With many of us going back to work the last few months and the kids in school it's easy to let certain areas in our homes go, and now with the kids out of school, it's even harder to clean and keep things clutter-free. Honestly, it gets to a point where we can't remember when we last cleaned and how in the world it got so messy.
That was the case of our closet under the stairs. It's a very tiny closet but somehow it was full of things and many things we had no idea we still had. It's our drop-off zone. Bags/backpacks and anything we carry from the car to the house end up in this tiny space.
We have been "fixing" this space since we bought the house in 2017, I don't know if this only happens in my house but if things don't have a dedicated place it will get messy within the same week some with having huge baskets. We will end up pilling them up and it will become a mess sooner rather than later. So thinking of a way to fix was not necessarily hard but I had to really examine what works for us as a family and what I wanted them little space to be.
On top of that, I wanted that space to work for us, for our family, and have it fill our needs, make it functional. A perfect space will never be the same for everyone, you have different needs and so does my family but here is what worked for us.
Make a list of the actual function you want the room to have.
- In our case, my girls were leaving their shoes on the stairs or a little buffet table we have next to this closet so one of my main goals was to resolve this problem.
- Have an official drop-off zone that is not my kitchen table. Having a dedicated drop-off zone helps me so much! My girls each have a backpack and 183480 things they carry at all times so this allowed me to give everything a dedicated space in hopes to keep our main areas in good shape.
- As a blogger, I have cameras and a tripod and ring light and packages coming in (if you know what I mean) and this little space has to be able to hold all that too.
- A place to put my cordless vacuum and its accessories. I'm one for everything out of sight.
- Lastly, I buy cards and little gifts when I know birthdays or special events are coming and having a space for that where it's easy to find.
Set A Budget
If you've been following me for a while you know I try my very best to stay on budget and the first step is to set a budget. How much do you want to spend? I know our answer is always not much but for this, you have to set a strict budget. Renovations whether little or big usually tend to get out of hand and fast.
We made ours work thanks to American Furniture Wharehouse. They opened a store really close to our house and it's my first place to shop for home products now!
We made ours work thanks to American Furniture Wharehouse. They opened a store really close to our house and it's my first place to shop for home products now!
Here are the items we used for this look:
A deal in my books since it's a room that will definitely give me a lot of peace now!
Next, let's talk about another great hack! A hack for you, whether you work from home or outside the home. This post is for you, the parent with toys everywhere.
I remember, before we had kids, we had a friend come over and they commented that it was very clear that we had no kids as our house did not have a single toy anywhere. As much as this was true, I can say that as I mom of two my goal is always to have the toys put away! Does it always happen? No, it almost never does but this is why this hack will change your life!
A few months ago we put the girls in the same room in hopes to help them sleep by themselves, another thing that has yet to work ha, but that meant that the other room (Cami’s Room) would only be used for toys!
Said room is a mess 92% of the time but I don't mind, it’s upstairs and I can simply close the door when I’ve had enough, but downstairs it’s a different story! If they have toys dispersed all over the house it takes me twice if not 3x as long to clean and pick up the entire house!
We solved this by giving the girls a small corner of our office and letting them put a few toys there! those toys they truly love and can live without them. The truth is that many of us this last year had to work from home and be with our sweet babies so if you are still in this situation this post is specifically for you! Do you remember our 3 steps from my last post? (You can check them out here)
Again, Make a list of functions for the room/ area.
The same thing applies here as when we were working on the under the stairs closet. Make it work for you.
- As a blogger, I need space. I have a few things up my sleeve for the blog which requires a certain setup
- My husband also needs a good and quiet space to prepare his preachings for church!
- This room is also the first room you see as soon as you walk in which means it needs to be clean and picked up.
- Lastly, it's the one room on the first floor where we have enough space for the girls to play and it's the dedicated area for toys.
Knowing my needs, how I want it to function for our family made the selection of the products I need so much easier.
Again, Set A Budget
We are partnering with AFW once again and sharing how this room is working for our little family. My office is not yet completed, we may end up doing a bit more shelves and getting a smaller desk and chair but this corner is magic, and AFW is a great part of that! Finding hacks that help my family and possible yours is something I truly enjoy! For so many years we lived our everyday running in the midst of chaos and little by little our home is working for our needs and my kids are the only chaos I love!
