Fav #3 Wooden Woven Baskets

Of course, these are more expensive than the plastics ones, and rightfully so, because their purpose is two fold: organize and decorate. However, you can still get a good deal on these baskets if you take your time and do some comparitive shopping. If you have a Hobby Lobby close by, watch their weekly sale ads for 50% off the entire selection of baskets.

Here is a sampling of some of the baskets around our house.

Cheap Hobby Lobby 1/2 off purchase for Wade's changing table.

Most expensive baskets I have - Pottery Barn Kids. Used for Wade's small toys and books.

Pretty sure this one was a Wal-Mart find. I keep it by William's bed with his favorite books in it.


Amazingly, another bargain from Hobby Lobby. This is kept in the den for Wade's larger toys.

These 3 came as a set from Wal-Mart ($10-$15). I use in my pantry for chips, granola bars, pasta, etc.

Fav #2 Cube Containers

I came across these great cube containers in Target one day. They are a part of an organizational system you can buy, which I don't have...I tend to just like them all by themselves. These little babies are some of my new favs...here's why:

-Fairly inexpensive
-Come in a variety of great colors to select from

-Fold flat when not in use

-Made of durable canvas, with cardboard bottom

-handles on opposite sides

-nice and tall

-look great in kid's rooms

The only thing I don't like is that they don't have a little clear window for me to put a label in. So, that leaves me to memorize what I have in each one. I have several of these in Wade's closet. I selected a navy to go with the rest of his decor, and the little bit of color adds a little spice to his closet. They hold his extra wipes, our abundance of baby lotions and baby wash, and baby items to re-gift.

Since they are canvas and come in such awesome colors, these are great to leave out around the house. Would be great for infant toys, books, bath toys, or a mini diaper changing station.

My Favorite Containers #1

Here comes a series of posts on my favorite containers- where I get them and how I use them. My husband believes with all his heart that I would spend our last dollar on some type of container. I don't think I would spend our last dollar to buy one, but I know I would be trying real hard to come up with a way to earn another dollar so I could go to Dollar Tree and get my fix :) It is THAT bad, but after 7 years, he isn't surprised by me and my containers anymore :)

#1- Drawer Containers

Oh, drawer container...you are so lovely. I love how you fit so perfectly wherever my heart desires you to be. You know just how to hold an amazing amount of puzzles, tools, shoes, musical instruments, clothing, sheets, diapers, or whatever else it is that I may cram into you. I can stack you or leave you alone. You don't mind that I strip you of your wheels so you won't roll away on me. You don't seem to mind that I am constantly changing your contents, ripping off your old label, and sticking a new one to you. None of these things matter to you- you do your job just the same. My love for you is undeniable because it is you who outnumbers all the rest. Each time I pass your isle at Target, my mind drifts off and begins to wonder where I could use a new you. I love you, oh, drawer container!

Tool Turn-About

I love my Pampered Chef Tool Turn-About. It holds an abundance of kitchen tools and spins. It doesn't really fit my decor and I think mine looks cluttery because it is so incrediably full, so I keep it in the pantry. Great product for keeping all your kitchen gadgets together and organized.

Outgrown Clothes

I remember when I was a little girl, spending an entire day (ok, MAYBE it wasn't an entire day, but it sure felt like it) trying on all the clothes in my closet (ok, MAYBE not all of the clothes in my closet, but it sure felt like it) to determine which ones I had outgrown. I HATED that chore??? I mean, seriously, HATED it. Why, I don't know. Probably because I was a child and wanted to be playing, not trying on a million clothes in a row. (love you Mom!)

Fast forward many years.....the thought of making my two year old try on clothes all afternoon makes me want to pull my hair out. I break out in a sweat just getting him dressed in the morning. (I actually tried it one afternoon with William. He was tired and complaining after about two shirts.) So, I was determined to find another solution.

One of the drawers in each of my boys' closets is labeled "outgrown". As I come across clothes that the kids have outgrown, I throw them in this drawer. This way, the chore is done a little along the way. When the drawer gets full, I transfer the clothes to the attic.

Now, try that on for size :)

Where do you put all the containers?

If you haven't been able to tell, I love containers! Any kind- big ones, little ones, colored ones, clear ones, wooden ones, plastic ones, fabric lined ones, personalized ones, cheap ones, expensive ones- you name it, there is a perfect container for every job.

So, Home Girl asked a great question- Where do you put all the containers?

We don't have a huge house. Only 1800 square feet. Wade's closet is tiny. We don't have a coat closet. The kids' bathroom has virtually no storage space (barely enough for towels and tp). The boys' bedroom are tiny and don't provide enough space for their mounds of toys (in fact, our dining room is now more like a playroom). No built ins to provide us with more hide-a-way storage. And a tiny attic that is accessed through the garage. So...Where do I put all of the containers? It gets tricky. With all the containers in our house, I am forced to get creative about storage and to keep our amount of clutter/unused items to a minimum.

I maximize our space through our closets. When we bought our house, the closets had the standard one hanging row (Not the wire kind. More like what appeared to be a broom handle. Seriously??? Brand new house with broom handle closets.) I new immediately that we would have to take full advantage of our closets to gain more storage space AND we would have to get rid of the broom handles.

So, I enlisted the help of my favorite closet organizer, Robin, at Container World (yep, we are on a first name basis here - he has done all the closets in both houses we have lived in). He came out to the house and drew up a plan. Our closets are amazing and store an unbelievable amount of stuff. Here are some pics. (Somebody PLEASE take notice of all the labeled containers!!!!)

William's closet. Enough room for almost everything he owns.

The small shelves that hold drawer containers will be a great place for shoes one day.

Remove the stackable drawer containers (and other stuff) and he will have more hanging space.

More long hang space.

Wade's tiny, but mighty closet :)

More small shelves that can be for shoes or more storage one day.

Remove his containers and he will have more long hanging space.

If your living conditions don't allow for you to vamp up your closets with wire shelving, I recommend the stackable drawer containers.

Stay tuned for a post about my favorite containers.

This is IMPRESSIVE

Check this out

2 second shirt folding

Recipes

My Mom and I tackled this HUGE project many years ago and we are SO glad we did.

Problem: Mounds of recipes that were written on various things (napkins, half sheets of paper, magazine articles...you name it)

Solution: We made a format on Word and typed each individual recipe and printed it.

Problem: Recipes stained with ingredients

Solution: We put each typed recipe into a plastic sleeve to protect it.

Problem: Unorganized and loose recipes everywhere

Solution: We bought a HUGE binder and some tab dividers. We organized our recipes into categories and placed them in the binder.

Problem: Someone wants a recipe of ours...first we would have to find, then we would have to re-copy

Solution: Now we are able to get on the computer, find saved recipe and print OR remove recipe from binder and make a copy.

Problem: Not sure what kind of gift to give a friend

Solution: Before we put all of our recipes in our books, we made a master copy and kept it on hand. When we need a creative gift, we copy the recipes and make the person a book just like ours. (You can't believe how many people have requested our book as their gift.)

Problem: Want to make a certain dish, but you can't remember which cookbook it is in.

Solution: When we come across something in a book we like, we type it and add it to our collection. So, no need to go thumbing through the cookbooks in search.

I LOVE my big recipe book.

Recipes wait to by typed in folders on the tab dividers.

Manuals

Here is a great way to organize the manuals that go with all of your household appliances.

1. Sort through your manuals and group them (electronics, yard equipment, kitchen appliances, children's toys, infant gear, etc.) - be sure to toss out the manuals for appliances you no longer have or manuals that you don't need

2. Put each group into a gallon size plastic bag (it doesn't have to be able to seal)

3. Use a permanent marker and label the outside of the bag according to the group that is in each

4. Place all bags in a larger container and find a place to store (ours is stored in the garage)

I typically keep all of the manuals for the products we buy. I am the world's worst about reading the instructions when I get a new product(I like the read the "quick start" guide.), but I do keep them around in case I need to reference them at some point. I keep them in the garage because rarely do I need to access these items.

Re-gifting

You know you do it. If you don't, YOU SHOULD!!!! Re-gifting is a great way to get rid of duplicate items or things you don't like, want, or need. Instead of returning things we don't like/want/need (stores are really making it difficult to return items these days), I just hold on to them and wait for an opportunity to re-gift them. (You do have to keep up with who gave you what because it would be AWFUL to re-gift to the person who gave it to you- and you can't re-gift speciality items that are one-of-a-kind.) You know...those items that you always seem to get an abundance of: lotions, picture frames, candles...RE-GIFT!!!!

You gotta know where I am going with this, right? Get yourself a cheap container and keep all of your re-gift items in it. Or you could store your re-gift items in an empty dresser drawer (such as in a guest room). When an occasion arises, check your re-gift box first. Save yourself a little time and money. I can't tell you how many times my re-gift box has saved us.

Of course, I can't show you a picture of my re-gift box because you might see one of your future gifts :)

Jewelry

I have discovered that small, plastic, tackle boxes are a great way to organize earrings. The little compartments are just the perfect size for a pair of earrings. These are also extremely inexpensive. They are made in various sizes and usually come with removable dividers, so you can customize them to meet your needs.

Here are my earrings. (These would be great for rings as well)

I use bigger compartments to hold some of my more flexible necklaces.

I have yet to find a good, cheap, but effective way to organize most of my necklaces. Anyone have anything that works for you?

Mini Diaper Stations

Both of my boys have had changing tables, but I must admit that I am the world's worst about using them. I change diapers in the floor, on the beds, on the couch- wherever. With William, this usually left my house littered with diapers (clean & dirty) and the wipes were never where I needed them to be. I was always searching for the all important gas drops and a cloth diaper was never in arms reach when I needed it. I got smart with my second child.

I purchased two cute baskets and set up two mini diaper changing stations: one in the den and one in our bedroom. Each baskets contains a container of wipes, a few diapers, diaper rash cream, gas drops, a passie, a cloth diaper, and a few other supplies. Now, no matter where I am, the necessities are within reach.

Sorting Laundry

With two small children, it seems like I spend half of my life in our laundry room. I dream of having empty laundry baskets, but have to come to the realization that it ain't (yep, I said AIN'T) gonna happen in this lifetime. Just as soon as I catch up on the laundry, it's time for another round of feedings or baths- both of which start my collection back up. But, it's all good- dirty laundry just means I have a living, thriving, growing family under my roof to serve.

I do save time by pre-sorting all of our dirty clothes. We don't use laundry baskets in our bedrooms or bathrooms - I found that clothes would get lost in there, I would still have to sort them, would have to carry them to the laundry room, and our towels even started to mildew (not because I was going that long between washings, but because mildew loves dark, damp places and grows quickly). I purchased three colored bins for our laundry room. Not fancy ones...just $3.00 ones. I used a Sharpie to label them: towels, whites, and colors. All dirty stuff goes straight into one of these bins. When it's laundry time, I grab a bin and toss it in the washer - NO sorting necessary!

Will and I also keep a bin in each of our closets. One for his clothing that goes to the drycleaners and one for my more delicate items.

Your sorting hampers can cost as much as you would like. There are fancier ones available, ones with cloth hampers, stitched labeled ones, ones on rollers, etc. I just opted for cheap, plastic ones, that don't enclose my laundry.