Kid Clutter Control -Thrifty Style!

Fussy's Secret to Controling Kid Clutter.

When you live with little people, your living room looks like-

Here is my frugal, yet stylish, secret to storing the garbage clutter toys.

Start with your average ugly plastic container-

Next, find your trusty hot glue gun-

Pick up some fabric. I have found some lovlies at the thrift store.

Try not to shop with these bargain hunters-

Or, try your local Joann's Fabric. Love me some Joann's!

Simply wrap your ugly plastic tote with your fabric and glue it down.

1- Lay the fabric flat on the floor and put the box in the center.

2- Simply fold the fabric up and over the sides. As you wrap the box, put some glue on to hold it down.

3- Glue your fabric to the inside bottom of the box. Cut off the excess fabric. Yes, it will be messy inside the box, Type A's Beware, but the toys will cover it.

Here is your finished product-

   

So there ya have it -combine inexpensive plastic totes, your hot glue gun, and some fabric, and the look is custom made supa-cuteness.

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This post is part of Rocks in my Dryer's Works For Me Wednesday.

Comments

[JennyK]

I LOVE this idea! Thanks!

[MomOnTheGo]

I love me a good glue gun, too. Using print fabric that represents what should be in the tote would work well - teddy bears or trucks or other toys or whatever.

[Jane]

Great idea! Love the penguins!

[Karla ~ Looking Towards Heaven]

oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, fussy! this is awesome! love it and will be doing it.

wanna come over and help me wrap them??

blessings,
k

(i totally stumbled this!)

[Tina]

LOVE this idea! You are the bomb! I can't wait to show K the penguins! I gave you a shoutout and some props on my recent post. Check it out if you have time!

[AbsolutelyBananasa]

oh my goodness I love this idea ALMOST as much as I love BINS!!!!

[Heather]

Awesome idea!! I hate the plain plastic tub.

Now, how do I convince the school age nieces to keep the lid on the container so the almost-crawling baby doesn't get into their non-baby safe stuff? That's my current hurdle.

Love your practical advice, Fussy!

[Melissa Markham]

Very lovely and clever idea!

[The Kept Woman]

Holy smokes, too dang cute! Love the choice of fabrics too!!

[Kysha]

Love it and will try it. Thanks for sharing.

[Monica]

Great idea!! I think this would be a perfect housewarming gift for a fussy friend to match her new house.

Thanks so much!

[Alli ~Mrs. Fussypants]

Aw, Shucks, Y'all! Thanks so much for the kudos. ;)

[Heidi Hyde]

What terrific idea! I can truly see myself using this one. Thanks!

-HH

[SAHMmy Says]

Very cool! Chewbacca has two bins in his closet full of Star Wars toys--I'm compelled to hunt down some SW fabric! LOL--the unfinished fabric on the inside WOULD make me crazy! I could probably iron in a fold...

[rachel]

Absolutely darlin'! I have quite a few of those totes floating around! What a fab idea, and who doesn't love a good glue gun session??
You rock!

[AZ Mom]

WOW! What a great idea!!! I am going to have to borrow that one!

[~JJ!]

Friggin' Awesome.

Now, when can you come over and make those for me???

[BOSSY]

That's mighty cute.

[Dawn]

I LOVE this idea! I just started looking around for a new toybox for the living room because Baby's toys are taking over and I was depressed by all the bright, primary colors only options. I was also depressed to learn how expensive toy boxes are. This is a great solution!

[Angie]

What an excellent idea! I never would have thought of this!

[Heather]

Nice! I'd have a hard time cluttering up something that looked so beautiful.

[Amy]

Oh wow! This looks great! I love the fabric choice- thanks for sharing!

[Linda]

Love this idea!

[Jamie]

I have NEVER seen anyone do this and I love the idea!!! Mama needs some fashionable crap, I mean storage, bins! Plus the ones I truly love are way too expensive. This is the frugal mama's Pottery Barn cheat sheet!

Seriously...I love this idea. You know I have good luck thrifting, too. I'm going with my mom in the morning to a place she found on Charlotte (got the morning off...yee haw.)

[Jamie]

p.s. Mama does not own a glue gun. Crafty she is not. Must get one, hot glue gun she must own.

Why am I talking like YODA?!???

[social chick]

What a great idea! It is always good to hear of great ways to store all of the toys.

[Alison]

Oh, that is a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing.

[Jennifer]

Great idea, would have NEVER thought of it, now I need to get me a glue gun to make a dress up costume tote for Princess Costumes. Have way too many totes around here!

[nap warden]

Clever indeed!

[Meredith from Merchant Ships]

This one goes in the Fussy Hall of Fame!

What a great way to unite the various mismatched plastic bins I've picked up at yard sales.

[Elizabeth]

WONDERFUL IDEA!!!!!

[Saph -Walk With Me]

That's such a pretty idea!! Will the lid still close on it??

[April]

I can so do this! Thanks for the great idea.

[Keri]

Fussy and clever! You are something!

[Jenni]

These are so cool. Can I just glue the toys in it so it always looks neat?

[julie@lovelaughter&laundry]

This is a great idea, I will definitely be copying you. I love how stylish they look.

[VDog]

You're so fabulous. My goodness. Just ... fabulous.

That is all.

Resume your activities. Of fabulousness.

[Kelly]

What's with the penguins???

[TJ]

Thanks to Meredith for linking to this post! I love it! I will be covering over that ugly green bin in our tv room.

[Renee Clark]

Great idea, but how do you keep the kids from unwrapping them? My son would peel that fabric off the moment my back was turned for a cape, or ghost, or picnic blanket.......

[MammaLoves]

You are BRILLIANT!!!

[Samantha]

I just found this while stumbling! What an awesome idea! I just love it! I am all about being crafty and frugal, yet fashionable with the baby and kid stuff. :-P

[Alli ~Mrs. Fussypants]

I can't even begin to tell y'all how happy I am that my slacker-style decorating tip is so loved!

Thank you all so much for your comments.
I love the comments.

OH, Did I mention that I love your comments?
:)

Love to you all,
Fussy

[Donna]

Sooooooo cool! I will definatly have to give this a try! I have a section in my living room near our book case that our toys like to gravitate to--I needed a "red" box to blend in with my decor and just could not find one! This will work perfectly! Plus it's affordable!

[Kerry]

Have you ever tried covering the lids? Does it work well? I'd love this idea even more (if that is possible) if I could cover some lids!

[Jennifer's luvin Fussy]

Awesome Idea!! I'm pulling out my glue gun...oh wait where is it...well I'll go get another at the dollar store. LOL I'm definitely going to update my ugly bins of horror

[JHS]

Hey, that's a cute idea!

Question: Did you by any chance note how much fabric is required for one of those large containers? That info. would be helpful to avoid buying too much or too little without lugging the box into the fabric store.

Thanks for participating in this weeks' Carnival of Family Life which will go live on Monday, January 24, 2007, at 12:01 a.m. (Pacific time). We have LOTS of wonderful entries this week and the Carnival is going to be fabulous! Be sure you drop by and check out some of the other entries.

How 'bout hosting one week? Have you signed up yet? The schedule is posted at Colloquium.

Happy Holidays!

[Kat]

Oooooooh, Fussy! I simply CANNOT beleive I did not think of this first. Damn. I spent a fortune on pretty baskets and stacked those ugly tubs up in the garage. Hmph. Still have one big one in The Kid's room though, which WILL be getting this treatment, thank you very much!

[Sunshine]

One word :

GENIUS!!

thx,

peace,

Sunshine

[Jenn]

What a clever idea!

I'm happy to present your post as part of the Happy New Year's Carnival of Family Life which I am hosting 12/31/07 at Mixed Metaphor.net! Hope you'll drop by the party and join in the festivities -- we have many wonderful entries this week!