The mission of nonprofit The Light House in Annapolis, MD is "to rebuild lives with compassion by providing shelter and services to prevent homelessness and empower people as they transition toward employment, housing, and self-sufficiency." Those of us at The Container Store feel that this mission is incredibly important, and it's one of the reasons we chose this organization as one of our local nonprofit partners when we opened our new Annapolis store location.
Our new Annapolis store, located in Westfield Annapolis Mall.
We wanted a hands-on way to assist The Light House in their mission. After visiting their facility, we worked with them to identify several spaces that could benefit from a little organizational TLC, and partnered with local professional organization service Systems by Susie to give their space the functional storage makeover it needed.
"At the Light House, we serve hundreds of neighbors in need each day and efficient use of space is essential in these efforts," says Jo Ann Mattson, the organization's Executive Director. "One of the first areas in need of attention was the office closet. As it was, it had good shelving, but it was a jumble of paper reams and other office supplies without an orderly method of keeping it all tidy."
To address this issue, we measured the space and created an Elfa office solution that would not only be adaptable to changing needs, but also give each type of item its own proper place. The Elfa shelves can be raised and lowered as needed, and the labeled drawers provide a much more attractive method of storing smaller items. Paired with an assortment of carefully-selected storage containers--including Multi-Purpose Bins and Our Clear Storage Boxes--the space took on a whole new look and gave them plenty of room to spare!
Another area of the office supply closet that needed work was the coffee and snack station. (While it's technically possible for an organization to function without coffee, we don't recommend it.) It had previously been occupied by an older, repurposed Elfa wire drawer cart that had reached the limit of what it could hold, so we replaced it with new white Elfa shelving and drawers. The team from Systems by Susie labeled and divided each drawer according to category, and the two solid melamine shelves made a sturdy area for the Keurig and microwave.
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On a wall adjoining the coffee and snack station was a nook used to store medical and sanitization supplies--think hand sanitizer, hand wipes, etc. After our Elfa designers and the Systems by Susie team were done, what had previously been a corner piled high with cardboard boxes was now an organized and functional shelving unit where everything was much easier to find and access.
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Just about any nonprofit organization who assists parents and children needs a space to store diapers and laundry items, and The Light House's current space was in a state of disarray.
After assessing the situation, we opted for a complete overhaul to maximize the area's space as efficiently as possible. Once again, our always-handy Elfa Classic Ventilated Shelves proved to be the best way to make this work. It was an interesting challenge--we had to work around an electrical box, ductwork, and some server equipment, among other obstacles--but ultimately it turned out great!
A small walk-in closet in the facility was being used for linen storage. The existing shelves were overflowing with towels and blankets for The Light House's clients, so we replaced them with Elfa, complete with Ventilated Shelf Dividers for keeping the contents stacked neatly.
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The final closet we addressed was the one reserved for toiletries. The Elfa shelves and drawers allowed us to utilize every inch of space in a better way, resulting in a much-improved storage area.
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To complete the Elfa shelving solutions, we utilized Our Clear Storage Boxes and Clear Plastic Storage Bins with Handles, and the Systems by Susie team topped it off with their space-tidying magic!
"We are so grateful to The Container Store for being a part of our mission to break the cycle of homelessness," says Mattson. "This amazing team donated their time, talent, and custom closet products to help organize many of our storage areas. This was no small task! They put a great deal of energy and thought into creating storage solutions for our administrative, linen, toiletry, and family floor closets, and we are truly thankful for this new partnership!"
We're so proud to give back to the communities we serve! (Special thanks to Systems by Susie for help making this transformation possible!)
