Thursday, October 6, 2016

A Space-Saving Solution

Ah, the laborious but necessary task of switching seasons of clothing for the kids!  Honestly, it is not done but a dent has been made, and until the weather makes up it's mind about whether it's still summer or we're headed towards winter, there isn't much point in continuing.

I've come to appreciate the flexibility of our little house.  Every item must have a purpose and a home (good luck with it always getting there!), but there has been a decided fluidity to the rooms throughout the past 12 years.

Case in point: a diaper changing space. 

After hearing my mother's tales of back pain from changing diapers on a low bed, I figured a changing table would be pretty handy.  I saw a darling Hoosier cabinet converted for the purpose, and one thing led to another until my father designed and built a cabinet for the job. 

Doug and a neighbor hauled the heavy piece up the stairs of our apartment, and it served us well.

Until we moved to this house.  The hall to the bedrooms was too narrow and the doorways were placed in such a way that the piece could not be maneuvered into the nursery.  After I was thoroughly assured that my dad wouldn't be offended, the back was cut out to house our ancient television (yes, we have one; yes, it's a dinosaur; no, we don't need a flat screen because this still works).

I believe at one point we had a dresser with poorly-sliding drawers that served as the changing space.  With more babies, furniture was pared and it was hauled to the street where it disappeared in a hour. 

But we still had to change diapers. Not wanting to buy any furniture, we constructed a "table" in the closet.

Diapers, wipes, and clothes were close at hand, and there was plenty of storage for all the extras.  An inexpensive door mirror entertained baby.  I even purchased cute little tags to label all the baskets of clothing (onesies, sleepers, pants, etc.), but it was one of many uncompleted projects, dying to the tyranny of the urgent.

When Josie came along, we once again had to assess sleeping arrangements, and this time baby was moved into the other room with the big boys.  Another "table" was needed.


The doors of the closet were removed for ease of use and to give the illusion of more space.  The big boys clothes easily fit on the bottom shelves, and baby's go up high.  Dresses are hung on a tension rod running back to front of the closet, and wipes, diapers and extra sheets are all easily available.

Josie has since been moved to the other room she shares with the "little" boys (another space-saving solution post right there), and Katherine now shares space with the big boys.  The changing pad is no longer needed and it won't be long before the small bins will be unable to hold the boys' larger clothes, but it has been a perfect solution to our family's small bedroom dilemna.

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