I am not an organized person. At all. When I see pictures of super tidy homes I think:
“Ain’t nobody got time for that!”
I truly don’t feel like I have time to keep a tidy house. I have three wild boys who are constantly causing destruction at every turn. I had pretty much given up on the idea that my house could EVER look nice. Looking at other people’s beautiful houses seemed so surreal to me. “How do they do this? Are robots living here?”
When we got the chance to partner with The Container Store to celebrate their grand opening in OKC, I was skeptical that they had anything that could truly help me in the long term. But armed with some expertly designed products from The Container Store and the help of a professional organizer (Madison from Optimal Life Space), the impossible happened: We conquered the clutter.
Our goal was to redesign a room that we use as a combined playroom and office. Optimal Life Space helped me create a list of what my organization needs were, we realized that we would need to move furniture around in the living room and entryway to make the best use of the space. All the items in the “before” picture were decluttered and relocated so we could implement a new “command center” for each of my children with The Container Store cubbies.
This is–hands down–my favorite part of this project. Each child had cubby for shoes and storage bins to keep winter hats, jackets, and/or other personal items. Madison suggested adding some simple hooks for backpacks and other essentials along with each child’s picture anchored above their cubby. Now everyone has their own place for all their stuff. Everything is labeled so we remember exactly where things go. My boys felt so special when we showed this to them!
We didn’t use our playroom/office as much as we could have because none of us really liked being in there. I learned that this often happens when you dislike the way a space feels. That’s when you know you need to make a change. We defined the purpose of each section in the room and designated spots for each different kind of toy/item. Then we decluttered, rearranged, and added additional storage.
We have a ton of Legos. I couldn’t resist getting Lego storage drawers that look like Legos. I seriously cannot get over how cute they are. And the large mesh rolling bin is extremely handy for larger toys. I can tuck this away into the closet, and roll it back out when the kids want to play with those toys.
The playroom closet was a nightmare. It was the junk closet, where things go to die. This took quite a long time to declutter, but it was so satisfying to see completed. Binders with kids’ old schoolwork and artwork were stored on the top shelf of this closet. We stored remaining items in specific containers.
Going forward, my kids’ school papers and artwork will be stored in these file tote boxes. This should eliminate the majority of paper clutter on my counters (yay!). These totes hold hanging file folders and have plenty of space, and stack really nicely on top of each other. We added their names with chalkboard tape and a chalk pen.
Our office desk needed help with paper clutter. The “Like-It” drawers fit nicely into the hutch and could store everything we needed and more. But the game-changer was this rolling Elfa Mesh File Cart…that’s right, it’s on wheels. I’m obsessed with how easy it is to move this thing around. I moved all of my relevant files from my large black filing cabinet (shown to the left of the desk) into the file cart. I can now use those black drawers for other storage that we needed for computer parts and other office supplies. It works so much better and I can easily find what I need now.
What I find so neat about these Like-It drawers (and almost everything else at The Container Store) is that they are stackable. Not only can they stack on top of like items, but you can mix and match different sizes and shapes to make a custom configuration that works for you.
The final room that got a little facelift was our living room. Since we relocated so many things in the other rooms, we were able to rearrange the living room furniture so that things flowed better from room to room. We are no longer completely overrun by kids’ junk in every single room. But full disclosure: my living room is no longer this clean.
All in all, I’m pretty impressed by The Container Store and the myriad of organizational products that they offer. Every item is designed simply in order to integrate seamlessly into your household. The Container Store has multiple product lines to accommodate different price points. Most of your everyday items are on par with pricing from other major stores, but are better quality.
You can decide for yourself by visiting their brand new store in Penn Square. Bring a friend and plan to be there for a few hours, because you won’t be able to resist walking down every aisle! Don’t forget to contact Optimal Life Space if you’d like some help choosing the best items from The Container Store for your home and designing a more efficient space.
Learn more about The Container Store here:
I love these ideas! You have inspired this very disorganized mom.