Operation Organization ~ The Playroom

The playroom is my nemesis!!  It is a never ending battle.  It's ALWAYS MESSY!!

I try and teach the kids to clean it up, telling them that they should clean things up after they play.  But somehow that place is always a mess!!

The toys used to be in our living room where we would spend most of our time, but when the boys became school aged, I moved it upstairs.   Out of sight, out of mind, right?  NOPE!  Somehow the mess trickles into the hallway...and even into my bed!!

So, I headed to our local IKEA store to outfit the playroom with neat bins and buckets to keep the mess at least contained. 

It's clean!! (For now!!)

Do we really need all these weapons? Boys....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still hunting for something to keep the swords and guns in.  Maybe an umbrella holder...

Check out our neat study area for when school starts.

The big playsets...what to do....

Love these cardboard boxes for projects in the works!

I would love to have one of those "catalog" playrooms where everything is neatly stored away with labels, but I have to realize, those playrooms are never PLAYED in... 

What are some more ideas for playroom organization?

Alexis

Operation Organization ~ The Garage

The garage.  It's meant to store our car, but in reality it stores....everything else.

Tools, the lawn mower, bikes, beach chairs, extra toilet paper.  Like I said...everything.  With "everything" in the garage, it gets MESSY!


That is why the garage was the next space in my house that was getting organized.

By the way, we aren't "dirty" people, we just seem to put things places and they get unorganized...a lot of the time!  Call it "laziness!"



I would love those garage systems that you see advertised, but they just aren't an expense that we are prepared to have at this time.  I've even thought about purchasing shelving units with doors from Home Depot, but again, that's another expense.  I wanted to organize the garage with things we already have in the house.  
 

Here are some things that I did:

• Shelves:

• I used our already in place wire shelves to organize the items that I purchase in bulk at BJs.  Due to the weight, I had to store the bottles of water on the floor.

 

• My dad built us a wooden shelving unit.  I put our bins of holiday items in there.  

• Hooks:
• I hammered a nail next to the shelves to hang our athletic bags.  
• We got special hooks to hang the bikes and scooters on the wall.

 

• Drawers:

• I have plastic drawers that I used in my classroom and labeled them with items that we needed to keep together (ex. batteries, extension cords, etc.)  I labeled each drawer using my label maker. (Don't judge)

We can actually walk in there now!!  


Things still to do:

• I threw away a lot of things that we didn't need and there is still more to go to the dump, but I need my heavy lifter (aka my husband) for that.   
• I would like to get a golf gear organizer so that my husband's clubs won't take up so much space.  We could also use it to keep all of the baseball equipment that my little sluggers accumulate! 

What do you do to help keep your garage organized?  Do you spend money or work with what you've got to stow your stuff?

Next up on Operation Organization: The Playroom

Alexis

Operation Organization ~ My Hall Closet/Pantry

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm a "closet" disaster!!!  There are parts of my house that stay hidden from the outside world.  And for good reason; they are a MESS!  These are the places, that as time goes by, become the "catch all" places where we put things. 

That's why I have initiated Operation Organization in my house this summer!!

I know....I'm ashamed!

My hall closet is one such place.  There isn't enough closet space in my house.  Each room has one and we have the hall closet.  That's it.  It's very frustrating.  That's why the hall closet is our "hiding place" for things without a home.


I use this space for my extra pantry items (ex. "buy one get one" items, or pantry items we get at BJs, etc.), family games, my plastic plates for outdoor dining, candles, party supplies, and the kids' crafts.  Then as days go by, things just get placed there and they never leave.   

I started at the top and worked my way down.  I made piles of the items:

• Things to keep
• Things to donate
• Things to sell 
• Things to toss

I felt like I was in my own episode of a "redecorating" show.  

I made bins and clearly labeled them with the items inside.  For example, "Homework Bin," "Crafts," and "Cards & Card Games."  This will make finding those things easier. 

I thought of buying hooks to hang the backpacks and lunchboxes.  I was too lazy and cheap to go to the store, so instead I just hammered in a couple of long nails into the wall and hung up the bags on the inside of the closet.

Now check out our new and improved hall closet!! 
Let's just hope it stays this way!!

Next up on Operation Organization: the garage!

What are your organizing ideas? Do you ever let your life get this "messy?"  How do you stop the madness before it starts?



Alexis