Diaper Swappers

BNC · 12-12-2012, 01:24 PM

Taking those pictures made me realize that I have about 50 unused storage containers sitting in various places in my house! Ive always been an organizer and before I started de-cluttering, I actually used them all on a regular basis!

Should I get rid of them? Or keep them? have probably 10 totes in the garage (some with lids, some without), about 15 clear shoe boxes (some with lids and some without), a couple under cabinet storage things, a couple unused hanging shelf things for closets, and countless baskets (wicker and plastic) that are not being used.

cherylchoo · 12-12-2012, 02:24 PM

I like to keep a few empty containers on hand for sorting during a purge, but I don't think I would keep 50.

mrspopo · 12-13-2012, 02:44 AM

I've gotten rid of vanloads of things, and I'm loving how de-cluttered our house is becoming. Looking around, I'm running out of things to remove that will make it less busy. Yet while looking around during breakfast this morning and trying to imagine taking pictures for this thread all of a sudden I spotted a dozen things I could easily part with. Mmm hmm. Apparently letting my "minimalist friends" peek into my home made me find more things to purge. I guess wherever the motivation is you gotta take it! And here I was thinking I was clutter-happy.

passthepickles · 12-13-2012, 09:07 AM

Okay, I am going to tackle something nobody else has tackled yet- an area I am particularly proud of: cosmetics and toiletries. This is for a family of five, keeping in mind that I forgot to take pictures of the inside of my bathtub. Inside of that, there is DH and my toothbrush and toothpaste, Biolage shampoo and conditioner, suave kids coconut shampoo/conditioner two in one (I know there are better options, but it smells SO good!) and Burts Bees baby shampoo, as well as dove bar soap, a loofah for each of us, razors for DH and I, listerine (okay- so we do a lot of mouth cleaning in the shower. hehe!) face wash, and DH's barbasol shaving cream. He shaves in the shower, thus the extendable mirror outside of the tub that he can pull in easily.

I also didn't take pics of the bottom two bins. Right now, one holds tampons and one holds "extras". Extra Q-tips, cotton balls, bar soap, dental floss and new toothbrushes, razors, and toothpaste. All of our medication and vitamins are put up high in the kitchen, but I will take pics of those later. They are minimalist too.

This is from my hallway looking in. My hubby custom built the cabinet for the sink, and I have plans to tile it someday when I find the perfect tile. Sorry about the lighting. I took the pics last night and my primary light source was the heat lamp. :/

Better shot of the sink and the bins we use for organization. All that is behind the curtain is the toilet plunger and extra toilet paper. Kids toothbrushes and toothpaste live in the cup on the counter along with the hand soap.

Bin #1: Cosmetics and mani/pedi supplies. I have a four year old daughter- need I say more? We've gotten it down to the bare minimum though! We do mani/pedis about once a week, so this stuff definitely gets used! Makeup is an ongoing battle. I don't wear it every day so I am always paring it down more and more...

Contents:

Bin #2: DH's man bin. Older DS also uses some of this stuff (the hair gel and man nail clippers- entirely different than my cool girly ones.

) Inside of the plastic bin on the bottom are the clippers. I have two awesome sisters that do hair and have taught me how to cut boy hair, so I do it myself. Haha!

Bin #3: Baby stuff- baby comb, nosefrieda and filters, burts bubble bath, and Avon roll soaps for the tub (these are empty, but the kids still like playing with them. They are getting new ones in their stockings!)

Bin #4: Hair: This bin is the bane of my existence and every time I get rid of something in here, I end up re-buying it. Hairspray, straightener, blow dryer, kids "bed head" tamer, zipper pouch full of DD's hair goodies, two small containers of hair elastics (my DD cut her own hair VERY short (she cut off over 17"!) so the big ones don't work in her hair right now. When it's longer, these will go bye-bye!) and DD's hairbrush.

This is the other side of my bathroom next to the toilet. It is an IKEA shoe rack that we use for towels. All the towels are out because I was bleaching them all, but we have eight white towels. Bottom part holds reading material and TP.

The green bin holds q-tips and cotton balls.

The wicker bin on top is my "quick bin". It has all the stuff I have to use every day. Missing from this pic is my Chanel Perfume and Witch Hazel, which I use as a toner but am out of. Don't judge me for being 13 years past being any kind of teenager but still using Teen Spirit.

Manicure set (girly nail clippers!) Teen Spirit, my hair elastics, hair brush, bobby pins in a tic-tack container, eye glasses and cleaner, contacts and solution, acne spot treatment, and chap stick.

elizabeth.scalf · 12-13-2012, 11:13 AM

Pickles, that looks great! I love some of your ideas, like the shoe/towel rack. You've inspired me to go check out mine! I've pared down cosmetics too - about a month ago I was preparing for travel so I pulled out all my cosmetics and a travel case. I picked a few colors for eyes, one for cheek, one eye liner, one mascara and threw all the rest out. Then I LOST the travel case. So... yeah, I'm pretty minimalist when it comes to cosmetics (ie none).

BNC · 12-13-2012, 12:19 PM

Shannon...how do you kerp it down to 8 towels? We have probably 20 and sometimes that doesnt seem like enough. I tried to get it down to 8...3 for dh for a week, 2 for me and 1 for each of the kids, but it seemed like not enough. We do use a towel as a bath mat too....i like to wash them frequently and end up replacing bath mats every 4 months, bc they fall apart from frequent washing. I heed to figure something out.

UVASahm · 12-13-2012, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BNC

Shannon...how do you kerp it down to 8 towels? We have probably 20 and sometimes that doesnt seem like enough. I tried to get it down to 8...3 for dh for a week, 2 for me and 1 for each of the kids, but it seemed like not enough. We do use a towel as a bath mat too....i like to wash them frequently and end up replacing bath mats every 4 months, bc they fall apart from frequent washing. I heed to figure something out.

I use those microfiber really plush bath mats soooo nice. Also that ikea shoe rack is soooo cool! I have 4 TINY bathrooms. I would love this for the upstairs one that the babies and I share.

passthepickles · 12-13-2012, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BNC

Shannon...how do you kerp it down to 8 towels? We have probably 20 and sometimes that doesnt seem like enough. I tried to get it down to 8...3 for dh for a week, 2 for me and 1 for each of the kids, but it seemed like not enough. We do use a towel as a bath mat too....i like to wash them frequently and end up replacing bath mats every 4 months, bc they fall apart from frequent washing. I heed to figure something out.

Well, it doesn't really hurt that right outside of the bathroom door is my laundry room! We use the washing machine as a hamper, so we always have clean ones...

Laundry doesn't have a chance to build up because we run a load every time it gets full. Even if every towel is used every day (happens on occasion!) They are all clean for the next day.

passthepickles · 12-13-2012, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UVASahm

I use those microfiber really plush bath mats soooo nice. Also that ikea shoe rack is soooo cool! I have 4 TINY bathrooms. I would love this for the upstairs one that the babies and I share.

I have tried the microfiber mats as well, but if the floor gets wet around them the back gets slick. Since there are three kids always throwing water out of the tub, the things took off like magic carpets under my feet on more than one occasion.

We use a towel too- for that very reason.

I LOVE the IKEA shoe rack for towels. It hold three bath sheets rolled up in each "drawer" perfectly. We hang two towels, so it is exactly what we needed!

AfWife8405 · 12-13-2012, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by passthepickles

Well, it doesn't really hurt that right outside of the bathroom door is my laundry room! We use the washing machine as a hamper, so we always have clean ones...

Laundry doesn't have a chance to build up because we run a load every time it gets full. Even if every towel is used every day (happens on occasion!) They are all clean for the next day.

We do this too!

12-12-2012, 01:24 PM	#21
BNC Registered Users Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 19,200 Ratings: 575 Feedback: 100%	Re: What makes you minimalist? (Picture thread!) Taking those pictures made me realize that I have about 50 unused storage containers sitting in various places in my house! Ive always been an organizer and before I started de-cluttering, I actually used them all on a regular basis! Should I get rid of them? Or keep them? have probably 10 totes in the garage (some with lids, some without), about 15 clear shoe boxes (some with lids and some without), a couple under cabinet storage things, a couple unused hanging shelf things for closets, and countless baskets (wicker and plastic) that are not being used. __________________ Jen -momma to MaryKate born 12/13/07, Kara born 7/22/09, & Adalane "Laney" 2/9/11 Search with SwagBucks & earn gift cards! ADORABLE WINTER HATS FSOT!

12-12-2012, 02:24 PM	#22
cherylchoo Registered Users Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: a Texan in the northern Detroit 'burbs Posts: 24,107 Ratings: 42 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: What makes you minimalist? (Picture thread!) I like to keep a few empty containers on hand for sorting during a purge, but I don't think I would keep 50. __________________ Detroit-area SAHM to Rose 12/03, Ginger 11/05, and little Ian 4/08.

12-13-2012, 02:44 AM	#23
mrspopo Registered Users Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 2,421 Ratings: 61 Feedback: 100%	Re: What makes you minimalist? (Picture thread!) I've gotten rid of vanloads of things, and I'm loving how de-cluttered our house is becoming. Looking around, I'm running out of things to remove that will make it less busy. Yet while looking around during breakfast this morning and trying to imagine taking pictures for this thread all of a sudden I spotted a dozen things I could easily part with. Mmm hmm. Apparently letting my "minimalist friends" peek into my home made me find more things to purge. I guess wherever the motivation is you gotta take it! And here I was thinking I was clutter-happy.

12-13-2012, 09:07 AM	#24
passthepickles Registered Users Formerly: shannbannan Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Mitten! Posts: 1,157 Ratings: 74 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: What makes you minimalist? (Picture thread!) Okay, I am going to tackle something nobody else has tackled yet- an area I am particularly proud of: cosmetics and toiletries. This is for a family of five, keeping in mind that I forgot to take pictures of the inside of my bathtub. Inside of that, there is DH and my toothbrush and toothpaste, Biolage shampoo and conditioner, suave kids coconut shampoo/conditioner two in one (I know there are better options, but it smells SO good!) and Burts Bees baby shampoo, as well as dove bar soap, a loofah for each of us, razors for DH and I, listerine (okay- so we do a lot of mouth cleaning in the shower. hehe!) face wash, and DH's barbasol shaving cream. He shaves in the shower, thus the extendable mirror outside of the tub that he can pull in easily. I also didn't take pics of the bottom two bins. Right now, one holds tampons and one holds "extras". Extra Q-tips, cotton balls, bar soap, dental floss and new toothbrushes, razors, and toothpaste. All of our medication and vitamins are put up high in the kitchen, but I will take pics of those later. They are minimalist too. This is from my hallway looking in. My hubby custom built the cabinet for the sink, and I have plans to tile it someday when I find the perfect tile. Sorry about the lighting. I took the pics last night and my primary light source was the heat lamp. :/ Better shot of the sink and the bins we use for organization. All that is behind the curtain is the toilet plunger and extra toilet paper. Kids toothbrushes and toothpaste live in the cup on the counter along with the hand soap. Bin #1: Cosmetics and mani/pedi supplies. I have a four year old daughter- need I say more? We've gotten it down to the bare minimum though! We do mani/pedis about once a week, so this stuff definitely gets used! Makeup is an ongoing battle. I don't wear it every day so I am always paring it down more and more... Contents: Bin #2: DH's man bin. Older DS also uses some of this stuff (the hair gel and man nail clippers- entirely different than my cool girly ones. ) Inside of the plastic bin on the bottom are the clippers. I have two awesome sisters that do hair and have taught me how to cut boy hair, so I do it myself. Haha! Bin #3: Baby stuff- baby comb, nosefrieda and filters, burts bubble bath, and Avon roll soaps for the tub (these are empty, but the kids still like playing with them. They are getting new ones in their stockings!) Bin #4: Hair: This bin is the bane of my existence and every time I get rid of something in here, I end up re-buying it. Hairspray, straightener, blow dryer, kids "bed head" tamer, zipper pouch full of DD's hair goodies, two small containers of hair elastics (my DD cut her own hair VERY short (she cut off over 17"!) so the big ones don't work in her hair right now. When it's longer, these will go bye-bye!) and DD's hairbrush. This is the other side of my bathroom next to the toilet. It is an IKEA shoe rack that we use for towels. All the towels are out because I was bleaching them all, but we have eight white towels. Bottom part holds reading material and TP. The green bin holds q-tips and cotton balls. The wicker bin on top is my "quick bin". It has all the stuff I have to use every day. Missing from this pic is my Chanel Perfume and Witch Hazel, which I use as a toner but am out of. Don't judge me for being 13 years past being any kind of teenager but still using Teen Spirit. Manicure set (girly nail clippers!) Teen Spirit, my hair elastics, hair brush, bobby pins in a tic-tack container, eye glasses and cleaner, contacts and solution, acne spot treatment, and chap stick. __________________ ~Shannon~ married to Dan the man (5.24.03) and lovin' my babies, Hayden (5.10.04) Wilder (8.12.08) and Callan (6.24.11) Last edited by passthepickles; 12-13-2012 at 09:14 AM.

12-13-2012, 11:13 AM	#25
elizabeth.scalf Registered Users Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Hershey PA Posts: 2,052 My Mood:	Re: What makes you minimalist? (Picture thread!) Pickles, that looks great! I love some of your ideas, like the shoe/towel rack. You've inspired me to go check out mine! I've pared down cosmetics too - about a month ago I was preparing for travel so I pulled out all my cosmetics and a travel case. I picked a few colors for eyes, one for cheek, one eye liner, one mascara and threw all the rest out. Then I LOST the travel case. So... yeah, I'm pretty minimalist when it comes to cosmetics (ie none). __________________ SAHM to Coralie, 1/09, Siri 9/10, Ellie Sue 9/12.