HUTCH HINT: Grocery Sack Storage

I have a home with four children, three of whom are boys. For those of you that do not have boys, let me explain what this means... Our home has to be livable! Not that my children are a bunch of wild hooligans, but boys have a way of "moving" that is reminiscent of a tornado. They don't walk, they stampede. They don't set things down gently, they toss with reckless abandon. And as they grow, their lanky arms and legs are rarely controlled! Now, I am what many would call a "girly girl"... Not so much as in "getting my nails and hair done" but I do love pretty things and my home has more floral patterns then I care to admit. So I have adopted a style that I will refer to as "Adorably Functional". I gave up on knick-knacks ages ago! (Partly because I don't want to dust them, and partly because I was tired of gluing heads back on decapitated figurines.)  While I don't have a home full of collections or glamorous things, I do like things to look nice, neat and adorable. It is also imperative that it be "functional", ie; practical and useful. Which is why when our youngest was born, almost a year ago, I had to come up with a solution for diaper changing. I am not one that invests in things like diaper genies... Not that I have anything against them particularly, I just find them mildly complicated to use and I don't want to add anything to my home that requires specialized bags. I also am not a fan of a diaper pail, in that it is basically a glorified "poop" keeper... As I've mentioned, I have three growing boys; there is enough stench in our home without a stockpile of dirty diapers. So, when Little Miss came along, there was the question of what to do with the dirty diapers?! Because anyone who has ever had a baby knows there are going to be a lot of them! Fortunately for me I have a never-ending supply of Walmart grocery bags! In the beginning, whenever we would take Sis to her changing table and find her to be soiled, we would holler at the closest child to bring a Walmart bag! At which point the contents were securely tied up and hung on the front porch until someone was going to make their way to the outside trash can. (Bear in mind, we live in the country so visitors are few and far between, I realize not everyone can hang dirty diapers on their front porch without offending someone.) The system worked rather well unless a child got detained by their own imagination or distracted by something sparkly... So I had to come up with a way to store the grocery bags near the changing table, thus eliminating the whole "holler and fetch" scenario. I looked around to see what I had on hand, which I suggest for any Home Improvement solution, and VOILA I spotted a newborn onesie that Sis had long since outgrown! I found a little white hanger, put a nail in the wall, hung the onesie up, and stuffed it full of Walmart sacks! Mission accomplished!

Maybe you are out of "diaper season", but who doesn't need plastic bags handy? Or anything else for that matter! A dear friend of mine has an adorable children's shirt, with the bottom stitched closed, hanging in her laundry room full of clothes pins! The sky's the limit! Just because your home is functional, doesn't mean it can't make you smile!

haley for the hutch crew

Simply stuff the bags into the top and pull them out from the leg openings!