In my struggle to clean and organize my house, this shelf is driving me crazy.
It’s prominent in that it stands on a step between my den and the eat-in part of my kitchen. Before kids, it was a display case of sorts for pretty bowls, nice books, my husband’s bottle collection, and things that had to be put away once our oldest started moving, reaching, and breaking things. The layering of baby proofing has reduced the shelf to what it is today: a catch-all for things that don’t otherwise have a home.
Julia’s books are here and her baby dolls and Elmo. Plus, there are two Boppys and a basket of Max’s toys too. There’s also a frog that croaks when you walk by. And then, as a carry-over from our pre-baby life, the books are still there, but they haven’t been read since, oh, ever.
On one hand, it’s so nice to have a catch all place to put things when I’m straightening up. On another hand, ugh. Just ugh. This shelf just in the middle of the lived-in part of our house, and it’s just ugly and cluttered. So I’m working on a solution.
See that bin holding Max’s toys on the left of the bottom shelf. I’d like to find more of those to hold some of the loose odds and ends here. Of course, though, this bin is lacking tags and other identifying features, so I’m on a hunt to find something in a similar size. I’m almost convinced to get rid of the books altogether (almost unheard of for me), and the Boppys (Boppies?) will make it to the attic to be sold in next Spring’s school consignment sale. But what of the rest of it. Anyone have suggestions on how to keep the kid-friendly functionality of this shelf, while making it pretty, clean, and organized? Help!
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