Tips For Organizing Your Holiday Festivities

Making a List – Checking it Twice…

If only our lists were this easy?  Making list and keep track of what you are doing, what you have done and what you still need to do can be your survival for the holidays. I will be referencing Christmas, because that is what I celebrate – please just insert your own holiday. Thanks!

Preparing your Home

*With decorations comes moving things around, rearranging and cleaning.
*As you go through your decorations this year. Look in that box. How many things have not come out of that box to use in years?  Hint- It’s ok to get    rid of it. Just because it is from Christmas’s ago…doesn’t mean you HAVE to keep it. Take a picture with it…and let it go. This will make more room  if someone gives you more decorations, or there is something you just have to have in the store this year.
*Cleaning and sorting as you put things out, makes putting them away that much easier.

Holiday Meals – Things to Think of

*Which big meals will you be preparing and on which dates?
*How many people will be there?
*What will you serve? Along with appetizers, side dishes, desserts and beverages.
*Make out your grocery list.
*Look for coupons (big meals can be expensive! – this is one expense that many people don’t think to budget into their holiday spending
*If people ask what they can bring, give them an answer – salad, appetizer, dessert. Don’t hesitate to let them help.

Christmas Parties

*Be sure to write any invites on your calendar with times to keep track.
*Be curious and RSVP  (so many people don’t do this anymore. Let the hostess know how many to plan for)
*Plan what you are going to wear ahead of time.
*Do you need a gift for a gift exchange? Put that on your list
*Plan babysitters early (and get one for New Year’s Eve now if you need one!)

Christmas Cards

*If you still send them (and I hope you do…. I do) then purchase your cards if you haven’t already.
*Update your address list.
*They are great to take with you to appointments – sit in the Dr. office waiting room and fill out your envelops!
*Buy your stamps.
*Fill out your cards. Personally I love the letters (I save and open those last when I get cards) – but at least a short note is appreciated to let people
know that you are actually thinking of them when you write your cards.
*If you are ordering a Christmas card with pictures, be sure to order SOON if you haven’t done so.

The Christmas Gift List

*Decide on your budget! (before you start buying)
*Make a list of all those you need to buy for
*Write down what you plan to buy them, or thoughts of what you’d think they would like if you don’t know specifics
*Watch for deals!
*Suggest no gifts, just time together (if possible). You may be surprised – other family members may thank you for this!

 

This was originally posted on Dec 2, 2010. I’m revitalizing it for this year.

Organizing for Christmas

Starting Early is the Key

There is a lot to do the month of December, so much that most of us can get really over whelmed.  Here is a list of things that I need to do.

Step One – Make Your List

1) Take Family Christmas picture
2) Order Christmas cards
3) Write Christmas letter
4) Send out cards
5) Shop for gifts
6) Decorate the house
7) Decorate the tree & inside
8) Wrap gifts
9) Schedule Christmas parties & events
10) Plan for family over night
11) Plan Christmas eve dinner & Christmas morning breakfast
12) Plan for five December kid’s birthdays
13) Travel to Bentonville for work

Step Two: Schedule each event

Use your calendar or paper and write down your timeline of when you plan to complete your project.

Step Three: Follow your list

Key – Start early.

We took our family Christmas picture at Thanksgiving when as many of my family members as were able, were home.

I just ordered our Christmas picture and they will come next week.

Shopping – I used to have my shopping completed really early, but not the last few years.   I just started my shopping this weekend. I didn’t go out for Black Friday shopping (another tradition that I didn’t do this year) but I did go out this weekend.  I still have a lot to do, but will try to have most of it completed by next weekend.

Wrapping – I normally don’t wrap as soon as I get the gifts. There are times I end up wanting to return something because I find it at a much better price or find something I like better. But I do wrap once I have my shopping completed.

We don’t have a Christmas party here, but we usually are invited to a few, so we have to be sure to get them on the calendar. Since we have all five of our kids birthday’s that still live at home, in December – there is more planning in respects to that.

The real key to having things go smoothly is planning
Don’t  wait until the last minute and don’t be scared to ask your family for help.

 

 

Organizing Your Schedule

Feel Like You Don’t Have Time?

We all seem to have schedules that are so over loaded, work, kids, cooking, cleaning, car pools, kids sports, etc…..

Do you often feel like you don’t know where your time goes?  Feeling over whelmed at all you have to do for the week and have no idea how to do it?

My son just started college a couple  weeks ago.  He is living at home (his choice) and working part time along with taking a full college load.  Some of his classes are in class on campus, others are online classes.

He has ADHD and although he has been functioning since his senior year in high school well without his medication, he was overwhelmed today with trying to figure out his schedule. He felt he didn’t have the time he needed to study, work and still have time with his girlfriend and friends.

We worked on a schedule to help him visualize where his free time was and how he could manage it.  Of course college has to be first priority. I have told him that work is secondary. Although he would like to be able to have some income (he is supposed to pay for his books, my ex husband and I are splitting tuition) so that he can take his girlfriend out and save for a car, pay for books etc….  I told him school is priority.  If he has to cut down on something (between school & work) then he needs to cut down on work. I will pick up the books etc. I want him to be able to succeed in college.

Here is the schedule I made up for him on excel.  It is something that is simple to make up and anyone can make one.  Of course you can do the same thing on your online calendar or go buy a planner, but for Tim, this was all he needed.  I told him we can print a new one up each week.  He seemed to really appreciate it.

Simple…. easy…. but extremely helpful.  Visualize Your Schedule!

I color coded it to make it easier to “see”
He has classes on the college campus on Mondays and Wednesdays – blue
He has already slotted out Tuesday to do his two internet classes. This will also be some study time for those classes and possibly his other two classes. That day is in green.
Work is Thursday, Friday and Sunday morning. – yellow
He can now see that he has free evenings every day, all day Saturday and most of Sunday free. It is just a matter of now deciding how much time he can make for his girlfriend and studying.

I printed a copy for him to take with him today as he went in search of a quiet study area at a local library. He will need a “clutter free” “low stimulus” area to study.

Often just being able to see something on paper was helpful to him (I know it is me). He can plan his study time and “play” time.

Transferring Clothes For The Season

Are You Ready For The Cold Weather?

The Changing of the Guards Clothes – Bring Out The Winter, Put Away the Summer!

This is not something I look forward to each season!  But it is something we need to do this week.  The kids have a couple days off school, so I thought it would be the perfect time to get it done.

The triplets are now old enough they can do most of it on their own, I just have to give instructions and follow up. (If I don’t, I will have one huge pile of clothes and they won’t know what they are keeping or getting rid of)

When we bring out the clothes from last year, there are some things that Alex can wear of Zach’s from last season. Even though they are triplets, Zach is about 5 inches taller than Alex and weights about 25 pounds more, so it does make it nice for handing down clothes.  The boys also have clothes that I have saved from Tim & Drew who are now 17 & 18.

8 Easy Steps to Transferring Clothes For The Season

1) Get your supplies ready. White (donate) and black (trash) trash bags, sharpie
marker, labels (sticky address labels work great, bins (clear are best).

2) Get out the winter clothes from storage.

3) Start in the kids rooms and pull out one drawer at a time. Determine with each
piece
* Will it fit someone in the family in the future? (If not donate)
* Is it in any condition to save? (If not then throw away, don’t donate clothes
that are torn, stained or are better for rags)
* Will the next child wear it? Was it worn at all this season? (Do they like it?)

4) Make piles.
* Save for next year
* Donate (white bag) – Doesn’t fit, they don’t like & won’t wear.
* Trash (black bag) – torn, stained, not in good enough shape to donate.

5) Go through the new season clothes and do the same thing as you put them away in
the kids drawers. Make sure they will fit your child this year and it is
something they will wear.

6) I prefer you use clear bins. Get ones that fit your space to store and latch closed. They will go from season to season.

7) Take the bins you have for next year and be sure to label them.
Put boy/girl, season and size on each label. For instance, Boy – Summer  - Size 10

8) Donate can be taken to friends who can use them, sold at a garage sale or resale
shop or taken to a facility such as Good Will.

Organizing School Papers

Simple Steps to Decrease the Paper Clutter

Papers from school can be harder to deal with than if someone came in and dumped a garage truck full of trash in your driveway. Why? Because they are personal! Your children did them, worked on them and created them. That is why so many mom’s have trouble getting rid of them. They just love to see what their child has accomplished.
So can you keep everything all your kids do from the time the start school until they finish? Sure…if you want to live in a trash zone or store them in a storage unit so they can rot in there.
No..of course you can’t, and better yet, there is no reason you should.

Should you keep a few special papers each year so that you can enjoy them and they can see them when they grow up? Certainly! But only a few.

Here is a guideline to help you decide what papers to keep and what to get rid of.

ONE PAPER PER MONTH PER CHILD.

How is that for simple? It gives you a limit, a guideline and a goal. Can you keep less than that….YES!!

But what if they have 1 really good picture that won a school coloring contest and then an A+ on their first big report, but they are in the same month? Ok…no problem, go back through the other months and decide on which one is not as important to keep as these.
So really it is 12 papers a year. Yes…you can use the summer months as a cushion.

• Don’t keep all the worksheets that they do.  – They are worksheets..just to learn.
• Look for the stories they wrote by themselves.
• Look for the pictures they did not trace, but drew themselves.
• Look for the reports they worked weeks on and were so proud of.

So what do you do with all the other pictures they drew, science fair projects with huge poster boards?

Take a picture!! Just like the above pictures. My triplets were thrilled to pose with their projects and loved that I liked them enough to take pictures of them. They don’t care if they don’t have that big poster shoved back in some cubby space in the basement anymore. They still have the memories..and that is all we need too.
You can scan them into your computer if small enough and you have the memory space on your computer.

You can create a photo book from some of these online places like Snapfish. Peter Walsh shared this idea on one of his Oprah shows. He said take pictures of their art work (you can put more than one of their pictures in the photo) and then at the end of each school year create one of these photobooks with their art work. There is room to write in the book accomplishments, teacher’s names, accomplishments for the year. This would be much nicer for them to have when they are older than a box full of papers.

You can have a bulletin board that you keep a special paper of the day or of the week on to showcase it if its a little special and they worked hard on it that week. This will make them feel proud. Then when you take it down, if its not that most special paper of the month…throw it away. (They do not need to see you physically throw it away, nor do you have to tell them – they will just be thrilled their new picture is up now.)

This one is in our basement, in the kids zone.  Since we made a bedroom on the other side of these basement steps, we wanted to do something to block looking under the steps.  We placed three bulletin boards to block the opening… and also to provide a place the kids could display any artwork or school papers they wanted to.

If you keep everything….then nothing will seem special!!

Keeping big boxes of papers to give your children is a burden not a gift. They have to deal with getting rid of all the papers you felt to guilty getting rid of.
Being handed one box of things that goes from k-12 is not so bad, and photo books would be even better.

Remember, it is not like you are saying your child isn’t special or you don’t like the work they do by throwing it away. But keeping everything is not feasible if you want to have a home that is comfortable and not cluttered.

 

This post was adapted from a post I did in 2009.

Donate Your Clutter!

Helping Others With Things You Don’t Use

I tend to donate most of my unused or unwanted things to the Good Will store in our town.  I have to admit it is the easy way out, but I got the most enjoyment when the kids and I went to our local nursing home and took them stuff animals we had.

Dave gets me stuff animals (I love to get them!) usually once a year or so for different occasions.  I  display one, maybe two of them on my dresser in my room and then store the others in a trunk at the end of my bed.

Elise, like many young girls had many stuffed animals that she was ready to give up.  We called the nursing home first and asked permission, and then took over several animals to hand out around Valentine’s Day.

It was a little uncomfortable for the kids and myself.  But it was a good uncomfortable. We were stepping out of our comfort zone, doing something we weren’t used to.  We had someone who walked us around and helped us decide which residences to give the stuffed animals to. I specifically asked for residents who did not have many vistors.

We had two different residents start crying. One kept saying… “Oh, this can’t be for me! This is too nice for me!” She began to cry and just hugged that stuffed animal.  I had a very difficult time not crying myself.

Wow…  the power in giving.

Think of all the things you have boxed up, packed up and hidden away.  Have you asked yourself why you are keeping it?

1. Keeping it for your kids?
2. Keeping it for memories?
3. Keeping it because you feel guilt?
4. Keeping it because you might use it one day?

I’m not saying to get rid of everything you have stored.  But I do want you to think about it.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. When was the last time you used it?
2. Is it something you can live without?
3. Is it something you think you will use each year? (holiday decorations, camping gear, skiing equipment)
4. Do you really need to keep it?
5. Could it benefit and help someone else, instead of being packed away in your house?

So you decide that you do need to get rid of some things, but how do you do it and who do you give it to?

First step it to go through and sort the items.  Decide what you need to keep and what you can give up.

Then decide where you can donate it.  Please only donate things that are in good shape.  No one wants your stained, torn or broken items.  When you take these items to a donation facility, they have to go through them. Guess what? They dispose of them. So help to save them some work.

Here are several suggestions:

1. Donate to a local shelter
2. Donate to a larger donation facility (Good Will, Kidney foundation etc)
3. Donate to your church or a local church that takes donations
4. Call your nursing home to see if they can use donations
5. Check the internet to see if there are any disaster areas that still need donations (tornado ravaged, or hurricane, earthquake areas)
6. Check with your local firehouse or city hall to ask if they know of any local residents who can use help.

If you feel that you can donate some things, but other things you can use some income for, here are a couple other ideas.

1. Have a garage sale
2. Take to a resale shop
3. Sell on eBay

I have had several people tell me that they have parents who have aged and have either a home that needs to be cleared out or  a storage facility that needs to be cleared out and they have no idea where to start.

You can start with a local Professional Organizer in your area.  They might have resources, or know of someone else that helps to take care of those kinds of situations.

Think of others

Think of the good that your item (that hasn’t been used, seen or thought about in years) might do for someone else

Donate your clutter! It will do a body good (yours and someone else’s!)

 

Some of you may recognize the pictures. I have done a previous post on donating to this nursing home.

Back To School Routine

Get Your Routine Set Before The First Day of School

Are you ready for school to start?  My best advice to you is decide what your morning routine is going to be, in advance of school starting?  Make a chore board… or routine board.

Why? Because once the hectic mornings begin, it will be hard to change habits.

Here are my suggestions for a morning routine.

Morning Routine

1) Get up at least 15 minutes earlier than you “think” you need to. There will always be a glass of spilled milk or a “melt down” when you least expect it.
2) Have a “chore board” or “morning routine board” if needed to help your child remember their morning routine.
3) PREPARE the night before!!!
* Pack lunches or lunch money
* Lay out clothes
* Have book bags ready to go
* Homework inside in the bookbags
* Library books inside the bookbags (you get the point)
* Take your shower the night before if possible.
* Have breakfast planned and table set

After School Routine Tips

1) Routine…Routine….Routine. (kids need it)
2) Book bags emptied when they come in the door. Have a specific spot for their papers where you can go through them.
3) Snack
4) Homework time (don’t delay it, get it over with..they are still in school mode..not play mode yet.)
5) Have a quiet place, with low stimulus for homework. Desk in their room without tv, or a kitchen table.
6) Put their book bags away in a set spot. Hooks on the back of a door can work great.

It isn’t hard to establish a routine, but don’t expect your children to do it.  You need to do it for them.  Once you get it going…within a couple of weeks it will be habit to them.  They won’t think anything of it – kids need routine.

Your days will go much smoother with just a few rules put in place. Believe me… I’ve been there.. done that (I have 3 adult sons….remember?

 

Five Steps to Start Organizing

Organizing Broken Down Into Five Steps

Organizing can be broken down into five main steps. Organizing a desk, room or home can be completely overwhelming. Where do you start? What do you do with everything? How much will it cost?

So often we don’t do anything because we don’t know how to do it, or it seems too “big” to do anything. But to do nothing accomplishes nothing.

Step 1: Pick your target zone.

Decide what area you want to work on first. Don’t say, my whole house. More like; I want to work on the desk in the corner of the family room. The hard part when you get sorting is to stick to that target zone. You can’t take an item into another room to put away, because then you will see something in that room that you want to move and you will lose focus.

Step 2: Set an appointment on your calendar to start your project.

Try to give yourself at least 2 hours to start your project. Hopefully if you haven’t started too big you can finish. Take “before” pictures. When you finish and take your “after” pictures, it will help to keep you motivated to not let it get back the way it was before.

Step 3: Have your supplies ready to start.

Do not go out and buy a bunch of organizational products. You do not know what you are going to need yet. You may have it somewhere in your home.
I suggest getting
1) Black trash bags for trash
2) White trash bags for donate (so you don’t throw away your donate bags.)
3) Boxes or clear bins
4) Labels – masking tape can do the job and a sharpie marker.
5) Your sorting lists

Step 4: Make Sorting Lists

Just get any piece of paper and a marker and write this on each one:
1) KEEP – Love it, wear it, use it, Can’t live without it
2) DONATE- Don’t like it or use it, doesn’t fit, it is still in good shape.
3) MOVE – It doesn’t belong in this room
4) STORE – Seasonal items, occasional use like camping or skiing equip etc.
5) TOSS – Trash, torn, broken, missing pieces, not in any shape for anyone to use.

Step 5: Start Sorting

Each item in the space needs to be decided on. You have to make fast decisions. Give yourself about 5-10 seconds for each thing. Do not sit and recall memories for each item, or start looking at old pictures. When you do that you are “personalizing” that item. The goal here in order to get through these things is to “depersonalize” the items.  For some extra help, you can read my post on the 5 steps for sorting

 

How To Organize Photos

How Do You Organize Your Digital Pictures?

Digitally Organizing Photos

Just as in real life, digitally we need to be organized.  You may wonder why, since there isn’t any physical clutter associated with our computer or laptop.  But we can still have “clutter” on our computers.  Photographs can be a big culprit.  Do you load your pictures onto your computer and forget them?  Can you find them when you need them, or do you just have to scan, scan, scan until you see it?   There are some simple ways to make browsing and sharing your photos easy.

5 Ways to Organize Your Photos Digitally

Step 1: Up Load

Load your pictures onto your computer.  There are many applications you can use  on your computer (ie: iphoto, picasa, photoshop)  but pick one and try to stick to it.  Do not use several different ones on your computer and have your pictures in several different locations.

Step 2: Sort

Just as in real life, we need to “sort” our things, and in this case pictures.  You do not need to keep ALL the pictures you take.  With digital cameras we tend to take a lot more pictures than we used to.  It is alright to delete a picture!  If you have 15 pictures of the same subject. Pick the best one, or maybe 2 and delete the rest.  Remember, these pictures can be copied, shared and saved – so you can break away from the “running out of syndrome”.  You don’t ever have to run out of copies of a digital picture.   Keep your best ones and delete the blurry ones, or ones where you cut off the top of someone’s head.

Step 3: Label

Label your pictures.  Try to do this as soon as you upload them onto your computer.  You have the best memory of the event soon after it happens. Add dates, people’s names, events and thoughts.

Here are some other labeling methods

Face recognition: You can label a photo via faces with some computers. (this is from iphoto on Mac)  If there are people in the photo you label a square that is around their face with their name. Your computer photo software then remembers this face and recognizes it in subsequent photos so labeling becomes easier.  The person who views the photo later can place their cursor over the picture and the persons name appears.  Here is a picture of what a Face folder may look like in your computer.

Step 4: Separate

Separating your photos into folders enables you to find them quick and easily.  If you just have all your pictures loaded but not separated in any way, you can be searching forever for a particular photo.

Here is an example of folders from a PC.  But I have all the folders labeled and dated for fast and easy referencing.

This is iphotos folder method.  I used to have a PC and loved how I organized it.

I like having the picture on the front of the folder along with labeling below. As you use the scroll bar to scroll down the pictures you also get the letter of the category you are on. I have mine in alphabetical order.  But it can be more difficult to access these pictures when you are wanting to use a picture for a blog post or to put on Facebook. The text labeling do not show up on that screen.

You can separate your photos into broad events:

Holidays, sports, Vacations

Or you can separate them into more specific events (this is my preferred method)

Christmas 2009, Thanksgiving 2008, Youth Football 2006, San Antonio Vacation 2010

You can separate your folders by dates, events, alphabetically or by place.  That is up to you. But which ever method you chose, be sure you can find your pictures fast and easy.

Step 5: Share and Store

Sharing your photos is what taking pictures is all about. There are so many avenues to sharing with social media today; Facebook, Flicker, Kodak Gallery, E-mail, being able to find your pictures easily  makes sharing them a breeze.

The m-series Kodak cameras even have a Share feature on them. You can mark how you want your photos shared, (Facebook, Kodak Gallery, email) and when you connect your camera to your computer they are automatically sent.

Store – Back up those photos! Be sure to not store your photos on your camera, get them off your camera and onto your computer to use them. But be sure to back them up with flashdrives, external hard drives or an off-site back up company so that you do not have to worry if your computer crashes or is stolen.

Digitally organizing your photos is not hard.  It does take a little extra time when you initially load your pictures onto your computer. But that time will be made up ten-fold when you want to find a picture later.  As with any organizing project, maintenance is required. (But well worth it!)

I originally  wrote this post for Kodak last year.

Book Review

The Parents Guide To Uncluttering Your Home – by Janet Morris Grimes

I was actually featured in this book!  So doing a book review on it is kind of easy.  I don’t know if it is totally an unbiased opinion though.  Actually it is, I’ll be honest. Even if I was featured, if I didn’t think the book was a good one, I wouldn’t mention it to you.

Janet contacted me last year asking for some tips or ideas for her book;  The Parents Guide To Uncluttering Your Home.   She kept me updated as to the books progress.  I would love to say I’m the only Professional Organizer featured in the book…. but I’m not. There are several organizers who were also featured!

This book is packed full of info. She goes through the different areas of your home and helps with all the different aspects of organizing it.

I like that she uses humor to discuss some things.  Chapter 2 talks about your stuff owning you.  That can be SO true.  I worked with a client who “needed” a 5,000 sq ft home even though he lived by himself, because he wouldn’t have room for all his stuff if he lived anywhere smaller.  Honest.  I would try to tell him that he could feel so much freer in a smaller place with less “stuff”.  Believe me, oh… believe me, I helped to to clear out  a LOT of stuff over the year I worked with him.  But it did make me a bit sad how important his “things” were to him.

I like that she has a room by room guide to help you think through things that you can do to help declutter an area.  For instance she mentions the stacks of mail.  Her plan of action for that is to have a mail sorter for incoming and out going mail.   Things can be simple, but often not everyone thinks the same way and it might be a new idea for them.

She brings in the organizers for her Case Study sections of the book.  Look .. that’s me!

My section goes onto the next page. Yes.. I turned down the page where I was featured. (I know, some of you are cringing… “You page turner downer!” lol

Janet Morris Grimes wrote this book. She moved from a large home down to a very small one and organization was a necessity.  (sounds familiar!)

 

Having some guidance to help you clear your head is important.  Reading a book about how to do it, getting different ideas from others… just make sense.  Sometimes when you are too close to something, you can’t process logically.

You can find this book on Amazon here: The Parent’s Guide to Uncluttering Your Home: How to Organize What You Need and Recycle What You Don’t (Back-To-Basics)

 

I was sent a copy of this book since I was one of the organizers featured.  I was not asked to do a review on my blog about it. I am doing that because I like the book…. and I wanted to brag about being in it.  lol Well, come on, it’s not every day that I get featured in someone’s book.  The pictures and opinions are my own. The link is my Amazon affiliate link.

 

Kitchen Storage

Five Kitchen Organizing Tips

Part of having a kitchen that functions well for you is having it planned out properly.  I wanted to give you a few of my tips for planning out your kitchen so that it flows well.  You can have each cupboard organized, but if you have your dishes in with your food and your oven mitts way across the kitchen from your oven… then it isn’t going to function and flow smoothly.

1) Plan Your Space – Have Kitchen Zones

Be sure to keep zones in mind when planning where things belong in your kitchen.

Cooking/Oven zone – Think hot food on the stove & what you’ll need.

1) Have your oven mitts within reach of the oven.
2) Have pots and pans by the oven
3) Keep spices near by
4) Stove utensils such as spatulas, tongs, large stirring spoons etc.

Dishes Zone – Think setting the table and unloading the dishwasher

1) Have your dishes between your dishwasher and table if possible.
2) Have your silverware near your dishes
3) Keep your glasses in this same area

Baking/Meal Preparation Area  – Think making dinner and baking a cake

1) Have your flour, sugar, baking soda in this area
2) Have your mixer, measuring cups, mixing bowls near each other
3) It should be near the pantry and refrigerator if possible.

Peter Walsh describes in his book, It’s All Too Much, the kitchen “magic triangle” as the area formed by the sink, oven and refrigerator. He calls this area “sacred ground where the focus is food prep, serving and clean up takes place.  (I’m cursed lucky enough to have a galley kitchen – 2 long rows)

He also discusses zones, but he divides them into four zones: Preparation area, cooking center, eating area and clean up area.  Maybe that is easier for you to think in those terms.

2) Keep What You Use

Don’t keep everything!  You may get plastic cups from every restaurant you go to, but how many can you use? Is the cupboard over flowing?

Sort  into Piles

Go through any cupboard in your kitchen. Take everything out. Sort it.  If you have not used that item in the last 1-2 months put it in one pile. Everything in the “used frequently” pile goes back in for sure.

Now go through that pile of items you have not used in the last 2-3 months.  Go through it again. If you have not used that item in the last year then it sure go for sure. (If it is something like the electric knife that your husband wants at Thanksgiving – put it in the Thanksgiving bin that is in storage. Same with the pumpkin carving tools or Christmas only item.)
Things that you have used in the last year, but not often you need to evaluate.

3) Keep Like with Like

Keep items together that go together.  Baking items in the same cabinet. Dishes together etc.

If you don’t use it in the kitchen – take it out of the kitchen!  The kids baseballs  don’t go in the kitchen.

4) Use Your Space Wisely

Make good use of your space.  Use the cabinet doors & walls – I showed you how easy it can be with the command hooks. No excuses that you are renting or you have melamine and you can’t screw into it.

You can use wire racks to greatly improve the space.  Look at the space in your cabinet.  How much room is above that bottom layer on the shelf.  Is there enough room for a 2nd layer?  If so… use it!

Think under the cabinets, back of the door, wall space (shelves)   Be creative

5) Have routine food checks and clean outs

Mark on your calendar at least every 6 months to clean and reorganize your pantry and refrigerator/freezer.

Check for out dated food items.  Make sure things like flour and sugar, boxes of pancake mix, instant potatoes and Bisquick mix are in sealed containers and if not, be sure there are no bugs.

If you have any problems with mice (it’s not unusual especially if you live in rural areas…. mice want to get warm in the winter too. lol)then be sure that you always keep your food in sealed mouse proof containers.  Check frequently your cabinets and silverware drawers for any signs of mice (their poo!) and if you see signs of them… work on getting rid of the mice, but be sure to wash out all those items and sanitize the drawer before you put anything back in.

If it is a big problem with mice, then I would suggest that you even keep your silverware and dishes in plastic storage containers in the cabinets.

Our farm that is about 45 minutes from our house has an older house and we do get mice off and on different times of the year.  So I have to keep a close eye on dishes etc.

Do you have your kitchen divided into “zones”?  Does it flow easily from preparing a meal to clean up?

I Love Your Comments!

Food Storage Containers

Organize Those plastic food containers!

Having to always nest the bowls inside each other to make room…  it works but it is hard to get everyone to put those food storage containers  back where they have to go.  I mean really… actually lean down and pick up a couple bowls to put the larger one underneath? You jest! lol

This is what my “used to be organized” plastic storage containers cabinet looks like now.

Before

The lids are the killers too.. aren’t they?  Trying to find a lid to fit that food storage container.

So let’s get started.

Step 1: (You know it don’t you)  Clean Them All Out of the Cabinet

Clean the cabinet now and if you have contact paper to put down, this is a great time to do it.

Step 2: Sort

Go through and match up all your bowls and lids.  Actually try the lids on the bowls because sometimes they warp and don’t work anymore. But what do we usually do when we are looking for a lid? We grab it…. try it… it doesn’t work. Do we toss it then? Nope, we throw it back in (as if it will at some point change and actually start working later?)

If there is something you don’t use because you don’t like it – then get rid of it! Why are you keeping it if you don’t use it and you don’t like it?  Because it was an impulse buy and you think you might use it? Give it to someone who will use it. You will gain the empty space!

I will bet you that you will end up having odd and end lids and bowls.  Here is what I ended up getting rid out of my own food storage cabinet.  I’m also getting rid of the bowl because I’ve been using it to store lids, not as a food storage bowl.

Step 3: Put your organizing tools in place.

You may have to just play around and see how things will work.  I had a lid organizer and also grabbed a couple other wire organizers I had to see if they would work or not. Of course this doesn’t see like I would be able to use it does it?  It is meant to hang underneath another wire shelf. It won’t hang under a wooden one. But wait…. !

What about using it this way…

I had this lid organizer from Tupperware that I had never put on a door. I used it, as it also can be free standing – but it was kind of bulky. I used the hooks and it was finally up!

I also had some more of the wire racks that I bought in the bundles at Old Time Pottery. I got out my handy dandy new best friends the Command Hooks to help.  I was winging this folks!  It can be a trial and error kind of thing.
I put one of them up and realized that the lids were falling through the wire racks. So… I had to figure out something to create a base.  I had it!

A little creativity!  I created a base so that the lids wouldn’t fall through.

But after I got it up I realized that there was another issue.  The lids could still fall back behind the rack. See that space?  So… had to figure out something else.

I needed to make a back shelf too. So…more duct tape!

It is a little hard to see but I pulled a piece up higher in the back. It worked!

I did this to the three wire racks I was going to hang (although I did run out of duct tape for the last bottom rack, but that was ok.)

Step 4: Load your plastic food storage containers back into the cabinet.

I decided to try and match up the lids and containers since I had more room (with the hanging racks). I didn’t do them all this way, but most all of the smaller ones I did.  I love it. It will be so easy to just grab a container now and not have to dig for the lid.

On the left door I loaded the lids of the containers that I didn’t have matched up and put them into the lid organizer from Tupperware.

Then on the inside wall I had one more wire rack available, so I put it up too.  I actually first put it on the left side and before I did, I held it in place and closed the door and it closed. But loaded, it did not. So I took it down (easy enough with those command hooks) and moved it to the other side. I had to put it in a specific spot in order to close… but it worked out fine.

**  Be sure to check that everything will close when you are adding any kind of hanging racks in your cabinets!

This is the one I ran out of duct tape for.  I do have lime green and hot pink duct tape… but I thought that might look a bit strange. lol

Here is the rack in the back.  With these lids I grouped them together and placed them underneath for easy grab-ability! The things on the bottom I don’t use as often.

I’m amazed at how much extra room I have!

Here is the top shelf. I put the matching lids underneath. Then I had a couple odd ball containers that I nested inside the others and I did put the lids on those.

I placed half of the bowls on the left.  The strainer and the two larger bowls. I’m hoping breaking them up will help in being able to put them back away easier.

In the back I put the plastic drink containers. I have one more glass one in the refrigerator, so I made sure to leave space for that. The larger plastic lids for the bowls I had to place on this side. When I put the underneath the larger bowls, it lifted them up too much and it hit the door organizer.

I love just being able to grab a quick little container!

Here is half of the cabinet.

So are you ready to see the whole thing?

Let’s review!

Before!

After

OMG… I am so excited!  Just adding those racks and matching up the lids (and getting rid of a few) it will be SO much easier to find things in here!

This was a very inexpensive fix. (most of mine are).  I got the command hooks which I think I paid $6.50 for a pack of 9 of them. (I used 11 in here). I had the back wire rack, but they are not expensive (under $6 I would guess)  The lid organizer I don’t remember, it is from Tupperware and I had it from before, but I’m sure there are others similar to it. The other 3 wire racks were in a 3 pack that came from Old Time Pottery. They were $9.99 for the 3 pack. I bought 2 packs when I bought them. I used 2 of the different styles in here, and the 3rd that came with the pack was the one that you could put taller things in like I used under the sink for the spray bottles. The colored duct tape was under $5. But you could modify any of these, and I’m sure find them for less.

Hope you like it! I know I’m excited. lol

Now… I want to see YOUR plastic food storage cabinets!! The good, the bad and the ugly!

I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until April 16, 2011. My link party is always open to any of your organizing projects, it doesn’t have to be kitchen!

I Love Your Comments!

I am linking this blog post up to these lovely blogs!

A bowl full of lemons – One Project at a Time
Handy Man, Crafty Woman – Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Organize and Decorate Everything - We’re Organized Wednesday
Blue Cricket Design – Show and Tell Wednesday
The Thrifty Home – Penny Pinching Party
I’m an Organizing Junkie – 52 Weeks

Pots and Pans

Organize Your Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchen cupboard organizing can be tricky.  Usually we find ourselves with too many pots and pans and not enough storage for them.   There are many solutions.  If you have the space and nice enough looking pans you can get a pot hanger and hang them for some kitchen decor.

I’ll show you what I did to reorganize my pots and pans.

Before

I use the pan protectors inbetween my pans to try and protect them. I have my George Foreman Grill and crock pot in the back.

I wanted to find a solution for storing our large pancake griddle.  Right now I am keeping it in the bottom drawer of the washing machine! I know.. crazy huh?

Step 1:  Clear everything out and clean the shelves

Step 2: Sort

What do you need?  Look at that item and ask yourself:

1) Have you used it in the last year?  Do you like it?
2) Is the surface of the pan intact (teflon shouldn’t be scratched or peeling)
3) Do all the lids fit pans? Do you have any old lids or damaged lids you don’t use, but have kept?

If there are pots and pans that are in good shape, but you don’t use them or like them – donate them. Anything else may be able to be recycled.

Step 3: Put in organizing items if you have them.

I had 2 lid organizers that mounted to the inside cabinets from my old house.  I never used them because I thought we were moving and didn’t want to lose them.
I also had a white white wire rack that I had used at some point. I got those 3 things and my handy dandy 3M Command Strips (so love these now!) and went to work.

I used the Command Hooks to mount the lid organizers to the inside of each door.

The other side

I did find that some of the lids did not work well in this.  The two larger lids for my orange pots and pans did not both fit. They kept falling forward.  I was able to use one of the lids. The other one I put on the pan it went with.

After

Here is the final product!  See the wire rack I put in the back?  I was able to put the smaller pans on that shelf.

I put all my Rachel Ray pans on the left. They are the most used and pans of choice.  Notice I tried to turn the handles so they would be easy to get out of the cupboard.  I also tried to do minimal nesting of the pans.

I also had the red pan that I reviewed and really love, but it was a single and we also use it frequently. So I put up another hook and hung it on the wall.

Be careful if you are putting something on the wall or the door of your cabinets.  Be sure that you can close them easily when they are on there.

I put the lids on my two dutch ovens and put them on the upper shelf

I still had room for my crock pot on the top shelf and my George Foreman on the bottom.

Now that I have all those lids out of the bottom drawer of the stove… what do you think I did with that?

Yep! It fit great.  It will be so much nicer than using the washing machine drawer. lol
Ok…. time for you to tackle your pots and pans!!  I want to see your before and after pictures!

I Love Your Comments!

I liked this post up to these lovely blogs

A bowl full of lemons – One Project at a Time
I’m an Organizing Junkie - 52 Weeks

3M Command Hooks

More Uses in Your Pantry

Once I got the Command Hooks from 3M out and used them for storing under the sink items, I started thinking of other areas I could use them.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not so good with a drill.  I will just hammer in a nail anywhere. I’ll look for a stud… but if it isn’t where I want the item to go…. so be it. (no stud)

These little hooks give me some freedom (and no…this is not a review, I didn’t get these from 3M and no one is asking me to write this….)  to hang away!

Here is another view of my pantry… and I have added a couple of things.  See the wire rack with the vegetable sprays and salad dressings?

That is new…. I didn’t have a drill….. but I did have 3M Command Hooks. (I feel like they are a super hero or something!… there is an idea for you 3M…. the Command Hook super hero….comes to the rescue! – I want credit for that one!)

The wire rack I got at Old Time Pottery. (Watch for a gift card give away coming from them soon too on my site!!  yippee!!)  It came as a set of 3 different little wire racks like this.
Here is how I hung it.

Then below I hung the grill tools on them too.

Previously I had the grill tools on thumbtacks and they would fall out frequently.

It has been working great! Love it.

I also used one of them to hang my fly swatters. We live not real far from an egg farm and certain times of the year the flies can get really bad.  (They haven’t been as bad the last couple years as when I first moved here 5 years ago..oh my was that bad!)

This hangs right behind my trash can. So people always know where it is.

I’d love for you to share any uses you can think of or have used some kind of hooks for. It doesn’t have to be the Command hooks… I just think hooks can be so useful!

I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until April 9, 2011, but don’t worry, if you finish your kitchen, pantry or label projects after that… my link party is always open to any of your organizing projects!

I Love Your Comments!

Chalkboard Food Labels

Chalkboard Labels For Your Pantry Baskets

I got my labels completed for my pantry baskets…. I told you I was going to do them!

There are so many uses for this chalkboard contact paper.  I have several other things in mind!

But I want to show you how I made these simple labels for my baskets in my pantry.

I took some of my old business cards (they are such a good size for so many things) and used those for the basis of the chalkboard labels for the baskets.

I cut the chalkboard contact paper so that it would go over the sides just a bit and would fold back and cover the entire card.

When I fold it over I make sure to make a crisp edge and I smooth it out so there aren’t any air bubbles or creases in it.

Then I trim the short edge of the card. I do pinch the edge so that the contact paper adheres to itself to seal the edge.

I used the hole punch and punched a hole in the center top so I can hang it.

Simple enough

I used the same color chalkboard marker and basic design so that they matched the jar labels I made and showed you yesterday.

I looked for twine to tie the labels on, but evidently we didn’t have any. I found some fishing line and decided that would actually work really well.

It won’t show much and it will take care of the problem I worried about … getting through the thin basket weave.

And it looks like this:

I was pleased how they turned out… what do you think?

One of the other little things I did was to use these little buckets that I hung from my wire over the door can holder.

Remember I mentioned that I didn’t like the baggie that was holding the chip clips in my pantry? That I was sure there was something cuter?  I decided this was cuter!

I had a 2nd bucket that I used and wasn’t sure what to put in it….. but had an onion sitting on the pantry shelf and thought… ok.. done!

So of course I made labels for these pails too.  I used the business card as the stencil and cut out a piece of the chalkboard contact paper.  I wrote the name on it with the markers and stuck it on the side of the bucket.

I think they turned out cute too… don’t you?

Adding little touches like this, makes your pantry look a little cuter, but it also makes it functional by letting the family know where to put things away.

And of course that makes me happy!!
You can find the Chalkboard Contact Paper, 18″ x 6′ and the markers I used Liquid Chalk – Works like a Marker Dries like Chalk – Set of 8 Earthy Colors at the two links I have here. They are affiliate links, but that’s not why I’m giving them to you. I had a hard time finding both products and thought I’d make it a little easier for you all.

If you have already made some kind of labels for your baskets or pantry  I’d love to see them!
I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until April 9, 2011, but don’t worry, if you finish your kitchen, pantry or label projects after that… my link party is always open to any of your organizing projects!

I Love All Your Sweet Comments

I linked this post up to these link parties

Organizing Under the Kitchen Sink

Do You Keep Everything Including Part Of The Kitchen Sink Under Your Sink?

It can be difficult to organize underneath your kitchen sink because you have to deal with the plumbing and disposal underneath it.

Under The Sink Before:

My previous organizing used some odds and ends baskets.  I have an old ice container on the far left.   There are several cleaning gloves, cleaners, fire extinguisher, and other odds and ends on this side.

On the other side I have the plastic container that is supposed to be hung that holds plastic bags.  The wire basket used to hang on the door of another house under the kitchen sink.

Step 1: Clear everything out from under the sink

I have officially decided I do not like the shelf liners that are not contact paper.  I decided to try them for the first time…because that is mainly what I find now and “everyone else is doing it”.  lol  I have this style and also that bumpy kind of padded open holed shelf liner (do you know what I mean?)  It pulls up, I’m constantly trying to smooth it down. Obviously here, you can see how well it looks.  Ugh!  This is going in the trash.

Step 2: Clean the empty cabinet

Clean out your cabinet while you have it empty.  I would have liked to have put down contact paper, but I didn’t have any and did not have plans or time to get it today. What is frustrating is that I spent a lot of money on all the shelf liner I bought just a few months ago when I got my new kitchen.

Today I will leave it plain, without any liner.

Step 3: Sort through your items and get rid of things you don’t use, that are old or expired or need to go else where.

I had two Soft Scrubs and two powdered cleaners. I kept one of each here, and moved the others to one of the bathroom cabinets.  I also had a couple odds and ends that I didn’t use anymore that I disposed of.

Step 4: Replace the items that you are going to keep, things you will use.

I ended up going back to Old Time Pottery and buying a couple more of the plastic baskets for my refrigerator. The red ones fit, but they were just big enough that if you didn’t make sure they were pushed all the way back, then the refrigerator door wouldn’t shut.  I was just a little concerned about the kids remembering to watch for that, and didn’t think it was worth taking the chance of having spoiled food.  So… I had 2 of the large red baskets to play with.

The other red plastic basket did not fit on the other side of the cabinet.  It wasn’t too tall to fit under the disposal, but with all the tubing under there, it did not work. I cleaned out the other little red basket that I had been using and used it for the right side.

Step 5: Utilize as much space as you are able.

I could stack baskets or get some kind of wire shelves to make a 2nd level, but I don’t happen to need that kind of space. I do however, have several things that I planned to hang on the doors.

My problem now is double fold:

1) My husband isn’t home to hang these items for me
2) When I look at the doors of the cabinets, the items I wanted to hang aren’t going to fit properly. There is a ridge in the inside of the door and the items I wanted to hang aren’t wide enough. ugh!

So…. I needed to think of something else because I was determined to get this completed today!
Here is what I figured out and I am thrilled with it!!

Enter….. Command hooks by 3M (this is not a review for them by the way)

I had a few packs of different sizes of hooks.  I used these sticky hooks and hung this wire rack I got at Old Time Pottery.

It worked perfect for the cleaners I use most often in the kitchen.

Be sure that you can close the door with the placement of anything on the door.

I’m really excited that I was able to get this done!  If this doesn’t hold, I’ll let you know that you might need stronger hooks.

Now I’m excited to try the other door.

I want to see if these hooks will work to hold up this bag holder.

I was able to mount the bag holder, now to try the wire basket.

That worked also. I put cleaning tools in it. If you knew how excited I was!!

I have one more thing I have to figure out a solution for. I  have 2 pair of rubber gloves. I tried just laying them in the basket on the door (no, too bulky). I tried them in the big red plastic basket, but again they just looked junky.

So….. I decided to use the hook solution again. But how I got them to stay up was my new dilemma.  But….I came up with an idea that I think will work well for the long run.

Check this out!  I used a binder clip to hold the pair of gloves together and then hung that from one of the Command hooks.

So this is what I ended up with.

I used the inside of the cabinet to hang the gloves.

Here is what it looks like:

Here is the whole cabinet

After Organizing

Looks a little better doesn’t it?  I love that I was able to use those Command hooks and put up the things I wanted on the inside of my cabinet doors.
Now I want to see underneath Your Kitchen sinks!
I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until April 9, 2011 to link to, so you have time to work on your pantry and refrigerator

I LOVE your comments

I’m linking up to these blog parties

A Bowl Full of Lemons -  One Project at a Time
House of Grace – Twice Owned Tuesday
Thrifty Decor Chick – Before and After Party
Tip Junkie - Tip Me Tuesday
Handy Man, Crafty Woman – Wicked Awesome Wednesday
I’m an Organizing Junkie – 52 Weeks

Organize Your Pantry

Pantries Always Need Maintenance

Mine included!  I don’t have a problem organizing my pantry, but with 6 other people in the house, the problem is keeping it organized!

I have my own ideas of where things should be kept. The problem is, that the rest of my family have their own ideas too….. any open area of the pantry is open game IF they are going to put something back into it.

Here is what my pantry looked like:

Before:

Let’s look a little closer.  This is the upper level.  The medicine bins.  Notice off to the left? There is a loaf of bread! Wait…. we have a bread drawer. We don’t ever keep bread in the pantry (ugh)

If you look here you see a cereal box that is on the can rack, pancake syrup in a couple places, two bags of raisens..both opened! Drives me crazy. lol

As an organizer (for those of you who share my passion… or affliction will know how I feel) I have to realize that I can’t control everything in my house.  When I try and I can’t, it only brings frustration.

Here is the lower level down onto the floor.  What? You don’t keep your cereal on the floor?

Here is the plan of attack!  Clean Everything Out Of The Pantry

Go through and check expiration dates

I’ll bet you’ll find some expired items.  This one was expired Feb of 2010!

If you have baskets you want to group things together.  Like with like!

It is ok to take things out of boxes if you need to save room.  We had lose Kool-Aides all over. We get bottled water for the kids for lunch and have the powdered individual drink mixes they can take if they want. I think we had like 4 different flavored boxes opened. So I but the correct flavors together and rubber-banded them together. Same with the Kool-aide and hot cocoa mixes

I keep my some of my medicines in my pantry and I went through those too.  You can read my previous posts where I got rid of expired medications and labeled them and organized them.

Before you put anything back into the pantry, clean it!

Decide how you can make some extra room in your pantry

I don’t have much room in my pantry. So I stretched what I had without having to spend a lot of money.  I have previously purchased extra shelves that I put on the floor

Also up on top of the top rack to use some of that extra space on top. You can see my “fix” on how to put wire rack on top of wire rack.  Of course I am not recommending this method… it is very crude, but I had the lids I wasn’t using and they worked.  It would be best to use a board over the shelf, but I had these at the time I did this and not a board.

You Don’t Have To Have The Perfect Designer Magazine Cover Pantry!

I LOVE the separate labeled jars and plastic tubs for everything when I see pictures of pantries. But for me, this is not a practical solution for my pantry (I’ve done it before – remember I’m 51 years old and I’ve already raised my 4 boys, so I have tried many different organizing techniques over the years) .

Why I Don’t Use Separate Labeled Storage Containers In My Pantry

1) I frequently had extra of something that didn’t fit into the jar (then you have a box or bag)
2) You buy a different kind of chip & don’t want to mix them, but you already have 2 jars with chips…so you now have the bag of chips too.
3) Moving those beautiful jars out of the pantry all the time to get things for the kids eventually means broken jars (I know!)
4) The family doesn’t appreciate the effort you put into separating items, and they will just shove everything into the pantry if they put groceries away.
5) Trying to keep it up is time consuming and other than the oohs and ahhs of my friends, it didn’t really fill a practical need – other than the feel good appearance it gave me.

I wanted to let you know… it is ok to leave your cereal in a box or bag... it is ok to leave your chips in a bag with a chip clip. You can still be organized without all the fancy.  Heck, you can use boxes  to make baskets like my green ones if you like.

Jars on the Counter
I am going to do is to get a couple jars for my counter for some of our daily use items. My husband’s oatmeal that he eats daily and the brown sugar he puts in it.  Also one for coffee and a cookie jar.  Maybe not the traditional flour and sugar, but I don’t bake a ton and I would rather have out the items we use frequently on my counter.

Labels
I am also going to make cute labels for the baskets. Again, you don’t have to do this step, and your labels don’t have to be fancy, but in general labels do help. (although many times you will just decide that no one in your family actually can read!) I’ll show you the labels once I get them done. I’m going to do them with chalkboard contact paper and chalk board markers I got.

I also use the sides of the walls.  To hang grilling utensils on the left wall and I have a baggie that I hang on the right wall for chip clips. (Again, I’m sure there is a much cuter solutions for this)

I also have an over the door can holder that helps hold more cans.

Once you have cleaned the pantry and sorted the expired food out – Start reloading!

I purchased these baskets at Old Time Pottery. I spotted them and thought they’d be great. They are plastic so I can wash them. They have handles for easy pulling out and they are sturdy.  I paid $8.99 for the large ones down to $4.99 for small ones.  Plus I loved the colors!

As I was putting things back in, I tried several different arrangements with the baskets.  So don’t think there is one solution and one solution only!  I might even realize I don’t like having the baskets. It is all trial and error.

There will be times that you will realize after you have organized…. that the system you put in place just really isn’t working like you planned.  Don’t beat yourself up over it.  It happens to the best of us. Just redo it. No problem.

AFTER

I put the medications in a new basket along with the paper plates, plastic silverware and napkins. The things we don’t use or need to get to as often.

Here is our cereal basket.

I also made a snack basket.

I have used an extra shelf here, but this one hangs from the wire above.  It works great for cans to utilize that extra space.

I have one of the smaller baskets that just holds the peanut butter and one of my favorites and my step son’s favorites… Marshmallow cream.  We normally have a larger jar of peanut butter, so this size isn’t too big.

I also used a basket on the ground for the bottled water for the kids lunches. I had previously purchased the clear smaller baskets with handles from The Container Store. I did have the medicines in them. I am using them for lunch snacks (fruit cups etc) and envelop mixes, Ramon Noodles and powdered drink mixes.

Again…. just to refresh….  BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Your turn to organize your pantry! I want to see what you have done.  And YES on those of you who do the ultimate organization for your pantry… I LOVE them and LOVE to look at them. I’m not saying the jars and containers are bad…. if they work for you and your family… more power to you (jealous) … but please share!!

I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until April 9, 2011  to link to, so you have time to work on your pantries!

I LOVE your comments!

I’m linking up to these blogs:

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Reasons To Skip The Homework

Purse Organizing – The pouchee (Part 2)

Having A Purse Organizer Can Make It Much Easier To Keep Your Purse Organized

I found the pouchee purse organizer several years ago and liked it so much that I began selling it myself.  There are many purse organizers out there.  I have seen and tried a few other ones.  The problems I have had with those are that they are either too big, bulky and expensive or that they don’t have any handles and they are just pockets that line the inside of your purse. Those tend to fall down and get pushed to the bottom of the purse.

The pouchee has two ring handles. They fold down to stay out of the way.

The handles make it really easy to grab the pouchee and either carry it by itself into a store so that you don’t have to carry your heavy purse on your shoulder or to lift it out of your purse and switch it from purse to purse when you change your outfits.  I don’t do that myself, but I know many of you do switch your handbags often to match what you are wearing.

There are several features to the pouchee that help you to organize your things.

There is a divider down the center.  I keep my checkbooks on either side of the liner. I can fit all 3 of my checkbooks into the pouchee.

There is a zipper pocket for change or personal items.

On the other side is another pouch that you can put your money, pictures or papers.

The front has slots for discount cards, business cards etc. You can put a pen where I have it, or a pair of thin glasses fit nicely there too.

The other side of the pouchee has two pockets. Cell phones (Droid X and iphone do fit) There is also a pen slot on this side of it.

You don’t have to have a big purse to use the pouchee.  It works for smaller purses too.  Of course not the really small purses, but compare it to the size of the checkbooks that fit in the pouchee.

It is an awesome way to transfer your essentials if you don’t want to carry a purse and a diaper bag or purse and gym bag. Just pull out your pouchee and put it in your diaper bag or gym bag and you are ready to go.

Again, I don’t make the pouchee, I didn’t invent the pouchee… but I do sell the pouchee it because I love it!

**For my readers I have a special going on only through March 31, 2011. You to my pouchee store. If you add the code “ORGANIZED PURSE” you will receive a 10% discount. Keep in mind that I already have my pouchees priced lower than most other sources. This code will also work for the Card Cubby

Here are a couple other reviews of the pouchee that you can see.

Toni from A Bowl Full of Lemons
Monica from Your Life Organized

Be sure to watch for the rest of my posts this week:- (Part 1)

Purse Organizing – Part 1
Purse Organizing – Card Cubby (Part 3)
Purse Organizing – All those purses (Part 4)

How is your purse organizing coming?
I want to see your purse organizing! If you link up your purse post to my linky party and it is of your purse organizing, I’ll pull a picture and add a link to the part 1 Purse Organizing post too!

I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until March 27th to link to.

I LOVE your comments!

Purse Organizing – Part 1

Purses Can Be A Bottomless Pit!

“I know I put it in here?”   “It just has to be here!” “Where are my keys?”  Do any of those sound familiar?

When it comes to purse organization I don’t know if any method can be completely foolproof, unless you are never in a hurry, never just throw something in your purse and always take the time to put everything back perfectly.

I know that isn’t me, and I would bet it also doesn’t include 99% of you! lol

But, purses do not have to be hopeless. There are some really good ways to organize them.  There are many purse organizers out there. I have my favorite and that is what I will show you today when I clean out my purse.

Here is my purse “Before”  Things aren’t where they belong, there are receipts tucked in the sides, etc..

I use a Butler Bag that I reviewed last year.  I still love it (although I’d like a spring color).  I like having a place for everything in my purse and this helps me do it.

Step 1: Dump everything out of it.

Step 2:  Sort it!   (just like you sort anything you organize)

Do you use it?
Do you need it in your purse?
Does it serve a purpose in your purse?

This is pretty much of what I decided to keep.  Not the little buttons, and add in the coupon keeper and make up/medicine bag.

Step 3: Clean It

Then if possible pull out the lining of your purse and clean it.  Even if you are planning to switch out and use your spring purse now and store this (or donate it), you should still clean it thoroughly.  Get out all those cracker crumbs and loose pennies, gum wrappers etc, that get caught down in your purse.

Once you have cleaned it and sorted it, you can start putting things back in. My old pouchee was still in decent shape after a couple of years, but it was dirty and dingy looking.  I could have spent some time working to clean it up, but since I’m spoiled and I sell them, I just went and picked out a new hot pink one. lol

Step 4: Reload it

I’ll be going over my pouchee tomorrow with you in detail and how useful it can be.   I start with putting my newly organized pouchee down in my purse.  I am showing you how you can switch out for a spring purse if you’d like….

But in reality I am still going to use my Butler bag, so my pouchee will go back in it. I also cleaned out this medicine/makeup bag that I use in my purse. I have my ibuprofen, stomach medicine for my hubby, Benadryl, tiny sewing kit, Shout stain remover, etc.. in here.  I did clean out some things I didn’t need or that were expired.

Then I put things back in the slots I like them in. I keep my frequent user cards and gift cards in the lime green Card Cubby (which I’ll show you later this week) also hand lotion, gum, a phone battery charger and a little multi tool in this side.

My husband calls my purse, “Your bag of many wonders”.  lol   I have my coupon holder (black long thin thing, a note pad, sun glasses, extra reading glasses, my medicine bag (off to left) my flip video camera, a high lighter, lipstick, pen.

That is one thing I really like about this purse, it has all the separated pockets.  Before this I have always looked for a purse with organizing pockets in it.  So that things can have their own places.

Designer purses are not important to me.  What is important to me is finding a purse that is usable and that has organization stamped all over it!

I then tuck my pouchee down in on the side. It has my three (yes…  one for joint account, one for my son’s support account and one for my business account) checkbooks, money, pen and my phone fits in it too.  Then my keys usually tuck down in the space to the right of my pouchee so I can find them easily.

Keeping your purse organized doesn’t have to be hard if everything has a place.  Rather it is this purse organizer (pouchee) or another one, they are very handy and I do encourage you to try one.  Also using things like the Card Cubby or a little bag like I have my medicine in also helps to categorize and organize things.

Be sure to watch for the rest of my posts this week:

Purse Organizing – The pouchee (Part 2) *watch for the discount code to order one
Purse Organizing – Card Cubby (Part 3) *watch for the discount code to order one
Purse Organizing – All those purses (Part 4)

See my Readers purse organizing posts.

Randomly Robyn: Purse Purging

Robyn also posted how she is organizing all her purses now.  She is using a sweater storage hanger.

Good Enough Mommy: Healthy Back Bag

I want to see your purse organizing!  If you link up your purse post to my linky party and it is of your purse organizing, I’ll pull a picture and add a link to this post too!

I’d love for you to link it up to my Organizing Mission Monday Link Party
It will be open until March 27th to link to.

I LOVE your comments!

I’m linking up to these blogs:

A Snob Comes Clean

Organize Your Medicine Cabinet – Expired Meds (Part 2)

I Bet 95% of You Have Expired Meds In Your Medicine Cabinet!

It is just one of those things we don’t think a lot about, until we need it.  Expired medications aren’t usually harmful to you, they are just not as effective. But in some cases, such as severe allergies, having a medication that isn’t is not as affective can be harmful because may be preventing a life threatening reaction.

When you clean out and organize your medicine cabinet, I want you to look at the expiration date of every medication in it. The expiration dates can be in a variety of places.

Sometimes they are hard to find.

Sometimes they are hard to read

Don’t forget to check prescription medications too. See.. this one was expired!

This one too.

Here is my pile of expired medications from the cabinet above my coffee maker.

Here is my pile of expired meds from my two pantry baskets. Pretty bad huh?  But not unusual at all.

Even when some people go in and organize or straighten up their meds, they don’t think about looking for expired medications.

It is a pain to look for the expired meds!!  Trying to search all over the bottle for the expiration date. Then if you can read it without a magnifying glass your also lucky!

So how can we help solve this problem?  Simple!

LET’S SEE THOSE EXPIRATION DATES!!

Get a black sharpie marker and some sticky labels.

As you are organizing, go through each item and if it isn’t expired, you need to put the expiration date on the medication using your sticky labels and sharpie marker.

I had some clear Avery labels and decided to use those.  I first tried just writing directly on the medications label, but it was that slick plastic label and the marker didn’t go on nice, and even once it was dry, I was able to just wipe it off with my finger.  The label it didn’t do that.

When you place your label onto your medication bottle, be sure not to cover up vital information (directions and doses or concentration of the medications)

It is so much easier to see.

It is just so simple! Depending on the bottle itself, you can just write directly on the surface if it writes easily and won’t wipe off.

As your medications come into your house from the pharmacy, as you go to put them away, get that sharpie marker (that you have kept right with your medications) and mark the bottles before you put them away.

There are times that the box that has the medication is where you will find the expiration date and it isn’t even on the bottle itself. I didn’t find any like that in my stash, because I don’t save many boxes…. but you won’t have any problem if you label them right away. The simpler you keep it, the more likely you will be to comply and actually keep it up.

But isn’t this much easier to see?

Look at the ones I keep above my coffee maker.

When the dates are easy to see, you will be MUCH less likely to have expired medications.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the drug companies did this for us?  If they won’t put them large on the bottle and easy to see and to find, wouldn’t it be nice then if they at least provided a sticker or had a surface up near the top of the bottle to make it easier for us to label them ourselves?  I sure think so!

Be sure to see the rest of my series:

Part 1 – Organize Your Medicine Cabinet
Part 3 – Disposing of Your Expired or Unused Medications
Part 4 – Be Prepared for Illness

Your mission is to LABEL your medications with EXPIRATION DATES! I want to see them! You might have another idea that could help us all.. please share it!

Be sure to link them up to my Organizing Mission Link party!

I LOVE your comments!!

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