Win £100 worth of NEAT Storage Kit

Smart Storage Solutions

Storage really is a premium in our house as it is fairly small and we don’t have any built in wardrobes or storage spaces. I really do have to keep on top of clutter or it quickly gets out of hand and if you’re a parent you will realise what a challenge this is.

I’ve shared a few Clever Storage Ideas for Small Houses in the past, but I’ve done a few more things recently that I thought I would share.

I love my Scarves!

Ideas for Storing Scarves

We’ve got a lot of wasted wall space, sadly I don’t have the budget to get customized shelves and cupboards. For years all of my scarves hung on our door, making it impossible to close it. I had 3 stylish hooks put up, now I can easily find my scarves, my necklaces are no longer in a big knot and we can close the door.

The man drawer

How to Keep Man Drawer Tidy!

Admit it! We all have one of these in our houses, which contains everything from take-away menus to remote controls that you no longer have the device for. I purchased a few cheap plastic baskets, and can now locate the Phillips Screwdriver when I need it.

How to tidy cupboards

We also have a cupboard which has everything from Craft materials to medicine, which is really not something you want to mix up. Again a few plastic baskets has done the trick. I can quickly access the Calpol or poster paint when I need it.

Clever storage baskets and boxes really are the way forward. My next mission is to sort out all the shoes in the bottom of my wardrobe, make sense of my knicker drawer and put my winter clothes away in the loft.

NEAT Storage Solutions

Win a Full NEAT Storage Kit

To celebrate the launch of NEAT with Anthea Turner, we are giving away a full storage kit from the NEAT range.

Launching on 2^nd July and available to buy exclusively from Britain’s largest home-grown TV shopping network Ideal World TV and online at Idealworld.tv, NEAT combines style and functionality to give customers a range of products that not only look great but are also full to the brim with smart features to make life easier. The collection includes wardrobe and drawer storage solutions, hangers, zip boxes and baskets, with each product cleverly creating a smart storage solution.

Win NEAT Storage Kit

Whether seeking a solution for the mountain of shoes in your bedroom – our clear zip boxes are the answer! Or storing away your winter clothes, NEAT offers a solution for all your storage dilemmas.

Anthea Turner will be appearing on Ideal World TV on 2^nd and 3^rd of July at 8pm to showcase the products.

To enter simply use the Rafflecopter form below. The full Terms and Conditions are at the bottom of the form but in short it’s open to UK residents only Aged 18+.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.

Clever Storage Ideas for Small Houses

Desperate for more space?

I don’t know what came over me. Just after New Year, I don’t know if it’s guilt over the excess at Christmas or the New Year New beginnings thing, but I found myself doing some uncharacteristic cleaning and apparently I’m not alone. I asked around and quite a few friends found themselves doing this as well.

I started by tidying my basket of cables, it was like spaghetti junction, simply using cable ties. I can never make myself throw out cables as you never know when you may need one.

Then with a bad back, I clambered under the stairs and gave it a good clean and created some useful storage space for wrapping paper. Personally I think it’s genius.

Like everyone else, under my sink, was something nightmares were made of. I wish I took a before picture. I found these fab shelves that fit around pipes. I still need a few more basket to store the towels but it’s a start.

And finally, I doubled the space in my cupboard using this simple rack.

My next mission is my bedroom. I’m on the hunt for clever ways to store scarves and necklaces. Suggestions?

I’m tired of tidying up her room!

My 4 year old daughter is really into dressing up at the moment.

So, I bought her a basket to store all her costumes in.

However, every time she wanted something this is what happened.

So in the end, I had one of these made. What do you think?

I originally came across it on Ana White’s Homemaker blog via Pinterest, with all of the instructions and dimensions. So, if you or someone you know is handy with tools you could knock one up easily with a bit of MDF. However, I am not, so I had a local carpenter make it for me. It was very reasonable, I had it in a day and he gave me a discount as I offered to paint it myself. He is interested in doing more.

Ours is a bit girlie, but you could have an under the sea theme, pirates or whatever strikes your fancy.

We gave it a coat of MDF primer and then two coats of satin. I found the letters (£1.50 each) and mirrors (.99p) at Hobbycraft. I hung the mirrors with those No Nails strips. Fingers crossed they don’t fall off.

If you’re local to St Albans and would like one, drop him an email at christophe.laget@hotmail.fr. Do tell him I sent you!

1 in 3 children in London do not own a book!

I was absolutely horrified to read in a paper a few weeks ago, that 1 in 3 children in London do not own a book! One child, when asked to bring a book into school, brought an Argos catalogue as this was the only book in the house. Bloody hell! I believe this stems to busy parents, economics and the advent of technology. Kids prefer an X-box/Playstation to a book any day. I’m not pointing fingers, as working parents ourselves, we’re guilty as well but personally I think this is very sad.

My hubby and I are not book worms, it’s not that we can’t read we just don’t read a lot, we prefer online magazines, newspapers, twitter and blogs. I also belong to a book club and have done so for 10 years but to be honest I rarely make it through a book.

However, ever since Madame was very young we’ve always emphasized reading and read her 3 books every night religiously, unless it’s a really long one then maybe only two. Even when we can’t be arsed and skip a few pages, sadly she’s at the age now that she pulls us up on it! As an ex-teacher you’ll be amazed at the benefits of reading to your kids for a mere 10 minutes a night. Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox now!

Like with anything, including wine, moderation is the key. I’m an IT consultant who works in education and have done so for the past 10+ years. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that technology is to compliment what you’re doing and not to replace. My daughter is 3.5 and is a complete whizz on my iphone, I have it loaded up with games, music and videos for her…but the difference is they all have an educational element, she’s none the wiser. You won’t find Angry birds on my phone.

Nothing compares to breaking the spine on a new book, turning the pages and losing yourself!

This weekend, we sorted out Madame’s reading corner. I was inspired by Trapped in North Jersey. We’re very limited on space but I think it’s perfect. They’re picture ledges from Ikea (115cm) and only £8 each, bargain! What do you think?

Tour of my kitchen!

There was a meme going around awhile ago, unfortunately, I wasn’t tagged, but you know me, I decided to do it anyhow. The only rule was that you didn’t clean the kitchen beforehand…..*ahem*

Don’t get too excited, we live 20 minutes from London and you don’t get much bang for your buck!!!

I don’t want to formally tag anyone but would love to see @chickenruby, @annieqpr, @dadyougeek and @geekmummy’s kitchens.