great ways to organize using Dollar Tree products

ok there have been a couple places that we're getting super cluttered and crazy in my house. So what I decided to take a trip to the Dollar Tree and get some bins. I looked at the spaces I wanted to organize kind of figured out what I needed. what shape ,what height with that I had some Dollar Tree bin here that I could use to measure and make sure it fit in the places I wanted to fill.

 the first place I decided to organize was my big deep drawers beside my stove.

here is the horrible before:

 I tucked bins down in there, I put the kids this sippy cup then and the other I use for my smoothie type thing beside it I put my rolling pin and my saran wrap and parchment paper and baggiez. in the back I have my silicone baking mat and chai powder

then came the bottom drawer which I used to hold my microfiber towels and my aprons

I folded the rag and aprons I put two bins stack them neatly and boom done. Beside them are some spices for grilling but we don't really use much this time of year and a drying matts for dishes.

Next I tackled my food cupboard this wasn't a huge concern but I just kind of wanted to optimize space.

here's what I wound up doing I emptied all the boxes for things like granola bars and Ritz crackers (things that are packaged inside packages) and then I have a bin for Maxs snacks and have been for me and my husband (my girls are in a different cupboard and they already have bin)

 I have had these drawers organized for ages with dollar tree bins the one on the left to a charger headphones and batterys and the right one is maxs bibs and Max's washcloths.  

 The next door is full of lids: jar lids, cup lids, Airwick things and it has baby proofing stuff and chip clips

 no this was one of the worst job I had to tackle Max's dresser.  those little clothes are so hard to keep organized

 I put a bin in each side cuz there's of wooden partition in the middle there and I put the left at six to nine then there swin diapers the right is 12 month and 18 month and on the far right is pajama

I did the same exact thing with his pants drawer.   we did the girls this closet but that was mostly just taking out summer stuff and putting it in space bags underneath their bed.  so there wasn't anything super interesting to share there. I also just kind of went around the kitchen declutter reorganize. I put away as many things as I could so that the only thing on my kitchen counter are my microwave and my humidifierthe. The other side of course have to have my utensils and then the coffee maker and my sweetner and what not (nonobody messes with the coffee lol)  I hope this heled inspire you to organize some of your cluttered areas.

my crafting/ desk tour video

This is part 2 in a series of videos I made for you guys to make up being m. I. A.  I hope that you guys enjoy this is a tour of my desk and crafting area.  There will be another video later thi s week :)

organization tips and tricks

I have a unhealthy obsession  love affair with all things organization.  I am sure it stems from my childhood being raised by a hoarder.  But I thought today I would share a few things I worked on a round my house lately. 

I keep my most used spices in a old wooden soda crate on top of the stove. But to make things easier to find I wrote on the top of the lids with a chalk marker.  ( if you don't know about chalk markers they are awesome.  I have loved them since my days at a coffee shop where we used them for everything. ) p.s. penzeys spices ate the best.  I have tons more in my cupboard if you haven't tried them you need to. 

 Next I took my cart that I bought off a local garage sale fb site and made the top drawer a charging station.  (Notice the mom hook lock to keep max out ;) that's a bonus tip yw) the kids got tablets at school this year.  Between that and all the other electronics we needed a spot of the way.  Also the kids have to ask to get the electronics out that way I can make sure they have their homework and chores done before they start using them. 

 I drilled a hole in the back and then I slid a power strip cord through and plugged in all the electronics and bring the cords into the drawer on top. I also added the container from walmart on the left. 

Next I took core charts from the dollar tree and instead of refilling out the chart every week I put them in a frame so the kids can use a dry erase marker to check them off. 

 Next tip. .if you are like me you love your tart warmer but hate changing the wax. . Well just grab a cotton round throw it in. .

In a few minutes you have this. .

take it out and throw it away or if you're going to be having a bonfire be camping anytime soon throw it in a baggy and user it as a fire starter. 

 Next organizing thing to tackle will be labeling Evea's dresser so that her dad and sister know where things go when they put away laundry. I got these chalkboard labels at the Dollar Tree. Then I used my rotary cutter to cut them in half. For some I also used my Stampin Up 1 and three-quarter inch punch. I got chalkboard markers from Walmart I am so glad that they are so easy to find now!!

 I stuck them on the dresser and then I wrote the contents of the drawer inside so that my husband and daughter can put away the clothes without a jumbled mess or if they go to get things out for her they know where to look!

There you go done quick tips and tricks to make your house run a bit smoother and organize it a bit more :) p.s a lot of times I am flying through these posts, trying to get them up while the Munchkin is napping or playing at my feet.  so please bear with me if my grammar is even worse than normal;) have a good one guys

how we work our budget/ramsey envelope system

 For a bit now me and the hubby have been working on a budget.  We tried about 3 years ago to do the Dave Ramsey envelope system and we fell off the wagon.  Now I have buckled down and I have set up things in a very organized way and it is going much better.  I thought I would share with you guys how I am making this work.  ( I will link to everything I mention so you can get your hands on what I used)

1.  The first step I took was make a list of all our monthly bills and when they are due.  I then went through my agenda and put stickers on the date with the amount on the date they are due.  I also put a green dot on paydays and I have a tally in the margin of the bill total due until next pay day.  (the amount we have due in bills until the next time we get paid)  My agenda is from walmart.  I was thinking about ordering a expensive one but I made this one work for what I need and I have it set up in a way that it is working great.  :)

 2.  I did daves monthly cash flow plan.  It helps me decide what we are paying and how much we have to work with.  It also suggests the proper percent you should be using for certain things.  You fill this out and when you get done you should have a 0 balance no money left. It should all be some where either savings spend where ever it should all have a place. For your non bill money you will have envelopes (for things like grocerys, car, clothes, savings, vacation, ect.)

3. I then down loaded simple budget app.  It lets you set up envelopes to keep track of how much you have and track spending so you know what the money went to.  It looks like this I set this up as a example.

 4. Then every pay day I pull out the amount of cash I need for my envelopes.  I have been using this for most of my money.  My sister who is a sewing rock start made me this for my birthday to go along with my diaper bag.(which I also love btw).  She has a great little shop with purses, bags, wallets, and jewelry.(she is a huge sci-fi fan so if you love dr who, star wars ect you will be in heaven but she does now sci-fi stuff like mine too.) She sent me a coupon code for 10% off for my readers :)  It is SWEETAIMEESKNITPICK.

 It is a great wallet with a  magnetic snap  closure.  It has six "envelope/pockets" inside.

 It looks like this there is a zipper for change.  My first envelope is grocery.( I labeled them with washi tape)

 Then clothing,

 Then restaurant (our eating out money.)

 entertainment, (movies, renting movies,ect)

 car (for gas repairs tabs ect.)

Cosmetic (this is for getting hair colored or cut, and of coarse make up lol)

 Behind that their is 6 card slots.  I don't typically use this at my wallet wallet just for my envelope system.  So allot of my stuff is in the other wallet.

Here is one of her awesome Dr who ones :)

 And for my vacation and emergency envelopes I keep those at home in actually envelopes out of sight out of mind right. ;)

So I use cash for everything we spend.  One envelope I don't have pictured is presents for holidays and birthdays.  I hope this was helpful for some of you.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

kitchen progress.

While I am still not done in my kitchen it has made enough progress I feel like I can share it.  This is the look from the dining room.  It is a galley style kitchen.  We will be getting laminate flooring through kitchen and dining room once the weather is warm enough they can cut it outside.

 

 Now agains the far wall is my drafting table that used to be in my craft room.  I also ordered a cabinet from target.com to get some more storage for food in the kitchen since there isn't much cupboard space.

The drafting table is now sort of a work station  I have our bill sorter on the left.  Up above I have some magnet boards, some pictures the I love, and a frame that I use as a white board.  My lazy suzane has some office supplies, pens, tape, paperclips..what not.  I have my ikea bar with its bins hanging above and it needs sorted through big time.  It has been a bit of a catch all latley and needs some organizing.  I have a wax warmer on the corner and it needs changed out to something more springy. :) 

There is the progress so far in the kitchen besides a bit of organizing and the flooring going in this is pretty much how it it will. I hope you guys are having a great day and have a great weekend.  :)

moving day 3/4

Okay so I have really pickup up the pace on the packing.  I have got all the wall art down and the holes patched, the kitchen is mostly packed a few drawers yet to go in there and I kept out things that we use on a regular basis because we still have just over two weeks left until the move.   I also got the guest room all packed up and dusted some of the walls.  I have been cleaning things as I go too.  I had a few things I did in the process that I wanted to share. 

In Max's room there was some vinyl wall decals up and he loved them He would touch them and look at them while I got him dressed and changed his butt and I knew I wouldn't be able to find either set again  so I tried to think of a way to move them.

I took out some freezer paper and laid it on a flat surface with the wax side up and carefully placed them on there and I just stacked one sheet on the other until I had them all off the wall.

 I then rolled them and stuck them inside these tubes of other decals to make the move.

 This guy is the only one enjoying them move.

 Okay as for my kitchen drawers I took them and placed them inside of gallon size baggies like so and stacked them all inside the same box.

 I also found when packing that I have some almost used up candles I don't want to pack so I decided to clean out my wax warmer and burn those up before the move.

 Here is how I am using the utensil drawer that has like the can opener and cookie scoops and such.  I took them and wrapped them in plastic wrap for the move.

 This guy hasn't been cooperative.  But he did occasionally cat nap today.  This was where he napped best today.  But I had to wait for him to be asleep so I could run out in the -30 weather to grab boxes from our detached garage, but then once I got the boxes in I couldn't tape them to start filling so I just started pulling everything out of the cupboards and drawers that needed packed and whipping those out as I went. 

That is how this mess was created!!!!

It looks like I am a hoarder!!!  I did finally get it all packed about 5:15 tonight and am taking a break.  I used towels and throw blankets to help protect some of the pitcher and stuff and I used those wine box inserts to protect my wine glasses and other glassware.  I am exhausted and cranky and sitting with a heating pad on my back right now.  I don't do well with things out of place or messy.  So this sort of stuff is really hard for me and I want it done and organized right away then over with and I put everything back in its place as fast as I can.  Well I am going to relax and watch some tv until bed time because tomorrow I have another long day ahead of myself.  On the plus side Benji will be home to help me with it.

Move day 2 Let the packing begin..

Today I began packing.  I went to the liquor store and grabbed a few boxes (a gf is getting me some awesome ones tomorrow but I needed some smaller boxes anyway for dvds and books so they don't get too heavy) I also grabbed some packing tape while I was out.

Now here is my rhyme and reason behind my packing method:

1. If you can live with out it pack it.  Start with things used less. and that aren't necessities

2. Pack things that are alike together, (dvds, books, nick knacks from the same rooms, ect.)

3. Put together a packing supply kit and keep it together. (mine includes: packing tape, scissors, permanit markers in two colors for different colored boxes, a bar of dove soap, plastic wrap, gallon size baggies, and putty.

4. label each box with both what is in it and where it goes.  You can use a color coated system if you like but I just write what it is i.e. books mom and dads room.

 

  5. Now this is a big one make sure on these long days during the move you have dinners figured out.  Snacks and beverages on hand.  I tossed potato soup in the crock pot.  Might not look like much but this is when I first tossed it in and I swear it is divine (esp after a long day of packing)  You toss in a bag of hash browns, a can of cream of chicken soup, two cans water or milk then one hour before you go to eat 8oz cream cheese.  I tossed in a bit of sea salt and some rosemary and we topped with bacon chunks and cheese.  Because I am extra lazy I had a crock pot liner in.  These might be another thing to have on hand when you are in this whole process.

 So after I threw dinner in the crock pot I started packing.  I decided I would start with getting dvds and books done today.  I packed up all our dvds.

 Yay a tiny bit of progress.

 I am saving the inserts from the boxes because I have a feeling they will come in handy with the other stuff down the line.

 Once that was done I went down and packed up all my and bens two books..  (with Max on my lap because he wasn't cooperating in this whole process)

I then took all my boxes and chose one spot out of the way in the room to start placing things.  I also packed up some puzzle books and color books and art supplies from the living room. After dinner I took down all the art and nick Knacks in the living room/ kitchen and as I did so I kept a container to toss nails in and some dove soap to run over holes and putty for things with bigger holes that required patching.  I did this as I went so that it goes smoother.

Now I will have you know mrs fire monster aka evea isn't taking this well it is already inconveniencing her and she has had many a melt down already!  The first thing out of her mouth when she got in the door from school was I had a bad day I need to watch cat in the hat...bad news it was packed..then I packed her crayons..not all the crayons in the house but the ones she wanted apparently.  So yeah it is going to be a long road with her.  

Well I am beat and off to bed tomorrow the big time packing begins starting in the guest room.  Have a good night people.