Thursday, September 23, 2010

Finding Storage Solutions in Unexpected Places (like the Trash!)

Several years ago, when I moved into my first apartment at college, I purchased one of those ubiquitous MDF shoe shelves for my closet. I think I paid about $20 for it at Target. Definitely not aesthetically pleasing, but it met my college shoe collection needs. I've held onto it for over four years now, and through four different apartments/houses. However, I stopped using it a while ago, probably because I've paired down my shoe collection from 40 pair to about 7. So, it has been sitting in our Goodwill pile for a while...like many other things that we realized we no longer needed when we moved into our new house at the beginning of May.

On another note, I have been in search of a storage unit for Dmitri's toys. Until recently, I had literally piled all of them into his pack-n-play, trying to keep the baby-toy-madness from consuming my house! I didn't want to shell out a lot of money nor did I want something that took up a lot of room and would unlikely to work in a future home (who wants to pay $500 for a shelving system that would be too big to fit into different space). Who knew that the perfect piece was sitting in my junk pile....


I might still consider painting it, but I was shocked at how perfectly it held most of his toys (and the ones that are too big to fit on the shelf go in the basket on top). And, they are right at his level: he can access them perfectly. I can feel better knowing that it is getting more use and not ending up in a landfill, plus it saved me lots of money! 

Have you ever found a solution to a problem in your own trash pile before? (or someone else's!)

8 comments:

Eliza said...

Love it! It's so great when you find a new use for something you had previously written off. Good thinking!

PS: the baby shower turned out to be so beautiful. What sweet charming touches!

Cate said...

Very cute! I think that would look great painted a bright, fun color. Like yellow or aqua!

Katie Olthoff said...

I'm looking for toy solutions right now, too. I thought about those things, but I got rid of mine already and I can't bring myself to spend money on a new one!

Danielle Oakey Interiors said...

i love re-purposing items in my own home. seems like i am constantly switching where things go.

Unknown said...

During the college days my filing was a lot smaller- so I had one of those accordian files with about 20 pockets. It was big, but still small for filing.

We use a filing cabinet now, so it has sat empty through 2 other homes. While redoing our office, I needed a home for all of our supplies. I have lots of colored paper, index cards, labels (oh the dvd labels- I live with a film producer guy) and card stock.

I ended up using the accordian file to sort and store all my paper supplies without any mess or piles laying around! It now sits on a shelf out of the way.

Kara's Korner said...

Oh, I love it when you look at something that's 'junk' in a new light! Way to re-use and re-purpose. It fits great in there!

I like the black color, but a bright color is always fun for a wee one's room!

Great find in your own junk!

Mama Gone Green said...

Great score finding a way to reuse that! I am always looking for creative storage at my house!

Jen @ RamblingRenovators said...

What a great solution! Its the perfect size for your little man.