Old Style Storage

blessings3

Good ideas for cheap storage - for general household clutter and kids stuff

Have been doing fly lady for ages and just had light bulb moment in the fact my kids dont tidy up as they dont really have a place to put things

Thanks

ManAtHome

What about the old student bricks and planks shelves - couple of bricks at each end, drop plank on top, couple more bricks, plank etc (repeat until ceiling gets in the way....).

You are allowed to paint the bricks or cover them with bacofoil by the way.

mookybargirl

Ikea have some great storage boxes in at the minutes - from only a few pounds each.

Might be worth having a wee look in store.....

blessings3

LOl - have done this in the past and thought it looked very french shabby chic - whitewash not bacofoil though -But ......now have small children who would be at risk of being the filling in a brick sandwich:eek:

blessings3

Live in rural wilds - LOVE IKEA but too far away!

sophiesmum_2

i would say it depends on the ages of the kids.
Littlies would be better with plastic storage crates for toys etc,drawstring bags are good for things with lots of bits like blocks/lego.
Give everyone a hook for coats etc - low down for younger kids.
Encourage them to keep their "stuff" in their own rooms.
When mine were younger we had one of those pine chests with about 20 drawers in, all the kids (4) had their own drawers and any bits found around the house went into their drawer til they moved it themselves.
Kids soon learn to put stuff away when there is somewhere for it to go.
have a look in asda or tescos etc there are lots of ideas for storage, tubs, baskets,crates,wallhangers with pockets. CD boxes, cardboard files, but you don't have to buy these just get the ideas and improvise with boxes and stuff you have around the house.
Shelves are good for books and big toys/boxed games.
Failing that cut down on the stuff - get rid of stuff that is broken,incomplete or never used and then they can actually enjoy the stuff they do use.

sophiesmum

tawnyowls

If you have a branch near you, Superbuys is usually a good place to get cheap plastic crates. Argos have a good range too, including some nice wooden storage toybox/benches from £17. Not very cheap, but would probably last a long time.

moggins

Or remember the She principle - "You cannot organise clutter".

vivaladiva

moggins wrote:

Or remember the She principle - "You cannot organise clutter".

I go along with this one, but trying to get the kids to part with stuff is hard. There must be a happy medium somewhere. (Not that i've found it yet!)

rls1973

hi, i would say, get plastic boxes/trunks/etc, anything really but what i found was - i had all these and organised the kids clutter into separate categories within them etc. the next day they have rearranged it and when it's time to put away, just cram it into the nearest box, so you still dont know where anything is!:eek:
my lovely storage boxes for the kids are in the loft at the moment as i got so brassed off with it all!:o

so,: a top tip i saw somewhere - take a photo of what is supposed to go in each box, stick to front of box. voila ...even younger ones who cant read can know what goes where and join in with the tidying up. (note to self: must follow my own advice a.s.a.p.):rotfl:

tiff

Thats how they do it at nursery school