I am sure someone has probably thought of this before but I thought it was a good idea to share.
Formula tins-
If you use or are planning on using formula for your baby, keep the tins and lids. Once they are empty, give them a good clean, find some funky wrapping paper or contact to wrap them in and then use to put toy cars, hair elastics, barbie clothes, crayons anything your little heart can imagine.
Has anyone else got some clever storage solutions they use at home?
I kept the bottom section of the corrugated cardboard box the plasma screen came in for a toy box for all the 'hard' toys. Just put some extra (clear) packing tape to keep the corners together, and its done. Sometimes it gets almost emptied and sat in as a car or truck (I don't know what she's up too! )
Shallow fruit boxes for toy boxes (I bring them home to use for sorting out stuff to get rid of but it doesn't happen!), inside recycling box (to be tipped into big outside bin), 's***' collection boxes that I never get around to sorting!
Nappy boxes for packing away too small/too big baby/toddler clothes, sealed up with tape. And s*** boxes...
4Lt ice cream tubs and lids stacked up on a kitchen shelf hold all our chargers and batteries and stray remotes when not being used.
My laundry stash of bicarb is in a 1Lt yoghurt tub. 1Lt yoplait yoghurt tubs are excellent for freezing soups and sauces in, as well as storing things like creamed rice and stuff like that in the fridge, and biscuits. For storing biscuits in, they travel really well in the car, either between your (children) legs or between children and then the contents can be shared ("sharing"? What's that? ). The yoplait tubs are really sturdy for disposable tubs! I also keep our steak knives (point down) in a yoplait tub at the back of the bench, as Steph gets into the drawers.
Old stock powder/cube containers are great for tiny things (like pins and needles, fishing hooks), or bulk supplies of herbs, etc.
I also use old tins (like biscuit tins, not baked bean tins) for cookie cutters, pencils, etc. THe only problem with this idea is that I'm the only one that know where this stuff is, as the tins aren't labelled!
Sorry that was a bit long, I'm just dying for someone to talk to, that's not going to grill me! . Depressing when I want to talk about storage and laundry things!
Thought of one more- we added a laundry basket to ds's lounge room toy collection. perfect for picking upall the little fiddly bits at the end of the day and brilliant for a quick cleanup if you're having visitors. And it makes a great car
Big clear plastic tubs are my best mate for storing anything.
I have heaps and heaps of bobby pins, so I kept a toilet roll and slid all the bobby pins onto it. Then, I've also put hair ties around the bottom - it's really hand having all those fiddly hair accessories in the one place .
Netix- You need your family to buy you a label maker. They are so much fun. (gee I sound like a bit of a dork)!Then they will all know where thing are.
LoriRae- I roll my towels as well. Looks so much nicer a well as a space saver!
Sterla- awesome one with the bobby pins I need to do that!
Marydean- I also like the idea of having a drainer for the bath toys! Will be using that idea when we start using bath toys.
Thank you Lori. I haven't got the money to spend on storage, so I look at everything in a different way before I trash or recycle it. Though I do wish for some plastic tubs!
That's a great idea Sterla!
Another thing I do is cut up 3Lt milk bottles along the line just below the handle. I have two full of my wooden clothes pegs (when I take the clothes off the line, all the pegs go in the one way. A bit OTT, but that's how I like them). These were also handy in the drawers for baby socks and that sort of stuff, as you can cut them to any height you want (I'm going to put all my lippy's in them cut shorter). My Mum also uses them to freeze stocks, soups etc in. The Man uses them for nuts and bolts etc when working on cars. You could punch or cut little holes in them to make little handles or do something funky to them if you wanted.
And all our medicines/vitamins are kept in a tupperware tub in the top cupboard. Everything is kept together out of reach, and I don't have to find space for this big square container that I never use but don't want to get rid of!
I have thought of a label maker, but I haven't labelled these container on purpose. 1. No one else cares where things are. 2. The only other person that cares, knows where things are, and can't read yet. 3. I don't want to stick a label on my old tins.
That's all I can think of for now. No, not quite, I wish I had kept some formula tins to create a shelf a'la Shannon Lush's pineapple juice tin bookshelf for all our shoes outside the front door!
ETA, I store my black-out candles in an egg carton with a lighter (up out of reach). During a blackout, if you take the candles out of the box and turn the carton upside down on the table, the divots in between the egg 'cups' hold a candle brilliantly and catch all the dripping wax. Can hold up to five candles, more than enough to light up a room while waiting for the power to come back on! Get your kids to decorate the boxes so they actually look pretty (prettier than a plain egg box!) since they might be permanently in view (mine is).
Last edited by Netix; May 30th, 2009 at 04:25 PM.
: Added something.
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Clever storage ideas for the home
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). The yoplait tubs are really sturdy for disposable tubs! I also keep our steak knives (point down) in a yoplait tub at the back of the bench, as Steph gets into the drawers.
. Depressing when I want to talk about storage and laundry things!
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