Organizing Friday {Week 17}

I asked a couple weeks ago how long other people keep their clothes that don't fit right now. For me, it's after baby, none of my summer stuff really fits and I don't see them fitting in time to use them this summer. There was a whole variety of answers. I haven't decided what exactly I will do yet. Something has to give though.

Clearly I needed a good clothes purge! That is what I worked on today and have a bit more over the weekend. I have been reading all about this capsule wardrobe thing and read this great article.

Why I Got Rid of My Wardrobe

So inspiring!

 Right now I feel like not a whole lot of my clothes fit me just right (yay post baby body, not), there aren't many that I LOVE and overall it is kind of overwhelming because there are too many choices!

I didn't know if I could be that brave and limit it to 

15 tops

9 bottoms

9 pair of shoes

2 dresses

2 jackets

like the article suggested. That is SO SO much less than I have right now. I am going to try a little bit more or go that route but put some in storage rather than completely letting them go.

 I have a hard time balancing the wear it out thing vs. the capsule wardrobe thing. I know we do not have a budget for a new (even small) wardrobe every season.
Finding where my budget and lack of desire to shop meet will be interesting.
It was not fun deciding what could be packed away for now. But I think I will like having less to sort through and I don't feel like I let too much go that I will regret it. 

2 Sweatshirts
5 Cardi's
5 Long sleeve tops
9 t shirts/short sleeve tops
11 tank tops/summer tops
*Once we are officially in summer the long sleeve ones will get packed, or if I haven't worn them, donated.
 

 11 dresses
3 jackets
*no room to store the other 2 winter coats

 2 Pair of jeans
2 pair of capri
2 pair of shorts

1 skirt
 *also have a maxi skirt folded

I also kept a variety of basic colored cami's and tanks for under tops. Also, my clothes that are in the laundry, not much though. 3 sets of workout clothes.

I put most of the stuff in a couple of bins in the corner of the closet, but this is what is leaving. And there is evidence of "yes" day, little dude was helping me and playing on his tablet.

Do you do the capsule wardrobe thing? Have you considered a capsule wardrobe? If not, what is holding you back? 

Continue Reading ...

20 Minutes to Clean Bedrooms

Bedrooms!

Lately, these have been the rooms that have been neglected big time. We have been in this house 3 weeks now and I haven't really touched them. I shared earlier this week a picture of how bad they are, SO bad, you can see them HERE.

I have been feeling anxious and sad and just not my normal. I think a big part of that is the chaos of every room so far. Getting back on track in the bedrooms with this list should help!

~Pick up toys

hopefully the kids have been sticking to the 1 toy out a time rule

~Clean off nightstands, dressers and other flat surfaces

~Dust

We have a feather comforter, SO MANY feathers!

~Wipe down flat surfaces

as needed, I just use a baby wipe

~Change Sheets/Make Bed

Then put the stripped sheets straight into the washer

~Touch up mirrors and windows

only as needed

~Vacuum

Also only as needed, we are a no shoe house so the carpet isn't horrible

I pick up each room, then dust each room so I am not picking up the duster more than once. I do each task in all 3 rooms before I move onto the next task.

Hoping I get to share nice tidy, organized bedrooms tomorrow! It's been a rough week!

Continue Reading ...

Bedroom Fall Cleaning

That is what I have been working on this week, just the kids rooms, all 3 of them!

 

While it won't be as detailed as THIS list, I am trying really hard to just focus on the projects, not a 20 min cleaning but stuff that takes time!

 

In the kids rooms this week I hope to accomplish

~a big ol' toy purge!

~touching up the paint on the baseboards

~steam clean the mattresses

~Dusting all the high places I don't get every week.

~Fill nail holes and caulking the window trim

~Clean the window tracks

 

 

I've already cleaned the baseboards (baby wipes and magic eraser) in prep for paint, and cleaned the windows, goodness I didn't realize how long it had been! EWW

The microfiber was CLEAN when I started the windows!

 

Next week is the laundry room and Kitchen, just in time for Thanksgiving!



Continue Reading ...

This week was way more productive! Bedroom Fall Cleaning ~

I don't know how! Even working overtime I managed to get every drawer, basket and cubby in our bedroom organized, emptied and cleaned out. Even under the bed!!!

 Before

 

 

After

 

Everything dusted and vacuumed, the baseboards all scrubbed and the paint touched up. Window tracks cleaned out (and these ones are HORRIBLE). 

I also moved the dresser I found recently into our room, the size is perfect even if the color isn't, we will make it work. It makes the room feel so much bigger, seems strange to me.

Finally hung some picture frames we have had  in a drawer for 5 years!

Picked up a nightstand for the Mr. and took my girly one back, and finally cleaned all 3 of the drawers out! Receipts and boarding pass from 2 years ago, really?! And hubby's old homework list and school books from last year. Someone around here *might* have some hoarding tendencies, but I'm not naming names. ;)

I don't care that the nightstands don't match. I actually prefer that they don't.

Got some extension cords for all these things that have to be plugged in. Phone chargers, lamps, tablet charger and alarm clocks. I REALLY dislike seeing cords!
Before :/

 

Much better, just need to clip that one back better

 

I have a couple of shelves that I am not going to attempt to hang myself, I am horrible at that stuff. And I am still looking for a few more cute things, I need something big for on top of our armoire but then I think I will be done in there! Until I decide it needs a re-do hehe.

Overall though this week was pretty alright in the late Fall Cleaning I have going on. We are having family over for a Christmas get together, In only 5 weeks. I am hoping I can get everything done by then! If every week was like this one it would be a snap!


Anyone else have projects to do before family comes for the Holiday's?

Continue Reading ...

Kid Storage

I am sure I cannot be the only one who doesn't like to toys all over, or an unattractive storage solution! 

Sometimes it seems impossible to find something to hold all the toys and books that is actually nice to look at. Plastic and particle board just are not cutting it for me, not that we don't use those, we do, but they are in the closet where I don't have to see them unless I look. We have a few of these

They are great for all the little things and books! 

We have a LOT of books. But they just aren't that attractive to me!

We have been looking for something to hold all of the Legos Ramsey has.

We thought about a couple of these, but they are also less than attractive.

So we were just keeping them in 2 of the canvas cubes but they were already overfull and too heavy to really be good for him to play with. Then my fave girls at Real Deals in Salem posted a picture on facebook, and I KNEW we needed it for his room, as long as it would fit.

This is what they posted

Cute right?! So I went and measured to see if it would fit, and it DID!! So it has a home in his bedroom now, holds his baseball light and all of his Legos are organized by color in the bins. My pictures are not great but it still looks perfect in his room and it wasn't too deep so he still has plenty of room to drag his Lego table over and enjoy playing with them!

This little treasure sure put me in the mood to get started on our Spring Cleaning!

So this week I will try and get my planning all done, so we can get started and done and enjoy Spring!

Hubby is already outside working on cleaning stuff up while it's not raining. I am hoping I can add "build chicken coop" to his honey do! We'll see how well that goes over :)

Continue Reading ...

TV Stand Makeover

We got this cute TV stand from a friend, and as soon as I saw it I knew I could use it to manage the dress up stuff all over the floor!

They gave it to us for free and we spent about $1 on PVC and less than $2 on the closet bracket things.. so for $3 and a few new chips in the stairway paint we turned it into this:

I still have a little work to do, some L brackets to keep the bottom piece on and I think some vinyl or something to make it a little more girly! And I need to attach it to the wall (just to be safe)!

She is already LOVING it, and can't wait for her little besty to come play! And big brother loves to organize, he helped her hang all her stuff up! We moved the play kitchen to little brothers room (he plays with it more than the other 2)

I am sure it will get a few more changes as we get used to it. I hope to be posting more as things HOPEFULLY slow down just a little!

Continue Reading ...

Spring Cleaning week 4 {Bedrooms}

I was supposed to be doing Spring Cleaning the bathrooms last week... but I didn't, not even a little bit. Instead, Hubby had a few days off and we painted our formal living room.

So I am behind a week but Hubby is out of town this week so I am hoping I can get it all done and start on the bedrooms! And we are out of trim paint so none of that will be done either.. doesn't look like I will be all done before Spring..darn!

Well here is my list for bedrooms, in case I get to it this week!

• Go Through Clothes and move winter stuff to the back!

• Go Through Toys

• Go Through Books (and post on paperbackswap.com)

• Clean out Nightstands

• Clean ceiling fans and light fixtures

• Flip Mattresses

• Steam Mattresses

• Go Through Underneath Bed (always purging)

• Windows

• Window Tracks

• Wash Curtains

• Polish Furniture

• Clean Baseboards

• Take off Bed Warmers

So hoping the kids want to help and we get this done before Spring Break (next week) and hopefully by the time we get back it will be nice enough to work outside!

Hope Everyone is enjoying the last week of Winter (finally!)

And I am sure I will spend a little time tonight looking for some fun April Fools stuff for the kiddies!



Continue Reading ...

CSN.. and some awesome Duvet Covers!

Ive learned a lesson about bedding.. buying the same size bedding as you have bed just doesn't work for me.. I need to size up! I love our bedding now, sure I can't get it again but CSN has SO many Modern Duvet Covers that I have already spied a few I could use without having to repaint!

This is my fave!

And if you haven't used CSN before.. let me tell you they have AMAZING shipping compared to the other places online I used to check first to shop, it seems like a 1-2 week delivery.. I got our toaster in less than 2 full days from CSN!  And they have SO much stuff, I found some Pediped toddler shoes, and some adorable sheets with cupcakes on them! They have a little of everything!

Continue Reading ...

Extra Drawer Re-do

 Here is what we have done with the extra drawer.

Took the drawer front off, picked up some pink glass knobs at Target.

Then Hubby drilled some holes in and we screwed the new knobs in, attached a couple picture hangers on the back and mounted to the wall. 

 Behind the door, but close enough to her little table that she can keep her apron's on it.

 She already has her little cupcake chef hat and apron hanging up!

With this done AND the toy boxes a little easier for her.. let's hope she can keep her room a little more tidy now!



Continue Reading ...

Organizing Friday.. Barbie Mess

Those tubs weren't working.. but so far these have been SO much better! She is allowed 2 out at a time and has to put them away before getting more out. It's worked a little over half the time so far.. I'll take ANY improvement I can get though! These were not too expensive, about a dollar each but they aren't anything special! When things slow down enough and I am looking for a project, I am sure I can pretty em up a little bit. But for now it's not so bad since I have been hiding them behind these curtains!  I made them from some leftover fabric and they weren't long enough or something.. they just didn't look right!  They had been in a closet for a couple years now.. glad to put them to use! They are just hung on some mini tension rods, no more banging up the bookshelf!



AND obviously from these pictures.. I NEED to do something about those bows... especially since the 2 flower boxes on the top shelf are also FULL of bows/clips/headbands, and sadly I have made her about 10 more in the last 2 days.  I have a project idea lines up, just waiting to get the supplies, maybe next Friday!

Continue Reading ...

Upcoming CSN Review!

How many of you already knew about CSN?!  I didn't until recently.. obviously I have been missing out! They have SOO much stuff on their websites! Nightstands to aprons, beds and toys!! I've already found some unique stuff, stuff I haven't seen before that are going on my Christmas list!!

I am doing a review soon and I can hardly wait! Check back soon for the review.. and probably another post on some seriously cute cupcake stuff I saw over there!

 

 

 

And once the smooshy wakes up I will go snap some pictures and share her improved toy storage! 3 days so far and her room is SO much cleaner.. and I finished the drawer front project too!

Continue Reading ...

Fall Cleaning Bedrooms!

The bedrooms are the easiest for me, so I save them for last. Fall is almost here, I can't tell you how good it feels to almost be done with the cleaning already!

I am a fan of sleep! Having a cluttered or dirty bedroom is not going to help me sleep at all! I start with the clutter, go through clothes and anything I don't need or want goes to donation pile, for the kids, anything they have outgrown or will be in outgrown soon and are way out of season gets moved out of the way! The shorts and tank tops get moved to the back of everyones dresser and closets, while the sweaters and jeans make their way to the front!

~Getting rid of any books we are done with and all the little things that collect in nightstand is next.

~Mattresses need to be turned/flipped every 6 months, now is a good time to do it, and while you are at it, if you have a portable steamer, use it! I do the mattress on both sides and the box springs! Steam is great for killing allergens and dust mites! We put our electric bed warmers on now, just waiting for the cold days!

~Washing the curtains and chair cover, and while they are in the wash, I am cleaning all the window tracks, windows and steaming the chair (ours is old, my Great Grandpa made it and I am scared to use anything other than steam on it!)

~swapping out the pictures in the frames, making sure any candles that are past their prime are dealt with. And that is about it, other than the list for every room.

Hope I can get all 4 of our bedrooms done by Saturday! The weather here has been nice, and staying inside to clean has not been easy!

Continue Reading ...

Done with Finnley's room, for now anyway!

I can't decide on a paint color! But everything else is as done as it is getting, until I get some more inspiration!

I got the subway art idea from Kat at here is her post on it..She got the idea from tatertots and Jello. I changed it a little, I used brown with vanilla paper and I used the cricut machine to do my words! But I love how it turned out, I used his initials, his birth weight and date, his nickname (little bird, thanks to his big sister) and some other random words and a couple that have other meanings to us! I had a LOT of fun making this and I think it was fun to include his baby stats into it! I like that it is simple but looks good in his room! I am sure I will find something small to go on either side, not sure what exactly, because I don't want to get too much going on, I don't want it to look busy!  Two more pictures of the Subway art, not the crib, and in different lighting.

Ikea dresser.. could they get any more plain in shape? I love how simple the shape is but the fun red color! The picture does NOT do it justice! (we have 2 of this same one we liked it so much!)

When he outgrows his crib ( our other 2 were out of their cribs by about 15 months) I plan on getting THIS bed from Ikea.. I like how simple it is and can go with anything, if for some reason he decides he isn't into cowboy stuff!!

Alright that is it for now.. Any cowboy ish ideas y'all want to share, I would LOVE to hear em!

Continue Reading ...

It's still not finished.. but getting there!

Slowly coming along in the baby's room!




So far I have convinced the big ones to help me sort all the toys and toss/donate the ones that are missing peices or that haven't been played with in a while. The closet used to hold one of these

 Which was full of books, pretend food and lots of puzzle pieces. It worked well, fit in the closet and doesn't interfere with the clothes but it sure made that THE playroom. Decided to empty it and take it out and downstairs where we have a large closet it fits nicely in the side of and we can avoid toys all over 5 rooms (hopefully just 3 now!) With the storage unit out I moved the play kitchen in the closet, the kids still play with it, it isn't taking away space from the baby's room AND I can close the closet and all the toys in it and pretend it's not there when it is really messy!



My mother in law made a wonderful cowboy themed quilt that is all the colors I was hoping to tie into the room! A chocolate and pale brown, some dark red and blue. The Bumper was something we found would be helpful after he got his helmet! He was rubbing his helmet on the rails and I think it was waking him up some at night, not to mention the arms and legs out the rails aren't the best for sleeping! The bumper is soft minky material and plain! There was a "coordinating" EXPENSIVE dust ruffle and the colors weren't exact, that would really have bugged me.. so I just bought some cow print, soft furry on sale fabric and put it under the crib.. good enough and just a little cow print was enough for now!

The curtains were on clearance for 3 bucks for the pair, they are tab top, not really my thing, but I had the bandana's on before and they cover the tabs nicely!

The wagon lunchbox was a Real Deals score, clearance and right now it has his pacifiers in it, even though, he hasn't used one in months! The rope border has been up for a year and a half or so now.. I just nailed it into the wall every foot or so, and when they were loops, to hold them in. The pillow is a Real Deals goodie, it says "Mind your manners" and the metal BEHAVE sign above the closet was at a local craft store.

The chest fits perfect.. ( even though the picture is HORRIBLE, I had "help" taking that one) I don't know how we got so lucky with that! It was a wedding gift and now holds all the toys the big ones have outgrown but we wanted to keep for the baby, and clothes he has yet to grow into. I am hoping I can find time to make a cushion for the top, the biggin's love to sit and read on it.. I don't see that changing anytime soon and I want to encourage them to "read" to their little brother!

I still need to repair the walls and paint.. or get some help painting. This weekend is going to be too nice to be inside though!  I need some help finding something for above the crib which is also the biggest wall. Reasonably priced is the hard part for me! Any ideas from y'all would be wonderful!

Continue Reading ...

Fall Cleaning.. Bedrooms

With the weather getting cooler I know I am usually likely to be spending more time in the bedroom, hopefully sleeping more soon, baby still has his nights and days totally mixed up. Bedrooms seem like the coziest places with warm blankets and few distractions. I think a nice deep cleaning makes it even more cozy! This is what I do for the bedrooms.

~First I move all the summer clothes in the closet to the back and the cooler weather stuff up front, making sure it's all in good shape before I move it to the back, spots or repairs are easier to take care of if it's not sitting in the back of the closet for 6 months.

~Piled up are usually a dozen books or so that have been read, if I am not keeping them I try to list them on this free book swapping site, www.paperbackswap.com or take them to donate at the library.. books collect SO much dust! Dealing with all of our piles, not just the books, makes the room have less distractions and easier to fall asleep in. Nightstand drawers are the worst clutter catcher at our house.. Seems like every weekend trip or vacation lands us with a small stack of random papers that get pulled out of the luggage and dropped right into the nightstand..I try to weed a little out each week but if they aren't just about empty I dump the drawers and go through it all.

~Walls and the ceiling.. I use the vacuum and brush attachment to do the ceiling corners, ceiling fan and baseboards.

~Mattress and bedding.. I vacuum both the mattress and box springs before and after I turn/flip the mattress. Wash all the bedding and get the electric bed warmers out! How do you all keep your sheet sets together? I fold the entire set other than 1 pillowcase and put the folded set in that pillowcase so everything stays together and is easy to grab without digging around for all the pieces. I also replace the pillows if they need replacing.

~Kids rooms.. Are a whole other story. I do the above PLUS we go through the toys and let them help us decide what they are done playing with. Christmas is just around the corner and that usually means some more toys get added to the mix. If we make some room and an effort to keep the toys organized it makes play time and clean up much easier! My kids LOVE to help clean, really they do! I try to make sure they have their age appropriate jobs, both of them know that they will get to dust (using a swiffer) if the flat surfaces are cleaned off.. I think if it seems like a little fun even, they are more likely to help and those swiffers and big and fluffy and kind of silly looking to a 4 or 2 year old!

I also spot treat the carpet (since we are a no shoes inside house, for the most part anyway, our carpets don't usually need more than vacuuming) I use vinegar and baking soda for spots. Update some pictures if they need it, and replace any candles that are close to done.

It's sunny and cool here today so I don't think we will be working inside much.. Hoping to get some of the outside stuff done!

Continue Reading ...

Spring Cleaning Those Bedrooms

We spend so much time in our rooms, even if it's just sleeping, so it needs to be clean and peacefull!

Alrighy with the kitchen just about done, I am ready
to move on to Bedrooms.. Yikes!

The first thing I do in ALL the bedrooms is go
through the clothes in the closets (we don't have dressers).
Anything that won't fit the wee ones anymore or has holes or rips that I wont fix goes in the donate or sell bags. For my clothes if it is from winter or fall and I didnt wear it I probably won't and it goes too. I think it is so much easier to get things organized and cleaned up if you know there is not stuff in the way you won't be using.

If any of the winter or fall stuff needs cleaning or repairs I take them to the cleaners.
With much more space available in my closet I move all the sweaters and stuff to the back and the tank tops to the front.

Then I get to actual cleaning!

Starting with the highest stuff, I dust, cealing fans, bookshleves, all the way down to baseboards.
I take everything off the bookshelves and make sure there are not any books I can donate to the library (there usually is) and clean all the shelves with the method wood cleaner and polish.
There is always of ton of stuff that needs laundered when I do the bedrooms. Curtains, all the pillows and winter bedding that is to be stored. We use electric bed warmers and they NEED to come off now, doesn't get that cold at night anymore.

With all the beds stripped I vacuum the box springs, mattresses, flip em and vacuum again.
I empty our nightstands of the hundreds of pennies, hairties, pens and notebooks that have collected along with who knows how many candy land cards and barbie shoes. Usually I keep only a couple things in the nightstands and by this time they are FULL!

While the curtians are off I wash the windows and the sliding part.. I get serious with that! Q tips and all! Still just vinegar and water though, and usually a toothbrush (which I buy in the 5 packs for $1 at Dollar Tree and look nothing like any we would
actually use)!

I vacuum the area rugs and carpet and by then everything is clean.. just not put back together
because of all the laundry. So I also change things a bit, Change the pictures in the frames, replace any candles for a more summery/spring smell, and the bedding that goes back on the bed is usually much lighterweight.

The kids rooms usually need a bit more attention though, we sort through toys, tons of them, and help them make good choices about what to keep and what to donate.
I do the same bedding and curtain washing, dusting, window cleaning, mattress vacuuming and flipping in their rooms as ours.
I try to keep the kids toys organized.. a lot of work! But it's worth it, so we make sure everything is in it's designated bin, box or drawer.
I like to move the kids furniture around so it is a little new for them also!

With today being the first day of spring we will be done before spring really gets into full swing! Hope everyone is having a lovley Friday.. Yay for weekends with our families!

Continue Reading ...