Beautiful bins

This is my beautiful mess before I added my fav: BINS!

This was the bookshelf in my dining before...it's a horrible picture, and a horrible mess.

The bottom just got overrun by toys, junk and who in the world knows what else is down there. My kids access this area a lot with the play food and play dough for the kitchen beside it. I also use it for recipe books (rarely, since I love Pinterest for recipes now.) So, I decided to do what I always do and make some bins. Check out here how I did it before. Last time I used amazon boxes, and this time I used boxes from the post office. They are strong and sturdy. As you can see, I was able to throw all of the food into one box and all of the play-dough into another box. It turned out pretty good. Of course, if I took a picture today, it would be messy again.

The bookshelf after the makeover with the two bins from post offices boxes.

Baby boy closet

My cozy cape cod has some crazy closets. Built into the eaves of the house each of the four upstairs closets are huge, but awkward. Slowly, we have been trying to use what we have to make the usable. When we first moved in, my uncle came and helped me install the wire shelves from Home Depot. $200 plus later, the closet was a little more functional. The closet once housed my clothes, shoes, jewelry and purses. Two kids later, I have greatly downsized and now the closet belongs to its rightful owner, my son. These bins really don’t have anything in them. He has a dresser, and there is a closet bar, so I am hoping to use the bins for shoes, hats, toys and other odds and ends as he grows. Each bin/basket was $1 at the Dollar Tree. The bins are not sturdy, so they might be reserved for clothes, shoes. I like to grab bins/baskets full of toys and let the kiddos go to town. These bins won’t stand up to that, the plastic baskets and other plastic bins the dollar store has, will. But, this looks sweet, doesn’t it?

Downsizing feels so good

I have been in a mad dash to downsize my junk. My 1,200 square foot (rounded up) house feels smaller and smaller as our family grows. Some days I think I want to move, but really, I just want to make this cozy house feel workable. And it is. This is my home.
I fall into that trap that "I might need this later." It's taken a lot of convincing, but I finally realized that if I get rid of something that I might need, there isn't any reason I can't buy another.


This is just a small portion of what I am donating.

That being said, my goals were to move ALL of my clothes and shoes out of my son's closet. Since I joined my husband in our home in 2008, we each claimed a closet (his in our room, mine in the spare room). Well, that spare room became the nursery and I just kept sharing the closet with a baby. That baby girl moved out and into the other bedroom (at which point I moved my craft room to the unfinished basement). And, another baby moved into the nursery. I am about to go back to work and don't want to sneak into his room if I forget something.
I cleaned out at least 3 times in the last 9 months while I have been off work with the kids. I have done kids' consigment sales, yard sales, eBay, swap sites etc. On this last time around, I started getting rid of stuff I still liked, but just wasn't wearing. I mean, how many sweatshirts do I need?  And, I am just donating. It's a tax deduction and the easiest way to unload quickly.

This last go round, I think I cleared out 8 garbage bags of my shoes and clothes. I made sure to write it all down for tax records. One round of cleaning and I donated about $1,200 worth of clothes and shoes.

This doesn't happen overnight. I swear, I haven't felt able to relax since I had a second child. There is SO much stuff. I try so hard to just go through and clean, clean, clean. I have a section of the basement for yard sale stuff and try to have a yard sale every other year. Some years I do great...sometimes I do not. I enjoy having yard sales though, so it's no big deal for me.

I finally feel success. The big key for me were two questions, "When is the last time you used this?" and "Would you buy this today?" Man, did things fly onto that donate/trash pile. I still have a lot to do, but what once seemed SO overwhelming is now well under way. I organized and uncluttered so many spaces in my house during nap times and play times or quiet evenings. I have to say, I am prouder of myself that I thought I would be!

Mission: Organize jewels

That my friends was my idea of jewelry organization when I had to organize and declutter before Ayla was born. Well, since then I've discovered Pinterest and having be pining for a more functional and eye-appealing way to organize my jewelry before baby boy comes. These little containers were a great way to contain the earrings in one locale but definitely not easy to find matches.  And once Ayla found them, forget it. So, I made this:

Just by going through and picking out the pairs to put on the jewelry holder was eye-opening. I found a pair I loved, but never knew I had and have never worn. 

And this fancy little holder cost me 25 cents, actually maybe less.  No kidding. I already had the purple beading wire and white spray paint. The frame was a Rescue Mission find. It's marked 25 cents because it was missing the glass (which I didn't need anyway) and frames were but one get one free that day, seriously. 

To be fair, I didn't know what I was going to use this frame for. It was a candidate for Ayla's gallery wall, but I didn't end up needing it. I pick up inexpensive materials as I find them. It makes my craft corner a cluttered mess, but saves me a trip out when I have a project I'd like to start. This is part one of three parts of mission organize jewels. So there is more to come! 

Strawberry baskets

While spending the day in my dad's workshop, he unloaded a few items on me which included three strawberry boxes. I love them because they represent so much of my past (growing up working on a farm and watching my family can and freeze fresh produce).  I saw a really cool idea on Pinterest for putting 365 small index cards in a strawberry box with the date starting at January 1 and ending with December 31 on each card. Each day of the year, you write the year on a line and one thing that happened in your family. So, for yesterday August 23, I might write: 2012: Ayla learns to make the owl sound. Then next year on that day I write on the next line: 2013: Ayla pees on the potty (we hope so, ha ha). It's a great way to keep track of life's simple moments in a very compact place.

I also saw an idea for putting name labels on baskets and putting them on your stairs so when you clean, you can sort each family member's items into their respective box. That was my intention when I made the labels, but then I couldn't find baskets laying around the house that would work for my purpose. So, until I can come up with something (probably covering diaper boxes with fabric and liners) I added the labels to the strawberry boxes. They aren't being used right now...but I am open for suggestions. Maybe I should just do the index card idea for all of us. That would be interesting!

From check box to bathroom beauty

How many of you have cleaning ADD? I do. Even after telling myself to stay in ONE room, I end up all over the house. It drives me insane because it probably makes my house feel dirtier than it is. Over the summer, I spent hours organizing the basement, kitchen drawers and cabinets, and closets. I have to admit, it's a cleansing feeling after a school year of chaos. 

Mid-summer, we had our nasty old stand up shower replaced with a beautiful tub/shower combo and the fresh paint job made the bathroom sparkle. And even though they were hidden, the vanity drawers filled with my husbands hair trimmings and all kinds of other dirt needed to be part of the makeover. My daughter loves to play in these drawers, and being the laid-back-let-her-explore type of momma, I let her. I just clean up when she is through. However, nothing had a place, so it all got thrown into the drawer, and I had to root. Soooo, I wanted to organize. I was on a full day mission to clean, so I did not want to run to the store for organizing implements such as drawer bins. I searched my house for the perfect size and in the office drawer, I found empty check boxes and my iPhone box. I also uncovered some cardboard jewelry boxes. I doused the check boxes with Modge Podge and covered them with decorative paper. And as you can see (sort of), I now have two contained bins that can hold the little things that roll around the drawer. I am getting better at covering things with fabric and paper (there is definitely a method), but as you can see, there is a little edge that is sticking out. I am not concerned, it's not out in the open. I ended up using the iPhone box in a lower drawer for perfume samples. And the cardboard jewelry box holds the millions of hair ties that meander all over the place. What a relief, to finally have some organization in my bathroom drawers without spending a dime. Other items you can use are old silverware drawers, wipe containers, any cardboard box cut down. The list goes on. Think about turning trash to treasure.

Craft corner

Well....it was time. My craft supplies were in the very large closet of our spare bedroom. When we made the other extra bedroom Ayla's nursery, a lot of furniture was moved to the front room 

leaving little room for me to work. Also, that room is going to be Ayla's, so while I had the time and energy, I created a corner of our basement into my craft space and hauled everything down two flights of stairs while she napped. It wasn't easy. But, it was rewarding. I have a place to escape to when I need it. The first picture shows set up of the blank furniture. I got the shelves at a yard sale for $15 for both. The sewing table was s $1 at an auction and I repurposed it. The stack of while shelves were $5 at a year sale and I had the plastic table to the left that I have always used for working on my crafts. The piece of carpet is actually just an outdoor rug from Home Depot for $18 that is intended for outside RVs. Even though our basement is water free, it is still damp and I didn't want to spend a fortune on carpet unnecessarily. Below, you can see that I started to fill the shelves. I had way more stuff that I thought I did. I tried to sort some out, throwing some in boxes for a yard sale.  I think I have everything transferred from cardboard show boxes to plastic containers (14 for $15 at Costco). I scoured my house for baskets and storage containers. All in all, I still think it's too cluttered and would like it to look more stylish. I have a few more things to add and I have to take a new picture. Hopefully, that is to come.

Basement clean up

Well, after nearly four years after we realized our basement gets wet a few times a year, we decided to put an end to it by hiring the pros to redirect the water problem. Now, I am scheming ways to unclutter and organize that little baby to look and function as a more appealing living space. I've been scouring the Internet and come across a million great ways to reuse cardboard boxes, cereal boxes, coffee cans and other household leftovers. Now, I need the time and the boxes. I did make some toy bins for Ayla out of diaper boxes, but that took some time and she is really rough on them...and they are already starting to look a little worn. I came across this blog called Sew Many ways that has me wishing I had weeks and weeks to go crazy! However, my first goal is to start collecting boxes that are the same size and shape...I am starting with copy paper boxes...it might take some time, but I am collecting them at work! Let the clean up begin!

Nesting or organizing?

I am on a mad dash to organize and clean my entire house. It all started a few months ago when I had to clean out the spare bedroom (aka my personal dressing room) to make room for our first born. I have been very proud of my dedication to getting rid of junk. I sold a lot at yard sales/flea markets this summer, which proved to be a great way to spend time with my dad and stepsister as well as a good way to rid myself of unwanted goods and make a few bucks. I also unloaded some large furniture items on Craigslist, which has proven to be both profitable and easy. Now it's down to the items I am just not sure where to move and what to do with. I have one day left of Christmas break, and I feel like I am running out of time (which is totally not the case since I still have 8 weeks until the baby is predicted to arrive.) I have been moving organizing units all over the house, filling drawers with baskets and containers to organize items.

One of the major dilemmas was my jewelry. I had it organized nicely on an accordion peg thingy (sorry, that is the best I got) and hanging in my dressing room. Well, that had to go. So, I ended up using a bulletin board with thumb tacks in my closet (still in the nursery..sorry baby, Daddy and I can't share a closet) and a silverware drawer in a plastic organizer in the bathroom closet to organize. With Nate and I getting up at different times, we try not to get ready in the bedroom so we don't wake up the other one. That doesn't leave for much choice in where I keep my stuff. Because everything was in my dressing room, I had to move a lot to the bathroom, which made for a lot of creativity in using the space wisely. It's amazing how beauty products, cleaning products, lotions and body splashes accumulate. I am not done yet...I left a lot laying around because I just got tired and overwhelmed. I still have tomorrow. Thank goodness for resourcefulness, but I still have a long way to go.

Getting the most out of your wardrobe

I talked Saturday about my large number of clothes. Over the years I have shared my tips for keeping your old wardrobe new...but I wanted to share them here.

A while back, I read that wearing the same color of different shades in an outfit was a good way to add some pop. That was when layering was in (but when isn't it?). So, I organized my closet by color. All the shades of red were together and all the grays and blacks. I put bright colors near bright colors and neutrals near neutrals.

When that got old, I organized it by type. All the pants were together, all the sweaters were together and all the hoodies occupied the same space. I kept the button down shirts together and all the "fancy" tops in the same area. All the short sleeves mingled with their like counterparts. I know if I need a cardigan to go over a short-sleeved shirt to keep me warm, that I can choose the best color by seeing them all at one time. This system helps me know exactly where I need to go, depending on the mood I'm in.

• Some mornings, I build an outfit around an accessory. I choose a necklace or earrings that I haven't worn in a while and pair it with an outfit. I do the same with shoes. I have a cute pair of red heels I hardly ever wear, but it's easier to start with them and add black pants and a red top than it is to decide to wear the shoes...because I usually go for the old standby black "teacher" shoes that are comfortable and not really stylish.
• Now that my closet has a section that is hard to get to, I often pull items to the front area. It's usually stuff I haven't worn for a few weeks. It gives me a fresh peek and I can avoid leaving clothes in the back to wrinkle over and over again.
• I still have a lot of clothes that I rarely wear. I keep them thinking if I lose 5 pounds I will feel more comfortable wearing them. When I lost a lot of weight before, I made the mistake of getting rid of ALL my pants, since I went down 2 sizes. I won't do that again. Life happened and I gained the weight back....leaving me longing for those cute pants that used to fit so well. And the reverse doesn't seem to be working. I long to wear the cute smaller sizes, but it just makes me more upset that I worked hard to lose weight and gained it back. So despite what Dr. Phil or Oprah says...keep a few sizes around. I am not saying keep a size 2 if you are a 12...but if you fluctuate between a few sizes...don't part with them too soon.

Mounds of clothes

It's no secret that I love clothes, shoes, handbags, accesories, etc. I've never really felt guilty about it because I spend so little. I do most of my shopping at Thrift Stores, Consignment Shops and sale racks of discount stores.
But a few days ago, I felt really overwhelmed. Nate and I don't have traditional closets...they are big, but have slanted ceilings and off layouts. I've been storing all of my clothes in my "dressing room," which is the spare bedroom. I had dozens of summer dresses, formal dresses and winter coats in the back of Nate's closet (which is the closet in OUR bedroom.) He wanted a place to store his firearms and asked me to give up my craft closet. I couldn't do it. So, he decided to use his closet. I've never seen the man so gung ho. He went to Home Depot, bought a bunch of wood and started turning his closet into a storage facility.
Unfortunately, I had to remove my clothes. Right now, they are laying on the spare bed. The stack is high. My wedding dress is partly to blame for that.
I don't know what to do. I could scale down my clothes, but I wear a lot of them, if not all of them. I am not really buying new clothes, so it's not like I am adding to the collection. I thought about storing the seasonal clothes in plastic containers in the basement, but you can't really fold formal dresses into plastic containers.
Any suggestions?