Tag Archives: Neat and Tidy

The Three Additions To Your Wardrobe You Never Realised You Needed, Until Now! Since I Bought Mine I Cannot Do Without Them!

Posted on by
Reply

Sabrina’s “How To Get More Space In Your Wardrobe” Post.

Most of us have far too many of something in our homes, be it clothing, shoes, bags or other items that take up space. Usually hidden away in our wardrobes or cupboards… Personally I am a Boots and Dresses kind of woman! And why shouldn’t I be able to enjoy my nice items. After all, I worked hard for them… So if you’re like me and you haven’t had the pleasure of knowing any of these items in your home as yet, then check out the rest of my post below. One of these might just change your life!

Shoe Storage – Stackable Boxes with Mesh Fronts

I first bought these boxes when I was in university, so I could stack up my shoes against a wall. When you live out of one room space is definitely key! They were fabulous! Especially because I could fit a double shoe of anything flat into one box due to my little size 4 feet! Fast forward to the 32 year old me (covers eyes with hands) and I still use these, but now they go in the space underneath my ottoman bed. Out of sight but also neatly packed away. I even bought three different colours so I knew that Purple contained Boots, Teal contained flats and Black contained Shoes…

(Coloured ones are usually only available in store and do change every year). I love being organised! And I love tidy!

These boxes are wonderful! Mesh fronts allow the footwear to breathe, they have Velcro sides on the front panel for easy removal and they can even be stored flat when not in use. So many reasons to love them! Place them under beds, inside cupboards or wardrobes, the possibilities are endless. I have even stacked up to 6 boxes on top of one another with light shoes inside, they are sturdy too.

I bought mine from Ikea, they still do them. Currently you can get Grey or White, a set of 4 costs just £7. What a bargain! They measure 22cm x 34cm x 16cm, so it is worth measuring your footwear before purchasing. I think they are a great space saving alternative, especially because it stops you having shoes stacked up all over your hallway.

I do tend to wipe the bottoms of my shoes and let them dry fully especially if they were wet after use, before putting them away again inside the boxes. If you have a little space somewhere that you could convert to a shoe area these are definitely worth considering.

Wardrobe Storage Options

As someone who has quite a number of lightweight clothing items, I found that my wardrobe was quickly filling up every time I caught up on my washing. I began researching ways in which I could maximise my space.

There were two options I could use, the first were Hanger Space Saving Bars (aka Hanger Heroes or Magic Hangers) and the second were Coat Hanger Connectors. I decided to try both, I begun with the Connectors and then bought the Bars, and it has more than doubled my wardrobe space. You must make sure your wardrobe rail is suitable for additional weight though before buying these items.

Coat Hanger Connectors are wonderful small pieces of strong plastic, you slide the one end (the loop) on to the top of a hanger and the longer section hangs down so you can push a second coat hanger through it. I used them for lightweight t-shirts and cardigans. I have managed to hang 6 items in a vertical row, long term, and none of them have broken as yet.

Depending upon the height or your wardrobe or your freestanding pole, you can figure out what would work for you. They are ideal for lightweight t-shirts and shirts and can save you lots of space. They range in price from around £4 for a bunch of 20 of them.

The final items that I want to review are the wardrobe bars, or hanger heroes as they are also known as. You can purchase these on Amazon and from Must Have Ideas. I have bought from both companies, and they were both of equally strong metal and good quality materials. These range in price but you can get metal ones for around £12 and upwards for 6 or more.

I kept seeing these advertised and I really needed the extra room when I moved house. I went from built in wardrobes to zero wardrobes! Having borrowed a metal freestanding pole and rail from a family friend, until I can go wardrobe hunting! I found that these worked really well to give me much needed space!

Depending upon the weight of your clothes you can fit a minimum of 8 items per hanging bar. I have found I can place 14 lightweight items on one, including using the thinnest and most lightweight plastic hangers that I own too. As you can see in my images I have tried to use thin hangers and ensure I don’t place heavy items on the bars.

Once your bars are filled you gently remove one hook and lowed one side down. When the bars were all flat along the metal rail I had no space remaining for other clothes. When I have released one side of each bar, as you can see below, it has freed up a huge amount of much needed space.

I have no idea how I ever managed without these amazing inventions! I am so much more organised now too! I have long sleeve tops on one bar, short sleeve tops on another, cardigans and thin jumpers on a third one, the list goes on! You get the gist!

Obviously you need to judge how much weight your own wardrobe could take. I would be tempted to reinforce my wardrobe honestly if it were a plastic pole.

In this image below you can see my 6 bars in a row. The only irritating thing is that if you place more than 6 items on it, sometimes the hangers slip down out of the notches into the ones below. I think that’s because of the weight and angle that they are at with the more you put on. My suggestions are to play around with the weight and with what hangers fit on best. The far left are rubber coated metal hangers and the rest of them are thin lightweight plastic ones.

I give every item I have mentioned in this blog post a 5 star rating, they have allowed me to live a more organised life and make my bedroom tidier too. I think it’s important that the space that we sleep in isn’t too cluttered. I am working on trying to get myself some furniture in order to make that a reality. Until I am finished with my renovations though, these pieces will help me to keep at least some areas of it tidy!

Thank you for reading this Review today, I hope you have found this post interesting. If you would like to ask me any questions about the items I will do my best to answer them for you. Until the next time, thank you for reading and see you on my website again soon!

✩ Sabrina ✩

If you like the look of these items then make sure you’re following me on my social media channels because some of them will be featuring in my Christmas giveaway in December!

At Home Storage Hacks for Parents, How To Keep All The Kids Toys Stored Tidy and Neatly

Posted on by
Reply
Featuring…
Aldi Stars Boxes
Argos Silver Grey Boxes
B & M Dark Grey Fabric Boxes

I think every parent will agree with me when I say “mess is a fact of having children” but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a tidy home when the children are asleep, or for when relatives come around! And can I just say, Square Furniture really excites me, its versatility knows no bounds!

But first, Tidy Hacks! When my son was only twelve months old I began a routine with him which involved us tidying up once we have finished with certain things. It started with me showing him then handing him the item and encouraging him to copy me. So… Books went back in his Book Tub and toys went back in the Toy Box. He soon realised that it was important to tidy up. My son took to it really well, he even puts balls back in his ball pit now, and has done since he was eighteen months of age. Instilling this notion early enough has paved a way for a toddler who understands how important it is to put something back when you have finished with it. My first TIP is to allocate boxes for different items, such as, the Grey box is for books, the Red box is for Cars, the Blue box is for trains and the Green box is for animals.

There is no right or wrong way to have your home, however one thing is for sure, cleaning it is far easier when everything has its own place. Boxes are filled and put back on to shelves. I love furniture and I love how it brings a room together too. I have a large wooden chest in my lounge along with several small lidded boxes to store my sons toys in. I always like to have that option to tidy things away completely, in case I have family over for example, or I may need the space to do messy play.

In my son’s bedroom I have several pieces of furniture that are square and contain various storage tubs and boxes. They look neat and tidy and are easy enough to maintain. The boxes are made of fabric and are often purchasable in many styles and colours to maintain the theme for your chosen bedroom. Great for anywhere in the house, such as hallway or living room too. Do you have any Square Furniture? I think they’re just great!

I have always been a fan of the clean lines that square furniture gives you. And with so many places now creating the relevant boxes to go into these holes, you have a wide range of choice to make your home how you want it.

B & M Boxes


Excellent Value for Money Square Storage Boxes

Argos – Great Quality and in a Variety of Colours and Patterns. Boxes are in packs of 4 with 2 Sizes Available. And prices start from £14.00 for 4 boxes. Argos also do lidded Square Storage Cubes in fabric and a leather look, which can double as seating for children in a bedroom too.

B & M – Fabric Boxes and Velvet Boxes, Good Quality but Less Choice Available (I only found Bright Pink, Blush Pink, Dark Grey and Silver). The Velvet ones were £7 for a pack of two and are very soft and of good quality. The fabric boxes are not as nice but definitely do the job well enough though and are ideal for toys, they were £5 for a pack of two.

Aldi – Special Buys Baby Event – Stars Boxes – Multiple Colours Available and were £3.99 each box. They were only available for a limited time.

Ikea – Several styles of boxes and tubs available from Ikea and many colours and patterns as well. They range from £3.00 upwards for a single box and the range is called Drona.

The furniture I purchased for my sons room is from Argos. But Ikea do a similar range as well named Kallax. Due to the Pandemic it has been far easier for me to get a delivery or click and collect option from my local Argos stores, mainly because its almost a two hour drive for me to get to an Ikea store, so I would rely on an online order and delivery.


My final TIP for keeping a house tidy is this, get one box out at a time, and teach your child/ren that once they are finished with that box, it gets packed up and placed back on to the unit or into the bedroom it came from. Then they can get another box of toys out to play with. In-still this idea at a young age and they should keep respecting their play space long enough to keep wanting to tidy up after themselves. These types of storage are so easy too, there isn’t anything complicated about it. You just need a system of what goes into what box, but you could always get labels for them too!

Great Value Square Furniture

Argos Home Squares range from £24 to £120.
Colours Available are Putty (Light Grey), Oak Effect, Black and White.

Ikea Kallax Square furniture range is from £19 to £129.
Colours Available are Black/Brown, White, High-Gloss White, Oak Effect, White Stained Oak Effect and Grey-Wood Effect.


Thank you for reading this blog post today, I hope I have given you some inspiration on how to make your own homes more tidy by using square storage to its full potential.

Check out my Instagram for more inspirational images on storage and tidiness.

✩ Sabrina ✩