Clutter Archives » Cathartic Crafting

OH THE CLUTTER!!

I don’t know about your household but ours has often felt the stress of stuffed animal collections gone wild. We were getting by with stuffing them into cloth hampers, but it hit a point where it just wasn’t enough. With Christmas just around the corner, I’m going to go out on a limb to say you’re hoping to declutter before the extra “joy” enters the house for the holidays. Below is a list of some fairly simple projects that are functional and visually appealing.

Stuffed Animal Clutter Projects to Complete Today

Macrame stuffed toy holder by Fiber Art Love

To start this list off right, check out this utterly adorable macrame stuffed toy holder. The add of the flowers is just right. I haven’t made it yet but it’s going on my list of projects!

2. Corner Animal Cage by Down Redbud Drive

This little corner stuffed animal cage makes for a simple woodworking project. This one is definitely the maximum storage capacity leader.

3. Bungie Cord Box by Shades of Blue Interiors

This bungie cord box is another take on the same technique but on an obviously much smaller scale. It looks super clean and accessible.

4. Toy Baskets by Mommity

I first saw this idea years ago and have loved it ever since. There’s something just simply charming about using these planters to hold all those lovies.

5. Hidden Drawers by Sunny Side Up

Admittedly, this is not a simple project for everyone but isn’t it absolutely fantastic?! I’m about to move into a new house and I’m ‘toying’ with the idea of doing this somewhere.

6. Chair Plushes by Rafa Kids

If you’re looking for something unique and cozy, this stuffed animal chair is it.

7. Corner Rope Shelves by Honeybear Lane

Although inaccessible to little hands, this high shelf is cute and will definitely keep the floor clear of stuffed animal clutter.

8. Stuffed animal chair by Googie Momma’s via Thread Riding Hood

After seeing this, I couldn’t wait to create this chair myself. I ended up using it for a Calming Corner and later for a reading nook.

9. Crate Shelf Storage by Me

This six crate shelf can hold a ton of those squishy friends you tend to find on the floor. It came about from a crate coffee table that was just too small for the space. Check it out here.

10. Hanging Toy Storage by Rain on a Tin Roof

A 5-minute project sounds like a gold mine with all the other to-dos on the list. This vertical storage is perfect for the circus theme room it was completed to compliment.

11. Hanging Storage by It’s Always Autumn

If you love an ode to carnival rides, try this hanging toy storage. It reminds me of a Ferris wheel ride.

12. Hanging Cloth Bag

My youngest’s room is always a mess, so it became necessary to add MORE stuffed animal storage. I have lots of extra material, so she was able to pick out the material she wanted. She completed it by gluing some paper butterflies and flowers to make it her own. Crafting is always best when we can all play a part.

Stuffed Animal Clutter Mental Health Side Effects

The possibilities are really endless. Hopefully, you found one (or a few) ideas to get your clutter control craft underway. Clutter can negatively affect mental health for many minds, so it’s important to get it under control when it becomes unwieldy. According to Prevagen,

More mess means more stress. Clutter can affect your ability to focus, your sleep, and your anxiety level. It also triggers coping strategies that make you more likely to grab junk food. That mess may even make you less productive.
Prevagen: How Clutter Affects your brain

And with that, I bid you adieu to start on your crafting and clutter control!

Family Organization Command Center — Before and Afters

After we moved into our new house, we had space galore compared to our previous three-bedroom house. The extra space didn’t end up preventing the eventual clutter that was school papers, bills, receipts, carryout menus, etc. It eventually hit a point where I had to do something to get the stuff off our island and into an organized fashion. Family organization was a must. The small wall space by our back door was the only spot that seemed to work for it, so it became the focal point for this endeavor to organize a family command center.

The majority of this project involved finding the items I wanted. I found the hanging metal paper sorter at Ikea and cut pieces of paper to fit the space on the outside. Each section was labeled with a piece of scrapbook paper cut to size to ensure it would remain routinely organized. The weekday chalkboard shelf came from a random find at the store Tuesday Morning. Check out whether you’ve got one near you. It’s a good spot to find unique items at good prices, so I was bummed when the store nearest to me closed. This shelf wouldn’t be too hard to make if you can’t find anything to fit your fancy. Actually, writing that makes me want to make one myself! The whiteboard was from Target, but you can find them anywhere. I liked this one for the pen holders and the cork strips.

Finished Family Organization Command Center — The girls had a place to hang their backpacks, see the dinner menu and store their papers.

It went from clutter to clean just like that.

A Mom Must Have

With the numerous activities on our schedule between the five of us and the dog’s training and vet appointments, I have found this calendar serves us the best. Family schedule organization at its finest. It’s got a row for each of us to distinguish between activities. I also keep a color-coded Google calendar to alert me, which has saved me a few times. We’ve used like versions of this paper calendar for the last couple of years. It was actually very difficult to find this year. Last year, I got one at Books a Million. They didn’t have them this year. After searching many places, I finally found one at Big Lots. So if you’re looking for one for yourself, I’d recommend checking there first.

Phase 2 of Family Organization

We got a Greater Swiss Mountain puppy this past year, which ended up meaning our shoes were no longer safe. I decided to use some extra wood sitting in the garage to create a shoebox to keep them safe by the back door.

Our puppy Skye, particularly enjoyed our flip flops.

My Materials

3/4″ plywood
1/4″ plywood
2 hinges
Spray paint
Stain
Drawer knob
Painter’s Tape
Screws

Tools

Painter’s Tape
Nail gun and nails
Kreg jigs
Circular saw
Drill
Saw horses

My favorite tool, the Kreg jig, used to make it easy to attach the sides to the top.

I decided to use this Rustoleum spray paint I had from an ombre project I completed for my niece. The pop of color was a nice surprise on the inside.

I used some inch long wood screws to attach the bottom to the sides. Since it was just a simple project to keep our shoes safe, I didn’t worry too much about having 1/4″ board on the bottom being attached with glue and screws.

I thought it’d be fun to give the top the look of panels. To achieve this, I taped it to allow for the stain to create lines. The darker stain was first with two coats to make sure it would be dark. I switched the painter’s tape to cover the dark stain and then did the lighter stain. After that, I did a second coat on a few of the spots to have a third variation.

I put on two hinges I had handy. It seemed better that we’d have to pull up on the door to open it and make it puppy proof. I drilled an easy hole in the middle of the front panel and screwed in a knob to finish it off.

The finished product for family shoe organization and safe keeping!

Cathartic Crafting

Tag: Clutter

Successfully Controlling Stuffed Animal Clutter with a Craft