Organizing an Ikea Expedit shelf with Thirty-One products

The beginning of Spring means lots of organizing and outdoor projects to me.  And since the weather isn’t quite cooperating with doing lots of flower planting yet, I have been working on some spring cleaning and organizing inside.  I love IKEA and I love organization.  And fortunately those two things go pretty much hand in hand.

I added an IKEA Expedit shelf in my guest room a while ago to help organize and store lots of kids things.  My husband and I don’t have any kids, but I do babysit kids in my home a few days a week, and also want to have some books and toys on hand for when we have company that have kids.

But as you can tell, it was in definite need of some organization (and a lot of purging!)

First of all let me share some tips on organizing kids things.  Have any puzzles like this?  Yep, those boxes are the worse – they break, and collapse and won’t stack well.

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I saw this great tip back on my sister-in-law’s blog a few months ago.  Solution: Cut the front picture off the box and discard that falling apart box.  Then stick it all in a zipper ziploc bag or in a pencil pouch (like my sister-in-law used).

Takes up much less space and it is easy to grab 2-3 puzzles to take with you if you were headed to an appointment or somewhere where your child could sit and work on puzzles while you waited.

And another tip: save all those zipper heavy duty plastic bags that curtains, pillows, sheets and tons of other things come in.  Those bags are very sturdy and have a great zipper.  Use them to coral sets of things or small games.

Now back to organizing the actual shelf.  Basket and bins are your lifesaver here.  Everything is better in a basket or bin – I don’t think you can own too many baskets!  I am constantly looking for deals on NICE baskets at thrift stores and yard sales.  And I use them all over my house to organize food, magazines, toys, socks, décor, bathroom towels and much more!

I had a few baskets that fit this shelf but really needed some more.

Enter the Your Way Cube from Thirty-One

 

and the Your Way Rectangle from Thirty-One

Have you heard of Thirty-One before?  I bet you have seen someone carrying a cute bag or purse in the store and it probably came from Thirty-One!

Thirty-One sells everything from purses, to totes, to wallets, to even a new line of organizational products for the home.  My friend Alicia is a consultant and she invited me to try out some of their new organizational products.

The Your Way Cube fits perfectly in the openings in the IKEA Expedit.

You can either use the cube with the clear window showing (so you can see what is inside) or with the solid back showing.

I used it to store all kinds of odds and ends like play dough, train sets, and anything else that needed a home.  And the handles make it super easy for kids to pull out to get to the things inside.

And the Your Way Rectangle fits well too with space to spare.

I used it to store all the puzzles and games in ziploc bags.

So here is the organized and functional AFTER!

And with the bins turned around to see the pretty front instead of the clear windows.

Just so you don’t have to scroll back to the top, here’s the before and after:

Thirty-One has a great special for the month of March.  Spend $31 on anything in their catalog and get a tote for 50% off.

You can check out Alicia’s site for all the details.  And she has an exclusive facebook page you can join to get first looks at new product, and participate in giveaways and incentives each month.

And better yet, mention my site (The Frugal Homemaker.com) when ordering and get $5.00 off any order over $31.00 (through April 15th).  And get an additional $15 credit for anyone who hosts a party between March 20th and June 20th (you can do a catalog party online or on facebook and earn all kinds of free and discounted products).

Disclosure: I was provided product to use in my home for this post but was not paid or perked or told what  to say.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  And I really do love Thirty One products and own several of their totes, purses, and more that I have either earned through hosting a party or purchased on my own.