{Project Organize} A Rainy Weekend

I got a lot done on a rainy weekend...

I am almost complete with organizing the kitchen cabinets. The kitchen was not in bad shape at all, it just needed to be cleaned up a little. Each drawer didn't take so long at all. I still want to buy some organizers for our junk drawer, but it is cleaned up, the organizer bins would pretty it up a bit and help keep it organized. So that is on my list. Not a priority but something to do at some point. There is always more that can be done but not necessary.

I still need to work on my spice/cooking cabinet. I need to find a good way to organize my spices so I can find things. Just the other day as I was cooking, I realized that I had 2 bottles of cumin. I probably couldn't find cumin one day and went and bought another bottle. So it needs helps. I need to determine what is best. I have seen many different ideas on pinterest, but I am not sure which one will best meet my needs and my space. So I will be back to that one. My challenge with organizing is deciding exactly how I want things to be.

I went through my files and recycled a lot of paper! I got rid of paper and files that I no longer needed and got all my files ready for 2013. So my 2012 files are organized and ready for our tax appointment next month. That was a priority and I am glad that I got that done.

I organized my office supply drawer. I bought an organizer for the that drawer and it made a world of difference.

I put together a binder for all our user manuals. I found a lot of great ideas on pinterest and took one on. Check this link out. I just have to print out a cover sheet and find a good place for it.

I got a lot done over the week. It helps to have a rainy weekend to get things done. I feel like I've made a lot of progress. As I keep going through different areas of the house, I am purging as well, so I feel good about sticking to this goal.

My next goals in Project Organize is to organize my recipes. I bought some binders and supplies, so I will be working on this one next. I've started and I wished that I had a before picture, but I will make sure to get an after photo when I am done.

{Project Organize} The Pantry

So I have been working on Project Organize, I have been going through the house and making a list of everything I would like to work on. I have been on pinterest looking at various ideas and inspirations for a more organized home.

I am starting with the kitchen. I look through my kitchen cabinets and fortunately many of them are organized nicely and I am happy with it. However, there are a few areas that need a little help. So I took note:

• Spice cabinet: buy a lazy susan to easily get to spices
• White cabinet: find a good way to organize platters
• Bakeware cabinet: find a good way to organize bakeware
• Tupperware cabinet: get rid of unused Tupperware and organize

I did tackled one of the kitchen cabinets that was in need of help.  I organized the what I call the white cabinet, because it is white. I bought a platter organizer at Big Lots for a few of dollars. Now rather than stacking my platters on top of each other they are stored vertically. It is now much easier to get to them and actually gave more room in that cabinet. So great for a $3 investment.


Next, I organized the pantry over the weekend and I am done with the panty and food storage area.

So my pantry looked like this:



and this



As you can see it is not very large, but it is somewhat deep and I needed to do something so that what was in the back didn't get lost. I often could see what was back there and neglected it. As I cleaned the pantry out, I found some of the things in the back were expired and things I didn't even want to eat. So in the trash it went. I bought some baskets from Walmart, a drawer from Target, and made some labels and now my pantry looks like this...









It is so much better. All of Baby Bear's snacks and cereals are on the same shelf so that she can reach it. She just pulls out the basket to look for what she wants. I took the sugar and flour out of their packaging and pour them into the clear Snapware containers I already had. I bought them from Costco years ago. Then labeled them. It will make it much easier to see how much is left and to scoop out when baking. I don't know why I hadn't done it before.

I didn't spent a whole lot on this, about $25 for the baskets and drawer. So the pantry is done! Now on to finishing up the other kitchen cabinets. I am feeling good about my progress.

Project Organize

Okay, so my big goal for 2013 is to de-clutter and organize! I am calling it Project Organize. So what is the game plan. No real game plan yet. I figured the first step was to go around the house and make a list of everything that I would like to organize and de-clutter. I went through pinterest for ideas and pinned what I thought would be effective for our house. But having them pinned is not enough, having it written down somewhere will help me to start to check things off. So my to do list so far (I am sure that there will be items added to this list over time, but it is a start).

Pantry

• Organize with clear baskets and label basket accordingly
• Label Shelves: Shelf 1 - Baking; Shelf 2- boxed goods and other cooking items; Shelf 3- bread and crackers, nuts, chips; Shelf 4 - Jordyn's snacks, cereals; Bottom shelf- protein powder, other baking supplies
• Organize top cabinet above pantry cabinet: Add shelves and separate out paper goods and plastic utensil from appliances like rice cooker

Kitchen

• Spice cabinet: buy a lazy susan to easily get to spices
• White cabinet: find a good way to organize platters
• Bakeware cabinet: find a good way to organize bakeware
• Tupperware cabinet: get rid of unused Tupperware and organize

Closet

• Organize craft/wrapping area - label drawers
• Use pink and green bins and organize for holiday decor (Valentines, Easter/spring, Summer, Fall/Halloween) with labels 
• Consolidate stuff and remove

Hall closet

• Add Extra shelf
• Add hooks on wall for purses

Entry way

• Bookshelf with 4 baskets with labels (Jordyn's shoes, Dylan's shoes, Sher's shoes, blankets)

Bedroom

• Above closet storage: pretty up with large wicker baskets?
• Buy pretty hamper
• Organize jewelry
• Sort through clothes and give away clothes to Goodwill

Living room

• Get DVD organizer in dresser

So that is the list so far. Many of these things are little things that can be done very quickly. Some of it requires a little more time and effort. Some of them requires me making a decision on how I want things to look. I have a lot of ideas, but with so many ideas and choices and little money it is often hard to just go with something. But now that is out in cyberspace, maybe I will actually get some things done in this year. It is a start.

Another year, a new set of goals

I guess I have been neglecting this blog. Actually, I haven't been a great blogger in general. No one probably reads this blog anymore anyways. But this post is for me to write down my goals for the year so that it is somewhere. Looking back, I guess either I didn't make any goals last year or I forgot to write them down anywhere. The last set of goals were from 2011. Looking at those goals, I only really kept up with the second goal. But it is a new year and time for new goals.

My big goal for this year was one I set for 2011 and did not meet. So it is back on my list and this is the year to really focus.

De-clutter and organize. We have been in our house for 2 years now and I need to get a better hold of the clutter. I need to find a space for everything or get rid of it. We have way too much stuff that we don't really need and it is time for me to go through what we have to de-clutter and to pare down. I have more clothes that I need and I need to better organize our space. Our home is not very big and if needs to be organized. Every room needs some help, some more than others but if I can tackle a space one at a time in small chunks I can make some progress.

I suspect that the majority of people make goals that related to health and fitness and finances. I guess I am no different.

Eat Healthy and Stay Fit. I did really well with this last year. I joined crossfit, which made a world of difference. I complete the Whole Life Challenge and got myself back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I am determined to keep it up with crossfit to keep my body fit. I can do 1 or 2 kipping pull-ups unassisted and I am working toward my goal of 5 by June. I am getting there and I feel myself getting stronger. I need to get back on track with nutrition, I haven't gained any weight, but I went to some bad eating habits over the holidays and so I need to get back on it. Eliminating dairy and grains made a huge difference and made me more congnizant of what I was putting in my body.

So my second goal for this year is to keep up with crossfit and keep getting better and stronger. I want to get 5 unassisted kipping pull-ups by June. I want to do more yoga. I need yoga to keep me balanced and I find that mobility does wonders for crossfit, so it really has so many benefits. Plus, I love yoga. So practice yoga at least 2 times a week (more if possible).

Pay off debt and Save, save, save. I have been working on paying off a little credit card debt that I have accrued, so that is an ongoing goal to pay down that debt. Along with that is to spend less. Since we have so much that I am trying to get rid of I need to find ways to get along with what we have rather than buying new things. I need to get rid of; not bring in new things. So that goes hand in hand.

I also plan to try the 52 Week Money Challenge. It doesn't look too hard and that would be money in the bank for next Christmas, so why not!

Let's do this!! 2013 will be a good year!