Have 25 Minutes? Use it to organize a small space!

Have 25 Minutes? 

Use it to organize a small space!

Drawers, desk top, purse, you pick!

Put on some fun music, pick the small area you wish to attack, and let’s get started! (if you dance while performing the following steps – you can also burn a few calories to boot!)

My Space:  My husband's over-stuffed valet

Step 1…

Consider and mentally plan how you want the finished space to look (1 min).

Step 2…

Take everything out!!  Yes everything.  Clear it completely (4 min).

Step 3…

Put Items into categories (4 min).

Step 4…

Remove misplaced items.  Anything that doesn't belong in the space, place in a box, I call it the “Lost box”.  You can put those things away once you are finished.  (1 min)

Step 5…

Strategically place your categories back into the space.  Assign a home for each category within your area (4 min).

Existing valet not enough space - added a tray

Step 6…

Containerize.  This step is essential!  Don’t just put the things back in loose.  You have to create a container for each category.  If you are organizing a purse or briefcase areas may be preexisting.  However, you may need to create containers even there.  Mesh zipper bags for make-up, small case for coupons.  In organizing this space I made the space larger with a tray, then added additional small containers.  (7 min).

Transformed the "spare change" can into something more fun.  

Step 7…

Label – take the extra time to label.  It helps guarantee things will remain neat and organized (2 min).

Looks a little sparse.  Hubby at work with all his stuff when I organized this space.

Step 8…

Step back and assess the finished space.  Make any needed tweaks.  I added the clipboard for paperwork.  I also decided to frame a note to him in the space.  A checklist of things he needs to remember :) (2 min).

~~~~~~

Congrats you are finished – and in the time you would have spent watching a sitcom – you have given yourself an organized space.  Time better spent indeed!

Organizing tomorrow’s clothes today!

     As I have said before, making our mornings less hectic and more time efficient is always a goal of mine.  The breakfast menu is one morning tool we use.  Another timesaver is getting the girl’s school clothes ready the night before.  Besides, sleepyheads don’t always make the best fashion decisions. 

     This rotating mirror serves as the “dressing area” in their room.  Arranging the clothes here makes sense for us.  We use wooden pant hangers labeled with their name. (Future craft project: making these plain hangers princess worthy).

     The girls pick clothes the night before as part of their nighttime routine.  The only exception is Wednesdays.   On the day I do the girl’s laundry, I pick an outfit for the hangers so I have less to put away. 

     Hangers are just one option.  Pegs, hooks, and bins work too. 

Jen @ “I Heart Organizing” made crafty bins to organize her son’s clothes.

I love her blog! 

     

Other ideas – Lillian Vernon sells clothes organizers for the week!  This time-saver attaches to the back of your child’s bedroom door.  Pretty cute!

     

If you like the idea of organizing multiple days - repurpose a hanging closet organizer to do the same.

There you have it – another tip to make school mornings merrier

Creating a Chalkboard Wall

     Another project to update the  study space  was adding a large chalkboard.  I didn’t want to paint the wall.  However I did want to cover a large portion of the wall under the stairs without spending a fortune.  I planned to maximize our visual communication space – while giving the kids an area to practice writing as well.  

     The solution was inexpensive service board from Home Depot, sometimes called Luan board.  We purchased a 4x8 sheet for $9 dollars.  We measured it against its intended space and made our adjustments with a utility knife.

We added two coats of primer:

Then added two coats of Chalkboard paint:

Once dry we attached it to our wall with mirror clips.

In the space....

     The kids are really enjoying this update to their study space.  I placed the chalk in the closest bucket – they use the bottom for artwork and playing hangman with their dad.  The top is for keeping us on track with reminders and assignments :)

  

     The space is really coming together.  The new table and chairs from Ikea have been a great addition as well.  Next project curtains!

Organize Your Freezer in 50 Minutes!

Do you have a freezer jammed packed with who knows what?

Have 50 minutes on a Saturday morning to make your life easier?

You'll save money, time and maybe even plan a meal while you're at it!

Prepare:
Make some room an a counter, island or table.  Take everything out of the freezer.

Sort:

As you clear things out try to group similar items together.  Pick categories that make sense to you.  The current categories in my freezer: meat and poultry, sides, quick & easy, frozen veg./fruit,  and specialty.  

Purge/Consolidate

·        Throw out expired and or unidentifiable mystery things :)

·        Freezer burned items that have escaped their box or wrapping

·        If it has been there for over 4 months – consider tossing it.
.  

Consolidate if you can.  If you don’t need the container or box toss it.  I purchase the individually wrapped frozen chicken breasts.  They come in a larger bag.  However, since my freezer is set up with bucket drawers I keep them loose.  They fit better and visually I can keep better tabs on our supply. 

Clean.  Wipe down freezer surfaces once cleared.

Now take a look at your sorted piles.   It is time to place items by category back in your clean freezer. 

PLAN how you are going to place the categories back in the freezer.  Make use of your space giving bigger categories the larger areas. Also put your highly used items in easily accessible spots.  If you find yourself combing categories, rename the category if needed.

When I noticed a catch all category that contained burritos, waffles and fish sticks,  I called that “quick and easy meals”.  Since I did not have enough for a stand alone breakfast or microwaveable shelf, I used a broader name for the category.

If your freezer has shelves - use plastic containers to compartmentalize the spaces further.  Most of us have some extra containers in our Tupperware drawer or cabinet.  Plastic containers work best.  Discount stores have great options too.

Find a home for each item within its allocated space.  

Now, step back and evaluate.  Make adjustment if needed. 

How does it look? Way better!

WAIT!  You are not done! You have to label.  Preferably use a label maker or your computer to create labels.  Or you can try Washi tape if you’re crafty :)

Why is super important to never skip this step? If you don’t - the next time anyone helps put things away it will all be lost.  Or over time you might just forget where things go.  Save your memory space for birthdays and the like. Not for memorizing the shelves in your freezer.

Once you’re done and labeled.  Show your spouse and loved ones.  Let them know how happy this organized freezer makes you.  Tell them you expect if to stay that way!

Bonus assignment:  Use your labels and freshly organized freezer to plan a meal ir two.  Jot down essential items you noticed were running low on your grocery list.

Pat yourself on the back! Well done

DIY: Art Supply Organization

So I did it.  Completed a DIY project all by myself, someone mark the calendar!  This is progress friends. 

         One of my big projects around the house is updating the "Study Space".  Making it permanent and implementing a handful of fixes.  When you organize a new space, always revisit it after a specified time and determine what is working and what’s not.  Evaluate and make any needed changes.    

Art supply storage was at the top of the list (well after the obvious “make it pretty").  The current system is cramped and hard for the girls to access. 

          I wanted the new system to be cute, functional, and something the girls would enjoy using.  I thought hooks and buckets and things went from there. 

I started with two large wooden boards from Michael’s.  I first painted them with the white primer we had left over from our chalkboard project (My husband was the doer on that fun project). 

Next I painted them a bright green.  Sydney, my 4 ½ year-old, helped me with this step. 

White robe hooks from Target were added next. 

Using stencils and black craft paint, I painted “Inspire” and “Create” on the boards.  Like my buckets!  The $1 bin at Target never disappoints. 

The buckets work great for storing things by type.  The fronts look a little plain.  I plan to stencil numbers/letters on the front.  Maybe have a key of their contents in the work space.  

Here is how they look in the space so far.

very un-staged photos I know - my photography friends are shaking their heads at me. xoxo

Not perfect but done by me :).  They still need some work.  Overall, I am happy with the way they turned out.  More importantly - the girls gave them the thumbs up!

New uses for things you are not using!

Using your recyclables to Organize!

Here are some terrific organizing uses for things you might have thought were useless.  

1)    Old product boxes you thought too pretty to throw out.

Use them to organize your drawers.  Used the ones pictured for my nightstand drawer.  Took me less than 5 minutes!

Shoe boxes work well too.  You can cut them in half and line them up for smaller items.  I love using the thick holiday boxes and their lids. 

2) Empty Oatmeal boxes

They are a headbands best friend.  I simply added an oatmeal box to our headband basket and poof – bye bye nightmare.  

Before

After

     You can omit the basket and just use the oatmeal box.  Get crafty and cover it with some wrapping paper or paint.  Go wild!

3) Small bowls (you like but aren't using)

     I have these gorgeous small wooden bowls that were given to me as a gift.  They came with a large wooden salad bowl.  I use the large salad bowl but always serve on my everyday dishes or china.  Never those cute bowls!  I love them so much I had to find new uses for them.  And I did - you can find them all around my house.  

     A bowl is always a good catch for those little items that belong in the area but don’t necessarily have a home.

• Next to the bed in the guest room for their watch or jewelry. 
• On a desk to collect paperclips or needed notes.
• When assembling or disassembling items I always throw the hardware in a bowl on the floor next to me.  

          Here's a picture of one of those beloved wooden bowls at work.| I placed one next to my husband’s valet in the closet.  He uses it for receipts and such.  

(p.s.  I recently reorganized this little above space for my darling husband.  I will post about it soon.)

     Hope you can use some of these tips.  I am always on the look out for new uses for old things.  I’d love to hear yours.  

Have fun and get things done!

~ The Organized Friend

Study Space ~ Another Kid Time Saver

Whenever I meet someone who wants help getting organized but doesn’t know where to start – I always advise them to start in the area that bothers them the most.  You can always start small and go big – there is nothing wrong with that.  However, if you start with what bothers you the most and organize it – think of how wonderful you will feel.  And even one step further, how inspired you will be to keep going. 

So I decided to take my own advice and find what frustrated me the most.  It was not a room.  It was not a cabinet.  It was something bigger!

Homework,

      Backpacks,

         And Lunchboxes!

Every night I would make sure backpacks were at the bottom of the stairs and lunchboxes were in the kitchen.  My quest to find them was always an adventure….in the car, on the couch, by the garage door, in the playroom, once in the hamper.  Blah.  I knew I could save myself 10 minutes a night, 50 minutes per week… (Wow I could actually watch a TV show! Or read a couple chapters of that book my darling friend Tracy keeps bugging me about.)  Er uh,  where was I, oh yes, wouldn’t it save time to have a designated spot for the kids to put these things everyday!

While on the subject of “wouldn’t it be nice…” I would love to have a kitchen table that didn’t have to serve as the homework station!  Oh and I would love a better place to organize all the handouts of upcoming events and projects due for school.  Oh and lets throw the piano lesson stuff in there too. 

 Making dreams come true…

Planning the space:

            Ideally I wanted a space that could house the following activities:

• Area for the girls to do homework
• A spot for backpacks, lunchboxes and piano lesson stuff
• Information Center for handouts, projects, and reminders
• Visual Tracking of homework and piano practice
• Storage for needed supplies.   

When I first took on this project a month ago I decided two things 1) I was going to keep it very simple, and 2) I wasn’t going to spend any money.  My plan was to set up a temporary 30 day space and if it worked I would invest in making it permanent and pretty. 

Identifying the space:

            Finding a place was easy for me.  We have never been a formal living room type of family.  Maybe someday when the kids are a bit older but for now the concept is truly lost on us.  Our previous home had one too – only there we had used it as an office space.  Our current house has one additional bedroom so that became the office.  The formal living room here had become a parking spot for baby stuff.  The walker, the pack in play, the swing – you get the idea.   

So now that I found the space I had to clear it.  I removed everything that was not completely necessary.  Everything went with the exception of the pack n play.  We needed a downstairs changing option so it stayed. 

Filling and organizing the space:

           

Next, I shopped my house for things currently not being utilized.  I came up with all sorts of gems:

·        Card table and two chairs (garage).

·        Wipe board and cork board (garage). 

·        9 cubby shelf (office closet). 

·        Filing basket, file folders (office)

·        2 folding fabric bins (girl’s room). 

·        2 decorative baskets (under the stairs closet). 

Here is what I came up with:

Not beautiful but functional, organized and free :)

There's Jacob he looks forward to being big enough to do homework here!

The homework section was pretty straight forward.  The table and chair area works well – there is a basket of supplies in the center of the table (not shown).  The girls love having their own special spot.  They also appreciate not having the dinner time constraint.  So do I!  We tidy the space up at the end of the evening.  We repack their backpacks so they are ready for the morning.  If we have a super busy day, it can wait until the morning.  It only takes a few moments when you have everything in one place.  

Girls went a little nuts with the placement of the colors :)

 

The 9 bin shelf helped us organize everything.  Lunchboxes go on top (easiest to grab).  We have the small DVD player to watch our piano lessons.  Next to that is the filing system for all the school paperwork for each child.  Each daughter has a bin for her backpack and one for her piano bag.  The remaining open bins and the two fabric bins are items we use at the table.  Supplies, paper, books, puzzles, etc. 

 

 

The white board we use to track homework and piano practice.  We also attach upcoming projects there.  The cork board is used to display art brought home from school that week.  Both are a bit crowded after 30 days :) even with the rotation.  But that will be a future post…How we finalize and beautify our “”Study Space”!

What about you?  Could you use a “study space” in your home?  How would you organize it?  Where would you put it?  I would love to hear ideas!

Possible spaces:

• A corner of your child’s room
• The workstation in the kitchen
• Part of your existing office
• A transformed closet