Reusing cereal boxes for organizing magazines and more!

Check out this free organizational idea for your cabinets.

A cereal box transformed into an upright organizational item. Go HERE for all the details on this easy project. This is a great idea for back to school homework papers (one per kid), magazines, cookbooks, summer workbooks, coloring books, etc.

Thanks, PYP for the idea!

A January favorite past time- Organizing!

I love to organize and to be organized and this is a post from Jan. 2009- Enjoy! It is a constant effort here as I have my little "un-organizers and un-doers" working right behind me. Maybe you'll be inspired to organize something extra this weekend.

Total project cost: $5.00 + tax

Here’s a quick organization project you can do today. I found this perfect art supply tower at Wal-Mart for my kid’s endless art supplies. I labeled each drawer with my label maker. This tower holds the "good crayons and markers" so it is up in a cabinet. I had to move the shelf pegs up a notch (easy they were adjustable) and it fits perfect! The black box shown is my over flow box of broken crayons, etc. It has long slat dividers and a Tupperware container for broken crayons. The kids love it too!

The toys were taking over my kids closets until I had my husband build a shelf in the closet last year. It has a return support on the right side of the photo by his foot. We didn't go all the way to the other side on purpose. WE LOVE IT!

Total project cost: ?$10 or so. We did this last year. We only bought 1 MDF board per closet at home depot (we cut to fit). Then paint with left over house paint.

More closet storage needed!

Total cost: $12.00ish We purchased a brackets package (with center support) and a prepainted shelf. When in doubt go up with vertical storage. I measured the space from the existing shelf to the ceiling and found the midpoint and put the shelf there. It was easy and quick. I couldn't do these projects with out my cute handyman-My husband!

Simple & practical organizing tips for today!

I like to be organized but I am constantly modifying some things. It might just be the story of my stay at home mommy life. Some of my ideas are simple, some are great, some are a work in progress. We all know there many ways to "skin" a cat when it comes to home organization but here are some new ideas for you today. For what ever that is worth-I hope these simple & practical ideas inspire someone to try something new. I more of my organization tips on the Organization tab. Check the link out for more. This is where I put my put my rubber bands from my newspapers...select door knobs in my house.
I am working on completing our immediate family favorite recipes and weeding out the ones we don't enjoy eating or making. I will be putting them in a 3-ring binder in categories. Merry Christmas to me huh?
So far these are the categories in no particular order:
Breakfast
smoothies
sides
sandwiches
casseroles
lentils & beans
holiday favorites (from New Years to Christmas)
breads & muffins
pasta & Italian dishes
soup
crock pot
beef & ham
poultry
fish
dessert
Mexican dishes
vegetables (also divided seasonally for our garden)
The laundry room coat rack. As you can see each family member gets a hook. The only bad thing is my kids can't reach it and put their own coats away. We made this out of extra wood from our banister (it was the wood piece that holds the spindles). My husband and I made this one winter day on a whim. It's not my favorite piece but it's hidden in the laundry room, functions fine, and was CHEAP (only the cost of the hooks from Home Depot).

Organizing kid clothes!

This is my wall of kid clothes tubs in the basement. Keep in mind I have 3 kids. I have two seasons of clothes for the same age. That was a hand-me-down bummer. I had to buy a new season for the same age.I am in the process of the dreaded annual seasonal clothes rotation of 2009.
It's one of my least favorite tasks. I hate to see summer clothes go away for months and months. On the bright side, I get to see 2008 purchased 50-75% matching Christmas dresses. :0)

Here are a few suggestions I found have worked for me:

• It is nice to have all matching tubs so they stack better and higher. Or I might just be picky.
  
• Save up $ and buy tubs at a good price seasonally: I buy them at Walmart for Back to school time & in January after Christmas
• Label! Label! Label Ex: 0-3 Winter and Summer & 24 mo. and 2T summer tabs, etc.
• Some clothes may shrink. Check to see if a shirt shrunk from a 3T to a 2T. Size it up to other shirts or your child. I might be worth putting in the 2T box instead of the 3T.
• Have a shoe tub for summer and winter shoes- We have way too many shoes in the garage so I like to rotate those out too.
• Don't forget to rotate out the summer hair bows for fall and winter ones.
• Oh and PURGE some clothes-don't be a pack rat-Donate!
  

I have the urge to PURGE so I am taking a week off from blogging.

Hello readers. I, Staci herby declare a personal week off from blogging and e-mailing. I am going to work on my personal pack rat tendencies (NOT SHOWN-this is the organized basement area of my basement). I am too embarrassed to show the other area.I am actually looking forward to this adventure. Don't miss me too much, I'll be back. This is our goal by next summer!A finished basement work out room! Note to self: GO FOR IT, PURGE and Organize!!

Can you relate? Do you wig out that you have too much stuff and clean, organize, and purge like a bandit sometimes? I do...and so I am off off to get started.

Organizing my wrapping stuff!

I have been organizing and purging this month. Oh it feels good! Here's my Huggies long rectangular box reused for storing gift bags. I organized by size...Large to small by occasion (Baby, wedding, birthday, and universal gift bags). I keep the Christmas gift bags with the seasonal tubs.

I used a computer paper box for ribbons and bows.

• I used a smaller box placed inside (see photo) for ribbon, string, and an occasional party item, and pink Easter grass that can be used as a gift bag filler.
• I put the gift bows on the remaining part of the computer paper box.

Organizing girl hair accessories Part 2

A cross stitch storage box helps me keep the small hair accessories organized. Michael's and/or JoAnn's Fabric sells the boxes. I got this one at a garage sale. SCORE!

I have been using this box for a few years now and I love how my small hair ties, clips, bobby pins, bracelets, necklaces and rubber bands are neat and tidy.

Organizing girl hair accessories Part 1.

I have girls...and LOTS of hair accessories. I thought I would share something that has worked for me and my many hair bows.

I purchased this hook from Home Depot in a two pack. I used one here and one hook for robes in my master bath. The bows are clipped to a long piece of ribbon. I tied each end to the hook. Now I can see what I have instead of rummaging through a drawer. How do you organize your hair bows in your bathroom?

Organizing the garage-Memorial Day weekend!

This Memorial Day weekend we are going to clean the garage. It needs help bad! The garden is almost all planted and now we have time to clean the garage. Here's some simple easy garage organizing tips from last year I want to share with you today.

Our mountain bikes hang from the ceiling on a pulley system. We purchased them at Target last year. It was worth the money to have them up off the floor all winter. Watch their ads they might have a sale again soon.



We use a wall mounted shoe rack at the bottom of our garage stairs. We don't wear shoes in the house so we keep ALL of them in the garage.

A recycling area- White tall trash can for crushed soda cans, the blue trash can is for trash, and a box for newspaper recycling. This is not rocket science but it's worked for us.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone. My weekend will be filled with patriotism, grave visiting, family togetherness, cook-outs, eating yummy foods, home projects, and a family garage cleaning party!!

Organizing the pantry

Organizing is a constant effort for me because I have little "un-doers" and a husband working behind me most of the time. I was working on my pantry this past week. Here's some quick tips in case you are feeling the urge.

**TIP** Use labels because your family can't read your mind! I suggest doing a little pantry organization orientation with the family after all the work is done. Then cross your fingers that things are put in the right spots.

I alphabetized the spice envelopes from front to back in a plastic container. Know I know what I got and I won't over buy in the future!



All my birthday supplies such as candles, frostings, sprinkles, cupcake liners, frosting tips, and cake decos are all in one box and easily accessible.

Then I stacked the less used items on the bottom with the lid on and the spice envelopes on the top. Very nice.

A rainy week decluttering mission!!

My Mom and Dad were in Utah visiting for a couple weeks. During that time my mother lovingly told me I have too much STUFF! I know it's true. They left Utah today (sniff, sniff) and I am now on a mission to get rid of some stuff! Wish me luck!

Here are some quick goals for this week-
1. I will Menu plan from our freezer and pantry. I plan to use the weekly grocery money sparingly-I will put the rest into savings. I want to only buy fresh produce and USE up what I have here in the house. UPDATE: I ONLY BOUGHT MILK AND WE HAVE BEEN EATING OUT OF OUR FOOD STORAGE!

**I have to share one tip today. BUY MEAT IN BULK and BUY after holiday kitchen items to use all year round.** Example: In early April a local grocery store had diet lean ground beef for $1.99 lb I bought about 24lbs of it!!! Here's a photo of one of two meat bags. I used my 50% off Christmas Ziploc freezer bags (purchased on December 26th in the early a.m. shopping hours). I weigh the meat in 2 lb increments and put in the freezer bags. I like to plan two 1 lb ground beef dinners when I thaw them.

2. I will go through the Easter candy. I plan on giving a lot to the Dr. down the street. (See my post on too much Easter candy). UPDATE: THE CANDY IS GONE!

3. I will dump, sort, and purge some toys from the front room toy baskets. I will put the toys in their labeled Rubbermaid containers. UPDATE: ORGANIZED AND SOME TOYS ARE DONATED AND GONE!

4. I will see if I can go to Grandma's and finish my window treatment project. I am adding a beaded trim piece to my existing curtains. Stay tuned for before and after photos. UPDATE: DONE THANKS GMA FOR THE HELP. SEE MY AFTER SHOTS!

And of course the daily chores....cooking...shopping for produce...laundry galore...

Join me and set some goals on this rainy day in Utah (or wherever you are)!

A plethora of Barbies...

I found this Barbie organizer for our basement playroom door at Target on clearance for under $5.00. I am happy to say we can get them off the floor now. Wishful thinking!

Puzzle organization tip

Puzzle pieces....keep them all together.

Here's my tip. I buy Ziplock, Hefty, and Glad bags at 50% off (add a coupon for a sweeter deal) after various holidays (shown Halloween and Christmas) and store all kinds of stuff in them.

I put one puzzle in a gallon size bag. I store them upright in my child's closet. My kids get one bagged puzzle at a time. It is easier to keep track of the pieces this way. It's not rocket science but I didn't think of this use until I saw it somewhere else. I love organizing and it is a constant effort for me. Any other tips for organizing and using Ziplocks? Feel free to leave a comment. Happy organizing!

The family command post!

Here's our family daily command post in the hallway off the garage and laundry room doors. I bought this wall piece from Target awhile back. It has slots I designated for: mail in, mail out, mail yet to be filed, and the backpacks hang below. I really like to keep paper clutter off my countertops and away from my kids hands. It looks like I need to do some filing. I dream of the fancy mudrooms and coat areas from the Pottery Barn catalog.....someday!