Mud Room Storage

This past weekend I went to Kidmania, a gigantic kid's yard sale. It is always a ZOO!! So this year, my MIL and I got VIP tickets. That meant that we got to go in an hour before the crowd and get first dibs. It. Was. Awesome. I got the best haul EVER:

*baby swing
*little tykes kids picnic table
*dollhouse with TONS of accessories
*fold-up easel with a stool
*babydoll carseat
*cabbage patch kid
*"cat house" (as opposed to a dog house) with 4 stuffed kitties in it (25 cents for it! Awesome!)
*2 sesame street toys
*bunny slippers
*kids lawn mower with little "gas can"
*John Deere rocking horse for my sister and her husband when the time comes
*table top high chair
*Skip Hop diaper bag

I paid about $100 for all that, and most of it looked new or barely used. IT ROCKED! "Buy used, save the difference!"

Another unexpected gem that I picked up was a little white 3-drawer dresser for 5 bucks. (Aplogies for no "before" picture.) It was in moderate condition, and had obvioulsy been previously used for baby storage of some kind. It was cheaper than cheap and a little rickety, but as soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for craft storage in our mud room.

So I picked it up, and my MIL and I loaded it into the truck (yes, truck. Did you see the above list??) It sat in my garage for a whole day before I started reinforcing it with nails, and painting it to match the mudroom.

TA-DA!




All it took was the paint and the same drawer pulls we have on the counter cabinet to make the thing look like it belonged. And it already has been a great organizational tool - I was able to get all my craft stuff officially OUT of the spare bedroom. :) More than half of it is downstairs, and the most used items (glue gun, stamps, photo cutters, etc.) are in this little dresser.

Good deals and simple fixes like this make me so happy. :)

Until next time . . .