Hiding in Plain Sight

Sometimes in Mystery/Action novels the villain hides the item everyone is looking for right out in the open. It's disguised or simply unknown to the lookers. They search every hidden passage, crack, and crevice for the item, passing by the real things a hundred times. But because it's in plain sight there is no way that they will find it...it's too obvious! Decorating a home is a bit like an action adventure, keeping up with the needs, wants, children, and messes that come with it all. Sometimes hiding the uglies can be hard and sometimes it's best to just hide them in plain sight!

1) Laundry Room: the laundry room/closet/area is full of necessary yet messy things.
 A) Buy an ironing board cover that matches the room decor
 B) Buy baskets to place cleaning prodcuts, laundry detergents, etc... ( I found mine at Aldi!)
 C) Add useful decor...laundry soap in a cute jar with a fun label. Fancy box to hold the lint etc...
 D) Don't forget to decorate your laundry room if you have space. There are tons of fun signs and decor for the laundry and it will make you smile when you go to do laundry.

2) Kitchen: Everyone owns too many small appliances, and kitchen gadgets, but we've gotten pretty good at hiding those. Here are few ways I openly hide my kitchen needs.

A) Display real fruit when possible. It's colorful and when good food is accessible you tend to eat it more often.

 B) Everyone needs a chore list, but not everyone makes them attractive!

 C) Find up-to-date cute canisters to keep your most used dry food in. Handy, cute, functional! ( I found these at Target)

D) Dish towels are one of the cutest things for the kitchen, but most people stash them away in a drawer to get caught up under the cabinet and drive you insane. Instead place them in a cute basket or bucket or anything that matches your decor and set it next to the sink. 

 E) Wooden spoons and cooking oil - I've interspersed much used items with decor items. They sit right next to my stove top. Cute? Yes. Functional? You bet! Especially because I don't have a drawer next to my stove.

3) Cords, Cords, Cords: With the technology age in full swing I think we've come up with some clever ideas to keep all the uglyness hidden but there are still challenges lurking. I have one phone jack in my entire home...it's on the kitchen counter! Really?! I also have to keep certain internet boxes x amount of feet apart. Big problem for this aesthetic loving lady. 

 So Most of it is in the corner cabinet hidden behind the cook books. Easy access and not too much cord showing. It took one little hole in the side of the cabinet. But then I had that box that couldn't sit by the other boxes but still had to be hooked to the one phone jack...

So I hid it in a cute wooden box I found on my property, dolled it up and added a few other things so it looks like I really wanted all that stuff on my countertop! 

 4) Bathrooms: I don't personally find bathrooms to be that hard. I put all of my toiletries in the drawer or under the sink in plastic drawers or divided caddies. You just get used to getting out what you need each time. I hate clutter (thanks mom) and I'm willing to go the extra mile each day to keep it away.

One thing I don't have in my house is a linen closet. But towels are pretty so I just had to find a functional, accessible, sanitary way to store them. In the guest bathroom I use this old drawer with dividers in it to hold wash clothes. It sets on the back of the toilet.

The Big towels are rolled up and in a basket in the guest room. My daughters towel is hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door. The Master bathroom is still being worked on/decorated. But it has a cart with shelves where our towels (not being used) are rolled up and stacked and washclothes in a basket on top.

5) Music Books: For most people this is not an issue, but for the music lover, it can be hard to find a safe place for your music books. I had them in a file cabinet for a long time, but it was really hard to get the ones in the back out and they were being bowed very badly. I found this fun little table at a garage sale. the top has the things I play the most, the second has all vocal music, and the bottom (floor) has the thing I use the least with a few more I like on the top of those I don't use much. And of course the piano bench is full also, but of the less attractive items. 

How do you openly hide items in your house? Tell your secrets!

Sarah