Comments for Enough is Enough

Comment on Conquer Kitchen Clutter by fyf

fyf — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:48:08 +0000

tastes differ... i like granite and have such countertop in my kitchen

Comment on Legos out the Wazoo by josianna

josianna — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:06:27 +0000

My two boys have an insane amount of Lego. They like to make creations from their own imaginations but will also spend hours following the instructions that came with the kits. Here’s what I did to tame the Lego monster:

1) Set up a nine-cube storage unit
2) Found the Lego identifiable as kits and gave each kit a labeled ziploc bag. Put the kits into the soft cube drawers that fit in the unit. We have enough kits now that I’m using luggage tags to label the soft drawers – “lego vehicles”. “bionicle”, “lego train set” etc.
3) Sorted the rest of the Lego into different colours and put them in clear, labeled boxes. They stack, two per cube, in the storage unit.

We’ve found this helpful because it cuts down on the searching time when the boys are building to a kit. The amount of Lego they have to sort through to find that all important part is limited to one box. Also, when I find random Lego on the floor I can put it into the relevant colour box and know that the boys can find it easily again if they need it.

We call our solution “The Lego Station” and use the top of the storage unit for display of recent creations.

Comment on Legos out the Wazoo by Suzanne

Suzanne — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:24:28 +0000

My son loves legos and we were having the same problem. We do not keep ours together but we do keep the books in case he wants to go back and put them together. He just searches for the parts in the box and sometimes he has to improvise which helps his creativity. Now on the subject of where we keep them…his bed has a box trundle on rollers that we took the mattress out of and he keeps all his legos, lego creations and even some small plastic boxes with certain pieces he plays with often in there. Hope this helps.

Comment on Legos out the Wazoo by perr1ker5h

perr1ker5h — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:34:23 +0000

Jeri…thanks, as usual, for your super comprehensive solutions. As kids grow with their Lego collections, I think storage options grow, too. I like to keep it fairly simple at my house b/c I’m trusting that my 5 year old will play with them independently (not too many “MOM…I can’t find my favorite fan piece that is the only thing that will power my special bi-plane design” screams during playtime) and clean them up independently. I like the Box 4 Blox idea, and the individualized storage bins. While I love the table, I just know I’m not buying another big piece of furniture for our play room (train table pretty much doubles as a Lego table). Your ideas are amazing…I look forward to a future in innovative Lego storage design at my house.

Comment on Legos out the Wazoo by Jeri Dansky

Jeri Dansky — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:17:26 +0000

For all sort of Lego storage options, see my post here: http://tinyurl.com/lego-storage

Comment on Neat Freaky Shoe Solutions by Liz F

Liz F — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:36:15 +0000

Hi Perri – I love this topic! Our shoe solution for the past five years isn’t perfect, but it’s worked by using something attractive and interesting looking to hold the many shoes that accumulate. We’ve set up an antique wood jelly cabinet by the front door (since we don’t have a 2nd, family-only door) and have assigned a shelf to each family member. The cabinet itself is an interesting piece, wasn’t super expensive, is a bit nostaglic (we bought it in central NC before we moved to Seattle) and adds some charm to an otherwise uncharming need to keep shoes by the door.

When we have the perfect dream mud room – and oh, that is my dream too! – we’ll figure out something more utilitarian-looking. But in the meantime, this is what we’ve got and it’s not so bad!

Thanks for the tips and my best from Seattle!

Comment on Making Mealtime Work by perr1ker5h

perr1ker5h — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:17:19 +0000

via email from a Neat Freak News reader today:

Hi…I enjoy your newsletter……..I have another tip for the grocery shopping list……I’ve just started using this and it’s really helpful.

I look at the grocery store sale flyers on-line..Harris-Teeter, Food Lion, etc. They are so much easier to read than the paper flyers. I ‘click’ on the items that I want to buy that are on-sale……and put them in my grocery list specific for that store…..(it’s pretty self-explanatory)………then when I’m done I print off the grocery list for that specific store…..this really helps me know which stores have all the specials that I want. Then I’m off to the store(s) to purchase those items……..and all the other items that I may need.

~Karin Long

Comment on Neat Freaky Shoe Solutions by perr1ker5h

perr1ker5h — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:35:50 +0000

Lisa B, I couldn’t agree more! Buying quality over quantity is so important. Good, timeless shoes are worth the investment…and are better for the earth. If “cheap” is the primary reason you’re purchasing something, you might want to wait a few days, think over your purchase, and see how badly you still want the item. Replacing shoes every six months will cost you more in the long run!

Comment on Neat Freaky Shoe Solutions by perr1ker5h

perr1ker5h — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:33:01 +0000

Hey Laura,
A garage entry can make a great “mudroom.” Rather than going with baskets or shoe cubbies, if you have the space, I recommend using something like wire closet shelving that mounts to the wall. This allows dirt from the bottom of the shoes to filter through and keeps shoes visible (rather than a shoe black hole like a big bin!). This product from Elfa could work:
http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=20930307&itemIndex=1&CATID=13366&PRODID=10021455

Or even the wire shelving that mounts with brackets at a big box store like Lowes. Good luck! At least you have your garage…you’re one up on me!

Comment on Neat Freaky Shoe Solutions by Laura M

Laura M — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:32:54 +0000

Fabulous blog NF! Can you advise on a great she storage site/store for something for our garage? We are going to transition our messy garage to part mud room. We bought our house before we had kids and realized the importance of a mud room!
thanks!