Organizing Tip Tuesday- Where are the keys?

How many times in one week can you say you have asked the question, “Where are the keys?”  I am betting a whole lot!  I bet that people waste an average of 5 to 10 minutes a day looking for their keys.  At least that is the amount of time I know we have wasted looking for keys in our house.

I did have a silver metal container that I used to keep on a bookshelf behind our desk but since I re-organized that space I had to find a new home for our keys.  I was stumped!  For the life of me, I could not figure out where the heck I was going to have our keys housed!  Then it just hit me one night sitting on the couch and I was looking at our desk.  I actually felt kind of silly that the idea had never occurred to me before considering it was such a simple solution.

BOOM!  A Command hook placed on the desk for the keys to hang and be in plain sight.  I know!  I’m a genius!  This was even way better than where we had kept them before.  Sadly, I lost backs for two of my hooks and need to replace them so my husband can hang his keys here as well. 

Very simple and easy organization!  Just make sure the keys are hanging there every night before turning in.  It could save you some awesome time the next day.

Have a great day and take some Time to Organize!

A Simple Hike

This past weekend we all celebrated the arrival of FALL.  I love the Fall season.  Texas got it’s first cool front and oh my gosh, it was amazing.  Turning the AC off(saving a few bucks there), to being outside and enjoying nature.  Which is exactly what we did.

The picture above is from some trails behind Mayfield Park in central Austin.  It is a really beautiful area.  It is hard to believe you are practically in downtown Austin.  Lots of natural vegetation and little creeks.  Toads, lizards and birds scurry everywhere.  The park itself has ponds, gardens and is home to lots of peacocks. 

So we decided to take a simple little hike there on the first day of Fall.  We grabbed some water bottles, cereal bars and camera.  The park and trails are free to the public.  The kids had a great time and we enjoyed a little exercise too. 

Enjoying life and time with your family does not always have to be about the money you spend.  We are learning in my family that spending time together and being more in the moment is way better.  Looking for things to do that don’t require money is not as difficult as you may think.  Look for local parks, stores that put on free events, movie theaters that host free movies for kids and so much more. 

I have even found a few web sites that give all kinds of information about free events in our area. It has been wonderful to find free things to do through these online sources.  We are on a tight budget here and finding free things to do with each other is very important.  It requires a little time to look up the information but is well worth it when you do. 

Simple living is what we are striving for in our family and with each day that passes, I feel like we are on the right path. 

Happy Fall Everyone!

Art and school storage

I hope everyone has had a great week.  Today I will be talking about this bookshelf that is now home to art and school supplies.

Since buying this shelf at IKEA, it has served a few different purposes.  First it was in our sons room full of books, models and toys.  Then it stored all of his Legos in bins and Lego models.  I moved it into our living room area and have re-organized it at least twice before now.

It didn’t seem to matter what I did, this bookshelf did not stay clutter free or organized in any way.  I was using the entryway closet to house art and school supplies and this area to had a hard time staying organized.  I also didn’t like the fact the supplies my kids use almost on a daily basis were shut up in a closet.  With them, it needs to be right in front of them to be handy, grab and use.  I decided this bookshelf just might work for their stuff.

I started by clearing everything off.  Here is the bookshelf before looking pretty good but it never stayed that way.


I then cleaned out the closet and went through all the kids supplies.  There was a lot of stuff.  I threw away old papers and some art supplies that were old.  I got some containers that we already had and started to sort.  Most of what I had was bought at the Dollar Tree.
                   
                                            

I took the time and labeled everything with my label maker.  If you don’t own one of these it is a great purchase.  I got mine at Target.  If you cannot get one right now, be creative with paper, markers, washi tape, tape or even yarn.  Get that imagination going!

       

Here is one last look at the bookshelf that now stays clutter free and organized!