Every room could use a good storage cabinet. Of course the same type of storage cabinet would not be suitable for every room. For example, an appropriate storage cabinet for a bedroom would not be appropriate for the laundry room while a perfect laundry room cabinet would not be suitable for a play room.
Many older homes have very limited closet space and are in great need of storage solutions. Most closets in turn of the century homes are limited to a small hinged door off of a bedroom. Front hall closets did not seem to exist and walk in closets are quite definitely a modern day phenomenon. For those of us that live in older homes proper storage cabinets are an absolute necessity. I like to keep the Victorian touches in my home and therefore I find myself browsing through rummage sales and salvage yards and antique shows for antique storage cabinets that match the decor of my home.
The disadvantage of buying antique storage cabinets is that they are often in a state of disrepair. Buying a cabinet that is in rough shape may not be worth the money. Only buy an older storage cabinet if you are prepared to do all of the repair and refinishing work yourself (and within 2 months maximum) or if you are prepared to immediately drop it off at the carpenter's and pay to have the work done professionally.
In my experience antique cabinets come in three broad varieties. There are antique storage cabinets with doors, cabinets with doors and drawers and those cabinets with only drawers. Don't confuse the latter with dressers. When I refer to antique storage cabinets with drawers, I am referring to antique filing cabinets. The two former types of cabinets are the most common found. Those cabinets with drawers and doors are often best used in the kitchen or dining room while those cabinets with just doors (often referred to as armoires) are best suited in other rooms of the house.
There are a number of effective ways to use an armoire. In the living room or den, an antique armoire can be used to hid your electronic equipment such as your TV, DVD player, game player or stereo equipment. There are those people you like to show off there electronic equipment but I am not one of them. I think a stack of black boxes and a jumble of wires detracts from the appearance of any room. An armoire can be cleverly modified to hide of of your equipment and allow the unsightly but necessary wires to run out the back, hidden from sight.
Of course, an armoire can be a great way to increase the available closet space in your bedroom. If space permits a particularly attractive armoire can be left in the hallway or even in another room and used for storing off-season clothing.
Storage cabinets for rooms such as a play room or laundry can be made of resin or even plastic. It is easy to find a set of plastic drawers to store items in the laundry room. A set of inexpensive plastic storage bins might do the trick in a playroom as well as any formal cabinet.
The addition of a storage cabinet to your home will be a welcome addition. You will be suprised at how quickly it becomes essential. You will wonder where you stored your belongings before such an addition. Storage cabinets come in a number of shapes, sizes, models, and ages. Do some thinking and a little bit of research and pick the storage cabinet that is right for you and your family.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Friday, 10 July 2009
Storage Ideas For Play Rooms
Incorporating storage solutions into your children's play room is vital. Play rooms can go from neat and tidy to the ultimate disaster in the time it takes to wash your hands or answer the phone. The descent into play room bedlam is so rapid and so complete that it is almost otherworldly. Every time this transformation happens in the presence of my spouse I can hear the faint humming the the Twilight Zone theme song.
The fact is that play rooms need to be tidied 2 or 3 times more often than other rooms of the house because they become disaster zones 2 or 3 times more often. Some creative storage solutions for your play room can make this task easier. With a little thought you can make tidying the play room into a sort of game and the kids will even help put things back into their proper place.
As you may have noticed from some of my other posts and articles, I am a big fan of the plastic bin. Plastic bins help with closet organization and all sorts of other storage problems. Plastic bins are cheap and durable. The use of brightly coloured plastic bins in the play room is a fantastic idea.
The following are two ideas that I have seen used effectively:
1. Each child has their own plastic bin. It is helpful if the bins are different colours. Each child is taught that all their toys must be returned to their special plastic bin before a new toy is played with. This gives each child a sense of responsibility from a very young age. The plan does not always work but with some gentle encouragement it soon can become habit forming.
This idea also allows the child to take their toys and special bin to their bedroom or another quiet place in the house if they want some quiet time.
2. Make some built-in shelves that fit a series of plastic bins. On the ends of the plastic bins glue on pictures of specific toys or perhaps find some appropriate stickers. You can have a truck bin, a barbie bin, a stuffed animal bin, a train and train track bin, a princess bin, a Dora bin, etc. Clean uptime is fun and easy because the kids simply return their toys to the bin that has the correct picture on the end. Give your kids a reward like a kiss or a green grape for every truck that goes into the truck bin or every princess that goes into the princess bin. By giving the child a small reward you are re-enforcing good behaviour. Small rewards can make the clean up process quick, easy and infinitely more pleasant for the parent.
Play room storage ideas can be fun and easy. Check back to this blog for some other play room storage solutions
The fact is that play rooms need to be tidied 2 or 3 times more often than other rooms of the house because they become disaster zones 2 or 3 times more often. Some creative storage solutions for your play room can make this task easier. With a little thought you can make tidying the play room into a sort of game and the kids will even help put things back into their proper place.
As you may have noticed from some of my other posts and articles, I am a big fan of the plastic bin. Plastic bins help with closet organization and all sorts of other storage problems. Plastic bins are cheap and durable. The use of brightly coloured plastic bins in the play room is a fantastic idea.
The following are two ideas that I have seen used effectively:
1. Each child has their own plastic bin. It is helpful if the bins are different colours. Each child is taught that all their toys must be returned to their special plastic bin before a new toy is played with. This gives each child a sense of responsibility from a very young age. The plan does not always work but with some gentle encouragement it soon can become habit forming.
This idea also allows the child to take their toys and special bin to their bedroom or another quiet place in the house if they want some quiet time.
2. Make some built-in shelves that fit a series of plastic bins. On the ends of the plastic bins glue on pictures of specific toys or perhaps find some appropriate stickers. You can have a truck bin, a barbie bin, a stuffed animal bin, a train and train track bin, a princess bin, a Dora bin, etc. Clean uptime is fun and easy because the kids simply return their toys to the bin that has the correct picture on the end. Give your kids a reward like a kiss or a green grape for every truck that goes into the truck bin or every princess that goes into the princess bin. By giving the child a small reward you are re-enforcing good behaviour. Small rewards can make the clean up process quick, easy and infinitely more pleasant for the parent.
Play room storage ideas can be fun and easy. Check back to this blog for some other play room storage solutions
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Cost Comparison for Storage Bins Between Home Depot and Canadian Tire
In my last post I advised everyone to buy cheap storage bins when you see them on sale. As everyone knows I think plastic storage bins make for great storage solutions. This is because plastic storage bins regularly go on sale. Today I decided to do a bit of price research so you will have some context for appropriate pricing.
These are some of the models I found in a very quick search.
At Canadian Tire
1.Rubbermaid Clever Latch Tote. This is a 27 litre clear bin and is listed for $14.99
2. Tote. This is a 72 litre plastic bin. It is blue with a white top and is listed for $7.49
3. Suncast Staking bin. This type of bin is also referred to as a hopper bin. These bins have a cut away front hinged lid which allows you to access the contents when other bins are staked on top. Very handy. This bin has a 69 litre capacity and is white with a black top. This bin is listed for $16.99 which seems a bit pricey to me.
4. Omni Box. This is a small (15 litre) clear plastic bin with a blue top. It is listed for $10.99 and seems a bit expensive for such a small bin.
5. Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote (37.9 litre). This bin id all blue and is listed for $6.79.
6. Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote (53 litre). This bin is also blue and is listed for $7.59.
7. Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote (68.1 litre). This bin is also blue and is listed for $8.49. I have at least 8 or 9 of these bins. They are at least 5 years old and are in perfect condition.
8. Rubbermaid Rough Tote (189 litres). This is a giant plastic bin. In my opinion the bin is a bit too large as when full it would be impossible to move. Perhaps it would work well and a child's toy box. This bin is grey with a dark grey top and is listed for $22.99.
9. Rubbermaid Hinged Top Tote. This plastic storage bin has a capacity of 114 litres. It is dark grey and has a black top. It isd listed for $12.99. I personally have a few of these plastic storage bins and have no complaints.
10. Nesting Tote. This plastic bin has a capacity of 115 litres. It is blue with a white top and it is listed for $10.99.
The plastic storage bins I found on the Home Depot web site seemed to be a little bit more expensive. Below is what I could find on a very quick search.
1. A 3 pack of stackable recycling hopper bins. Each bin has an approximate capacity of 68 litres. The list price for a set of 3 is $29.98. This works out to approximately $9.99 per individual bin. These bins were a bit garish as they were bright green, yellow, and blue.
2. A 4 pack of stackable hopper bins. These bins were grey and also had a capacity of 68 litres. A set of 4 was listed for $39.87. This works out to be approximately $9.97 per bin.
The list of bins at Home Depot is not exhaustive but I had to cut my search short in order to get in a walk on the beach before the rains came. The bins I listed for Home Depot are very similar to the Suncast Staking Bins found at Canadian Tire. I will do another search at Home Depot and Lowes and maybe Home Hardware over the next few days in order to give a clearer price comparison for commonly available plastic storage bins. And remember only buy storage bins when you find them on sale.
These are some of the models I found in a very quick search.
At Canadian Tire
1.Rubbermaid Clever Latch Tote. This is a 27 litre clear bin and is listed for $14.99
2. Tote. This is a 72 litre plastic bin. It is blue with a white top and is listed for $7.49
3. Suncast Staking bin. This type of bin is also referred to as a hopper bin. These bins have a cut away front hinged lid which allows you to access the contents when other bins are staked on top. Very handy. This bin has a 69 litre capacity and is white with a black top. This bin is listed for $16.99 which seems a bit pricey to me.
4. Omni Box. This is a small (15 litre) clear plastic bin with a blue top. It is listed for $10.99 and seems a bit expensive for such a small bin.
5. Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote (37.9 litre). This bin id all blue and is listed for $6.79.
6. Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote (53 litre). This bin is also blue and is listed for $7.59.
7. Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote (68.1 litre). This bin is also blue and is listed for $8.49. I have at least 8 or 9 of these bins. They are at least 5 years old and are in perfect condition.
8. Rubbermaid Rough Tote (189 litres). This is a giant plastic bin. In my opinion the bin is a bit too large as when full it would be impossible to move. Perhaps it would work well and a child's toy box. This bin is grey with a dark grey top and is listed for $22.99.
9. Rubbermaid Hinged Top Tote. This plastic storage bin has a capacity of 114 litres. It is dark grey and has a black top. It isd listed for $12.99. I personally have a few of these plastic storage bins and have no complaints.
10. Nesting Tote. This plastic bin has a capacity of 115 litres. It is blue with a white top and it is listed for $10.99.
The plastic storage bins I found on the Home Depot web site seemed to be a little bit more expensive. Below is what I could find on a very quick search.
1. A 3 pack of stackable recycling hopper bins. Each bin has an approximate capacity of 68 litres. The list price for a set of 3 is $29.98. This works out to approximately $9.99 per individual bin. These bins were a bit garish as they were bright green, yellow, and blue.
2. A 4 pack of stackable hopper bins. These bins were grey and also had a capacity of 68 litres. A set of 4 was listed for $39.87. This works out to be approximately $9.97 per bin.
The list of bins at Home Depot is not exhaustive but I had to cut my search short in order to get in a walk on the beach before the rains came. The bins I listed for Home Depot are very similar to the Suncast Staking Bins found at Canadian Tire. I will do another search at Home Depot and Lowes and maybe Home Hardware over the next few days in order to give a clearer price comparison for commonly available plastic storage bins. And remember only buy storage bins when you find them on sale.
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