Tots 100 Home Club Storage Challenge Reveal

Last month I got over my embarrassment and showed you a picture of how messy my Girls’ bedroom is now that they are sharing. It was all for a good cause though, because I had been challenged by the Tots 100 Home Clubto work some magic on my home with storage. The other members of the Tots 100 Home Club are:

Karen at The White Approach

Jen, Mum in the Madhouse

Liz at Violet Posy

Heather at Growing Spaces

To recap- for those of you old enough to remember Blind Date, please insert ‘Our Graham’s’ voice here- my plan was as follows:

1. Declutter. There are too many soft toys, or things they no longer play with. There will undoubtedly be broken bits, damaged things and an unholy amount of teeny-tiny toys from front-of-magazines, Kinder Eggs and Happy Meals. All of these things should be sorted out.

2. Categorise. If I want The Girls to tidy things themselves, they need to know where they should go. Categorising will help with labelling, which will help them learn that everything has a plce.

3. Store. The main areas that need attention are

• under the beds- their bedlinen is tucked here but apart from that, it’s wasted space. Floor level is a great height for small children to access easily so I could store stuff under the bed.
• Bookcase- this holds a lot of books, which the children need access to, but extends beyond their height so I can only store so much on the shelves that they can get down independently when they want to.
• Other storage unit? This would be a solution to the issue of access.

Decluttering was surprisingly complicated. It required stealth. And cunning. So I had to wait several days until The Girls were at school before I entered their room with a cluster of black bags and rang the death knoll for literally dozens of the stuffed creatures that populate their beds. I did the same with books- ones they loathed, ones I loathed, ones they no longer needed (there will be no more babies, potty training is under control and cook books should be in the kitchen.) Whilst on a roll, I jettisoned dozens of small annoying plastickery that you get from Happy Meals and Kinder Eggs and the front of magazines. I happily tossed the doll with the freaky face, and the teddy that goes ‘off’, singing every time you try to slip quietly from the room in the middle of the night.

Then I had to rush to drop the three bags- yes, three- at the Charity Shop before collecting The Girls. I cunningly left stuff all over the floor so that we all had to tidy together before bed and- get this- they never really noticed the absence of three nags worth of ‘stuff’. Hurrah!

The next step was to categorise. With less stuff, this was a simple job. I brought a few toys back downstairs, moved a few upstairs, rejigged the contents of drawers and wardrobe and made a plan. Crucially, I remembered to measure the shelves, clearance height of the beds, and space where I thought I might put new storage.

Then I went shopping- the best kind of shopping because it a) didn’t require me to leave the house, which was good because it was roasting hot and I was quite content in front of the fan, and b) it didn’t involve me spending any money. I know. Well, it did, it just wasn’t my money: Homebase very kindly sent a voucher to cover the cost of items I bought. The Homebase site is fairly simple to use, so it didn’t take long to decide on what I wanted. Then I had to wait for their arrival.

This is my shopping list:

• Ashley Dolls House Bookcase £39.99
• Modular Spots and Stripes Set of 3 Storage Cubes £9.99
• Set of 2 50 Litre Wheeled Plastic Underbed Storage Boxes £19.99

I’m pleased with the results, and now impatiently waiting to get the windows replaced so that we can decorate the whole room for our growing girls. There will be more projects, I’m sure so stay tuned. In the meantime, I am basking in the feeling of being a Good Wife: DH is delighted with how much tidier everything is. The new Tots 100 Home Challenge will begin in a week or so, so subscribe to my RSS feed or by email to see what I do next!

For more detail on some of the projects highlighted, click on the links below:

Barbie Mansion

Hairdressing Caddy 

Meadow Rug

Treasure Box

 The other members of the Tots 100 Home Club are:

Karen at The White Approach

Jen, Mum in the Madhouse

Liz at Violet Posy

Heather at Growing Spaces