Pictures

I was searching for a picture the other day, rifling through boxes and getting extremely irritated, when I finally made a commitment to organize all of my loose photos.  I was into scrapbooking for about a minute, and produced a few nice albums.

Then I discovered the ease of making all of my photo albums online.  I love how compact the books are.

Now, what to do with all of the extra photos that I have amassed over the years?  The photos that I had every intention of putting into some sort of album?  Well, they all ended up here.....

So, I made a plan, and off to Ikea I went in search of containers.  I found these.....

I printed off categories -- Birthdays, Holidays, Vacations, etc.  Ten in all, plus a bigger bin for the larger school pictures and cds.  I taped the labels onto the front of each container, making the sorting process quick and easy.

I went box by box, sorting the pictures that I wanted to keep into the appropriate bins, and throwing out any duplicates or unneeded cards, papers, or photos.  The process went surprisingly fast, and in no time at all (okay.....maybe a full Sunday afternoon), I had all of my pictures like this...

I am very proud of how well I was able to consolidate.

Aren't they pretty all stacked up nice and neat?  And the bins that I got at Ikea were perfect.  And here they are all organized on the closet shelves in my basement bedroom.

I still need to print out bigger labels to put on the front of each container, but the hardest part of the job is done!  One more organizing job off of my list. :)

Kitchen Projects......Freezer

What to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon......

Tackle This!

Like with my pantry, I cleared everything out.  And, to be honest, there were items in my freezer that I am not sure would even be classified as food anymore.

I started by organizing everything into piles of like items, getting rid of anything that was past it's good date, or that I couldn't recognize.  I decided that I might need a couple of bins to corral some random small items, so my husband lugged in my collection of empty containers.....

Okay...so I have a lot of unused containers.  I have learned that you must have a need for a certain bin before you purchase it.  I used to buy and then not know how to use, or I would buy because it was just cute or cool.  You might say that I have a couple of extra now.  But they do come in handy, and it saves me a trip to the store when I get into an organizing mood.

So, back to the freezer.....

I did find two containers I wanted.  One for popsicles and one for the small bags of fruit and veggies that easily get lost behind all the Costco size bags of frozen food.

I put all of the meat items together, and I found these cute labels online to keep track of freeze dates....

If you want to print some of your own, you can find them here http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf2/freezerlabels.pdf

I printed mine onto sticker paper that I found at my office supply store.

So now the reveal......

I am so happy to finally be able to see what is in my freezer!  I also printed up a freezer content list to post on the door, so I will always know what and how much I have hiding in there.  It will make meal planning and grocery shopping a little easier.

And, most importantly, I found a special spot in the freezer door for these......

Slippers in the freezer you say?  Well, I have terrible feet issues and these babies have a pocket in the bottom for an ice pack.  Instead of having to put the pack in every time I ice my feet, I just leave it in and put my whole slipper in the freezer when I am finished.  My husband couldn't stop laughing when he found these in the door......

Kitchen Projects....Pantry

With my two girls back in school, I now feel like I have time to do some of the organizing projects that have been neglected over the summer.  My first project--the pantry.  I have never really liked my pantry....the bi-fold doors that never seem to close right, the metal wire shelving that isn't spaced correctly.  I guess I shouldn't complain.  At least I have a pantry, and I don't have to take up precious cupboard space for my food.

Since we moved in, 7 years ago, I have been trying to come up with some sort of good system to keep everything in the pantry organized.  Countless times I have taken everything out, sorted it all into like items, and placed it back on the shelves thinking, "how hard could it be, now that it is organized, to keep clean?"  But after only a few days the old habits and mess would be back.  

I browse a lot of organizing blogs, and the other day, while reading one of my favorites orgjunkie.com, I came across her ideas for getting your pantry under control.  It was simple, really.  Some baskets.  A few labels.  This was something I could easily do, and hopefully my family could keep organized.  

So off to the dollar store I went in search of baskets.  And then to Walmart for something to hold labels in place.  I was successful and came home with these...

Seven blue baskets, a cool two-tier shelf that works with wire shelving, and some things for labels.  Now to tackle this.....

I took everything off of the shelves and put everything in categories....pasta, crackers, etc.  Then I got rid of anything that was out of date and started putting things in the baskets.

Things were so unorganized that I found some fruit bars that expired in 2009..... 2009?  Are you kidding me?!  Anyway, I got everything in the baskets and put back on the shelves (the two-tiered shelf worked great for my canned items!) and I was shocked at how much room I had now!  Yay!

Looks great huh?  Now on to the labeling......

I printed out what items I wanted, cut them out and put them in these clear sleeves, clipped them to the correct basket, and viola!  Easy!

Hopefully this will be the solution that works!  And look at all the boxes I got rid of.....

I will let my 8 year old break these down for the recycling bin because she is trying to earn a little extra money. :)

I am so pleased with how this project turned out that I think I will tackle this horrible mess next.....

Check back soon to see how my freezer organizing goes......

Back to school

I love new school supplies.  Here in Utah, where a lot of schools are year round, the stores start getting them out at the end of June.  Because the prices are always so great for back to school time, I always stock up on crayons, markers, and glue sticks for my kids and to donate to their teachers when supplies get low.

Having two girls that like to sit at the kitchen table to do their homework makes finding places to put all of their new supplies within reach a little tough.  So, last year I started something new.

I went to one of my favorite places, Ikea, and bought two brown file boxes.  I printed my girls names with my label maker and affixed one to each, giving them their own space for their fun new supplies.

Inside holds markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue, tape, a pencil, a ruler, and three folders--one with plain white and lined paper, and the other two for spelling lists, permission slips, reading calendars, etc.  So when my girls get ready to sit at the table to do homework, they just take their box with them and everything they need is right in one spot.  And the best part is that the boxes fit perfectly on some shelves that I have by my kitchen, so they are visible, but not messy looking.

Everything tucked neatly away.  Makes me happy. :)