Elfa Archives - Busy Moms Helper

I have a major problem functioning when a room is in total chaos. If I have to spend forever to find something among piles of other somethings, forget it! For example, we’re currently remodeling my kids’ huge loft playroom. But with so much stuff, where was I to put it all? Thank goodness you can Organize Your Life with the Container Store! Originally shared in 2015, but the big ELFA sale is back and I just had to reshare!

When we decided to makeover their playroom, I knew that one of the major things I wanted to change was where their million toys, action figures, costumes, legos, cars and other kid-stuff was stored. Up until now, it took over my hallway linen closet. For a visual….

See any towels, bedding or other normal ‘linen closet’ items in there? You wouldn’t, because none of that stuff would fit! I wanted it OUT of my storage place, and nicely organized in their HUGE playroom…they’ve definitely got the space for it! I picked out one of their corner areas where I wanted their storage to be….

That corner…totally blank except the couch and occasional forts. Plenty of space to move stuff around! I painted it from the blah ‘Arctic Frost’ color that our house came in to a Pebble Grey on the walls and normal white for the ceiling. Then I headed to The Container Store near us…in Frisco/Plano area…and had the AMAZING people there help us out!

I got so excited, because their Elfa Storage Solutions are ON SALE RIGHT NOW through February 11th! That’s a full 30% off all Elfa products AND 30% off installation services! We actually find it totally simple to install Elfa systems, so choose to do it ourselves. It’s awesome! The store will even help you DESIGN YOUR SPACE FOR FREE. Yup, they’re awesome! We gave them the measurements, then they worked with us to figure out exactly what type of stuff we needed. They even helped us choose between things so we could stick to our budget!

We stuck with the platinum, since it will go with our playroom theme great (shhh…that’s coming soon!) I also love how durable and safe the Elfa stuff is…there’s a slit at the top runner, so it’s not like the kids could slide the down hooks off themselves.

They also have end pieces you can put on so the edges of the shelves LOOK nicer, and are more safe against rough or pokey edges!

After just a little bit, we had our shelving and drawers all set up!

Then it was just a matter of organizing all of the kids’ stuff out there! As we were putting their toys here, we did decide to make a couple changes as to where things went (drawers lower, etc.) and it was a super quick and easy switch!

I’m totally in love with this…how it LOOKS, how EASY it was, how FLEXIBLE, and how much the kids are loving the simplicity of getting out and putting things away! I’m totally in love with how ORGANIZED things stay, too, since even my youngest can figure out where things are suppose to go with this!

So contact your nearest Container Store, have them help you (for FREE) design your own space – whether it’s a playroom, closet, garage, or bedroom – and take advantage of the amazing Elfa sale before you miss out this year!

For those of you that don’t know, we moved to Texas just over two years ago, and after 6 months our house was built here. Although our house is wonderful, there’s one big issue I have with it that can’t be changed: our tiny garage. Luckily I can make the most of it with some Budget Friendly Garage Organization! Originally published February 2015, but their annual Elfa sale is back so I had to reshare!

Our garage is technically for 2-cars, but when we park the van inside, there’s about 2 feet between the van and the wall, then 3 feet between the front of the van to the door leading into our house. Tight squeeze! If we wanted to park Hubby’s car in the second bay, there’d only be about 2-3 feet between the vehicles….and we couldn’t have ANYTHING else in there. Needless to say, we just park the van in there and use the other side for the garbages, our extra fridge and freezer, plus our storage. Things like bikes, tools, paint (I have a slight paint hoarding problem), Christmas lights, yard supplies and other miscellaneous take up that side.

As you can see in that picture, it was a DISASTER, and I couldn’t find anything easily! After over a year of dealing with the mess just getting worse, we decided to take advantage of the Elfa Storage sale at The Container Store….then we spent Valentine’s weekend fixing our cluttered garage problem! Now the second bay looks like this…

Such a difference, right?! And we still have plenty of space for other items as needed. I can find whatever I need, and don’t have to ‘forbid’ the kids from going out there, afraid the messy piles of stuff will swallow them!

Friday Night: We painted the walls

Yes, Hubby was trying to get a ‘butt shot’ but I was too busy to hold still 🙂 Guess he wants to get me back from the butt shot I took while working on our playroom Elfa storage!

Saturday: Install the Elfa Storage System

It was the perfect weather for just opening the garage doors and letting in the sun and fresh air. Loved it!

We could have had The Container Store install it for us, but it’s so simple we just did it ourselves!

Did you know that they’ll also help you design your space to fit your needs for FREE in their stores? That’s what we did…gave them measurements, they designed it, then we worked together switching pieces in/out until we fit the budget we were looking for. It’s so flexible…we still want to add a few shelves later, but it can wait!

Hubby did really good fitting the top shelf PERFECTLY above the garage door, so it doesn’t touch at all as it opens/closes.

We used some of our supplies to adjust our shelving to the perfect height.

Then: Organize it All Easily!

Now I don’t have to kick things out of the way to get into our freezers, and have room to place things (and a table!) when putting away groceries. The kids can easily pull out their bikes and helmets, and I can grab the stroller super quick whenever I need it.

We have perfect spots lower for the kids’ outdoor toys, and can keep the chemicals and things higher out of their reach.

I even have a work table out here, with shelves at just the right height for my painting supplies. Told you I had a paint problem…and this isn’t even all of it, yet!

I can even get the hose and outdoor brooms by myself now, instead of begging Hubby to go dig them out!

Look at all that organized space…I’m totally in love with my garage! As sad as I am that we can’t fit our 2nd vehicle in here, at least it can now be used for some great storage.

Between our playroom, some for my craft room and now our garage….we sure have loved using Elfa to help us organize! And guess what? The Container Store has extended their annual Elfa SALE! So hurry in and take advantage of the 30% off now until March 2nd….believe me, you’ll love it!