Defending The Small House #1

Week 1: Frugal Storage For Crafts

{Living Big in 1010 (square feet}

Claudia and I are starting our series on Defending The Small House today. I have just finished my craft room/office space. 

So I'll be showing a lot of pics to let you see where I put everything since I moved. I purchased this shelf (above) from Home Depot last week. My daughter put it together for me. Cost: $68.

Remember the little glass jars I decorated for beads last winter? 

Since I didn't get to bring my stamp shelves, I have stamps all over the room in various compartments. 

I'm sure you remember the desk repurposed last week from the hallway door. 

Bet you wondered where on earth this little table and chairs were. Now a space to make crafts and sew.

A couple of years ago these jars had food in them. Cleaned them well. Decorated with scrap paper, added some bits of fringe, and decoupaged the surface to adhere. Now it is craft storage. Cost: $0.

These red baskets have tops that go on them. But I always had to take off the top to see what was inside. So I just turned them on their sides. Now I can see the contents quite easily.

The curtains you see in this room I sewed long ago for other windows at another house. But I already had them and the tension rods, so they're being used here. Tip: Make it work. Cost: $0.

Picked this coke crate up at an antique mall last week. Was a little steep for my blood. But it was the color I wanted, and it had the horizontal shelf I needed. Cost: $20.

I'm sure this red shelf was originally for spices. I've also used it for sewing thread. Now I'm using it for stamps. Tip: Look at things in new ways, for new uses, before you go purchase something new.

Remember the wool felt? Now it's being displayed in an old vintage suitcase I've had for years. 

The blue and white plaid has been on there just as long. It is shelf liner I applied to the back. Wish I had more of it.

Charlie Ross likes to perch up here on a quilt while I'm working.

Abi prefers it underneath the desk.

Lots of pics to take in all at once. But I wanted to show the completed room. I'm fortunate to have a designated space for my office and crafts. 

Total cost for this room: $88.

Head over to Claudia's home in New York, where two people and two large dogs share a small house. 

Help us decide what we should feature next week in this series of storage in small houses. And ways we learn to live with what we have. 

It's a tough economy, folks. We're all hurting. 

But by sharing ideas, we can come up with ways to stretch that dollar and make more of that space.

That's all from Living Big in 1010 (square feet, that is) in Tulsa!