Mom2Mom: Making It Work

With things in such an economic crunch for a lot of people, I've really been thinking about a lot of things lately.  It's so easy to get caught up in this whole organizational trend of needing to go out and get more stuff in order to get our lives organized in the chaos we call home.  Believe me, I've been there.  In fact, this past weekend, I was there. 


I decided to dive headfirst into my boys' room this weekend and get it organized and cleaned up.  At first, I sat down and looked around me and instantly became overwhelmed with thinking of things I was sure I needed in order to clean this messy room up.  I thought I needed a hanging closet organizer, as well as shelves, maybe even more crates.  As I sat there, though, knowing that we are in a crunch ourselves right now with rent coming up due next week, amongst other things, I told myself that I didn't need those things....what I needed was to make do with what I had and make the best out of what I had.  I began to think of how hard my husband works to provide for us and of what Proverbs 31:11-12 says: The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil all the days of her life (NKJV).  What hit me was that instead of going out and buying more stuff to organize the other stuff here at home, I needed to use things I already had, to get creative with what was already available here at home.  So, that's exactly what I did.

The boys' closet really did need a shelf because I was taking the dresser out, since Dan will have our $10 bunkbeds in the room by the end of this week, and there will be more room.  I was determined to put more clothes and toys in the closet, out of sight, so their room could stay a bit more organized.  In our own closet, Dan and I had a shoe shelf that we didn't ever use because we keep all our shoes in the garage.  So, he helped me take it off the wall, and he found a way to have it lay flat instead of tilted (as shoe shelves usually are), and now there is a huge, long shelf for storing toys and clothes in their closet.

For dress up stuff that they play with a lot, I thought I needed another crate, BUT I found an old suitcase, which is perfect for storing that stuff, plus it's small enough that it's easy for them to handle.  As for finding more storage room for clothes (since Jacob will no longer have his bed drawers when the bunkbeds come in), I didn't really need to, because I put away clothes that were too small, and with the dress-up stuff being put in the suitcase, that gave us a whole other drawer in the dresser to work with.

A while back, I had found these cute fabric boxes at the dollar store for $1 apiece and was able to put a lot of their little stuff in these boxes, such as Jacob's ties and belts, diapers, portable dvd player with cords, smaller board books, etc. (Yes, I know what you're thinking, but our kids have 3 sets of grandparents, so they have no want for toys, let me tell you....we go through and purge every so often to give some away).

Now, their room looks so much less chaotic, and I didn't really have to spend a dime (besides those fabric boxes I'd gotten a long time ago). We took down the crib, and until the bunkbeds are in, Jaden is sleeping on his little mattress on the floor.

What I'm trying to get at is that you might think you need all the latest fads for organization, just as you've seen them on Martha Stewart or Oprah or any home makeover show.....believe me, I am easily persuaded that I need all this stuff too; but really, if you look around you, you probably have all you need to create calm out of chaos.  It just takes a bit of creativity and ingenuity on your part.  Find things you can use that you might not ordinarily think of as organizational tools, such as an old suitcase, an old trunk, old shelves in another part of the house, etc.

As moms, it's not only our job to organize and make our homes havens, but it's our job to protect that haven by making the most of what God has provided us with.  We need to be careful stewards of whatever He has placed in our possession.  After all, everything we have has come from Him....we're only borrowing these things while here on earth....  Make it work!:)  Have a great day!

Love, Mel