An Organized Move - Tips for moving

When it was official we were moving to our new home, I was right in the middle of my first (very nauseous) trimester, and had twin three year olds helping me daily, and I had a LOT to pack. I knew we needed to come up with a plan to make the move as simple as possible. 

First I created a packing plan. I broke down how many weeks we had until the move (5 weeks in our case) and then printed out a calendar. I prioritized items that could be packed first and the items we would need until the very end. I listed everything out week by week. Things like pictures on the walls, decor, guest bedroom items, extra linens, etc could all be packed in the beginning. Weeks two and three included items like books in the den, seasonal items, clothes that we wouldn't need for the upcoming few weeks, less used kitchen items and craft supplies. The final week was the last of kitchen items, toys, the pantry and fridge items, clothing and toiletries. 

Breaking down the items into smaller chunks made it much easier to tackle and it was spread out over the five weeks. I would pack five to six boxes at a time rather than try to cram everything in to a few days. 

The next thing I did was create a moving notebook. I am going to do another post about the notebook and I will link to it here when done. 

Once I finished my packing schedule and moving notebook, I made my packing kit. I put everything in a small bin and that bin followed me everywhere for the five weeks up until the move. Here is what I included in my packing survival kit:

- Labels (plain white, found at Target)

- colored stickers (found at Target)

- Scissors

- Sharpie

- Packing tape

- Gallon size and quart size zipper storage bags

Supplies

Create a labeling system. It can look however you choose, the key is it is consistent. I labeled the room the box needed to go to in the new home in the top left corner of every label. I put the description of the contents in the bottom right corner of every label. I placed the labels on the same place of every box. This made it easy for anyone picking up the boxes (movers, family, etc) to know where to take the box. Plus it was helpful with unpacking in finding items we wanted to unpack first or needed to find quickly. 

Anything that was fragile, I added a bright green circle sticker in the middle of the label. This again was an easy way to let people know to be careful when picking up a box with a green circle without me having to tell them. 

We made sure everything possible was in a box (93 boxes total). We got our boxes at U-haul. They will take back any boxes you don't use for a full refund. The boxes were great quality. We passed them on to three other families after our move and they were all able to use them for their moves.

A few tips on boxes:

- Get lots of different sized boxes. 

- Comforters, pillows, blankets, winter coats should go in the largest boxes. 

- Books, plates, heavy items should go in small boxes because they get heavy quickly

- Wardrobe boxes are amazing for moving clothing in a snap. 

- Make sure to get plenty of tape and however many boxes you think you need, buy a few more. We made three trips back to buy more boxes. 

Setting aside a little bit of time before the move will make it so much less stressful and so much more organized. You will be happy you did! 

Happy Packing! 

Tension Rod Ribbon Storage

I love ribbon. Grosgrain, satin, wire, patterned - you name it, I probably have some of it. It adds a cute touch to a package or even a little note with a bow at the top. My problem has always been how to store it. I have tried lots of ways to store them and nothing seems to be the perfect solution. Until now . . . enter the tension rod!

Here is what I started with. Lots of ribbon on small spools.

What you need:

• 1 tension rod - I found mine at big chain home improvement store in the curtain section. Mine was very small in diameter adjustable for length.
• small drill - in case some of your spools don't have a pre-cut hole in the center
• small push pins - to pin your ribbon so you don't have hanging pieces

I have a small space below the lowest shelf in my den and the rod fit perfectly underneath.

I organized mine by color. I love the way it looks, it is neat and tidy and very functional!

Happy Organizing!

Mood Board Love

So . . . I have a new favorite app. It is called Moodboard and it is amazing. You can create vision boards for any project, event, remodel - anything you are doing. It is easy to use. You can upload pictures from your iPad or get images directly from the Internet. There are lots of finishing touches that can make your board look extra special. Borders, arrows, color swatches and more.

It is a little more expensive than most apps at $9.99 but if you do lots of projects or planning of events, it is well worth it. There is a Moodboard Lite app for free. I would recommend trying out the free version first to make sure you like it. I am sure you will!

See below for a few of the Mood boards I have created so far.

This board is for my friend Alissa's condo organization project. One great thing about the app - when you cut pictures from online, the app saves the source so you can get right back to the link.

This board is for my friend Cate. She is working on the details of her escort cards and display presentation for her wedding.

The final board is what I sent our nanny to let her know what I was planning for our 4th of July theme. Different food ideas for the little people and crafts for them to do. We do different themes every couple of weeks and this is such a simple (and fun) way for me to share the ideas with her.

Happy Creating!

Bridal Emergency Kit

I love being the person responsible for the Bridal Day Emergency Kit. I have so much fun finding all of the items and putting it together. I just made a new kit for my friend's wedding in Cabo. I thought I would share with you what I included in my kit. And this kit could be used for other big events as well - proms, galas, parties, black tie events, etc. It is just extra fun when it is called a BRIDAL day ER kit!

Items included:

Scope mouthwash

toothbrush

toothpaste

dental floss

Cotton pads, Cotton balls and Cotton QTips

makeup application pads

makeup remover and make up remover pads

hairspray

Vaseline

deodorant

baby oil

hand sanitizer

hand cream and foot cream

nail polish remover

clear nail polish

emery boards

scotch tape and double sided tape

scissors

sewing kit

Shout It Out stain remover pen

lotion

Aleve, Tylenol, Aspirin

tissues

tampons

first aid kid

safety pins

hand soap

wet ones wipes

lint roller

eye drops

contact cleaner

We used so many of the items at the wedding last weekend. The sewing kit repaired a bridesmaid dress, the scissors cut a few loose strings on the wedding dress, visine was used to take the redness out of a bug bite, the wet ones were used to remove deodorant from a dress and the safety pins held up a hem. Always better to be over prepared! Leave a comment if there is anything I forgot and I will add it to my kit next time!



Quick Organizing Tips

I have been sick this past week. I am so ready for a new month and a healthy start! I didn't take on many organizational projects this week feeling like I did. This was the one project I completed.

Ever since the big pantry redo (you can read about it here) all of our crackers, pastas, dried fruits, cereals, nuts, etc. are transferred from their original packaging to plastic organized storage containers in our pantry right when the items come home. We all love this system. It is so easy to find things and see how much we have left at any given time. The one issue we have is the overflow or extras that don't fit in the storage container. There aren't many of them but there are a few. Plus other misc. items like extra apple juice or applesauce. We have been storing these "extras" in our smaller pantry on the top shelf. The shelf was unorganized and beginning to drive me crazy.

I always have an extra set of these Ikea organizers on hand. They are intended to be used as clothing drawer organizers but I have used them for art supply storage, toy separators and drawer organizers. They are great and so inexpensive.

I like items being grouped together and contained in one area. These containers are perfect for what I needed. Now we have a designated space for the extras and it looks clean and neat. Plus it is easier to see what we have on hand. Took less than 5 minutes total.

I like to have extras of things we go through a lot - raisins, craisins, apple sauce, snacks, etc.

They fit next to the blender on the top shelf perfectly.

Happy Organizing!

Organizing Kids Clothes

We have twin two years olds. A boy and a girl. With these being our first children, one thing I didn't think much about as I was pregnant (and I thought about everything, over and over again) was how much they grow out of clothes. Each season we are buying so many new clothes because there is no way they can fit into what they wore the last time we saw the sun around here. It sounds like an obvious cycle (all kids grow) but it surprised me. By age two, I am starting to get used to it. One thing I realized right away was I didn't want those outgrown clothes cluttering the closet after they were past their prime.

See below for my tips and tricks on organizing kids clothes.

1. Everything needs to have a place. This is key in all forms of organizing. Designate bins, drawers or shelves for socks, onesies, pajamas, swim suits, hats and gloves, pants, etc.

The changing table has bins underneath that provide great extra storage. Bins hold socks for baby girl and baby boy, onesies, gloves and hats, swimwear and diapers.

2. For hanging clothes add extra rods in the closet for more storage space. We did this before the kids were born when I realized how short their clothes were. We were able to add an extra shelf and rod in their closet. Their clothes won't be adult length for a long time so take advantage of the space while you can.

3. Group like items together when hanging. For example in our kid's closet I have the following order for my little guy's stuff with each section from light to dark:

• Long sleeve button up shirts
• Long sleeve polo shirts
• Short sleeve polo shirts
• Long sleeve tee shirts
• Short sleeve tee shirts

It makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for and it makes so simple to put away laundry. Color coding obviously isn't necessary but I highly recommend grouping together like items.

4. If you have the room to do it, group sweaters, fleeces, jackets and hooded sweatshirts away from the shirts. They are bulky and get in the way of the shirts you are reaching for every day.

5. Put all shoes in a bin. While they are small enough, take advantage of this awesome space saving tip. I have one bin for his shoes and one for hers. They fit perfectly on the shelf in the closet.

6. Make a bin specifically for clothes they haven't grown into. A lot of people gift clothes in a few sizes too big or you see a deal you can't pass up on for pajamas for next season and buy them. Store them in the grow into bin. It keeps things together so you don't forget about these items by tucking them away somewhere and forgetting about it. Plus you don't need to clog the closet with clothes they don't fit into yet. I have a grow into bin for her, him and one for shoes. We have a special friend who works at Converse and has generously given the little ones lots of cool kicks. We can't wait to grow into all of them!

7. Do a once a month (or whatever length of time works for you) review of the closet. The more regularly you do it, the quicker it goes. It usually takes me less than 5 minutes each time.

• Move the items that don't fit any longer to either the give away bin, the store for possible baby down the road bin or the keepsake bin if you have one.
• Check the grow into bin and see if there is anything they have grown into you can add to the closet.
• Do a quick review to see if anything needs to put away, refolded or resorted.

Hope these tricks and tips help a little bit in the chaos that can be your child's closet.

Happy Organizing!

Quick Organizing Projects Rundown

Lately my organization motto has been the smaller, quicker the projects, the better. The last month has been wild at our house with multiple cases of the flu, head colds, a pulled tooth, birthdays, trips and teething. We (I most of all) are hoping for a fresh, healthy start in April. Hoping the Spring weather will finally hit us and bring healthier times for all.

Amidst all of the craziness all of the projects I have undertaken lately have been small but definitely worth it.

Quick project run down to hopefully spark some ideas for you:

• Reorganized the medicine bin. I have a small bin filled with different medicines for cold, flu, cough, aspirin, Tylenol, etc. As the year goes on things get added, removed, moved around. I pulled everything out and disposed of expired items and put everything back in a neat orderly form. Took less than 10 minutes.
• Organized cookie cutters. My cookie cutters were bursting out of their container at the seams. It was difficult to find the ones I was looking for and it was a pain to put them away. I pulled them all out (wow - there were more in there than I thought!) and grouped them by holiday and season. Different like groups were put into similar bins and stacked in an easy to reach place.
• Grouped all discount cards on a ring. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so clever. I pulled all of my club and member cards out of my wallet and coupon holder and hole punched them in the top corner (make sure not to punch through a magnetic strip or number) and put them on a small metal ring. Now it is in my car organizer ready to be used whenever we are out and about. There is so much more space in my wallet. I love it! Took 10 minutes.

My list of organizing projects is LONG and it is always changing and being updated. Checking small projects off the list helps just as much as the big ones. What small (or big) organizing projects have you tackled lately?

Happy Organizing!

Quick Organizing Tips

Here are two quick, simple organizing tips. I implemented both at my house last weekend and can honestly say I am loving both changes! Try either or both of these ideas and let me know what you think. I saw both tips on Pinterest (where else?).

TIP - ADD A RECYCLE BIN UNDER THE SINK

We try to recycle but it seems the recycling builds up next to the sink - cans and flattened cardboard packaging that needs to be taken out to the garage to the big recycle bin. The constant pile (and when I say constant, it was taken out multiple times per day but still) was driving me crazy! We removed everything from under the sink other than the dish soap, garbage can, fire extinguisher and we added another can designated for recycling. I love having it there. It is so easy to use and I find I am actually recycling more than I was before because of how convenient it is. Once the bin is full, we take the whole thing to the garage and empty it. Loving it!

TIP - USE A SHOE RACK TO HOLD CLEANING SUPPLIES

Once we removed everything the sink, I quickly needed a new place for our cleaning supplies. I had seen this on Pinter and ran to Target and bought this over the door shoe rack. They had three different kinds but the other two were fabric. This one is plastic and I figured it would be easy to wipe down if anything spilled on it.

I was a little nervous about two things - 1. Would the bottles fit? and 2. Would my little ones be able to reach the supplies? All of the bottles, even the thicker ones, fit perfectly. And my little ones cannot reach up to where the bottles start so it is perfect. I didn't have enough bottles for the whole thing so I added our rubber gloves, extra sponges, magic eraser, etc. I put ours on the back of the door in our laundry room. It is right off of the kitchen and a perfect location.

In the last week I have found it is so much easier to grab one of the cleaners from this organizer than it ever was before under the sink digging around looking for items. I am thrilled!

Leave a comment with a simple, organizing tip you have implemented. I am always looking for new ideas!

Happy Organizing!

Operation - Pantry Redo

What better day to reorganize the pantry than the day after Christmas? I redid all of the kids toy organization, redid the pantry and then put away Christmas. It was a day and I was exhausted but elated with all of my accomplishments!

I have been getting antsy about my pantry for the last few months. As the holidays approached more and more packages, boxes, bags, etc. began to fill up my pantry. Nothing seemed to fit easily and the whole pantry was getting crowded. Solution - operation redo the pantry.

There were a lot of sales at Fred Meyer/Kroger on their kitchen storage items right after the holiday. The storage containers can be really expensive but I figure if you can find them on somewhat of a sale and you take good care of them, they will last for a really long time. Bottom line, they are worth it.

I bought most of the OXO brand (more expensive) and some of the Snapware (way less expensive) brand. After I was done with my project, I found out Costco has a box of 30 pieces of Snapware for less than $30. If you are in the market for a pantry redo, head over to Costco!

My empty bins just waiting to be put to good use. Plan out what shapes and sizes you are looking for before you go to the store. Think of things your family eats regularly (the staples) and shop for bins that will fit those items.

One of my favorite parts of the redo - my expanding stair step canned food organizer. I love it! We make taco soup once a week in our home. It is one of our absolute favorites. It requires a lot of cans plus we have cans for soup, beans, etc. This makes it so much easier to organize and see what we have.

I bought open baskets to contain like items that didn't fit in a storage container. This bin is filled with all things sweet. There are way more of these sweet items in the house because of the holidays.

Another open basket is filled with paper plates, napkins, utensils, cups ans straws. It is easy to grab the basket and grab exactly what you need.

One of my favorite tips is to group like items together. It makes sense and it makes your life so much easier. I bought two smaller plastic bins with lids to hold baking items. One holds sprinkles, colored sugar and decorative icing and gel.

The other bin holds baking chocolate, chips, Hershey kisses, etc. These items aren't used on a daily basis and it is nice having them contained in a small box. Plus with the lid, they are easily stacked.

The baking bins are stacked to the far right. Next to those are items like brown sugar, powdered sugar and white chocolate chips (we use a lot of those at our house!) in Snapware containers. There are some long plastic open bins that are perfect for holding items that you need access to but that you want contained - boxed cake mixes, marshmallows, jello and cornmeal. And finally to the left is a bin of sauces. The baking items are on the lowest shelf because they aren't used as much as some of the other daily items.

The next shelf up, still fairly low, is the twin shelf. They are just two and require lots of their own plates, bowls, cups, silverware in mini size and some snacks. I have all like items contained in bins. One bin of sippy cups, one of plates and bowls, spoons in one container, forks in another and snacks in even another.

I have had these bins since they were born and this shelf has evolved with them over the last two years. We have switched from all bottles and sippy cups to place settings and utensils. I am sure it will continue to evolve with them. I make sure as soon as we are not using things any longer, we move them out and regroup with the next phase. It helps keep things clutter free makes it easier to navigate saving you time.

I used open baskets to contain items like bag soups, mac n cheese, Mexican rice boxes, etc. The OXO containers on this shelf hold snack items - raisins, crackers, yogurt covered raisins, Ritz crackers and graham crackers. To the far right are four containers with different types of dried pasta.

Once the containers are empty they can be cleaned and either filled with the same item as before or whatever new items you have. I didn't label any of my bins because you can see the contents of each of them and it allows you to change the out at any time.

The top shelf holds the tallest, largest bins with things like cereal, chips and pretzels. Bigger bulk items. I also use a tall bin for saltine crackers.

TA DA! Complete! I am thrilled with the final redo. It is easy for our family to use and saves us time. If you are in the market for a pantry redo, I hope you got some inspiration. If you have any pantry organizing tips, leave a comment. I would love to hear them!

Happy Organizing!

Holiday Card Keepsake Book

I absolutely love receiving holiday cards. I enjoy reading the stories our friends and families share about their year. The picture cards are so great because you get a peek at what people near and far enjoyed in the past year and how much the kids grew up and changed. I have always saved the cards we received until last season. I didn't have a creative way to store them or a neat way to display them. So I got rid of all of them. I am so bummed now that I found this simple, amazing idea on Pinterest!

Starting this year I am making a Holiday Card Keepsake Book. I will make it at the end of the season and include all of the cards for that year. We just received a Happy New Year card this week so I want to make sure to do it late enough to include all of the cards. My plan will be to put out the books in December with our holiday decor so we can look back through the years. I am so excited to start this new tradition!

Supplies Needed:

-  card stock - any color or pattern you choose

- metal rings - I found mine at Target

- scissors and a hole punch

- stickers, markers, embellishments to decorate your cover

- Glue Dots - LOVE these - found mine at the craft store

I decided to use only pictures and picture cards in my book. You may want to include letters and non photo cards also. Just depends on your preference.

I sorted my cards by size and then did a pattern of picking up one card of each size and repeating until I had used all of the photos.

After I had my cards stacked I made a template with two holes and went through and punched each photo using the template to ensure the holes were the same distance on all of the cards.

I decided I am going to put our family card for the year as page 1 of each book. It will be fun to look at our cards as the little ones grow and change each year.

I made a front and back cover out of card stock. I made my covers slightly bigger than the biggest cards. I wanted the year on the front cover and I used some fun ornament stickers to add some flair. You could also incorporate your family card on the cover for each year. Whatever works for you.

Happy Memory Making!

Organizing Kids Art Supplies

Our kids love doing art projects and crafts and we have started quite a collection of art supplies.  I constantly find myself pulling a set of crayons out of the box, moving them to a container it is easy for the kids to use and when they are done, moving the crayons back to their original box. Not a very practical system. I needed a way to organize everything so it was easy to use and also in a contained, organized location. A way we could just grab and go. I wanted to eliminate the shuffling back and forth. Our nanny suggested Ikea and some of their storage solutions. Off we went!

This is what I started with - all shapes and sizes of crayons, markers, window crayons and markers, dry erase crayons and markers, colored pencils, finger paints and watercolors.

At Ikea I purchased these drawer storage organizers. 6 drawer organizers.

 Here are the drawer organizers opened.

I also purchased these mini storage bins with snap tops. I bought two packs. 

I put like items in the small boxes - regular crayons, large and jumbo crayons, dry erase crayons and window markers.

 Larger items like the paint tubes and bottles and animal crayons went in the bins on their own along with markers and colored pencils. All of the drawer organizers fit in one clear bin I also purchased at Ikea. The large clear bin fits easily under the bed.

Now we can pull out one container at a time and we are ready to craft. My kids aren't old enough to have open access to their art supplies. When they are older we will have to come up with a solution where they can easily get to the supplies on their own. But for the next few years, this should work out just fine!

Happy Organizing!

Organizing Kids Toys

If you have children, you understand the never ending process of trying to organize and store their toys. I am always in search of new ways to keep the toys together and keep my house looking somewhat tidy. I decided to do a complete redo of our toy storage the day after Christmas. Our little ones received lots of wonderful new toys for their birthday and Christmas and we needed a place to put them.

Operation Twin Town & Twin Gym was under way! A little history - we renamed our family room Twin Town shortly after they arrived and we realized our home would never be the same with the amount of stuff these little people required. A year later they claimed another room and that was named Twin Gym because of the foam mats, ball pit and slide. With two rooms to organize it was double the work but double the satisfaction when it was complete! 

My Top Three Tips for Organizing Kids Toys:

1. Keep toys easily accessible for the little ones. This way they can get the most out of their toys. Store toys in bins that are low and easy to reach. Same goes for books so they can reach them and read as much as they want.

2. Keep like items together. This gives the little ones a sense of order. They know when they pull out the doll bin, it will have all dolls and doll accessories. Or the train bin has all of the trains and train tracks. Plus it makes clean up a breeze!

3. Go through toys frequently and move out toys they no longer play with. It will be help keep things de cluttered and easier to play with because they won't have to weed through the items they no longer are interested in.

Twin Town Storage - You can purchase the storage container on the left at Target and Fred Meyer/Kroger. And you can usually find sales on the colored bins. The organizer on the right is from Target. My husband anchors the shelving into the wall so it cannot tip over on the kids.

I love having books easily accessible for them. They have another shelf in their room filled with books. I have always been an avid reader and we hope to instill that trait in them too.

There are a few shelves under our TV in the armoir and I use every bit of shelf space I can. These bins are from Container Store.

Twin Gym Storage - same shelf unit as in the other room. See below for more on the puzzle racks.

 These are pictures of some of the bins we have. Some items are easily grouped - cars, blocks, stuffed animals, trains and train tracks, pots and pans and cooking utensils. Other groups are a bit more random - view masters with cell phones and cameras, all Leap Frog items, small character figurines, etc.

Under the TV I have two bins filled with all of their musical toys. It makes it easy to pull out one type of toy and have a musical play time. Or pull out all of the play food and they play at their table and kitchen set.

Also, if you have small items like the little board books in the upper right corner of the collage, put them in their own container. It helps keep them together and it is easier to store that way.

I have seen a version of puzzle racks like this for sale from Melissa and Doug. These were from my scrap booking days. Not to say I have officially retired from scrap booking, it is just my need for 12 x 12 paper is not as important as it used to be. I felt like the kids weren't getting as much use out of their puzzles as they could be. They were in bins under their beds and were hardly ever touched. This way they are organized and easy to see and play with. I got these racks 10 years ago on EBay from a woman who was selling her scrap booking store. Here is a link to a place you can buy the Melissa and Doug racks.

I remove all of the puzzle pieces from each puzzle and put them in zip pouches. We store all of the pouches in one of our colored bins. I found the pouches at Office Max. This helps so we don't lose puzzle pieces and it makes it easy to grab a few puzzles and pouches and put them in the suitcase for travel or take them on the road with us.

Hope this gives you a little inspiration for your toy organization. If you have any great toy organizing tips, leave a comment. I would love to hear them! I am always looking for new ideas.

Happy Organizing!