This is the first of (at least) two follow-up posts about where we keep various standard household items.
The first two categories were inspired by Engie.
SUNGLASSES
I am the only one who can always find their sunglasses and that’s because the instant I walk in the door, I take them off, fold the arms, and put them on a window ledge in our entryway. Everyone else misplaces their sunglasses regularly and I have zero sympathy.
PURSE/WALLET
I have two purses. One – my “church” purse – is only used on Sundays when I go to church and I store it on a shelf on my side of the closet. I keep my notebook, pens, some travel Kleenex, peppermints, lip balm, etc. in there. The only thing I need to add is my Bible which I pick up on my way out the door.
My “day” purse is a fanny pack. I hang it on a hook inside our entryway. This is where my keys and wallet live permanently. When I leave the house, I grab the fanny pack and stick my phone in the main pouch with my wallet.
These next ones were inspired by Suzanne.
EXTRA BATHROOM SUPPLIES
I’m going to break this down into a few categories.
Toilet paper. I keep packs of TP in the linen closet in the main bathroom and in our furnace/storage room in the basement. In each bathroom I store extra rolls that have been removed from the package. Open rolls go on a shelf in the linen closet in the main bathroom, in a little tote under the sink in our master ensuite, and in a wire basket on the back of the toilet in the basement bathroom.
Soap/Shampoo. I store all extra shower and hygiene supplies in the central cupboard in the main bathroom vanity. We have two showers in our house and each has shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, and body wash.
Cleaning supplies. Each bathroom has individual cleaning supplies – something for toilets, mirrors, and general products for wiping off counters. Main bathroom = linen closet. Ensuite = under sink. Basement bathroom = out in the adjoining laundry room.
PERIOD SUPPLIES
Several people asked about this and I feel like my answer is extremely boring.
For the seven years we’ve been in this house my period supplies have gone in a bottom drawer in the en suite vanity. I use our bedroom bathroom almost exclusively (some weeks I might never use either of our other bathrooms), so it makes sense to keep period items there. I also don’t have a lot of supplies because since my ablation, my flow has continued to decline; sometimes I can get through an entire period using only a Diva Cup, no disposable products needed. Considering my decades of menorrhagia, this is truly life-changing.
SILVERWARE
Central drawer in our kitchen, right beside the dishwasher. (A bit of trivia: putting away cutlery is my least favourite part of unloading a clean dishwasher. I hate it.)
COFFEE POT
I have a whole post about my hot drink habits…the two small pots we use to boil water live in the bottom drawer of our stove.
KITCHEN COUNTERS
Suzanne asked so many wonderful “Where Do You Keep That” questions, but this was my favourite. What a genius thing to discuss.
I hate having things on my counters. If I could, I’d remove most of the things we currently have on our counters.
Things we don’t have out on our counter that likely show up in a lot of homes? A toaster (stored in a cupboard). A coffee maker (we don’t have one, see above).
Left to right on our counter we have:
- Dishwasher tabs
- Under-the-cupboard (so technically not on the countertop) paper towel
- A cake stand gifted to me by Belle which I use to store fruit
- A knife block
- Cutting boards
- A utensil holder (spatulas – we literally can never have enough, ladles, straw brushes, etc)
- Dish + hand soap
- A dish drainer + draining tray
On the other side of the fridge:
- Basket for heatable Magic Bags
- Microwave
We could move the dishwasher tabs, fruit, and Magic Bags without much disruption, but it’s more convenient to have them within easy reach, so they’ll likely stay.
EXTRA BLANKETS
Again, a brilliant question from Suzanne. She knows me too well. We have two blanket zones. A metal bin in our living room (with two grey, fluffy – thrifted! – blankets). In our basement we have a basket that fits behind our sectional with a hodgepodge of cozy (thrifted; is anyone surprised?) blankets.
VACUUM
We have two Eufy robovacuums; one by each of the doors/entryways in our house.
We have a ShopVac in our furnace room.
We have a handvacuum/dust buster that moves around as needed on our main floor (usually ending up in the dining room) and we have a handvacuum/dust buster that lives in the laundry room.
SECRET TREATS IN CUPBOARDS
No hidden spots that I can think of, but we do have two “hidden” cupboards!
One is a space in our kitchen that’s over the stairs – our kids used to hide here when they were little. Now it stores food. This is also where we have attic access but it’s not a useable attic so aside from insulation it’s rather irrelevant for us.
The other “hidden cupboard” is one under the stairs in our guest room. It holds all holiday decorations and a few other random things that rarely get used.
Next I’m going to answer Diane’s questions in rapid-fire.
DIANE’S QUESTIONS
Light bulbs? All sizes and types of lightbulbs are stored in a tote on a shelf in our storage room.
Batteries? All sizes and types of batteries are stored in the “junk” drawer below our microwave.
Incoming mail? Anything that needs to be recycled (flyers) get put into the paper bin immediately. Some things that need to be dealt with immediately may go on the fridge. Other things that need to be dealt with eventually and/or have already been tackled but now need to be filed, hang out in a multipurpose board on our kitchen wall. Every few weeks I gather items together and bring them to the downstairs office where I file all our paperwork (receipts, bills, government documents). I’ll talk more about paper storage in the next post!
Spare chargers? Everyone manages their own chargers. John has all his either on his bedside table or in our office. Most of my chargers are in the top drawer of my bedside table, including my laptop charger and extra charging cubes. The only chargers I leave out all the time are my Apple Watch and iPhone cables.
Photo albums? Our most recent photobooks live on a shelf in our living room. A few literal photo albums + older photobooks are in our TV entertainment unit in the basement.
Needle and thread? In a plastic tote in the bottom drawer of the vanity in the main bathroom.
Boxes that “we’ll need one day”? I’m not sure if these are extra empty boxes (that I use for packing things, or for holding gifts) – those are all in our furnace/storage room. Boxes filled with things we rarely use are either in our furnace/storage room (includes winter gear, swim towels, most of our luggage, a fireproof safe, a box for each of the kids of their “special things” like awards and first teeth, a tote with random household items including the turkey roasting pan I only use once a year and thus do NOT store in my limited kitchen storage); outdoor items tend to live in our small out building (tents, potting soil, beach supplies like buckets and shovels).
And that’s it for Part Two. There’s a Part Three coming your way next week, so stay tuned.
If you’re not blissfully through to the other side of menopause, where do you store period supplies? Batteries? Needle and thread? Where would I find a blanket if I were cold in your house? What’s an item commonly stored on countertops that you don’t own or choose to tuck away in a cabinet?
Header photo by Ramiro Mendes on Unsplash
mbmom11
In my house, extra blankets are everywhere. Quilts on the backs of couches and chairs, sone folded up in a bench, some extra in the linen closet, each bedroom has a few throws as well. We keep our house cool in the winter- you would need them.
I store my cutting board away, as I hardly use it. ( I am lazy and use plates instead.) Knives are in a drawer and not a knife block. We don’t drink coffee, so the coffee pot hides in a cupboard until guests come.
I’m on the far side of menopause (which is why I’m commenting in the middle of the night- gotta love menopause related insomnia) but I keep supplies in the bathroom cupboard for my daughters.
I have a secret cupboard- in a closet- that goes over the stairs. It’s stuffed with sleeping bags, old instruments, biking clothes, and random stuff from my kids who are at college. It’s a mess, but it’s hidden, so no problem! I also have a secret toilet, tucked under the stairs to the basement. Probably not up to code, but installed by the previous owners of the house in the 1950’s , I think. Very handy in a busy home.
Elisabeth
That’s fascinating – I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone using a plate for cutting directly on with a knife, but it would be more convenient in many circumstances! It simply never (ever) crossed my mind.
Ugh. Isn’t being a woman a wild ride. There is always SOMETHING changing with our hormones. Insomnia is the worst. Silver lining no more periods to contend with?
The secret toilet sounds amazing. My favourite thing about finally owning a house (after being in two small rentals) was having more than one bathroom. It still feels like a luxury to me all these years later. You’re likely right that it wouldn’t meet modern code. Those of us in older houses find little does these days!
Jan Coates
Very jealous of all your neat little baskets, etc. Two things we keep on the counter – dog treats and a spoon “vase” – a habit I picked up from my mother, I think. So small spoons always go there rather than in the cutlery drawer. Not sure why…
Elisabeth
Dog treats! That had never crossed my mind and of course wouldn’t be something that would not having a dog.
I love your spoon vase idea and I love that you’ve carried on that tradition from your mother. I wonder if Shannon is carrying it to another generation. Things stored on the counter are easier to access, so I know a few people that keep all their cutlery in a divided basket on their counter which when you think about it does make a lot of sense!
Suzanne
Ha – I appreciate you using the word “brilliant” with regard to my questions; I think, in fact, they are just NOSY. I love this virtual poke-around through your house! And, oh, Elisabeth, your house photos make me feel so calm and serene! Everything is so tidy and there is no clutter. Even your junk drawer is tidy. I love it!
Your blankets answer makes me want to do a post about blankets. We have an extra blanket pretty much everywhere a person can sit or lie down in our house.
I don’t get a period because of my ocp, but I do have some period supplies in the hall closet and the guest room bathroom, just in case a guest is in need.
Elisabeth
You say nosy, I say brilliant. Let’s go with brilliant.
Isn’t it fun to see “behind-the-scenes.” That is my favourite thing to do when watching extra features about a movie, I love watching home tours of celebrities and now that I think about it – I’m only making this connection for the first time RIGHT THIS MINUTE – but it’s probably why memoirs are my absolute favourite style of book to read. That makes perfect sense now.
We don’t have too many extra blankets (6-7 total in the house), but for that you can BLAME MY HUSBAND. Anytime I eye a new blanket at a thrift store he says “No more blankets.” Can one ever have too many blankets? I think not.
I had never (not once in my entire life) thought to store period supplies where a guest could find them. See – this is your brilliance on display again.
Jenny
Ah sunglasses- they go on the “key shelf”- a small shelf right inside our front door. I might not be clean or tidy (ahem, see my comment from yesterday’s post) but I can always lay my hands on the essentials- keys, sunglasses, phone. I can’t say the same for certain others in my house!
I am blissfully on the other side of menopause, and my daughter keeps all her supplies in her room.
The one thing I always notice when I read a post like this is, you have so much more storage space than we do!!! We could definitely be doing better with the space we have, but older Florida houses are hard.
Elisabeth
As long as you can find everything that needs finding, it feels like the rest is all personal preference.
We are so fortunate to have an older house that seemed to have an excess of storage space. It’s 2,900 sq feet (that includes the basement, but it’s fully useable). A lot of people don’t have finished basements in Canada, but most people DO have basements and that automatically provides a lot of extra space.
And having that space makes it so much easier to keep things neat. I remember when we lived in our tiny apartment with both kids feeling like I was going to go crazy because everything had to be stored in spaces I used regularly (there was no attic or basement for my Christmas supplies; literally whatever we owned was in that little space and it made me feel like I was going crazy). Translation – I would jump off a tall building after about 15 minutes of life in a “tiny house.” Friends of ours built one and I was like – Why????
Mary
I love this post! My only question is (and and perhaps it doesn’t apply to your particular brand of children) but where do all the craft outputs live? I feel like every surface of my house is littered with something crafty. Pictures, clay, knitted things, rocks and leaves that have been hotglued together (SO MUCH HOT GLUE! ALL. THE. TIME.) Most things have a home but it’s the constant craft output I can’t get a handle on.
Elisabeth
Belle loves to draw but I feel like the crafting stage is mostly behind us? She does almost all her art in her room (which is not overly tidy), so her desk and floor are regularly covered with little scraps of paper.
They each have one (large) plastic tote full of special items and that has some of their favourite art projects over the years. Indy is at an age he doesn’t do as much art at school and he’s not overly enthused by doing art at home.
Playdough always made a mess, but the kids are past the stage and tended to do most of that sort of “messy” crafting at preschool and then school.
Indy does collect rocks and has a drawer in his closet where his favourites hang out. We cycle through things and dispose of rock collections periodically; they usually go outside to the backyard to a little rock pile so they’re still around just not RIGHT IN THE HOUSE UNDERFOOT.
As for supplies, we have an old dresser in our laundry room that is filled with all our craft supplies. Glue, glitter, scrapbooking paper, Perler beads, ribbon and lace, extra markers – so all the supplies have a place to go, but they’re not used overly regularly.
NGS
I am a bit puzzled by the extra lightbulbs, to be honest. We don’t have any? If a light burns out, we deal with it until we can get to the store and buy a new one. I think we did recently buy a big box of lightbulbs at Costco and they’re stored in the linen closet. But I’m going to be honest with you, Elisabeth, I have a pretty sexist feeling about lightbulbs. That’s a job for the man. I don’t know why. I have not changed a lightbulb since I started dating my husband. I’m starting to realize that this may be a *me* issue.
There are pads and tampons in every bathroom in the cabinet/medicine chest. I buy a giant box of tampons at Costco (sigh) and the big box is in the basement and I refill the bathroom as needed. Batteries live in a basket in our television cabinet. There’s needle and thread in the sewing room and an emergency kit in the desk in our living room. There are blankets everywhere – on every couch, every bed, and we have spares in every bedroom and the linen closet.
Elisabeth
So we had an energy audit done years ago and the provincial power company gave us a lot of light bulbs for free. There are also some IKEA light bulbs I really like, so I try to have a small stockpile of those since we don’t live especially close to the IKEA.
My husband is away 30-40% of the time so if I never changed a lightbulb, we would be left in the dark – literally – on some situations. I change the majority of the lightbulbs in our household (not that it’s that many, but still – I’m sure an average of 1-2/year) and have to admit I have never given it much thought. Your comment reminds me of when one of my friends disclosed before she got married she told her husband her expectation was that he would do all his own laundry. And I was like: What? I mean my husband does lots of his own laundry, but never exclusively. It wasn’t something that had crossed my mind. Relationships and labour division is fascinating to me.
A room dedicated to sewing sounds like something straight out of Little Women! And having an emergency, extra sewing kit? I know this is normal, but what are all these sewing emergencies people have?
Birchie
Good times! I keep my sunglasses, keys, and all purse stuff in my purse which I carry with me at all times, even around the house. I think the “purse with me 24/7” thing started when my dry eye started and I had to have eye drops with me 24/7.
My thing for TP is that it needs to be obvious to guests where the spare rolls are. I keep two rolls in a basket on top of the toilet. That was a trick that I learned from the Young House Love podcast a long time ago. Anything in excess of the two spare rolls in each bathroom are stored in the basement.
Sigh when I was single I had beautifully uncluttered countertops…and I will again after the kids leave home.
Elisabeth
I am still so intrigued by this “purse goes everywhere”. It makes so much sense, but I’ve never known another human to do this. Maybe you’ll start a new Cool Blogger trend. The Bloggerhood of the Travelling Purses?
After having the test run of no kids in the house this summer for five days, I can see the house will look VERY different when the kids move out which is sad, but also hopeful for my brain when it starts to scream about the messes they can leave.
Michelle G.
I love these posts, Elisabeth! I love seeing people’s houses, and yours is absolutely gorgeous! It’s so organized and bright!
It’s funny because I have a recurring dream that I’m looking around in someone’s house. There are hidden staircases and secret rooms, and I’m just having a fun time—until the people come home!!! And then I’m scared and hiding, hoping not to be discovered. I don’t know why I dream this so often because I don’t do such things IRL!
Elisabeth
Awww. Thanks. My favourite feature of our house is all the windows! It’s an older home, but it was built by a real estate agent and I’ve often wondered if he designed it with so many windows because he knew that’s what helps a house sell?!
Joy
Sunglasses – in a case in a pocket in my main purse, which lives behind my chair in my bookroom. My keys and my work key also live in that pocket. My wallet lives in that purse, too. If I change purses (church, want something tiny, etc), I move the minimal things and then immediately move them back once I get home.
Extra bathroom supplies — under the sink in the half bath; in the linen closets in the full baths.
I’m blissfully through to the other side of menopause, which means no more supplies and far fewer migraines. It is definitely blissful!
Silverware is in a big drawer in the counter near our dining room. Coffee pot and electric kettle are side by side next to the kitchen sink. I have many things on my counters–toaster oven, gigantic wooden cutting board, dish drainer, pepper grinder and spoon rest next to stove, crock with cooking spoons, spatulas, etc., canisters with tea, and stand mixer. We have lots of counter space so it works for us.
Extra blankets are everywhere! I keep one or two in my bookroom, one on the daybed in our living room, one on our sofa where the cat likes to sleep, quilt hanging on the foot of our bed, and all the rest in my linen cupboard in my bathroom.
Vacuum lives in the corner of my stepsons room.
I keep a stash of chocolate in a drawer in my bookroom and treats I want to dole out slowly in our back kitchen closet. No hidden cupboards although what a fun thing!
We all keep track of our own cords, too.
Elisabeth
My dream kitchen would have an island and miles (okay) not literally of counter space). I think I’d also love having a recessed microwave so it’s not on the counter, but we make do with what we have and so it’s a mix between wanting quick access to things and becoming overwhelmed if our counters get too cluttered.
I love that you have a stash of chocolate in a drawer. A friend of mine does this too 🙂 And at Christmas she has her husband hide her favourite chocolate so she can’t eat it all at once. He doles it out when she asks for it which I find HILARIOUS.
Nicole MacPherson
Sunglasses, keys, and wallet are always in one of my bags, which are all kept together in a closet. Extra blankets in the cupboard in the laundry room! Our toaster is also in a drawer rather than on the counter; I don’t mind things on the counter but just the things we use all the time – drying rack, coffee maker(s), knife block, utensil container, vitamix. Less used things are in the pantry and get pulled out when needed!
Elisabeth
I love that you have coffee makers PLURAL on your counter 🙂
sustainablemum
I have no idea where my sunglasses are, I couldn’t find them all summer not that I needed them much so I clearly need a proper home for them!
A purse is what I keep my money in, think you might mean a bag so if that is the case mine hangs in our porch under my coats, I use the same one pretty much day in day out, I made it myself so it has pockets that perfectly fit my mobile, keys, purse and other bits I carry around all the time. I do have another bag hanging on a hook in the hall which holds several spare bags of varying sizes.
Extra bathroom supplies, we don’t use toilet paper we have cloths although we do keep a roll or two in the house for guests they are stored in a cupboard under the stairs. We buy soap as and when we need it so don’t store spares, all other personal washing items and cleaning supplies are made from ingredients we have in the kitchen, we buy a few in bulk (bicarb of soda and white vinegar) which is stored in the garage.
Period supplies my daughters are in her bedroom, I am well through the menopause.
Cutlery in a drawer in the kitchen, I too hate emptying this out of the dishwasher.
Coffee pot – none I am allergic to coffee so we don’t have it in the house.
Kitchen counters I have plenty of these despite having a small house and tiny kitchen, the previous owners knocked a wall down between the kitchen and dining room and created a long counter between the two with cupboards underneath, I therefore have room for a slow cooker, a seed sprouter, pot with wooden spoons/spatulas, salt/pepper/oil for cooking with, a terracotta pot for garlic, a dehydrator, a blender, a food processor, traditional weighing scales and a toaster. I still have loads of space even with all that on the counters!
Extra blankets – we have one draped over the back of a chair in the living room, the rest live in the airing cupboard and come out as and when needed, we also have blankets in each car.
Hoover/vacuum we have one which lives under the stairs.
We don’t have secret treats in cupboards but a lot of our cupboards are secret in the sense that they are not obvious, we have a bread bin built into our pantry which is under the stairs, the bin is built on the underside of the slope of the stairs. Our cupboard under the stairs is three trolleys on wheels, they have wooden panels on the front to blend into the house, which you wheel out we store the hoover, spare food, toilet rolls, seeds, candles, light bulbs, sandpaper (it is too damp in the garage for them), spare cleaning cloths, dusters, the iron and ironing board, spare toothbrushes, stain remover, clothes brushes, shoe polish kit, tubs of bicarb, borax and a 1:1 mix of both to top jars in the house. Our house is small and is full of built in storage we have installed over the years.
Incoming mail sits in the porch and is picked up by the recipient, if it is for me it sits on my desk until I have dealt with it, our filing storage for paperwork is in a footstool in the living room.
Chargers I have one permanently plugged in by the bed to charge my phone overnight, the rest are in a wooden bowl which sits in a husband made stand that my computer monitors sits on, I use it as a second screen for my laptop.
Needle and thread is in the sewing box stored in daughters’ bedroom.
Loved reading this post and the comments 😉
Elisabeth
I’m glad I’m not the only one who dreads cutlery. Wow! I am jealous of all your counter space. But it sounds so efficient to have all those things in arms reach.
I just love the idea of all those secret cupboards. It sounds like a delightful house to live in and something that would show up in a movie.
Lisa's Yarns
Period supplies are mostly in the cupboard in our bathroom upstairs but I try to have some in a basket in the storage area of our main floor bathroom as well.
I have a terrible track record of losing sunglasses! I bought a pair this spring and decided to add on a carrying case for them – before I would just put the sunglasses in a pocket of my purse. I told Phil that I felt this was going to be a game changer and that I would not lose them this time! I get cheap sunglasses so losing them isn’t he biggest deal but it is annoying. Phil gave me some major side eye and said I should put a note on the calendar 6 months from now saying “has Lisa lost her sunglasses?” Well that date is next week and I have not lost my sunglasses yet! I did have a close call during one of my work trips but I found them! Woo hoo!
Elisabeth
Well done! I think not losing sunglasses calls for a celebration. You can tell Phil he needs to buy you dinner since you won the bet 🙂
San
These posts are so fun. I love that glimpse into people’s homes and I am always surprised by how many things people do “the same way” and then also how many things people do differently 🙂
I love that multipurpose board in your kitchen, btw. I have something similar, but not quite as big and practical (mine is a chalkboard with some organizational shelving).
To answer your questions… I store period supplies in a drawer in the bathroom. Batteries are in the closet by the front door. Needle and thread in a basket with knitting supplies. The blanket permanently lives on my couch right now.
Erica
My husband does the cutting-on-a-plate thing. The sound it makes drives me crazy.
My parents always stored all the extra toilet paper in the master bathroom, which was not very accessible. It feels like a delightful small luxury to store an extra roll or two in each bathroom, within reach of the toilet.
I have a drawer in the kitchen with a child lock on it that is “mine”. It holds treats I don’t share with the kids (e.g. nice chocolate), treats I want to dole out slowly (e.g. candy corn), and any special food I’m saving for a later time. Despite its central location, my kids seem to not be aware that this drawer exists.