Creating Space in a Small Bedroom without a SpaceX rocket!

Renovation costs in Auckland are rising and so are property prices so we need to be creative as we move into smaller spaces to accommodate our stuff.  Our bedrooms are often last on the list as they are the room seen least, but as the room we spend a great deal of time in, we really need to think about this space.  

My bedroom is my haven.  It is not particularly large but every inch is used to its best advantage.  When I was renovating I made sure I bought relaxing big space ideas into my little sanctuary.

Remove the Excess - Use a Storage Box 

The more you have in your small space the more cramped it is going to feel.  I made a tough decision to sell many items and the rest I put in a storage box or removed into Self Storage.  This instantly created an illusion of space and calm in my room.  

Choose the right furniture and storage

I was lucky enough to have the option to build my wardrobes in with drawers to negate the need for a dresser or amoire.  This was one less challenge to deal with.  However, what I found was space was created by choosing furniture that was slim but high and rectangular not curved.  Nightstands with space underneath also greatly increased the illusion of space.  Perhaps the biggest space was created though with a bed that had storage underneath.  Storage baskets are a godsend for small spaces.

Make your bed the focal point

In a small bedroom your bed will more than likely be the focal point.  Size your other furniture and decor to fit the size of your bed so your room is well proportioned.  A large mirror can also add an illusion of extra space and bring a romantic feel to the bedroom.

Make room for a reading chair

Not only does a reading chair and lamp make your room so much more relaxing, but it can be multifunctional in getting more use out of your small bedroom and for throwing the odd piece of clothing on when you just want to crawl into bed for the night!

Choose your colours and artwork wisely

I used light muted colours in my small space and bought the darker and brighter colours in as accents.  Not only did this give the illusion of a larger space but it utilised the natural light to its best advantage.  Artwork will have the same effect, so plan carefully to ensure your haven stays as just that - your haven.  

Greenpeace activists scale parliament - tips to make your home eco friendly

 As Greenpeace activists scale parliament to deliver solar panels we look at how to make your home more eco friendly and save on the rising winter power bills!

Eco homes aren't just the domain of ageing hippies nowadays, as we have become aware of the environments impacts and the health of our children more and more people are trending this way.  However people are going to change their habits just to save the environment, we need to see the cost benefits too.

Recycle Furniture

Save your lungs and some rain forests long term and buy furniture that is second hand, antique or made from recycled materials.  You also get the added bonus of statement pieces at cheap prices.  Or pop some of your furniture in storage and rotate it for different looks.

Go Clean Green

Switching to green cleaners reduces chemicals in the air and contributes to better control for asthma and allergy sufferers.  Keep an eye out for plant-based products or even better make you own.  Wendyl Nissen has a great book out on homemade cleaning recipes. 

Meat Free Mondays

My favourite - Meat Free Mondays.  It is time to get creative in the kitchen, be kind to your health and the environment.  Adding one meat free meal a week for a family of four has the same environmental impact as changing to driving a hybrid car.   Jamie Oliver has a wealth of recipes on his site for inspiration. Paul McCartney has a website and book dedicated to this as well.

Insulate

Most of our heat is lost through the walls and the ceiling.  As heat rises we watch our dollars do a slow drift into the sky.  Where ever possible use natural or recycled material, Energywise can also help in in some cases with funding for insulation in older home, but generally you can recoup the cost of insulation within two to three years, sooner if you calculate the health benefits too!  Draft guards on doors and window also work a treat.

Save some Electricity

Check those power plugs.  Any household item that is plugged into an outlet is using energy even if the item is not on.  Hang the washing out, put times on those heaters and replace bulbs with LED's.  For an even better eco solution, put solar panels in, I shaved a good couple of hundred dollars a month off my power bill when I installed solar panels and haven't regretted it for a moment.

And last but not least, enjoy all your cost savings!

Your own Princess Charlotte on the way? Tips to create space for a new addition to the family.

With another baby on the way, the excitement has started to give way to the reality of creating space for another little bundle of joy.  Luckily for us it's not the first time but with a big gap between kids we are having to think creatively about storage and space.

Creating the space

The spare room is being gutted and our oldest is making the big move downstairs, it may be that like us you will need to turn the guest bedroom into a playroom or a home office or storage space into a nursery.  We have gone vertical to create extra storage space in the bedrooms after losing some space and put the rest (especially the bulky items) into storage units.  The space under beds is often ignored, but there is often great opportunity to use plastic boxes with lids or decorative baskets to store often used items in.

Starting small and thinking big

If it is your first baby or you haven't had a little one in the house for a while the list of what new babies may need can seem overwhelming.  The reality is newborn babies need very little other than a warm cosy place to sleep, a lot of kisses and cuddles, more clothes than you anticipate you will need (for those days when you just cannot keep up with the washing) and clean nappies.  

The internet is tempting with all the items you could purchase so start with a few, you can always purchase more once your baby is born.  

If you have been given more baby gifts than you know what to do with, consider using them in a decorative but functional way.  

This picture from interior designer Claudia ZinZan shows this in a really beautiful way

Create Zones

If one thing in life is certain it is that babies and toddlers may be small, but the mess they are capable of creating is not!

Ensure all the places you will change your baby, burp your baby and feed your baby are wipeable.  If you have the room, create a minimal adults only space where you can escape the chaos that only appears with little ones in the house.

Early on create an art-space to save your precious walls.  For my daughters 6th birthday I painted a huge purple butterfly on her bedroom wall with blackboard paint.  If I had only known earlier how many walls it would save from her ballpoint pens (carefully hidden by me but always found), I would have done it from the day she was old enough to hold a piece of chalk.  

Prepare to create space in your heart

More than anything else the biggest space created is the one in your heart, be prepared for more love, laughs, tears than you ever thought humanely possible and enjoy!

Seven tips to surviving a move with kids

As I was reading stuff.co.nz, there was an article about moving stress which had quoted some statistics as moving being relatively low on the stress scale.  As any of us know who have moved, it can be a hugely stressful affair, often made more stressful and logistically demanding when you add in the complications of some little angels posing as helpers.

If you have children and are thinking of moving here are our top seven tips to surviving a move with kids.

1.  Say goodbye to the house

For younger children especially, moving may be a stressful anxious time.  Let them go out with a bang, throw a goodbye party to the house sharing memories and visiting significant spots.  

2.  Give them work to do!

Bored helpers are similar to tornadoes when you are in packing mode.  Put them to work leading up to moving day so that they feel like they are a part of the move and to keep them busy.  Dependent on their age, they can help pack and label their own boxes, my daughter loves to draw pictures on any kind of box making her's instantly recognisable.  

3.  Let them pack their own bag 

I always let my kids bag take responsibility for packing their own suitcase with all the things they might need for the first night in their new house.  I write them a list to help them remember the things I want them to pack (e.g. toothbrush, change of underwear, the boring Mum things), but the rest is up to them. By letting them pack their own bag, they pick their favourite things which help them feel safe and secure in their new environment.  

4.  Negotiate a deal

I have found sticker charts with a list of jobs work well to keep them moving through the work are fantastic with the rewards coming in some of the tips below.  There has always been an extra reward if they are well behaved and helpful during the actual move, and when all else fails, I call in my Mum!

5.  Compile Activities do to during the actual move

It may seem obvious, but on of the best ways to keep kids entertained is to have plenty of things on hand for them to pass the time.  After forgetting to do this a couple of times and having my cellphone battery run down with my charger gone walkabout due to my disorganisation I now carry a minimum of the below.

• Activity pack with plenty of paper, scissors, glue, stickers and felt-tip pens. Stationery shops often have some great one ready made on special which can save you time.
• Travel Lego boxes, my biggest saving grace.  Take an old tupperware container or lunchbox, glue a baseplate in the lid and get the kids to choose their own lego pieces to create masterpieces on the move.
• Boggle, this is one of the greatest inventions for compact games on the move that keeps their competitive little minds engaged for hours.
• Books or the kindle (remember to charge it).  I have also found audio books great when they are getting tired and running low on energy.
• Not an activity but ..... plenty of food and water!

 

6.  Make a restaurant stop

With your kitchen packed up, a million and one things to do, packing nutritious meals other than snacks on the way is always the last thing on your list.  Kids love a stop at a family friendly restaurant (its a great reward for good behaviour) or even a picnic of fish and chips on the beach or in the park.

7.  Accept offers of help

When friends and family offer to help with the kids, bring you wine, dinner and breakfast or help unpack boxes, accept it with open arms.

Jimmie Johnson and Ashton Kutcher have them - Man Caves, Relationship Saver?

Mark Twain famously quoted "There ought to be a room in this house to swear in.  It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that ... Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer."  

Man caves have been around since the beginning of time and in modern relationships are still prevalent. Some of the most famous Man Caves including Winston Churchill's, Ernest Hemingway's and Thomas Edison's were where most of their great work was produced.

In a solid relationship, every woman needs a space well clear of masculine clutter.  Every man needs his space too, whether it be the spare room, the garage, a shed in the back yard or a storage unit.   While in many households, particularly celebrity ones, man caves are prevalent, after the birth of babies, rising property prices and accumulation of boys toys this is often the first space to be lost.  

So the big question .... how do we create space for this man cave?

If you are wanting to create a man cave in your home and think you don't have the space, consider those rooms that you are currently using as a storage or junk room. In most cases a garage or an extra room is probably being used for storage space, in my case it was our garage.  To save my sanity I relegated all my seasonal gear taking up usable space and other items I didn't use regularly to my storage unit.  The rest I gave to the kids to sell outside on their lemonade stand (it made a lot more money for them than the lemonade!).

Many a time moving items into my storage unit I also hear the familiar hum of a PS3 and big belly laughs coming from units where men are escaping to their units which they have turned into their own personal man caves.  

Check out these man caves of Jimmie Johnson, Ashton Kutcher and Snoop Dogg for some inspiration.  

Man Cave Benefits ...

• Men need somewhere to display the things they love.  No longer will you need to hide all those things you don't want guests to see, the PS3's, the stained couches from bachelor days and the photos of men being .. well just men!

• Provides a much needed decompression zone, we all need our personal space both men and women and a man cave is the ultimate solution.

• Most importantly, it will save your health and your relationship

Need more inspiration?

Check out 12 Man-tastic-man-caves, why-every-man-needs-a-man-cave and 10 man cave set-ups that will inspire you

How to effectively pack a storage unit

When I pack a storage unit I think of it like packing a moving truck. My main aim is to ultilise the maximum available space and keep my possessions damage free. I very quickly came to the realisation that to do it well and get the most bang for my buck a well executed plan goes a long way.

1. Create an inventory

Before you begin to pack, make a detailed list of everything that will go into the storage unit. This makes it easy when you need to access your storage unit to remember what is in your unit and where it is packed. It is also great to have on hand if you need to make a insurance claim in case of disasters such as fires or flooding.

2. Clean EVERYTHING before storing

Opening a fridge or washing machine after a few months in storage that hasn't been cleaned first can have some pretty nasty consequences, empty all food, waste water etc. out of electrical items and ensure nothing perishable is packed into boxes. I have also found using damp-rid silicon packets in my boxes can soak up any excess moisture as can vacuum packing.

3. Box and cover everything

Utilising all available space and preventing damage are always my two primary goals when packing my storage unit. To achieve this whenever possible I use uniformly sized boxes to pack all the items and mattress and furniture covers to protect large items.  By using boxes that are strong, have flat, non-slippery surfaces and can be stacked high I can use all the available vertical space. Old banana boxes may seem great at the time, but they do have a tendency to cause some pretty major unwanted damage.

4. Pack your items tightly

Leave no space unused! By packing possessions tightly inside your boxes it prevents breakages and sunken boxes.

5. Label the boxes

Don't forget what you have in your boxes. I am really specific when I label my boxes, everything is itemised on the outside and a different colour permanent marker is used for each room in the house so I know immediately which room they belong to when I move them back into my house. Once in my storage unit I face all the labels towards the door and/or the aisle so I can identify them easily.  I love the smart-move tapes below to make my life easier.

6. Leave room for easy access

Sometimes my items end up in storage much longer than I originally anticipated. So when moving my possessions into a storage unit I draw a plan with an aisle creating an access way and ensure all boxes I need that I may need to access are on the aisle or at the front.

7.  Stack the heaviest items at the back

Mattresses, fridges and washing machines can cause damage both to you and smaller items if they happen to fall. I stack them against the wall at the back with other heavy items between them and put the lighter small boxes on top.

Eleven easy storage hacks to create space in your wardrobe

Being able to create enough space to fit everything in your wardrobe can feel like a never ending battle, especially in New Zealand with our love of outdoors and adventure sports, never mind the ever changing seasons and temperatures.  However, there are some quick easy storage hacks you can to to create more space in your wardrobe.  

1.  Store out of season clothing and sports gear elsewhere

Clear out what you won't be using for the next six months, neatly pack in boxes and put it into a self-storage unit.  There are many available throughout the country.  One of the newest to open is SpaceMax in Henderson, Auckland.  A self-storage unit will give you the peace of mind of round the clock security and month to month flexible rental periods.  

2.  Recycle fizzy drink tabs to create more hanger space

Save yourself valuable time and space.  This is a simple way to keep those tops, bottoms and accessories in one place and to be able to hang more than one piece of clothing on a single hanger and space those hangers out so they don't all bunch together.  

3.  Purge your wardrobe

Have a clean out every six months.  Fewer items mean better organisation in your wardrobe.  One of the best tricks I have been taught is to turn all of your hangers so the open end faces out towards your room.  As you wear things turn them back the other way.  Every six months take out everything still facing in the original direction and store the things you really love and can't bear to throw away and sell or donate the rest.  

4.  See-through boxes

If your shelves and drawers in your wardrobe are getting a bit chaotic get your hands on some clear boxes in different shapes and sizes like these brilliant ones from Ikea.  This keeps everything visible and easy to find and can house all those little things like accessories that often end up lost at the back of a sock drawer or wardrobe.

5.  Organise those shoes

If the bottom of your wardrobe looks like a shoe hurricane has paid a visit, a simple shoe rack or shelves can quickly create space inside your wardrobe.  Or be creative, clear boxes with beautiful shoes in them can form a display feature in your bedroom or in a prominent place inside your house.

6.  Remember the doors

Install hooks and rods on the back of the wardrobe doors to store everyday items like belts, scarves, shoes and even costume jewellery.

7.  Give your jandals some love

With a small amount of creative genius metal coat hangers can be used to store your jandals and get them off the pile on the floor.  Read more about how to create beautiful jandal holders here Jandal Love.

8.  Go Vertical

People often forget about the empty space just above the clothes railing.  Adding some temporary shelves or clear plastic boxes to store some extra items, especially those which aren't used to often is a great way to utilise space.

9.  Look after handbags with shower curtain hooks

To keep your handbags damage free and out of reach of little girls playing 'Ladies', use shower curtain hooks along the railing or rod of your wardrobe.

10.  Refold your t-shirts

Folding t-shirts neatly into thirds and organising vertically rather than stacked on top of one another means you can see what you are looking for and your increase your storage space.  This is especially great for teenage wardrobes!  

11.  Garment Tags

If your wardrobe is like mine and you have clothes stored in garment bags it is easy to forget they are there.  Take a picture of the item and glue it onto a tag that you can hang on the coat hanger.  Now you will always know what is inside!