Let me set the scene...half-built Lego creations on the basement floor with all of the remaining pieces strewn about. The remnants of well-intended organization cluttering the dedicated Lego space, while rogue pieces invade nearly every square inch of the thoroughfare of the basement. Unopened Lego sets stacked in the corner, never getting played with because the unfinished basement is such an undesirable destination. 

It was time - it was time to create a Lego storage system in an area of the house that the kids actually wanted to use! But how? and where? Here is the process I used to get creative about how to use a small space to meet a storage and organization need.  

​1. Determine the location

I surveyed the options for Lego storage in my house - they were limited! Since both of my kids like Legos and often share pieces, it made sense to store them in a shared location rather than in one of kids' bedrooms. We don't have a spare bedroom or a rec room, so I was having trouble wrapping my mind around where I could possibly store these Legos! I had to stop looking at my house as it was and start thinking what it could be. I landed on two possibilities: the breezeway between our garage and kitchen (which was used as a mud room and craft room) and the nook under the stairs (which was used for toy storage.) After considering the size and shape of each spot as well as how I wanted to have the mess contained and hidden, I settled on the space under the stairway.

2. Clear the new space of old stuff

We first had to empty the area of what was currently stored there. In this case, we had a toy shelf with bins, a small table with multiple containers of toys and games on and under it, and a bin of puzzles (and maybe a few dust bunnies!) Because my kids understood the end goal was to make a cool place for them to play with and store their Legos, they were on board with doing some purging and relocating. We went through every bin and separated into keep, trash, and donate piles. We also had to repeat this process in each kids' bedroom to make room for the items we kept from the nook under the stairs. We were able to get rid of enough that we could rearrange one bedroom to reuse the toy shelf. We also used this as an opportunity to purge some Lego accessories - mainly instructional booklets that were no longer needed. We recycled a huge pile, and the remainder fit nicely into a hanging file organizer that I mounted to the wall underneath the table allowing to use some otherwise wasted space!

3. Plan to maximize the space

It was fun to plan out how this very small space could be filled with functional solutions. Drawing pictures is the most helpful way to map out your plan, and using grid paper makes it easier to draw to scale. Sometimes things you visualize in your head just won't work when you get out the measuring tape! Use resources like Pinterest to get inspiration and ideas. I created a whole board for Lego storage! Browse online for product ideas, but also go to a physical store so you can see and touch the materials you are considering. And don't forget to check your own house for items you can reuse or repurpose. If you are creating a space for someone else, be sure to include them in this process. They are the ones that will use it, so they may have ideas that may never have occurred to you. Don't forget to make use of vertical space and the space under tables and counters. The final product in our Lego cupboard under the stairs (a little Harry Potter humor!) was very close to my original sketches, but I had to be flexible in a few things like getting a smaller pegboard than planned because the large one wouldn’t fit in our vehicle!
​

3. Buy, build and reuse

Shop around for the best deals, and don't shy away from building custom pieces. When you are at a physical store, don't get caught up in wanting to take home the supplies right then. Make sure to comparison shop online, and purchase what is both best for your space and is the best value. I took my kids to the hardware store to actually see and touch pegboard bins, and then we ordered cheaper ones online in the size and colors the kids preferred. Make sure to measure, measure, measure! Don’t assume your space is square or level (especially if you live in an old house like mine!)    Our project included a fairly simple table and shelf that my husband built and a pegboard we painted and cut to size (materials list at the end of the post.)  We got creative with covering up our imperfections with some adhesive Lego tape.   In addition to those supplies, the kids helped me pick out folding stools that fit nicely and could easily be stored under the table.  We also purchased some new rolling drawers, a hanging file holder for instructions, a floor mat for easy Lego clean up, adhesive battery operated LED lights.  Everything else was reused or repurposed!  Because the space was awkwardly shaped, there weren't studs in all the right places, so for some things, I used anchors and for others I used industrial strength velcro with an adhesive back.

4. Relocate, decorate, and enjoy!

This is the fun part - moving into the new space! We slowly brought up Legos from the basement giving the kids time to sort and choose the best location in their new Lego room. I overheard them talking about how they were going to sort their Lego swords into some of the pegboard bins separating them into gold, silver, and other colored swords.  This MAY be an indication we have too many Legos, but what had taken up a huge area before now fit nicely in the little nook! We have space for displaying finished masterpieces on the shelves, a spot for unopened sets, lots of storage for the Legos themselves, an area for instruction books, and even have a plan for when the Lego playing gets so serious it needs to move to the floor! The mat I purchased cinches up into a bag so the mess can quickly and easily be picked up! We added some finishing touches that we reused from it previous Lego space - some wooden letters I painted in Lego blue, red, yellow and green that I adhered to the side of the shelf with Command strips and a poster frame filled with Lego wrapping paper. We also mounted a Lego mini figure display box that had been a Christmas gift on the wall above the pegboard.  Now the kids are enjoying their new Lego retreat.  It looks great, but yet it's hidden from view!

If you want to use any of our ideas, here's a supply list and some instructions:

Table
Supplies

• 48"x 16" white laminate shelf board (purchased at Lowes for about $16.00)
• 2"X 3" X 6' boards (purchased at Lowes for about $3.00 ea)
• White paint (reused from a previous project)
• Adhesive Lego tape (purchased at Walmart for about $13 for 8' or available on Amazon)

Instructions

• Cut 2"x 3" board to length for two sides of the shelf board (example 1-48" piece and 1-16" piece
• Mount board to the wall on studs at the appropriate height
• Cut shelf board to length
• Place shelf board on top of the 2" x 3" supports and screw shelf board to supports
• Cut the remaining 2" x 3" board to the appropriate length to create a table leg
• Paint table leg
• Position table leg and screw shelf board to table leg and screw table leg to either floor or wall
• If there are any uneven spaces between the wall and the shelf board, use adhesive Lego tape to cover.

Pegboard
Supplies

• 2' x 4' sheet of pegboard (purchased at Lowes for approximately $10.00)
• Blue paint (1 quart paint/primer tinted blue purchased at Lowes for approximately $7.00)
• Mounting hardware
• Pegboard bins (set of 16 purchase from Amazon for approximately $9.00)

Instructions

• Measure and cut to fit your space
• Paint (note that I first primed with white paint and then painted with blue.  I wish I would have just painted with blue because it was difficult to cover up the white!)
• Hang with hardware keeping a small space between the pegboard and the wall to allow for hooks and bins to hang.
• If you have uneven edges, consider some adhesive Lego tape to cover up!

Shelves
Supplies

• 1" X 6" X 6' boards (purchased at Lowes for approximately $4.00 each)
• White paint (left over from another project)

Instructions

• Measure your space and cut boards to fit
• Create a square and use screws to secure
• Add a shelf/shelves as desired.
• Paint
• Cover screws with plastic screw cap covers (I stole some from a shoe shelf in my closet or they are available on Amazon)
• Install in your space using brackets

Accessories

• Three drawer cart with wheels (purchased at Walmart for approximately $13)
  • Holds one kid's legos and the Lego mat
• Wooden bin (reused from previous toy storage)
  • Holds the other kid's legos
• Hanging file organizer (purchased from Walmart for approximately $5.00)  
  • Holds all instruction booklets that they decided to keep
• Lego play mat (purchased on Amazon for approximately $9.00)
  • Allows kids to play on the mat and when they're done, you just cinch it up into a bag and store in a drawer!
• 18" folding stools (purchased from Amazon for approximately $12.00)
• Poster frame filled with Lego wrapping paper (reused from previous Lego area)
  • Just for a fun decoration
• Wooden craft letters to spell LEGO (reused from previous Lego area)
  • Hung with Command strips to the side of the shelf
• Lego clock (resued from previous Lego area)
  • To keep kids from losing track of time while they are playing Legos!
• Lego mini-figure display case (reusued from kids' room)
  • Hung on wall above the peboard using industrial strength adhesive velcro
• Three battery operated, adhesive LED lights (purchased from Lowes for approximately $13 or available on Amazon)
  • Hung on the angled ceiling  - they are push button operated.
• Lego creations for display (from my kids' imaginations)
  • These can be changed out as desired.  Each kid has a shelf and the top shelf is for unopened Lego sets.

I'm so happy with how this area turned out!  I love Legos and even wrote about how the process relates to getting your life in order in one of my first blog posts.  After this project, I am inspired to plan out more functional areas in other small spaces in my home and garage.  Next on the list - a sports equipment storage area in the garage!  

​"I feel good today - ordered, calm, focused, pretty, competent. Ah, so rare, but so nice! Why today?" This is what I wrote in my journal one day several months ago. After that, it was my quest to figure out what I'd done differently that day which caused me to be in such a good mood. I made a list of what had happened that day, and then made a plan on how to recreate it. I wanted to make the rest like my best!

Here's my list and what it taught me:

I did not check email or the news in the morning.
I normally checked email and news first thing in the morning, and usually there was something negative in the headlines or something stressful in my inbox. That morning, I didn't let my device control me. I realized I didn't feel as down during the morning when I wasn't consumed by negative thoughts. New plan - no news til lunch time and no email until I've at least taken a shower! The only problem is sometimes I feel that I’m not keeping up on current events as much as I should. It’s a tough balance between being informed and staying positive!
​
I sent a message to a friend and received a reply.
I sent a Facebook message to a friend because they were on my mind, and they messaged me right back. Having that connection made me smile. I decided that everyday, I'm going to reach out to at least one friend- it could be in person, on the phone or via a message on Facebook, Snapchat, etc. I’ve been doing this faithfully, and I love this so much! It’s fun to let my friends know they are on my mind and even better to hear back from them!

I spent time doing my hair, makeup and picked out a cute outfit.
That morning, I had the time (and took the time) to fix myself up a bit. It made me feel confident, put together, and in control. I realized that too often, I sported the "I didn't have time nor do I care" look, especially during the work week. I vowed to put on a little makeup and make an effort with my hair every morning. Time was my biggest barrier, so I tried washing my hair at night and using dry shampoo every other day. I also planned to do what I knew worked for me - picking out my outfit the night before. Last week's blog post explored this phenomenon in a little more detail - how we look impacts how we feel. I still enjoy a good no makeup (or shower) day, but that’s more of the exception than the rule these days.

​I encourage you to go give this a try - remember one of your best days, and really think about what you did and which of those things you can recreate or even improve upon. Don’t think you can do everything every day, but even small changes will make a difference!  I'd love to hear your thoughts, please share with us in the comment section below.

​​It was a cold morning in January of 2003, and I'd been married a little less than 6 months.  I popped out of bed early that morning and spent a little extra time curling my hair and putting on more makeup than usual.  My new husband (who'd been my boyfriend for the 4 years prior to our marriage) woke up, took one look at me, and said, "Why are you getting all fancy for work - it's not like it's your birthday or something."  The thing was - it WAS my birthday.  I was turning 22, and I was feeling pretty that morning.  I thought surely he was joking, but...he wasn't.  We argued for several minutes about the date before he admitted defeat.  Talk about a newlywed fail, but it's given me great material and gotten a lot of mileage over the past 15 years!

Why is it though, that I spent extra time on my appearance that day?  It was a special occasion and by fixing my hair and makeup, I felt pampered.  I already felt excited about my birthday (remember I was still in my early 20's when birthdays were a little more fun than they are in your late 30's!)  so I had extra energy to spend on myself.  I also knew that I'd likely be getting more attention than usual that day and wanted to look my best to make a good impression.

We often hear that looks don't matter and try to teach our children the same.  And, though I strive not to judge a book by its cover and certainly want my children to look beyond the surface, the truth is, that looks do make an impact on how others view us and treat us.  First impressions take a mere 7 seconds to form, and even if we try not to, we evaluate others before they've even opened their mouths to speak.  A Business Insider article states that  "within seconds of meeting you, people decide all sorts of things about you, from status to intelligence to promiscuity."   It's unfortunate that judgments about our character can form in such a short amount of time, but because we know this is true, we can use that knowledge and create the impression about ourselves that we want to portray.  Though we can't control many parts of our appearance, there are things we can do that show that we care about ourselves.  ​

I'm doing a giveaway this week to go along with this week's blog post theme.  Enter for your chance to win one of two Lipsense Starter Kits (includes a lip color, gloss and remover.)  A special thanks to Snazzy Beauty who is collaborating with me on this giveaway.  I've added LOTS of ways to enter!  Join us LIVE next Sunday, May 20 at 9 p.m. EST to find out if you won! ​

Sources

Nudelman, Mike, and Drake Baer. “8 Things People Decide within Seconds of Meeting You.” Business Insider, 15 July 2015, www.businessinsider.com/8-things-people-decide-within-seconds-of-meeting-you-2015-7.

Adamns, Rebecca. “How Lipstick (Yes, Lipstick) Can Instantly Make Your Day Better.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Feb. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/12/psychological-benefits-of-lipstick_n_4722612.html.

It FINALLY feels like Spring in Indiana, which means it's time for me to embark on the monumental task of the "seasonal switch."  This is when I put away the wintery clothes and get out the spring/summer clothes that are stored in totes in the basement.  It doesn't sound hard in that single sentence, but it is SUCH a process!  This year I decided to do things a little differently to try to make it more efficient and enjoyable.

I have two boys, so I save everything that's in decent shape from the older one for the younger boy.   Since they are 4 years apart, that means I have tote after tote labelled by size.  Currently I have totes for size 6, size 7, and two totes for size 8 (as the clothes get bigger it takes more room to store the same amount), an 8/10, a 10/12, a 12/14, a 16/18, one for my oldest boy's out of season clothes that still fit, one for my out of season items that fit, my too small tote, and my husband's out of season - oh and then there's one for boots (or sandals depending on the season), one for hats/ gloves, one for coats/jackets, and one for kids' shoes that my youngest hasn't grown into yet!  That's a lot of totes!  And it never fails that the one I want is on the bottom of the stack, so I have to do an intricate redesign of the towers of totes to get to it.

Yesterday was the day I decided to tackle this season's switch, and even though I think I've come up with a pretty good new system, there's no denying, it's still a lot of work!  Here's the new way I'm doing things and how I am organizing the totes of clothes so that when, in a couple weeks I ​find some T-shirt or pair of sweats that somehow escaped the switch , it'll be a cinch to store it because I'll be able to identify which bin it should go in AND access it easily.

Step 1 - Sort the new season's clothes
Don't start with what's currently in your closet or drawers - if you do that you may end up sleeping in a tent for two weeks.  That's what happened to my then-6-year-old last year when I switched his summer clothes to fall/winter clothes.  I started by sorting through the clothes in his drawers, deciding what would be too small next year and what I could save.  Then I didn't have anywhere to store the clothes for the next summer because the storage bins were full of the fall/winter clothes that I hadn't gotten out yet.  So, I dumped the fall/winter clothes on the bed, filled the emptied bins with the summer clothes, and took them to the basement.  When it was bedtime, I was OVER clothes sorting, and since his bed was a mound of long pants, sweaters and long johns, I tried to make it fun and let him sleep in a tent on his floor that night.  Well, one night turned many nights, and I actually lost track of how long he'd been sleeping in a tent until one night he said, "Mom, when can I sleep in my bed again? I've been sleeping in this tent since the night we watched the nun movie!"  He was talking about Sister Act, which we'd watched a full two weeks earlier!  

So to avoid tent sleeping due to a clothes infested bed, start with the new season's clothes.  I store our out of season duds in the basement, so I started with one family member (my youngest because I felt bad about the tent incident.)  I brought up several bins that contained sizes he may fit in this summer (if only there was truly a universal sizing system so I didn't have to have him try on sizes 6 through 8!)  I pulled everything out of each bin and put aside anything that was visibly too small or out of season (if I were better at planning I would have had my kids so they'd be the same sizes during the same seasons...)  and made a giant pile of what I needed for him to try on.  I did this only one bin at a time because, if you have boys you know that trying on clothes is something they can only endure for a very short amount of time.  We tried everything on and decided if it fit and if he liked it enough not to whine about wearing it.  We made three piles: it fits, it's too small or he won't wear it, and it's too big.  When we were done with each bin, we put all the items that fit into the laundry room clothes sorter, the too small items into a bag for my nephew (so my sister-in-law can store those at HER house!), and the too big pile back into the tote it came from.  We repeated with all of his bins (after some breaks in between each one.)

You can repeat this process for each member of the family:

1. ​Get out ALL totes that contain clothes for the upcoming season
2. Before trying anything on, sort out items that visibly won't fit or you don't like
3. Try on everything else, and create three piles:
   1. fits
   2. will never fit again (for kids these would be too small, for adults it is clothes that are for a weight that you realistically won't be again within a year or two)  OR clothes you don't like.  If it's something you know you won't wear because it's not flattering or it's a color you don't care for - donate it!  Don't waste precious closet space to store something you won't wear.
   3. will fit in the future (for kids these would be too big, for us adults, this could be the clothes that are within a few pounds of our current weight)
4. Put items that fit into the laundry
5. Put will never fit again/don't like clothes into a donate box
6. Put will fit in the future clothes back in a tote.

Step 2 - Sort the previous season's clothes
While the new season's clothes are in the laundry, go through the clothes that are currently in your closet and drawers.  Use the same general strategy as you did with the upcoming season's clothes with a couple of tweaks.

1. ​Take items directly from your drawer or closet and make a decision on each item (in other words, don't take them all out and make a giant pile.)  This allows you to do a little at a time and not risk the tent- sleeping -for-two-weeks fate.
2. Create three piles:
   1. fits
   2. will never fit again (for kids these would be too small, for adults it is clothes that are for a weight that you realistically won't be again within a year or two)  OR clothes you don't like.  
   3. will fit in the future (for kids these would be too big, for us adults, this could be the clothes that are within a few pounds of our current weight)
3. If you can make a decision without trying it on (since you likely recently wore most of these items) just put it into the appropriate pile.  But if there is any doubt, try it on!
4. Put items that fit or will fit in the future into the empty bins created when you emptied the upcoming season's clothes.  You may consider creating one bin for "will fit in the future" and another for "fits now" or you could put them all together since you'll have to sort them next season anyway.
5. Put will never fit again/don't like clothes into a donate box
6. Label the tote clearly on multiple sides.  If it's kids' clothes, mark the size and gender, but if it's adults' clothes, just mark it with the name (and if you separated by fits and will fit in the future, indicate that as well.)  Label it on multiple sides so that no matter which direction the tote is stored, you can see the label.  Colored duct tape and a sharpie make easy and cheap labels that can be removed so your totes can be reused.

Step 3 - Store out of season clothes
This is the biggest thing I'm excited about!  I am going to bite the bullet and do something I've been thinking about for several years...I'm buying shelves for my totes!    (I know big step, right?)  When totes are on shelves that means you don't have to play that game like the one you played as a kid where a square was filled with tiles and there's one blank space and you have to move tiles around to get them in a certain order.   I've ordered the shelves and can hardly wait til they arrive (don't worry, I'll let you know on Facebook when they do!)  Mine will go in my basement for the out of season clothes, but these could easily work in a garage or pole barn for anything you store in totes.

Bonus tips

• Make sure to put the tote containing the size of your oldest child in the most accessible spot because, as they grow out of things, you will want to be able to add to that bin without a lot of hassle!
• Keep a trash bag with handles hanging in the laundry room so you can toss too small kids' clothes for giveaway in it right after they come out of the dryer. 

​
Step 4 - Put away new season's clothes
After you've washed all the new season's clothes, put them away in your closet or drawers.  Use this as an opportunity to purchase new (or re-purpose other items as) closet and drawer accessories to keep you organized.  Some of my favorites for the closet are the hangers that allow you to hang multiple items and then collapse to save closet rod space, belt hangers or a purse hanger which takes advantage of vertical space, a scarf hanger which take advantage of the depth of your closet without hogging closet rod space, a cami hanger which can handle multiple sleeveless tops in the space it takes to hang one hanger, fabric totes where you can store items like t-shirts, hats, athletic clothes, stacking bins for closet shelves, hanging shoe holders, or shoes shelves.  In your drawers, use clear plastic shoe boxes or wire inboxes intended for a desk to divide large drawers, or criss-cross  organizers for socks and underwear.  

I hope these 4 steps will help your "seasonal switch" go much smoother this year.  If you are lucky enough to have huge closets, you may not even need to go through this difficult process (I'm jealous!) but for most of us, we have to store at least part of our clothing in a different location when they are out of season.  If you have multiple kids and are saving their clothes for a younger sibling - kudos to you for saving all that money!  Take it from a mom who's done it the hard way for way too many years and try some of these tips.