Get Organized with Easy Storage Ideas {Guest Post}

I was excited when Hefty contacted me asking if they could share a post on storage solutions in your home.  Of course I agreed because I'm always eager to learn about new ideas for organizing our home! Here are some tips from Hefty...

When you have kids, it can often feel like there’s never enough space for all of the toys, clothes and games that end up strewn across every surface of your house. When you’re short on time and trying to get a million other things done, cleaning up usually turns into stuffing everything into the nearest closet, which means more mess when you’re trying to find things later on!

 Instead, try some easy organizing tips to make cleaning up your house a breeze. The following are simple tricks to get kids’ stuff—and your own stuff—organized to reduce stress and mess for you:

• Use a spice rack for craft supplies like beads, glitter and even paint. Small containers are perfect for tiny crafting supplies that always get lost and are a good way to keep everything in one place. Instead of dumping everything into one big box, each supply will be separated and easy to grab.
• Store costume or actual jewelry in a utensil holder. It’s an easy way to keep necklaces and bracelets from getting tangled around each other because you can lay everything out flat. Keeping everything in one drawer is also much easier than trying to cram jewelry into tiny boxes, too.
• Stop stepping on stuffed animals every time you enter a room—use a hanging basket like you would put fruit in to hold animals, blocks and other toys. Just make sure it’s hanging low enough for kids to reach!

• Take advantage of under-bed and under-couch storage. Buy long, thin storage bins and place them underneath any bed or couch that’s high enough off the ground. If they’re too close to the ground, invest in cheap bed risers to lift beds up a couple inches. You’ll create lots of storage space but keep everything out of sight.
• Put shower curtain hooks in your closets. They’re good for holding everything from purses and backpacks to belts and scarves, so you won’t have to use up valuable drawer or floor space for these items.

A little organization can go a really long way—without a lot of time, effort or spending on your part! When your house is organized, you can spend less time searching for things and more time actually doing what you want to do!

Author Bio: Katie F. writes on behalf of Hefty®. Visit www.hefty.com for cleaning and storage products from large plastic bags to disposable cookware.

Ways I'm {trying to be} Organized this School Year...

We are in the midst of week #3 of 1st grade and preschool starts next week.  Needless to say, the school dictates some of daily schedule....from when we wake up to when everyone heads to bed.  To make the most of my day, and in an attempt not to loose my marbles, here are some of the ways I keep things together during the school year:

1. Starting a load of laundry before bed.  (I promise my laundry never smells sour when I go to switch it in the morning.)  I can have a load of laundry folded and put away by 8 AM if I start the dryer shortly after I get up at 6 AM.

2.  Writing it down.  I finally broke down last year and bought an official "planner."  ("Mom's Plan-it Calendar" to be specific!)  I have the grade school and pre-school calendars copied into it and every time I open the weekly school newsletter from my email, I have it next to me to jot down anything I need to add in about the upcoming week.  We didn't miss any dress-down days or all parents-invited school events last year!  

3.  During the day, I keep a tote bag out on my kitchen table and fill it with anything that can be done in the car while we wait for the kids to be dismissed from school.  When I'm heading out the door, I grab the bag and can usually accomplish something off my "to-do list" during pick-up.  

  

4.  A place for everything and everything in it's place.  School demands a lot of "stuff"...backpacks, lunch boxes, specific shoes that need to be worn, etc.  And this year we added soccer gear into the mix!  I change out what we keep in our laundry room bench depending on the season...beach towels in the summer, hats and mittens in the winter, etc.  Right now Jude's soccer shoes and shin-guards are stored in one of the baskets in that bench.  

Clare's school shoes all stay in the shoe basket in the laundry room.  She takes them off when she comes in the door and they stay there until she's heading out the door in the morning.  Not having to look for lost items saves me time (and sanity) when we are heading out the door. 

 

5.  Staying on some kind of a schedule/routine.  Jude is doing afternoon preschool this year, so we have 5 "free" mornings a week.  To make the most of his last full year home with me (sniff, sniff), I've been trying to follow some kind of daily/weekly schedule for us.  For example, he is really enjoying story hour this year, so I make sure we head to the library on the days it is offered.  I also always go grocery shopping on Thursdays, and Fridays we have reserved for playdates.           

    

6. Easy dinners.  Especially those that can be made ahead of time (not during the homework hour) or use the beloved crockpot - bonus!  

7.  This might seem odd, but I make sure to keep a pen in the car.  While we are waiting to be dismissed from the grade school pick-up line, I can sign anything in Clare's backpack (her assignment book needs initialed every night) and fill out and sign any forms that come home.  Then everything can go right back into her folder and I have a few less papers to go through at home. 

So there's my list for keeping things somewhat under control from August to May!  

Do you have any tips to add?   

PS - Go see Jen for more Quick Takes.

Linking here.   

Traveling Tips

Like everyone else, we have done our fair share of traveling this summer.  

3 kids + 46 hours in the car + 13 total days away from home means a mom needs to have a plan...or all trips will miserably fail!

I have found that the best way to pack the kids' clothes for a trip is by using ziploc freezer bags.  Living out of a suitcase is never ideal, but when complete outfits are packed together, everything down to socks and underwear are easy to access when they are needed.  

  

As for keeping kids entertained in the car...let's just say there's a reason why we did some nighttime traveling this summer.  On our usual 9 hr. trips to Grandpa and Grandma's house we usually rely on some of these things for backseat entertainment.  

May your summer travels be safe...and sane!

Linking here:

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

Our Summer Schedule...Subject to Change

I'm trying not to hear "I'm bored" this summer (wishful thinking) and to keep the bickering at a minimum (if possible).  So I've come up with a tentative daily schedule to keep the peace...

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
6 – 8 AM	Clare up by 7:15 Breakfast	Up on own Breakfast	Clare up by 7:15 Breakfast	Up on own Breakfast	Clare up by 7:15 Breakfast
8 – 9 AM	Clare @Swim Team Jude, Ellen, and Mommy walk/bike	Chores	Clare  @Swim Team Jude, Ellen, and Mommy walk/bike	Chores	Clare  @Swim Team Jude, Ellen, and Mommy walk/bike
9 – 10 AM		Rotating Rosary with 1st and 2nd Cousins **	Make a visit to the Adoration chapel. Free Movie @ Theater	Grocery Shopping	Fun Outing or Playdate
10 – NOON	Library			Pool
12 – 2 PM	Lunch Schoolwork* Naps/Quiet Time	Lunch Schoolwork Naps/Quiet Time	Lunch Schoolwork Naps Make Dessert with Mom ***	Lunch Schoolwork Naps Craft with Mom****	Lunch Schoolwork Naps/Quiet Time
2 – 4 PM	Play Outside or Read	Pool	Pool	Play Outside or Read	Pool
4 – 5 PM	Play Outside or Read	Pool	Pool	Play Outside or Read	Pool

*Schoolwork = workbooks from school and the dollar store.  Mostly for both of the older kids to work on their pencil grasp and penmanship.

** I {heart} my in-laws!

*** Stocked up on school fundraiser frozen sugar cookie dough.  Will do the same with chocolate chips and other baking staples...once my oven is up and working again.

****Going to be referring back to a lot of these.

I also made some summer-goal-reminder-charts for Clare and Jude for the things we would like to accomplish and practice this summer!

I also need to follow my sister-in-law's footsteps and buy a copy of this book.

"A Mother's Manual for Summer Survival"

  My own mom also had a copy when we were growing up!  

Keeping Track of Meds

In the past few weeks, 4 out of the 5 members in our family have been on some type of prescription.  The two older kids both had ear infections that overlapped and started amoxicillin on different days.  I originally saw this idea here on pinterest and decided it was a good way for me to keep track of who had what prescription when.

Sometimes it's as easy as writing it down...in a place I remember!  

Busting the Winter Doldrums

I did a little reorganizing here and there over the weekend.

A lot of Clare and Jude's board games, crafts, card games, puzzles, and other small pieced odds and ends are in this cabinet in the kitchen.  The only problem with that is they can't get to any of these things by themselves because the cabinet looks like this:

Such is life with a 1 year-old who puts everything in her mouth.  

So in an effort to make some of their goodies in their reach (and out of away from others) I bought some plastic drawers and reorganized the coat closet off the kitchen to accommodate them.  Now the older kids can open the door (Ellen doesn't do doorknobs) and find their things in their own designated space. 

I'm sure the contents speak for themselves as to who each drawer belongs to...    

And the top drawer for some of our favorite card games. 

PS - I also added new tabs at the top of my blog to organize things on here a bit.  :) 

Mini-Make Ahead Eggs

Ellen loves scrambled eggs for breakfast.  (I have tried feeding her every other breakfast food: dry cereal, waffles, French toast, French toast sticks, bananas, oatmeal, pancakes...not a fan of any of those.)  And while school mornings here can be a bit hectic, I usually don't want to be dealing with egg shells, salmonella, and watching eggs scramble during the morning hours.  It's also easiest if Ellen is in her high chair (and not underfoot) in the morning.  

So I thought it would be easier if I made a bunch of mini-quiche style eggs for her at the beginning of the week and could just pop them in the microwave for her on busy mornings.  

I scrambled 6 eggs and added a splash of milk, mixing everything together.  I sprayed my muffin tin poured the eggs into 6 muffin spots and baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Easy.  Now I just pop one "muffin" in the microwave for 10 seconds and breakfast is served.    

Makes for happier and easier mornings for everyone!

PS - Happy Birthday to our favorite Aunt Jane!  :) 

Linking with:

blessedwithgrace.net

thekingscourt4.blogspot.com
raegunwear.blogspot.com/

Organizing Toys

Someone recently asked me how I organize toys...  

Right now most of the toys in our house are in the dining room which is set up as a playroom.  (This is mainly because we don't have a dining room set, but it also works well for us right now.)  All of the toys in the playroom are "Ellen-proof" so I don't have to worry about her choking on something, etc.  This is the stuff that gets played with all of the time.

Why have a dining room table when you can have a train table?!?!?

 Then everyone has their own "special" toys in their own rooms on shelves in baskets.  We are lucky to have large closets in our bedrooms, so Clare's Barbie house and Barbies are in her closet (which means most small items are contained in the closet) while Jude's closet has bigger toys like building blocks in it. 

I know some people rotate toys out so there is always something "new" to play with, but I have never taken the time to do so.

Thinking about the toys in our house, I was motivated to go through our stash on Saturday.  And because Ellen is starting to be more interested in baby dolls, blocks, phones, and books and not the "baby toys."  (1 year-olds are such a fun age...I think I could watch Ellen take care of her baby doll all day!)

This was something I put away since Ellen was probably going to fall out of this soon...especially since she started to try and stand up in it once she climbed inside!

This was the pile of baby toys I put away...then yesterday I found more baby toys in the depths of my diaper bag.  (I think they are multiplying on me.  And to think before Clare was born I had about 7 random toys in 1 small basket for kids to play with when they came over.  Times have changed!)

During my clean out I decided to make a "rainy day box" of toys from what we already have on hand.  I plan on bringing these toys out on boring days when we need a change from our "every day toys."  And so far no one has even asked for or missed any of the toys now residing in "the box!"   

As I was cleaning out and sorting toys on Saturday, I noticed tatertotsandjello had featured two of the recent projects I have posted on my blog!  

Organizing and a blog shout-out...couldn't ask for a better Saturday!    

On the Go

We are in full school-mode around here.  Clare has been in kindergarten one month and Jude just finished his second week of preschool.  Clare's grade school has over 800 students and 2 pick-up options after school, so it is key to get to the parking lot early enough to get a "good spot." That means I spend a lot of time in my car waiting for them at pick-up.

So during the day I keep a tote bag on the kitchen table (where I pass by throughout the day) and fill it with anything that I can accomplish in the car...go through mail, write my grocery list, work on a project, send cards, magazines I want to read, etc.  I also throw in a couple of books or a movie for whatever kids I have with me.  Then, when it's time to for pick-up, I just grab the tote bag and go.

(Yesterday I saw a woman with a dust rag attacking her dashboard during pick-up!  Might have to add cleaning supplies to my bag!)

Happy Friday!

Organizing Kids' Clothes

With fall and winter upon us, I was sorting through the boxes of 

kids' clothing and shoes the other day.  (As a bonus, the big plastic storage bins have been on clearance, so I bought a few to contain the growing amount of clothing - as we add in bigger sizes - around here.)  

Jude decided to "help."

And by "help" I mean he was pretty much just trying on anything, regardless of size.

I'm working on perfecting my system of organizing kids' clothes...

I keep plastic bins in the basement for anything that is currently too small or more than one size bigger for anyone.  I combine all winter and summer clothes for one size for one gender together.  And then I have the 1 box of gender neutral newborn essentials...undershirts, burp rags, sleepers, etc.

     I keep one box in each of the kids' closets with clothes for the next season.  (Like I have in Clare's closet.)  We have been blessed with lots of great hand-me-downs and between those and end of the season clearance I usually have most of their clothes for the next season ahead of time.  

I also have one box with "holiday-wear."  This has mostly gender-neutral clothing for holidays...pumpkin shirts, Santa hats, July 4th T-shirts, etc.  That way I'm not wondering if any of these items are in a boy or girl box.  

And seeing that ghost onesie the other day has me thinking of a costume idea for Ellen for Halloween this year...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59172010/girls-halloween-costume-adorable-ghost

...especially since her nickname is "Boo-Boo!"

Seasonal Laundry Room

Fall is finally around the corner.  This past week I enjoyed turning the air conditioning off, airing out the house, and sleeping with the windows open.  We even baked some banana bread.  (Can't wait to make pumpkin bread soon!)

  

Then on Saturday morning Ellen and I updated our laundry room from "summer" to "fall."

Before:

Swim bag ready on the hooks.

Beach towels in the bench.

Waaaaay too many flip flops and summer shoes in the shoe basket.

Basket in bench full of baseball hats, extra sunscreen, and water wingies.

Ellen LOVES to play with shoes, so going through the shoe basket was a fun time for her...

And she's probably the smartest 1 year-old around because she found matching pairs of shoes out of the pile!  (Regardless that she puts them on her hands and crawls around that way...)

After:

Fall jackets on the hooks.

School-approved shoes taking over the shoe basket. 

Sunscreen put away and mittens/hats waiting to take their space (but not quite yet!).  

And rain boots replacing beach towels. 

Happy Fall!

Linking up with: http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
somewhatsimple.com

Puzzle Storage

Jude and I have some new found one-on-one time these days with Clare off at kindergarten and if when Ellen naps.  We've been through our puzzles several times, "played" chess, and yesterday could be found hitting a ball back and forth with two hockey sticks on the driveway.

As I mentioned, Jude has been enjoying a lot of our puzzles lately.  And I had been noticing a lot of the puzzle boxes were starting to fall apart.  

So I cut out the picture of the puzzle from the top of each box.  

Then I put all of the corresponding puzzle pieces into a big ziploc bag.  Then marked the number of pieces that are in the puzzle on the ziploc bag.  

Much easier than dealing with a bunch of falling apart boxes!  

And where did I come up with this clever idea?

My mother did the same thing to my puzzles when I was growing up!

Clare's Closet Organization 101

One of the things I love about our house are the good-sized closets in the bedrooms.  To me, Clare's closet is like a little girl's dream, complete with princesses, a Barbie house, and lots of dress-up clothes.  But I thought it was a good idea to do some rearranging in her closet now that she has a uniform to wear and is starting a morning routine.

So the closet went from this:

To this:

Changes I made:

• Moved the shower curtain bar (that acts as the lower hanging bar in the closet) higher to fit Clare's dresses and uniforms, but still allows her to reach them on her own when getting ready in the morning.    
• I bought a big pink plastic tub for all of the dress-up clothes.  Now it's easier to just toss everything in a box for clean up.  
• I had the green hanging shoe storage in Ellen's closet and thought it would function better here.  And it takes up less floor space than the former shoe basket.  The girls at Clare's elementary school need to wear navy shorts under their uniform jumper so I stuck Clare's "privacy shorts" in the top space in the shoe storage.  They may switch back to her dresser if this set-up doesn't work. 
• Cleared off hooks for any school clothes that need hung up...like sweaters and sweatshirts.

Things I didn't change:

• The cardboard box on the top shelf has clothes that will fit in the upcoming winter and summer seasons.
• The basket on the top shelf has shoes that will fit in the upcoming winter and summer seasons.
• Black laundry basket is for dirty laundry.
• My Cabbage Patch Doll...need I say more??
• Large Barbie house...should be around for awhile.

Linking up with:

somwhatsimple.com

733.blogspot.com