The Shared Wardrobe

My 'Organising on a Budget' project for this week is a bit late (sorry) but is a join Wardrobe in our home.
Max and Lacey, our gorgeous 2 year old twins, share a room and will probably for quite some time. They have always shared, have never slept apart and both need and want each other there to fall asleep (so cute).
However, as cute as it is, sharing also brings other problems. Especially when they aren't the same sex!
Our kids bedrooms are quite small, so space is of the essence, and with 2 beds there isn't room left for much else, especially a bulky chest of drawers, so all of Max and Lacey's clothes and shoes need to be stored in the double door wardrobe.

Most of their clothes are folded, and kept in wire drawers in the wardrobe, and only their good clothes are hung. This saves space and I believe it makes dressing them easier. When going out somewhere a little more special than everyday activites/home play then I choose something from the top, if its a normal day with a normal routine then I choose items from the drawers. Obviously there is the exception of jeans etc , as I fold them also ( I also keep my own jeans this way).

So on the weekend, I did a thorough cull and sort of their clothing, and set about to making some cute labels for the drawers and boxes at the top.
I am pleased with how it turned out, its quite hard to make so many things look neat!

We have had the wire drawers for some time, but if you are interested , the ones on the left are from IKEA here and the ones on the right are from Crazy Clarkes (these are 2 on top of each other) and they are relatively inexpensive. The basket in the middle holds a selection of soft toys, lots I would like to part with but can't for some reason or other!

The bottom of the right hand side is Max's and the left is Laceys (hence the pink) .

The top right side drawers are shared and go in sequence like this;

Teddies and Bathers

 (they sleep with a small rug with a teddy attached at night and we have spares for washing)

Socks and Hats

Underwear and singlets

Then Max's clothes start

Shirts (long and short sleeve)

Shorts

Pants

Jumpers

Pyjamas

Shoes

Lacey's drawers are in the same order and both have the bottom drawer for their shoes. I love having the shoes in a drawer, easy to throw in and it still looks neat and tidy.

Inside the drawers I have used a mix of SKUBB boxes from IKEA and some plastic trays from a cheapie shop to containerise all the small items and keep each seperate. So the left side has a box for Lacey's Knickers and the right side a box for Max's little jocks. You can see how I organised Stella's drawers some time ago with the same boxes here.

The labels add a nice finishing touch and helps when darling Dad puts the clothes away now that I have rearranged a few items!

At the top of the wardrobe we have a shelf and I have used the basic PAPPIS box from IKEA, a spare white box from another project and a plastic storage tub.
These are all great for containing items and creating a neater look. The plastic tub is for clothing that is too small. Instead of placing the clothes back in the drawer or wash , when they are proven to be too small, they go straight in the tub. When the tub is full, it will be taken to the garage for storage (until Angus needs them from Max or until I go to a market to onsell most of Lacey's and earn a few dollars back) and the tub will be replaced with another.
A few backpacks sit up there too, just incase something happens to the ones they are using or they are in the wash.

The brown (and white) boxes house their keepsake and precious items, aswell as a left over box from another project. The kids are very fortunate ( I think..... at least I keep telling myself!) that they receive quite a lot of little trinkets and the like that are not to be played with , but that is quite hard to tell 2 year olds when the little goodies are sitting on their bookcase! So I put them away in a box until the time is right, or if they are on display, I like to keep the box handy and intact just incase. All these things go into the labelled boxes.
There is also a box for their sleeping bags, as they received them for Christmas and we use them when we go away.

I just made the A5 labels up with some digital scrapbooking paper and laminated them. I love the uniform look. And fancy that?! The drawer labels match ;)

I am so pleased with the finished wardrobe and I hope that I may have helped you with your storage issues in a small or shared bedroom. I know that not everyone has a double wardrobe, or even built ins for that matter and we are lucky in that regard but we are short on space.
These drawers and the small touches certainly do help when making the most of what we do have and making the space work for us!

I am proud to say that I did not go out and buy anything for this project, having repurposed pieces from around our home or my storage stash ( I tend to buy when they are on special or when I am in the city and can purchase from stores we don't have in town).
Apart from a few laminating pouches and the paper and ink, the project was super budget friendly, even if you do have to buy a few storage boxes and drawers.

To make this project easier for you to complete at home and for your convenience ( I find it annoying when you read a blog post and someone says they made labels , and they look really cool and you really really want them, but have to make them yourself!! haha Lazy or what?!), I am sharing the drawer labels as a printable for you! They are in a lovely green colour so totally unisex , for big and small so download and print away! I dare you!!

pdf version - Wardrobe labels

If you have missed the other projects completed so far in the 'Organising on a Budget' series, you can find them here;

Main Bathroom

Home Made Washing Powder

Laundry Cupboards

Are you playing along? Finding inspiration in simple yet cost effective projects that can change your home and the way it runs? Please share some photos with me if you are, I would love to see them!

Thankyou for all your support for these posts, its so lovely to see people taking what they need from them and using it how they please!

Next up;

The toy room reveal!!

It has been a long process, of gradually buying things as the budget allowed but I am thrilled with the way it has turned out, small changes and big impact!!

Wardrobe Organising

First up, I just want to thank everyone for their support, kind words and encouragement about my post yesterday, and my whinge on my Facebook page. I would never wish bad days on anyone but its nice to know that everyone has them, and we are all in this together. Mothering is not easy, kids are testing, and life can be hard!

But... today was a new day. And it was a good day.  And I have no doubt tomorrow will be even better!

On to the point of the post;

A few days ago I set out on an organising mission. Our walk in robe has been my pet hate of our house (with quite a few other things too , don't you worry!) .

Its a big robe, we are very lucky, but we certainly need it! I am a lover of all things in a wardrobe. Shoes , Oh yeah I LOVE shoes.

Jewellery, yep love that too!

And clothes, well a girls gotta wear something , right?

Plus our wardrobe is used for storage of other things as well. Computer and camera items. Presents bought in advance. Keepsakes that are too good for the garage or shed.

And it was an absolute PIGSTY!! Bad.

So , off to Target I went (as its our only department store) with limited funds, but a need for supplies.

*Please excuse the pics during this post, the WIR is long and narrow and very dark.

So here are the BEFORE pics

Bad huh?

From Target I picked up a few organising baskets etc and found these. They were $10 for a pack of 2 and I LOVE them.

They zip up on the bottom for easy assembly and storage when not in use. They are quite firm, wipe able and in a nice light, natural colouring/pattern. 

 And the AFTERS;

Top shelf jewellery
Next one is shorts and 3/4 casuals
Next is a spare Project Life kit (as I scrapbook in our room) and a paper holder
and the basket on the floor has scarves, hats, beanies etc

My handbags are kept on the top shelf , in these white baskets, with clutches, purses etc. Then there is a camera bag and white storage box with my camera lense boxes, filters and a few spare lenses ( I bought my camera second hand and got a few lenses with it that I don't use)

The plastic storage tubs up the top are of Christmas presents for the kids I have already bought ( I buy most presents online, from Ozsale etc super cheap, and just put them away. Even if something is going to be 3 sizes too big, it will fit one day!)

The brown Pappis Boxes from IKEA, have presents for babies, presents for kids, and keepsakes.

  I need a new solution for my shoes, instead of having them on a shoe rack, to which I never replace them or strewn all over the floor. These drawers with the plastic baskets are on clearance at Target for $20. Not super cheap but they are easy to use, easy to clean and I can always use the baskets separately elsewhere if they don't work out to be working.

I have separated the drawers into thongs, sandals, flats , heels etc. I have nearly finished making up labels , I will post them when they are finished!!

A few pairs of my chunkier cork shoes are a bit bulky so I thought I would just put them to the side, and the white big basket (only just visible) under the dresses, is full of my boots, sneakers etc.

The white drawers are for Hubby's scarfs, beanies, normal socks, ties etc

The man folks end. Jumpers on top with his trusty hat. 

First shelf is T-shirts and singlets
Next is boardies and tracksuit pants
Next is work clothes
And on the floor are work socks , and in the white basket are sports clothes.

And now for the jewellery. Just to warn you; I have ALOT!! Like heaps. But coming from a hairdresser background, costume jewellery is everything. I tended to wear alot of black, and then dress it up with funky necklaces and an arm party of bracelets or bangles.
I have had this organiser for a while, I bought it at Target as well, and it has all the nifty compartments for bracelets, and they are clear so you can still see all your goodies.
The hanging basket up the top is of brooches and flowers etc.
And you can see that belts are hanging on the right.

And then come the necklaces!! And I had a cull a few months ago, this is only half of what I did have. When we moved in DH screwed these hook racks to the wall. Its been the best thing ever.

And that's it! Its not completely finished, and it doesn't look absolutely fantastic but its working, its functional and its alot cleaner and tidier than it was!

Gotta love that!