Storage Geek

I had an anonymous question asking about hat storage in both dorms and at home. Since I deleted the question completely by accident I am just going to ramble on where a question would normally be.

I am going to assume Anonymous meant ball caps, because that is where my head went when I read the question, and because the easiest solution I found is for ball caps.

Jokari  2 Cap Racks for $7.50.

I actually found this @ a Bed,Bath & Beyond last week and took a photo with my phone to remind me to answer here. I posted about the purse rack similar to this some time ago. The Jokari over the door systems really seem to be just what renters and students need. No special hardware, no high ticket price and completely removable.

This is how caps sit on the cap rack.

As you can see though it is not really an option for hats like fedoras and sunhats…so just in case Anonymous meant hats in general, I kept looking and this is what I found:

Gorgeous vintage collection photo source.

Unfortunately if you are heading to a dorm, or are really worried about security deposits, giant nails in the walls are not really an option though are they?

Also, I should note that 9/10 hat enthusiasts do not recommend this for hats that you intend on keeping and wearing./ Although the tenth says that as long as the hats are rotated to and from hat boxes before and after shifts on the walls they should be fine. Source.

So, if it is not ball caps you are storing, and you can’t hammer giant nails into your walls then what are your options?

Original Chain Gang Toy Organizer - White $9.99

Traditionally, and ideally hats should be stored in boxes, stuffed with tissue paper. Normally this is not the most practical solution due to size, but thanks to The Container Store you can score these square ones for made from 98% post-consumer recycled paper materials for as low as $4.99 each. Now you just need the shelf space to store them and that I cannot help you with.

Photo Source.

This is the next best thing after a hat box. The hat is able to sit supported even though it is still vulnerable to the elements. These  Large Wire Stacking Shelves are readily available on Amazon for $6.99 a piece.

This was a great question, and I am glad I didn’t stop at caps because I did find some ideas I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. I hope this helps, and as always, please share photos! Cheers,M.

bumbleberrypie asked:

Hello! I’ve searched the world over to find good storage/display options for all the records I have (vinyl). I haven’t found anything that I can buy so I figured it’s time to get creative. Bookends may even suffice. Any ideas?

aspectsofmatthew asked:

i was wondering if you have any advise how i should keep my vinyls.

I love that more than one person asked about how to store their vinyl collection! Yay records, but how to store these bits of vinyl goodness? I found more options than I though, but not a lot of DIYs. To make up for it I’ll post something for every price point.

When storing records a few things have to be considered. The first is weight. A sizable record collection weighs quite a bit and is guaranteed to bow a couple shelves in its lifetime. The next is height, records are tall and deep so average bookshelves don’t work like they do for most media collections. The next consideration is climate conditions. Records are a lot like medications in that they are best kept on the cool side with little to no fluctuation in temperature. Last but not least you need to be able to retrieve them easily and it is always nice to display at least a portion of your collection isn’t it? Whew! That was a mouthful. Now how about a couple eyefuls?

First up, the unassuming cardboard box designed just for 33s. Now, I wouldn’t recommend stacking these too high, but the price is right at $9.95/1 $39.95/5 or the best deal is $79.95/10. This option really is just about affordability, as it offers no protection from any elements, makes it somewhat cumbesome to enjoy and/or show your collection off. Storage capacity: 50 LPs

Photo Source

If space is at a premium though, you could always keep the bulk of your collection in the boxes and keep your favourites at hand and on display with a simple crown moulding shelf. This is the only DIY I found that did not require any cabinetry skills. Storage capacity: Varies according to wall space available.

Weighing in at £20 and up is the peppy iCube. Comes in a vast array of colours and finishes and you can get double models. Storage capacity: 100 LPs

First in price but last in size is the Expedit book case from IKEA. I have read that each cube holds 80 albums leaving room for browsing. That is a lot of record storage for 129.99. Storage capacity: 1280 LPs

Second up in cabinets is this unit by Sefour.Available from Amazon for $169.99. I really like this unit for two reasons, the first being the shleves are are not shelves at all but two metal bars. That means the chance of having bowed shelves is little to none. The second is the slim nature of the tower. You could fit this in most bedrooms and apartment sized common areas. Storage capacity:500 LPs

The LP Bin is one of my favourite because it stores records like a record shop, from front to back. The price point is $249.00 and comes in three finishes, wood grain, black and white. Storage capacity: 560 LPS.

These are just a few options, there are really a lot of options out there for vinyl storage, but unfortunately minimal for DIY. The only thing I can recommend for DIY versions, is to frequent thrift shops and flea markets for solidly built furniture that is deep enough to house your records and strong enough to hold them up. Refinish it to your heart’s content. 

For more ideas you could check out Amazon, Flickr and Google.

I hope this post inspired you, and please share with me pictures of your solution! Cheers,M.

christyy asked:

I have jewellery and other random things (like body sprays, hair ties, makeup, etc.) cluttering my dresser top right now. Do you have any cute ideas for organizing and displaying everything? I also have a mirror hung over it with lots of wall space. thanks, and keep up the awesome work on here! (:

Thanks for the great question Christyy, at first I wasn’t sure how to answer this question because the terms I was searching by were coming up bupkiss. Then today it occurred to me that you need to compartmentalize your trinkets and sprays and with that it was super easy!

First off can I tell you how lucky you are that you have lots of wall space above your dresser and around your mirror.  You can do things like:

Hang a series of painted drawers perfect for holding jewelry, body sprays and hair things. Source

Or keep it simple with a single drawer organizer tray painted to match your room. Source

As-easy-as-it-gets-hooks can hold near every kind of accessory you have if you look around or the right ones. (I managed to lose the source of this photo, does anyone know it’s origin?)

Now that we have covered the walls, lets check out some nifty dresser top ideas:

You could pick up a couple lampshades from the thrift shop and fashion them into bowls for your hair do-dads. Source

If you sew you could make yourself a couple fabric caddies for your sprays and cosmetics. Source

I have had a love affair with these tins since January. You could easily fashion up some couture ones of your own for your make up brushes. Source

Last but not least, you could raid your mom’s china stash for the perfect little dishes for your hair bits, and make up etc. Source

Also worth checking out are my jewelry storage, accessories storage  and make up storage tags.

I hope this post helped you clear some of that clutter! Thanks for asking such a great question and please, don’t forget to share pictures when you are done! Cheers,M.