Spaces

My home is full of lovely spaces.  They are small spaces, for the most part.  The home has endless possibilities to allow maximum enjoyment for many purposes.  Even smaller homes like mine (which I tend to prefer, by the way:).  No matter what type of space you're are dealing with, you have the potential to make your home very "user friendly."  Before I spent this high amount of time at home, I really did not have or make the time to ponder this in the best way.  See, there was no time to "worry" with the way our home worked for us.  We came in, we left.  Now I see things a bit differently, and this has brought about fresh ideas to make things very practical (and often really cute!).

You must know first if you haven't read many of my posts...I am an organizing freak!  Yes, sometimes, my sock drawer is messy and there are clean clothes that don't get folded for a day or so...I am not too over the top:)  I do relax better when things are in their place.  Before my recent organization, I felt like I was always looking for something, needing to clean something, or wondering what I should do next.  Now, most of the time, I have order to the chores so that the day does not revolve around "what needs to be done."  This is why I wanted to share some insight with you...

Look at your spaces...how are they being utilized?  How many "junk" drawers or baskets do you have?  Take a look at all of your spaces.  Give yourself a tour of your home.  This is not the time for wishful thinking about wanting a bigger space.  Often times for me, it's clearing out what you already have to be content with the space.  Here are some spaces I have created that may give you some ideas in your own home.  Enjoy!

Crafts

Antique cabinet put to a good use.  With having more children in my home on a daily basis and providing ample craft enjoyment, I knew I had to have the craft supplies near the kitchen table.  This cabinet is off-limits for the kiddos.  It contains everything from plastic eyes to play-doh.  I also keep my home binder and their art folders here.  We listen to music throughout the day, so the cd player is up on top.  

KEY POINT:  If you have an extra piece of furniture not being used, consider making one cabinet for art and craft supplies (all scissors, tape, anything you would need for crafts).

Entry

Inexpensive put-together cabinet from target.  This may be the best thing I did.  I had a basket for shoes by the door, but no guests ever used it...guess they thought it was too nice a basket to put shoes in!  This provides exactly what we needed, nothing more:)  A place for shoes, the middle bin is full of winter gear for outside play for all the kiddos, and the diaper drawer is on the left.  All of these are easy for me and the kids to access.  This allows me to prompt them to get their shoes and outside play clothes on, letting them reach most of it by themselves.  Love it!  All I do is hand them their coats and help with zippers.

KEY POINT:  What do you need access to before you go out the door or as soon as you come in?  Where is your main entry point?

Children

I have written before about having a space for kiddos in the living space, not just their rooms.  For us, that means "quiet" toys and books.  You won't find any singing Elmos or radios out here...that's what the child's room is for after all!  This includes a shelf (inexpensive from Kmart and stained by myself) with puzzles, doll clothes, Lincoln logs, doctor kit, and blocks.  We have a wonderful dollhouse built by dad that Olivia wouldn't know what to do if it were gone.  As the picture shows, we have of course the bookshelf.  This holds children's books on the bottom and our reading material on the top.  

KEY POINT:  Think hard about what you would like your child to play with along with family time and what they like to do on their own.  Be sure to place any more difficult things out here for easy help.  

Extras

I thought about this for so long...in Olivia's room, we have a decorative curtain rod with her art on display.  But, I wanted a way to display some pieces that were really special.  I looked into the ideas where you can change the art out over time, but that's what she already has in her room.  This is rather permanent.  I did have to cut the pieces down a bit to fit them into the frames I had. This is a very special place for her to look and see things that she did.

KEY POINT:  You don't have to buy all your art from the store...use the natural talent you have at home:)

Do you have a spice rack?  Mine was awful!  I knew by the time I bought my 3RD ginger, I needed a change.  Thanks to my friend Natalie, I adopted this great way to organize.  I know sometimes it is difficult to spare that kitchen drawer, but for us it was worth it.  Now we can see everything.  By the way, the space that was full of these spices is now used for baking supplies.

KEY POINT:  Drawers aren't just for utensils...

This sits in the kitchen corner, providing a place for chalk, eraser, cds, napkins for the table.  This is the spot where I keep the play-doh toys and whatever else needs to be used at the kitchen table.  Easy access.  

KEY POINT:  What extra things do you use at the kitchen table?  

Plain and simple...the kid's table!  It is a must have.  It needs to be in the kitchen if possible.  She eats here sometimes.  Sometimes does crafts.  As silly as it sounds to even bring this up, I had to make sure that you knew a child's table is worth the effort.  

KEY POINT:  You could even take it outside and hose it down if necessary!





I hope this has been helpful.  We sure do function better with this setup.  There is more to come with Olivia's room and closet and biggest of all, the emergency closet we are putting together.  Don't get overwhelmed with organizing.  Think of what you need one space at a time.  My brain is constantly swirling with ideas.  The main thing I always ask myself is, "will this improve my ability as a wife and mommy?"  In other words, will this make our lives easier?!