Keeping Amy’s bedroom tidy is a nightmare. I could deal with it, if it was just standard 3yo mess, but the lack of shelves/cupboards/organisation is driving me a little bit batshit.
A bit of backstory. In 2008, we bought this house, quite cheap. We were lucky, because then the GFC hit and there would have been NO hope of us getting a homeloan, being low income earners. So, we’re ahead of the game at least.
The house however, is a renovators delight. Or nightmare, I’m not quite sure.
See posts here, here and here.
Go on, read them. I’ll wait.
So, the house, it needs a leeetle bit of work, which is why Amy’s room has no storage.
We did however, put up glow stars and planets for her.
Before we moved in, the panels hiding those gaps had been peeled off, obviously so the previous residents could paint. Of course, they didn’t finish the job, leaving us with a giant mess, that we’ve not had the money to fix yet.
Soon, hopefully soon, the room will be plastered, painted and end up with bookshelves, shelves and a cupboard for her clothes.
And you know, by the time that happens, she might even be old enough to keep her stuff in order without our help!
We’re not even going to talk about how part of the floor is sinking and that it’s a little like walking on a boat.
At least, not today.
Email to a friend
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Well, fingers crossed you can do it up soon then!
xx
I like the glow stars and planets.
Here’s hoping you can get it fixed up soon. Have a painting party – Marylin and I will come and help, just as soon as one of us has won the lottery.
The frustrating thing with rentals is the lack of storage. Thank goodness for IKEA and their cheap storage solutions.
I hope you can get it sorted out with minimal frustration and expense.
Oh I understand! Our place has been the same. Moneypit Nightmare, really. The girl was sleeping in a room that felt as rickety as walking on a boat on the high seas and when we finally restumped it and did the extension, we all but had to knock down every single wall, re-frame and replaster (was soooo expensive and has taken all our savings plus we’ve now maxed out the loan). While we fixed her end of the house – 6 mths, it took – she had to sleep in the lounge. The restumping guys said they’d never seen stumps that rotten, they kicked them and they crumbled. And our daughter was sleeping on top of that! Shudder!
Good luck. I hope it all happens for you soon, I feel your frustration.
Well hold your breath here Veronica. I don’t own my house and I had imagined as you do when little that by now I would be sitting on my rocking chair in my house with a veranda (a word I can’t spell and always want an ‘h’ in, does it have an h or not) because I truly believed dreams do come true and I would have 2.4 kids and a life full of rose entwined thingies and contented pets.
The truth is, I do have two kids, albeit all grown up in age terms at least, a step son and a step grandson. My house (or should I say housing associations house) has two rooms downstairs, a bathroom and three bedrooms and a very small garden. The location is good. The inside of the house is a nightmare – OH for some reason these days has not decorated for many years and the subject is no longer up for discussion. Eldest daughters bedroom is a health hazard, the boy’s room smells how a 17 year old (can’t say 18 Veronica) room does although its clean. My bedroom has no carpet and husband turns it into a version of his alter ego – any feminine touch is extremely hard to find. One ancient cat has a cough, the kitten has fleas despite being treated and the dog has been to the vet again today….
Sometimes I used to think if all the decorating and furniture requirements and the obvious (housework were attended to) I would be truly happy, sitting contentedly in my non owned house. It certainly would help big time.
But what would make me happier would be to own a house with a patch of land. I would happily swop mine for yours anyday so that I could paint a big $%^& off sign on the door and wallow in all the stuff that needs doing. Just so that the housing association would stop sending me letters along the lines of – please make yourself available for bla bla inspection, I take my privacy seriously and hate it that this space we call home is someone elses.
I don’t know if you have an Ikea, *can’t remember now if you have said previously if you hate it or something similar. But they do do very funky storage solutions that don’t require any diy skills at all, it may be a stop gap in the meantime whilst other stuff gets done.
If its any consolation – we did do eldest daughters a while back and within three months she had trashed the new carpet, broken the drawers on the carefully chosen white furniture and every magazine, book, paint etc. was on the floor so we may just as well not have bothered. For a while though, she was very happy and I was even happier.
I would post a photo of eldest daughter’s bedroom (aged 20) but truly Veronica I would be too embarrassed and it would need a government health warning.
PMT was always a very good time for me to shout a lot about the lack of diy, lack of money and lack of get up and go required to ‘do’ the house. My problem is I find it hard to be houseproud so I don’t think I set a good example.
I had a friend years ago whose house was always super clean & tidy. Her toddlers would fall over everything each time they visited so my excuse was that my kid’s became mega good at hazard perception from an early age and besides apparently a perfect house that gleams can be the cause of asthma. Apparently dust and higgeldy piggeldy houses are in fact good for one’s health.
xoxoxoxo
Those el cheapo washing baskets, plastic, work well for storage and can be reused elsewhere afterwards.
They give you the perfect excuse not to have to fold everything perfectly and hold/hide a multitude of sins for a quick clean up
The house has a lot of potential
Cleaning up mess over and over drives me batty too, especially since we are still short on furniture so most things siton the ground. Someone likes to turn the computer off when I’m doing something important.
Glad you beat the GFC, and the house will get done eventually. That’s the fun of it all.
Yep, plastic storage boxes/baskets are a must for the toys, just chuck it all in and where applicable stick a lid on it! IKEA do some very useful cheap shelves – as in $39 a pop. We have lots of them for my craft room and to hold some of Meccano Man’s assorted junk until he moves out again. Unfortunately I don’t suppose there is an IKEA anywhere in Tasmania, but if there is, or you know someone going to the mainland, the shelves are called LAIVA and the packs fit into a small car easily! We got several at a time into our little Getz.
LOL @Barbara
When you get the money there are cheap small shelving units at fantastic furniture, I spray painted mine pink and in their display they have attached them to the wall up high. So when you get around to it, they are cheap and when you attach them up high then you can display some of the kids more sentimental things and photo frames etc and even if the rest of the room looks like a mess there is one attractive and tidy bit
She sounds like me! My uni college room is in an absolute state of disarray at this time, too. I clean up about once a month (if I’m lucky!) :-\
Part of the floor is sinking? Check immediately for underfloor frog ponds….ha ha.
You know, if you’d posted this only 2 months ago, I had cabinets here that I could have shipped to you. my brother would have helped me pay for it, he’s good like that. Now the Salvos have them.
I love the glow stars, chidish me has some too, strung on fishing line and hung around my light fitting.
Anyway, kids rooms are supposed to be messy, I think it’s some kind of kid law, even with cupboards the floors are usually covered with stuff.
Loved my stars as a kid.
I thought I’d have a house, a husband, two kids (both over ten), a dog, and a wraparound porch by now. And yes post GFC, I’m pretty grateful that I have a low paid low houred job. But boy is it hard to give up the idea of house, husband, two kids, wraparound porch. I want to only compromise with the dog.
What is the black thing in the second picture from the bottom.
It is ridiculous, but I LOVE getting/buying organizational type stuff. Really excites me. Shelving, baskets, COMPARTMENTS. Squeal! Love it. Wish I could come help.
Rachael – That is a light switch. Heh.
Was wondering if you could tell me – at what age are kids old enough to keep their own stuff in order without help? Mine are 8 and 11 and still not capable of that.. I do look forward to it though!!
We have a rule in our house – Kiaras door remains closed! Seriously it just stresses me when I walk past! Everyday she plays with every single toy she owns. She PULLS out her stuff and it likes all over.
She sees no problem with it – NONE! In fact she messes it while I am still cleaning it! And she has cupboards and storage!
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