A big struggle of mine is house keeping and time organization. It's not for a lack of trying. It's just not something that comes naturally for me. I know I'm not alone, and wanted to offer some tips that have helped me. I love reading tips on other people's blogs on organization and time management.
Today's Tip: Double Duty - If you have limited space like I do, make sure something you buy can serve multiple purposes for you. Especially if it's something you'll only use for a little while.
Example: Changing Table/Dresser/Hutch
For baby number 3 we bought a dresser with a hutch instead of the regular baby changing table. A standard sized changing pad wouldn't fit so I bought some foam at the craft store and hot glued it together. It worked perfectly! Now, instead of the changing table only being usable for her diapering years, it can easily transition into a traditional dresser later by removing the changing pad. And the hutch uses a lot of wall space we wouldn't otherwise be able to use. We even have some canvas containers on top to hold extra diapers and toys.
On a side note, don't be afraid to buy something for storage that isn't part of a system. Meaning it doesn't have official "matching" storage containers to fit it. Just measure it and go online to find containers that fit those dimensions. Turns out the Circo (or Closet Maid) canvas containers fit great for my shelves. I also found some pretty hard canvas baskets that worked great in the drawers at Target. So I was able to maximize the storage space even more with little effort (or money).
We were able to get the whole unit for $120 used ($300 retail). About $200 total for the whole unit and the storage containers. Which is much less then it would have cost us to buy a dresser, changing table, & shelves for the wall (to gain the same amount of storage and use)! And it can be used for years!
