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Friday, January 14, 2011

Day 12 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #12 Challenge – The Spice Cabinet

I’ll be honest; I didn’t want to do this challenge. Our spice cabinet was a complete mess! Not only were spices up there, but candy and some food too. I’m glad my husband encouraged me for this one! If he didn’t, I most likely would’ve skipped this challenge.

I pulled everything out and put it in a box and set it aside. I then dusted and wiped down all of the shelves. Unfortunately, some icing color leaked onto the cabinet. As I wiped it up my water and hand turned pink. I’ll tell you, I washed and washed my hands over and over, trying to get the color off. It’s faint, but still there. Yes… my cabinet needed cleaned. lol!

It's done and now I feel much better about my cabinet!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 11 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #11 Challenge – The Freezer

I went shopping for food earlier in the week and was a little in a rush when I got back from the store. In short, I quickly took the food I purchased and crammed it into the freezer. More chaotic then it is normally…



It’s time to fix my unorganized mess.

I pulled everything out of the freezer, stacking it in like foods/shapes. I then wiped the entire thing clean. I did this a month or so ago because I forgot my husband forgot that I he had a soda in the freezer and it… exploded! It was a sticky mess and the whole freezer needed cleaned due to the mess it had made. Anyway…

I put the juice and coffee on the door, trying to keep drinks together. Success! Then I put the waffles on the door. Juice and waffles = breakfast. That sounds organized ;)

Now inside I put main course type foods on the top shelf. On the bottom shelf I put the sides and the ice packs. I decided a container would be best for these to keep them all together for those unfortunate incidents. Then I placed them right up front for easy access.



Tetris is a fun game to play! The organization in the freezer is usually like a game of Tetris. Put them in the right places and you can fit more. I’ll be honest; I only tossed old ice cream.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Day 10 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #10 Challenge - The Laundry Room

Wow! Ok… we do have a laundry room, but I am just going to show you the laundry center. Cleaning the whole laundry room would definitely be more than a day, being that we are a family of 7. There has not been a day in which I have completed ALL of the laundry. I hope that will happen one day soon!

We have a lot of cabinet space for the laundry center. I can literally stand on top of the washer or dryer and not touch my head to the ceiling! As a matter of fact, I had to stand on them to clean the cabinets.



So, what does go in the laundry room? I know you should have laundry soap, dryer sheets, stain remover and bleach. I do also have rags, baskets, an iron and an ironing board. But there’s got to be more, right? Why is there so much space? I have not used all of the cabinets that we have available and I don’t see that as being a problem. But I almost feel like I am missing something. In some of the space I have kept light bulbs and some other household cleaners just to keep them high.

I pulled out everything and cleaned the stuff off the top of the dryer. Some of the stuff that was in the higher cabinet was in there when we moved in. After all the stuff was out, I wiped down all the cabinets and the doors, and then I wiped down the washer and dryer. We’ve had the washer and dryer for nearly 9 years and it does show wear, but still has some shine.


I went to the Dollar Tree and purchased some of those great baskets that Toni also has in her storage areas. I bought 12 of them. When washing them I found one was broke. It does suck, but I only paid $1! If I decide that I don’t need all 12 in the laundry room, I will most likely use them in other places in the house.

I took a break, while waiting for the cabinets to dry. Once they were dry, I put all my baskets in their places. I know I will need to invest in a labeler, because I want my family to know where all the items go, so that they can keep the house organized too.




Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Day 9 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #9 Challenge - Toy Organization

Remember how I cleaned under the sink early? I didn't know what I should do for that day and I really wanted to clean. My husband suggested that I clean and organize our game cabinet. "It's not something that is likely to come up during this challenge".

After seeing the Toni's post for today's challenge, I was happy to see games on her shelf. I really wanted to have a reason to show you my game cabinet and how clean it looks!

Here is what I started with:

This is the top cabinet. As you can see there is absolutely no organizing whatsoever! All of the games are just seemingly thrown in with no rhyme or reason. How can I possibly find the game iIwant to play?


And here is our bottom cabinet. What a mess! I'll tell you that this cabinet is easily accessible to all members of our family and our youngest loves to get into it. The kids mainly love the puzzles and Guess Who. But wait! Some of these games aren't for kids! Time to fix this.

P.S. Yes, that is Christmas garland on the banister. *blush*

We decided it'd be best for the top cabinet to be for the adult games and the bottom cabinet to be for the kids' games. Easier for them to reach, less pieces missing from our games! My husband asked that I sort all of his trivia games. These are on the top shelf. I can hardly reach it, so I put them there because well... he can! Besides, I'd rather be able to reach the fun games. Ha Ha!

The 2nd shelf has games that take a bit longer. The 3rd shelf... games we play more, when we have company over. The container holds Uno and other card games.


Now for the kids' cabinet.

I was planning to put the puzzles on the top. But if you are standing at this cabinet, you're looking down. So the top shelf would be the first seen. Now I know I said they like the puzzles, but really... a 3yo and puzzles do not mix well. Especially if she decides to get them out when one is not looking. :/


Here is my final shot... a full view of the set up of our game cabinet. Neatly organized and now it's easy to find the games we want to play.

OH! Did you notice the handles on the shelves of the kids' cabinet? Those shelves actually pull out for easy access! Very nice for short arms ;)

I did organize some of my kids toys, but decided that I need to invest in some more containers and definitely a labeler! Hopefully I'll get one soon.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm looking forward to the coming days. My house is getting organized and I am loving it!

Did you just pop in and want to know what this is all about? Click below.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Day 8 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #8 Challenge - The Coat Closet

We don’t have a coat closet, but we do have a place for our kids’ coats. My husband came up with a brilliant idea how to store our kids’ coats and backpacks. Before he thought of the idea, our kids would come into the house and toss their coats to the floor along with their backpacks. We were always tripping over them, so the problem needed a solution.

My husband went to the store and purchased a few packs of the 3M hooks. He cleaned the wall and “installed” the hooks. They are the heavy duty ones that are supposed to support a lot of weight. Needless to say, we had to replace a couple. I think it is just because our older kids need to clean out their backpacks. When removing them from the hooks, they were HEAVY!

I had to take the picture through our front door. Looks like I need to clean off some tape.


On to what I did…

I removed everything from our entryway. Cleaned out the pockets of all of the coats and threw them into the washer. It needed done! Man, were those coats DIRTY!

I also tossed in the gloves that I found in the pockets. My oldest daughter actually had 3 pairs! Seriously?! And when my younger daughters ask for gloves, no one has spares. *ahem* Right!

I then zipped up the backpacks and set them aside. Anything on the floor, that couldn’t be vacuumed, I picked up and tossed in the trash. Then I vacuumed. After which I hung the backpacks back into their normal areas and waited on the wash.

Here is the entryway. It is now all nice and clean!


I have to admit, this area does get a lot of attention since this is the first thing people see of our house. It was an easy task. I’m glad it came up, because it has been about a week or so since I’ve cleaned it last. Thank you Toni!

I finished this last night while the kids slept. I hope when they come home from school, they'll put their stuff away neatly.

**Note: You'll notice that Day 6 and 7 are not posted. I will get these posted soon. I haven't been feeling well and our youngest was sick with the stomach flu.


Thursday, January 6, 2011

Day 5 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #5 Challenge - Under the Kitchen Sink

I have to admit, this challenge was a breeze! We recently replaced our garbage disposal and at that time I had everything that was under there, pulled out. I know it was last year (2010) and in the Summer... I think. Anyway, I didn't put anything under there that didn't need to be under there.

I did toss out a bottle of vinegar and the cup.


I organized the other items under there and now it looks neat!


OH! Here's the funny thing... I posted on facebook yesterday "Is it weird that I want the next challenge day to be here already?". My friend Danyel said she hoped that it would be "under the kitchen sink" or "laundry closet". I took one of her suggestions and went and cleaned. Yes, this challenge was finished yesterday evening. I'm glad to get a head start since I will be gone most of today. Thanks for the suggestions Danyel, though it was crazy that it was actually today's challenge! lol!!

I'm feeling so good about my house and can't wait to do more!!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Day 4 of 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #4 Challenge - The Linen Closet

Challenge Accepted!

I don't really have a linen closet, but I do have a place for the blankets. Here's the problem... I can't really reach it. I usually ask my husband if he can put the blankets away for me since he is 6' tall. I won't mention how I got up there to do this, but it's done. Ha Ha!

I pulled all the blankets out and tossed them to the floor, then I grabbed my duster with the extension and dusted away. After which I neatly folded all the blankets I am keeping and put them back. I am sentimental, so this was a little hard. Not to mention my 3yo loves blankets! Anyhow...

Here is the how unorganized it was:


And now how it's currently:

I LOVE how neat it looks! Aaa... much better!


The blankets I did not keep went into a bag to take to our local thrift store.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day 1 -3 of 21 Days to getting Organized

Getting organized is something I've wanted to do for a while. I just needed a kick to get me started. My friend Scotti posted a link to A bowl full of lemons "21 Days to getting organized challenge" and I can't thank her enough! Thank you so much Scotti!! I actually started on Day 2, but did both Day 1 and 2 on the same day. This will have both of those days, plus Day 3 of the challenge.

Ok...
Day #1 Challenge (Organizing the "junk" drawer)

This is pretty embarrassing. This drawer became cluttered due to me just pushing stuff off my desk into it. Why wouldn't I just put the stuff away? Time to get rid of laziness!


The drawer is actually for my scrapbooking items. So I pulled everything out, straightened my punches and put them back into the drawer. When I get a chance I will get a tray to hold my scissors and this drawer will be complete!


On with the next challenge!
Day #2 Challenge - Your computer desk (top only)

Another embarrassment! I have not been in my craft room for a while now. It is just too cold in there! My desk, seen below, used to have my personal computer on it. Well... that computer started making funny sounds, so I unplugged it and stored it away. But look! I've put all these things on there! Anything that has potential for something to be placed on it... something will eventually be placed on it! I want to stop doing that!!


So... what will I put on it? Well I do have those cute little drawers just like on A bowl full of lemons. I plan to place those on my desk and some other desky (sure that's a word) supplies. I will leave a space open for my laptop. Now I don't want it too cluttered, so it'll be hard to put something on there anyway. Seen here... my desk bare. Only because I really want the something I put there to have purpose and reason! No more junk!!


Day #3 Challenge - The Messy Tupperware Cabinets

I have to admit, when I saw this challenge, I sighed. I did not want to do this!! When we moved into this house, we moved quick. I haven't really moved in, if you know what I mean. So this will look bad! *sigh*

I don't even know why all this extra crap is in here!

Originally, I wanted the snapple jars for my craft room. They are now trashed! Along with other things that I tossed and then I started a box to bring to our local thrift store. No yard sale here! I don't want all this crap coming back into my house out of forgetfulness!!


Here is the end result! Look at how nice and organized this looks. Not only does it look good, it feels good too! I made sure that all bowls had lids. If they didn't, they didn't make it into the cabinet! I'm lucky to have a lid organizer to hold all my lids. I love that thing!


See you tomorrow for Day 4!




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