Use yard sale dressers (or trunks/chests) to add extra storage in your home

This post is part of a series – “5 weeks to an Organized Home.”  You can see all the posts in this series by clicking here.  And to make sure you don’t miss any posts you can sign up to have every post sent to your email or follow me on facebook.

So today I get to talk about using yard sale finds to help organize (and beautify your home!)  You know I have a huge passion for yard sales… in fact, on Saturday I could feel the anticipation for spring and yard sale season to be back in full force!  BUT before then, I have got to get my home organized.

I have shown you before that I bought a dresser at a yard sale, repainted it, and then use it as an “entryway table” in my front entryway.  Not only does it add pretty display space, it adds storage and function to my home too.

Here is our entryway several years ago without the dresser.

And here is the entryway today!   More before/after pictures in my entryway house tour post.

So much better!  But now you get to see what I store IN that dresser.

I have batteries, flashlights, Command products, packing tape, and various cords in one drawer.  Of course organized in shoe boxes.

Card games in another drawer (larger board games are in a top shelf in the hallway closet right across from this dresser so this keeps all our games in one spot).

Extra light bulbs in another drawer.

Our candy stash in another drawer

And the top 2 drawers are my craft stash junk drawers (which are on the list to be cleaned out and organized when I do a huge craft closet purge in a few weeks).  But I will probably always keep a “junk drawer” of sorts that I can throw frequently used craft items – glue gun, scissors, etc.  And somewhere I could throw a few items if I needed to put them away quick if company was coming.

I love the beauty that this dresser adds to my entryway and have been enjoying decorating it seasonally too.  And I REALLY love the storage it adds too.

And I have another “storage dresser” in my home too.  Upstairs in the small hallway in between all the bedrooms/laundry room/guest bath.

This was the hallway before – boring and desperately needed something!

And this was the dresser before – a $20 flea market find.  You can see more pictures and see how I painted/distressed it in this post.

I store all of my candles in the bottom drawer.  Seasonal candles, jar candles, all of them.  I can’t store my seasonal candles in the attic because they melt in the summer so this is an easy way to coral any extra candles.  I am constantly going to this drawer to pull candles out to use for decorating in my home or for events I help with at church.

The other 2 drawers hold extra linens, pillow covers, storage bags, and more.

Our home really does lack an adequate amount of storage, but by adding these 2 dressers I have added almost a closet full of storage to our home and beauty as well!

If you have extra hallway space, space at the end of a hall, a space in your entryway that you could add a small dresser, watch at thrift stores or yard sales for a cheap one and add it to your home!

Trunks and chests are another way to add storage.  I was just reading a magazine this weekend about a room makeover and they added 2 upholstered benches to a room to store out of season clothes – awesome idea!

I have an old black trunk that I almost put in the yard sale pile a few years back but now have added it to the end of a small bed in my craft/extra guest room and store extra décor in it!  Plus it adds a seating space and a fun place to display some pillows or a throw on top and make the room seem cozier.    I would love to find a chest or trunk to add to our master bedroom.

What kind of furniture could you make fit in your home to use as storage but also to add some beauty and décor as well?  Measure your space so you know what dimensions would work and and make a wish list to find at yard sales or thrift store this spring.

I will have lots more ideas for storage in dressers or furniture on Friday in my Pinterest links post.  So stay tuned for that.