Organizing Project and Another IKEA Hack: Bookshelves

A while back, I wanted to put a bookshelf in the awkward little space in the middle of our apartment.  Matt calls it a "hallway" because it connects all of our rooms, but there is no actual hall.  It's just a little space with four doors and a little bit of wall space.  I really didn't want it to function as "wasted space," so a bookshelf to store our office supplies seemed like a great solution.  The problem?  The only wall big enough for the shelves was the wall with the intercom.  If we covered that up we would have quite a bit of difficulty buzzing people into our apartment!

My parents gave us a super-cheap IKEA bookshelf a few years ago that they were no longer using.  The only real problem with having it in a very visible place like this was that, well, it looks as cheap as it actually is.  So, I had to try to spruce it up a bit.  And make a few other alterations.

Hey, look, my dog wandered into the photo.  :-)  Please ignore the picture frame sitting behind the dog.  That is for a future project.

The back of the bookshelves was a really flimsy, plastic-like material, which looked awful but had one distinct advantage: it was incredibly easy to rip off and cut with a utility knife.  So that's what I did!  I took it off of the back, made the appropriate measurements, and cut a whole where the intercom would be.

I could have just nailed or stapled it back onto the frame like that, but I wanted something a little more interesting.  I had a few yards of a material left, so I took out my trusty hot glue gun (I love that thing!) and went to town!  I'm not overly in love with the pattern on there, but I didn't want to go buy new fabric when I had something perfectly useful.  I can be cheap like that.

Here are a few close-ups of the project.

This is the hole I cut for the intercom.

Here you can see our mail center and bill organizer.  The trash can sitting next to the bookshelf in the top picture is specifically designated as a receptacle for all of the mail that needs to be shredded.  This way it all gets sorted in one place!

Could I have put a label in the little holder on the front?  Yes, but my handwriting is ugly, and typing up a label and printing it out seemed like too much effort.  I like making things easy.  Label maker to the rescue!  When the lid is closed the label is hidden.  I already know what's in it, but putting a label on it makes me think twice before throwing things in there that don't belong.

Lazy Susan from Home Goods, one of my very favorite places to shop!  Nearly everything on these shelves is actually from Home Goods!  They have really cheap and pretty organizational products.  If you're looking for attractive storage options, definitely check out Home Goods!  If you don't have one in your town, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are part of the same company and often have the same items.

The little plastic box with the markers in it is from The Container Store, which is another one of my favorite stores!  The good news there is that if you don't have a store nearby, you can shop on-line.  I strongly recommend it.  :-)  I love their stuff, including their clear plastic boxes like this one.

Hopefully somebody out there will be inspired to be creative and have some fun with their own organization projects!