Files, Organized

A great deal was found on these file folders.

What a wonderful opportunity

to add a little order to our office.

We are paring down some of our furniture

so there will be less to move when we sell our home.

These folders kept hitting the top of the file cabinet.

That got old real fast.

As we'll be keeping one of the desks

in the office, I wanted to make it as efficient as possible.

While organizing our files,

I took the time to purge what was no longer needed,

shredding any private information.

These files will get repurposed for tutoring games.

I color-coded items according to category.

For some folks, colors work.

For others, it's numbers, letters or pictures.

Whatever works for you is all that matters.

It sure makes finding needed papers easier!

TALU

Kitchen, Organized

One of the most important rooms to consider

when selling a home is the kitchen.

So, we've been tweaking the storage little by little.

Big K put in storage racks under the sink

for cleaning supplies and food wraps. 

The pipes make it difficult to place

sliding storage baskets here,

which is what I originally was hoping to do.

I'm planning on finding just the right container

for what is left underneath. 

These had been in a drawer and were driving me crazy!

Here, they easily stand upright and out of the way.

Just a few screws and life

is suddenly simpler and neater.

In my cleaning caddy,

I keep glass cleaner and a general cleaner

that I mix up myself, Bon Ami, gloves, a toothbrush,

and my bathroom sponges.

Love that I just take what I need with me

to tackle those cleaning chores each week.

Our dishwasher is directly to the right of this cabinet,

so we keep our tablets for that here.

I will be working toward making our own

dishwasher powder in the near future.

Vinegar is used on virtually every surface in our home,

as well as for a myriad of other household uses.

It's magic, that stuff!

Daily dishes (that's the only kind we own),

are strategically placed

just above the dishwasher. 

Proximity to where materials are used 

is an important factor

when deciding where to place items in the kitchen

(or anywhere).

Our neighbor gave us the white rack,

which keeps Lil' Guys dishes neatly stacked.

This would work great for someone who had a lot of dishes.

No wasted space!

(He has more, they were in the dishwasher.)

Our daily glasses, coffee mugs, kid cups

and travel mugs reside in the next cabinet over.

Still close to the dishwasher,

but designated just for drinking vessels.

We are blessed to have so much storage in this room.

Here's where we keep some of our ceramic storage containers,

and my beloved jars, which are used on a daily basis.

Items less often used go on the top shelf. 

~Oh, and that jar you see to the right on the middle shelf?

That's something we keep "found" money in,

to always remind us that God is forever providing.

Anytime we find money, it goes in that jar

with a silent prayer of gratitude.~

I found these in someone's recycle bin earlier in the year.

They will come in handy around holiday time.

We use recycled jars for storing sauces, soups,

dried beans, rice and tons of other things.

(More on this when I post on the pantry makeover.)

Seems I can never have enough jars!

I also save the baby food jars

from the organic pear sauce I use for Lil' Guy's baked goods. 

I am slowly making the change

from plastic to glass when it comes to freezing just the right amount of pumpkin puree for his goodies.

We buy these whenever we can find them at thrift stores.

They are CorningWare and they can go from freezer,

to microwave, to oven (without the lid).

Best thing is they are made in the USA!

This is Lil' Guy's designated cabinet for ongoing projects,

journal paper, workbooks, art supplies

and anything else he might need to keep his creativity flowing.

He's got easy access, as it's in one of the lower cabinets,

but there is plenty of room for expansion.

I recently posted about our baking station.

I ended up adding one of these racks for

the cookie sheets, muffin tins and cooling racks.

A good thing made even better!

Hope something good is cooking up in your kitchen today!

 




 

Laundry, Organized

We're pressing on with our new year's resolution

to be more organized.

The focus is on making the house

feel roomy to potential buyers,

despite its modest 1700 square footage.

One of the things I was most grateful for when I became a homeowner was having my own laundry room.

Having lived in apartments during my young

adulthood, a trip to the laundry room

seemed like such a waste of time.

It's so wonderful to be able to throw a load

into the machine and get something else done.

A laundry room is a great project to do

if you're not sure where to start.

It's small and manageable.

It may even motivate you to work on other parts of the house!

Before

We put this cabinet up when we moved in.  The existing

wire shelving was replaced by Big K.  He can't stand the stuff.

Contained here were cleaning supplies,

paper and plastic bags,

shoe polishing supplies and bleach used for the washer.

After

I simply moved the cleaning supplies to the left,

as they required more space.

The rarely used stuff is on the right.

Sometimes you just need to step back and rethink the practical things.

I also stashed a small sewing kit on the upper left shelf,

next to big K's shoe polish.

I donated most of the bags to the farmer

we buy some of our produce from.

She is always in need of bags for her customers

who forget to bring their own.

A few strong ones were saved, in case I need them for taking purged items to the local charity.

Before

We have a storage rack next to the machines

for extra supplies.

We stock up for hurricane season every year,

so this is a great out-of-the-way place to station them.

It had gotten a little out of hand as of late.

After

The top section houses the backpack I use every day

(I don't do purses)

and drinks...

After

while the bottom holds our grocery bags, so they are right by the garage when Saturday's grocery shopping comes along.

Yard shoes keep dirt outside.

I'm lovin' all the space left over.

Before

The machines we bought came with optional drawers.

I never turn down extra storage!

This just needed some cleaning up

to think about what was really needed to be kept here.

After

It's nice to have some tubs available for soaking things or

other types of heavy-duty cleaning around the house. 

This drawer holds two such tubs and

we keep our small A/C filters here too.

Wish I could use those clothespins,

but our HOA doesn't allow clotheslines. 

UGH!

After

Our washing detergent rests here (see the bags on the left?)

and several rolls of paper towels fit on the other side.

(Looks like I better put those on our list.)

I also keep a lingerie bag here for delicates.

These drawers are somewhat adjustable,

so they can be changed should the need arise.

There is a wall hanger for our mop,

feather duster and dustpan.

I plan on purchasing an over-the-door bracket to

hang our stepstool, which is usually found next to the washer.

Getting things off the floor is one of the most helpful things.

It just makes everything look like it has a place.

It's coming together. 

The feeling I get from having things organized

is one of peace and deep satisfaction. 

It keeps me focused on

being grateful for all I have by taking care

of what I have been blessed with.

It's the intention I plan to pass on...