Making art out of our mistakes with an IKEA watering pitcher.

As many of our readers know, the Midwest Makeover team recently got to tour the new IKEA Merriam store through the press preview and buffet lunch and one of the items that were handed out to everyone was a fun, plastic watering pitcher.

A few days later, I noticed that my watering pitcher (a white one) that was in my sun room, had splatters of paint on it. After asking my 9 year old twin daughters, it became clear that they had been a little overambitious with a previous art project.

I thought, "what a great idea" when I saw it and thus, this video was created. Enjoy!

Now if you decide to do something like this, you might like to know that these pitchers are $.99 at IKEA (great for an art class) and also we recommend that an adult puts a coat of polyurethane over the top of it to prevent smearing paint when you need to wash it.

Let us know if you decide to decorate your own IKEA pitcher!

IKEA Quick Tip - Make Your IKEA Catalog Work for You!

It looks a little like the Yellow Pages or the Yellow Book, but its nothing like that! And it feels a little like a manual, packed with important and boring information, but its nothing like that!

The new, colorful, exciting, informative, absolutely free IKEA catalog is a valuable tool, if you’ll use it.

Just open the catalog to page four and you’ll find inspirational ideas, an index of their products and ways to shop in the store or on line.

The next page is about a great new app that works on smartphones or tablets and that can show you how furniture fits and looks in your home.

If you’re a seasoned IKEA shopper, page six to nine are NEW products in the catalog. You can learn so much about IKEA in just those six little pages.

There’s more information about shopping at IKEA, starting on page 308: tips to plan your visit, important phone numbers, IKEA philosophy, other services offered, return policies and product warranties.

And of course there’s an index in the back, if you already know what you want to find.

If you’re like me, you’ll wait until the fury dies down to visit our new IKEA Merriam store, so use your catalog for a few virtual visits. You can take your time and make a shopping list and keep your catalog handy as a reference for whenever you’re planning a home purchase.

I’d say that the IKEA catalog is the Sears catalog for the modern age.

Mary Ellen Vincent

Mary Ellen is a personal organizer, specializing in custom organization projects for the average home. 

 

Visit her website, OrganizeME, or visit her column on The Midwest Makeover for more articles.

IKEA Quick Tip - Start Your Day with IKEA

I'll admit it - I don't particularly love crowds. So when I drove up to IKEA Minneapolis on Labor Day, my friend tweeted the employees there and asked them the best time to arrive at the store. They suggested that we get there a half an hour early and enjoy breakfast before the store opened.

Brilliant. 

IKEA has breakfast starting at $0.99 for a small plate of eggs, potatoes, and sausage. Perfect if you're shopping with kids. I like the crepes with spinach and cheese.

If you're an IKEA family member, coffee or tea is free. The portions are modest, but I know you're saving room for a meatball lunch before you head downstairs.

The restaurant is located at the top of the escalator on the top floor. Find a table with a view of the escalator, and you can see when the opening crowd thins out a bit.

Susan Stocking

Co-Founder of the Bring IKEA to Kansas City Facebook Page, Susan Stocking is a social media writer and contributes content and administrative support for our social media outreach and other projects. 

 

Susan enjoys learning about all the ways to really take advantage of your IKEA experience as well as helping folks from out of town to enjoy their visit to the Kansas City area.

 

Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer!

When I'm organizing I use the SPACE acronym to explain the order of the steps you take: first you Sort, then you Purge, then you Assign a home, then you Containerize (you might need to shop), then you Educate (your family about where things are now).

Everyone wants to go shopping first, right? I often tell clients that they need to measure their space before they go shopping. If you don't measure, shopping often leads to clutter or returning things that don't fit.

Let's use a bookshelf as an example. You would measure the length, width and depth of the space where the bookshelf will sit and perhaps some measurements of things that will sit on the shelf. Write this information down on paper (or send yourself an email or voice mail with the information) and put the paper with something that will travel with you to the store, like a wallet or purse. Now, take a photo with your phone.

Then, if you get to the store and you can't find the paper with the information about the measurements, you still have your phone with an email or voice mail and a picture! And IKEA has tape measures! Now you're certain to have all the information you need to choose the right bookshelf for your space, including the colors in the room.

If you didn't follow all my tips above and you get to IKEA and you're not sure about purchasing this bookshelf (or cabinet or dresser..), because you don't know if its the right fit or right color, maybe you could take a photo in the store......and come back to buy it later.

Mary Ellen Vincent

Mary Ellen is a personal organizer, specializing in custom organization projects for the average home. 

Visit her website, OrganizeME, or visit her column on The Midwest Makeover for more articles.

A Quick Kitchen Cart Makeover

Hey there!  It’s a pleasure to share my first post here with fellow Midwest Makeover friends.  While we excitedly wait for our KansasCity/Merriam IKEA grand opening, I thought it might be fun to share a quick makeover I did a couple of years ago after my very first visit to an IKEA store.

Our house has a decent amount of counter space, but this was our first time in recent memory living without a kitchen island, and I really missed having a work space in the center of the room.  We definitely didn’t have room for a large island, and I hadn't been able to find anything online or in local stores that was both the right size and the right look I was going for.

Well, IKEA did not disappoint—I came across the Stenstorp Kitchen Cart which was the size and shape we needed… but I really didn't want it in white.  Although I had only used spray paint once before, I was pretty confident I could successfully use it to customize this cart, so it came home with us from Minneapolis to Kansas City.

The nice thing about a product that requires assembly is that it’s often easier to paint individual parts than it is to practically hang upside down to paint all the undersides and corners of a complete piece.  I bought a few cans of Rust-Oleum Lagoon and a couple of cans of Polycrylic for a protective layer and customized this kitchen cart to better fit our home.

Now we have a more convenient spot where we can make sandwiches, set up a small buffet when we have company, etc.  And the cart has casters on one side, making it easy to move wherever we need it.

I think my turquoise Stenstorp feels right at home with its friend Maskros looking down from above the dining table. (MAN, I love that light.)

Cindy Wohlenhaus is the owner and creator behind Daisies & Crazies, specializing in handcrafted and revamped home accessories, furniture, and fun items for children.  Since she has finally decided what she wants to be when she grows up, she has returned to school to study interior design and has plans to offer consultations through GoodHaus Design.

What have you personalized with spray paint?  Do you have any fun lighting in your home?  Are you super excited to shop our local IKEA?  We’d love it if you said a quick hello in the comments. 

Motivation Matters

As a Professional Organizer, I’ve learned that many people are temporarily motivated to get organized by complaints about  the appearance of their space, time spent looking for lost items or by the need to downsize. 

Creating and maintaining a system to stay organized on an ongoing basis is more difficult.

The best and most enduring motivation is that being organized makes your life easier! 

Perhaps these additional benefits of organization will provide you with the desire to maintain the systems you create:

• Having your tools at hand when you’re ready to work (e.g., kitchen is organized for cooking) 
• Being able to keep to a schedule  
• The ability to set goals and reach them  
• More time for fun, family, and friends 
• More rest, sleep, and peace
• More confidence in your home (so you can more readily invite people over to socialize.
• Less time cleaning 
• Less anxiety and stress

Not everyone experiences all these benefits from every organizational project they complete, but using great organizational tools consistently, like the ones you'll find at the new IKEA store in Merriam, has an overall effect on the quality of your life. 

Although it takes effort to stay organized, the many benefits make it a worthwhile goal.  

Mary-Ellen Vincent

Mary Ellen is a personal organizer, specializing in custom organization projects for the average home. Visit her website, OrganizeME, or visit her column on The Midwest Makeover for more articles.

7 Questions You Can Use to Control Consumption

When you're shopping at a cool new place, like IKEA in Kansas City, its possible to buy more than you need or can store easily.

Here are some quick questions that can keep your exciting new purchases from becoming clutter:

1. If this is something you already own, can you practice one in/one out?

2. Can you picture where in your home you're going to store/display/use your purchase?

3. Is this an impulse buy?

4. Should you get more information (take measurements, consult a friend)?

5. Is this in your budget?

6. Do you already have something like it? If yes, how is this better?

7. How long will this last? Is the quality acceptable?

If you still feel great about the items you've chosen, chances are they will be right for you. Happy shopping!

IKEA Quick Tip - Paper or Plastic? How about neither...

The first time I went to IKEA, I found these beautiful, big, blue bags. IKEA eliminated plastic and paper bags from their check-out, so I happily clunked down my $0.59 for the shopping bag and was on my way. Of all the things I bought that day, I think this ended up being my favorite.

The FRAKTA shopping bag has become my laundry basket when I travel, my towel bag when the family heads to the pool, a recycling bag when we're at a picnic, the bag I throw my BBBS or Goodwill donations into...you get the idea. It's huge, has two different size handles, which for some reason makes me happy, it folds flat, and it's easy to wipe down and clean. Don't forget to grab a few extra on your next trip to IKEA.

IKEA Quick Tip - Dude, where's my car?

You're finally going to IKEA!!! You have your list ready, you're ready for a cinnamon roll, you're ready to start!

The beginning of your experience starts with parking. It can take a few minutes to park, but don't panic. Plan on spending 10 minutes cruising around, but there are plenty of parking spaces.  

Once you've parked, STOP and take a picture of where you parked. You are going to be in IKEA for an average of 3 hours, taking in room after room of sensory stimulation...with a lot of people. Once you've picked and paid for your goods, you're going to forget where you parked. Take my word for it. But you took a picture of your parking location, and now you can find your car so you can go home and unpack your loot.

IKEA Quick Tip - Registering for IKEA Family

Have you heard about IKEA Family? It's your basic store loyalty program where you scan your card and get a discount on selected items. There are some seriously good discounts that come with this, not to mention free coffee or tea, and an extra 30 minutes for the kids in Småland. What is Småland? It's a free child watch service you can use while picking your IKEA merchandise. Brilliant, huh? 

When you enter IKEA, there will be an IKEA family kiosk at the bottom of the escalator, and another at the top outside of the restaurant. You can register and get your IKEA family card at the kiosk, but save yourself some time in line and register on-line. When you get to the store, you just punch in your e-mail address, and the card prints in seconds. Click HERE to register from the comfort of your home, or office, or wherever you're reading this from. 

Welcome to the family!