Monday, April 30, 2012

April Wrap Up!

Oh, I can't believe how quickly this year is going by...we're already at the end of April. What a wonderful month it's been, too. I hope you have been inspired and motivated by more organizing...it's so much fun! If you missed any of the posts from this month, well here is your chance to catch up!







1. Road Trip Packing
2. Chalkboard Picture Frame
3. Organized Reader: Carol from Are We There Yet?
4. My post for The Better Mom about schedules
5. Couponizer Giveaway
6. Fountain of Succulents
7. Future Projects I'm planning to do and an announcement
8. Organizing a Coffee Bar
9. 11 Ways to have an organized grown-up closet
10. Organized Reader: Angie from The Country Chic Cottage
11. Guest: Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl
12. Guest: Erin from Two Story Cottage
13. Guest: Lisa from The Pennington Point
14. Guest: Amy from All in a Day


There you go...if you missed it, now you can catch up!




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Sunday, April 29, 2012

My next wonderful guest, Amy from All in a Day!


Hello OMF readers!!!  I am so excited to be here guest posting for Becky today!


I had the pleasure of meeting Becky at Blissdom back in February!  She is such a doll and I just loved spending some time with her!  So, of course, when Becky asked me to guest post it was a no brainer!! 


So let me introduce myself!  I’m Amy.








I ramble on and on over at my blog All In A Day.
Even though Becky said our posts didn’t have to be about organizing, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity for me to tackle a space that has bothered me for a while now……the pantry!!


I cannot tell you how many times I have completely emptied my pantry and tried to organize it.  I’ve used baskets, buckets, shoe boxes, you name it!  But somehow or another, everything just ended up cluttered and unorganized again.


Not to mention we had ugly, wire shelves that the builder installed in the pantry.


See what I mean……





Such a hot mess, right!!?? 


First of all, I just don’t have words for the condition that the top shelf was in.





Really?  I literally had gotten to the point to where I was obviously just throwing stuff up there!  Not good.


The second and third shelves weren’t too bad.  I had attempted to start getting organized by purchasing some airtight containers for our pastas, snacks, and cereals (these are the Better Homes and Gardens ones from Walmart….LOVE them!).






The fourth shelf…well…..I just don’t think one family should have this many canned goods!!!  Ok – maybe the Duggar’s and their 18 (or is it 19?  Are they up to 20 now??) kids can get by with this many cans, but not my little family of 3. 





Ridiculous.


And I reserved the bottom shelf for all of Emily’s snacks.  Again, I just threw them in there.  I attempted baskets to stay organized.  Fail.


And let’s not talk about the floor of the pantry.  Old tupperware containers, toasters, basket of napkins, extra condiments.  It was a mess!!






So, I took to Pinterest for some inspiration.  One common theme was that everyone removed the wire shelving and replaced them with wood shelves!


So I headed to Home Depot for my supplies!  I picked up one large board of melamine.  I chose melamine because it’s already nice and white.  AKA….no priming or painting!  Score.  I also picked up 4 1x2’s that were also already primed.  I had Home Depot cut my melamine board into 31”x20” pieces.  The wire shelves were only about 17” deep, but I had my boards cut to be 20” deep to give me a little extra space!
I gave the 1x2’s a fresh coat of white paint and cut them down to size. 


 


What?!?  You don’t work your miter saw in a dress?!?  Sheesh!


I found and marked the studs in the pantry and got busy drilling my 1x2’s in, making sure they were level.  These would be the shelf supports.






The melamine boards had a raw edge along the front so I bought this handy stuff:





Yup!  You literally just iron it on to the front of the board!  Pretty neat, huh?


Note:  You will want to use a towel or something to protect your iron while you iron this stuff on.





After all of the edging was ironed on, the boards went up in the pantry.  Then it was time for the fun part!!  Organizing the food and putting it back in the pantry!
I bought a couple more BHG containers from Walmart and a shelf organizer for my canned goods that I did keep.


Are you ready for the after!?!


























So much better, right!?!  I initially was only going to use 4 shelves and keep our trash can at the bottom of our pantry.  But, it just didn’t work out for me.  I needed the 5th shelf. 


All the food that I got rid of (because I know we literally will never eat it) is going to our local shelter.  I didn’t want to just throw it away.


I am so thrilled with how the pantry turned out.  I still grin every single time I open it up!  We just love it and it’s much more functional for our family!


And one more time (because everybody loves a good Before and After)……






A Few Things To Note:
  • * Taking those wire shelves out was not that much fun.  Whoever came up with the system for installing those bad boys should be fired!
  • * Wire shelves leave gaping holes in your wall when you remove them.  I probably should have used a drywall patch or something, but I was lazy and I didn’t.  I just spackled the holes.
  • * Speaking of spackle, I would recommend the kind by DAP that goes on pink and dries white.  That way you know when it’s dry!
  • * I painted the inside of the pantry after I spackled to match the paint in the family room and kitchen area (Valspar’s Ghost Gray).
  • * All of the baskets I used in the new pantry, I already had on hand!  They are from Target.  The basket on the top shelf holds all my baking goods (candy melts, sprinkles, etc).  The other large green basket holds our chips, bread, bagels, etc.  Next to it is a smaller green basket that holds all my seasoning packets and a box of popcorn!
Again, I am so thrilled with how the pantry turned out.  In my next life, I’ll have a giant walk-in pantry that has a California Closets style shelving system.  But this will do for now!  


I hope you enjoyed my new and improved pantry project! 


I’d love for you to hop on over to my blog and say hi! 
Thanks again for having me Becky!  You’re the best!

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Are you as impressed as I am? Mitering in a dress??? Wow, that's dedication to organization! I hope you get an opportunity to go over to Amy's blog and see what she's done. She's a sweet girl and we had a great time chatting it up at Blissdom last February, so I can tell you she's as sweet in person as she writes on her blog! 



If you want to follow my adventures in Florida, you can follow me on my Instagram or Twitter...where I'll be sharing my photos from my travels abroad!

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Welcome my friend, Lisa!

Here is my friend, Lisa who blogs at The Pennington Point....sadly, Lisa and I have never met in person. We would love to some day - but we are still VERY good friends through email, Skype, Facebook, and all kinds of other social media! She is an amazing homeschooling Mom of NINE kiddos. I've had her on here before asking her lots of questions about that, but today she shares one of her other passions - Organizing!!  




I love Becky and her super organizing skills! She rocks my world. I've got a tip, though, that even Becky may not have tried (If you've tried it Becky, throw me a bone and act surprised). Years ago I came up with a way to get the boys dressed in the mornings without the hassle of having to stand right there and say, "Did you change your underwear?" "Are those clothes clean?" "That shirt doesn't match those pants." I went to IKEA (otherwise known as heaven on earth) and bought heavy cardboard boxes that would fit on the shelves in my boys' room. Each boy has 6 boxes....one for each day of the week except Sunday. Each box has a day of the week printed on it (I used my handy dandy label maker, also know as my BFF). The blue labels are for Elijah and the white labels are for Adam.


 


 Now, here's what I do: On Sunday afternoons the boys and I go into their room and they start getting out the clothes they want to wear all week. They put them into little piles and I sit with the boxes. One at a time they bring me their choices of clothing for each day. Sometimes I will veto a choice (one boy in particular likes to wear some odd color combinations) but I will try to let them make most of the decisions. Then I put the clothes for each day, including socks and underwear, into each box and set it on the shelf.


 


Every morning they open the box for that day and put on everything in the box. Every night when they undress their clothes go straight into the laundry hamper. Dirty, not dirty, doesn't matter. Hamper. Then the next day they pull out the box for that day. Easy as pie.


 


 When the clean clothes come out of the laundry they go back into the drawers (you can see a peek of our elfa drawers on the left) and wait to be pulled out again on Sunday afternoon. Why, you may ask, do I not have a box for Sunday? Good question....you all are so inquisitive! Well there are 2 reasons. 1) I keep the Sunday clothes hanging in the closet so they don't need a box then after church the boys can put on whatever they want and 2) IKEA sold these boxes in sets of 3 and I didn't want to buy an extra set. I'm cheap. I have used this system for at least 10 years now and it has worked marvelously. And if I haven't yet convinced you let me add this priceless bit of information: if you do this you will never again discover that it has been 10 days since a child has changed his underwear and it is to the point of standing up on its own. Gross? Maybe. But let's face it...it happens. Try it. You won't be disappointed.



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Lisa is amazing! I'm so blessed to know her! You can too...she is an amazing writer, as well as a mother to all those kids! She makes me laugh out loud just about every time I read her stuff. Thank you, Lisa!!


If you want to follow my adventures in Florida, you can follow me on my Instagram or Twitter...where I'll be sharing my photos from my travels abroad!

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Erin from Two Story Cottage

Hi everyone!  I'm excited to guest post today. I met Becky at Blissdom and she is now my organizing idol.  I have a stalker-like obsession with her site and am always dipping into the archives for more.   I blog at Two Story Cottage where I chronicle my adventures in home decorating.



Confession: I'm not as organized as Becky but I'm always trying.  I'm one of those people who needs a system for survival. If my creative side were in charge, my house would be a permanent wreck. 

Life with {small} kids is messy but the mess does not have to rule your house.  Fact: Toys multiply. Like rabbits. We had zero toys five years ago which is laughable now. We are lucky enough to have a bonus space upstairs where a few bigger toys go; however, the family room is really where the bulk of our day is spent. There are PLENTY of toys to play with - you just don't see them - at least when they are put away.



Enter the Cameron storage unit from PB Kids. The best furniture investment I've ever made. Period. Would I have ever spent that kind of money on storage for our playroom? Probably not, but this is our main living area and I wanted it to last. It has been well worth the cost.  

I love that it doesn't look like it came from a kid store. It belongs in the room. I changed the knobs to make it more adult.  Adding bun feet would really dress it up too!



I don't label my baskets because I like the understated look.  Also, the kids know where things go and our needs change frequently.  There are several dress-up baskets, a gadget basket, a junk basket, a toddler basket, and an empty simply because we don't need it right now.  The drawers hold trucks, blocks, and instruments.  



We keep puzzles and games in our TV cabinet so those are hidden away as well.
Tip: Every time a new toy comes in,  make room by taking something out.  I also slip things out of the junk basket on a regular basis.  



Decorating is my passion and the storage unit doubles as a mantel for me.  Right now it is decorated for spring but I change it out seasonally.  Most people don't notice the toys and I love that you can hide it in plain sight.

The Cameron storage components can be found at Pottery Barn Kids.  The Kendall collection at Company Kids is similar and less expensive.   
Other items relating to storage in our home:
Where We Play (old house)
Thanks for having me, Becky!
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OK...Erin is just the sweetest and cutest gal! It was so fun to meet her at Blissdom last February. She has graciously filled in for me this week while I travel with my hubby on his business trip to Florida. Go and visit her blog and tell her I sent you. She has amazing taste and decorates her home beautifully! 


If you want to follow my adventures in Florida, you can follow me on my Instagram or Twitter...where I'll be sharing my photos from my travels abroad!

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Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email!

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Delivered by FeedBurner
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Having trouble seeing the pictures? Try THIS.
Are you an Organized Reader? I'd love to see your organized space. Email me HERE and show me your space to possibly be featured as one of my Organized Readers.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Organizing with Brittany, the Pretty Handy Girl

I'd like to take the time to let you all know that I'm away on a business trip with my hubby in Florida for the next week - and last week my Mom was in the hospital a few hours away and I have been by her side. That along with many other things going on around the OMF household have made it quite busy for me and my family.


I asked some of my dear blog friends to help me out and fill in for me all this week...so you are going to see some amazing ladies who have amazing spaces. I would LOVE it if you went over to visit their blogs and let them know I sent you - and pin some of their fabulous tutorials while you're over there. 


Pretty Handy Girl Blog


First up is my friend, Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl. She won't disappoint...she has skills like I could only dream of. I consider myself fairly handy, but not nearly as handy as Brittany. She's a DIY go-to girl and has a blog filled with ways to empower women to pick up those tools and learn to fix things.



I'm so excited to be joining Becky today at Organizing Made Fun. Becky and I finally got the chance to meet in person at Blissdom.

   

 Right away I felt as if I was hanging out with a close friend that I'd known for years. I love when that kind of connection happens. I have an easy tutorial for you today on better organization under the kitchen sink. But, before we get to the tutorial, I think introductions are in order. Hi, my name is Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl).



Normally I don't look this clean. I usually have sawdust in my hair or paint splatter on my elbows. I write a blog full of tutorials for everything from crafting and sewing:




to building and home repairs:



Today I want to share with you some tips to maximizing space under your kitchen sink. If you are like me, you might have stuff crammed under there that could be labelled as potential explosive material (because every time I open those doors I prepare myself for random cleaners and bottles to explode out after being shoved in.)


Finding anything in there required moving everything. After one too many frustrating episodes of not being able to find a clean sponge or dish detergent, I decided enough was enough! As a busy blogger and mother of two I don't have time to try to find a clean sponge in my own cabinet!
First I cleared everything out of the cabinet and donated all the products that I don't use. I purchased a plastic lazy susan and put it under one side of the sink.


All the frequently used products live on "Susan". I had to play with the placement of some of the taller bottles so they wouldn't hit the drain as they spun around.
On the left side, I store the larger items (compost bucket, napkins and paper towels.)


I also found two baskets to hold dish rags and kitchen towels.



But, there were three things that I reach for over and over again throughout the day: My cleaning spray bottles. I wanted them close at hand and easy to reach as I fought sticky counter syndrome (you moms of young kids know what I'm talking about, right!) I purchased a wire shelf that mounts to the inside of the cabinet door and installed it in a matter of minutes!
Here's the tutorial to add your own sticky counter arsenal holder:

Materials:
  • Cordless drill (or philips screwdriver)
  • Cabinet rack
  • Safety goggles
  • Pencil
  • Level
Difficulty: Easy - limited power tool usage. A screwdriver could be used instead of a drill.

Instructions:
1. Hold the wire shelf against the cabinet door to determine the height you want to mount it. Mark the location of one of the screw holes on the side of the rack.
 2. Use a level to mark the second screw location on the other side of the rack.


Step 3. Drive one screw into one side. Leave part of the screw protruding from the cabinet.


Step 4. Insert the wire shelf underneath the first screw. Use the drill to drive the second screw into the opposite side. Tighten or loosen the screws as necessary.


 

 Step 5. Store cleaners or other products on the shelf. 

 

Can I get a wooohooo for being organized and utilizing unused space on the cabinet door?! Thanks for having me today. I hope you'll come visit me soon at PrettyHandyGirl.com.
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See, I told you she was amazing! If you want to follow my adventures in Florida, you can follow me on my Instagram or Twitter...where I'll be sharing my photos from my travels abroad!

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Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email!

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner
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Having trouble seeing the pictures? Try THIS.
Are you an Organized Reader? I'd love to see your organized space. Email me HERE and show me your space to possibly be featured as one of my Organized Readers.