Spring Cleaning!

The nice warm sunny weather today put me in a spring cleaning mood today.  Until it started raining, hailing, and snowing.  And now that is why I am sitting here, doing this.

Here is what I got done today...}

1.  Cleaned the top of the kitchen cabinets with Murphy's Oil.  This is great for getting that greasy substance off that seems to accumulate over time.

2.  Washed down the cabinets

3.  Moved the fridge and cleaned behind it (Gross)

4.  Dusted the blinds in the Kitchen windows

5.  Cleaned the windows and the tracks

6.  Washed the curtains, dried and re-hung the curtains

7.  Changed the rug under the kitchen table

8.  Put a new table setting on the table

9.  Vacumed

10.  Laundry

I know these last couple are not spring cleaning, but my feet are hurting really bad right now and these are counting on my list!

Things left to do:

1.  Revamp the craft room

2.  Go through kids' closets

3.  Finish Master Bedroom (Molding, wallpaper)

4.  Spray Paint Chandeleir for Craft Room

5.  Put up Spring Decor

6.  Replace air filter for house in basement

7.  Power wash the house and patio

8.  Get Patio Furniture

9.  Plant Pots

10.  Get wood and make boxes for garden

11.  Cut down perrineals in yard. (Didn't do it in the fall!  Oops!)

12.  Have a garage sale

13.  Clean out the Garage

14.  Repaint some of the baseboards

Are you spring cleaning??

Organization

Since it is the start of the new year and we all have the extra crap stuff from Christmas in our houses, I think it is time to organize! 
Here are a few things that I did last year that have worked for me and very easy to keep up.  Sometimes when we organize it is hard to keep up because were either:
 1. Too lazy to put it back where it goes. 
2. It isn't an efficient system that we have made. 

These are things that have worked for me.

This picture is the underneath part of those built in shelves.  I just took hooks and put them in the 1x3's, bought fish hook containers in the fishing dept. @ Wal-Mart, organized my jewelry to my liking.
 Bata-bing Bata-bang!

It also works to hang bracelets and necklaces!

The rest of the sheves I use to put my pants on. 

It seems to work better for me than hanging them up.

I use all white hamger for a uniform look.

I hang my clothes first according to color and then short sleeve or long sleeves. 

When I take a piece of clothing off of the hanger, I simply put the hanger back where I got it from and then I know exactly where to put the item back after I am done wearing it!  That way I found I am never searching for hangers.

For my shoes I went and got the dollar bins from Wal-Mart. 

Make sure that they are clear so you can see what is in there without opening a bunch of containers!

Happy Organizing!

Master Closet Re-Post

I joined Jen over at http://www.sanctuaryart.blogspot.com/ for her blog PaRtY. Here once again are my before and after shots of my master closet. Horrible, I know! But, I am real and I do have junk in my trunk! So here it is!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

These $1 containers work great for shoes. I have taken pic's of them all and will be putting them on the front of the boxes.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

This one is my FaVoRiTe! I put this hooks right into the wood that supports the shelf. It works great for necklaces! Then I got these fishing hook boxes at Wal-mart for $2.87. They work terrific for my rings and small earrings. The rest of my bigger earrings and some bracelets I put in a bead container on the shelf. I am loving it! I feel like I know where everything is! You could even go as far as labeling the boxes. I don't have enough (YET) so I did not feel that was necessary. Hope you like it and Happy Wednesday!

Organization in my mud room!

I'm I the only one who has a million papers on my counter top at the end of the day! Kids' homework, junk mail, magazines etc. I decided I needed one area to put everything. Some kind of station. I found one that I really loved on Pottery Barn's website, but let's get real people, who can afford that! And even if you could who wants to spen $1000 on a organizational station! Well not me! So here is what I came up with. It is in my mud room because my husband did not want it in the kitchen (my choice). So, this is what was here before, which I really love so I just moved it.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

There is pins boards, and magnetic boards, and off to the side on the other wall there is a stack bin for homework, mail, etc. I haven't had much time to use it, but I am hoping that it works out!

Closet Renovation's

Ok, so I am posting my dirty little secrets on here for all to see! Please still love me and don't judge me based on my messiness! I know some of you thought my house was always nice and clean, but here is where I was hiding it; in the closets! It was a fun project to do, although I still have three more to go. Here is what I have started with so far. I added these simple wire shelves to utilize the space better. There was too much on the floor before.

There are before and after pictures on some. This particular closet didn't need a before. It was pretty good, but I am warning you now, it gets pretty bad!

The important thing to remember here, especially with closets that have all this little stuff (army men, guns, cars, balls, light sabers etc., is that everything needs a home. Seperate toys into categories. I did little men, cars(big &little), bats & light sabers, balls, hats, castle, legos. You get the point. And make sure that you have a big bin for each catergory. I tried bins in the past but they were the kind with lids. They did not work well for 2 reasons, 1. The kids were always using them as step stools and breaking them 2. They couldn't always get the lids of and by the time they did they were so frustrated that the whole bin would be dumped out on the floor! I went and got these new bins at Wal-mart without lids and I am hoping that they work a little better!

This is the coat closet that didn't really need any organizing,

but to get some coats out of the way a little bit to make room for

the vacum and what ever else could be stored in here, I put hooks

all along the wood holding up the shelf above. It actually does take

away a little space, but I was just using it for coats

that we do not wear daily.

This is the second closet I did, our Master Closet! What a disaster! You would think a tornado went through this place! Besides having some Christmas presents stored in here and decorations on the floor, the space was just not utilized how it should have been. And I was also hanging on to clothes that I hadn't worn in FOREVER! My husband is just glad not to trip all over my things on his way to his side of the closet!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFOREAFTER

BEFORE
AFTER

So before my pants were haging on hangers. It didn't work that well because I couldn't see them that well and also because they were somethimes bending the hangers. I cleared out my PJ's and painting/work clothes and folded my pants and put them on these shelves. It totally works better. And now since I cleared my pants out, I have more space to hang up my shirts!

This is one of my favorite parts. I got this idea from Sid. I bought these hooks and screwed them into the wood, then hung my jewelry on them. Before I just had them in my jewelry box. This way I can totally see everything!

BEFORE

AFTER
I took all my shoes and put them

in these $1 bins from Walmart! I took pictures of them and will be putting it on the front of the bin so that you know shoe is in what bin.

This is the first closet I did in my daughters room. Now we did get rid of a lot of stuff that obviously she did not need! I do need to note that this inspiration came from my sis-in-law's friend Sid and also on of my favorite mags BH&G.

Thank you!

BEFORE

AFTER

I can now breath a little better! It is also easier for her not to make such a big mess because she is not digging for things. Her bins still have the lids, but I just don't have the room in her closet to do the bins without the lids. She also doesn't seem to break them like the boys do! Since this picture I have put the stuffed animals on the shelf in a bin.