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Build It Yourself, Furniture Makeovers, Home Decor, Neat & Tidy, Organization & Storage, The Country House
Create Extra Storage In The Entryway
Since we’ve moved to The Country House, something that we’ve struggled with is storage space. Especially, after we turned our master closet into a sweet little nursery. Living in only 1300 square feet with 5 people makes finding or adding storage solutions many times difficult. However, we’ve been able to create an entryway with extra storage by whipping up a cool Ikea shoe storage hack!
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Once we knew that our master closet was going to be transformed, we had to come up with a game plan for all of the stuff already inside.
We sorted and donated the things we didn’t love. Our clothing took up residence in a small hallway closet. But that left us with no place for our shoes, hats, belts, scarves, etc. We did try to hang a shoe rack over the inside of the closet door. However, the shoes hit the hanging clothes and fell off the rack constantly. It was just a huge mess!
After some brainstorming and online storage system browsing, we decided to buy two Ikea shoe storage cabinets and add them to our entry area. The original set up of each cabinet left several inches of space between the center of the cabinets. They ended up extending beyond the hallway wall just a bit, which looked pretty wonky.
So, we decided to remove the original tops, slide the cabinets together, and attach a new stained/painted top to make them look more like one unit. We also replaced the old knobs for some ring pulls that have a more unique look.
Welcome Sign | Nesting Houses | Ring Pull
Each cabinet is supposed to hold a minimum of 12 pairs of shoes, but depending on the size and style, you can definitely fit more. I’m a size 7.5-8 and have over 20 pairs inside of one cabinet!
I love the extra drawers at the top of the cabinets too! Perfect for cold weather accessories.
You truly realize how much stuff you have when you don’t have a place to put it. Adding this shoe cabinet storage to our entryway has helped us with a major storage struggle. The depth of the cabinets is perfect for our small space and doesn’t impose too much on the room. We are so happy with how this project/hack turned out!
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The Best Baby Gear For Small Spaces
When our oldest was born, we did the normal things that every parent does. We planned, we registered, we had a baby shower. And we were so thankful for all of the stuff that we were gifted. With a 2,600 square ft. home, we had plenty for space for all of the things! But, you learn pretty quickly what you need and what you could have done without. I’m talking to you, wipes warmer! By the time #2 came around, we had moved into a home with only 1,560 square ft. and we thought we were pretty good at deciphering the best baby gear for small spaces.
Our current home is a whopping 1,300 square ft. (It seems we have a knack for downsizing!) We were able to create a nursery for our newest little guy (#3) in a converted closet and there really just isn’t a lot of space around the house for extra stuff. So we really had to minimize the baby gear this time around. Hopefully this list can help you out if you also are working with a small space!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click the link and purchase. Clicking a link won’t cost you any extra money and helps keep this site running! Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.
Mini Crib
In such a small nursery, we were really limited with the options we had. If we wanted to be able to walk into the room, we definitely needed to go with a mini crib. We chose the Dream On Me 4 in 1 Aden Convertible Mini Crib. It fits perfectly in the space and is as big as the average pack and play, so we know it will work for him for awhile.
Rock ‘N Play
The Rock ‘N Play was a life saver for us! Since our sweet babe had trouble with re-flux, we found that letting him sleep in the Rock ‘N Play really helped him out. Tired mamas love sleeping babies! Plus, the Rock ‘N Play folds up, so we could easily move it to another room for nap times or store it away in the small space next to his crib.
Door Jumper
When your square footage is limited, finding a spot for a baby activity center or jumper is pretty much impossible. However, with a door jumper, we can hang it up when the little guy needs to burn some energy and tuck it tightly away in the closet when we are done.
Diaper Caddy
We aren’t lucky enough to have room for a changing table and I honestly just don’t really think they are necessary. As long as you have a portable changing pad, you can change that baby on the bed, a couch, or even the floor. We keep ours in an awesome diaper caddy that also holds diapers, wipes, toys, etc. That way we can carry around from room to room.
Storage Ottoman
We love these inexpensive little storage ottomans from Ikea for baby toys! They are so versatile in that they can hold pretty much anything you want hidden. Plus, they can serve as extra seating, a little side table, or just a spot to prop your feet up. And the covers are washable!!!
Sleep Sheep
Obviously there isn’t a lot of room for extras around here, but having a way to play white noise close by is a must. The Cloud B Sleep Sheep is awesome because it can be attached to the crib so it’s not taking up valuable space somewhere else. Plus, we can take it with us on the go!
Under Bed Storage
Probably one of the best space saving things we did for this baby was to get a plastic under bed storage container. Thanks to the addition of a make-shift bed-skirt, we can keep extra blankets, sheets, and out of season clothes hidden.
Things We Don’t Have/Need
- Baby Bathtub – Our home already has a bathtub. And a couple of sinks. Both of which work just fine for cleaning the baby.
- Changing Table – With a portable changing pad, almost any flat surface with supervision can serve as a changing place.
- Wipes Warmer – Unless you plan on providing a heated bidet for your little one in the future, room temperature wipes will do just fine.
- Diaper Genie – Pretty much any trash can with a lid will keep in the stench.
- Bassinet – It may be helpful for some, but was just something that would take up too much room for us.
- Baby Swing/Bouncer – Our Rock ‘N Play definitely served as both of these.
- Bottle Warmer – We bought one, used it for a week, and then sold it.
If you are working with a small space or home, I hope that these ideas can help you out! Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you have any other awesome space saving ideas for babies!
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Pretty & Practical Command Center
You guys! I don’t know why it has taken me a year to get a command center set up in our home. Well, actually that is a lie. The reason is that I have been really non-committal on the location of such a thing. However, it has finally happened! Thank goodness! We are the proud owners of a Pretty & Practical Command Center.
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I kept thinking that a nice and big command center on the wall of the laundry room would be great because it is out of view of the main areas of our home. Plus, the hope was that we would see it every day as we went in and out of that room to do laundry or to go into the garage. I’m here to tell you that our garage is still packed full of junk that we need to either organize or get rid of, so I avoid it like the plague. And the laundry, well, I just hate doing it, so… this command center was relocated to our dining room. Which, by the way, is smack dab in the middle of our home.
Requirements for this space were simple. We needed a calendar to keep track of our family’s busy schedules and a place to sort and store all of our paperwork/mail. Oh, and it needed to be clean and simple. I can totally appreciate command centers with chalkboards, pencil holders, pin boards, artwork, key hooks, and magnet boards. That just not my style though, folks. I like to keep things as uncomplicated as possible.
When I’m trying to put together a gallery wall type scenario, I like to lay all of the pieces out on the floor for visual reference.
This saves me time and I don’t usually end up having to put unneeded holes in the wall. (I know my husband appreciates that!) You can see below that I have the calendar (originally from Hobby Lobby), paper organizer (which we used in our previous home), and vintage clipboard. I added the wood script word “hi” (also from Hobby Lobby) to balance the grouping. Oh, and since I was working around the light switch, I just took it off of the wall to see how everything would fit.
After I was happy with the spacing, I used my trusty Ryobi Laser Level to square things up on the wall. This was a Christmas present from my parents and it has been such a wonderful tool to use! I made my marks and hung up the paper organizer.
For the clipboard and wood script word, I used Command strips. These seemed like the easiest way to hang up these lightweight items. (Bonus: No Extra Holes in the Wall!)
I also loved these metal label holders that I found and decided to add them to the front of the paper sorters. A little super glue later and they stuck like gum to hair. You know you how hard that is to remove!
I’m so excited to get the paper clutter and bills off of our countertops!
Oh, and I wanted to clarify the clipboard. I love clipboards because they can be so multi-functional. No, really! Use it to hang up some fun free art prints (this one is from Magnolia Market Blog.) Or paint it with chalkboard paint and write a list right on it. You can even use the clip to hold extra pens, pencils, or chalk. I plan on eventually printing out our weekly schedule of activities that remain the same from week to week.
It may be a bit late in the post for this, but I should mention that I actually hate the term “command center.” It sounds so militant. However, that is what these little areas where we organize the chaos of our lives are called, so I’m reluctantly embracing it. Doesn’t it look pretty good?
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2017 Calendar and Planners
It’s here!!! I’ve had so many requests from friends and readers for the newest version of my annual calendar/planners and I’m here to deliver. Apparently, a lot of you enjoy planning out your life at least a little in advance. (Like me!) And this 2017 calendar and planner are, of course, free for you to download!
Most of the design for this coming year has stayed the same, although there are a few tweaks to the cover. If you can’t read the writing on this small photo of the cover page, it says “Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable.” A little motivational quote never hurt anyone, right?
Obviously, the calendar is pretty straight forward. I choose to stay with the vertical format and updated all of the dates.
PLANNERS
I’m also including my favorite planners in this bundle. The weekly planner is great for jotting down all of the specific activities going on during your week on an hour by hour basis. It’s perfect for meetings, lessons, practices, etc.
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I love using a bill pay checklist! It makes remembering which bills have been taken care of very easy, especially when we pay so many of our utilities and such online.
I also find that I end up saving money at the grocery store when I plan out all of our meals for the week. I plan everything out on the menu, then can add individual ingredients and items to the shopping list.
Perfectly Fragrant Rosemary Plant
If you are looking for a way to get your life more organized in 2017, this is a great way to start! Simply click the link below to download.
Download the Free 2017 Calendar/Planners!
All of my printables are currently FREE for download for personal use only. However, this is subject to change in the future, so snag them at no cost while you still can! (View Terms of Use.)
I like that this style of calendar is versatile. It can be put inside of a binder or hung straight on a bulletin board. I even added a pretty front cover page to make gifting this freebie a breeze! Wrap the set up with some pretty ribbon or send it off to be printed and bound.
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Psst… I’ve been working hard on a new printables gallery with lots of free goodies for you! I’m hoping to have it up and running in the next month, so check back soon!