Lesson 9: The Multiple Uses of a Rubbermaid Bin!

My house is slowly but surely coming together. I had my housewarming party a couple Saturday's ago and it was a big success! It was so nice to have so many people out to celebrate! Throwing a party is so much fun and I like to think that I'm a natural hostess, but I think if you were to ask Emerson I basically run around my house like a crazy person till people arrive and try to pull it together last minute. This post was inspired by a moment I had when I was cleaning and setting up for my party.

For a long time my basement had no furniture. Well, that's not exactly true... I had my 50" tv, a tv stand, and a rubbermaid bin. That's it. I know you're probably thinking, "Why didn't you go buy couches?" Good question. Most normal people would solve my problem in a second, BUT the issue at hand was finding ones that I actually liked and didn't mind sharing with roommates, etc. See, now that I have been spending lots of gold bars on things for my house (my collection of gold is depleting by the way... quickly) I thought about my couch situation and realized I'm way too much of a control freak to buy brand new couches and then let others ruin them by mistake. Not going to happen. I'm going to end up being like most of our grandma's out there who cover all their furniture in that plastic stuff so that if someone does drop diet coke or coffee I can just act all cool, grab a cloth, and say, "don't worry about it!"

Back to my story though... so I had a large Rubbermaid bin down there because I was going to store it in the back room. It is full of books, odds and ends, cords, whatever! Well, when I had no furniture down there and was DYING to watch the new Bethanny Getting Married on Bravo, I decided that this bin was the perfect size for me to lean up against. So that's how it started and it continued like this:

Day 1: Leaned up against the bin while I watched tv.
Day 2: Put a pillow between my back and the bin to make it a bit more comfy.
Day 3: Draped a blanket over the bin and pillow so it held the pillow in place (slowly starting to look like a couch).
Day 4: Put a large book on the top of the bin to hold the blanket steady and to act as a flat spot to put my drinks (now the bin is working as a coffee table and couch).
Day 5: Moved the bin to the direct centre of the room to showcase it as the most important fixture in that room.

My favourite bin ever!

As you have noticed, this bin became a huge part of my life. It made me not feel the rush to get couches until I wanted to have the girls over to watch a movie... then I realized my bin wasn't big enough for more than one person to lean up against it. I also couldn't risk the situation of having two people lean against my bin and it slowly sliding backwards as we try to watch tv... it would upset me. So, I cancelled tv night and decided to dedicate my time to couch finding.

My luck, my dear friend Laura was moving and asked me to take her couches.. so I did. You'll notice though in the picture below that I've become quite attached to my Rubbermaid Bin furniture as it still sits next to the couch acting as a side table. I didn't want it to feel left out.

My current couches (notice the bin still peeking in there).

Things I learned from Lesson 9: 
1. Rubbermaid bins aren't just good for storing crap, it's a way to justify keeping that crap in big bins because it makes it heavy enough for a person to lean against.
2. Next time you have party and need extra seating, take out some bins and drape them in blankets...it'll be trendy, I promise.
3. When people ask you constantly why you haven't bought houses and why you're using that awful bin, just tell them you hate having people over, so having no furniture will keep people away. It'll create an awkward situation and hopefully no one will ask you again.
4. Couches are MUCH comfier than the Rubbermaid bin, I know its obvious, but I feel like I almost forgot how comfy couches actually are and how necessary they are when watching tv!