9/30/2009

6 Weeks of Organization: End of Week 3


This is just a series that Moms By Heart and I decided to do together to get our houses in order to have more time with our families and less stress over mess!

So the beginning of last week started off good. I got the kids' playroom organized and about 3/4 of the way through our pantry. Then Kaydi decided it was time to cut teeth. End of organizing. :) But I managed to finish up early this week and finally got to the pictures. So here's what my week looked like:

Sunday I ventured off to Target to grab their 9 Cube Organizer that they had on sale. I probably could have found the baskets a little cheaper but time is money so I took their sale price. It ended up costing $80 but I was able to get a bookcase, toy storage, school storage and place for our hermit crabitat. (Yes, a crazy moment led me to believe they'd be fun pets, forgetting they are nocturnal! But Nathan loves watching them when they are out so it's still cool!)

Anyway, this is the end result:



We love it and it kind of acts like a room divider between the living room seating area and the playroom. (Formerly our dining/plant room!)

Next came time to tackle the pantry/laundry room. I knew my parents were visiting so I had been grabbing more CVS items for my Mom and stocking up on donations. I gave up on trying to keep them organized so the main floor area was so cluttered. It's normally a lot cleaner! In the end, I decided to have one container in our family room closet for donations. When it gets full, they'll be donated before I buy more. Limits are so important when organizing!

I wanted a clothes rack so I wouldn't have to lay them over our freezer until I could finish up the laundry. My hubby suggested a shelf, too, so I could get my detergents and sprays off my window ledge. We ventured over to Lowe's and found everything there. Funny thing was, we had both kids with us and when we bought the shelf pack, we didn't noticed they were two different sizes! Oops! So we'll have to get another set. But we'll still use the smaller shelves, probably in the garage. I think it cost around $30. I couldn't get over how expensive shelving items were!

The hardest part of the week was going through *everything!* I checked all the dates and got rid of anything that was long expired. I also re-organized my freezers. Sadly, I had to throw out some things that had gotten lost in our deep freezer or in the back of our regular freezer. It was full to the top and I couldn't ever get to anything. Also, before I started, I had 3 shelving units of food. It was just too much for our size family. I took a lot of food out to donate and we pulled that storage unit out. I now have room to set my laundry to sort or fold. Wahoo! Eventually, I am going to get rid of the shelving units I have and get actually shelves like Lori has HERE.

So here's what it looks like:

BEFORE




Check out my stacking pile of donations, still in the bags! I should have sorted those better back then into Rubbermaid containers. What a mess! (But not any more...)

AFTER








(Check out all that extra room!) :)

Nathan helped me mop it with our new Swiffer WetJet! It feels sooo good when I walk in there now! I don't cringe when I have to do laundry now. It should keep me caught up.

So what's on the agenda for the next week? Well, I have my closets and kitchen left. I'll probably do bits and pieces of both, as time with the kids allows. So I'll just post whatever I finish at the end of each week.

Now it's not my favorite thing to share my "messes" with you but I'm hoping it helps you see that I'm really just an average person (who definitely doesn't have it together!!) And maybe it will inspire you to get your house in order, too, so you'll have more time with your family and less time spent stressing over mess!

How is your organizing going? Leave us a linky or comment to share! I'd love to see/hear what you've been up to.

UPDATE: A good question was asked about my picture collage in the playroom. I made that out of a garden trellis that I got on discount at the end of a summer last year. You can check it out HERE. It's real simple to make. Just a garden trellis, some duct tape (or other adhesive), some decor and of course, pictures. :)

You can also check out another one I made HERE. I have one in the playroom for each of the kids with pictures of our siblings, parents and nieces/nephews. I use them so they can learn "who's who."

4 comments:

  1. Looks good! Keep up the good work!

    What do you have on the wall in your playroom area? It has pictures on it (left of the cubes), and it looks like maybe a lattice or something? It looks very cute. How did you put the pictures on it?

    Denise

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  2. I am so envious of your organized pantyr/wash room. It must feel sooooo good to work in there now!
    Awesome job!

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  3. Thank you, Teresa!! :) It feels great to walk in there. And that Swiffer cleaner smells so good, too. Kind of a fruity smell, instead of harsh cleaner.

    Denise, it's a garden trellis. Neat, huh? A moment of no sleep led to a little creativity a year ago. :) I updated the posting with a link to my prior posting, if you want to check it out.

    Thanks for the sweet words! It really helps keep me motivated! I treasure you both!

    Jaycie

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  4. Wow!! Wish I could be this organized!! You are inspiring me to do it!! LOL "smile" Have a great day!! Deb

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