Washi Tape Organization

My daughter has decided that she hates blogging today, so I am going to finish the post for her. It is all about getting organized with washi tape.

Washi tape can help to get things organized in a fun, cute way. My mom made her own tabs in journals to create sections by folding a little washi tape on the edge of the page.

My mom also uses washi tape in her planner, and I use it on my calendar to mark important dates.

My sisters and I also used washi tape to mark the phone/tablet chargers so that we know whose is whose. Charger theft is a very serious crime in our house.

I have my own little "classroom" and the freezer door is the dry erase board. Many real teachers also use washi tape to create sections on blackboards or dry erase boards.

I also made a bunch of washi tape clothespin magnets. If you have washi tape that is about the same size as the clothespins it doesn't get any easier than this! Just put a strip of washi tape on the front and an adhesive magnet or two on the back.

I also made these organizers out of one of my shotgun shell boxes. The animal print is actually duct tape, though.

Thanks for taking your time to read this post!

If you want to pin these ideas for later...

You can see all of the Washi Week 2017 posts HERE.

Kitchen Drawer Organizing

May is a crazy busy month for me! We have 4 different sports teams going right now so we are always on the go. I really don't have time for extra cleaning and organizing, but I know that I need to make it a priority because, let's face it, when the kids are home from school for the summer it will only get worse. Kathi Lipp is running a 10 day "Spring Fling" challenge over on her blog and I decided to join in. The first room was the same place where I always start- the kitchen. Since I organized and decluttered a lot back in January, it was not too bad. I got rid of some things that we aren't really using and some things that are in poor condition. If I find I really do need to replace them later, I will, but I would bet that we can made do. One area that I have decent organization is my drawers. Unfortunately, it is my 11yo's job to unload the dishwasher and she doesn't put things away correctly. We need some more lessons on that. I won't let them graduate to another job until they have learned to master the currently assigned chore. (Everyone really hates unloading the dishwasher.) I focused on decluttering and straightening the drawers today. So, this is what my drawers look like when things are put in the proper places (and to be fair there are some things in the dishwasher waiting to be washed).

Please excuse my terrible pictures; the lighting in my kitchen is really bad, especially on dreary days like today. 

I was given this handy tray for utensils. My rolling pin fits nicely beside it so that is where I keep it.

The drawer doesn't pull out all the way, but behind the tray I have a bag with extra utensils for when we host large gatherings, which is never, and the toddler and baby utensils in an old storage container that didn't have a lid.

Next I have the larger utensils that I use for cooking and serving. I use a tray from the Dollar Tree (came in a 3-pack) to hold the spatulas and create a sort of divider. This drawer is usually the messiest, but I didn't want all of those bulky items in a container on my counter anymore.

My kitchen gadget drawer is nicely organized with dollar store bins. Someone in the Spring Fling facebook group showed that she decluttered her vegetable peelers. Well, I had five but we use them all when we are canning and I put the girls to work. I still parted with two that were worn out so either I get more or we take shifts. LOL

Last stop is the junk drawer. Most of our junk is in baskets around the house (which I plan on revisiting soon) so it really just holds some miscellaneous items and extra things.

I feel like I am off to a good start, even if I got rid of a lot of small items.

 Other posts that you may find helpful...

8 Tips that Help Me Declutter

Kitchen Decluttering and Organizing

Kitchen Organization for Lunchbox Stuff

Kitchen Organization for Lunchbox Stuff

I must admit, I am slowing down a bit on my decluttering and organizing around here. Part of it is my ambition fizzling out and part of it is the kids being home more. Nothing ruins a good cleaning spree like a phone call about an early dismissal. Speaking of school, my kids go through little spurts where they like to pack their lunches. I used to encourage lunch packing quite a bit more, but frankly, I just got burned out. One year of packing three custom lunches and a snack every day wore me down. I have more of a "whatever" attitude about it now.

I still have a lot of lunch packing supplies- plastic containers, thermoses, etc. They can trash a cupboard pretty quickly. In a perfect world, I would have an entire area just designated to lunchbox stuff where everything is in one place, but my kitchen just isn't set up that way. I gotta' make do.

So, of course, I resorted to plastic bins from the Dollar Tree. They corral most of the plastic containers. I also sometimes use old food storage containers with missing lids. The white one holds my plastic mason jar lids.

I like to use the plastic sandwich boxes because their sandwiches don't get smashed. The XS size Glad containers are a perfect snack size for elementary lunches! Also, a friend of mine sent reusable pouches for applesauce when my daughter had sever poison ivy all over her face and lips and couldn't open her mouth wide enough to eat much.

The older girls conned me into buying some cute sectioned containers that they don't really use.

Some of the lunchbox goodies have to be stored in the fridge. I love the plastic baskets with the handles in front since I am short (they have them at our local Dollar Tree in cute colors right now!) It keeps everything in the fridge so much neater!

The pink basket holds little things for lunchboxes, like yogurt cups and snacks. They would be a mess left loose in the fridge and I keep them up high or they will be gobbled up really quickly in this house. Remember those little Glad containers from a few pictures up? Well, those make perfect DIY jello cups! I also like to make my own granola bars and put them in snack bags.

The white basket is for jelly. We always have an assortment. (See THIS post for jelly recipes!)

I keep the soup thermoses with the water bottles (see HERE), but maybe I should pitch some of those divided containers and move them. The water bottles need to be kept at a more convenient spot because we use them more often. The actual lunchboxes are stored on the bottom shelf of my bakers rack in a big wire basket. I keep them low so the kids can put them away easily- they are supposed to empty their lunchboxes as soon as they get home.

These are just a few practical things that have helped to corral the mess. You can see my other kitchen organizing posts HERE and HERE.

If you have any organizing tips, I would love to hear them! I am always trying to make things more efficient!

More Kitchen Organization

Last year, I put a lot of thought into better ways to organize my kitchen. We don't have the money to totally redo things and my husband doesn't want to make even small cosmetic changes if we hope to tear it all out one day. Soon after we moved here, I did get him to move the stove and install a dishwasher. Unfortunately, that left an awkward space where the stove hood used to be. It is the area that I use the most when cooking and baking, so I found some practical ways to make it work for me. On the side of the cupboard, I added mug hooks to hang my mixer attachments and measuring cups. I love being able to reach up and quickly grab what I need without having to dig through a drawer or cupboard!

On the wall behind the counter, I hung two metal spice racks, side by side. It keeps my spices handy and they look so pretty and organized.

I got the spice racks from Amazon and the jars came from the Target Dollar Spot. They didn't have any labels, so I painted the lids with chalkboard paint. I like having the option of changing it, but they tend to wipe off if I bump them a lot or get them wet.

It is still an awkward space, and it is not pretty, but at least it is functional and organized!

Kitchen Decluttering and Organizing

I generally like to break my decluttering up by focusing on one area of my home at a time. If I don't I will end up ripping everything apart and it will look like a bomb went off. Did you ever read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? Well, I am pretty sure that I inspired that book, even if I have never met the author. Yesterday morning the girls wanted to pack their lunches and I discovered that cupboard was a mess, so it just sort of spiraled from there. Before I knew it, I had decluttered a third of my kitchen cupboards. I had to cut myself off because there is still a lot of post-Christmas-recovery work to be done in the rest of my house.

Here is just a random list of things I decluttered in the last week or so...

I seem to always start in the kitchen. It seems to be the room that we use the most and it gets cluttered pretty easily.  Fortunately, it is also pretty easy to find better ways to organize in the kitchen. If something isn't working out, like my lunchbox stuff, I am not afraid to move things around and try something else.

I try to find ways to make do with what I already have and I can't afford to spend much money on my kitchen. The absolutely MOST helpful thing I have ever done to organize my kitchen was to start using plastic bins on the cupboard shelves. I got most of my bins at the Dollar Tree (it can be hit or miss there) or Walmart. I am super short, so I can't reach those upper cupboards and the ones with the handles mean I don't have to drag a chair over or climb up on the counter!

In these bins up above my stove I have some gadgets (immersion blender, electric knife, apple peeler), cupcake liners, decorating supplies (candles, sprinkles, food coloring, etc.), and spices.

Here I have more spices on top. The next shelf has a bin entirely dedicated to chocolate- cocoa powder, chocolate chips, etc. My husband thinks I have a problem. The other one has my baking supplies- cornstarch, baking soda, baking power, etc. The bottom shelf has been promoted from sippy cups to water bottles. (sniff sniff)

I also use bins in another area to store medicines. The adult medicines are in one bin and the kids' medicines and cough drops (which I am oddly stocked up on) are in the other. This was another huge help to me- especially when someone is sick and the last thing I want to do is climb up and look for the right medicine.

Besides my chocolate issue, I do have a bit of a problem with cupcake liners. It seems extreme, now that I am blogging about it, to have an entire bin full of cupcake liners. I use them a lot, probably more for freezer muffins than cupcakes, and I can't resist a good clearance deal on cute ones!

They get smashed really easy, so I had been looking for a pasta container to put them in like I saw on Pinterest. I never could find one and one day it occurred to me that I could just use some wide mouth pint mason jars.

I also seem to have a spice problem, so I plan on showing you what I have done to organize those later.

What are your best kitchen organization tips? Have you found anything that has worked really well? I am always looking for ways to make things more efficient around here.

8 Tips that Help Me Declutter

Last February, I began a major decluttering campaign in my house. It wasn't consistent. I went through spurts where I purged a lot more than others. Still, any progress is better than no progress. I got rid of over 50 garbage bags of stuff!

Picture that for a minute.

And I still have a long ways to go.

When I am feeling overwhelmed and can't understand why I can't keep the house clean, I think back to those times when I WAS able to keep things consistently clean. I had a few less kids and a lot less activities keeping us on the go. But, we also had a lot less stuff.

I love the sense of accomplishment when I purge an area and it just makes me feel lighter. I know I am not alone. Many people are aspiring towards minimalism and trying to get rid of the stuff that is burdening our lives and weighing us down. There are thousands of books and websites dedicated to helping others part with their many possessions. It is so hard in so many ways!

Like I said, I still have a long way to go. I have made some progress and I just wanted to share a few things that I try to keep in mind when decluttering.

1. Don't anticipate regret. This is usually the hardest part. I can honestly say that there are only a handful of times that I have regretted getting rid of something. Usually, I was a bit too emotional when I was cleaning (but isn't angry cleaning often the most thorough?!) I have stopped holding on to so much stuff "just in case" I might need it later. I can usually find a way to make do without it. It helps to also tell myself that I need to trust that God will supply all of my needs.
2. Bless others! I don't save things to have a yard sale. It usually is not worth my time and it is definitely not worth having a pile of stuff waiting for the community yard sale weekend. Craigslist and facebook yard sale pages are too much of a hassle for me. We are not ashamed to wear hand me downs and if we are blessed by others' generosity, we should do the same. I give things away to family and friends. The local pregnancy center accepts donations. And, the simplest thing to do is drop a few bags into one of those convenient bins the thrift store seems to have in just about every parking lot in the area. I tell myself that is selfish to hold onto things we aren't enjoying that could be a blessing to others. I had a hard time letting go of my daughter's Elsa nightgown (pun intended) but when I saw that a little girl is wearing it every day just like she did, I felt bad for even hesitating.
3. Is it junk? Sometimes, I don't even realize I have so much garbage around. Is it broken? Am I ever going to actually get around to fixing it? Do I even want to? I stopped saving "play clothes" for my kids as hand me downs. They make their own play clothes soon enough and new stains appear like magic when clothes come out of storage. I look at things and made a judgement about whether something is worth the space in the storage tote. These types of things get thrown out instead of given away.
4. Baby steps. I tend to get a little carried away. I get in a mood and rip the entire house apart. There are times where it is natural to purge a lot more than others- like when we switch clothes seasonally, but just tackling one small area per day can add up and make a big difference. Sometimes, I will go through one cupboard or drawer at a a time. I generally write "declutter" on my daily to do list to remind me to tackle at least one small area. I don't get around to it every day, but the reminder is there and I am trying to cultivate a habit.
5. If it doesn't make you smile, it isn't worth your while. There are things I am so used to having sit around I forget about them- and may not even like them anymore. Tastes and styles change- and that is OK! (Picture 80s hair!) There are so many of my old craft projects that make me cringe now! If something doesn't fit, brings bad memories, or is just something I don't like, I don't have to keep it.
6. Get rid of it ASAP! I like to load the donation bags immediately in the back of the car. The trickier part is remembering to drop them off and my husband does get really irritated if he has to load something and they are in his way. The longer bags sit around, the better chance one of my kids will rip them apart. Plus, it just junks the place up! (I still need to really work on this one!)
7. Stop bringing so much stuff into the house to begin with! I am more intentional about what I buy. I don't buy fabric just because I like it. It has to have a specific project or purpose. Once in awhile I break this rule, but not too often. I am choosier about clothing. I am more resistant to clearance sales for the sake of a good bargain. I am trying to find a way to make do with what we have before I buy something else.
8. Find some motivation. Sometimes, I don't know where to start. Making a room-by-room list of areas I want to declutter and then checking them off helps. Keeping a running total of the number of bags I have purged helps my perspective. Decorating an area that used to be junked up makes me happy and helps to keep it from getting cluttered up again as quickly. I just keep trying to find something that works for me.

I hope some of theses tips are helpful. I am certainly no expert, but I am trying. Do you have any other decluttering advice? I need all of the help that I can get!

WIP Wednesday ~ Productive Week

I thought I would do another WIP Wednesday post to share what I have been doing around here lately.  I may not have blog posts up to prove it, but I have been super productive!

I finished up 2 out of 3 doll quilts, but did not get any pictures of them yet. Those sampler ones took so long that they deserve a full blog post. :) Plus, there is a piece on the doll bunk bed that needs fixed and nagging has not worked thus far. I may have to do it myself.

I made two stuffed bears from outgrown baby clothes (that was the sneak peek at the end last time!) and even a little blanket for one bear. I plan on posting the pattern I made for those, but I didn't get it perfected yet. I might even do another one just to test it out.

I started a crochet cow hat! It is almost done. I made one of those last year while I was on a blogging hiatus, so I never posted about it. Maybe I will show those pics when I get this one done, too. The first one is better because it is a brown cow. :)

Oh, and I am trying to do the 40 bags in 40 days challenge to declutter my house. Yesterday's task was my embroidery floss. It was all over the place, so my sewing table is much cleaner and the floss is super organized! I only got a sandwich bag worth to throw out, but I am counting it. :)

Speaking of organizing sewing stuff, I got this bobbin tower on clearance at Michaels a few weeks ago and it is awesome! I love being able to just reach up and grab the bobbin I need and the threads aren't hanging all over the place. I highly recommend it!

So, that is a little peek at what I have been working on this week. I am linking up with Silly Mama Quilts.