Organizing Tip Tuesday-Target Dollar Bins

 

Do you love Target?  Well, I do.  Big Time!  I make a trip once a week by myself and enjoy time on my own, plus some good deals here and there.

At the front of the store are the Dollar Bins.  You can find some pretty good deals here and hey, everything is under $5 bucks.  Now, as someone who is new to living a more simplified lifestyle, this space at Target could be bad.  However, I am learning to shop for only things I need and I am more than prepared to walk away from this section empty handed.  I have been teaching myself over the past weeks to go into a store and only buy things that are needed in our home or for my family.  It is really not that hard once you get it into your mindset.  I promise.

So, I was in this section of Target and came across this utensil holder for $1.  It is small and narrow.  This would do just fine for our drawer and silverware.  That was all I picked up in the Dollar Bins.  I walked away very happy and not feeling at all that I needed any more stuff.  I have gone to Target lately and walked around the store leaving without a single item.  For me, this has been a good technique to use to get into that mindset of buying what is only a necessity. 

So my tip for this week is to check out those Dollar Bins at your local Target but only get what you can truly use. 

Have a great week and take some Time to Organize.

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!