Thursday, March 24, 2011

Daily Declutter Challenge #38 - Scarves and Hats and Mittens...oh, my!

I'm grabbing hold of this thing called "Spring" that has arrived on the West Coast, and I decided to declutter our winter coats, hats, mitts, etc.  We arrived home from a 2 night getaway from Whistler yesterday, so after unpacking, I washed up all of our winter gear and then heaped it all in a pile in our mudroom/entrance.  Today it was time to decide what I should keep for next year (and hand me downs for my four year old to grow into) and what I could toss.  Everything needs to fit in a small front closet and a storage bench.

With no basement, garage or big storage area I always need to be thinking about how much I need to keep for the next year for my three kids.  I decided that with our mild west coast winters, they really only needed one toque each, one winter coat & ski pants, and I only kept a scarf for our youngest, since the big girls hate them and would rather freeze their chin off than be forced to wear one.

But I decided to keep most of the mittens and ski gloves, because you know how those things tend to get lost.  I keep all these items stored in our bench.

Here's the bench BEFORE:


 It's a great bench, but you can imagine the chaos when kids are looking for mittens.  I have been looking a long time for storage baskets or bins that would fit perfectly into the space, but nothing quite worked.  And not to mention that I really didn't want to be spending money on something that wasn't even going to be seen.

Do you know what I went with?  Repurposed cardboard boxes of course!  My husband subdivided a larger box by simply taping another piece in with packing tape.  Smaller spaces = better organization!

Don't you just love a perfect fit?

I also had an orange box that fit neatly as well - I used the lid and bottom.

Here is the end result!


Free, repurposed, and a perfect solution to early morning mitten woes.

My Dad built me our wonderful storage bench, but if you don't have a handyman in your family, there are some beautiful ones available.  A bench is such a great, functional piece of furniture for an entrance area.  Here's a few examples that would be perfect in a mudroom or at a front door.

Prepac Sonoma Black Twin Cubbie Bench (small)Covington Wengae Short Back Storage BenchBench with Storage Baskets - BlackWinsome Verona Storage Bench, Walnut with Beige BasketsHousehold Essentials ML-6688 Woven-Banana-Leaf 2-Drawer Cushioned Storage SeatKidKraft Nantucket Storage BenchMonterey Cubby Bench - White

I feel like I'm really making progress on my declutters.  I'll keep on going for a while, but once the warmer weather begins in earnest, I'll be spending most of my time enjoying the outdoors!  I'm sure by next winter, there will be more to declutter.....

Linked to:
Organizing Junkie

4 comments:

  1. Great inexpensive solution. Love the bench.

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  2. Love it! I also became a follower of your blog! :) Erin

    http://purplebookbloggingmommy.blogspot.com/

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  3. Thanks everyone, and thanks for following, Erin!

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