The Cupboard of Doom...

One of the biggest, most daunting tasks I was faced with in terms of transforming the spare room into a baby's room was that of re-organizing the cupboard of doom, aka, the scrapbooking cupboard.

At first, we were hopeful that we would be able to completely empty the cupboard and move it out of the room all together but as I got going, I realized that just wouldn't happen. So, the plan for now is to leave it in the room but use it in a different way. Once we get the carpet done and the rest of the furniture in there, we'll see if it works out. I think it should.

I decided that it wasn't necessary to have an entire 5 shelf cabinet designated to hold my scrapbook supplies because, well, I can't really say that I scrapbook very much. I don't think I have touched it since last summer. However, I'm not quite ready to say I no longer scrapbook and get rid of all of my stuff. There is the odd time where I like to make a homemade card, or perhaps a special mini album or something like that - so I don't want to give it up quite yet. That being said, it doesn't need to take up quite so much space. I figured I used to have it all contained in totes and carry cases before the FD gave me the cabinet for Christmas a few years ago, so why couldn't I do that again?

When I began the task of reorganizing and condensing the contents of the cupboard, I opened the cabinet, looked at it, closed it, and walked away multiple times. It was just so daunting to me!

Here's why ....

(Please note the bottom two shelves had already been re-organized before I got around to taking the photos).

Finally, after about 2 hours of solid determination and an ice cold Dr. Pepper, I was left with this ....

Oh yeah, and this...

(Plus a bunch more piles hidden behind the open doors).

I decided to leave the bottom two shelves as they were - one housing our board games, and one housing my completed scrapbooks. I really didn't want to put the scrapbooks away in storage because I do love to pull them out and look through them from time to time. And what good are board games if they aren't accessible to be played?

But I decided that the scrapbook supplies themselves could be stored in a more effective way. I put all the papers, stickers, and tools back into the storage totes and carry cases that they used to go in and felt pretty great about my progress. But then I wondered where exactly I would put said storage cases since we don't really have much closet space that isn't damp or cool (not ideal for storing paper products).

So, I headed out to Walmart and purchased my 567th and 568th Rubbermaid bin for the month and loaded it all up, labeled them, and stacked them up ready for the Dude to move them. That way, they can go into the back storage room and I don't have to worry about any dampness or humidity bothering my supplies.

The cabinet is still in the room for now, and will likely stay there. I figured the bottom two shelves can remain as they are and the top shelves will likely very quickly fill up with books, toys, and other kid related items.

It feels so great to have another job checked off my list of pre-baby projects - especially since this is one that I was dreading the most!