Eco-friendly Storage Cabinets to Organise Your Home

Be Eco-Friendly – Organise Your Home and Save Money Too.  Great Tips for Organising Your Home!

Today I look at ways to use kitchen cabinets and worktops to better organise your home.  If someone you know is remodelling their kitchen and is going to toss the old cupboards and countertops / worktops – rescue them.  They probably have a lot of life left in them.   Or scour the ‘free’ listings in local media and Craigslist, or find bargains there.

You’ll be eco-friendly because you’ll stop stuff going to landfills, and you’ll reduce your own demand for new stuff.  And you’ll save money – the countertop provides a finished-looking work space, especially when coupled with salvaged cabinets, at a fraction of the cost of new countertops.

Here are some ideas for using the cupboards and worktops:

• Organise your craft room or garage.
• Make a TV stand (with storage) for the bedroom
• Make a desk for yourself or your child.
• Add extra storage in kids’ bedrooms

If you are lucky the previous owner just got tired of the colour or wanted a new look for their home and the counter top and cabinets are in good shape.

But even if they’re looking a little tired, they can be re-juvenated.  If the cabinets are scratched and bashed, simply slap on a coat of white paint and sponge them with a darker colour. This will hide the deepest of scratches.  Ideally, use eco-friendly VOC-free paint (better for your health and the environment) – it’s more expensive than ordinary paint but less toxic.

Idea: Do you need a new TV stand in the bedroom? A short piece of cabinet with the top attached will be perfect. Paint the cabinet to match your décor, and you will even have a place to store your DVD’s underneath.

Idea: If you want a place for your sewing machine, take the counter top and drill a hole large enough for the plug and foot pedal cords.  Place the counter across a couple of 4-drawer cabinets. This way your sewing supplies are all at hand. Hang a larger section of upper cabinets and you have a great place to store fabrics, craft books yarn and other craft supplies. You can even tack a small piece of peg board inside the door to hang your embroidery floss.

Idea:  What about a college student without a desk? A 4 foot piece of countertop laid across a couple of inexpensive file cabinets will do the job in a pinch. Or if you are the handy type build a wooden frame to hold the counter and add shelving above for books.

Idea:  A two-door bottom cabinet with a counter top will be perfect for a folding area in the laundry room.

Idea:  A double-door bottom cupboard could be used as a great cat box.  Cut a cat-size hole in one of the doors – the cat can get in, the dog can’t (probably), and you can open the doors for easy cleaning.

Even if the cabinets are really battered, you can still use them.  Line them along one side of your garage or workshop, and use them for a work table/storage unit.  All those shelves and drawers will tidy up the messiest garage – and just think of all the projects you could complete if you had all that clear work space!

There’s no need to paint them (unless you want to) and you might even have room for your car!

Tip:  If the counter top has a sink opening, then use it for another sink, or set a waste basket or garbage can under the opening for a waste receptacle where you can sweep items from the bench.

Use the upper cabinets in a different way.  For example, if you don’t have room to hang them above your work bench then stack them and screw them securely to the wall.

Or get the kids to help paint a couple of the upper cabinets in bright colours, and attach them to the wall in their room to help with storage.  You could even remove the shelves, add a spring-loaded clothing rod and your kids can hang up their own clothes.

So start watching for those cabinets being thrown out – or better yet make friends with someone who remodels for a living.

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