85 Apartment Guide “Smart Storage Solutions: Control the Clutter” Blogger Challenge: Crossing the Finish Line!

Whew!  Sorry for the late post today.  The hubs and I have off today and literally just finished hanging up the last spice rack bookshelf in the boy's bedroom, thanks to the project sponsored by Apartment Guide!

That's right, as you may recall, I am partnering up with Apartment Guide as part of their "Control the Clutter" Blogger Challenge, in which they offered up a $150 American Express Gift card to get a space under control.

I quickly chose the boy's bedroom, since they were completely lacking in any sort of storage and items were beginning to pile.  Gasp.

The kiddos desperately needed smart storage solutions for their itty bitty living space.  I couldn't wait to get started.  Here is a look at my initial plan:

As with any project, things get switched up and don't always go as originally planned.  This happens to me almost each and every time, and as long as the end outcome is either equally as great or better than originally anticipated, I am down for rolling with the changes!

Things changed instantly when I got to work on the first project, which was the kiddo's art caddy.  Instead of a tray and pails, a utensil caddy ultimately made more sense, and budget wise, was less so it was the first win.

The rest of things pretty much went as planned.  Remember that old dresser that was taking up WAY too much space?

The dresser was removed and the kid's clothes are now stored in their new closet.  Instead of sending the dresser off to never never land, I decided to re-purpose those old dresser drawers, as under the bed storage, using these as inspiration:

I started out by giving all four drawers a fresh coat of chalkboard paint around the entire outside of the drawer:

The the hubs got all dusty playing with the saw:

Cutting down wood to use to reinforce the casters he was about to screw into the bottoms...

Once the casters were on, I popped the original drawer pulls back onto the fronts, and filled them up with toys!!

I found a couple of shallow itso bins on sale at Target, which I knew would be a great solution for dividing out the toys within the drawers:

The bins actually couldn't have been more perfect, they fit like a glove!

And the chalkboard fronts make labeling the contents easy, yet versatile!

We used all four drawers, two under each bed.  Check out ALL the puzzles that we fit into another:

Imagine the space that would have been taken up by keeping all those puzzles in their original boxes.  They definitely wouldn't have had a place to call home in this bedroom!  Ziploc baggies work wonders!

Total cost for the drawers: $20!! 

• Drawers:  Already Owned
• Pulls:  Already Owned
• Chalkboard Paint:  Already Owned
• Casters:  $20 for 16 {found at Home Depot}

To gain the same amount of storage from the drawers I originally had picked out, I would have had to purchase a total of 8 at $18/piece for a total of $144.  That's a big savings!

Moving on, so much more to see!

We ended up going with the cabinet and the extension that we always planned on purchasing, for in-between the boy's beds.  However, we splurged out of our own pockets on a door to conceal some of the storage and make it a little easier on the ol' eyeballs.

You know me.  I typically wallpaper a bookcase backing, or do something crazy with it.  This time was no different.

I painted it out the same red as the frames above the boy's bed.

It just added a special touch of color, instead of leaving the backing a blah white.  For corralling a couple of games and toys on the shelves, I decided to go with some chrome storage baskets vs, rattan, both for durability and to better match with the theme of the room:

We also stayed with the plan of adding some sconces right to the sides of the bookcase, to give the boys some light for reading.

The cords dangling down weren't going to work for me though, so we also installed a couple of cord covers to streamline the look a bit.

The hubs lined up the top of the cord cover where he wanted it, made sure it was all level, and THEN pulled off the tape behind the cover to affix it, while still holding it against the bookcase.  Unlike me, who originally tried pulling off the tape first... yeah, don't do that.

The lights are super easy for the boys to turn on an off, just with the pull of a string:

And I adore that they each have their own lighting option, so one can read while the other rests...

{Peyton was at a summer program in which he got to completely tattoo himself, pretty cool eh?}

Total Cost for the Cabinet w/Storage and Lighting: $165

• Cabinet:  $35
• Cabinet Extension:  $15
• Cabinet Door: $40
• Cabinet Door Pull: Already Owned
• Red Paint:  Already Owned
• Wall Sconces {x2}:  $30
• Cord Covers {x2}:  $10
• Wire Storage Baskets {x2}: $23
• Art Caddy: $12

You would think we could be done now with ALL of the insane amounts of storage we had already added, but I had one more project up my sleeve {how does that work when it's 90 degrees and I am wearing a tank?}

Remember the Pinterest inspiration I had found to use spice racks as bookshelves?

Yeah, we did that too!  Only I just had to paint ours with more of the leftover red paint I had been using everywhere else in the room!

The hubs ensured he used drywall anchors when installing them:

And a level:

Little helpers are fun to keep around too....

Here they are in all their red glory on the blue striped walls:

And all filled up!

Total Cost for the Spice Rack Bookcases: $16

• Spice Racks {x4}:  $16
• Red Paint:  Already Owned

Because we had already been slightly over the $150 gift budget plus the door we forked out for, we decided to forgo the red strapping basket for the boys stuffed animals, and find something we already had instead:

Although I know I would have loved how that red would have popped {and maybe will either spray paint the current basket or just splurge on the other}, gotta do what you gotta do to keep a budget!

So now for all the fun before and afters?  Are you still with me after enduring THE LONGEST POST EVER?

I just love what this picture says:

Such an organized clutter free fun place for two little boys!

A HUGE thank you to Apartment Guide for offering up so many organizing tips and for helping us fund the oodles of storage that was created in this space!  It's so wonderful that everything has a "home" and that the clutter is now neatly tucked away.  This mom's heart sure is smiling big!

I also announced the winner to the $50 Container Store Gift card, one of you will now have access to the best containerizing store to control your clutter as well!!  Is it you?

Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Smart Storage Solutions: Control the Clutter” Blogger Challenge.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “Smart Storage Solutions: Control the Clutter” Blogger Challenge. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.