Storage Solutions

If you've known me for long, you know I'm a bit obsessive about organization. To look at my house now that there are 3 small children living in it, you might think that I've come a long way in dealing with this obsession, but you would be mistaken. Compounding matters is the fact that there will soon be another little person living here with a whole host of her own items that need a place of their own. Of course, nesting comes in to play here as well. As do all the lovely and wonderful little girl hand-me-downs that we've received recently. (I adore hand-me-downs!)

So, I started with the closets. After a great deal of sifting, culling, organizing, donating... I think I have them satisfactorily tended to. (Sorry about that dangling prepostion.) I have a second load of items to take to Goodwill and a couple of boxes of things that I think are nice enough to consign. While the kids' closets still have totes full of clothes (in sizes that they are not wearing, but that I can't part with) and our closet still has totes full of Christmas decorations (a garage sure would be nice) they are managable.

Anyhow, in going through all of this, I discovered that Samuel and Solomon's room has far more closet and dresser space than Shiphrah and Shiloh's room, and that a little extra space in the girls' room would come in mighty handy. With so many repairs and projects already in the works, I needed a cheap solution. Craigslist!

I perused ads in search of anything that might help and was at a reasonable price. I finally found it! A nice large dresser and 2 nightstands that match the girl bedroom furniture! From the photo, I thought that they were a perfect match. Upon seeing them in person, I found that they had some slight differences, but certainly not enough to ruin the deal, given the price. ($175)

The couple I bought them from is transforming a garage into a bedroom. They have baby #6 on the way and need more space as well! They're purchasing new furniture for that endeavor. I enjoyed chatting with them while I was there to pick up the items. He's in the army and will be deploying to Iraq. She is due in August and their older 5 children are all over the age of 10! These nightstands and dresser belonged to her when she was a little girl.

There are a few cosmetic flaws in the furniture, but nothing that I found to be terribly discouraging. They're going into a child's bedroom, afterall, and to be quite honest, there probably isn't a single piece of furniture in our home that doesn't have a few cosmetic flaws. They were uneasy about the marks on the top of the dresser, so I asked if I could offer them any less. They said I could offer. I said, "How about $150?" They both said, "YES! We'll take it!" in unison. That was too easy. I could have offered less!

Anyhow, until the library is finished, I can't move the furniture where it all belongs, but it is in our house at least! David (aka my hero) removed seats from the van last night, helped me carry in the furniture after I picked it up, and replaced seats in the van all without complaint. He is so patient with me and my whims and fancies!