Organizing the pantry door...

Last week I worked on another "mini" project- the panrty door. I needed to spend a few minutes and get it organized. Here are my before & after shots!

Cleaning light fixtures...

There's something about pretty clean light bulbs that makes me smile. It was definatly time for me to wipe down the light fixtures over here!
Make sure your lightbulbs are cool before wiping them down!
Also, replace any dead lightbulbs (My daughter's room has been out for about a week now! What is it about climbing on a chair with a srew driver that does nothing for me? I hate changing lightbulbs!!

Sprucing up those ugly vents...

I have a serious love affair with spray paint. I thinks it's a girl's best friend! You can transform almost anything for super cheap! I've been doing this trick for years now- spray painting vents when they get beat up. I don't know about yours- but mine get knicks and scrapes on them from the busy house full of kids running all over them! Just pick up a can of the cheap stuff at Wal Mart for .97 cents, you'll be glad you did!

Cleaning the vents...

It's time to clean the air vents and heater vents! I take a duster or broom to my air vents often. I let the dust settle and then vaccuum it up! (Also change your air filter according to the directions. I spend a little more on air filters to help reduce as much junk in the air as possible. I watched a show on air filters and they said the super cheap ones are pointless to even waste your money on. Invest in the nicer ones, although it's painful at the register, but think of cleaner healthier air for your family to breathe! I also attach a note to the vent reminding me when it's time to change the filter.)

I like to wash my floor vent in the sink with soapy water. Take a toothbrush or grout brush to them and get all the little crevices.

Cleaning bath tub toys...

I try to do this often because I watched a show years ago that discussed how nasty our kids bath tub toys really were. It was shocking! And nasty to say the least. I thought (like so many others) that because the toys were in clean soapy water, they were getting clean too- but not the case! So wash those toys! I bleach mine in the tub and let them air dry. I also keep them in a basket with holes so they are not sitting in bacteria filled water and then retransfered into the tub.
I also wash wash clothes, bath sponges, and loofas ALL THE TIME!

You can also run your toys on the top shelf of your dish washer!
Try to clean the toys often- at least once a month. I do mine about every other week.

Reward system...

This is what works for my kids: they earn points all throughout the day for varies things: cleaning up, helping, sharing, having a positive attitude etc... they also receive naughty cards if they are being "naughty". If they are caught doing something extra wonderful, they receive a "Super card" which equals 10 minutes past bedtime, an extra bedtime story etc...
At the end of the week, they add up all their point cards, subtract for any naughty cards they might have received and then based on how many points are left, they choose 1 big item or 2 small items! They love it and it works great!
*** I also have them write sentences for really naughty behavior. They hate it!***

The pantry Redo!!!

3 days ago around 4:00 PM, I had a faboulous thought: Let's get rid of the pantry freezer and make some more room in there! I was thinking we could add shelves and make it more functional. The honest truth is- we have 4 freezers! 1 stand up in the pantry, 1 chest freezer on the back porch, 1 chest freezer in the shed and a normal fridge freezer in the shed as well. I knew I could create more space, so just as Trav was returning home from the gym- I put him to work helping me remove the freezer and add shelving! I had some boards and shelf thingys, so we just used what we had. I should have painted the shelves, but I didn't care at that point- I just wanted them up! We spent a day & 1/2 and I cannot tell you how much better I feel- seriously- I feel like a new woman! I'm not joking! Give me a mountain and I will yell it from the top! I can actually walk in there now, I have all my craft stuff out (until 50 boxes of free food replaces it) I am just SOOO happy. I kinda want to hang out in there and look at all the pretty colors!

It doesn't look like much to you guys, but I moved & removed a 100 cans of veggies, another 100 canning jars & another 100 boxes of other stuff! (no joke!) After the food was in place, I saw how much room I had left for my craft stuff and then I went to town reorganizing almost everything in there. Talk about lots of hours- but A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! I still need to repaint the floor and do a few things- but I'm in heaven!

The pantry Redo....

I've gone through almost every container and dejunked and reorganized my craft stuff- talk about a HUGE project! But oh, so worth it!

The Pantry Redo- my craft stuff is out!!!

I cannot tell you enough how happy this room makes me now! I can actually get to my craft stuff without tearing the room apart just to get to it!

The Pantry redo

Here are the after shots!

Organizing tip of the Day:Wrap boxes & turn them into cute storage bins!

After I spent a small fortune on my fabric bins years & years ago- I knew there had to be a better way. I was pregnant with Daisy and I wanted some cute bins for her room, but I couldn't afford new ones, so instead, I decided to paint hers. After that project, I started wrapping boxes with cute wrapping paper to save even more time and I've been doing it ever since. These are some that I have in my pantry. I love them! i add a cute label and I'm set! You may have to rewrap your boxes more often if they are used for kids toys or high touched areas in your house.
Use them in your closets, pantry, for kids toys, crafts, or for organizing stuff in the bathroom- You can justify spending $ 3.99 at Target for adorable wrapping paper when you remind yourself how much you saved by making them yourself!

Organizing your Recipes!

This project took me YEARS to finally get aroung to finishing- and honestly I just completed it a few weeks ago. I was teaching ANOTHER meal planning class at church and I was really embaressed that I had not organized my recipes in a better way- so I finally stopped procrasting and finished it! (If you know me- you know I hate to cook, so I really wasn't thrilled about this project!)
My G-ma gave me the big binder years ago with recipes put in plastic sheets and that is how I've been organizing ever since. I love that they are covered because when I splatter something on the page, I can wipe it off easily.I did go through and organize everything into sections and then had to make my own dividers. (I could go through and subcatorize, but this is one area I am NOT picky about- so this is good enough for me.) I also didn't retype any of the recipes. It's become one of my favorite things: to see one in my Grandmother's handwriting, or my Mom's, or even one I wrote down quickly on a post it while talking to one of them on the phone. Just do what works for you, that's all that's important- but get it done!

*** I also went through all of my favorite Kraft & Food magazines and tore out all the recipes I liked, and threw the magazine in the recycling bin. I had a ton of magazines to go through, but I saved a lot of space by doing it!***

How I keep My Family Organized:

I was lucky enough to find this awesome board at DI last year for $ 3.00. I've been using it for my Family Board ever since. I keep it in a central part of the kitchen where everyone looks at it 100 times a day. What I LOVED about it was the 6 different sections it had. (It was pretty ugly, so I added my own paper to match my kitchen and painted the brown cork board black to match too!) I love the dry erase calendar, 3 magnetic metal boards and 2 cork boards it has! It's perfect. Find a system that works for you and your family. You can make your own out of a giant cork board often found at thrift stores or upcoming yard sales! You can also go to abowlfulloflemons to see her binder method that is featured this week. Do what ever works for you!

My Family Board:

I have 6 sections on my board:
# 1 Section- Here I have my menu & shopping list. I covered both with contact paper so I can use my dry erase marker on them! Each week I just erase and I'm ready for a new week.
# 2 Section- is the monthly calendar. I put all of out important activities on it.
#3 Section- is for Travis & his info.
# 4 Section- holds my daily book that I keep my lists in, I keep my reciepts next to it in an envelope.
# 5 Section- is a metal dry erase board where I put important info that didn't fit on the calendar. I also have a quote that my friend Jana posted on her blog. I need the daily reminder!
# 6 Section is where I keep stuff for the kids. Right now I have their medicine schedule, chore chart and coupons they earned from school.I also have a metal basket that holds the markers I use.

*** I also keep the school menu and school calendar posted in the pantry where we see it every day.

Kitchen Tip of the day

Here is one way I save time in the kitchen & this is how I organize it:
When I come home from the grocery store, I chop up all my fruit & veggies and put them in plastic bags for the kids! I love that they are eating healthy snacks and I love that I don't have to stop what I'm doing to chop an apple when they are hungry. I also like to chop up any ingredients I know I will need for my weeks menu. I do this with onions, peppers and celery etc.... that way I have all my chopping done at once. I just leave them in the fridge or put them in the freezer!
Then I use baby wipe containers, cover them with a label- and we are good to go! ( I will be covering the sides soon- I ran out of my paper, darn.)

Money Saving Tip of the day: Make your own laundry detergent...

I've been making my own laundry soap for years now and love it. With FREE bar soap, all the time, I can make it for as low as .04 a load! (I make the dry kind. The liquid is even cheaper- but it's scary looking and I don't have space for a 5 gallon bucket in my laundry space. I have my G-ma making her own now as well as some of my friends. I've taught this in several Relief Society meetings too! Here is how I make it:

5 Cups- Washing Soda ( Found at Fred Meyer in the detergent area- yellow box)= $ 3.00
5 Cups- Borax ( Found at: Walmart, Target & Fred Meyer= $ 3.00
5 bars- soap ( I've used: Zest, Ivory & Dove)= FREE w/coupons

(This will use the entire box of Washing soda & leave 1 cup remaining of Borax)
Washes 135 loads of laundry (yes, I counted!)


Grate 5 bars of soap until fine or blend in food processor (1 bar at a time) In a bowl or mixer stir/blend 5 cups of Washing soda & 5 cups of Borax together. Add soap to Washing Soada & Borax mixture & stir.
(The laundry soap will not get sudsy like some detergents, but don't worry, it's working!) I always pre treat any stains before washing!
I gave laundry soap as gifts for Christmas this year too! Hope that inspires you!

Organizing the laundry Room- what works for me

I love bins and baskets for organizing. I keep my extra bleach, laundry soap and spot removers on the top shelf in my cute bins. On the second row: I have a siver basket that holds glass containers, lint rollers and my FREE shout wipes. I also make my own laundry soap- so that is in the big white bucket (from a yard sale) I keep 3 silver cups from IKEA for treasures I pull out of pockets. I keep change in one, small toys in another and wads of paper, buttons and misc items that come lose in the wash in the last. I hold missing socks, my iron, clean craft/dish rags for gifts in the last bin. Because I don't have space for a garbage can, I use a trash bag that I made to hold the lint and garbage from pockets- that is the colorful bag on the wall hanging from the cute black chunky clothes pin. Hope that gives you a few ideas for your laundry room!