This week has been amazing, conversing with each of you about this little thing called organising and keeping organised a home, all while working to make it a beautiful place for your family! No easy task! I have had an abundance of comments mentioning what a challenge it is to be organised and stylish on a very small budget. Ladies I know what that is like! But I do not believe that is a valid enough excuse! It may take some innovation, work and tenacity but you can do it and within an achievable budget. Bellow I have compiled a list of things found today on the internet to make your own ~ fun ~ organised ~ nice to look at ~ toy section or any sort of shelving space needed for your home… o.k so here we go.
First a little inspiration...
Choose a colour pallet for decorating your space. Either chose colours from a magazine with a room you gravitate towards. Notice that most rooms have two or three colours being used. Choose one of those colours to be your foundation colour, this is typically used for your furniture or big pieces. And the accent colour is to enhance the foundation colour and is used for accents. I like the colours in the bellow chart for foundation colours, they are very versatile and can be meshed with almost any accent colour of your choice.
Now look through your local online used advertising. Kijiji.ca, usedcanada.com, Craigslist.ca.
Or the local paper classifieds, thrift shops, garage sales or your parents garage, for a solid wood bookshelf. Pay no immediate attention to the colour, as we will personalise that a bit later. I found this shelf for $10.00 or you could buy two for $20.00. I like both, as they seem solid and have some nice details.
At Walmart buy ½ gallon of indoor paint. Ask the clerk what is their most washable paint ~ this will be best for a kid’s space. Buy a paint brush (a cheap one will do) a small roller if your budget allows, one pack of different grade sandpaper and TSP.
Now buy a few baskets from thrift shops, garage sales or online classifieds. I found these ones on kijiji Calgary for $10.00. If you fancy the colour of the basket then leave it or you could buy one can of spray paint in the accent colour of choice (Walmart has the best price).
Now lets head home and get the shelf ready. First give it a rough sand with the grittiest sand paper you have, work your way through the sand paper until you smooth it down with the lightest paper. Do not spend to much time on this job. I really just rough it up so there is a grain in the surface, this way the new paint can cling on. Now give it a deep wash with your TSP and let dry. Next step is to give it a coat or two of paint.
While the shelf is drying spray paint your baskets. Another option or additional way to add storage is by decoupage (example picture bellow)a cardboard box. Dipper, wipe or shoeboxes are very sturdy, I like to use these. Slice off the top of the box (floppy part) find a wrapping paper or material in your accent colour. A great place to find material is at thrift stores, a tablecloth, curtain or sheet. I must say that wrapping paper is a bit easier to work with. Here is a link for how to decoupage your box.
My advice to you is once you have bought your shelf, go through the items needed to be put on this shelf (lets say your toys) go though all your toys and get rid of everything that will not fit on the allotted shelf. Now put your toys into piles that will go together in a basket. Now you can see how many boxes and what sizes you need.
Now lets move things into your space. Fill your baskets, place on shelf. For my paints, glue or any other drippy craft supplies I bought a deep ‘aged with character’ baking sheet from a thrift shop, this is a great way to hold those sort of crafts. A nice way to contain your paint brushes, pencil crayons, felts, scissors, is with wide mouth glass jars.
A few cheap ways to ‘dress up’ any space is by embellishments like labels, bought or hand made are great ways to make storage boxes pretty. Either make your own or buy from this Etsy shop. A cheap ball of burlap twine or ribbon adds some character for hanging your labels.
So here is the cost break down.
$20.00 Two book shelves.
$15.00 Paint
$10.00 Paint brush, sandpaper, TSP.
$10.00 Baskets
$5.00 Spray paint (accent colour)
$10.00 Wrapping paper
$3.00 Mod Podge (decoupage glue)
$10.00 Vintage cooking sheet and glass jars
$3.00 Twine or ribbon
$2.00-10.00 Paper (for home made) or Etsy labels.
= $88.00 – $98.00!
So there you have it. You can use this blueprint for literally any where in your home that needs an organised (but pretty) space…laundry, bathroom, mudroom ect.ect.
Hope this eliminates any excuses!
Love you all!
P.S I have linked to a bunch of online shops…I guess my link colour is the same so skim over the words with your mouse and you should see where my links are. Sorry!
P.S.S If $100.00 is still a bit steep then see if you can find the shelf, baskets, paint from around your home our friends leftovers. Or have a goal to shave $10.00 a week of groceries or gas then in a few weeks you will have the funds to support your creativity!
P.S.S.S I have been with out internet most of the afternoon, a late post again!
First a little inspiration...
Choose a colour pallet for decorating your space. Either chose colours from a magazine with a room you gravitate towards. Notice that most rooms have two or three colours being used. Choose one of those colours to be your foundation colour, this is typically used for your furniture or big pieces. And the accent colour is to enhance the foundation colour and is used for accents. I like the colours in the bellow chart for foundation colours, they are very versatile and can be meshed with almost any accent colour of your choice.
Now look through your local online used advertising. Kijiji.ca, usedcanada.com, Craigslist.ca.
Or the local paper classifieds, thrift shops, garage sales or your parents garage, for a solid wood bookshelf. Pay no immediate attention to the colour, as we will personalise that a bit later. I found this shelf for $10.00 or you could buy two for $20.00. I like both, as they seem solid and have some nice details.
At Walmart buy ½ gallon of indoor paint. Ask the clerk what is their most washable paint ~ this will be best for a kid’s space. Buy a paint brush (a cheap one will do) a small roller if your budget allows, one pack of different grade sandpaper and TSP.
Now buy a few baskets from thrift shops, garage sales or online classifieds. I found these ones on kijiji Calgary for $10.00. If you fancy the colour of the basket then leave it or you could buy one can of spray paint in the accent colour of choice (Walmart has the best price).
Now lets head home and get the shelf ready. First give it a rough sand with the grittiest sand paper you have, work your way through the sand paper until you smooth it down with the lightest paper. Do not spend to much time on this job. I really just rough it up so there is a grain in the surface, this way the new paint can cling on. Now give it a deep wash with your TSP and let dry. Next step is to give it a coat or two of paint.
While the shelf is drying spray paint your baskets. Another option or additional way to add storage is by decoupage (example picture bellow)a cardboard box. Dipper, wipe or shoeboxes are very sturdy, I like to use these. Slice off the top of the box (floppy part) find a wrapping paper or material in your accent colour. A great place to find material is at thrift stores, a tablecloth, curtain or sheet. I must say that wrapping paper is a bit easier to work with. Here is a link for how to decoupage your box.
My advice to you is once you have bought your shelf, go through the items needed to be put on this shelf (lets say your toys) go though all your toys and get rid of everything that will not fit on the allotted shelf. Now put your toys into piles that will go together in a basket. Now you can see how many boxes and what sizes you need.
Now lets move things into your space. Fill your baskets, place on shelf. For my paints, glue or any other drippy craft supplies I bought a deep ‘aged with character’ baking sheet from a thrift shop, this is a great way to hold those sort of crafts. A nice way to contain your paint brushes, pencil crayons, felts, scissors, is with wide mouth glass jars.
A few cheap ways to ‘dress up’ any space is by embellishments like labels, bought or hand made are great ways to make storage boxes pretty. Either make your own or buy from this Etsy shop. A cheap ball of burlap twine or ribbon adds some character for hanging your labels.
So here is the cost break down.
$20.00 Two book shelves.
$15.00 Paint
$10.00 Paint brush, sandpaper, TSP.
$10.00 Baskets
$5.00 Spray paint (accent colour)
$10.00 Wrapping paper
$3.00 Mod Podge (decoupage glue)
$10.00 Vintage cooking sheet and glass jars
$3.00 Twine or ribbon
$2.00-10.00 Paper (for home made) or Etsy labels.
= $88.00 – $98.00!
So there you have it. You can use this blueprint for literally any where in your home that needs an organised (but pretty) space…laundry, bathroom, mudroom ect.ect.
Hope this eliminates any excuses!
Love you all!
P.S I have linked to a bunch of online shops…I guess my link colour is the same so skim over the words with your mouse and you should see where my links are. Sorry!
P.S.S If $100.00 is still a bit steep then see if you can find the shelf, baskets, paint from around your home our friends leftovers. Or have a goal to shave $10.00 a week of groceries or gas then in a few weeks you will have the funds to support your creativity!
P.S.S.S I have been with out internet most of the afternoon, a late post again!
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