Getting Inspired

Hello, dear blog readers! While I'm sitting here snuffling away on my couch with the latest cold/flu bug, I've been doing some looking around online for "chic" storage solutions that don't completely break the budget. (For those of us who have been pretty much broke our entire married existence, a budget for storage is a bit tight.)

I'm going to sound like a poster or paid-ad for IKEA, but I just have to say: I LOVE this store! Since we sold a lot of our (busted-by-prior-movers) furniture, we now have a dining room that consists of a small card table and four chairs. The metal shelves from the garage have been set up in the dining room to accommodate pantry storage, miscellaneous storage, and kitchen items that don't actually fit in the kitchen.

We managed to make what we call a "do-or-die" trip with the kids on Saturday to our closest IKEA store. We got up early, fed and changed the kids, and headed out the door as soon as we were able in order to beat most of the morning traffic. The kids LOVED the experience. Lem in particular is of the age where playing in the kid-friendly areas is a draw. We stopped at the food court and had an early lunch consisting of breakfast food, which allowed us to look around like tourists. I swear that I could drop an entire paycheck in the store if I didn't go in with a set amount of budget in mind.

All of that being said, I'm now in the phase of looking for ways to conserve space and store various household items--anything from laundry detergent and organizing canned food goods, clothing, etc. If any of you household organizing types have any suggestions of how to go about organizing (or household tips for cleaning etc.) that you have found helpful, I'm open to suggestions! It can be from a blog, a book, your own experience...

Happy Thursday to you all, dear blog readers!