Thinking Outside the Silverware Drawer

I sacrificed a silverware drawer to have a junk drawer.

Of course it's not a really junky drawer. 

There's room on the left of this double-decker sliding organizational tray for papers too. It's a very serviceable junk drawer.

In this kitchen there are lots of other drawers for everything that isn't flatware. Spatulas and knives and peelers and everything have their own assigned parking places. 

 

You might have noticed in this picture from the post about our kitchen or the one about chalk paint that the spoons and forks and knives are out on the counter. Let me tell you, it's easy to put things away out of the dishwasher! But did you notice that the one jar is a little wonky?

Come to find out, I had completely broken out the bottom of the jar! So, tin cans to the rescue!

I think they held garbanzos--yeah, I'm pretty sure we made the best hummus ever with garbanzos, roasted red pepper, tahini, garlic and lemon. Yum! I washed the cans, peeled off the labels and tied twine around the tops just for fun.

Works for me!

What about you, would you give up your silverware drawer? What do you keep on your counter?

Have a beauty-filled day!

Junk Drawer No More!

My Sweetheart gave me the night off yesterday. I went to a couple thrift stores and found nothing exciting, but then decided to wander around Target. I am so. much. fun! Target with no little helpers is my idea of a good time!

Well, you guessed it--a junk drawer organizer for $6.89 came home with me. It's a Room Essentials Junk Drawer Organizer, if you were wondering. I had to do something about this:  

(cue scary music!)

Painful, I know! Quick, look at the after!

Whew! (Sighs in relief!) 

Let's dwell a moment on my organized junk, shall we? 

The tray has a top section that slides up and down along the bottom section. Here's how I organized the top part:

Here's the lower level:

 

 Here is the back of the lower section:

Here's my helper. Isn't he the cutest? The middle drawer above Baby J3 is the junk drawer in question. He's patting it like he knows.

(I would gladly accept a dream kitchen makeover, FYI. Lowe's. Home Depot. Extreme Makeover: Kitchen Edition. BHG. Anyone? You can use the pictures for advertising! See? Doesn't that sound like a deal?!)

One more before-and-after:

I plan to get another organizer tray for my utensil drawer, asap. Have you organized anything lately?

Guest Post: Organizing Childrens' Spaces

Today we have a special treat on Beauty 4 Ashes--it's my first time to have a guest post! Katie is another Iowa blogger and while we've never met in person, we've been blog friends for almost two years now. Katie is doing a Small House series and have tons of tips and creative ideas to organize small homes. Here she is! 

*****

Hey everyone, I’m Katie and I blog about our life On the Banks of Squaw Creek. We have two little boys and a Little House  so I have spent quite a bit of time and energy figuring out the best way to organize all of their books and toys.

One of my favorite projects is this dresser in Adam’s room.  Click on the picture to see how I did it.



For our books downstairs, I used shelf brackets to keep all the picture books from sliding down into a mess.

Stuffed animals had taken over Adam’s bedroom, so together, we created this “Zoo” for them to live in.

For the toys in the living room, I used diaper boxes to make these pretty bins.

Finally, I am showing off our dining/play room this week on my blog.  Make sure you come on over and see how we’ve incorporated toy storage and a play table in our dining room.

 

*****

Thanks, Katie! What great ideas! I love that animal zoo. And the diaper-boxes-turned-pretty-storage-bins. Oh, and the brackets to help make the books stand up? Awesome!

Hope you have a great day, and happy organizing! 

 

Spring Cleaning - Boys' Closet

Since the building of the bunkbeds, my boys are now roommates. (Read about that in Part 1 and Part 2.) We wanted to make the transition a couple months before Baby 3 arrives in mid May. The boys love being in the same room--a little too much! Nap time and bed time have taken a lot longer than they did before. It took J2 several nights of sleeping in the new bed before he slept through the night too. Oh well, making the transition later when there's also a new baby to adjust to would be even harder! 

The boys each have a nice, bright dresser in the room they share. We have been blessed with so many sources for clothing that I never buy them anything and their drawers are overflowing! 

Nevermind the decorations--they move and change and evolve. Right now we have a changing pad on top of the red dresser and a radio for quiet time music on the yellow dresser. The hamper has been moved and replaced with a diaper genie. Check back next week and it will have changed again, I'm sure!

The challenge in the room during this transition was making room for J2 in the closet. Are you ready for something scary? Here goes!

See the bins on the bottom? Proof that I started out well! I guess I've just been junking everything else on top. Oh dear... And yes, those are baby clothes on the bottom. No idea why they weren't downstairs in storage!

This side isn't so bad. I used the shelf to give J1's tractors somewhere to park. Do you ever feel like the toys are taking over?! Yeah...

A few hours later, side 1 looked like this. I pulled another shelf from the nursery closet (I have plans for that closet!!!) which gave me a place to put extra sheets, stuffed animals, and diapers. I went through all of the hanging clothes and J2's button-downs, jackets and shoes are on this side. Above on the closet shelf is a plain box (I might get another plastic bin) for clothes that are too small. 

Side 2 is looking better too! J1's current button-downs and jackets hang on the rod, his trucks and tractors are parked on the shelf, and you can just see the dirty clothes bin peeking out from the middle. On the shelf above are two clear bins: one each for summer and winter clothes that are still too big. 

Here is the 'summer' bin. It has shorts, sandals and t-shirts in two different sizes, but I know that's the bin I'll need to go through in a couple months.

Here is the 'winter' bin. I'm putting J1's things in it as he grows out of them so they are ready for J2 when cold weather comes again. There are a few pieces in it that are currently too big for J1, but most things that are too big for him are in another bin in the storage area of our basement.

So there you have it! The boys are organized and clean... Now I just need to decide on a paint color! We're leaving the new beds plain pine, a little rough and bare, but we like it. I'm thinking of pulling some blues out of the bedspreads (post on them coming soon!) but I don't want to be too 'baby blue'. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?