Monday, May 25, 2009

You Can't Always Get What You Want




In the spirit of Paul's post below about stuff, stuff, stuff... I bring you my first segment about using what we have in creative ways. This post would be so much more dramatic if I could figure out how to post pictures strategically throughout the text, but here goes.




We live in Minnesota. It's very dry here. My son has sensitive skin. So, we have a small humidifier for his room, which doubles as a guest room. The directions on the humidifier, coupled with a toddler's budding curiosity, dictate that the humidifier be raised from the ground. His room is not small, but because it is also a guest room, space is tight. Also, money is tight. Also, my husband's time is a premium commodity, and asking him to install a shelf just puts off other essential projects (e.g., childproofing the house, telling me I'm beautiful, buying ice cream). Installing a shelf myself is simply not an option, because my husband would end up un-doing what I did to fix it. So, I decided to get innovative.

There is a space behind the bed, because in order to fit the huge queen-sized bed frame in the room with the crib and all the other baby things, we (= husband) arranged the bed diagonally. I have bins full of the baby's outgrown clothing, so I stacked them up behind the bed's headboard, and placed the humidifier on top of them. Voila - we have extra storage space for the bins (which are hidden by the bed frame), and a raised surface for the humidifier. Underneath the humidifier is a baby towel that is now, sadly, too small to dry off anything but the baby's gigantic feet.
Several questions probably come to mind when viewing these pictures, so I'll do my best to anticipate and answer them.
Q: Does this woman ever dust?
A: No.

Q: That's all clothing outgrown by one child? In 15 months? Those are big bins!
A: Yes. Actually, there are probably twice that many bins around here, in the basement and the garage. Thus, the need for more storage. In my defense, the vast majority of his clothes are hand-me-downs, and some were bought from a second-hand store. Also, when we're absolutely sure that we won't need them any more (for future children), they will be re-sold or donated. Finally, cute baby clothes stave off the effects of postpartum depression. True fact.

Q: Those Rubbermaid bins can't be good for the environment. They were probably manufactured with all kinds of toxins, and in a sweatshop no less. For shame.
A: That wasn't really a question, now was it? If it makes you feel better, those Rubbermaid bins will be used and re-used by our household until they fall apart. I have not found an affordable, greener alternative, as handwoven bamboo baskets are not within our means. There are plenty of other sustainable resources I could have used to stack up behind the bed (the 36 pounds of dog hair that I sweep from our floors daily, for example), but this served a double purpose.

Q: Where can I get a penguin humidifier?
A: At Target, and probably other places. It's made by Crane.

Q: Why don't you just install a whole-house humidifier?
A: It's on our list. But we'll probably still use the small humidifier in the baby's room, because it's just that dry here. And the penguin is just so darned cute.

1 comment:

  1. I have so many of those totes full of stuff I'm considering making tote skirts. I should probably make them out of the baby blankets I can't seem to get rid of either. My baby is 25 months and very much an only but I'm sitting like a hen on quantities of her baby things.

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