52 Weeks to an Organized Home: Week 2

I have made it my goal to do all 52 weeks of the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home Challenge. I started January 2nd (found it on the first) and I was very happy with the progress I made in Week 1, even though I didn't get to as much as I wanted to.

Check out her site for more information and some inspiring pics from others taking the challenge!

Week 2 is Kitchen Cabinets and Drawers. Oh, crap!  Okay, I can do this.

The cups/plates are fine. And that's 3 cabinets. Food cabinets are a different week, so that eliminates 2 more. Silverware is neat and tidy. So that leaves... the pots and pans, cleaning stuff, lids, that way high stuff, the tupperware, and the two (yes, two) junk drawers. Oy.



Step 1: Pots and Pans

Before

You can't really tell, but these 3 shelves are in a corner. The right shelf extends all the way to where the left shelf meets the corner. Impossible to get all the way back there. And yes, that's a paint can.

These three low cabinets have always been a battle to work with. Hardly any light gets in because they are so low (don't let the camera flash fool you), and they're so dark that they swallow the little bit of light that does! I am constantly having to shove my head in there to find what I want. And when I do, there's the ever present danger of the Pot-alanche.

The first thing to do was take everything out. Not as easy as it sounds. The corner area is open all the way back to the wall and, over the 7 years we've lived here, things have been shoved back there. I had to literally crawl inside the cabinet to get everything out of that back corner. Then I swept them out and put in my new white shelf liners to try to help with the darkness issue.

Sorting all of the stuff actually took about 15 minutes. There was quite a bit of stuff that we've been given that we just never use. The quiche/flan set (fresh from the 70's a la my mother-in-law) was a casualty of the purge. I know what we use and what we don't, so that part was easy.

The Purge:

3 pie pans, some weird pans we used once, a large pan, a tea maker whose pitcher broke years ago, the flan/quiche set, a silicone muffin pan I use for toddler crayons (moved), a holiday plate, and 2 "tv trays" that are just impractical.

Putting it all back (in a way that was functional)... not so much. That took a lot more thought and effort.

After

Beautiful!

It took a full two hours, but it was so worth it! I can see! There's so much more space, and the shelf liners do their job of reflecting light wonderfully. I can see what's in there and get it out without fearing for my feet!



Step 2: Under The Sink

Before

(panicked screaming) Avert your eyes!

I store the majority of the cleaning supplies under the sink. Over the years, however, it's become a catch-all for anything even remotely cleaning related. As I prepared to dive in, I realized I had no idea what was down there. I only use the front four or five things on any kind of regular basis; the dishwasher soap and the supplies to make it, sink dish soap, scouring pads, and my beloved vinegar. Yes, I use it almost exclusively for cleaning so the vinegar stays with the cleaning supplies.

As I emptied the cabinet, I learned a valuable lesson on keeping organized. Literally, valuable. As in money. I had 4 containers of Windex (2 spray bottles and 2 bulk bottles - apparently I had the same idea twice), and 3 bottles of floor cleaner. Two of the floor cleaner bottles I could combine into one, so that saved a good amount of space. But I would rather have just not bought the second one!

And I found a bunch of stuff that we either never use, or that should have been thrown away long ago. Did you notice the blue bag? That's a Wal-Mart bag. Take a moment to think about how long the blue bags have been gone. Mm-hmm. There was a mixer in that bag. I have never opened the bag, never mind the box, since we moved here in 2004. Needless to say, the mixer was purged into my Sell/Donate pile.

Sink Purge:

Bubble soap, candle holder?, work gloves, cat bowl - moved to more appropriate areas

aluminum pie pans, another weird pan, more pie pans, about 1" sq of Fels Naptha, huge pipe washer thing, fire extinguisher mount, PVC pipe, emptied floor cleaner jug, mixer, another cat dish, mirror bracket - Sell/Donate or Trash

It only took about an hour to take everything out, clean the cabinets, and put everything back in. Even with a curious toddler who can take down the baby gate at will.

After

 

Voila! Much more functional, and I can see everything I have. Hopefully no more duplications!

I'll have to save the rest for another post. This one's running long enough and I have 4 cabinets and 5 drawers to go!

Double Duty; Organizer and Booth Display

The highlight of my week is arguably when I sell hair bows at the flea market on Saturdays. I get some Me time (unless my 4 year old is with me selling the magnets she makes [I only handle the hot glue gun, she does the rest!]), I get to talk to people about kids, and I get to make a little money.

One of the things I obsess over is my display. It's been pieced together over the years (3 full years now!), and I've tried a lot of different things. The ladies over at the Hip Girl Boutique forums have tons of wonderful insights and ideas. I tried a few craft fairs this year and it would have been terrible if not for their advice.

In my endless search to improve, I came across something (via Pinterest, of course) by Lisette on The Blank Canvas that I thought would be a good addition.

This is my version. Hers is all organized and pretty and in focus.

She uses it to store her ribbon for scrapbooking, but I can repurpose it for a "Match Your Outfit" display in my booth and I can use the cards to remind me what ribbons/sizes I need to restock. Very straightford and simple, but one of those things I would never have come up with on my own.

You need really only a few things to make it (aside from the ribbon you'll store on it) - scissors, binder ring(s), a hole punch, pen/pencil, ruler, and whatever you want to make it out of. You can also use a slot punch, but I didn't have one and couldn't find one in any craft store around here.

While purple is actually not my favorite color, it is the dominant color in my displays. I try to keep anything dealing with my bows that color, hence the purple scissors.

I originally wanted something plastic-y instead of the cardstock Lisette used for hers. I was thinking of upcycling the flat sections of a gallon jug, but I came across this "embroidery paper" at Hobby Lobby on clearance and thought it was perfect. It seems to be a mix of vinyl and something like felt.

Because this was primarily for a display instead of personal use and because there was a limited amount of material (I bought the only 12 sheets there were), I made a few experimental templates out of cardstock first. A couple different sizes of slots, and a different type to use for the large width ribbon.

I tried some pieces of scrap ribbon on them and once I found the ones I liked, I traced them onto the back of the material and cut them out. Mine are 2" long by 1 7/8" wide with 1" slots. The 8x11 sheet gave me about 25 of them. Punching the hole took quite a bit of hand strength with this material, though. If you use it, definitely get something better than a standard hand punch!

Then thread your ribbons through the slots. The 1" slots were fine for my 3/8", 5/8" and 7/8" ribbons. For my larger width ribbon, I'm using the template on the far left. It's actually a 4" long piece folded in half. I sandwiched the ribbon between the two sides and secured with hot glue (because as a display this will get some wear from people pulling on it).

Once your ribbons are on your cards, just stick them on the binder rings and DONE. Hang them wherever you please. I found this spiky candle holder at Hobby Lobby (yes, the tag says "candle holder" but I cannot figure out how anyone would even get a candle into it, nevermind light the thing). It will make a great display once all the ribbon is on it with signage.

Like I mentioned earlier, I also plan to use it as a way to remember what I need to restock. Whenever I notice I'm low or run out of something, I can just pull the right tag off and put it (with one of the extra binder rings) on my keys to remind myself to get more. No more wondering which size it was that I needed! Also a great way to use up my ever growing remnant pile. I just can't bear to throw away ribbon that is merely too short.

Hope that helps Now I'm off to organize my tubs of scrap ribbon!

Oh, God.... Where's that coming from?

We got up this morning to a horrible smell in the living room that told us one of the cats decided to take revenge on me for forgetting to empty the litter box before bed last night. I couldn't track down the spot because it was dry, so time to deodorize the whole area.

One of the potential offended offendees; Cora, the 20+ lb sweetest, dumbest cat you'll ever meet. Our other one, Valerie, was camera shy. A sure sign of guilt. She is the smart one, after all.

No Carpet Fresh in this house. Behold the magic of baking soda! And it's really simple.

Step 1 - Sprinkle baking soda on the offensive area. You don't need a lot. Just a good dusting should work fine. I do my entire living room every week or two and I only use about 1/5 of the box each time. If the area is still damp, you'll be able to see it in the baking soda. It will be a spot that doesn't seem to "take" your sprinkles. I just give that area an extra few shakes.
Step 2 - Wait 10-15 minutes. I took my older daughter to PreK and came back so it was more like 30 minutes, but as long as it's at least 10 minutes you should be good.

Yes, I know I got some on the sofa. But this works for upholstery, too, so no worries.

Step 3 - Vacuum as normal.

Or in my case, try to vacuum at all.

May I introduce my youngest: the crazy, diaper-shedding 15 month old who LOVES the vacuum cleaner. I don't know why. I stopped asking those kinds of questions two kids ago. I just try to vacuum when she's sleeping. (And yes, the baking soda works great for potty training too.)

And that's it! No more stinky carpet. A nice perk of doing this is that the baking soda absorbs the odors from your vacuum bag, too (assuming you don't have a bagless type).

I haven't tried it myself, but I would think that if you wanted a scented deodorizer you could add some essential oil or something similar to the baking soda before you put it on the carpet. If you try it, let me know how it does.

Starting the year on the right foot

This week I happened upon a very interesting challenge. The 52 Weeks To An Organized Home Challenge from www.home-storage-solutions-101.com caught my eye just at the time I was wishing the house was more "put together."

The kids and I spent the week after Christmas swapping rooms around and getting a handle on the overflow of stuffed animals, so organizing was on my mind. I happened across this challenge (yep, you guessed it) on Pinterest.

It's a running challenge with one task per week, starting on Mondays. Hey! There's something I can handle!  And I stumbled into it right at the "first" week. (The author actually "started" about 2/3rds of the way through the list in October.)

So, Week 1's challenge is the kitchen counters and sink. I came across it last Monday night, but still thought Tuesday thru Friday would be more than enough time. I could throw in the table, too!

Tuesday I cleared off the first counter. Fabulous! Who knew there was so much space hiding under my not-often-used appliances? They were relocated in favor of actually having some counter space I could use. *Gasp* Wow! I also cleaned the microwave, which hadn't been done in waaay too long.

I got a tip from the crafty little gnome blog (this is her microwave, but mine looked about the same -blech!). Put a bowl of water with a squirt of vinegar in the microwave for 5 minutes. Everything came right off with a damp cloth!

Wednesday I conquered the sink, with the help of my brand new counter space. My favorite tip for the week is making sure the sink is clear at least twice a day (after breakfast and dinner is easiest for me). I know that logically, it's the same amount of work as tackling the whole thing after dinner, but it just seems like so much less when it's split up! I don't have that Ugh! Dishes! feeling that made me hate to even go into the kitchen. Not that I enjoy it, but it seems like no big deal now.

Thursday I managed to clear off the 2nd counter. Tossed some of the more bottle-like sippy cups into my consignment sale box. Also took care of the bubble blower I had intended to clean about a year ago and just never got around to it. It was dead. As a doornail. But, voila! More counter space!

And then life kicked in. Never got around to the other 2 counters (although they are rarely used even when clean because they're on the wrong side of the kitchen) and the table -ha! The one item that needs organization the most never got gotten to.

But still, I'm proud of myself for what I did accomplish. Now the only hard part is staying on top of it so it doesn't revert to its former cluttered state. And a couple weeks are duplicates for me. I don't have a pantry so the cupboard week will be my food storage organizing. I'll have time to catch up. But if I don't, that's okay too. I am not going to guilt myself about housecleaning. Any progress made is better than it was. 

Is there a Pinner's Anonymous I can join?

So last month I discovered Pinterest.com and I am completely addicted can't live without it really like it. The crafter in me is giddy beyond words. The "Let's actually get some things done"-er in me is less happy about it.

But the "DIY and Crafts" section calls to me; Begs me to scroll through it's everlasting page (and then refresh it when I get to the bottom). My Crafts board overflows with awesome things I know I can do... or at least things I want to try to do. My "Kids Stuff" has tons of things they would love to do. Or at least things I would love to force them to do.

Oh yeah, the kids. They may want to eat sometime today. Wow, is it that late already? But... the pins... and the crafty-ness... and the... the...

Alright! I'm coming! *Grumble, grumble, clang, clang* There, eat. Crap, gotta wash the dishes. *Grumble, grumble, clang, clang* Bath time now? *Grumble, grumble, splash, splash* I said pj's! NOW! *Smooch* Love, ya. Night. *Close door* YES! Now that I've gotten rid of the kids I can find cool stuff to do with the kids!

Surely there's a support group somewhere. ...Right?