Peek Inside: A Professional Organizer's House {More Bathrooms}

Part two of my Bathroom Reveal...

 

1. Our one & only bathroom on the main floor. Luckily, it's a full bath in case we have a ton of overnight guests, or if one of the kids comes inside & is super muddy :)

 

 The top two drawers of the storage tower are empty, in case an overnight guest needs to stash some of their toiletries. And, as you can see, the other drawers are as follows:

-extra hand towel & washcloths

-spare hairdryer

-extra toilet paper & kleenex

 2. Upstairs, my son Nate has his own bathroom. Well, that is until overnight guests arrive. This is the closest bathroom to the guest room, so it does double duty then. (So, he doesn't mind the chandelier for now, but he might when he's older!)

 The storage tower holds many of the same things as the downstairs one - extra toilet paper, soap, and Kleenex.

 

The linen closet is located behind the bathroom door, and was super hard to get things in & out of. So, we removed the door and I lined each shelf with contact paper. I covered two diaper boxes with wrapping power, and they now hold all of our guest towels.

I love these boxes from TJ Maxx; they are super durable and the perfect size to hold medicine, first aid items, and miscellaneous items. I used my absolute favorite labels, these hanging chalkboards. I cut off the loop at the top, and attached the chalkboard with Velcro.

 

The bucket on the far right (well, actually, it's a flower pot from IKEA!) holds extra toothbrushes & toothpastes. I just used a simple chalkboard label on the front.

And can we talk about this darling little mirrored tray!? I fixed this up recently, so our guests will feel welcomed, and have a spot all their own when they come to visit.

 

 3. My daughter Abby lucked out and got her own bathroom attached to her room. As a 5 year old, she doesn't appreciate this. But when she's 16 and spending countless hours in there primping, I think the whole family will be happy about this decision! :)

 I refurbished this old cabinet by painting it, removing the glass panes & adding chicken wire, and attaching new hardware. Each little basket holds my daughter's nail polish, headbands, hair elastics, combs, barrettes, and some smaller clip bows.

 The storage chest in between the toilet & sink holds all of Abby's larger toiletry items, as well as her travel case, extra toilet paper, and hair dryer.

Her bedroom is decorated in a "bird" theme, and I just
wanted to show you her adorable bird shower curtain!

 That concludes the thrilling tour of my house's 4 bathrooms. I hope you picked up a few organizing tips; let me know if so!

Peek Inside: A Professional Organizer's House....{Nate's Room}

It's the last day of the month, and you know what that means....."Peek Inside" time! And since we've been talking about boys' bedrooms all month, today we'll get to look at my son Nate's room.

 Zone 1: Desk & Lego corner. My son is in first grade, and does not have a tremendous amount of homework. (He can knock it out in about 10 minutes, so we just use the kitchen table downstairs.)

So, the main purpose of his desk right now is to:

1). Serve as a work area for building Lego creations and

2). Display his creations.

 He has one tiny drawer in his desk and I've allowed him to keep whatever he wants in there! I hate to call it a "junk drawer," because it's not junk to him. (But it is to me, ha!) I just threw a few drawer organizers in there from the Dollar Tree. I make him go through the drawer every few months when it's getting too cluttered & full.

I did a post earlier this month on storing Legos; click here to view that post. But basically, Nate likes his Legos sorted by BOTH color & set. These plastic drawer systems came from Target & have done the trick so far. As well as more drawer dividers from none other than Dollar Tree.

 Zone 2: Bookshelves. I absolutely adore the built-in bookshelves Nate has in his room. (They came with the house when we moved in 3 years ago; we got really lucky!) And since my son is an avid reader & Lego builder, these shelves provide plenty of storage for both of his passions. Look at the below picture for each corresponding number:

1. All of the book series he has read.
2. Coin collection
3. Bin of action figures & bin of binders with all of his Pokémon cards
4. More Lego display
5. His "nightstand" - a tray corrals the current books he's reading, a booklight, and Kleenex
6. More Lego storage; see second picture down for more detail.

 

Nate's Lego cabinet, where we store larger sets

 

Close-up of the Left side bookshelf

Close-up of the Right side bookshelf

Zone 3: Closet. Nate's closet is the smallest in the house, so we had to get creative on some of his storage.

1. Sleeping bag

2. Basket of quilts

3. Bin for all his cards/mementos

4. Short-sleeve polos

5. Long-sleeve polos & sweaters (aka "church clothes")

6. Bin with extra sheets

7. Bin with Holiday Books (My mom is a retired teacher, so we have 10+ books for every holiday from Valentine's Day to July 4th to Christmas!)

8. Bin with Summer stuff (mostly bathing suits)

9. Bin for clothes that are "Too Small"

10. Play clothes - long-sleeve & sweatshirts

11. Play clothes - pants

12. School uniforms

It's essential to have clothes where your child can reach them easily! (So you don't have to hear "Mooooom! Where's my ______?!") On Nate's lower hanging rack, I have his school uniforms to make mornings go more smoothly, and then he can easily change into play clothes when he comes home.

Close-up of closet bins; I just made a simple label with my labelmaker

 Zone 4: Taekwondo Gear. Nate takes TKD two days a week, so I wanted a place where he can easily find his uniform, as well as keep it wrinkle-free. (They are strict at TKD!)

So there you have it! :)

Let me know your favorite part of Nate's room, as well as a favorite spot in your own son's room!

Organizing Your Teen's Desk: 11 Must-Haves

Do you have a teenage son with an unruly desk in his bedroom? Is it being overrun by Legos, clutter, puzzles, books, papers, or even dirty laundry?!

 

If so, it's time to clean that sucker off & start fresh....clear the clutter, and implement some new storage systems that will help your son to stay organized. It's important for your son to have a designated spot for homework, and if it's organized, I bet he'll be more willing to sit there and do it :) So, without further ado, here are 11 of my "must-haves" for organizing your teenage son's desk area:

 

 

1. Charging Station. Since every teenager these days has multiple devices, it's nice to have one place to corral them (and charge them at the same time). I love how this one conceals

all the cables with an easy lift-off lid.

 

2. Shelves. It's always best to maximize vertical space if possible, and a system of shelves (or even just one shelf) is the perfect solution over your son's desk. It's the perfect place for storage boxes, books, and even knick knacks. Just make sure the shelf or shelves are deep

 enough to hold the pieces you want!

 

3. File Box. Pop some hanging folders inside, and a file box is the ideal place to store important documents, notebook paper, and extra paperwork from school.

 

4. Metal Locker Bin. Concealed storage is key when dealing with clutter, and I love how this bin resembles an old-school metal locker.

 

5. Lamp. If your son's room doesn't have the best lighting, it's important to have a lamp to provide it. You know, just in case they're up late, burning the midnight oil & doing homework :)

 

6. Magazine File. My son is only 7 but already has two magazine subscriptions! I love these magazine files as a place to store their favorite issues.

 

7. Pencil Cup. You can never have enough pencils when it comes to homework...

 

8. Wall Organizing System. Whether it be a corkboard, dry-erase calendar, chalkboard, or memo board, it is essential to have some type of wall organizing system for your son. It's a good place to pin up weekly assignments & important reminders from school, or even just favorite pictures, mementos, or awards to personalize the space.

 

9. Storage Boxes. In my opinion, storage boxes are my #1 favorite organizing product. They are great for storing extra cords or miscellaneous items not used often.

 

10. Desktop Storage. In case your son's desk does not have a drawer, I adore this option for storing extra homework supplies. (Think: markers, scissors, ruler, and colored pencils.)

 

11. Drawer Organizers. Because ideally, the desk does have a drawer or two

to store homework supplies :)

 

 

*Just in case you need a little more inspiration on organizing your son's desk area, here ya go!*

{1 / 2 / 3 / 4}

And one more thing: I would advise having your son involved in both the de-cluttering & organizing process. Find out what his ideas are, his needs & wants, and what you can do to make it his new favorite place to be productive. Good luck!

How to Organize Legos

All month long, we've been discussing ways to keep your son's bedroom organized. Well, today, I want to talk about the "L" word.....Legos!

 

My son is 7, but has been interested in Legos since the age of 4. We knew early on that we wanted to store his Legos in his bedroom instead of the playroom. (The biggest reason for this was to keep the Legos out of his younger sister's hands - and mouth!)

 

Back then, he only had a box of miscellaneous Legos, we were able to have a small table like this with rolling storage underneath (the green bin), and that was sufficient.

 

Fast forward 3 years and now my son can put together 1000+ piece sets in a few hours. And he asks for them every birthday and Christmas! Obviously, I had to expand his Lego storage system.

 

Currently, this is the Lego corner in his room:

 Both of the drawer systems were purchased at Target. And my son decided he wanted to sort his Legos by BOTH color & by set. So I bought a ton of small red bins from the Dollar Tree, to act as drawer dividers. For each (small) set he has, I cut out a piece of the box with either a picture or name of the set & taped it to the bottom of each bin.

And then, in another part of my son's room, we have larger bins that hold the larger sets. Same idea - I cut out a piece of the box that shows a picture or the name of the set & taped it to the bins.

 This system is working for us right now, but I can't help but drool over these other options:

{1.} The IKEA Trofast system, with custom labels:

{Source}

 

{2.} A mobile Lego center, made from rolling drawer units, a 4 foot board, and a few Lego mats glued together. Genius!

{Source}

 

Because of my son's Lego obsession these past few years, 

I consider myself to be a Lego expert :)

Here are a few tips when organizing your child's Legos:

1. Allow room for growth.  Like I mentioned, I did not do this at the beginning. Which is okay, because I didn't know how big of a role Legos would play in my son's life. I started simple and then added onto the system once his collection expanded. And there is still room for more bins in his cabinet, so I feel like we can still accommodate a few more birthdays....

2. Designate a small bin as a "drop zone." My son has to clean up his room every night before bed, but I'm not such a stickler that every.single.lego.piece has to be in the correct colored bin every night. I have a small red bin in his drawer system that he can put miscellaneous pieces in, and then periodically go back to sort them & find their "home."

 

3. Displaying is important. No child wants to work hours on a creation, only for you to tell them to take it apart or put it away the next day. My son displays most of his creations on his desk, and also has a shelf above his bed. (Once they get too crowded though, I insist that he take few apart.) And here is another cute display option:

{Source}

4. Get your child involved. Ask if they'd rather have their Legos sorted by color or by set, and plan accordingly. Like I mentioned, we sort by BOTH color & set, and that was at my son's insistence. (He likes to be able to take apart a huge NinjaGo temple, put all the pieces in a bin, and know that when he's ready to rebuild it, all the pieces are already together. Clearly he got my OCD gene!)

 

5. Keep those manuals. I am the crazy person that keeps every single manual that enters our household.....for electronics, for toys, for appliances, you name it. While that may not be 100% necessary, I do know that those Lego manuals are important to keep! Sure, everything is online these days, but it's nice for your child to have them at their fingertips when needed. My son has his in the bottom drawer of his storage system, but I love this idea of putting them in a file box & using hanging folders to organize them:

{Source}

Nursery Organization Tips

All month long, we're discussing ways to keep you son's room organized, whether he's an infant, first grader, or teenager. (Because goodness knows there are different challenges with each age!)

 

Today, let's concentrate on those baby boys. Now, it's been awhile since my son was an infant, since he was born in August of 2007. But one thing is ALWAYS true about babies & their nurseries....the most important thing they need is storage!! (How come such little people require SO much stuff?!)

Let's start off with some of my tips for organizing your Nursery Closet...
 

1. Buy a hanging organizer. Whether your nursery has a huge or itty bitty closet, you can't go wrong with one of these. They are especially great for storing linens: crib sheets, receiving blankets, burp cloths, bibs, quilts, pack-n-play sheets, changing pad covers, Boppy covers..... (Oh my goodness, I really have forgotten how much crap stuff you need for a baby!)

1 / 2

 

 2. Use clothing dividers. Because everyone likes to buy a new baby clothes (whether it's on the registry or not), it's always smart to have some way to designate different sized clothing in your son's closet. There are a million cute ones you can buy off Etsy, or here are some DIY ones:

{Source}

 3. Utilize the back of the closet door. If space is a premium in your nursery closet, you definitely want to capitalize on any available option! Hooks, rail systems, and hanging canvas organizers are great options.

1 / 2

 4. Think UP! It is key to have a double-hang section in the nursery closet, to utilize all that vertical space! Wal-Mart and Home Depot have very easy-to-install closet systems, if you are in need of one.

 

 

Also, many people shy away from using upper shelves, since they are out of reach (especially if you're a 5'3" shrimp like me)! But they are a great place to store out-of-season clothes, bulk diapers, or even your child's mementos. 

1 / 2 / 3

 5. Use neutral colored bins & baskets. While pale blue is cute for an infant boy, by the time your son is 6, he may want a new color palette in his room :) Try to start with neutrals from the beginning....natural baskets, grays, whites.....because those can grow with your son (& his room) over the years.

1 / 2


 

6. Put furniture inside the closet. (That is, if you have space for it!) Cube storage & plastic pull-out drawer systems are a great way to store things that don't need to be hung....linens, baby carriers, extra bottles, socks, or any miscellaneous items.

1 / 2

7. Create "Too big" and "Too small" bins. I am a mom that loves to shop at consignment sales, as well as sell/consign my kids' clothes. Let me just tell you...these bins are a tremendous help with in those two areas! For example: when I buy something for the next season, it goes in the "Too Big" bin. And when I've decided those shorts are just toooo short, they go in the "Too Small" bin. The "Too Big" bin is also helpful when you get hand-me-downs from family & friends. (Not to mention, my kids have a grandmother than has a wee bit of a shopping addiction...)

{Source}

 That's it for my Nursery Closet tips.

Now let's move onto just a few more General Nursery Organizing Tips....

 

- Make sure to have dim lighting at your changing station, for those middle-of-the-night diaper changes. (Take it from an experienced mom....this is much better than turning on the very bright overhead light at 2 am!)

{Source}

 

- Try to purchase furniture that can grow with your child. For example, the toy bin below can first be used to hold clothing & blankets.....and then toys down the road when your son is older!

1 / 2

- You can use the same idea with your son's changing table. Instead of buying a tradition changing table, just use a dresser! Of course, make sure to secure your baby to the changing pad, or instead, purchase a removable changing table topper (below, right) if possible.

1 / 2

- You can never have too many drawer dividers. Enough said! 

1 / 2 / 3

- Because we all know how squirmy & active babies can be, it's best to have everything you for a diaper change within arm's reach of the changing station. So you don't have to take your eyes (or hands!) off that wiggly baby boy for a second. Shelves, baskets, pegboard, and even hanging diaper organizers can hold all the essentials.

1 / 2 / 3

 

- Find hidden storage spots! Every nursery has them....on the back of the closet door, under the crib & hiding behind the bedskirt, as well as on the back of the bedroom door.

 

1 / 2 / 3

Hope I've answered all your nursery organizing questions and dilemmas! If not, please feel free to leave a comment. Or just tell me YOUR favorite organizing tip in the nursery.



My son's nursery, circa 2008