21 Day organizing challenge, Pt. 3

Today's post focuses on our Coat area (I don't have a coat closet), under the kitchen sink, the basement stairwell and a cabinet in my kitchen that is just a mishmash of junk.

The area where we hang our coats is in my kitchen by the back door. It's a hot spot for us because we don't have a closet to hang stuff, so it becomes a dropping point for everything that comes in the back door.

Coat Area-Before

Back of Basement door-Before

Basement Stairwell-Before

Coat Area-After

I moved my coats to the back of the basement door, reserving this area for the boys coats. I hung hooks for Riley's coats and bags so he is responsible for hanging up his stuff when he comes home. I also hang his bags that we use to hold toys, etc. when we go out.

 Basement stairwell-After

I took everything out of here except for brooms, mops, etc. and reusable bags. (now maybe I'll use them???) This is seriously the cleanest this area has been since we moved in!

Under kitchen sink-Before

Whew! What a jumble!

Under kitchen sink-After

I added a little shelf to hold bottles in the back, reorganized my tote of cleaning supplies and added a basket for the light bulbs we had in there. (Look, I see some spare space...what can I shove in there?!?!)

I also added a little holder for extra sponges, etc.

Misc. Cabinet-Before

This cabinet in the corner of my kitchen holds a lot of misc. crap-extra plastic ware (plates, utensils, etc.), babyfood making equipment, cookie cutters, as well as the random coolers I have for transporting bottles. (Plus a giant-ass can of peanuts that we've had for months and only eaten like a handful out of...I think it may end up in the trash!) **Notice, though, I'm upcycling old formula containers from when Riley was a baby to hold plastic spoons and forks on the top shelf! I saved almost every can we used and stored them in the basement. They are AWESOME for storing stuff! I've even covered them and used them as gift tins for cookies!

Misc. cabinet-After!

I pulled everything out, labeled everything that was going back in and relocated just a few things. The top shelf is seasonal items: cookie cutters, can koozies and corn holders. Middle shelf is baby items: magic bullet, ricer, bottle bags and extra ice cube trays for freezing homemade baby food. Bottom shelf is paper products: paper plates, cups and silverware.

See? I told you they were handy! Wait until you see the next pictures!

This is the cabinet above my microwave. Mostly dead space because I can barely reach it and it's an odd shape, making storing anything there difficult. Usually it only holds plastic grocery bags. Of which I had WAY too many...wait for it...

Do you see where I'm going with this??

Ta Da!!!! Instant grocery bag storage!

 Each can holds about 20 bags, the rest are going to preschool!

By the way, this is what my kitchen looks like when 

I start to organize. It looks like it vomited on itself...

Here's that cabinet after I finished. It only holds 3 things; 2 cans of bags and the straw holder.

I'm counting these extra cabinets as my "You Pick" day. So I've got 6 days of maternity leave left and I've still got the pantry, laundry, freezer, spice cabinet, medicine/vitamin storage, fridge, basement, keepsakes and master closet to accomplish. Yikes, I better get my butt in gear!

Momma goals for 2012

As 2011 came to a close and we ushered in 2012 (quietly with some champagne and the 8th Harry Potter movie) it got me thinking about what my resolutions for the new year would be. I'm notoriously bad at keeping any resolutions I set for myself. They just never work out. But there were definetly some "goals" I was interested in setting for my family instead.

Here are my goals for 2012:

1. Scrapbook 1 page a week. I haven't scrapped anything since Riley's birthday, 7 months ago! With the recent birth of Sawyer as well, I want to make sure I keep up with the boys' books as much as possible. Riley loves looking back at his scrapbooks (he has 5 completes ones already!) and I need to start Sawyer's before he graduates high school. 1 page a week shouldn't be too complicated!

2. Get crafty with the boys once a week. I made Riley an art box last year for Christmas and we don't use it nearly enough! The sensory benefits they receive from playing and creating is so important to their development. Maybe Saturday mornings can be Art Day!

3. Utilize our Zoo Pass as much as possible. We received a Toledo Zoo pass for Christmas and I look forward to hitting up the zoo this year as much as possible. It also get's us into other local zoos, so travel is in our future!

4. Set up a weekly menu plan. This one is on the list because once I start back to work, we will be getting home a lot later than before and we'll be eating later in the evening, closer to Riley's bedtime. I work until 5:30 and once we load up and head home (adding in a hour of travel time if the weather is bad) we won't be eating until at least 6:30 and Riley's bedtime is 7:30! So if I have everything planned out for the week, I know what I need to defrost or my husband knows what to start before we get home and we're not scrambling to get dinner on the table when I get home.

5. PRINT PICTURES AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE! I am HORRIBLE at getting pictures printed off. Usually I wait until I've got hundreds of pictures to print. This year, tying into my scrapbooking goal, I want to keep up with the printing so I always have pictures ready to go. I am way behind...Riley's birthday in May to be exact. But my goal is to print some every paycheck.


What are your Mommy Goals for 2012?

21 day Organizing Challenge, Part 2

I've heard from some of you that you've started the challenge and are making progress! Keep up the good work! Christmas put me behind on posting, so this one will cram everything into one quick hit of what I've been working on. I found that I wasn't so interested in following the plan day by day, instead I found myself skipping around through the list as inspiration struck me.

DAY 2-DESK/SCRAPBOOKING AREA

This is STILL a work in progress! I can't seem to find a way that I'm totally happy with the set-up and I haven't had time to do any actual scrapbooking on it to see if it's functional yet. Still thinking...

 

DAY 3-TOY ORGANIZATION

I don't keep toys in Riley's room, he'd never sleep. Ever. So the toys have been relegated to our office and the living room. Just imagine the number of legos Phil and I have stepped on!

I forgot to take "before" pictures of these spaces because we took down the Christmas tree that day too. I just organized the space as I packed away stuff!

 DAY 4-MEDICINE CABINET

Before...

 After! (seriously, someone needs to tell me how to rotate pictures on here...)

By the way, my shelves in the medicine cabinet were GROSS! Trust me, go check yours out...you just might vomit in your mouth a little.

 DAY 5- LINEN CLOSET

I had already done a good amount of organizing on this when I was on maternity leave with Riley. It mainly just needed some upkeep.

Before...

After!

DAY 6- UNDER BATHROOM SINK

Before...

 After...

An extra drawer shot just for fun...all clean!

As we prepare for the New Year, I am inspired to continue working on parts of the house, possibly a room a month? January is National Organization Month after all! I've looked into the 365 day plans, but for me, one task a day is too much for an entire year. I see myself missing a day and then falling farther and farther behind until I just give up and quit the plan. In my mind, I'm thinking of splitting up the year into months and having one room a month. That way I can tackle tasks at my own pace (aka, around naps, potty training and washing bottles!) I'll ponder this a little further and see what I come up with. 

If you're following the 21 day plan, post some pics so I can see them!! Keep up the great work people!

21 Day Organizing Challenge

7 weeks of maternity leave have come and gone and I've learned something...THE CLUTTER HAS GOT TO GO! I go back to work in 20 days, and the thought of juggling two kids, a full time job and a husband with a job that requires him to be gone in the evening a lot, made me realize I need to streamline some things. I was recently browsing through Pinterest (my new obsession) and came across a blog that featured a 21 day challenge to whip things into shape. The blog is A bowl full of lemons and I fell in love immediately! The challenge requires you to address one hot spot in your home daily. They are small areas of your home, but when you add them up, it makes a huge difference in the look and feel of the space. I started 2 days ago (I had to skip a day due to holiday travel, so today I'm addressing two spots) but already I can feel a little (a tiny, little) bit of weight off my shoulders. Below are the challenges, with some editing on my part because either I don't have the spot mentioned, or it's a shared spot between my husband and I and would require a little more work on both of our parts. My final goal with this challenge, since I haven't been working, is to not have to buy a ton of new storage. I'm looking to reuse/repurpose/upcycle anything I can, making my budget virtually unnecessary!

21 day Organizing Challenge: (areas in red will be substituted)
Day 1: Junk Drawer
Day 2:  Computer Desk (I will be working on my desk/scrapbooking area)
Day 3: Tupperware drawer
Day 4: linen closet
Day 5: under kitchen sink
Day 6: dresser drawers
Day 7: pantry (I don't have a pantry per say, so will tackle my lazy susan cabinet where I store dry goods)
Day 8: Coat closet (again, no coat closet, will hit basement stairwell and coat hooks where we store those items)
Day 9: Toy organization ( work on Riley's art area in our office)
day 10: Laundry area
Day 11: Freezer
Day 12: Spice cabinet
Day 13: Medicine cabinet
Day 14: Under bathroom sink
Day 15: Medicine/vitamin storage
Day 16: Fridge
Day 17: Mail (instead will tackle storage in basement for extra kitchen appliances)
Day 18: Keepsakes
Day 19: Master closet
Day 20: Photos
Day 21: You pick!


I was able to knock out the junk drawer in about 30 minutes.

BEFORE:

 AFTER!

The biggest problem with the junk drawer was that it had collected 4 years worth of junk that actually had homes else wear. Once those items were relocated to their proper homes, it was actually quite easy to straighten everything out!

This is my desk/scrapbooking area. As you can 

see, it's a "work in progress"

Part 2 will reveal the organized desk and the 

tupperware drawer!

If you're interested in following the challenge with me, leave a comment below!

July 4th layered pie

We are heading to a July 4th party tomorrow and I've been looking for a new recipe to try. I wanted something that was simple, cheap and as few ingredients as possible. I been using the Kraft website for many years now because all the recipes meet those above criteria! I was excited to find this new recipe and I made it today. Here's how it went!

A layer of blue jello in a graham crust

A layer of whipped cream

A layer of red jello. I did have some trouble transferring it to the fridge 

and had some spillage up on the edges.

This is what it'll look like once it's cut

I decorated it to hide some of my spillage. Whipped cream, strawberries 

and raspberries hide a multitude of sins!!  :o)

EVERYONE HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4TH!

HERE'S THE LINK FOR THE RECIPE!! ENJOY!!

Kraft easy Jell-O patriotic pie

Preparing for a new sibling.

As we get closer to Peanut's arrival, I've been looking for ways to involve Riley in prepping for the new baby. We talk all the time about how Momma has a baby in her tummy, and now that we know it's a boy, we talk about "Brother" (As soon as we decide on a name, we'll call him by name instead of brother) I know that as a 2 year old, it's impossible to understand a new baby coming into our house. But we've been practicing! Here are some things we've been doing/plan on doing in the near future.

1. Big Brother Scrapbook-I found this book a few weeks ago and actually just ordered it. It should arrive this week. It's a scrapbook for the Big Brother (BB) to do as we prepare for the new baby. It has pages for the BB to color/draw pictures/glue pictures in. The last page has a spot for BB to add a pic of him and his new brother. I'm excited to get started on this with Riley!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1550746391/ref=ox_ya_os_product

2. I had a brilliant idea today (it does happen sometimes!) Now that we've decided on a theme for the nursery (elephants) I wanted to have Riley create a piece of art to hang in the nursery, something framed and special. Then the great idea went further and I thought I'd purchase a canvas and have him create a painting to hang. I'll keep brainstorming!

3. Something that I've seen families do (though we won't be doing) is to involve the older sibling in choosing the name for the baby. The child is given a list of potential names and is allowed to make the final decision.

4. One article I read-trust me, there have been tons!-suggested having the BB bring the car seat to the hospital and being able to help bring the new baby home. That way he's not just waiting at home for the new interloper to show up and throw his life into disarray. He's helping and involved.

5. As we go garage saleing, which is a favorite past time of ours, Riley helps me choose clothes for Peanut.

It's a short list but I'm sure I'll think of more as we get closer. But it's a start in making the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4!

You know you live with a 2 year old when...

About a month ago, my Mom was in town and she was helping me prepare pizza dough for Riley's birthday. She asked me where my rolling pin was and I went to the cabinet where it should have resided. Long story short, the said cooking utensil ended up MIA for about 4 weeks-my expensive Food Network rolling pin, endorsed by Paula Dean and Bobby Flay, that we received as a wedding gift. It showed up behind my couch yesterday-one guess how it got there!

Needless to say, that story inspired me to create this list.

You know you live with a 2 year old when...


1. rolling pin. couch. end of story.

2. You find random sippy cup at the bottom of the toy box, full of what was once milk, now cottage cheese.

3. There is a candy jar sitting on the back of your toilet-for potty training duh!

4. You can't walk 6 inches without stepping on hot wheels. Or legos. Or tractors.

5. You have tiny fingerprints all over the doors, windows, stove, mirrors. Basically any reflective surface in the house.

6. When other children (who do not belong to you) misbehave, you feel the STRONG urge to yell "Momma said NO!"

7. Toys manage to find a way into your bedroom...I'm pretty sure they walk in there of their own accord at night.

8. In my expensive Coach purse, you'll always find the following: baby wipes, hot wheels, crayons, teddy grahams, some elmo toys, hand sanitizer, baby tylenol, baby motrin and an elmo notebook. I feel like I'm break some unwritten law by carrying all of these stain magnets in a Coach purse.

9. The sink is always full of sippy cups, Take and Toss dishes and snack traps, half of which have been chewed on by my garbage disposal at some point.

10. You have diapers and wipes stashed around the house on the off chance that said offspring will need a change and you'll only have a microsecond to hold him down (in the middle of play/exploring) before he protests strongly enough to make the neighbors think you may be beating/scalding him.