -> Household Management -> Organizing
Organizing, continued: the RANDOMNESS!
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 7:55 pm
OK now that my bedroom is a paragon of functionality, moving on to the next room.
Since I live in a one-bedroom apartment, the next room is everything else.
It is also the thing that everyone sees most of the time so I want it to look pleasant.

Currently it has a table and chairs.
Used to have a large hutch thing that was a catch-all that was always messy so we got rid of it, and now the stuff that used to be in it is in boxes which is neither pretty nor functional.
We also have a smallish bookcase that holds a bunch of the kids' toys and games and art stuff.
Actual books are already taken care of, we have bookcases in the foyer and kitchen. That's where we had available wall space that was otherwise not useful.

The items that need a new home are pretty random, and I'd like to know what others do with these things and how I can make homes for them while also making my family room look nice. I'm going to start listing what I can see on the surface of the boxes...very random:
- Shabbos table things: tablecloths, candlesticks, trays, challah cover, kiddush cup, candles, bentcher holder, etc.
- Stationery supplies: stamps, rulers, hole puncher, index cards, etc. (I already have mini-drawers on one of the kids' shelves with kids' scissors, glues, etc)
- Batteries, all sorts, I should probably get a power tester and purge any that don't work... but there would still be some and they would still come in handy some random time
- laminator
- baby monitors that still come in surprisingly useful at random times
- This list is not exhaustive but I think you get the idea of what I mean by "random stuff needs homes without looking horrible"

The room is too small for its purpose and considering how little stuff this really is when I think about it, though it somehow manages to take up a lot of space when I don't think about it, I'd really like to find a way to do this without shrinking our floor space too much.

I was thinking of buying some of those cube storage units (as someone helpfully pointed out they're on sale at Target for the next couple of hours) but I'm just not sure how that would work for my stuff. It seems to me that drawers with internal organizers would probably be a better fit for things like stationery supplies. On the other hand how do you get drawers going without spending too much money and floor space?
I'm also thinking maybe I should replace my smallish bookshelf with a big bookshelf and just use containers on those shelves. But not sure what types of containers will fit on a bookshelf, not be ugly, and hold big things like a challah board or small things like paper clips. I could potentially switch the challah board to the kitchen or something if it really doesn't fit. I should stop thinking aloud here before I lose everyone's attention span.

My organizationally challenged brain is stumped when I get to the odds-n-ends part of tidying up.


Last edited by seeker on Sat, Jan 07 2017, 8:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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r1




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 8:03 pm
I like the idea of the squares (the books can fit in them too) then u get drawers or containers in them.
True not every pen will be in its own near compartment but I think that's harder to keep clean anyways.
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LittleDucky




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 8:44 pm
I am so glad you are talking organization as it's been on my mind too. One of these days I will have to get working on my disaster(s). For some reason I can sometimes help others but can figure out my own space!

If you get the bookcase you can put different size containers and stack them. It depends on what you have lot of...
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c.....PYMpg

And get different ones in different sizes depending on your needs. One for shabbos (or 3), office supplies etc. It's not permanent so you can use it/Change it around and it's not as big an investment... You can also move it elsewhere if it is not functioning. That way you keep the bookcase and get drawers...
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 8:55 pm
I like that stacking drawers concept! I just wish there were a reasonable cheap knockoff because they are all so expensive!

I liked the idea of the cube shelves being so cheap at Target but I'm going to pass on them because I'm just not confident that will meet my needs. I think the square shape is going to be more limiting than helpful in this case. The things I need to hold are just too random, I think a bookcase will provide more flexibility. I think if I get a larger bookcase in the space that I currently have a smallish one, maybe that will enable me to hold all the stuff I need to without taking up more of my currently unused space. Because that wall has a bookshelf anyway, and then like another ten inches or so of unused wall next to it plus several feet above. So if I replace with, say, a Billy (I'd really like my imaginary 36" wide bookcase that I already discovered is oddly unfindable) then maybe I can shuffle things around, get rid of stuff, and make it work. The problem is that the Billys are like $70 each and I've been watching IKEA for a sale and they haven't had one in a while. Their last few sales have been most unuseful to me. And every time someone in my neighborhood freecycles one I miss it by an hour or so. I guess meanwhile I should start on the purging and containerizing, and then see what comes up in the shelving. Just posting on imamother looking for more magical advice is a lot easier than purging and containerizing.

The next issue is going to be the kids' stuff. I remember being a kid so I don't have the heart to make them purge their random treasures, but there has to be a better way to keep them contained. It's really not that much stuff, except the papers. We need to find a way to make them get rid of more papers. I should also work out a toy/game rotation system because they definitely don't use all our toys/games at the same time, though they do use them enough to not get rid of them. This relies on the toy/game storage being flexible enough that the things in active rotation can be exchanged with the things in storage, without causing avalanches in either.
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amother
Lime


 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 9:16 pm
When I lived in an apartment, I loved my Ikea Pax units. I had the narrower depth one.What I like about them was that I was able to customize the shelves, and that it went really high for lots of storage. It also has nice door options.
I stored all the shabbos things in it. All the toys I put in sterlite containers and labeled them. My batteries were in a shoebox size sterlite. supplies I divided up into two different containers, one for adults one for kids.
Basically the clear labeled containers are my life. The shoebox ones are under a $, and are so practical.

My kids are used to throwing away their things that we don't need. I ask them if they still need the item and we discuss why. The dollar store toys that they don't use, don't need to take up space. I always ask if they are ready to throw out their papers. When they say no, I listen and tell them we'll keep it and discuss it next time. My kids each have a bin where they keep their prizes and junk.

Posting anon because my username and this info will give me away
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jewish613




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 9:26 pm
Maybe for the kids' papers they can each have one closed box where they can keep their papers. They can keep whatever they can fit in the box. If something doesn't fit it, the child needs to decide what to get rid of to make room for the new.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 9:27 pm
I have a PAX in the bedroom that I really like but it cost a few hundred $ and I'm trying to get this done for less, especially since I'll be needing a lot of containers and want some of those drawer things, too, which are more pricey (though I'm still holding out for a cheaper alternative, when I find one...) The other problem is that the drawers don't pull out far enough - I bought a few drawers because I loved that you could alternate drawers and shelves, and they looked really nice, but I find them hard to use because about half the drawer stays out of reach (in the shallower unit) But the size is great, it holds a lot!

I always keep a stock of those shoebox size sterilites that are about $1 each at Target (not sure why they seem to be so much more everywhere else, but I get about 5 every time I pass a Target - not so often) I'm down to about 3 empty ones that I'm sure will get filled soon. They're good for all kinds of things but only if you want approximately a shoebox-sized amount of things tossed together. I have a few of them for kids toys with pieces (clics, legos, zoobs; one with the lid off for puzzles), I have some up in my closet with the backup stash of stationery supplies (the ones we don't need to keep using, so they can be thrown together in a box and we just dig it out when we run out of pencils/glue/whatever in the reachable supply), I have a few with assorted teaching paraphernalia which should also get reorganized but isn't urgent because as long as they're contained in those sterilite boxes they're not attacking anyone.

(not sure why you're worried about identity; surely we're not the only two fans of PAX and sterilite boxes?!)

Maybe I'll just go out and buy the Billy already, and then work things out with containers on the shelves. I can probably even make one shelf like a breakfront for the Shabbos things (though the wall I have for this is not really visible for display) if I can figure out how to close it from dust without buying the Billy doors (which will probably not agree with the containers, besides adding cost)
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 9:30 pm
jewish613 wrote:
Maybe for the kids' papers they can each have one closed box where they can keep their papers. They can keep whatever they can fit in the box. If something doesn't fit it, the child needs to decide what to get rid of to make room for the new.

I tried that. It led to more drama than purging. We're continuing to work on this... the main solution so far was to re-classify some things that we'd been calling "papers" - now "booklets" and "yearbooks" and miscellaneous other masterpieces that come home from school are kept separately from "papers." The things from school are truly works of art but then what? There are booklets for everything and they're all cute and all nice and all eating me alive but I keep feeling like I have no right to complain when I'm so behind on my own purging...
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LittleDucky




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 10:00 pm
This won't work for everything but can you take pictures of the projects? And give them a photo album? Keeps it neater... Or scan into the computer?
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 10:38 pm
Yup we do that...maybe if I take a picture of every single thing they color... I wonder when they can disappear...
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 10:49 pm
Anyway I think I can deal with the papers. Whatever can't be purged can be stacked into a rectangle and contained. It's more the random STUFF that I don't know what to do with.

Some things can be stored but they're very random shapes and sizes and I don't have space to waste on putting things into containers that are too big for them (batteries, lightbulbs, laminator, baby monitors, um stuff um...) and other things need to be regularly accessible (stationery supplies, Shabbos table items)

So let's break this down even further:
Organized people, let's see your pictures and descriptions of how you keep your stationery goods!
- pens
-pencils
-highlighters
-tape
-rulers
-hole punchers
-scissors
-post-it notes
-index cards
- stamps
- sharpeners
- stapler
- staples
- paper clips
- all that stuff.
Bring it on! Inspire me!
Must be space-efficient.

(on a related note - arts n crafts supplies. All of the above PLUS pompoms, pipe cleaners, beads, paints, glue gun, extra sticks for glue gun, stuff, other stuff, popsicle sticks, stuff.)
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 07 2017, 11:09 pm
seeker wrote:
Anyway I think I can deal with the papers. Whatever can't be purged can be stacked into a rectangle and contained. It's more the random STUFF that I don't know what to do with.

Some things can be stored but they're very random shapes and sizes and I don't have space to waste on putting things into containers that are too big for them (batteries, lightbulbs, laminator, baby monitors, um stuff um...) and other things need to be regularly accessible (stationery supplies, Shabbos table items)

So let's break this down even further:
Organized people, let's see your pictures and descriptions of how you keep your stationery goods!
- pens
-pencils
-highlighters
-tape
-rulers
-hole punchers
-scissors
-post-it notes
-index cards
- stamps
- sharpeners
- stapler
- staples
- paper clips
- all that stuff.
Bring it on! Inspire me!
Must be space-efficient.

(on a related note - arts n crafts supplies. All of the above PLUS pompoms, pipe cleaners, beads, paints, glue gun, extra sticks for glue gun, stuff, other stuff, popsicle sticks, stuff.)


do you have a closet door available? I used over the door shoe organizers for a lot of these things for a long time. hang it on the inside of a closet door so it can be put out of sight. if necessary, hang one on each side of the door. even if it's visible, organized looks better.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 1:46 am
seeker wrote:
I tried that. It led to more drama than purging. We're continuing to work on this... the main solution so far was to re-classify some things that we'd been calling "papers" - now "booklets" and "yearbooks" and miscellaneous other masterpieces that come home from school are kept separately from "papers." The things from school are truly works of art but then what? There are booklets for everything and they're all cute and all nice and all eating me alive but I keep feeling like I have no right to complain when I'm so behind on my own purging...

Hole punch the booklets and place them in a binder. Thin the binders out when they get too thick. Make sure there's at least one booklet from each year of school.
Take pictures of the kids with their arts and crafts each time they come home with one and then a week later just make the craft dissappear (there will already be another newer one in its place by then).
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 8:32 am
The shoe bags on my closet doors are full of shoes :-(
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thunderstorm




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 8:44 am
I put the supplies in clear plastic shoe boxes with covers on them.
All scissors and punchers in one
All adhesives, tape, glue and staplers etc in another
All art supplies in another , Pom poms, pipe cleaners etc.
I'm not sure if you have shelves to put the shoe boxes on though
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sourstix




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 8:50 am
ramom to make things disapear doesnt work in my house. they go search the garbage and then get mad at me. its a no no by me. and then they dont trust me that I just throw their things out. they eventually grow out of it. children tend to keep things nad dont realize how much clutter it causes. by the time they are 10-11 usually they see its useless. then I can reason with them.

I happen to love the shoe holder for suppliies. its a great cheap way. I wonder how messy mine would look after 24 hours. lol. seeker are you willing to organize your shoe boxed often? or are your kids good at it? then the shoe boxes might do the trick. listne I am so bad at organizing I wont advise you on that, count me out of it.

I keep a big old flower pot with all the pens ,pencils, and some scissors. on the counter. most of the sticky stuff like glue I keep in my bedroom so kids dont just have access to it. all craft goes in my bedroom in whichever place I find. I need to have control on those or my house would look like-----you fill in the blanks.
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amother
Lawngreen


 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 10:04 am
I use the shoe holder s over doors. Love them my daughters use for their own stuff in their bedroom . I let them decide what goes there. They felt in control. One tore so big deal I replaced it. Get many. But at least one that some pockets are biger because not everything is so tiny. Prefered clear but I think the bigger pocket didnt come in clear. If you are creative cut 2 small clear pockets and sew double clear. Also lately I saw that some companies are making double sided so you can "hide" stuff in the back. I wonder if its good. Ebay has many choices
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 10:37 am
pegboard organizer for office/school supplies, and file wall pockets for the kids' papers and projects.
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amother
Honeydew


 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 10:56 am
seeker wrote:
Anyway I think I can deal with the papers. Whatever can't be purged can be stacked into a rectangle and contained. It's more the random STUFF that I don't know what to do with.

Some things can be stored but they're very random shapes and sizes and I don't have space to waste on putting things into containers that are too big for them (batteries, lightbulbs, laminator, baby monitors, um stuff um...) and other things need to be regularly accessible (stationery supplies, Shabbos table items)

So let's break this down even further:
Organized people, let's see your pictures and descriptions of how you keep your stationery goods!
- pens
-pencils
-highlighters
-tape
-rulers
-hole punchers
-scissors
-post-it notes
-index cards
- stamps
- sharpeners
- stapler
- staples
- paper clips
- all that stuff.
Bring it on! Inspire me!
Must be space-efficient.

(on a related note - arts n crafts supplies. All of the above PLUS pompoms, pipe cleaners, beads, paints, glue gun, extra sticks for glue gun, stuff, other stuff, popsicle sticks, stuff.)


After I got married I lived for 5 years in a 600 or less sq ft apt with a baby too.... and 1/3 of the apt was extremely narrow hallways all across from one room to the other.....

Now I live in a 1,350 sq ft apt and my house was a flying mess (according to my standards)
I like order.

Although I have a lot more space now than I did in my old apt, its big open space. I like neat tight customized space a lot more than open wide space.

Now I have in my apt hanging in all the closets with a shelf over it thats reachable but just about reachable. And another shelf all the way up there.... no drawers or shelves.

For all toys I got clear sterilite drawers that are stackable 3 drawers are $19-20 at walmart.
I also have a white cube/ shelving unit from ikea. It wasnon sale then fot $50 but regular price is $100. The crib in that room is also white.
It has random shelves. I got square bins grom target. In two sizes. Looks very nice and decorative.

In dd1's toom I also got a cube unit from x-mas tree shops. 9 cube for $35. A smaller little one next to dds toddler bed as a night chest for $15. Its super cute and took dh 5 minutes to assemble. Dd loves it!
In my laundry room closet (anything amd everything closet) I have cubes.
Storage cubes are my friend.
On the shelves in the closets I have in the bedrooms I have cubes. There are sich pretty ones. In the kids room I have colored ones. In my rooms (closet) I have more elegant ones.

In the laundry room closet of have random ones I had in my old apt that aren't pretty but functional.
On the two very large open shelves in the laundry room, I have red and grey wooden crates with rope handles to help pulling them out. Also from x-mas tree shops. I have a few sizes to customize.

For the stuff you mentioned above, I gave a mesh steel little utiliy box I use for all that. Exept for the whole puncher. The whole puncher I have is attached to a zippered pencil case so that adds more storage room. I keep the utility box on top of the pencil vase on a very high shelf in a miscellaneous cabinet in my kichen. Together with the stereo, phone books, pushkas, cds etc.

I love the cube idea becuase there is so much to customize. Today you can get cubes that have little drawers and that go in the cube/shleving units!!!! So you can have smaller spaces for smaller stuff.
Or you can use zip lock for smaller things in a bigger cube.

I keep all gift wrapping (other than the two large roles of wrapping paper) and disposable table /simcha decorations in one huge heavy duty cube that was originally ottoman on wheels that I bought from amazing savings 4 years ago. The cover and the botton detachable part broke. So I stayed with an extra large heavy duty cube. I keep it in the lauqndry room closet. Another cube is for all the arts and crafts stuff.
I specialized stackable container for beads stuff (with devider tray) and another of the same for clay (without devider tray) from Michaels. On sale for $5 each.

Also hair cut (I took a course and so them mysel) and sheitel stuff (blow dryer, hair scissors, curling iron) in a half cube with some random scrap fabric in another half cube stacked in the same shelf as the sewing box and sewing machine.
All in the laundry room closet.

I gotta go now.
I know its lids random.....
Hope that helps.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 08 2017, 11:37 am
sourstix wrote:
ramom to make things disapear doesnt work in my house. they go search the garbage and then get mad at me. its a no no by me. and then they dont trust me that I just throw their things out. they eventually grow out of it. children tend to keep things nad dont realize how much clutter it causes. by the time they are 10-11 usually they see its useless. then I can reason with them.

That's the reason for the pictures. They can treasure the items forever and it has meaning because they're in the photo and you watch their progress growing.
I tie the crafts in black bags and only put in the garbage when I'm ready to take out the trash.
The kids know things dissappear around here. Smile Things that are very important to them they keep in their prize drawer. And things around the house just end up in the trash within a week or two. By then there's tons more already that we're holding on to.
I still always feel like I'm drowning in the stuff. Smile
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