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!