Win!

I know I haven't been blogging in a while, and I want you all to know that I'm probably giving this blog up soon.  Still, I wanted to share with you this awesome opportunity to win a Keurig Coffeemaker!

http://screamingowl.com/giveaway-win-a-keurig-coffeemaker/

Check it out!!!!

Cleaning the Cleaning Supplies

I know, I missed a week.  Last week was really crazy with my husband being gone and I really should have planned ahead.  Sorry everyone!  I'm working on being more organized...well, you already know that.  I'm not promising anything, but I may have time to do an extra project this week.  We'll see how things go.

Here's this week's project.

 

 Yeah, that's where I keep my cleaning supplies.  I had no idea what all was in there.  See the baskets down at the bottom?  I tried to make stuff organized in the beginning!  The problem was that I didn't keep it up.  Stuff just got tossed in there all the time.  It just wasn't enough.

There are a TON of things I would like to do under here.  The problem is that I can't do all of them because I don't yet have the money to go out and buy stuff to make my kitchen better.  I was only going to do this with stuff I already had, right?

Mostly what I did here was throw stuff away.  The little spot cleaning machine that no longer works but I was going to get around to fixing (4 years ago) is gone.  The carpet cleaner (I have no carpets in my house!), the cleaning supplies that don't work, and the stuff that I can't remember what it is and no longer has a label are all gone.  In goes the baskets.  I also decided to install these little things that I found at a thrift store years ago that I was going to put in my pantry because I figured I had no space in there...there's plenty of space now, plus I also have pockets where I was going to put the shelves.

These shelves are just wire things (one was supposed to be a spice rack, but that one is covered too!) that go on the doors to hold stuff.  They work pretty well for now until I get around to remodeling my kitchen.

Ready to see the results?

 

Coolest thing I did here:  I actually made space in a drawer where I was keeping my cooking wraps (foil, plastic wrap, etc) because I had an extra shelf.  I think that's what this shelf thing was designed for anyway.  I actually carry one like it in my Clever Container catalog (check it out here) but I think I'm going to save the CC one I have for when I'm organizing my plastic containers.  I heard a great tip about using one to hold all the lids.

I used the shelves to hold the stuff that I use all the time. The little spice rack thing was perfect to hold my little extra scrubbies that I'm forever losing in the back.

Like it?  I know I can do better, but this is good enough for now.

The Hall Closet

I decided to take a break from the kitchen because I keep having these urges to go out and buy more containers in there.  You know, something that would be a bit more "perfect"?  I kept telling myself that my reward for doing all this is going to be a full kitchen remodel.  This remodel is going to be paid for with all the money I'll be saving from not buying useless junk to replace the stuff I can't find.  That will be when my kitchen is perfect, for now I want fully functional.  It's not working anymore to tell myself these things, so I'm moving on.  Next project!  I'll be back kitchen!

The hall closet.

Can you hear the Jaws theme?Nobody really knows what was in that thing.  Basically it's a bunch of stuff that needed to not be seen.  Anything that I don't know what to do with goes in that closet.  Anything that my husband can't find another place for goes in that closet.  Want to see the picture?  Bear with me, my hallway is terribly narrow and there's just not a good way to take these pictures with the equipment I have.

See what I mean?  It's just not pretty.  The funniest thing is that most of that stuff in there had another home...it just hadn't been there in a while.  The actual coats that were in there were my kids' from at least a year ago and wouldn't fit them now.  I went through that closet and found very little that I actually wanted.

There were things to keep in there.  My wedding dress (I was married 12 years ago this June) that I was really going to get packed away and preserved.  My prom dress (don't ask) and a couple of bridesmaid dresses were in there.  Why do I have these things?  Why were they in my hall closet?

In the end there were 2 things in the closet that I wanted to keep there...and one is still up for debate.  I have the ironing board (that I don't actually own an iron for anymore...but I'm going to get one!) and my handy Wrap It Up from Clever Container.  I'm actually going to have room for coats!  I'm thinking I'll get a shoe rack for the floor so my husband will have a place for his shoes that isn't on the floor just inside the door.  I just don't want to break my rule so early in the game.  Until I deem it absolutely necessary, he can just put his shoes on the floor in there.

.

As soon as I decide what else is going in there, I'm going to just leave it as is.  I have so much space to work with!  I don't know what to do with it now, but I'm excited to see it. 

Next week I'm going to tackle...I don't know what yet.  I'm going to have to wait and see what inspires me this week.

The Medicine Cabinet

I know, I've been in the kitchen lately, and it's a switch to do the medicine cabinet...but really it's not for me. 


When we moved to this house 5 1/2 years ago, there was absolutely no storage up high in my bathroom.  This made certain things difficult.  You see, I had a 5 year old, a 3 year old and twin 1 month olds.  Child-proofing the house was a must.  My kids are all climbers and curious...plus my son who has autism was barely verbal at the time.  The thing I realized was that I couldn't store anything in the bathroom that would harm anyone.  My cabinet under the sink in there was impossible to lock/childproof so it was basically useless for anything but towels and toilet paper (which were a mess daily for a while when the twins got old enough to become "explorers").  Child-proofing for a kid who picks locks (not kidding) and hacks computers (it started before he could talk) is pretty much impossible without a serious budget that I don't have.  The thing I found, however, is that my son is not much of a climber.  My daughters are all climbers, however, so that doesn't always help...but I wouldn't know that until quite a bit later.  Anyhoo, all this is to say that the highest cabinet in my house is in the kitchen, so that's where the medicine goes.  It's also not easy to climb to (but possible with twin power...fortunately I was faster than they were when I found my twins up there at 3...fortunately my mommy sense was working and I left the bathroom and found them before anything happened).

Okay, that's my long explanation for why my medicine is in my kitchen.  Let's get on with the show, shall we?

This shelf is above my spices, as you can see in the picture.  It's got doors and is pretty well hidden.  The kids know to keep their hands off...now.  Still, you can tell that if I want something in particular, I'm going to have to look a while.  This doesn't make me happy when I have a headache. 

A while ago I purchased these little baskets that were the perfect size for this shelf.  I figured I would sort and label everything so I could see what I wanted and what I was out of.  Unfortunately, the only time I thought about those baskets was when I couldn't find something and someone was sick, so I was busy.

Now is the time!  So I went through the medicine.  I threw away all the old prescriptions that nobody takes anymore, got rid of the expired stuff and found medicine that I could have used back when I had a cold!  I also found a couple of movie passes that were stuck up there for some reason...they are still good, so I'm going to have a cheap dates sometime soon!

My son has a lot of medicine that is just for him, so I knew he needed his own basket.  I also labeled the other baskets for cold/allergies, stomach, pain, first aid, and vitamins.  Looks good, doesn't it?  I can actually find stuff and just reach for the right basket when I'm looking for something for my headache! 

I don't know where my next project is going to be...I'm debating the pans, but I'm scared...what do you think?

Kitchen Chaos Continued: The Spices

This has been a crazy day.  I usually blog in the mornings, but today I couldn't because of appointments, phone calls, and everything else that is in my job description as a work at home mom.  Anyhoo, I still got the opportunity (after the kids were all tucked into bed) to organize something.

I've been meaning to reorganize my spices ever since I first moved into my house over 5 years ago...life has gotten in the way.  This also means, however, that I keep impulsively buying things to help organize those spices.

My biggest problem is my lack of uniformity in size and shape of spice containers.  In a perfect world, I would just go out and buy all new containers to put all the spices in so that they are all the same and well labeled. 

This is not a perfect world.

I am still sticking to my rule that I use only what I have and don't go out and buy anything.  Okay, so maybe I have a lot of containers on hand, mostly from my Clever Container business but also because they are my impulse buys far too often.

All that being said, this is what my spice "cabinet" looked like before I began.

Crazy, right?  I can't find anything in that mess.

So, first things first, I took out everything.  I scrubbed until I couldn't scrub anymore.  I went through all the spices and got rid of anything that was icky, too old, unlabeled, or just something I'll never use again because nobody liked it.  I put everything that has a home somewhere else in it's home. 

There was still a lot of stuff there.  There were a few items that I had duplicates of because, no doubt, I couldn't find it when I was looking for it one time and assumed that I didn't have any.

This is a pretty deep shelf.  Normally in a deep shelf I just put the stuff into bins so I don't lose anything.  The problem with that this time is that I want to see the label of every item and be able to just reach in and get it without looking forever. 

Also, my deep shelf has little side shelves that are angled in the back (basically a triangle because the whole thing is at an angle in my house).  I decided that I would put bins on the side if I could get something that fit to put in all the stuff that I don't use much.

All of the little things I have purchased in an effort to fix my spice space now come out to play.  I sort and figure out what fits in each organizer and where I want to put the organizer based on what will fit in it.  I'll want to put spices together that go in different dishes that I cook.  I ended up giving up on that in some cases because things just didn't fit together, but it worked out pretty well overall.

The end result looks a lot nicer.  I can actually see what is in each spice.  I also ended up with a little bin pull on the bottom right to hold all my spice packets that don't have a jar.  I also put all of the cake decorating stuff that I only use when it's time for birthday cakes or cookies in a Cabinet Cubby from Clever Container.  It helps to only have to pull that thing out when that time rolls around.  That went on the little side shelf as well.  I gave up on my rotating spice rack because it used up a lot of space for holding very little.

Overall I think it works nicely.  The thing I'm a little worried about is the fact that there is a lot of space that isn't used in front of my spices.  People (meaning my husband and I) have a tendency to set random things on spaces that empty.  Originally this shelf was designed for a microwave, but my microwave doesn't fit there, so we put it on a shelf below.  This place ended up being the only spot in my kitchen appropriate for spices.  It's nice that it's right next to the stove for easy access while seasoning things. 

One day I will completely renovate my kitchen and this organization will all be obsolete, but for now, this is good for me.  What do you think?

Kitchen Cabinets and Pantry Part 2

 Today I decided to tackle the pantry.  Timer set for 15 minutes, I opened the door to the pantry and began to take before pictures.  Right away I started seeing things that I didn't remember having in my pantry.  It was a mess.  I didn't have a clue where to begin.

I started by taking everything out.  My hallway was lined with stuff.  Some of those things I didn't remember ever buying.  I took down the pockets that hung over the door because they were starting to tear and I knew I had some Clever Pockets that I was planning on using in there anyway.  I brought out a trash can, a box, and my container stash.

Right away I found that I didn't own the containers that I wanted for the cereal...well, I had one.  I used that one and put on a list that I wanted to get some cereal containers.  Not just for the cereal, but also the instant rice and instant mashed potatoes (staples in this house). 

The shelf on the top had quite a few things shoved in the back that no one could get to, so I figured anything up there needed something to contain it.  I had a couple of mesh baskets and one that fit up there that I could easily label that wasn't clear.  I don't like using one that isn't clear, but I had to work with containers that I had on hand.

I also decided that I was going to move the kid's snacks in here instead of where they were in the kitchen (my pantry is in my hallway...it's not my favorite spot, but it's what I have). I like the kids being able to get their snacks themselves, and the twins couldn't reach them where they were in the kitchen without climbing on something.  I had these great stacking bins that I got in a dollar store one time thinking I was going to do something with them...I have no idea what it was, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be a better purpose for them.

Ready for my "end" result?

I'm not sure I like the way that I have the cans, but I don't have a way to stack them so I can see all of them.  I do have them in rows of items that are the same (all the tuna is together etc.) but I can't just see everything. 

Oh, I also moved the cans of soup into the kitchen.  I have all the other meals that are quick and easy in there and I had the snacks in there before, so it was an easy switch.  Want to see how that cabinet is after a week?  Plus I put in stuff from the pantry that should have been in there before too.

I moved a few things around, but that kind of movement is expected as I begin to organize each cabinet.

The one thing I'm debating is the idea of moving the pastas to the pantry.  They are a go-to meal around here, but I have to go to the pantry for the other things like sauces and such anyway.  I think it will depend on what my cereal containers look like when I get them.  If the pasta will fit easily with the rice and potatoes, it will make sense to me to put them together.  I don't have those containers yet, however, so I can't really do much about that.

So, what do you think?  Any suggestions?

Kitchen Cabinets and Pantry Part 1

Today I decided to clean out my kitchen cabinets.  I ended up stopping after just 2 cabinets.  The number one thing that I've learned in organizing stuff is that you have to set limits and do things a little at a time.  If you don't, you get overwhelmed by everything that has to be done.  I work in 15 minute intervals.  Today I did 2 with a break in between.  It was just enough to have a small miracle happen in my kitchen.

Let's start with the before picture.

See all the stuff crammed in there?  I don't really know what is there or really how I function with it that way.  All I know is, I'm tired of not being able to find stuff when I want to cook.

This cabinet is supposed to have baking things and quick stuff to make for lunch or breakfast (except cereals because the boxes don't fit in the shelves...one day I'll be remodeling and this problem will be solved, until then, cereal is in the pantry).

The baking stuff is in the kitchen because I bake all the time.  My son is gluten free (GF) and casien free (CF) because of his autism and I can't really do that diet without baking whenever he needs something.  Sure, there's pre-made stuff out there, but I can't afford it and I don't really want to feed him all the processed foods all the time anyway.

The GF/CF thing is important to my organization.  Why?  I don't have a totally GF/CF kitchen.  I have to make sure that the GF/CF stuff isn't with the wheat flour.  I don't want to contaminate anything.

The other thing that was important to my organization is my wallet.  I had to do this with containers and stuff that I already had on hand.  I just don't have the money to go out and buy a bunch of containers to make everything uniform and pretty.  This is where my pack rat mentality comes in handy.  I have a ton of containers.  That, along with the fact that I have Clever Container stuff in stock, makes me still be able to do this job.  Those containers that I'm "going to use one day" I'm actually going to use...weird, huh?  I will say that at the end of the year, when I've organized one area of my house a week and hopefully reached my goal of an organized house to be proud of, I'm going to have used or thrown away all of those things that "I'm going to use one day".  The day is now or it's gone.

Cleaning out all the junk in that cabinet was crazy.  There were things that had expired in 2007, mystery ingredients that were in bags but never labeled, and lots of stuff that I had no idea that I still had.

Want to see the "finished" product?

My goal in these cabinets was to only use containers that I could see if there was something in them and how many there were.  I hate it when I reach in to get something for the twins to have and only pull out one.  The Bin Pull from Clever Container as well as the Cabinet Cubby and Fridge Cube were awesome for this. 

I also tried to label everything as much as possible...until I ran out of labels.  It's on my to do list for today to go get some more and finish the job.  There's not many things that still need to be labeled, though.  I also found that I didn't have the right containers for everything and I'm going to need to order some more stuff from Clever Container to finish the job.  Fortunately, I just had an Open House this weekend and I still have not closed that party, so I'll get that order in quickly too.


So there you have it, part one of my organizational journey in my kitchen.

I'm back!

This year is a new start for me. I've been with Clever Container now for 6 months and I'm determined to make the next 6 months better.

One of the things I've decided to do was to write this blog weekly. I've decided that Tuesdays are the best days for me to get this stuff done, so it will probably be weekly on Tuesdays. So here goes, The first Tuesday blog of the year.

What I figured I would do was show you my route to organization this year in pictures. I'll show you my mess and how I cleaned it up, one area of my house at a time. When I'm done I'm determined to be able to take a video of my house and show you how everything has turned out.

I'll be posting before pictures...try not to judge me too harshly. I'm not a naturally organized person and I know it. I'm not a professional organizer, but working with Clever Container has introduced me to several of them online. I'm gleaning as I go.

Basically I just want to show you my struggle. I know that you all have at least one area where you struggle. Nobody is good at EVERYTHING. I'm just trying to be brave enough to show you what my problems are and show you how I'm working on them. With God's help, I'll beat this thing called chaos.

Ready to begin?

Today I'm going to show you what I've done to help me and the kids get a bit more organized in chores.
I admit, I found the idea from Pinterest. I followed the link here and found a blog about these awesome chore sticks.

I have to say, I'd had a pretty good chore system in place, but I'd been having trouble with the kids complaining. I had the house divided in sections and gave the kids the instructions for their section and the sections rotated every week. It kind of worked, but I kept having trouble with the kids just irritated with the same chore all week or not having time for their weekly chore to pass inspection.

This chore jar thing has worked pretty well. I've only done it for a couple of days, so we'll see how well it works later, but for now the kids are excited. The part they like best is that I give them a number of sticks that they pull out from the jar. The sticks have something on it like "rake leaves in front yard" or "unload dishwasher". There are also sticks that say "free chore" or "take an extra stick" to mix things up a bit and make it seem more like a game.

I'm using this together with my iRewardchart app on my phone. This gives the kids something to work for. If they complete a chore, they get a star. The app keeps track of the stars and allows the kids to redeem the stars for rewards. Sounds good, huh?

The thing my oldest daughter likes is that she isn't stuck in one area for a week, or even a day if she has 2 sticks in different areas of the house. She hates working in the bathroom, but if she gets one stick with a bathroom chore and one outside chore, she doesn't complain as much. Of course, since we are working on attitudes and complaining, they are getting extra stars (iRewardchart has a behavior section for stars too) for doing their chores without complaining or grumbling...and they have the opportunity to lose stars if they whine.

With those two ideas together, I've really gotten some things done with the kids home today. Sure, the kids' chores are spread out throughout the house and it looke like there is still a lot more work to do, but the kids did what they were told and I know I can just get out the chore jar when they all need something to do. Nobody wants to tell me they are bored, either....

No, there aren't really any numbers between 20 and 24...

Just because my life has been chaos lately, I'm not keeping up with my daily blogs...sorry.

Just because my life is still chaos, my blog entry for day 24 is pretty simple. It makes me laugh at how true this is to my wishes....

Day 20

Greetings!

Today I'm revisiting the kitchen. One of my favorite things to do with my mom as a kid was visit kitchen supply stores and look at the fancy tools. We would play this game with the tools. Basically we'd try to stump each other showing a gadget and the other person had to figure out what it did. This game began my obsession with cool tools. If it has a nifty purpose, I want it. I may never use it but once or twice in my life, but I want it anyway.

You don't want to see the drawers in my kitchen.

The process of going through these nifty gadgets and getting rid of the cool tools that I never use is something I dread. Why? I don't really care about the little figurines or other dust catchers that people collect, they don't have a whole lot of sentimental value to me. What really brings a tear to my eye is the cool gadgets.

I've been trying to figure out a way to keep all of them without living in clutter. I'm seriously considering some sort of modern art creation that would require welding the stuff I never use together...I just don't know where I'd put it...but it sounds cool, huh?

Anyhoo, how does one go about figuring out what one uses and doesn't use? Put all the tools in a bucket. A Tuff Tote works nicely. Take out your favorite spatula (you know you have one) and can opener (unless you use an electric that sits on your counter or something) and any other obviously used item. JUST ONE OF EACH! You can put these in your drawers.

Take the Tuff Tote with all the rest of your gadgets and take it out to the garage or somewhere else where it is not as easily accessible. Write down the date you did this and put it on the tote somewhere. The key here is to only take out stuff when you use it. After you use it, you can put it away in the drawer. One month later go back and look in the Tuff Tote. Any of that stuff you have not used in a month...so you probably don't need it. The only exceptions that I would make are the stuff you only use for special occasions. Holiday cooking is a bit different and sometimes I use different stuff. For those things, I'd take them and store them in a holiday bin. Break them out when you break out your decorations so you can celebrate with all your cool tools.

Day 19...No, I didn't notice that I skipped 17 and 18...

Did I mention that my life is chaos? I am becoming more determined and yet more distracted...it doesn't help when I spend time in the hospital, though.

Enough whining. I'll explain better in my other blog...if I can.

Today I'd like to talk to you about putting away groceries. Okay, it's really about your kitchen cabinets and fridge. I'm not incredibly organized in this area. It's one of those things that I will be working on and will have before and after pictures for. It's going to be awesome.

I recently heard a trick about grouping things in baskets or boxes by type of item (i.e. all the pasta in one big basket) that makes it easier to find what you are looking for as opposed to sorting based on the size and shape of the container. It also creates space on the shelves and looks better.

My plan is to use the Bin Pulls from Clever Container to hold those items together. The thing I'm afraid of in a basket is that I won't see when I'm out of something or I'll miss it because it's under something in the basket. Bin pulls are clear so you can see everything. It won't look as pretty as the baskets, but it will be more functional...and I'm closing my pantry when I'm done anyway.

On the inside of my pantry door I have Clever Pockets. This is one thing I already do to organize stuff. The clear pockets hold all the drink packets, spice packets, and general small stuff that goes in my pantry. It is really nice to have.

Other than that, because I'm going green...er I'm going to be switching to bags of cereal for the girls and getting cereal containers that will make it easier to store the cereal. I have a tendency to always buy the same kinds (but still sticking to what is on sale) so this should be pretty simple to transition to.

My kids put away the groceries most of the time. If the twins are in charge of cans, I never know what my pantry will look like, but if my son is doing it, the pantry is usually in order. Canned soups, vegetables, everything has a place and an order with him. The girls just put it in fast. My son is more likely to take everything out of the pantry and put it back in in order so that he has control over the order and there is no chaos. If only all my kids had a bit of OCD in them....

Day 16

Tip of the day: You can't organize other people. You can go through their stuff with them and set them on the path to organization, but you just can't change them to make them organized.

The decision to become more organized has to come from them. I try to organize my family, but the reality is, they have to choose to organize themselves somewhere along the way. I teach the principles to my kids and help them set routines, but they have to do it themselves for the lasting effect.

I can't actually organize my husband. He is a man who can be very organized, but doesn't choose to be all the time. From what I understand, he is an amazing secretary...can one do that without being organized? He is really good at his job, but at home...he's kind of a mess. An awesome mess who does great things for his family...but I still pick up his socks from the living room floor daily.

The hardest lesson I've learned in my marriage is that my husband will change when God moves him or he decides to change on his own. I'm not going to change him. I could leave his socks in the floor, but that wouldn't do anything but create a pile. I could complain, but that only makes me angry when it doesn't work and he doesn't listen. The fact is, Tony will change when he decides to. Until then, I pick up the socks.

I say this not to make you stop from hiring a professional organizer, but to help you realize that hiring someone to clean up your mess is temporary, you have to change to make your life more organized. The professionals are here to teach you, but you have to decide to learn and do it.

Day 15

Pictures are my friends.  I love taking them, I love playing with them (on the computer and/or scrapbooking), I love looking at them.  I'm not the best photographer, but I'm good at what I do. 

How does one organize pictures?  If they are printed, Clever Container has an awesome Photo Organizer that does the job well without damaging your pictures if you need to store them for a long time.

On the computer is another thing entirely.  I recently purchased software from Creative Memories (I know several awesome consultants if you need one).  It's called Memory Manager.  The coolest thing about this software is the organizing system.  As you go through your photos, you can sort them several different ways and it can access the photos in different categories...it's kind of like tagging them.  I really like it.  Honestly, there are probably a bunch of programs out there that do the same thing, but this one I earned for free by hosting a party, so I got it...free is good.

So there you go, that's how I organize my photos.  Now I need to go take some.

Day 14

Today I am packing for the weekend. A couple of years ago that would have meant I threw a bunch of clothes in a backpack and just rolled. It's probably my new obsession with always being organized and prepared, but suddenly one backpack has become a backpack, a bag and my purse. I am beginning to understand why so many women pack so much.

Now, my backpack and travel bag are filled with different things. I have snacks (I'm going to a women's retreat with my church friends) and stuff to do in there. Then I have a rolling bag. It has my clothes, toiletries, my Bible and a couple of books in there. I actually made a checklist so I could make sure I had everything.

If you know me, you know how different that is.

I was that person who always used to have to run by Walmart on the way to wherever we were going because I forgot a toothbrush...and/or soap...and/or deodorant...okay, anything else besides clothes...unless I happened to forget to bring some of those too. It was especially bad after my kids were born. I just didn't keep myself together. My kids were okay. I usually had everything they really needed. Not always in diaper bags, sometimes in the back of my car....

I have this basic aversion to carrying anything. I like having my hands free. Now that my kids are getting older I'm carrying more stuff. I know, that's the opposite of most people, but it's true. I carry stuff to keep my kids from going crazy. I carry stuff to keep myself from going crazy. I carry stuff to be more organized and prepared. I just carry more stuff.

The thing that I'm using to make things more organized for this weekend (beyond the normal stuff) is my Grip It from Clever Container. I have cords for my phone, all my travel size stuff, my contacts, pens, medicine and hair things all in that little grip it. It's all easy to see and easy to get to. My travel size stuff is secured a bit better (so it doesn't pop open while we drive up or down the mountain and spill everywhere) with tape...which is in the Grip it too so I can secure it on the way back.

I'm pretty sure I'm prepared for most things and I have easy access to everything. The one thing I wish I had is the Shelves On the Go from Clever Container. It would make things even easier to access when I'm there...but I don't have one...yet.

Day 12...and 13

Okay, so maybe I was a little ambitious with the EVERY day thing. It's not as easy as it sounds.

Today I'm going to talk about kids and school. Every day last year my kids came home from school and suddenly my house (which may or may not look lovely before they get there) suddenly looked like a tornado just came through it. I worked and worked to find a solution before my youngest two started school. This is what I came up with.

First of all, I put hooks in the living room for their backpacks. I tried having everything in their rooms, but it just doesn't work. They come in and drop everything still. I now have a place for everything that they need to drop when they come in the door. The hooks were a good start. I found a cute little shelf with hooks under it at my local craft store and painted it with the colors of my living room. There are 4 hooks and 4 kids...this is really important.

For those of you cringing about your decor, remember the backpacks on the floor or everything you have to say to your kids, "pick that up and put it in your room!" all the time. I don't do that.

Also there's the clipboard. Anything that needs a parent signature to return to the teachers gets put on the clipboard. If it doesn't get on the clipboard, it doesn't get signed. My kids don't get in trouble, so these are mostly reading logs and that kind of thing.

Papers that are being cleaned out of backpacks go into a box for me to go through and decide what I'm keeping. I like Clever Container's Document boxes for this because they are small...so I don't let the job get too big before taking care of it.

All this stuff goes on the shelf. Sometimes it gets overwhelmed, but it's not spread all over my house so no one knows where things went.

Bonus tip:

Okay, it was really the tip from yesterday: many cultures practice taking their shoes off as they come in the house. This is awesome for organization as well. My family does this out of the desire to be barefoot more than the clean house or cultural practice. What do you do with the shoes? Do you have a neat place for them? My girls have Clever Pockets on the outside of their door to keep their shoes in. Why the outside of their door? I can look over and see how many there are and know what needs to be found before morning...plus they see it as they open their door so it reminds them without my having to say anything. My husband and I have little baskets for our shoes in the living room. He and I mostly wear one pair of shoes each throughout the week so this is practical for us...plus I'm lazy and don't want to take the time to go to my room every time I take off my shoes.

Day 11: Shopping

I am a serious shopper. It's something I have to tame in myself. I am also a bargain hunter. Not just a sale at a departments store, I want clearance at the outlet. I also shop thrift stores regularly. I'm pretty cheap, but I'm a SAHM and I want to stay that way.

Here's the thing, that kind of shopping can lead to a lot of clutter. It's really easy to say "oh, it's only 50 cents, so if I don't use it, it's not that much of a waste." The problem with that attitude is that when you get home and don't use it, you still have to get rid of it. Getting rid of bargains is just not as easy as it sounds.

The tip that I'm giving you, whether you are shopping with me at Clever Container or at a thrift store or in a mall is that if you aren't going to use it, don't buy it. Impulse buying is the worst clutter creator in my house. I'll see something, find it great for (fill in the blank) then never use it. It just doesn't fit in my life at that moment. However, if I'm going shopping and I have a specific purpose to fix a problem in my life or fill a specific desire, I'm more likely to actually use the thing that I buy.

Thrift shopping is difficult to stick to this with. I'm always finding something else besides what I originally came for. This morning I was looking at winter jackets for my kids (I pay $5 or less for these at a thrift store as opposed to $40 or $50 and still get good stuff). I walked away with one for only 2 out of 3 girls and none for my boy. They just didn't have everything I wanted up to my standards and it's not like I needed them for today. The problem was that right next to the jackets was jeans...and they were half off...I walked...then talked myself into going and looking for my oldest daughter who walked out the door this morning in jeans that seemed a bit too snug. She probably has enough to last her a while, but I thought I should replace the ones she had on today. Honestly, it's not like I spent much (I paid about $1 a pair), but I left there with things that I probably could do without. Okay, I also walked past the books and HAD to stop. I had already compromised, it was too hard to stop myself. I left still under budget, but with only half the jackets that I originally needed.

See? I'm bad. Don't do this to yourself! Stick to a list! You can do it!

Day10: The Scheduler

My schedule is really crazy. Between everything that my kids do, all the therapies that my son needs, everything that my husband does, everything I do with my business, all our family activities, and caring for my grandmother's appointments and being her chauffeur, I'm a time juggler.

Writing things down isn't really in my nature. Until recently I remembered just about everything and stuff just worked out. Along came MS.

I can't remember anything anymore.

I started writing things down on multiple calendars trying to have enough space for everything, color coding one calendar that we had in a prominent place in the house...all these things just didn't work. They didn't go with me when I needed them. They didn't keep everyone straight.

Enter the smart phone.

I used every calendar on my phone until I found an app that works for me. Every list I need to take, every appointment that needs to have a spot, every time that I have to remember goes in this app. It's called Cozi. I can coordinate all the kids' schedules, my husband's schedules, my schedules, and everything else on the calendar. I know who is supposed to be where because of that app. The grocery list is there. The to do lists are there (and can be sent to the person who needs to do them via email if necessary). There's even a spot for a journal for the scrapbooker in me who wants to remember stuff about certain events. It's really cool.

The other cool thing is that my husband and I both have the app on our phones and share the calendar and everything in real time. If I'm at the grocery store he can add stuff to the list while I'm looking at it if I've forgotten something. He can look at the schedule and find out where everyone else is to see if he has the ability to say that he will be somewhere. He knows where everyone is as well as I do.

I love it that I don't have to remember things, I just have to check Cozi. It's an easy habit to get into. It works great for my family.

Day 8 and 9

Okay, I have another fail. This one had more to do with a technological error.  I tried to post, but it wouldn't upload from my phone because I was in the middle of nowhere with no service.  Anyhow, I have my post for the weekend and we are just going to leave it at that.

This weekend I am getting hand me down clothes for my girls from their cousin.  Before these clothes go into the drawers or closet, I'm taking out a bunch of other clothes that they don't or can't wear.  These clothes are separated into 2 piles, trash and hand to the next kid(s). Anything that has a stain/hole/otherwise messed up goes to the trash.  The other goes into a bag. 

Here's the trick that makes all the difference in the world: get rid of the bag the same day that you collect it from the drawer.  If it is going to someone not close by, put it in the mail that day.  If it's going to a friend, give it to them that day.  If it's being donated somewhere, do it that day.  Don't leave the bag somewhere that makes it become clutter in your house.  Consider that step to be the last step in cleaning those drawers and don't do it until you have time to finish the job.

I've found that if the bag doesn't disappear, someone will find it and want the stuff back.  Then the clutter spreads everywhere again.

Just finish it.

Day 7...oops

Okay, so technically it's not the 7th.  I messed up.  I missed a day.  I'll make it up with 2 blog posts today.

Since I messed up on creating my habit, I think I'll talk about that.  Habits are formed when you determine to do something consistantly for a length of time, right?  Did you know, though, that backsliding is actually an important step in creating the habit too?

The goal for me is to become more organized, and in this specific case, blogging about it consistantly every day. Creating a habit.  Missing a day can do one of 2 things: it can make me give up, or it can make me all the more determined to create the habit.  It's all a matter of what I choose to do about my mistake.

At the moment my choice is clear, I choose to become more determined.  If I make another mistake, my determination will hopefully increase again.  I hope I do not slip again, but it could happen.  The choice is still open with every failure, but if your determination builds every time you fail, you will eventually reach your goal.

Failure isn't bad unless you don't learn from it.

Day 6: You and Your Purse

I can't claim to be an expert on purses. I really don't like to carry one. It's just a necessity to me. Still, I have read a book on the subject and gotten a few tips from a professional organizer who works with me in Clever Container, Melissa Schmalenberger. She is an amazing lady and a wonderful upline.

Anyway, here is my take on purses.

My purse weight varies. It really depends on what I'm doing that day. It mostly depends on all the stuff that my kids need...okay, maybe the business too. Mostly I just want to be prepared. It's the reason why most women carry all their stuff in their purses, right? Did you know that the American Chairpractic Association says that your purse should weigh less than 3 pounds? How many of us can claim that every day. Most of us have backs that are in serious trouble. According to Kelley Styring's book, In Your Purse (the Amazon link is above), most women's purses weigh between 5-10 lbs. Scary.

My purse, like most women's is a mobile junk drawer. The difference between the one on my arm and the one in my house is that my purse gets cleaned out once in a while...mostly because I can't find anything...but I usually am switching purses when I do it. Imagine being able to go to the store and buying another junk drawer...you'd never find anything.

So what can we do to fix these problems? My new favorite thing for my purse is the Grip It On-the-Go from Clever Container. Seriously, I have saved a ton of time searching for stuff that falls to the bottom of my purse because of that thing. It makes reaching into my purse less of a nightmare. Everything just slips right in, but unless you are taking it out, it doesn't fall out. It grips on to your stuff so even if you are flinging it (say, you dropped it on the floor or your kid digs into your purse for something and moves it out of the way...yeah, that's happened to me) stuff doesn't come out. Nothing comes out unless you take it out. It's really cool.

There are a bunch of other CC products that I could talk about, but I'm trying to restrain myself.

So, when is the last time you cleaned out your purse? I just cleaned mine out today, but that is because I'm having a Clever Container Purse Party tonight...that's why my mind is on this subject. I wonder what my mind will be on tomorrow....