Bookshelf Storage.

Creative storage is a way of life over here. At least it's something I'm always brainstorming. In our 750 square feet of happiness there lives five humans, two cats, a homeschool, and a small business. 

When we bought our house there was one tiny corner closet in the main bedroom. That was it. There is also minimal cabinet space in the kitchen. Right after we moved in almost 5 years ago we put a Rubbermaid closet unit along the back wall in the smallest bedroom. And then we had two more children. Last year we ripped out the standing stall shower in our 2nd bathroom and put in a small closet.  Of course, under-the-bed storage is a must, and we're installing more vertical storage in fits and starts.

Another thing we did last year before Christmas came (which means more toys, books, games, and other things that will need a place to be kept) was to get rid of two big old speakers and CD changer and radio to put bookshelves on either side of our television unit.

It was very important to me that the shelves stay organized since I'm always warring against clutter on flat surfaces. I put a lot of thought into my quandary as I organized the shelves. It soon became apparent that I would need to find another place to store a good quantity of the kids' books, as I would need a lot of this space for other things, so we took care of that by installing book ledges in our dining room/school room.

Click on photo to view it larger.

On the bottom shelves the kids each have a fabric box labeled with their name for storing their smaller toys. The shelves above are home to some of the larger toys and their stack of magazines. Then comes the things that we want out of reach of the baby: some of the "nicer" kids books and boxes of puzzles and small games that belong to the older kids. Above that we store some of our school books, library items, and a basket for keys and other odds and ends. The top shelf is reserved for crafting supplies and my camera and Flip, and a few of mine and my husband's books. I purposely kept a mix of boxes and books on almost all of the shelves to encourage the shelves to stay organized. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Even still, it's a bit overwhelming as the living room is small and one can't get further than 7 or 8 feet away from the wall of storage. (If you rememeber, this is why I needed a photo wall that was uncluttered and uniform.) 

The bookshelves are from Target, as are the fabric boxes.

How do you organize your space efficiently while utilizing affordable storage solutions?