Organizing When You Downsize

It’s almost a year now since we moved from Long Island, New York to a suburb of Dayton, Ohio.  Not only did we move, but we downsized from a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath center hall Colonial to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath ranch condo. 

{Pre New Vinyl Siding}

First off, my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were moving with us {into their own first home} and needed furniture.  The really big and heavy pieces I sold through Craig’s List.  My dining room, den and two spare bedrooms’ furniture went to my daughter.  All the things that made their way to the attic for storage were either sold at a yard sale, donated or thrown away.  Sometimes it was difficult, but I really had to detach and be realistic when doing this.

{A favorite picture of my old backyard}

Once we were in our new place, a lot of creative storage and organization had to take place to make the most use of our pieces and the space.  One item that came in handy was the first dresser makeover I did from a roadside rescue piece.  The affordability factor?  It cost me zero as someone was throwing it out {much like the one I just found recently}.

It has become a transition piece in our open floor plan condo anchoring this wall, allowing me to decorate on top of it, and the baskets and drawer hold a wide array of items.

I fit my table linens in here, napkin rings, light bulbs, a picture frame or two, some chargers, and things I need to keep out of my 2-year-old granddaughter’s little hands!

The two side tables in the guest room {also made over} were in my son’s old room in New York.

The two drawer piece has the top drawer basically empty; right now it holds the television remote.  The bottom drawer holds some extra clothes for my granddaughter, as well as the crib sheet and pad that goes with a travel crib.

The second table has two doors and right now I have our family photo albums stored in here.

In my craft/sewing room {which was originally a storage room} I left the existing wire shelving which came in handy for my supplies.  For those larger items that take up a lot of room ~ large pillow form, batting, fiberfil ~ I hide store them under the skirt I made for my sewing table. 

The fabric separates right in the middle of the table so I have easy access.  These items are out of the way and I can store them without them taking up a lot of physical and visual space.

Finally, I wanted to share two bookcases that were also in my son’s bedroom in New York.  They actually fit in our sunroom really well and the shelves hold some decorative accessories as well as my decorating books.

{Still waiting on new flooring, hence the furniture movers underneath them and the gap between them}.

The drawers hold DVD overflow, board games and a couple of throws.  I even have one drawer empty!

These are just some of the ways we’ve utilized furniture we already owned to pull multi-function duty in our downsized home.

Linking up with

Organizing Solutions at Whisper Wood Cottage Talent Scouting Event