May Organizing Project Update

My May organizing project isn’t going as quickly as I had hoped. I’ve made some progress but it has been very slow. My lunch prep boxes are on a shelf I can reach without a step stool and the pantry staples are organized. It’s small progress but it’s progress!

I moved the canned goods from the upper corner cabinet to the pantry closet. I put the grab and go snacks in bins in the corner cabinet. So far this is working for everyone.

The lower cabinets have gotten a little worse as I was grouping like items together, especially this one. I may have started cleaning and organizing this area when something leaked but it has a long way to go.

Looks like my May project will also be my June project. There are 3 lower cabinets I haven’t even started. A fun part of the project I’m looking forward to is making cute labels for my canister set and coffee containers.

April Simplicity Update

After misplacing Bean’s birth certificate, I was inspired to clean out our file cabinet. I had the bottom drawer packed so tightly when we took the folders out of the drawer we could hear them expand. Okay, maybe not actually hear it, but once the papers were out I couldn’t believe they had all fit.

I thought we’d find some paperwork for things we didn’t own but I was surprised at how many there were. The original class ring catalog and order form for my daughter’s class ring from the fall of 2008. The bill of sale and service receipts for my daughter’s 2006 car. They traded it in last year for a “new to them” 2014. All the paperwork for a car we don’t own. The owners manuals we never read, some were never taken out of the plastic wrapper.

Sorting through the folder with the kids art was easier than I thought it would be. The best art was already in their memory boxes. I did find a couple treasures, a paper with Bean’s finger prints and a poem and note from my Sweet Pea. Those I’m holding onto.

The rest went to the recycle bin. The recycle filled a paper grocery bag (I’m still able get those). It feels good to be able to find what we need when we need it. And it’s nice to be able to close the drawers without stuffing papers back in.

I’m moving on to the the kitchen next. Bean and I were trying to make him energy bits when I realized oil had leaked in the cabinet. I pulled every thing out to clean up the oil and found 3 bottles of coconut oil and 3 bottles of corn syrup. Two of the corn syrups were expired. Yep, the kitchen needs to be cleaned and reorganize. The energy bit recipe wasn’t a keeper.

New and Improved Laundry System

Apparently, this old mom can learn a new trick. I was inspired by the Minimal Mom’s laundry system. I didn’t think her exact system would work for us, we are a much smaller family and my high schooler (supposedly) does his own laundry. Basically she does one load of laundry per day, every day, and everything goes in. Doing laundry for just two of us, I didn’t think one combat load (as my military husband would call it) would be the best solution but the inspiration seed was planted.

My office is closed on Fridays, so that’s my day to do big cleaning projects, grocery shopping, and laundry. My system was to start early on Friday morning sorting the laundry, usually five loads, then start washing them. One, then the next, then the next…put one in the dryer, take it out, fold, put it away, repeat. Yes, it took all day, but that’s the way I have done it since I started working full-time. When my kids were little and I stayed home, I did laundry 2 days a week with the same batch method. The one load a day idea made me question my laundry routine. What I was doing wasn’t efficient. We had one hamper and two laundry baskets to collect dirty clothes. Three different places for dirty clothes to pile up.

I decided to try having 3 small laundry baskets in the master bathroom for us to sort the clothes by load when we put them in the baskets instead of just throwing everything together in the hamper and baskets. I know. Duh! When a basket was full, I put it in the wash, dried it, folded it and put it away. Done before bedtime! I did two during the week like this. Laundry day came and I only had one load to wash. ONE! The solution seemed too simple, but this mom was stuck in a laundry rut. I don’t have less laundry to do, I’m just doing it in a more manageable and time efficient way, and not feeling so overwhelmed by it.

This is my new laundry buddy! One bag for dark clothes, one for white clothes and one for everything else!

It’s was such a small change but it has made a huge difference in my routine. What small changes can you make to save time?

4 Steps to Monthly Meal Planning

Meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking are my least favorite chores. I’d rather clean the bathrooms or scrub grout with a toothbrush. But we have to eat, ordering meal replacement drinks or hiring a full-time cook aren’t options for us, so back to meal planning.

When my kids were little we got paid twice a month so I learned to do our meal planning and grocery shopping for two weeks at a time. Now I do the planning for a month at a time because we get paid once a month.

1. Blank slate. I start planning with a blank calendar page, one I print from my computer, purchase or get free from a local business. I mark off the days I don’t have to cook because we have activities or it’s the night I work late. I also make note of special occasions or nights we need to have something quick and easy.

2. Plug in the meals. I keep track of our meal on a Trello board, a paper or computer list, or index cards also work for this. I find it easier to keep a list rather than try to remember the meals we like. I also try to incorporate a couple new recipes each month.

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3. Make a list, check it twice. On the calendar squares I write what ingredients I need for each meal. Then I transfer the ingredients to a master shopping list. Having the ingredients listed on the calendar make it easy to quickly pull out what I need. Because I do my big grocery shopping once a month I also use the calendar as a reference for the fresh items I need for upcoming meal. If you want to shop weekly, you can still plan the menu for the month, then create the grocery list each week.

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4. Shop the pantry first. After the master list is made, I check what I have on hand and cross those items off the list or reduce the number I need to buy. Then I add snacks, things we are running low on and non food items.

A few last tips…

Make notes on the menu, use less lemon juice, big hit, or Nope!
Keep the calendars for reference
Keep season meals seasonal, heavy soups and chilis for cooler weather, and lighter meals for warmer weather
Leave room for fun, breakfast for lunch, chili dogs, make your own pizza night

Happy meal planning!

The Craft Area Reclaimed

My February mini project was to organize my craft area (aka the dumpster). Items got dumped there while waiting for their final destination, either it’s home here or elsewhere. The inspiration for the project was born out of desperation. I wanted to make some greeting cards but first I had to clear a work space and dig out the supplies.

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When I finally starting working on the project it only took about 2 1/2 hours to get the majority of the project done. My goal was to get the items out of the craft area that don’t live there, make it simpler to get the supplies out and to put them away.

My first step was to make a plan. I decided to create two craft zones, one for sewing and one for paper crafts. I took every thing off the shelves and put groups of items together. Because I had the least volume of sewing supplies I put them on the smaller shelf. I moved the small shelf next to the sewing machine to create the sewing zone.

I moved the two larger shelves together for the paper craft and scrapbooking zone. I sorted and purged the drawers in the craft cart because the supplies were a mess! I put the smaller craft items, colored pencils, adhesives and rubber stamps in the drawers. Each drawer now has a specific purpose. If I need a tape runner, it’s in the top drawer.

I still have a few small projects to finish. I want to label the craft cart drawers and the storage boxes, and purge the rubber stamps (again). The last small project is to get rid of the dried up markers. Time to get the creative juices flowing!

Wait! I Might Need That!

Yes, that’s was my excuse for keeping a lot of things I don’t use. Because someday I might need the little kids craft supplies. I don’t have little kids at home! My “little” is taller than me and will be driving (too) soon. Do I really need to keep the finger paints and sidewalk chalk? There are also things I keep out of guilt because I think I should keep them. Maybe because it was expensive or it was a gift that has out lived it usefulness. Those aren’t good reasons to store items that aren’t used or loved.

Clutter is no more than postponed decisions. – Barbara Hemphill

Our simplifying process started in September with the challenge to get rid of one item a day, I kept that going in October but concentrating on clothes and crafts. November I downsized our Christmas decorations as I got them ready to put out for the holidays. January’s project was our basement storage room. The second load of donations from January’s decluttering were dropped off this week. It felt really good to get the piles donations, trash and recycle out of the family room.

Five months into decluttering I thought I might be missing some things or regretting giving them away. The truth is, I’m not missing any thing. I haven’t wondered where I put an item or wished I hadn’t gotten rid of something. Maybe because we are taking baby steps to decluttering or because we have too much stuff. I’m also more thoughtful about what I buy because if I don’t need it, use it and love it, it will quickly become clutter. I love having empty spaces! Not to fill them up with more stuff but to be able to see, use and enjoy what we have.

Wrapping Up the January Project

Our January decluttering project has been the storage room. The has turned out to be a bigger project than I expected. It’s surprising how much stuff I can get in a box and still get the lid to close.

The shelves along the wall were the focus of the project. The goal was to get the boxes off the floor, put like items together and get rid of things we don’t use and love. We do love coffee, but there is a limit to how many coffee makers even we can use.

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I posted about earlier progress here. These are the piles from the second part of the project.

It was a lot of work! I’m very proud of the progress we made and motivated to keep decluttering. Sorting the kids keepsakes and the photos will be on going projects along with the shelf of Legos. It’s great to start seeing empty space and not feeling so overwhelmed by all the clutter. I think we accomplished our goals of clearing the floor, putting like items together and rid of things we don’t use.

The final touches will be to deliver the donations, get rid of the trash, the empties and not piling stuff up in there to deal with later.

January Project Progress

The storage room decluttering project is going to be more of a challenge than I thought. Even after creating empty space on a shelf, there is still A LOT of STUFF in there.

I started with the things we obviously aren’t using, the 3 small coffee makers and the 2 coffee carafes for coffee pots we don’t own any longer. Candle holders were next, I’m just not a candle kinda girl, I dust them more than I light them.

I was surprised I only had two boxes of books – very full boxes but only two. I combined all the children’s books into one box that I placed back on the shelf along with a box containing my Harry Potter collection. A stack of books went into a separate donate box. I still have 2 boxes on the shelf, but now each are only half full and better organized. The next step is to put all the kids keepsake boxes on one shelving unit. They will have to help sort those boxes.

My progress is very slow. I have some empty space to organize things into groups, like photos and toys, in order to sort later and the donation pile is growing, but there is just a lot of stuff. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by this project. I’m trying to be mindful that every step forward is a good one, it’s going to take a while. But it will be worth it!

January Project

My January decluttering project is our (gulp) storage room, aka the black hole of stuff. It is sort of organized, at least, into broad categories but there is A LOT of STUFF. Some of the things are the kids’ keepsakes, vintage dishes from my parents’ house, boxes of photos, and more books.

Some of the thing are going to be easy to part with, like the 3 small coffee makers and the kids’ karate equipment. Some things will be harder to make a decision about, for example the Lazy Susan that is just like the one my grandma had.

Okay, so that does look a little like an ‘eye spy’ picture. I spy with my little eye 2 food processors.

The craft items and Christmas decorations (which fit in fewer bins than I started that project with) have been sorted and downsized. The kids’ things will be an ongoing project and I’ll need their help to sort those boxes. It will definitely be a multi-step process to get this project done.

What does done look like? To get the boxes off the floor and have a walkway again. To get rid of things we don’t use or love. Phase II of this project will be to NOT put things in that storage room just because I can’t decide what to do with them.

Christmas Memories

Christmas is my favorite holiday. I’m not admitting to anything officially, but I may start listening to Christmas song the day after Halloween and thanks to DVD’s and Netflix Christmas movies aren’t just for December any more. I love getting the old ornaments out and telling the kids they came from my Grandma and showing them their ornaments and telling them when they received (again just in case they forgot since last year). Telling them where the candy cane Santa and the Yule Log came from. I love the memories that tie the past to the present and hopefully will carry on into the future.

One memory I have from Christmas as a kid was the pine incense my mom would burn at Christmas. The incense sticks came in a clear plastic box and the holder looked like a miniature brass candle stick. I can close my eyes even now and smell it. When that was finally burning it was Christmas.

I remember going to the gift shop in town to get more incense sticks. Those sticks got harder and harder to find over the years as scented candles gained popularity. Thankfully there is a candle that’s very close to the original incense. It’s Yankee Candle’s Christmas Wreath. It’s amazing how a simple fragrance can take me back to being 8, 10, 16 and loving the tree, the lights and the music even then.

Don’t ask me what I got for gifts, I only remember a few. But I remember the cookies, wrapping the homemade caramel pieces in wax paper, our tradition Christmas Eve dinner and the new pajamas (so we looked good in the pictures). Carry on the traditions even if they seem simple, like Pillsbury cinnamon roll for breakfast on Christmas morning, those are the memories that last long after the gifts have been out grown.

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Merry Christmas from our home to yours.