Streamlining the Bling

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Mission Organization Monday - Entry Way Solutions

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Kitchen Clean Up

Home Storage Solutions 101 is hosting 52 Weeks to an Organized Home and I'm doing my best to follow the plan.  The first week was countertops... I got them all cleaned up but didn't get pictures before my family struck...

Week 2 was kitchen cabinets and drawers.  I had spent some time before the holidays working on a few of my cabinets, but the drawers needed some work.  I started early one morning before anyone was up and forgot to take before pictures.  But, I'm pretty pleased with the afters:

If I'd realized how many baby spoons we no longer needed!  I kept all the matched sets with the kids monograms.  Especially since O-man still likes to use them, especially the "mini-forks!"

If I took the pizza cutter and the crinkle cutter out, everything fits perfectly, but those are pretty handy so they can rest on top.

Another thing that helped was taking out the rubber spatulas and wooden spoons, the two things I reach for the most and have to move the most to get to things below it.  For $1 I found a crock that was the right size and weight for what I wanted, I'll probably keep my eye out for something prettier, but for now, it does the job.  Since I rarely use the 5th burner on my stove, it works here and is easy to move if I do need that burner (come to think of it, I think it's just a warming burner... the stove was free, working and better than my old one, I wasn't too concerned with all the extras!).

Last week, was pantry, I'm still working on that and this week is fridge and freezer... working on that too!  It feels good to get some organizing done... too bad there is soooooooo much more to be done....

Peace be with you,

Scarf Organization

I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures of my outfits this past week.  I actually had a few cute ones (in my opinion at least!) but just didn't get pictures. 

Since it's cold, I'm pretty on board with the scarf trend, which has lead to a big pile of them on my closet floor.  This was driving me a bit crazy and adding time to getting dressed in the morning.  The other morning it occurred to me that I already had the perfect solution, an extra towel bar in the bathroom.

 

Peace be with you,

Mission Organization Monday: The Coat Closet is Ready for Winter

If you haven't seen The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking, I highly recommend checking it out.  I came across her site after her 31 Days to an Organized Home was over but still felt inspired to follow her plan. I'm not going for 31 days in a row, but rather using it as a check list for getting stuff in order around here, I'm trying to spend a few hours a day this month getting our house in shape, before I dig into my growing craft to do list. 

Day 1: Organizing with a Purpose

My purpose: My family.  I know from experience everyone in the family is much happier when the house is in order, me included.  The hard part is keeping it that way, but if everything has a place, the girls are old enough to put it where it belongs, now we just need to stick with it!

Day 2:  An Organized Coat Closet

Ironically, my coat closet is one of the better spots in my house, but it was time to change it over for the winter... before we ended up with multiple seasons and a big mess.  Here's what I started with:

Since our church is collecting coats for WIC, I designated a few that we no longer really needed.  Pool and beach stuff was put into hibernation.  Then I only had the winter stuff to deal with, like three sets of snow pants... Guess what, if you roll them tightly and rubber band them (or hair bands, like I used for the girls) they compact down and can easily be stored in a clean trash can!

 Look, they all fit!

 

I had two hooks on the door before, but I put them on the door when O-man was still in a car carrier.  I added a hook for him and put a label above each one, he can read his name and reach the hook... they all can now, no excuses!

Below, I had these bins before and tried them as one for each child.  What I decided works better is to have one drawer for each: hats, gloves or mittens, and scarves.  All labeled now (notice the trash bin to the left?  That's the snow pants, leaving enough room for the two long dress coats).

 Rain gear... it needs to be here year round, it just does.  The girls and I each have a jacket that folds into it's own pocket.  Totally worth the price* in my opinion, when O-man gets bigger I'll get him one, but for now, he gets whatever hand-me-down rain jacket we get, he just grows way too fast. (*Thanks Grandma Diane, otherwise, I watch for clearance sales and get the previous season).

 There you have it, a clean coat closet, ready for winter!

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M: Made by you Mondays, Made with Love Monday, Making the World Cuter, MMM @ CRAFT, Just something I whipped up, Organizing Mission Monday, A Round Tuit, Motivate me Monday, Jam Hands T: Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, TCB, Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Take-a-Look Tuesdays, Too Cute Tuesdays, Giggles Glitz & Glam, It’s Sew fun Tuesday W: We Did it Wednesday, Night Owl Crafting, Sugar & Spice, Tea Rose Home, We’re Organized Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, What’s Up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Share the Wealth,  T: Make It Wear It, Frogs & Snails, It’s Stinkin’ Cute, Making it with Allie, Things I’ve Done, Everybody’s Creative Endeavor F: Fun Friday Finds, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It’s a Hodgepodge, Chic on a Shoestring, Fantastic Friday, TGIF, I’m an Organizing Junkie, Spunky Junky, The Shabby Nest, While He Was Napping, Upcycled Awesome S/S: KISS, Funky Fresh, Weekend Wrap Up, Nifty Thrifty, Creative Bloggers

Mission Organization Monday: Dry Erase Calendars

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Mission Organization Monday: Mail Sorter (with tutorial)

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Mission Organization Monday: Living Room Catch-All

Sometimes just a little freshening up makes such a big difference.  The first wall one's eyes sees when they enter my home is this wall:

I know, it's bad!  It's a catch-all spot.  It's the spot where IronFish drops his work bag, keys, watch, wallet, etc.  It's the spot where my kids put papers they think are mine and/or thing they think I might want.  It's the spot where random things that no one knows where to put end up until I do something about them.

Yup, inside those little drawers is just as bad... more homeless things mixed in with a few things that belong there!  I decided the only way to deal with this was to clear it all off and only put back what needs to be there.  After a good hour of sorting trash, recyclables, things that belong and things that didn't, here was the result:

I got the little drawer thing on the left as a gift with purchase and the colors are right for my house.  I flipped the drawers around, the small left one is for my husband's things when he comes in from work.  The one on the right is for my random things that I want/need but don't have another home (the extra shopper's cards, keys I only need occasionally, etc).  The top drawer is stuff that no matter what, ends up on that table...  I sorted out the two table drawers too.  The one on the left is all neat and organized with things that really should be there.  The one on the right... well... it's now the official home to all the stuff that didn't have another place and didn't end up in the trash or recycling.  I'm OK with a junk drawer as long as it doesn't multiply when I'm not looking.

On the right side of the table is a little phone charging station, our home phone and my beautiful hand calla lilies my daughters made me for mother's day in the pretty vase JuneBug made me at school!  Now we just have to keep it neat and tidy!

Oh, that large basket below?  That's wear I stash extra purses, bags, backpacks, pool bag and computer travel cases.

Peace be with you,

Mission Organization: Kitchen

Yesterday I decided to do a little deep cleaning of my kitchen.  Actually, what started it was I decided to revisit this area:

Look how pretty it looked!  Almost 3 months later, it was still better than it used to be, but still not great.  I figured out why.... most of the stuff that I thought should be there hasn't moved!  So I moved the chargers to another place, threw some more stuff out and was left with just a few things.  Which made realize that the few things left could probably go someplace else...

So I tackled my upper corner cabinet.   Sorry, no before, but it was pretty bad.  But look how nice it looks now:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but it is actually very organized.  Medicines and vitamins are grouped with like, a few Tupperware containers of things I regularly use are in there, and a few things my girls need to reach are now on the lower shelf so they don't have to climb onto the counter to reach (don't worry, they are old enough to go into this cabinet and not take any medicines they shouldn't!).

Yeah, my counters are pretty and clean, I have some more things to donate, and got rid of things I didn't need (including expired meds and vitamins!).  My floors on the other hand.... guess I better go clean them now...

Peace be with you,

Mission Organization: Jewelry!

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While we're still on the topic of jewelry, I thought today I'd show you my organized jewelry.  Awhile back I realized in order to wear all the jewelry I had (and it's a lot), I needed to be able to see it regularly and not dig through a jewelry box.

Today after finally cleaning my bathroom, I took a quick look to see if there was anything I was ready to let go of.  I found a few pieces but also realized there was an awful lot I haven't worn in ages because I forgot all about it even though it is right in front of me.  So here is what my walk in jewelry box looks like now:

I told you it was A LOT!  Prior to today the bracelets and earrings were in a basket which usually just acted as a catch all.  My basement has been storing these display pieces waiting to be used again.  The basket on the top shelf has a few earrings that don't work to be hung on the white display pieces, rings since I so rarely change my rings and my collection of glasses (I like to color coordinate with my outfit there too!).

Here's my system.  If it is a set or coordinates well and is typically worn together, I attach the bracelet to the necklace before hanging it from the towel bar.

 If earrings are a part of the set, I attach them to the clasp or someplace on the chain, like this:

The best way to do this is to buy a bag of rubber earring backs from the beading section at any craft store and use these to keep the fish-hook earrings where they belong.  These backs also tend to reduce the chance of an earring falling off when I'm wearing it, well worth the $3.

Another great thing about my system is whenever I travel, it is so easy to pack!  I just put the whole set into a little draw string cloth bag and my jewelry always coordinates with my outfit.

Yes, my hair claws are also attached to the side of the shelves too.  Wondering about the white bow on the left side of the necklaces?  This time every year I look at my jewelry before our church yard sale.  Since I have so much that I haven't worn I'm planning for next year.  From now on when I wear something, I will put it back to the left of the ribbon.  This time next year, any jewelry on the right side of the ribbon will go on to the yard sale!

Peace be with you,

Ribbon Organization

I'm still waiting for a 12 step program for craft addicts, but in the mean time, I am trying to trudge along with organizing and pretty-ing up my craft space.  A while back I got a great shelf meant to hold all my ribbon... well, it held a good amount, but definitely not all of it... bummer. 

So, I put the ribbons on in rainbow order and stacked additional ribbons inside and out of a box on top of the shelf.  It continued to bother me.

Plus, I was trying so hard to put all the ribbon in rainbow order, I forgot that half of the ribbon I was putting on there was little spools from the dollar bin.  Every time I went to use one, I'd use all 18 or 24 inches up and have a cardboard roll empty in the middle of the rack.

I set out to solve the problem and I'm quite pleased with my current solution.  First, I removed anything that has wire trim since it really isn't meant to be used on clothes, plus it is mostly holiday related.  That is all now packed away with the holiday it belongs with.  Then I only put spools of ribbon that were four feet or longer, this way when I use a small amount, I won't be left with an empty spool.

Now those cardboard spools take up a lot of space, so the short ribbons came off.  I thought about just putting all the small pieces in a jar or something like that, but it would bother me too much that they were all mingling together (I have strange OCD to things like that).  Recently, I saw someone who used the old rounded clothes pins (the ones without the spring, just the rounded top) but I couldn't find them and I really was hoping to keep this a low budget project.

On a quick trip to my local dollar store the solution came to me... foam hair rollers!!!  After a few evenings of rolling up the ribbon pieces here is my final result:

I was trying really hard not to get the clutter around the space in the picture!  I picked up the little blue buckets for $2 each, I just love the color, plus it pulls from the wall color in my living room and adjacent hallway.

Some of the curlers I put two ribbons on, some three.  There are a few random ones that were wide but short in length (usually saved from something else instead of the trash) wrapped with a piece of pipe cleaner.  There were a few that I had several short pieces of the same ribbon, they filled up a curler by themselves.

Check that off as one more space that looks pretty and organized in my craft space!

Peace be with you,

Craft Organization... improvements!

When we "renovated" our kitchen, I really wanted more drawers in my craft space (the other side of my kitchen), however, the cabinets were hand-me downs and our budget was incredibly limited.  Some day I will do a post on how we did a 22 foot by 11 foot kitchen for only $4500, including appliances and doing the flooring two times.  I considered purchasing two drawer units but that would have meant re-routing two electrical outlets and a third of our budget had already been spent on electrical work so I went for a less expensive option.  Almost four years later and I'm still trying to incorporate drawers, guess I should have spent the money back then.

I searched off and on for many months for "add-on drawers."  A few months back I found and ordered the ones pictured on the left from Amazon, although they are actually black, not gray.  I got five kits, shipping seemed pricy to me, but ultimately I spent about $85 to add four drawers to my craft space and one to my kitchen.  Yesterday, IronFish was able to start installing them for me!  {Please note: I have no fear in using tools and doing this myself when my girls were young, I could have... O-man is a whole 'nother story!!!}

Since we were adding them to the underside of our laminate counter tops, IronFish cut strips of wood that we adhered with construction adhesive and screws to account for the lip at the front of the counter top.  Don't mind the visible mess on top, but here is the before:

I have an abundance of "craft crap" so don't think for a second that space had been empty!  That tension rod and material on top is actually a curtain I made to attempt to hide the stash below...  I would have taken pictures of the process, but as soon as the camera came out IronFish said he wouldn't continue if I was going to take pictures the whole time.  Installation prevailed so you will have to settle for my before and after shots, except for this one with the mess and the assembled drawer (they come in a flat box):

 Here they are installed:

And opened... just waiting to be filled!

The bottoms of the drawers are not really sturdy.  I read the product reviews online and some people suggested replacing it with plywood.  I may do that, but as of now, most of what I plan to put in them is fairly light weight.  It definitely gives me extra space and I'm already thrilled with them but IronFish has warned me if I ever purchase them again, I will find myself stuffed inside of them (the directions were beyond horrible!).  Once we figured out the first one the second one was a breeze to put together but just to spite me he continued to grumble (he'll deny that it was to spite me).


As in most of my organization projects, everything gets worse before it gets better.  But we are down to only four days until the in-laws arrive; which increases my determination.  I'm hopeful the other three will be finished before they arrive but our bowling league started last night.  Unfortunately for my team, real bowling is nothing like wii bowling.  Maybe it's all in the shoes.  Do you think these babies would help me break 50?

Peace be with you,

Bathroom Update

Back in our one bedroom basement apartment days, IronFish and I used to decide on Friday after work to invite people over.  We'd scurry around and get the whole place picked up and completely cleaned in about an hour.

Flash forward a few kids and we now live in a 3 bedroom townhouse.  With more space comes more things (more kids also bring more things) so I'd be doing some serious stashing to get the house in tip top shape in an hour.  We aren't planning a party, but we are expecting grandparents next weekend.  Truth be told, if you're family, you know how my house is.... however, when you add two people to the space for a few days, things feel even tighter, so I do really try to get a handle on things before people arrive.

I have a lot of work ahead of me but needed a feeling of accomplishment.  So I tackled the downstairs bathroom.  Within the past few months, IronFish has tiled the floor, painted the walls and put in new trim.  It looks great!  The problem?  Everything that was in there on the walls, cabinet, etc is stashed over the house.  As it was needed in there, it got brought back in with no place to put it away.  As usual, I was avoiding it.  Big surprise to me, it only took me about a half hour to get it into shape... that's a feeling of accomplishment!

Wanna see?

This cabinet is over the toilet.  It still looks a little cluttered, but it pretty organized.  Pull-up and things necessary to get O-man potty trained (which will hopefully be sooner than later, then I'll have another half of the cabinet freed up!).  I shouldn't have to buy hand soap or lotion for at least a year, not sure how I ended up with so many bottles.  I stuck the one random towel on top for now.  I like the little bottles, they came from my grandma and her sister.  Rolling up the hand towels in the basket made them look nice and within reach of the girls if they need a clean one, without them opening the cabinet.

Here is what my counter top was looking like at first.

Putting things in the correct home helped.

I finally got the picture hung as well as the towel hook.  Previously we had two towel rings and the girls never hung the towel back up.  They told me if I used a hook this time, they would be able to hang the towel up... I hung it at a level that all 3 kids can reach... I'm holding them to it!

 I love Command Strips, they make it so easy to hang the picture quickly!

I re-hung the hot/cold knobs on the side of the medicine cabinet.  I'm not sure what I'm going to hang on the other side yet.  I guess this will have to go on my project to-do list!

So why am I showing you this corner of my bathroom?  Well, the white column on the right holds tissues and 4 rolls of toilet paper in a pretty slim space... the $15 I spent on this 7 years ago was well worth it!

 Open up that little door on the left and you'll find:

I love it!  It is recessed into the wall, painted to match and holds cleaning supplies.  So worth it.  I really want to put one in each of the bathrooms... that might take some convincing for IronFish.

Here's the secret, under the sink has looked like this for 7+ years and now....

Well, it still looks like that, it's just not a priority yet.  Sorry to disappoint.  Well, I'm on to cleaning up my kitchen which went against my Flylady rules and did not get a shined sink last night...

Peace be with you,

Another snow day, another space organized

This time there's no school because of the ice storm, it's starting to seem like every Wednesday there's no school.  While, I don't mind sleeping in, I've always considered snow days to be like free days, stay in your jammies and snuggle under a blanket watching movies all day.  But no more!  (OK, not completely, we're still in our jammies, I've got a blanket on and there's a movie on two of the three TVs in our house...)

But, I'm proud to say, I have accomplished organizing another space today!  Here is what I started with:

This is the corner of the kitchen where everything ends up.  Now, many of the items have a home, but not everyone puts them where they belong.  There are also several of things that end up here because they don't belong anywhere.  This is where other family members put things when they are "cleaning up" and it drives me crazy!

I took everything off the counter and cleaned it.  I got rid of whatever I could (trash, give-a-way and put-a-way) and thought about how I'd rather the space be used.  I know no matter what I do, this will continue to be a catch all space, so I need to be able to better contain the (for lack of a better term) crap!

I must admit, I've been thinking about and planning cleaning this space for a few days, since Friday actually, as that is my clean the kitchen day on my "chore chart."  After spending some time in local stores and online, I still wasn't finding the "perfect containers."  Turns out, I had a few things in my basement that will serve as a good start before I spend any money on the wrong kind of container/storage/basket or whatever.  This will give me a chance to see what works and what doesn't.  Here is what I found:

An older style plate/serving stand from Pampered Chef and some wire baskets from Avon.  I stuck plastic sandwich containers in the bottom of two to keep little things from falling out.  If this works, I'll make up some cloth basket liners, which will make it look so much nicer.

After a much longer time period than I wanted to spend on this area (that whole, kids home thing... why do they keep wanting me to feed them!?!?!), here is the result:

I ended up using a Longaberger basket I had to hold the pencils, pens, scrap paper that was previously in one of those silver bins on the fridge (that is what is black on the right side).  Since there were always too many, it made the bin too heavy, therefor within O-man's reach.  My old canisters that I had in a give-a-way bin but never managed to actually give-a-way now hold the bread flour (bread machine has recently re-surfaced and being used almost daily), Olvaltine and miscellaneous stuff.  One of the baskets has chargers that are always homeless, another one has the extra tissue packets, inhaler and a few other things that always end up stashed in this corner and the front most basket is full of "crap" that I don't know what to do with but can't get rid of.

Here is a little tip ya'll might find helpful when organizing while the bread machine is baking away... don't forget you're baking bread and unplug it... the doughy mess is now a funky looking blobby loaf that hopefully cooked all the way through in the regular oven...

Peace be with you,

PS - a month of eating "Lessmeatarian" style and reduced processed foods and I'm down a whole 5 pounds, two inches in the waist and an inch off the the arms and legs!