Project: Simplify

Remember when I told y'all I was planning to participate in a community yard sale at the end of March?  Simple Mom is hosting a 5 week decluttering challenge to help simplify our homes (and I hope the garage is included in this challenge!).  I'm looking forward to this challenge as I have tons of stuff to go through and tend to get overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff".  I'll let you know more about it as we get started on Monday.

Enjoy!

Tackling My Kitchen Corner

I have a corner in my kitchen.  

Do you?

It's a corner cabinet and corner counter.

It's the perfect place to put things.  Any. Thing.  All.  Things.

I've been trying to clean up the clutter little by little.  I've already cleaned up and organized our laundry closet and our deep freezer.  Now I just need to maintain those areas.  

While our oldest was here, we also went through the foyer coat closet and cleaned it out.  We donated coats, sweaters, maternity clothes, shoes, boots and baby toys.  I didn't take before-and-after photos, but trust me when I say I literally had to push the door to close it.  And you should know me well enough by now, that I don't exaggerate.  Unfortunately, I'm a sentimental clutter-bug.  I truly hate throwing things in the trash, that's why I donated everything I could.  And the best part about the donating was Goodwill put a donation box in the Food Lion parking lot in Newnan, so while we were shopping last week, we dropped everything in there.  

Now back to the chaos of my corner.

See how crazy it can get?  And this is good.  Last week my husband went through all the pharmacy receipts and payroll stubs I had piled up behind the white phone charging station.  I also had 3 cookbooks and a 2" 3-ring binder full of recipes in that corner.  But I put all of them on the book shelf.  It's their "home".

I always tell my kids, "if it doesn't have a 'home', it needs to get donated or trashed."  

Now it's time for me to practice what I preach!

I pulled everything out of the cabinet and put it on the counter.  When I was younger, I used to clean apartments for income.  Out of habit, I was checking for any signs of bugs or mice.  Thankfully, there were none.  Phew!  What a relief! 

Then I sorted through the open bags.  I threw away old pretzels, stale chips and Chex Mix, hard-as-rocks gummy candy and expired dried apricots.  If you're cleaning out your cupboards or pantry, don't forget to clip out the Box Tops for Education.  I had 3 in there! 

I put back bread, cereal, the good chips and dried fruit.  

(In case you are wondering what that sticker says on my shelf, is says "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".  I thought it might help me remember not to munch and snack on junk.)

Then I tackled the counter and it looks so much better!

Maybe I'll tackle my bedroom next week.  But no one sees it, but me and Kevin...

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:

• Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Decluttering Challenge at Mom's Plan
• 11th Heaven's Homemaker Mondays
• Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family
• A Slob Comes Clean End of Year 

Kitchen Organization III - 3 down 1 to go!

Momma watched the kiddos for me and Kevin so we could pick up some composted manure for our vegetable garden this year.  When I finally got in touch with the farmer, she said the ground was too soggy and we'd probably get stuck in the mud if we tried to pick some up today.  We're going to try later in the week.

Since we were out (alone!), we decided to go to Walmart.  I know, isn't that what all old married couples do?  Probably not, but we're such fuddy-duds, we were very happy hanging out in Walmart for an hour or two without the kids begging for a toy. (But we bought them each one before we left :)

I was able to pick up some new organizers for my next kitchen drawer.  After last week's beautiful result, I knew I had to find the same organizers, only they needed to be a little longer to fit the utensils in the drawer.

Remember what it looked like:

Then I got everything out of the drawer:

And then everything was put back in:

Well, not everything - I couldn't fit my kitchen knives in the drawer or my Pampered Chef Food Chopper.  I decided I don't use the Food Chopper as much since I have learned how to properly use a knife.  So I'm storing it in a cabinet under the counter.  Nope, I'm not ready to part with it yet.  I've had it for about 15 years and you know how I have a hard time letting go.  If I haven't used it in the next 6 months though, I'll donate it to Goodwill -- that's a promise! (my husband just read this over my shoulder and shook his head, he doesn't think I'll donate it -- I'll show him!)

As for the knives, my in-laws bought me a magnetic knife rack that I've never installed.  My brother offered to come over tomorrow afternoon and help me install it for me.  He says it needs some kind of plastic insert, since we're going to be drilling into the grout line in the backsplash.  I completely trust him since he and my dad built our house!  :) 

But doesn't it look good?!

I'm so loving this organizing thing.  I'm not sure if I'll be working on a drawer for next week.  I only have these three large drawers (silverware drawer, hardware/junk drawer, utensil drawer) and I have 3 smaller drawers. I keep kitchen towels in the middle and bottom two drawers and in the top drawer, I store tin foil, plastic wrap and parchment paper.  So there really isn't a lot of organizing I can do with those.  But I was thinking I might try organizing the laundry room/closet.  It's an absolute mess and I have so many bottles of laundry detergent, I'm running out of areas to store them.  I'm thinking maybe we can install another shelf atop the existing one and look around for some kind of organizer that might fit between the washer and the dryer.  

Hmmm...that sounds expensive...we'll see...

This post has been linked to:

• Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom 
• DIY Day at  A Soft Place to Land
• 11th Heaven's Homemaker Mondays
• Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family
• February Clutter Update at Amy's Finer Things 
• Spring Clean Along with Life as Mom

Kitchen Organization II

Remember last week when I started organizing my kitchen drawers?  My whole week has been off kilter since I didn't go grocery shopping on Sunday.  Everything I was going to do Sunday, I did Monday.  Everything I had planned to do Monday, I did on Tuesday.  So I'm playing catch-up today!

Remember the hardware drawer?

How could you forget right?

I cleaned the drawer completely out and put everything on the counter:

I only put necessary things back in, but it still looked messy:

So we took a trip to Walmart and picked up some drawer organizers:

Doesn't it looks so great?!

I felt really good about it when it was done.  I didn't feel sick to my stomach so I guess I'm getting used to organizing!  I also found $2.19 worth of coins in the drawer!

Next week, my kitchen utensil drawer:

oh boy...

This post has been linked to:

• Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life

The Daily Grind: Future Clothing Purchases

Most of my kid's clothing come second hand through friends or purchases at Goodwill, Thrift Stores, Consignment Stores or even eBay.  Recently,  I took the kids to the library and remembered it was the 1st day of the month.  And that means $1 Days at my favorite consignment store.  So I whipped the car into the parking lot and was pleasantly surprised to find there were a lot of items leftover.  I was able to get Haylei a pair of brown corduroy pants and a pink ribbed turtleneck.  But I really racked up for Hunter.  I got him 3 hoodie sweat jackets, a pair of black corduroy pants, and navy blue sweater with snowflakes.  I got all 7 pieces for $7.49 (including tax).  Two of the hoodie sweatshirts were sized 4 and the sweater was size 3, but I know Hunter will grow into them eventually. 

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I read in a magazine that listed what sort of items should be included in your new baby's layette.  How many onesies, how many sleepers, how many socks, ...etc.  So I was thinking (I know that is very dangerous!) I should have some sort of system when purchasing clothing for the kids.  Most of the time I'm buying larger sized clothing for next season or next year, and it would be nice to know if I am purchasing too much of one item or too little of another.  This happened last year with Haylei's pajamas.  Somehow, I didn't buy her any size 4 pajamas.  I don't know what happened, but she had none.  So I scoured eBay and found a Lot of 4 Pajamas for $5.00.  Thankfully I snagged them but I don't like to put myself in a position like that.  So this is what I was thinking:  having a list of items a child needs each season and being able to mark off an article of clothing when it has been purchased.  That might be a little OCD for some folks, but I think this is going to work out great for us.  Each child already has a large plastic storage bin in their closet with the next season's clothing stored in it.  So I'll put this list in the bin and mark off when necessary.  

Here's what I came up with, let me know if you think I should add something:

Haylei:

4 dressy dresses

4 service dresses

8-10 pairs of panties

8-10 pairs of socks

white tights

black tights

brown shoes

black shoes

white shoes

sneakers

sandals

4 pairs of shorts/capris

4 pairs of jeans

4 long sleeved shirts

4 short sleeved shirts

1 winter coat

2 lightweight jackets with hoods

2 lightweight sweaters

4 pairs of pajamas (see I almost forgot them!)
1 or 2 swimsuits (thanks Laura!!!)
winter hat, scarf, mittens

Hunter:

4 pairs of slacks/khaki pants

2 button up oxford dress shirts

4 dressy suits with dress shirts, pants & vests

8-10 pairs of socks

black shoes

sneakers

sandals

4 pairs of shorts

4 pairs of jeans

4 long sleeved shirts

4 short sleeved shirts

1 winter coat

2 lightweight jackets with hoods

4 pairs of pajamas
1 or 2 pairs swim trunks
winter hat, scarf and mittens

This looks reasonable to me.  My Momma says my kids have too many clothes anyway, so maybe keeping track of my puchases will rein that in.  

And I just thought of something, less clothing means less laundry -- yeah me!!!

_______________________________________________________
"The Daily Grind" are posts referring to my career as wife, mother, bookkeeper, seamstress, chauffeur, teacher, baker & cook and whatever else life throws my way. (Proverbs 31)

This post has been linked to:

• Homemaker Monday at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven 
• Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family 
• Thrifty Thursday at My Coupon Teacher
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

The Daily Grind: I am a Hoarder...In the Kitchen!

Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie is hosting a 28-Day Organizing Challenge.  While I know I need to be more organized, I also know my limitations.  I am a terrible hoarder.  I think I might have learned this from Momma.  She was raised by her Grandparents and they were born and raised during the Depression when a family did NOT throw ANYTHING away.  During that time period, families kept everything from jars to flour sacks.  Jars were used for canning and preserves, flour sacks were sewn into dresses and shirts.  So when my mother was raised in my Great-Grandparent's house, she learned to keep everything.  And when she married and started her family, she taught us to keep everything.  I don't even think it was something done intentionally.  In fact, I don't remember Momma saying not to throw things away.  She just kept everything and I in turn, kept everything.  As we know, children learn by example. 

I have a terrible time throwing things away.  Whereas my husband doesn't have a problem throwing anything away.  One time I wanted to declutter my kitchen and was going to get rid of a picture I didn't want anymore, but I couldn't bear to part with it.  So I took it down off the wall and placed it on the edge of the counter.  It stayed there for about 6 months!  (No, I'm not joking.  Kevin can totally vouch for me on that one!)  When I cleaned and wiped down the counters, I always moved it and put it back.  Finally, one day when I was cleaning the counters, I was ready to part with it.  I placed it in a bag in the garage and took the whole bag to Goodwill.  When I think about the picture, I still feel a little tug in my stomach.  It's sort of a nauseous feeling.  But I am happy it's gone.  I just hope someone else likes it as much as I did.  

So back to the kitchen organization.  I know there is no way I can do a 28 day organization in one room.  I would probably be physically ill for a month.  But I know I need to get on the ball and get my drawers in order.  

Check out the silverware drawer:

Yes, it's that bad.

Look what was UNDER the silverware holder:

Yeah, I know.  How did I keep all that junk in there?  

Well, you can see all the Pampered Chef receipts.  The consultants tell you to put them under your silverware holder so you know where they are.  But I'm sure they didn't mean to keep them under there for 10 years! 

Look how clean it is!  You wouldn't believe all the stuff I threw in the trash.  While it didn't feel good to throw it away, I know it will be a good thing.

And I only put back necessary items.  The silverware holder, plastic toddler spoons, wooden skewers (which I use to test my Bundt cakes), plastic serving spoons (because they can't fit in the other drawer, yes I know.  I'll work on it soon!), wooden rolling pin.  Look, you can see the bottom of the drawer!  Wow!

This works for me and I know it might not work for everyone else.  But that's okay.  That's what makes us who we are :)

My plan is to organize 4 of my kitchen drawers over the next 4 Mondays.  This is my first, but look what's next:

The hardware/junk drawer:

_______________________________________________________
"The Daily Grind" are posts referring to my career as wife, mother, bookkeeper, seamstress, chauffeur, teacher, baker & cook and whatever else life throws my way. (Proverbs 31)

This post has been linked to:

• Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family
• January Clutter Update at The Finer Things in Life

Coupon Organization

Remember last week when I said my coupons were in a mess and Kevin just laughs at me? Well, see for yourself:
While we were on our way to Savannah this past weekend (4 hour car ride), I worked on organizing them into a nice and neat plastic storage bin. I took it with me to Publix today and it worked out wonderfully! I learned this from Mommy Snacks and you can read about it HERE.

Enjoy!