As of today, our Homeschool Room/Craft Room/Cleaning Storage Room is {practically} complete!! This room is about 10 feet x 10 feet. Not the smallest bedroom in the house, but it holds mulitple functions that carry multiple materials with it! This is the room that also started "The Project of Epic Proportions" and an overall effort to get more organized! Back in June I started focusing most of my extra time/energy/and spending money into this room. It is now September.
The only two things left to make this room functional are...
1. A new trash can. The one that's in there now is a light weight, funny shaped, plastic one and anytime is gets slightly knocked it falls over and all the trash falls out.
2. Some file folders to go inside my wall files to keep papers from falling out and to help organize them a little bit more.
I have to say my friend, Marque, was a huge asset for this project! I got stuck multiple times and she came over and talked through ideas with me. She spent one afternoon working with me on moving things around, and sorting, painting, stapling, etc. Sometimes it's SO helpful to have a second pair of eyes, ideas, and hands! My second biggest asset on this room....IKEA. :) A year ago I had only briefly walked thru an IKEA once. While it's been a blessing in many ways...I am tired of going to IKEA!!! Crazy, right?!
I thought I had already taken some before photos at one point, then I couldn't find them..so this is at the very beginning...probably after my 1st project. The walls were barren all the way around.
{Fair warning..the before photos are hideous!}
Yes, it seriously looked like that. No wonder why it stressed me out just walking in there. My floor probably looked like this at three different points between March and June. I kept cleaning it up..then sorting through it all and organizing it again. This room was pretty much off-limits, and really useless, for the first three/four months after our stuff arrived.
More clutter..and no organization...
This side of the room is specifically for our Homeschooling, but also a place for the boys to come and color, do a craft, etc. The chest that was in the corner was moved into Blaine's room in anticipation of using it as a changing table and additional storage for baby #4. Underneath the easel, also from IKEA, are two small rubbermaid bins that hold the boy's play-doh and their bean tub. I got the chairs, 3 total, at our Thrift Store for $8 a piece. They are solid wood, so I eventually hope to paint them. As of now the seat cushions have just been recovered with the same fabric I used for the curtains that I got at IKEA, for about $8/yard. I also purchased the table from IKEA for about $70. It is solid wood, but unfinished. I would like to turn it into a project/art piece in itself. I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but not sure when I'll be able to decide. As of now though, the chairs and table are functionable, so they are staying as is. I would love to hear your ideas on the table! As soon as I finish the other need "functional" projects in the house, I hope to be coming back to this!
I've had four canvases for a year now with the intention of repainting them somehow. I originally had wanted an "adult led painting project" that the kids could do...that would still come out looking like decent art. I could never get beyond that though. I finally decided to make our own version of "Home is Where the Army Sends Us". These canvases are large so if I continue this idea I'd like to put them on smaller canvases. You can normally get the small ones at the Dollar Store and they would be great for this!
Back in May/June someone had set out a metal bed frame and the wood slats that hold up the mattress by our recycling center. I scooped up those wood slats knowing I could use them for something. I was originally going to try and make some shelves out of them, but I ended up using them for an art display and a supply rack for the boys. I just paid no more than $10 for all the giant clothespins and white hooks (the clothespins were the most expensive part) and I got the buckets on sale for about $0.60 a piece. The boys still have to stand up in their chair to get a bucket down, but it's tall enough to where Blaine can't reach them....unless he climbs on the table.
This next pic is one of the closets in the room. Over the last few years I have had a lot of homeschool books/resources given to me. They were always on a shelf together but not necessarily organized. I decided to invest in the magazine files from IKEA. They are currently in the closet backwards so it allows me to see what is in each box for easy access. They are sorted by subject and/or grade. If we move and I don't have a closet to put these in and have to invest in a book shelf, then I can turn them around, label them, and everything will still look presentable.
One of my favorite other things to organize the boys things are the plastic wipe tubs. They store our markers, crayons, puzzles, finger paints, magnets, counting bears, etc, etc. It's just an added bonus that they now print them in cute designs! I love their current floral print with green and blue (barely visible on the bottom shelf). I am also using some of the shelf risers, which you can normally find in the kitchen section, to create some more space as well.
This is, more or less, my side of the room...
I managed to fit pretty much all of my craft supplies in these storage boxes from IKEA. I was considering using the wipe boxes as well, but the price was only about $0.50 difference and I liked the look of these out on a shelf better than the wipe cases. I don't have a lot of excess fabric, but what I do have folded up perfectly into these boxes. If you were to turn the box sideways, stack them, it then allows you to see all the fabric you have when you take the lid off (if that makes sense). The other boxes have my stamps, ink pads, acrylic paint (great size for these!), ribbon, hot glue gun, embossing tools, etc, etc.
Over above the printer is half of our office stuff...tape, blank cds and sleeves, extra ink, etc. Some of our office supplies are too bulky for the boxes, ie whole punch, so they are in the desk. The clock I scored for FREE at a yard sale! The second hand has fallen off and sits at the bottom of the clock..but it still works! The wall files I got on sale from IKEA. They were 5 for about $6. They are made to interlock, but I found there was little space left to actually add any papers, so Marque helped me come up with the idea to hang them individually. For the last few weeks I've been bothered by the off white files on the white walls. My brain finally came up with a plan that was cost effective and quick. I took a paint marker and drew on them. :)
I was beyond excited to finally getting arount to this thread storage board!!! Something that duals as storage and is just darn cute! What could be better! It took me a while to find some trim around here that would work...and it was on the pricey side, but I love it! The only nails I could seem to find around here have a larger head on them (I have no idea what the technical term is.). I was afraid they wouldn't fit throught the spool, but they ended up working great and they hold the spools of thread on so nothing falls off accidentally. I was able to utilize the frame/wood shop on post to help me get the frame cut and glued together. For the most part I followed this tutorial from Grey Luster Girl. Another idea that I originally pinned almost a year ago!
I scored this mail sorter from a friend for FREE, about two weeks ago! It's perfect! I was hoping it would fit on that first floating shelf, but it was just a tad too tall. Next time we move, I'll have to keep that in mind. I've considered wall mounting it, but it seems to be working fine here for now. I really wanted a section that was a go-to for cards/letters. I have some of my homemade cards in the front ready to be written in and sent out. It's much easier than having to dig in the tub underneath my bed and I'm hoping the easy access will be an encouragement (to myself) to send an old-fashioned hand written note every now and then. The boys are also loving the easy access to the envelopes. They probably color something everyday and want to send it to someone. I feel like the mail sorter is missing something though. I feel like, since I painted it, it's a little bland. It's obviously bright and blue...but I'm brainstorming on doing something to it. And ideas?!
And that's it!!! I'm so excited that it is {practically} done!! The best part is I don't get stressed out any more when I walk in this room!
I'll be moving on to making the boys' room more funtional next! Hoping to buys some wood this week!! I'm trying my best to focus on what needs to be done to organize and make our home run more smoothly and set some of the more "fun" projects to the side. Sometimes, as in some projects in this room, they colide.
(Please share any ideas for my table or the mail sorter with me!!!)
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