Thursday, April 25, 2013

Closet Organization

 
I hope everyone is having a great week.  Just doing some odds and ends around the house this week.  That includes getting some painting done that I have been putting off for months.  Don’t judge!  Life gets in the way of painting sometimes and that is just how it goes.  Last week I decided to organize a space that has been getting out of control for awhile.  This one shelf in my daughter’s closet is always a mess.  Take a look!
kiddie acres and organizing 003See what I mean!  Big mess!

Now I will introduce these little finds that I cam across at Target for $3.00 each.
kiddie acres and organizing 007Let’s see how they look and organize in this space.

kiddie acres and organizing 010Wow!  Love that shelf now!


The baskets fit perfectly and I had bought just enough to hold what I wanted to organize.  So easy and not time consuming at all.  Plus, I went through and got rid of some things that my daughter out grew or that she was just not using.  I love it when organization works out this great!!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Refrigerator Cleanout


I have always thought that the refrigerator is one of those spaces that people do not think about keeping clean and organized.  Maybe it is because it is in constant change or it might just be that it is one of those spaces that just get overlooked in a house full of bigger spaces.  Whatever the reason, the fridge is actually an important space to keep clean and in order.
organizing 020Look at our fridge before picture.  There is no rhyme or reason to what is going on in here.  Things are pushed in the back and large things are stacked on smaller items completely covering the smaller items up. 
organizing 021Here is the door storage.  Over crowded and things just put wherever there is room. 

Now, I do try and clean out my refrigerator from time to time but I have not tried to keep it clean and organized on a regular basis.  After seeing how bad it looked this time around, I have made a goal to try and keep this space looking better.  Here is what I did to clean and organize.
First, I took everything out of the fridge.  I would recommend for cleaning and organizing this space that you do not have any interruptions.  We are dealing with cold stuff here.  The quicker you get it back inside the better. 
Second, I wiped off each shelf with warm water.  I had a few months ago, used soapy warm water to clean the shelves.  I had removed each shelf and just washed them off in the sink, then placed them back inside.  I did not feel the need to go through all that again, so just warm water and done.
Next, I started placing things where I thought each item would work best and have easy access to it for everyone in our family.
I got rid of everything that was out of date and recycled what I could.  That is it!!!  Now that was not hard at all.  It took about 30 minutes and did not cost me a dime in organization. 
organizing 025How awesome it this space?  Well, really awesome I have to say!!!
organizing 029The door storage has much less clutter.  I placed condiments, salad dressings, sauces together.  Then, creamers and cream of different kinds, stick butter, jelly and syrup. 
Now when organizing your refrigerator, you will have to work with the items that are in your space.  Everyone’s fridges are of course going to be different as well.  So, work with what you have.  If you want to incorporate bins, then do it!  Maybe some of those cool mats that I have seen around would spruce it up too.  The point is to clean it, organize it and make a goal to keep it that way for the whole family to enjoy. 
Also, it is a good way to teach others in the family that by keeping this space looking great, things will be easier to find and that they can help in keeping the refrigerator looking nice too.  Helping each other is always a good lesson when it comes to having an organized home.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Bookshelf #2 Re-organization

 

 

organizing 003                                    organizing 012

Can you spot the changes that I did?  I know, it wasn’t much but to me, it made a difference.  Here is what I did to re-organize this bookshelf.

First, I took everything down and dusted the shelves with a wet paper towel.  I just use water to dust most of the time.

Second, I put everything back on the bottom three shelves just as it had been before.

organizing 011

The next shelf has books laying flat and staked in two groups of three with some art in between the stacks.  There is a small green tulip vase on one stack too.

organizing 007

The next shelf has another stack of three books with a pottery piece on it.  Some pictures sit next to this stack.

The top shelf has books lined up across.  The books at the end lying flat, have more books staked behind them.  I just pushed everything forward to make it would look symmetrical.

organizing 009

And there you have it.  A very simple re-organization without spending a lot of time or money.