I've learned a few new lessons with regards to clear plastic storage containers. As I stated before, I found that clear containers worked best for most of my art, sewing, craft (etc) supplies instead of solid tins and boxes. But I ran into a problem: most of the storage containers that I found in the shops were inefficiently designed, much to my frustration! Observe in the photo below where I have placed my thumb (ignore the work-worn nail lol) You are looking at the bottom of the tub and my thumb is between the body of the tub and the overhanging lid. Do you see all of that excess space? When I used these tubs in shelves and cabinets those overhanging lids hogged up a lot of valuable and limited space. Also, the body of the tubs being much smaller meant that I had difficulty fitting things inside. So, be aware of this if you go and buy plastic storage tubs: be wary of those that have overhanging lids, and also those containers that have sides that curve inward ~ again taking up excess space while offering much less storage area.
Here is a photo containing my recent victorious find: "Really Useful Boxes" ... lovely plastic storage boxes that do not have overhanging lids, nor do the sides curve inwards. (They come in every size imaginable!!) And even better:
they are less expensive then the other frustrating brands!! Yet made right here in the UK from quite sturdy plastic. (No sweat shop slaves??) The lids also fit much better due to the locking bits that look like handles. They aren't handles ~ they are locks and this means the lids don't fly off at the slightest bump, nor do they warp as badly later on. Because I have also found that the frustrating kind of plastic storage boxes end up with lid warpage in less then a year. (What gives???)
So now at long, long last I feel that my organizing adventure has been pulled out of the breakdown lane and is back in action! It's like a log jam really, with every room in the house backed up because of two places: The dairy and... the boxroom upstairs! Which has been converted into our "library." (But don't get excited as the room is only 8'x6' lol) The box room was once rather organized but now that the dairy is "organizable" I've wreaked havoc by removing books down to the diary but wait, no, changing my mind, moving them back up and grabbing different books and then changing my mind about some of them too... yeah, it's an adventure!
Today I am going to focus a lot on the box room so that I can remove some of the logs from the clutter log jam. Seriously, it's like playing real life Tetris!! (Without the hypnotizing background music lol)
Here you can see, if you look at the edges of the shelves, that I've simply taken a black sharpie and written out the topics/subjects for easier access. Yes, I've heard over and over "why don't you just use the public libraries?" As a matter of fact I'm fed up with hearing, "Why don't you just use the local library??" lol!! Well, sure. We do. At times. But with the library a half hour drive away and gas going for $10 a gallon and three small screaming kids to drag into town while farm chores are left behind on hold... can you see why I have built up a small easy-to-use library right here in our house? Oh yes, that and the fact that when all that we need is
one small bit of information, one teeny wee bit
, because a project has suddenly screeched to a halt...(doesn't it drive you bonkers when that happens??) I don't want to wait a solid week or more before I can get that information from a distant library. After dragging three screaming kids into town on $10 a gallon gas LOL! We love the library but we also love our library too :-)
Here is a photo containing my recent victorious find: "Really Useful Boxes" ... lovely plastic storage boxes that do not have overhanging lids, nor do the sides curve inwards. (They come in every size imaginable!!) And even better: they are less expensive then the other frustrating brands!! Yet made right here in the UK from quite sturdy plastic. (No sweat shop slaves??) The lids also fit much better due to the locking bits that look like handles. They aren't handles ~ they are locks and this means the lids don't fly off at the slightest bump, nor do they warp as badly later on. Because I have also found that the frustrating kind of plastic storage boxes end up with lid warpage in less then a year. (What gives???)
So now at long, long last I feel that my organizing adventure has been pulled out of the breakdown lane and is back in action! It's like a log jam really, with every room in the house backed up because of two places: The dairy and... the boxroom upstairs! Which has been converted into our "library." (But don't get excited as the room is only 8'x6' lol) The box room was once rather organized but now that the dairy is "organizable" I've wreaked havoc by removing books down to the diary but wait, no, changing my mind, moving them back up and grabbing different books and then changing my mind about some of them too... yeah, it's an adventure!
Today I am going to focus a lot on the box room so that I can remove some of the logs from the clutter log jam. Seriously, it's like playing real life Tetris!! (Without the hypnotizing background music lol)
Here you can see, if you look at the edges of the shelves, that I've simply taken a black sharpie and written out the topics/subjects for easier access. Yes, I've heard over and over "why don't you just use the public libraries?" As a matter of fact I'm fed up with hearing, "Why don't you just use the local library??" lol!! Well, sure. We do. At times. But with the library a half hour drive away and gas going for $10 a gallon and three small screaming kids to drag into town while farm chores are left behind on hold... can you see why I have built up a small easy-to-use library right here in our house? Oh yes, that and the fact that when all that we need is one small bit of information, one teeny wee bit, because a project has suddenly screeched to a halt...(doesn't it drive you bonkers when that happens??) I don't want to wait a solid week or more before I can get that information from a distant library. After dragging three screaming kids into town on $10 a gallon gas LOL! We love the library but we also love our library too :-)
8 comments:
Besides which, if your local library is anything like ours, they don't have the book you want and would have to request it from inter-library loan. Which would take more time and another trip to town to retrieve the book then a trip to town to return it. Home libraries are frequently a much better route to go (despite the fact that my husband worries about the poundage of books in our house and the stress they put on the structure...) I keep wondering if I need to get a Kindle, but so many of the titles I want aren't available there.
My mother kept a quite huge library for us too; it was a wonderful way to grow up!
With a home library we can highlight things and make notes in the books ~ that's another plus!
What I try and do for the family library is
A) Purchase used books,
B) Purchase books that are very specific about a chosen topic and thus even less likely to be in a public library (ah, yes. The agonies of the inter-library loan multiplied by the extra trips into town) and
C) Also purchase books from a Christian perspective which now are practically illegal in any kind of public building LOL! (That is a rather sarcastic/sad lol arrg)
Not forgetting a variety of instructional DVDs that you would probably never find in a public library, such as the West Ladies series about homesteading skills. "The Art of Soap Making" etc. Very Christian, Very specific, and not likely to be found in a public library.
Another thing I've stocked up on are the "Storey's Guide to..." with an emphasis on homesteading skills. Since these are our own personal copies I can cover them with clear contact paper and not worry if they get dirty or covered in food splatters as I haul them around outside or in the kitchen!
One thing I would love to find is a good carpenter to build me such nice shelves and cabinets! :)
My hubby did them :-) In the library. His cousin built the ones in the dairy! Must run in the family...
One of the first family purchases when we moved to this house more than 20 years ago was a set of Encyclopedia Britannica. I don't know if we would have spent the money if the decision was made nowadays. And, now that the children are grown, I think we should donate them to a pre-school or classroom. We were looking up subjects all the time to answer questions. And, like you, when we were interested in a subject, it was discussed for days on end, so that occasionally all the books on a single topic were checked out to our family.
It is nice to have access to good used books, but the resale stores around here are low on those kind.
Twenty years ago, too, it was rather a novelty for books for children to have such lovely pictures. I kept music, and art books, travel books, classics by my favorite authors, and my husband collected math and physics books.
For a while, I belonged to a book club, vainly attempting to buy new bestsellers at deep discount prices, but truth is, I'd buy them and pass them along to friends, so I purchased books with regifting in mind,
When the children were small, I looked for books with a specific vocabulary and relevant topics so that my children would learn to read more easily.
The public library sponsors sales twice yearly, and as we are in a college town, there is always a variety. People donating the ones they picked up six months before at a previous sale in exchange for a newer set of used books.
Nice!
Plastic organizer is the best thing to do when somehow in the future we plan to move up. An easy thing to do and yet neat and arrange.No need to label them it's transparent plastic boxes. More expensive than paper boxes.
Joseph @ inter state removalist sydney
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