Organizing, DIY & Craft Projects

I decided to change up the Organizing Mission Monday just a bit and make it “legal and ok” to link up your DIY and Craft posts, along with your organizing posts.  

Organizing and doing it yourself go along together. We come up with so many good ideas to organize things .. all the time!  Crafting often ties in, but more importantly; it is just fun!

I’ve not had much time to DIY, organize or craft lately… so I want to “live through your posts!”

Here are a couple of my past favorite DIY, craft projects – My chalkboard jar labels were my most popular post last year.

I had so much fun with this project and still love them on my counter.

I loved my easy and cheap cord organizing solution

And also the organizer I made out of the toilet paper rolls & duct tape to keep all those link cords & connector cords organized.

Feel free to link up some of your old favorites from last year.

Link up to My Linky Party

Share your DIY, crafts, decorating or organizing projects!!

You can find the link for my button on my top “Buttons” Tab. (right now I only have the Organizing Mission Monday button, so it is fine to continue to grab that) 
1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (link just above underneath my button)
3) I’d love if you’d follow me on google and/or FB. The google is new and I’m trying to build it
4) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or crafts or decorating are WONDERFUL!
5) No sales pitches or web sites.
6) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click Here.
This party will be open until January 8, 2012

Thanksgiving – What are You Thankful For?

I think so often we don’t really know how thankful we are for some things, until they are gone.  Loved ones in our lives, the health of our families and ourselves etc. Don’t you think?

I don’t know that it is because we are selfish, I think it is because we don’t really know what life will be without those things, people or health.

But those people who have gone through loss, serious loss of family, health, job or more have a better idea. They have lived it.   Have I? To an extent I have, but not like some.  I had the loss of my first marriage.  I didn’t want anything to do with a divorce and I was a mess for several years.  I can look back on it now and be thankful it happened. I have found a man that I have a better relationship with than I ever did my first husband.

I have lost my mother after an almost seven year battle with cancer.  But it was gradual and I had time to grieve along the way, time to prepare for what was to happen.  But I have my father, and today is actually his 81st birthday. He told me he doesn’t want to celebrate being 81.  I said, “But Dad, you should then celebrate that you are still alive to have another birthday! lol” He laughed so hard at that one.

Thank goodness I’ve not had to go through a sudden death or tragedy with my family. My family is healthy and happy.  We don’t have oodles of money, but we blessed to have what we have.

I know that I take things for granite, and I try to appreciate what I have and how wonderful it is.

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on those things, be thankful for them and know how truly blessed we are.

Link up to My Linky Party

What are you thankful for? You can link up a Thanksgiving post or something you are thankful for,  but as always you can link up any organizing or cleaning or DIY post to my link party.

You can find the link for my button and also my “Proud to Be Featured Button” on my top “Buttons” Tab.

1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (link just above underneath my button)
3) I’d love if you’d follow me on google and/or FB. The google is new and I’m trying to build it
4) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or decorating
5) No sales pitches or web sites.
6) If I feature you I will use one or more of your pictures with a link back to your blog.
7) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click Here.
This party will be open until November 27, 2011

Getting Started can be the Hard part of Organizing!

But this is actually the 3rd step in my process to Organize a space. The first step is to Visualize and Plan out your space. Then your next step is to know how to sort and make your sorting cards.
Now you are ready to actually walk into that room and tackle the clutter. This is the scary step. I know… you look at that pile of stuff and think…”There is No Way!!”. But guess what? “Way!”. You can do it!
Just little by little. If you try to jump in and don’t have a plan or know what you are going to do with things… .then you might have more of a problem.  Don’t forget that when you start working on one room… you can cause a bit of a “domino effect” and have some mess build up in another room that you are moving things too.  Don’t let that stop you. It is just a part of the process and once you have one room under way or finished… you will get inspired to keep going. It will just feel so good to have your space back again.
Hopefully my video will give you a little guideline to go on too. But if you have the Sorting process down, then the rest of it is just going through each item. Just pick up that first item…and start.

Here is another post I did awhile ago on Getting Started to Organize . You might see some things there that I didn’t mention in the video that might help you.

Please let me know if you have questions.  I will do my best to help you answer them… just leave them in the comments, or you can contact me via contact form to ask me.

I have to heed my own advice here. I am needing to do some prioritizing and organizing in my own schedule!

I have to admit that I am feeling overwhelmed this morning.  I just got back from Type A Mom Conference yesterday evening, and looking at all I need to do this week and realizing I don’t have enough hours in the day to do all of it.

October is a very busy traveling month for me. I actually have an event each week and I’m planning on going to Indiana, Las Vegas, Detroit and then finishing by taking my Dad to see my Sister in Virginia at the end of the month.   Oh…and I have my  huband’s 50th birthday this month! I took on a photoshop class this quarter too.  My first project is due on Sunday and because I was sent the wrong software, I didn’t get the correct one until last night. So…I’m already behind in that class on week 2! lol

Why am I telling you this?  Because I want you to know that I struggle with organizing my own schedule at times. I have a lot on my plate right now and I need to do some prioritizing.  I am working on my schedule this morning and trying to decide if I need to give up one of the trips, or give up cleaning my house and taking care of my family or give up writing as many posts on my 3 blogs!!  (kidding on the family part, although by looking at my house this morning you might think I was serious)

I have been thinking of making a series of video tapes for this blog on some of the basics…. If I don’t edit and make them the way I like to make videos now, then I will have no problems and I think that would be helpful…. but I dont’ think I can do that.

SO….what I think I might be doing is to be running some of my old blog posts.  But I will make note if I am rerunning something. Thanks for understanding.

It doesn’t have to be hard to Organize, just break down the steps

You have now blocked out that time on your calendar to Get the Job Done.

What is the next step?  Get Prepared for that day.  How?

Try and decrease distractions.
I suggest black and white trash bags.  Black for trash, White for donate.

Change the mind set.

Stop thinking about it as drudgery, but think of it as organized space coming!

So crank up the music and get in the mood to have an uncluttered area….use positive thinking here.  Visualize what you would like the space to look like.  Think how good it is going to feel when you have accomplished the task.

Start with sorting.

Each item has to be looked at and a quick decision has to be made.

Keep – Do you USE it, do you LOVE it, does it FIT?
Donate – Don’t like it, Doesn’t fit, Don’t use it, Still in good shape
Move – It doesn’t belong in this room. Move out of this space.
Store - Use it but only once or twice a year. Holidays, camping etc.
Pitch – Broken, in no shape to donate (recycle if possible)

Clean

You should have less to put back in your space now.  This is the time to clean out those cupboards or the space good. It isn’t very often that it is probably empty.

You can measure the space to see what kind of organizers you may need (if any). It isn’t a good idea to go out and buy a bunch of organizers unless you have already measured the space and have an idea of what you need.  If you do not want to waste the time here and have an idea of what you think will work, please make measurements before you buy anything.  Then keep your receipts so that you can take the item back if it doesn’t fit or work like you thought it would.

Organize – A few tips

Now put the items that you are going to keep back.

Remember:  Like with Like!
Keep the cans together in your kitchen. Keep the extra office supplies together in your office. Don’t have some of this and some of that in the space.

Zones
Think in zones for your space.  What do you do?  For instances…in an office.  Your Zone A or zone 1 would be the space around your desk chair and desk that you can reach. Things you use daily and often, such as your phone, your pens, your stapler and letter opener.

In your kitchen you can do the same. For instance for your stove area, you should have your pot holders within reach of your stove. Your pots and pans should be near your stove.  For your dishwasher, your plates and glasses should be near it if possible.  Decrease steps when making the space functional.

Have fun organizing and let me know how you feel after a space is done.  It is like a “feel good” moment for me!

Do the Kids Help or Not?

When it comes to sorting and organizing – Getting through the toys and being able to discard them (donate or trash) are your kids going to be a help or a hinder?

You need to decide if you want your children to help sort and organize or not. There are pros and cons to both methods. You know your children best and know what will work for them.

Pros

*Teaches them the importance of organizing at an early age

*Teaches them others are not as fortunate.

*Teaches them that cleaning up and clearing out can feel good

Cons

*Tantrums over giving things up

*Not as productive – it will take longer to have the kids help you. So if on a limited time frame it could be a problem

*Giving in and keeping more than you should because your child decides they want to keep everything

My Thoughts on the Subject

Some children will not handle giving up their toys easily. They can sway you to keeping everything and accomplishing nothing. But….they also need to LEARN that they do have to give up things and it will help them later in life. So it is a balance. My suggestion for these kids is for you to do the bulk of the sorting before they get home. They do not necessarily need to see what you are donating or getting rid of. But I would leave several things that are broken or they have out grown and then sit down with them when they get home and have them help you sort those things. Teach them that they need to share with other children who have less. Teach them they

What worked for me

For my 4 older boys (now ages 17-26) I did all the toy sorting myself (without their help).  I get a bit driven when I am in my “organizing mode” and personally I just like to go go go…so I prefer to organize by myself at home. I can honest say that there was never a time that my boys missed something or were upset when they got home.  They were always happy to see things neat and in order. I think it was that same “relief” feeling we get when we walk into a space that has once been too cluttered and now is neat and organized.  They didn’t have problems with giving up their toys and liked that most of the things were donated to other kids.

Now with my  4 step kids (ages 9 – triplets and a 16 year old) I have had them help me.  I don’t know why the difference.  But they are very good at helping and do not have problems with giving things away.  They crack me up because they tell me their mom doesn’t want to get rid of any of their things at her house and they are the ones that want to get rid of some of the clutter over there. (they are learning!)

Which way works best for you and your children?

I love this desk, family work center. But what a desk CAN look like

The 12 Step Program for the Surface Abuser.

1) Admit that you have a problem.

2) Ask for help with your Surface Abuse problem. (Professional organizers are everywhere!)

3) Remove ALL surfaces in your home.  (Only kidding!)

4) Realize that this will take on going maintenance to maintain.

5) Visualize what you would LIKE this space to look like.

6) Start the process with one surface.

7) Get a black trash bag for trash and a White trash bag for donate.

8) Begin the Sorting process. Clear everything off your counter and clean it first.

9) Realize that clearing your counter will lead to some organizing in other areas of your house. (this is a Good thing)

10) Decide what to do with all the papers and clutter.

11) Plan daily to clear  off anything that might have accumulated in this “hot spot” zone and place it in the folders or cubbies you created.

12) Be sure to take before and after pictures so help remind yourself how you want to keep your new clear counter.

Disclosure: The above picture is not from my home (I WISH!) It was from a Parade of Homes model that boasted like the best family organizing center ever!!  But you can find these products at The Pottery Barn.

Organizing a New You….So what does that mean?   Organize your home, organize your schedule, your kids, your life? Does it seem like the impossible?  It can be done! But be careful not to bite off more than you can chew and end up in “it is too overwhelming and I don’t think I can do it” land.

Here is how to start.

Planning

1) Sit down with a pad of paper, pen, calendar and cup of coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.

2) Make a list of all the things you would like to organize.

3) Now number them in order of importance. (at least the top three areas that drive you the most CRAZY)

4) Put a date beside those top 3 of when you would like to have them completed by.

5) Block out at time on your calendar to start #1 on the list.

Supplies

Do not go out and buy a bunch of things to organize with. Until you know what you are going to end up with after your “sort” you don’t know what you will need. (unless you want to purchase some clear storage bins..but if you do be sure you have shelves to store them on and measure to be sure they will fit.

1) Black trash bags – trash

2) White trash bags – Donate  (separate colors so you don’t throw out your donate items in the trash)

3) Labels for boxes or bins (masking tape & sharpie marker will be fine)

4) Boxes for storage (my favorite are clear bins)

Sort

Make 5 signs for each of the piles you are going to make while sorting. Then for each item only give yourself 5-10 seconds to make your decision (no time to wander down memory lane). Be tough if you want to reclaim your space.

1) Keep – Love it, Use it, Can’t live without it.

2) Donate – Others would put to better use, doesn’t fit, don’t like it, don’t use it (use the white trash bags)

3) Storage – Holiday decorations, speciality items you use (camping, skiing)

4) Move – Items that need to be kept but don’t belong in this space.

5) Trash – Broken, un-donatable. Try to recycle if possible. Use the Black trash bag.

Tips

*It will seem messier before it gets better. Don’t get discouraged and keep going.

*This takes time, don’t think you will get an entire room done in 2 hours. Start with a small area.

* Once you have sorted your items you are ready to reorganize them in an orderly way.

Hotel Rooms can become familiar friends

I have started my traveling this year….in a big way.  So I really have been organizing to travel!  I just went to Austin, TX to be a judge for the Genesis Today Bloggers Immersion. I got to help pick one of the 5 finalist for the Genesis of a Great Idea Contest.  Debba Haupert won by the way from Girlfriendology.com

I leave on Wednesday to go to Nashville for the BlissDom conference. I am going to see my boys who live there on Wednesday and go to the conference the next day. I will be driving there. I flew to TX.

I come back from there on a Sunday and leave again on Wednesday for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference. I will be flying there also.

Here are a few tips that I have used to make getting ready to go easier.

1) Make a packing list.  Ok..I always do this. But I took it a step further and have it on my computer now. So I just have to print it out and tweek it for each trip.  It has all the items that I am always worried I will forget…like the phone, computer, camera chargers and sync cables, business cards.  I have a section on it for things to take on board the plane.

2) You can also make another list like the above for things to do before you leave.  Cooking meals for the family, make a copy of your itinerary for your husband or wife, leave insurance card and schedule for kids activities.

3) If possible use a little larger suitcase to go with, so you will have room if you get things on your trip to bring home.

4) Pack a base color of clothes and use accessories to change your look to reduce clothing. Scarves are great accessories (I am just learning how to use them myself)

5) Be sure all your electronic items are charged before you leave.

Here is a Free solution that can help you keep your family organized, yourself organized and so much more!  This is a simple site to use and can do so much for you.

You can create a page that you can keep your family updated with pictures of the kids and events.

You can make a grocery list and have it texted to your phone or you can even call and get it verbally!

Your whole family can use and be a part of the family calendar

There are dinner ideas

There is a place for lists (To Do’s)

There are all kinds of ideas and solutions for helping you to organize.  Why use it? Here are a few reasons why.

There have been many reviews done on COZI…don’t believe me? Check these out!