Day 3: Project Home Organization

Well, on to day 3 of my home organization.

I normally shop for 2 weeks of groceries and only run back to the store for staples such as bread, milk and eggs in-between trips.  Well, that’s the plan anyways.  Sometimes I decide I don’t want whatever I’ve planned for a meal or have a craving for something sweet, so I allot  for those trips as well.

This week when I brought home my groceries, I just knew it was time to clean out the pantry!  I didn’t have room for any of the new items and the shelves were overflowing and I had no idea what was in there.  I do straighten it all the time, but I don’t get in there and pull everything out and take inventory of what I have.  Boy, did I have a lot of stuff I didn’t know about!

BEFORE

6 bags of egg noodles, 3 boxes of elbow macaroni, 2 half empty bags of flower, 2 bottles of canola oil ( I don’t even use this!), numerous packets of taco seasoning, an overflowing recycle bin and lots and lots more!

I whipped it all out and started fresh.  I did not go out and buy anything to help make organizing easier or more efficient. Later on I’ll tackle the expense of nice bins for cereal, crackers, pasta and such and the Mabel’s Labels Household Labels. But not today!  Just good old fashioned elbow grease and organization skills.

AFTER

Since I tackled the pantry, it just made sense to organize the spice cabinet as well.

BEFORE

AFTER

Much better!  I feel like a new women.  I don’t know about you, but when things are neat and orderly, I feel much more calm and clear AND  I know where things are and what I have.

Next project:  Entry Way!

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Keeping Organized AND Green

If you’re like me, you have a never ending to-do list that seems to be growing by the minute daily.  And if you’re like me, you have it scribbled down on a million pieces of paper around the house, on the fridge, in your purse and on your desk.

What? You don’t?  You’re more organized than me?  NO way!

Well, for those of you that aren’t already organized, try an electronic to-do list.  There’s a million ways to do this too..but a couple of examples would be creating a list in your Word program and adding to it daily or actually using a program such as Google Calendar to organize your life. With Google Calendar you can:

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Day 1: Project Home Organization

It’s Day 1 of my home organization project. I’m finally ready to get on with organizing all the things in my life that are driving me crazy.  It seems that most days, being a mom and daycare provider, takes all the time I have to just get through the day.  Tasks such as organizing a closet, a desk, a drawer or even my paperwork, gets pushed aside.  I’m sure most of you can relate to that being a mom and taking care of the kids always comes before the “extras”.  Organizing is not something that I want to put on the back burner, it just happens.

I’m not the most organized person in the world, but I want to be and I felt like now was a great time to get started.   I’ve always looked forward to the 1st day of school, even when I was not in school or had kids in school.   There’s just something about it that gives me a sense of new beginning and renewal.  And so, I have decided that now that I am a mom of a preschooler and have a tiny bit of free time each week, I’m going to tackle organizing my family, my home and my life. In my quest for finding the best tips on accomplishing this,  I’ve visited several blogs that I would consider “pros” in this area and will be using some of their tips on becoming a more efficient, productive and organized mom and I’ll share this information with you as I go along!

Today I started with my 1st project: Organize my daughter’s craft supplies.

My daughter, Ella,  LOVES to color, paint, cut, sticker, draw, and do puzzles and spends most of her free time doing so.  It’s the first thing she does in the morning and the last thing she does at night.  We didn’t have a designated area for all of her supplies and she normally works at our island on her projects.  Ideally, this was not the best set up.  Her stuff would be scattered and cluttered and she would always loose things since we only had them in a basket on the counter.  I knew I needed something to keep it all in, but didn’t know what.   Here’s what I came up with:

1.  Preschool Desk from Pottery Barn Kids.

(I was going to link you up to this, but they must have sold out since I ordered it last week.)

This is an adorable little child-sized desk and the kids all love it.  I actually think my 15 month old need his very own.  He spends alot of time sitting here as well.  As cute as it is, it’s not very practical for keeping Ella’s supplies in order.  The two drawers are narrow and not very long – just enough room for  some pens and pencils and maybe some other little items.  So, I came up with another storage solution.

2. 4-shelf Organizer Cube

I picked this up at Michael’s but also saw one at Target.  This was a snap to put together and holds all of Ella’s construction paper, drawing paper, notebooks, coloring books and marker and crayon holders.  I even placed some of her scissors and stickers in closed containers on top of the cube. For now, it sits on the island in the kitchen so that the little kids don’t make confetti out of the contents.  My plan is to sit Ella’s desk beside my desk (that will be delivered this weekend) and place the cube on my desk for her to use.  I also have another modular storage system on order that we’ll put together later.

But  this is a good start.  It doesn’t look like much, but I feel a ton better AND more productive since I got this all organized today.  I’m also going to be working on a great tip from Simple Mom for all of Ella’s completed artwork. She has some great ideas to storing and displaying all those special pieces that I’d like to save but not have it just cluttered into a drawer or taped all over the house like it currently is.

I’ll keep you updated every step of the way on my Project: Home Organization.  In the meantime, send me your tips and tricks that you use to keep your child’s projects and hobbies in order.  I’d love to see pictures as well.  I’ll post them right here!

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I HATE Clutter

I hate clutter.  I don’t just hate clutter….it makes me crazy!  I don’t really know when I went from the carefree teenager that had cans of Coke stuck under the nightstand, clothes laying on every inch of my bedroom floor to this person who actually gets anxious from time to time when I turn around and see all the stuff on the counters, in the closets, on the floor, in the corners, in the garage, in the bedrooms, in the closets….you get the picture.  I really, really try hard to keep on top if it.  A clean, clutter free home gives me peace.  I actually believe that the planets are aligned and hear angels singing when I look around and see nothing but bare counters and corners.   But with 5 kids here a day – it seems impossible to keep it this way.  With limited garage and closet space and no basement…where do you put it all?   I don’t keep things I don’t need but I need a lot of stuff with kids and the daycare.  I searched the Internet on tips to be clutter free and found this Ehow.com article on how to organize the clutter in your home:

• Step 1 
  Stash the clutter when unexpected guests stop by. Before they arrive, take big boxes or laundry baskets and toss all of your clutter inside. Place these containers out of site to organize after guests leave.  – Ok I do this one…but then I forget where I put all the stuff and I end up having to pay late charges on my credit cards.  I also use old Target bags to shove stuff in.  LOL
• Step 2
  Use clear storage bins. These can be found in most large stores, and they will help you organize the clutter in your home without losing sight of where you have put your things. – Good tip too..unless you keep all the bins in your garage and you have to shove them out of the way to get to the car door and then you forget what’s even in them and have to go buy new stuff that you thought you lost but really it’s in the bins in the packed garage. 
• Step 3
  Donate your clothes to a local charity. Each month, go through the clothes in your drawers, and in your closet, that you haven’t worn. Make a donation box or bag and take it with you the next time you run errands. -I once had a box of clothes for charity in the trunk of my car for 6 months. Once I took them in..they didn’t need them because they were for last season.
• Step 4
  Shred your documents. Make time each weekend to shred all of your sensitive documents from that week’s mail. Paper shredders can be purchased at any office supply store, and they come in many sizes to fit your needs. – Who in the world has time to do this weekly?!  I’m lucky if I even get all the mail opened weekly!
• Step 5
  Set a limit for yourself on the length of time you allow yourself to hold onto old magazines. No matter what, once your time limit has passed, toss the periodicals or give them to your local library. – I am a magazine junkie (to be covered in a later blog!)  I’m not giving away my magazines!!
• Step 6
  Leave the lids off of toy bins in the play room. A toy box is meant for play, and the lids will only limit what you can toss in when you organize the clutter. - Do kids put the toys back in the bins even when the lids are shoved behind the toy shelf without you threatening them that you’ll throw them away??

I start out staying on top of it – but by now, 10:00 pm, I’M DONE!  Let it be.  It will still be there in the morning and I’ll still hate it.  But, at least I won’t spend my only hour of the day to myself cleaning.  So the never ending cycle of cleaning and de-cluttering will start again in the morning.

What’s your best tip for staying clutter free or do you struggle with it everyday?

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