Organizing a small space

Ok. We don’t live in a big house and we’d like to live here for a long time. So, we had to think of some way to stay organized in a small space, especially with kids. So….

Here’s what we came up with for our play area. We went to Ikea and got several sizes of the EXPEDIT bookcases. Then we stacked them, screwed them together, and made sure they were well anchored to the wall.

Our layout:
Two 5×5 on the bottom
Two 4×2 next
One 4×2 on top
Two 1×5 on either sides

Now we have a whole wall of storage for kid toys, mommy craft supplies, and just plain storage.

DIY Art Hanger

Hi Folks!

Here’s a cute and easy way to display your kiddos fav art work, spelling test, birthday card, etc.

Steps:

1. Find a nice place where you want to displace the artwork. I put mine in the hall wall under some family pics.

2. Install….I used a cheap curtain rod from Ikea ($1.99 IRJA) along with some Ikea curtain clips ($2.99 RIKTIG). The rod even came with the wall attachments! Cool!!

3. Admire! For a grand total of $5, that’s a fun, cheap

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Dryer Ban vs. HOA

I like to only use the dryer for emergencies. The dryer works fine. I just don’t like what it does to my electric bill. I have tried to use a clothes line in my backyard. But as the HOA has kindly reminded me with lovely letters, this is not allowed in my neighborhood.

So… Plan B. I got 5 dryer racks from Ikea. I loves these racks the best because they are reasonably priced and hold a lot of clothes. I usually like to set the racks out on my back deck during the hot GA summer. For some reason, this seems fine to the HOA. Go figure… In the winter, I space my laundry loads out throughout the week so I can set up the drying racks inside. (There is a lot more room to set these up outside vs inside.) My little one likes to pull the clothes off the racks so I have to put them in a room that is off limits..aka the kitchen. These racks take up a lot of space, but my clothes tend to dry within 24 hours (including jeans, diapers and towels). I’ve been using these racks for years and they have held up great. Definitely have paid for themselves over the years!