Spring Refresh with Bed Bath & Beyond!

*This blog post was in partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are my own!*

I have been SO excited to share this post. I have been in serious organize/declutter/cleaning mode since January it seems around the Valley View Farmhouse.  I have partnered with Bed Bath & Beyond to share with you a post dedicated to simple, fun, AND affordable ways to organize and refresh your home this spring!

While Dakota and I decided about what we wanted to do for a spring refresh in our home, we thought about the areas in our home first that are a bothersome to us as far as their functionality. We wanted to reorganize a few key parts of our home that have been a bit of a constant “drop zone” as I like to call them, that didn’t really have a great system to them yet and weren’t serving their purpose to the best of their ability. So, together we narrowed it down to: the breezeway (area that needed the most work IMO!), the pantry, the school/craft area upstairs in the playroom, the tools/misc. items in our laundry room, and some minor refrigerator/master bathroom linen closet organization.

So with that, let’s get this party started and share this spring refresh home tour! Ready? Here we go!

b r e e z e w a y . . . 

This space was the area of our home that needed the most work, so we spent a lot (a lotttt) of time figuring out ways that we could make this space functional, yet inviting. We didn’t intend for this space to be one of the main entries to our home for anyone aside from us, but when people visit our house our back door into the breezeway gets used just as much as our front door. So, we wanted this space to not only serve its function as a “catch all” for all the shoes, boots, and gloves/hats (thankfully those will get to be put away soon I hope!), carseat for the baby… you know, all. the. things, yet still be an area of the home that is decorated in a way that sets the tone when our family and friends enter.

This hall tree was the answer that solved many of our prior problem areas of this space, and we LOVE it. It is a little shorter than we thought it was going to be for this space, but I think it serves well for this smaller space we have for the breezeway, and it allows for future decor items like a cool horizontal sign with a quote on it to be hung above it, or taller statement pieces that can decorate the top shelf of the hall tree. I am so bummed because the black and white are both out of stock at the moment online, so I am crossing my fingers they get it back soon! It was such a budget-friendly + simple fix for this space. I love that it has multiple types of storage on it- the fold-down drawer for underneath storage (we are putting our shoes in there at the moment), hooks for hanging bags, coats, hats, or scarves, and the shelving at the top of the hall tree. The one tricky part was finding baskets that worked for the smaller shelving at the top of the hall tree, but we found some after a little searching!

Next to the hall tree, we added this simple 7-peg wall mount as a place to house extra coats if needed, hats, or broom. I love the simplicity of this for some extra hooks in the space. I have been wanting to get a fiddle leaf plant, but a little hesitant at the idea of taking care of it, so I found this faux-fiddle leaf plant that is another simple way we freshened up this space for spring. I love that it adds a pop of color into the space, and a plant, to me, always makes the space feel more inviting. I love it, and Dakota said it looked nice, so that’s always a win for me! 🙂

Another quick fix for this space was this cutie little half-circle accent table . I absolutely love this pop of color in this space, and to me, just makes the space a little more warm and inviting. I also love that it serves as a place to set my coffee mug  or purse down at right when I walk in the door, and the shelf on the bottom of the table is great for storage baskets like the ones seen here or to change out seasonally. Another thing I love about this little accent table is that it makes the space feel more homey. I added a few books, a candle, and a special canvas painting done by a favorite local artist (and friend!) to decorate for Easter, and think they were the perfect touches to this entry table. The last thing I wanted to talk about that we added in this space is the Mail Bin with Hooks. This is another thing we lacked in our home- a place for mail to be and bills that need to be paid in a visible place so we remember to pay them, but not just piled on the counter that easily get overlooked by other items. I love that it has hooks for a designated place to put your keys, also.

p a n t r y . . .

For the pantry I focused on my desire to start canning. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend do this and after they sent me pictures of their organization, I was eager to try it out! I love the look of it, and it makes the space look so much more organized! I also like that you can see the items clearly in the canister/jar, so there is less food waste. I will say, it does take time transition to doing this, I’ve found! I still have a ways to go, but I think I’m off to a good start! We’ve already started to get into a habit of taking our groceries right away and emptying them out of their bags/plastic items they were in and placing them into our reusable glass mason jars, OXO pop containers, and glass clamp-on jars. I like having a few different types of canning, but I really like having the same mesh bins for all of the items in our drawers to go into. I still have to do the project of labeling canisters, jars, and the mesh bins, but I love how these simple changes completely changed the look and organization of our pantry drawers.

We also need to get floating shelves put into this space still, so once we do that, I’ll be able to put some of the taller OXO canisters, like the 4.5 qt cereal ones (my fav!!!) up onto those instead of on the counter or on top of the microwave, but for now, I’m really happy with how this space turned out! We got a few other larger sizes for the OXO canisters that work great for things like flour, salt, and we actually put our bread into one of them and it works perfect, haha! 🙂 I have enjoyed experimenting with what canisters and jars work best for different items. I hope it becomes easier and faster as the years of canning goes on!

re f r i g e r a t o r . . .

In the fridge, I really focused on corralling the loose items that made the space less organized and also wanted the items to be multi-purpose if needed (aka if they didn’t work in the fridge, could be used for storage in other places like the bathroom closet shelving or drawers for example). I have loved the way these clear bins have helped corral the loose items, and organize the items in the fridge by item as well. I think my favorite item is the egg carton tray though! This divided clear bin houses most of the items on the right side of the fridge, and I like putting bottles of our flavored waters and kombucha on one side of it. This condiment caddy is perfect for housing our yogurt containers and things like chicken stocks or even a great spot for some of our energy bars we store in the fridge! I also really like these clear bins with lids. They can be stacked and can be used in the fridge like we have been using them for grapes lately, or are great for an item that you’re storing in your pantry, as well! They could work in your bathrooms also for storage. Love that about this whole line they carry at BB+B! I am super happy with the way just a couple of item made a big difference in our fridge! I would love to add more items for more of the deli meats/cheeses, and other liquids we purchase that could go into glass jars with lids, as well. We used the same smooth mason jars I mentioned in the pantry section for our homemade cold brew the other day and that worked great!

s c h o o l  /  c r a f t  r o o m 

For this last space that has been a bit of a problem area, I was really looking for items I used to have in my classroom when I was still teaching that were helpful for organizing all the different activities and collection of items a teacher compiles (very quickly might I add) from different units and studies. I still have a few more projects to finish up for my personal files, but a majority of the items I was hoping to get organized has been made possible with two rolling organizing drawer bins (had these in my classroom and loved them!) and a few square hyacinth crates for a 4-square organizing shelf.

These organizing rolling drawers are housing a lot of different things that range from our office supplies, craft supplies, phonics/word work cards and activities, math activities, puzzles, card games… and more. I have to label all of the drawers next, but I am SO happy with how much I was able to get into them. They aren’t deep enough for files to stand upright, otherwise I would’ve put my files for different themes and crafts in them, too. That’s the next phase of the school area to sort out. One thing at a time, right? 🙂

The 4 square bins were exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something that looked nice, but could hide all the things. With how much I’ve decluttered, I still have a few of the squares left to fill, so I am thinking about house some more of my personal teaching items/craft files in them! I haven’t decided yet, but so far, they are housing lots of larger craft supply items, and I have been able to get rid of about 4 older bins from just using one of these newer ones! That makes me happy, and I love how the hyacinth square baskets add warmth and texture to the school/craft area.

The one other spot I have been wanting to organize is the library/book shelf. I was looking for a wire basket that had a scoop opening at the front of them, so that grabbing a book out of them was easier, and I found these, and they are so perfect! I love the look of them, and they fit exactly into the shelf that all the books are on. It’s been fun to see Collins take notice of those books more now on the shelves, and one of my favorite things has been coming upstairs to see her digging through one of the bins, looking at a bunch of new books and asking me what they say. It shows that a simple change like a basket can add so much to a space and make a person take notice of it… and utilize it! Yay! I also got these wire baskets that have a spot for labeling that I will be using in the school/play area, and have our monthly books in them that I rotate out depending on upcoming holidays and seasons. One last item we added in the play area was this amazing tall and round ground basket to corral all the stuffed animals, or as I like to call them, “reading buddies”. I placed it next to the library shelf for a place for the kids to grab a reading buddy and find a spot in the library to read for a while… (or dump them out all over the floor to play with) 😉 either way, this basket was the perfect size. It is also very durable, and I love the handles!

m a s t e r  b a t h  r o o m  

For the master bathroom closet, I wanted to focus on getting a nice laundry basket to be able to separate our laundry, and add some baskets to the shelving for a simple solution to organizing all the things. I love this simple option for a laundry basket that Dakota actually found for us. They had a grey option as well, but I loved the antique white + grey modern writing of this one!  Isn’t that right for your bathroom closet? I can’t tell you HOW much stuff I went through and threw away as I did this, and I still have more to go in that 3-drawer organizer still. For now though, it looks a whole lot better than it did previously, and I even have more room to add other linens in it now, which I previously didn’t have room for. The baskets I used for the shelving in here are the medium and large sizes of the same set I used for the smaller ones in the breezeway!

Underneath the vanities in all of our bathrooms I also added these 2-pack square baskets for extra storage for larger items and things like toilet paper or spare hand towels. It worked out great that they were in a 2-pack, because I wanted two for under our master bathroom vanity, and then one in each of the other two bathrooms. I love that they are shallow enough to slide easily underneath the vanity, but still hide the items you’re storing in them!

t o o l s + m i s c. i t e m s 

OKAY- last, but definitely not least, this was another major problem area of our home. Our laundry room is unfinished, and still needs a lot of work, but the biggest problem area in here was hands down our “tool” shelf. Wowza. It was another hot spot in our home for a “drop zone” as I so generously like to call it, and it shows… a lot! haha! I’m slightly embarrassed to share these before pictures, but something that is so important to me as I share within this space is to never be some sort of highlight reel. I just like to keep it real, and share all parts of life, and who honestly doesn’t have an area like this of this sort of miscellaneous tools, and nails, and bolts, and light bulbs, and command strips, and… you get the idea. This 21-compartment organizer we purchased from Bed, Bath, and Beyond is seriously amazing!! I want to get a bunch of the larger, double-sided ones too for our garage one day when we take on that lovely task of clearing that out… yikes and a half that will be. Dakota did the honors of organizing this area out, and he did a great job I think, don’t you? And look! I see spare shelving on the top of the previous shelf all that stuff used to be on. That’s a win, and shows how a simple organizational change can create MORE space for you!

 

I hope these areas of our home I am showcasing to you bless you in a way that motivates you to declutter and create a home that is organized and inviting, and helps you think about simple solutions to freshen up your home this spring. Whether it’s for corralling all the stuffed animals, a hall tree for the breezeway, or a place for all those miscellaneous items to be housed in the unfinished areas of your home, I hope you’ve read through this feeling a little more motivated and inspired to create spaces in your home that will bring you and your family peace. I have enjoyed this opportunity to partner with Bed, Bath, and Beyond to create this content to share with each of you! Have you moved recently? We were able to use their unique code for any homeowners who have recently moved for 20% off your entire purchase! Score! I love that about BB+B, you never pay full price for anything, ever with all the ways you can save online and in-store. Be sure to utilize this by simply providing your email and prior and new address/zip code if you shop online this weekend to claim this offer!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend ahead of you, friends. We are visiting my family to see my grandma and aunt during the NCAA final four happening here in Minneapolis, so I think it is going to be a busy weekend trying to check out all the action, but also filled with lots of slower moments relaxing and having family time together. I am SO looking forward to it. Happy Friday, friends!

with love,

from courtney