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.

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.

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!!

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.

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!

A Special Hat for Ezra

A request was made for me to crochet an Elmo beanie. I was excited that I would actually be able to make something for the Matthews Cartoon Benefit auction that would be held by Hope for God’s Children. At the time, I could not even think of what I could make. I searched the internet only to get frustrated. Cartoon, cartoon… What cartoon character should I use? How would I use it?

When Judith asked me to make Elmo, I went to the store to get the supplies. I grabbed the yarn and went into the toy department to make sure the color was right. It was the only red in 100% cotton yarn that was available. There was a costume in the toy department that I could compare it to. It was a perfect match!

I begin to crochet away. Having no idea how I would make the facial features. I looked several times at Elmo as I worked. I made a basic beanie and the crocheted balls for eyes and a similar shape for the nose and then a big grin for the mouth. It didn’t turn out too bad, if I do say so myself.

I finally listed the hat on Ebay. Not only was this hat special for Ezra, but whoever bid on it, also got one for their child. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will be going to the Matthews Family.

Time to mail!

I didn’t wait for the auction to end. As a matter of fact it still has about 7 hours left for you to bid. Please help the Matthews family. Thank you!

With just 5 minutes to spare before the post office was to close, I left my mom’s house putting the pedal to the metal. I had to get this hat in the mail! I showed up and there was no parking. I had to park on the next block. I prayed to God that I would make it in time. I got out of my van and ran! As I was almost to the stairs a lady stepped in front of me. She was also going to the post office. Let me tell you, I had to be really patient. As I neared the main doors to the lobby, I could tell they were about to close the windows. I waved my box! The lady actually waited for me! Out of breath, I tell her that I need delivery confirmation. I paid of left with a sigh of relief. The moment I stepped out the door, my alarm went off on my cell phone. I took it out of my pocket. It was 5:00pm. The alarm had no description. I knew right then and there, God had provided me the time I needed to mail this special package. I begin to cry and thanked God for helping me get there in time.

I visited the Matthews blog today. To my surprise, there in the picture was Ezra resting with the Elmo Beanie above his head. I immediately told my husband, “YES! It made it to him!” then I showed him the picture.

Photo Courtesy by Kyle Matthews. Used with permission.

Please continue to pray for the Matthews Family. Thank you!

Pastor Gets a Pie in the Face

My daughter Harley memorized her Bible verse from Sports Camp/VBS and this was her reward:

Within seconds of the pie being placed in her hand, she tosses it into Pastor Andy's face. Seeing the camera flashes, you can tell that we missed the shot. Luckily, my friend Dee was able to take a video of it with her cell phone. Thank you Dee for sharing!

Here are the pictures I got: