I’ve spent the whole week so inspired by last week’s laundry room fluffin’ up, that I was ready to take on a new disaster today! 
I literally have walked by that laundry room and smiled every single time that I peek in, and believe it or not it still looks just as tidy and organized as I shared in the pictures last week. (WOW!)
So, because having a plan for my organization seemed to made such a difference in the laundry room, I’m hoping it’ll also work in this closet that always seems to overwhelm me. One of these days I’m going to show you a picture of the organized before pics of my house . . . I know you all won’t believe this, but most of our really doesn’t always look like a disaster (really. . . trust me on this one!)
So, here’s the (very scary) before pic . . .
I told you it was frightening in there, and believe it or not, I clean it out pretty frequently!
And here we are all tidied up with new baskets (I believe I just might have a new-found basket addiction.)
Here’s my daughter’s Play Do bin (that girl has enough play do to last us until she goes to college!)
And here’s everything all cleaned up!
These cabinets are right in our kitchen, so they’re the perfect place to keep my kids school & art supplies as they’re right next to the kitchen table. But as I’ve always been a penny pincher, I rarely allow myself the freedom to buy things (like baskets!) to organize with. As our family’s schedule has gotten increasingly busier the last few years though, my lack of organization in areas like this have just about made me nuts, so I think I may need to keep clipping those coupons so that I can spend more money on better ways to organize!
Have you made fluffed up anything in your home this week? Check out my favorite ideas over onPinterest (you can follow me under ppennypincher if you’d like to get started . . . I love that place!) If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)
Check out previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing.
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http://www.brownpaper–packages.com/2011/09/back-2-basics-eighteen25.html
I’ve been doing this with all our art stuff today too! Also off pinterest…
I saw that too and pinned it! LOVE it… and it totally makes me wish I had another full sized door downstairs to work with, Soooooo cute
Thanks for sharing, Katie!
This looks great, Laurie! I’m jealous/envious/impressed!
I always see nice baskets at Michael’s or JoAnn’s, but even with coupons and discounts, they seem expensive to me and it’s hard to find several of the same type. Can I ask where you found these large flat baskets pictured? Thanks!
That’s exactly how I feel – which is why I’ve lived forever w/o anything organized. I found these at TJ Maxx – the bigger baskets were $9.99 and the smaller ones were $5.99. Definitely not the most penny-pinched project, but the clutter in that cabinet had just made me crazy. I only had time to run to TJ Maxx last night to look, and was wondering if possibly Target or Walmart would have carried some kind of plastic container that was less expensive! But, I do love the baskets and think it’s probably worth trying to save extra money in our grocery budget for little splurges!
I soooooo understand (which is why I’ve never bought baskets like this in 15 years of “homemaking” – until that laundry room fluff up last week!)
It stinks that sometimes the baskets on sale at TJ and/or Marshalls or ROSS are beat up, ya know?
It’s great that one thing, the laundry room in your case, motivated you to do another area. I imagine this will continue until your whole house is organized!
I wish I could say the same, I struggle with looking around and feeling overwhelmed so nothing gets done. If I organize one area, that stuff has to go somewhere else, etc. I live in a large apartment but it doesn’t have the storage options of a home. That said, nice baskets that make you smile are worth the extra expense, IMO. Plastic bins would probably be more affordable but you can’t put a price on the FEELING of being organized and decoratively-happy. 
Our house really is plenty big, but we have very little real storage space. I can imagine feeling very overwhelmed though in an apartment! In Money Saving Mom’s book though, she talks about organizing so that you know what you have, and it’s really been my goal to get RID of stuff …. so often I buy things we don’t need because I either can’t find something or don’t know we have it ~ so frustrating! I’ve made a point to get rid of stuff as I’m bringing new stuff in – so all those baskets that were useless in the “before” pic, headed off to the thrift store today! Hang in there in your apartment, and maybe just pick a tiny area to start with? (I know – such a hard thing to do – I just about gave up completely when we were in an apartment!)
This is exactly what I tried to do a few weeks ago but then, typically, it came to a stand still. I purged SO MUCH from my closet … clothes I hadn’t worn in a year (or two!) went to Goodwill. It felt great an I was surprised how much I hadn’t parted with prior to my moving (last August). However, now I have bags all over the bedroom that were organized and designated for consignment (clothes and shoes), alterations, dry cleaning, etc. I did the “hard” part of purging and sorting and then … stopped. I hate it. Now I’m debating if I should consign or ebay the stuff, but my thrifty brain would love to make money off of the clothes that are brand new-or-like new and never-or-barely worn!
I did the same thing with my yarn stash last month (I’m an avid knitter). I had a horrendous flu and spent an afternoon at home coughing and sorting, organizing, and bagging all of the yarn. It’s awesome but it is piled up behind the living room couch instead of making it’s way into a bin. The reason? The bin it’s going in currently holds 2 crock pots and a cutting board and taking those out would require me to redo the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. It’s a domino effect of overwhelming disorganization and insufficient space!
Sorry to go on and on, but thanks for listening.
I so understand your frustration Whitney! My penny-pinched brain does the same thing and I think I should hold off on donating or throwing away something because maybe I can make a little money selling it. Lately I’ve just about given up though just to get rid of things … I do have tons of my kids clothing that needs to go to consignment this Spring though, so I’m determined to at least sell those! Hang in there – and don’t give up… maybe one of these days we’ll get it together!
I love the baskets! May I ask where you found them? I’ve been trying to find some to organize my pantry, to get rid of the little blue plastic ones I have.
TJ Maxx, Shelley! You may be able to find them cheaper at Hobby Lobby or Old Time Pottery too… the prices on baskets at Target seemed high to me. Hope that helps (LOVE having an organized pantry!)