Easiest way to re-purpose your shoe boxes

Last week I told you I was inspired by the book Life Changing Magic of Tidying up. I meant it. There are a number of ideas that are worth pursuing in the book even if it isn't completely for you. Here is an idea I tried out.

Covering up boxes and fabric is not new to blog world by any means. Blog land has shown us that we can cover boxes with anything from fabric to vinyl to leather to gift wrap. But who takes the trouble unless it is for giving gifts or for valentines day celebration at school?

One idea suggested by Marie Kondo regarding storage solutions is that to have minimum of them. Instead of buying more and more baskets and bins and boxes to store things, re-purpose the random boxes which would end up in trash otherwise. That is where these shoe boxes come in to picture. Have you noticed that they are of moderate size, sturdy and well built and 99 % of times same size. That kind of uniformity is what I love most about them.

But to use them as such isn't really pretty idea - now is it? I wanted to make them look alike, presentable and yet durable. That is when I thought of contact paper. The glossy sealed surface make it durable , and used on a day to day basis.

What you need 

Shoe boxes, any sturdy boxes
Self adhesive paper - Mine is from here
Sissors

There are a ton of tutorials that explain how to do them. But here is the way I found most comfortable.

Step 1 : I have used a brown paper and a box lid to show the process. First step is to cut down the paper/fabric. Easiest way to asses the size needed is to lay the box on the sheet of paper, measure the height of the box and mark and cut the double of the height over all sides.

Step 2 : Now lay the box in the middle and draw lines as in the first picture. I have missed out the horizontal lines - my bad - this is why you should think multiple times before photographing.  Anyways, please do this.

Step 3 : Do you see on the vertical lines I have marked a dot in the midway and darkened the lines till that point? that is exactly the height of the box. You will realize why if you look at the next picture in the collage.

Step 4 : Once you finish drawing it is time to cut along the lines. Once done, the paper should look like how it is in the below picture.

Step 5 : Now it is time to fold over like I have shown in the collage. If you are using contact paper, it will have adhesive backing. But if you are using a regular paper or fabric use glue or tape as you see fit. I suggest spray adhesive which makes the finish cleaner and durable.

Additional  Tip : This same technique works with box of any shape. First measure the height of the box and keep the paper size double the height for all sides. Cut angular way for every alternating side. That way you will get every other sie to overlap covering the whole box.

That's it - your box is ready for the show.

This is a fun activity for a weekend or during a craft time with kids. It is great to have pretty storage on display at the fraction high end cost?

Hope you enjoyed and will try it.  If you find easier methods to cover - new tutorials - do share - I am on the look out for easier and easier solutions.

Would like to know must must have storage solutions fit for a frugal, minimal and tidy home? Do check back on friday and you will have the list with sources.

See you.

Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up

I believe today's subject is especially interesting because spring cleaning is upon most of us. I hope you have already started with the main tasks. One thing that comes and haunts everyone at this point of time is the amount of "stuff" we all have - we all hoard in our homes. Anyone disagrees?

I come across as a very organised , tidy person to those around me - except for those who have lived with me . Reality is not as pretty as you might think. But honestly it is not something that I fake - I really really try hard to be as organised as possible. But it doesn't come naturally to me. I plan and work hard on it. If I let go for a second - my pretty organised home would come crashing down - which happen more often than you might guess.

My well hidden secret is also why I pick up every book on organizing with interest and intend. Marie Kondo's book on tidying was a sure bet to get on my reading list - and it did and it did give me a number of magic tips. The book is interesting for a lot of reasons - for one it asks you to break many conventional rules - many of which I was really really happy to oblige.

While I don't agree with some other points, I should let you know that if someone asks me for the book that has helped me most so far on home & organizing types - I would say it is this book without blinking my eyes even for once. It is a must read - even if you don't agree with many concepts.

Here are some of my most important take-aways from the book.

1. De-clutter by category and not room by room.

I loved this tip and though at first thought it to be daunting task to gather all the clothes that belong to you from every part of the house - clothes in the closet,dresser,hallway coat closet, seasonal that are tucked away - this is actually easier to do. One reason why this is the most rewarding is because - once you finish sorting,discarding, folding and return them to the place they belong finally - it feels like a burden is taken away - you can finally feel all your clothes are in place and in peace. If you do it room by room - what happens is you would be handling clothes - today, tomorrow and day  after - that feeling of being done - that is miles away still. Do you get my point?

2. Do not buy a ton of storage solutions.

I agree with this idea the most because for the longest time I was obsessed with baskets ,boxes, crates, bins and bowls - to a point that I had to find ways to organize them. For example  I have a a small entry way - actually a non existing entry way - and had 4 coat hooks and wall hangers . Why? Because I had too many things in the first place, then I bought those not because I loved them but because I hated the ones I already had and that chain continued - Have only those things in your home that spark joy in you. If you can abide by that cardinal rule - you will never have too many things to de-clutter in the first place. Another interesting and frugal suggestion is to re-use all those package boxes and shoe boxes. I have been using that for a while now - really, there is nothing a shoe box can't solve :-)

3. Large wardrobes and walk-in closets are over-rated

Until now I believed in hanging and was always upset about my limited closet space. Reason wasn't I have too many clothes - which honestly I don't have. What I didn't know or didn't do was to fold clothes when possible and do it the right way. Marie Kondo's method suggests not to stack them but to arrange them vertically in your drawers. There are two advantages - one each one is visible and then they are easily reachable. Kon-Marie method goes on to suggest stacking the clothes would hurt the ones at the bottom - even though I am not into that kind of extreme belief system - the folding is cleaner , streamlined and look and feel much more organised.

4. De-cluttering actually relieves stress

This is something I experienced from the experience. You will especially feel the lightness and an up-lift of mood if you decide to de-clutter and tidy up a category of things at one go rather than as installments - a little today and a little tomorrow. Kon Marie method suggests not to have anything in your house that doesn't spark joy - although I can neither abide by and nor agree with that - once you have things that really mean something or be useful to you - you automatically tend to focus on things that are more important like re-starting a forgotten hobby, spending time with family or in community service. As they say - Everything starts from home - and when you have a tidy home - you have a tidier mind.


I am not done with the book really - there are things I don't agree with too. If you are not in the mood to read the book but yet would like to hear about the messages from it - stay tuned for the next part of this story - things that didn't make sense to me but you might be able to better understand and apply. See you Wednesday with the rest of the story.

MY FAVORITE TOOLS FOR ORGANIZING

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I have always been kind of on the fence when it comes to organising stuff and keeping them that way. What I mean is I love an organized life. I love seeing beautifully organised spaces. Honestly I can spend hours on a stretch looking at these mentioned spaces and I Heart Organizing is one of my all time favorite reads. And trust me when I see these I am inspired, always. But do I follow the guidelines and keep them? That is a tough call.

We don't really own a ton of stuff. It should fairly be easy right! But I do have an illness called "laziness', it's lame but sometimes I can't help it. So "a place for everything, everything in its place" rule doesn't work out for me.

So what I do in reality is to use tricks and tools that are sneaky and do not take much effort or money.

1. Baskets, Boxes & Buckets

The very first is to corral similar things in baskets, bowls,bags or buckets. So when I am finally inspired to clean up which strikes once a week or so, I can carry around said corralled stuff to their places. Easy enough? That is the best organising strategy I have devised so far. I try to make the baskets and bags pretty so they are easy on the eyes even though scattered around.

2. Trays To Collect Random Stuff

Almost anything would look pretty on trays. They need not be fancy. But it does help if they are pretty. The surfaces look streamlined if the random things are collected and placed together as if they belong together. I use trays on our kitchen counter, entry way, coffee table, on my desk where ever I can think of.

3. Handling the Mail & Paper work.

It is best to deal with the incoming mail and paperwork immediately before they conquer us. We scan through our mail as soon as we pick up and discard any unwanted ads, pamphlets and offers. I have a tissue holder that act as my mail holder at the entry. Only bills, usable coupons and important papers go there. Rest all is taken to the trash then and there. That way we are not overwhelmed by the number of things we have to go through at the end of the week which is when we pay the bills and checks. It is best to go paperless when ever possible to avoid the mess altogether.

3. A Place for Kid's Works.

Though our little one is just 4, she brings a ton pf papers and craft stuff from school. Add with it the continuous painting, cutting, writing things she does at home. I go through them each day as soon as she comes home and discard the ones that aren't special. If the art/craft shows off her creativity and she likes to keep them, I let her keep it for a few days and then digitize and save on my computer and discard originals. What we save are only the real special things that she makes.

It is always a mess when little ones play and craft or do their homework. I make clean ups easy with giving small bowls, jars and buckets to collect her things and even mine.

5. Wardrobes : 

This is one area where I haven't really got much to share. My husband blandly disagrees to throw anything away as far as clothes are concerned. And ours is a small one which I shared here. Please give me tips here. I control the linen clutter though. I have only a pair for each bed and only four sets of bath linen. One for each of us and one for Akshara.

6.  Craft & Stationery 

I try my level best to own as less as possible when it comes to craft things. One way is to know what you have by keeping a check on inventory and storing things in plain sight. I try to pretty up my storage but still try to store them in sight. Old pickle jars and clear bowls help a ton here.

Now, most of my friends ask me what do I do with the things I make. I like making things, but most of the times I make things I really want or need. And when I make, I don't really do a big batch of things here. At the end of a DIY project , mostly I will have two or three of the pieces ( especially if that incolves Akshara and trial and errors). Most of them are used for what they are intended for. I display them around the house . For example, the bowls I paint would be plant holders or bead collectors. Vases would turn into pencil holders, brush holders, washi tape holders - any type of holders. Art works will go on walls, clay dishes would hold jewelry or coins or even pins and needles.

Some of the things I make with an intention to gift to someone special. Some others as seasonal crafts etc those which are lucky enough to escape Akshara's pretend play shenanigans end up at our local Goodwill - so on and so forth.

These are my tricks, now I would love to hear yours. Let us be organised together.
Anima.

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Anima

The great "Toy Despair" and a cure.

If you are a parent, you know or at least once have gone through the toy despair I am talking about. As a parent and as a person, I am very mindful and minimal. We buy toys that are really useful or well-awaited. I try to encourage toys that could be used for a long time and those that encourage imagination as in blocks, doll house, figurines, pretend kits etc. Yet somehow our little girl's collection too is growing and piling up on me.

Add to this books that I actively get her, craft supplies, crayons and knick knacks and gifts - the situation is something that gets easily out of control. That is why the term "the great toy despair". There are some rules I follow actively and deliberately to keep things under check. It is an absolute necessity around here because we have only three rooms and it would stress anyone out if that available tiny bit is cluttered - even with cute toys.

So over to the rules.

Rule 1 - Have system :

Invest in some good storage system. When I say a system, that includes a place to store the toys and also the decisions about who, how and when will the play and "putting them away" part happen. A well thought out plan  that considers how much storage you need and how and where you plan to store them helps a ton in keeping things under control.

Rule 2 - Purge :

This is a hard one, at least in our home. With both me and my husband being emotional ones, we have tough time getting rid of the used up and done with toys. But though with a heavy heart I follow this rule from time to time. At the least I would throw away the ones that are broken or with missing parts or not "in vogue" with her for over 3,4 months.

Our "purge Now" Pile

Rule 3 -  One-In-One-Out :

We try to follow this but as young as she is doesn't work out all the time. But as she gets older I am sure this is a rule that we can definitely impose. When ever a new toy is bought, I ask her and her father which toy are they ready to part with. If she is buying a new one she has to give away one to someone in need ( that means goodwill or donation center ) . The only kind that is exempt from this rule is books.

Rule 4 - Organize :

This one is the easiest and most important of all the rules for me. When everyone knows where exactly the toys should go after use and if putting them away is easy and simple, there is better chance of us actually doing it. Since our little one is young I have an open shelf and baskets and bins. If the kids are older concealed storage will work too. It will be easier for everyone if you can categorize and label them - as all the lego pieces together, mega blocks together so on and so forth.

Our storage system:

We have an open toy shelf that has individual baskets for categorizing. We have had this for past 3 years so Akshara, our little girl now knows where her things are kept. I don't yet insist on arranging them properly, she just needs to collect them and put them back in any basket. End of the day, well most days I empty the baskets and put everything back in the place they belong. ( Confession : Girish, my husband does this most of the times :-) )

In addition to this we have a number of baskets, actually one in each room where I collect random ones she carries around the home. End of each day or mostly when the baskets are full I take them to her room and arrange everything in order. That is our system right now which has been working perfectly so far.

We have a book shelf in her room where most of her books are kept. Ours is an Ikea Expedit shelf that can stand either vertically or horizontally. We chose to keep it horizontal so that her books and other things are visible and accessible to her easily. I do try to keep the shelf pretty and tidy which inspires me to keep it that way and encourages her to notice and use the things on them.

Our Car garage

We have a doll house that we are very proud of and which engages her for hours. By happy coincidence it came with a shelf at the bottom, so all doll house accessories are contained there.

We also have a one big basket to contain all the stuffed ones which is the only variety of toy that I don't like. I keep the new additions at bay by not letting the basket fill up and flow out. By that I mean, I get rid of the least favorite ones from time to time. I have trick here to achieve this. When I notice one of them is not seeing much use, I hide it. If she doesn't ask for a month, it goes to the donation pile.

Speaking of donation pile, we have one in the form of a plain box with lid. I just add when ever I find one out of favor and if it is not asked about for a month, I understand we are on the safe side.

I do confess, in spite  of all this there are days when the whole place looks run down. But her room is also one that can be easily cleaned, actually in a matter of minutes and reset to its presentable glory.

My point is proper organizing goes a long way. A few hours of thinking, planning and browsing and a few bucks is all you need. Trust me - it is absolutely worth it, because Akshara's room is the most used and abused room in our home yet it is the prettiest.

How do you organize your kids toys and stuff? Do they co-operate? What are your tricks? I would love to hear them.

Do have a happy time purging and organizing,
Keep Smiling,
Anima

P.S : More on Akshara's finished room : Here