As we continue to prepare for van’s arrival, we’ve definitely had to rethink our storage needs.  Van’s closet once housed the ironing board/iron, the vacuum, the sewing machine, etc.  And since that closet is now filled with cute baby things, we have hD to find somewhere else for all that stuff to go.  {For anyone that lives in an old house, you know closets are far and few between.}

Enter my fabulous husband.  I proposed an idea and he implemented it with gusto!

Now I had been debating on going to Ikea to buy some cool storage cabinets, but that required driving about 3 hours round trip, picking up the goods, and then praying that there was no damage or missing pieces once we started to put it together.  So luckily on a recent trip to Lowe’s these cabinets caught my eye.

I came home, did a bit of space planning/measuring, and then took Mr.vB back to get his thoughts.  He loved the idea, so when his Mom and Step-dad were in town this past weekend we took them over to Lowe’s to help with the heavy lifting.  {the tall cabinet alone weighed 115 lbs!  No way this prego was going to attempt to lift that!}

Here are some before photos of my Ladies Lounge/Office that had turned into the “catch-all” room for everything that was displaced.

What a MESS!!!

But look at it now…

It’s still not completely finished, but I’m in organization heaven!!

The tall cabinet is going to hold the ironing board/iron, the vacuum, my small collection of wrapping paper, and a few other things.  The middle cabinet is going to house my sewing machine and sewing supplies.  And the drawers on the far right are going to hold all my present wrapping supplies and other crafty things.  Then on the peg board I want to hang all my ribbon, gift bags, etc.

I’ve already started putting stuff away and it is looking awesome.  Hopefully by the end of this coming weekend it will all be finished.  Stay Tuned!

Have you guys been surfing the web and come across something you didn’t know even existed, but as soon as you saw it you needed it?  This just happened to me.

I thought all my earrings and necklaces were quite content sitting on a shelf in my closest.  Once I got a look at these cute jewelry stands I was having second thoughts…

How cute is this?  A Spinning Bird Jewelry Stand $32.00

or…

Yes Frills Wall Jewelry Holder $24

My jewelry and I might have to have a serious conversation about relocation.

Have you guys ever been to a Container Store before?  If you love to organize things, you would LOVE this place!! The closest one to me is located outside of Washington DC, so obviously I don’t get up there as often as I would like. (Luckily they are also online.)

I did however make a stop there today!  Every time I go in there I feel like a kid in a candy store.  I don’t know what it is, but the thought of all those boxes, and files, and containers just makes me happy.  Anyways, back to my visit today.  Per normal, the minute I walked in the door of the store, whatever mental list of things I wanted to pick up totally escaped me.  Instead, I walked up and down every aisle drooling looking at everything.

Here are two of my top picks from today..

1. Flip and Tumble 24-7 Bag

This goes along great with my earlier post about reduce reuse recycle.  I have plenty of larger bags to accommodate groceries, but nothing small to stash in my purse for those quick dashes into Target or Marshalls.  This bag is great because it folds neatly into this little ball that can go into your purse.  It then unfolds to a bag that has a padded shoulder strap and can hold up to 25 lbs!!

It also comes in 4 great colors.  I went with the chocolate/blue combo but might have to get the lime green/turquoise combo on my next visit!!

2. Rectangular Crunch Can by Umbra

I thought this was a great idea for a laundry basket. It beats the standard basket by being able to fold flat when not in use.

I think it could also be put to use when traveling, camping, etc.  A great overall bag that will hold a lot, but not take up a lot of space.

It’s a good thing for my wallet/budget that this store is so far away.  I could have walked out of that place with cart loads of organizational tools, but i refrained. Be very proud Mr. vB. Until the next time Container Store.. xoxo.