Suggestions for Organizing a Small Home

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I agree with all of you and the big house/big morgage and utilities thng. Truth is DH and I do dream of a bigger house, we always say how nice 1500 would be. When we were looking to move we were looking for not much bigger then this, still 3 bedrooms (the younger 2 may have very difference cleaning preferences but they both didn't and still don't want to be seperated.) We were looking at about 1400-1500 sf but with a nice basement and less issues.

I am not sad that we bought a house, but this house, it has a bad layout and no storage and a lot of issues, most of which involves the wet basement and the constant battle with that. I have to be pretty much on my own in the battle to deal with it because DH has very bad asthma and lung issues and can't even be down there for minutes without developing a problem. He has used masks to help and that is OK for a while but when he is down there too much he will develop a lung infection. We'd love to have it dealt with once and for all, but the house is right now worth less then what we still owe on it (hoping that it rebounds) but a loan for that would be impossible.

I count myself lucky because we didn't get in over our heads like many young people do, and I have made it a home for us. The girls rooms are beautiful (amazing what paint can do) and the family room is just how I'd have it in any house color wise and stuff, so it isn't all bad I guess I am just so frustrated because of storage so I am going to use many of the ideas here and get a better handle on it.

Someday I do believe we will move and you know, I will miss this house. I remember the day we bought it and DD15 who was 2 hugged the tree in the yard and thanked us for buying her a yard with trees and grass (something we never had.) We brought 2 babies home to this house, watched them take their first steps, leand to ride their bikes, fell down and needed stiches, played in the sprinkler so long they flooded the yeard, on and on. It has been our home and we have made many memories. I just need to get a handle on their clothes so one of their memories isn't mom throwing all the laundry into the firepit and joining a nudest colony. OK, it;s not that bad, but I do need to get a handle on it and I think yo uall ahve helped me with some great ideas.

 

[NotUrsula]

There is a great book on this topic that I can recommend, but it's out of print. Check with your local library to see if they have it or can borrow it for you: "Making the Most of Small Spaces" by Anoop Parikh. There are photos of all kinds of ingenious storage solutions.

 

[yoopermom]

Slightly ot, but my dh, a contractor, wants me to remind you that you could have longterm structural damage if a basement is allowed to stay wet. Please consider having an expert in to diagnose and hopefully fix cheaply whatever is causing the damp. (I have mold allergies, and we passed on several houses that were damp/wet.)

Good luck with the storage!

Terri

 

[binny]

One things I do is use a shoe bag on the back of the bathroom door. I put all the hair stuff in the pockets by colour. So all the blue scrunchies, headbands etc in one pocket that sort of thing.

There is also room for curling irons (after theyre cool of course)

Dont know if youre using bunk beds but theyre a huge space saver!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Slightly ot, but my dh, a contractor, wants me to remind you that you could have longterm structural damage if a basement is allowed to stay wet. Please consider having an expert in to diagnose and hopefully fix cheaply whatever is causing the damp. (I have mold allergies, and we passed on several houses that were damp/wet.)

Good luck with the storage!

Terri

I am sure that he is totally right and it is something that has been on my mind since it first happened right after we moved in, but the fear of the cost has kept me scared for so long. Basically when it rains or the snow melts it comes in and is supposed to run down to the sump pump and it does an OK job but not when there is a lot of water at once (like a good storm or a season ending thaw.) I will try to take your advise though and look into a fix. I am so afraid to hear really bad and expensive news but I really do need to deal with it.

 

[yoopermom]

If you weren't six states away, I'd send dh over. Just because you call someone in for an estimate doesn't mean you're signing a contract, promise. DH does tons of estimates that don't end up in jobs, contractors expect that. I would call a few concrete masons. It could be something as easy as the land slanting back in to the house, so the rain doesn't run off properly. Or it could require jacking up the house and doing some serious repairs, or anywhere in between. (Here's my horror story of house hunting: saw a redone farmhouse with all fresh paint/carpeting/etc, really cute, but a few walls had cracks, which seemed odd with the fresh paint. We went in the basement and the walls were literally crumbling, so the walls upstairs were cracking from the stress. No, we didn't buy it.)

Good luck!
Terri

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

One person mentioned the vaccum bags. We have tried over and over, and none of them ever hold air. They always leak out. We've tried several different brands with the same results.
We have a small (but unusual) house. As we gutted each room we took great care to not waste ANY space. Here is a TINY example of what I mean...
In our kitchen there is (of course) a kitchen sink. Over the sink there was a solid wall extension of the cabinets. It was just wood. No drawers, no shelf, just boxed in paneling. That wouldn't fly. When we remodeled that was WASTED SPACE!!! We ripped the paneling off the space, applied shiny white material to the inside of the boxed area, and applied one of those super bright, thin bulbed fixtures with the 3' tube. We then displayed cobalt blue wine glasses there for the past 6 or so years. Last week I noticed it was getting really cluttered, because our Disney refillable mug collection had found a new resting place there, and we replaced all the wine glasses (we dont even drink; they just look pretty) with our collection of Disney cups that are mint in the boxes. It looks better actually. Especially since the kitchen is extreme Disney themed. (see my website if your into extreme homes).
We use every inch. There is NO wasted space ANYWHERE!!! We designed racks in our cabinets for flat pans and pizza stones, wire racks in the cabinets for multiple layers of glasses and dishes,and we even designed our own drawers that now stretch all the way to the BACK of the cabinets. Hey, it's space, and we need more space.
We replaced our water heater that was in the pantry with one under the house. It gave us a nice place to store our 55 pound bags of dog food.
When I walk into customers' homes and they are HUGE, and the whole basement is just sitting there empty, I have to bite my tongue to not complain. I'm squeezing every inch out of my house and they are complaining about heating dead space! But hey, it beats a new house payment.
When the space gets too full of clutter, it's time to sell it or give it away, but it has to go either way.

 

[dizluvah]

This is a great thread! That bed skirt storage looks awesome - I plan it buy it today! It is DH and I in our less than 1000sq ft house - but we have no closet space - no linen closet, minimal bedroom closets (in already tiny bedrooms)

OP we have a damp basement problem - we went the way of plastic tubs and plastic shelves (from home depot) - so bunch of bins with labels on the outside - some color coded - like Christmas decor is in red and green bins, halloween decorations are in orange bins, etc. Luggage and things that cannot get wet - can be stacked on top of the bins in case we have flood

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Thanks Terri, you are so sweet. (BTW, I grew up in lower MI, near Ann Arbor. Always wanted to get to the UP to see it, got close but haven't made it yet...someday!)

My kids have off this week and while I should put them to work, truth is I can do a better job on my own, so next week starting this is going to be my goal. And once I get these organizing ideas in place they better keep it up (and I think they will, it's so much easier to keep things cleans when they start that way.)

 

[bettymae1121]

I didn't read the whole thread, so some this is likely to have been posted previously, but for what it's worth...

Bedrooms are for sleeping and storing clothing. Homework can be done in other areas of the house, same with playing with toys. With no toys and no desks, this will give you more room for dressers and under bed storage for clothing.

If you have a basement, you can relocate homework and play ares to the basement. It might be too damp to store things, but it is likely just fine as a place to work or play. If you don't have a basement, homework can be done at a kitchen table. A play area would be more problematic depending on what kind of space you have available in the rest of your house, but try to think outside the box on where you could relocate a play area to.

Purge, purge, purge. Anything that doesn't fit or hasn't been worn in a year gets donated. Same with toys, if they are broken, missing most of the pieces, or haven't been played with in ages, get tossed/donated.

Control new purchases. For clothing, try to avoid things that can only go wtih one outfit. Try to get pieces that can be mixed and matched, this will allow you to have a lot of different looks without filling up your closets. Same with shoes, try to get shoes that go with multiple looks. I'm a 33 year old woman that owns 5 pairs of shoes, total! 1 dressy dress pair, 1 office pair, 1 pair sneakers, 1 pair leather loafers, and 1 pair of sandals. Each pair can be worn with any outfit I have for the appropriate occasion, my dress pair goes with all my fancy dresses, my work pair goes with all my work outfits, my sneakers and loafers are good for all casual wear, same with my sandals for summer.