28 The High/Low Organizing Challenge!

I often hear that storage is so expensive!  And it absolutely can be!  But what I love most about the organizing process is the challenge of staying within a budget.  Looking at organizing and storage solutions that I crush on and adore, and pushing my creative envelope to implement the look for less.

Whether building an entire wall of built-ins or covering a simple shoe box with decorative paper, there are endless ways to achieve a beautiful piece of storage for without tapping into your savings.

So this month I thought I would challenge all of you to join along with me in achieving your high end storage wishes on a low end budget.  Select one or more organizing/storage items which are either sitting in your virtual shopping cart or have been pinned on Pinterest and set out to recreate that item with a little DIY'ing and creativity.

Here are a few of my previous favorite projects which we had DIY'd to save a little cash.

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Using a simple dollar store basket, hot glue and some cotton rope, we were able to create a decorative soft sided basket for extra blankets in our guest bedroom.

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To give myself some extra organization in our desk drawers, leftover cracker and cereal boxes were transformed into drawer dividers with the help of some pretty paper.

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To help our oldest maintain his busy schedule, we paired chalkboard paint with MDF and a white paint pen to DIY an oversized wall calendar.

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To corral some extra craft supplies, a shoe box was turned into a decorative storage accessory when paired with houndstooth gift wrap and a couple of buttons.

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One of my favorite projects to this day is our Pottery Barn Kid's knock-off storage boxes!  Shipping boxes were covered in playful fabric and handles were created out of rope and grommets.

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I always love a good IKEA hack.  IKEA is known for their budget friendly storage options, however, making them personal and work hard for your space is the best part!  One of my favorite IKEA updates was an outdoor entertaining cart, which was transformed with gold Rub 'n Buff, hooks and a tray.

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I had been coveting the Martha Stewart gift wrap station for years.  I finally created my own version for a fraction of the price by modifying an existing bookcase with simple wood dowels and hooks.

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The Elfa system from the Container Store is a winner in my book.  But at times, the price is just hard to justify, especially when similar options are available for less.  Thank you again IKEA!  Oh, and thanks to gold spray paint as well!

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Kate Spade anything is pricey, and although I occasionally splurge on a piece of jewelry, the pretty storage boxes were just too much for my pocketbook.  A trip to the craft store and some leftover paint later and I had the look for less!

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Sometimes, just a simple hardware upgrade takes a standard piece of storage furniture from blah to hoorah!

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And don't forget about Craig and his trusty list!  Some of our favorite pieces of furniture have been found on Craigslist and were completely transformed with the help of love and paint.


Everything from decorative trays to baskets to boxes and credenzas; anything is fair game during this challenge!  So get out your nail guns and fabric remnants and paint brushes and glue, and get ready to join in the fun!

You have the rest of the month to get your project ready to share with myself and the rest of this amazing community!  So let's really get creative, save oodles of dollars and inspire one another by creating budget friendly storage solutions based off of sought after high-end pieces.  Link party will start on May 1st {at which time I will be sharing the project I selected to do as well}.  I can't wait to see you all there!

Any ideas of organizing and storage items you are hoping to recreate this month?  Hampers?  Closet systems?  Malachite boxes?  On your mark, get set..... GO!

For those of you awesome pals that did any type of organizing or cleaning project last month and are excited to share those as well, that link party will be up within the next day or two, so stay tuned!