TGIF

Hooray for Friday!

Actually, it's more like, HOORAY FOR FRIDAY!!! 

We celebrated by not-cooking and having a take-and-bake pizza from Papa Murphy's for dinner.   Okay, I guess that technically involves cooking, but no food prep.  You don't make it and you can eat it in your PJs.  Win-win. 

So again, I say, HOORAY FOR FRIDAY!!! 

A busy weekend ahead with birthday parties, a funeral for a church member, golf lessons (assuming the rain holds off), Mother's Day and a swim team party (again, assuming no rain). 

I managed to get Matthew's closet and drawers cleaned out yesterday and made a huge dent in Gracie's.  In the process,  I have a huge stash for the school clothing drive for the students at Glenview Elementary, a big box for our friend Renn in Virginia and a load for our cousin Oliver in Illinois.  

Purge, baby, purge.

I feel like there are so many projects like these in the house that I actually need to sit down and make a list of them.  Sure, it will probably result in hyperventilation, but I'm thinking if I organize it into categories by how much time I think they will take, it will help me when I find myself with just 30 minutes versus 2 hours. 

Or in the case of my craft/crap room, 2 days.

parts vs. whole?

The next couple days are full of crazy and I have no one to blame but myself.

And the school calendar. 

But probably more myself.

As much as have become a skilled multi-tasker, I am NOT always good at using small chunks of time.  For example, Matthew's closet and dresser desperately need cleaning.  The big, pull-everything-out-and-start-over kind of cleaning.  Realistically, it's probably going to take a couple hours. But I don't have a couple hours to devote to it, so it doesn't get done and Matthew commits himself to making it worse.  Why do I have such a problem saying, "I have 30 minutes now, let's tackle some drawers?"  Or I have 10 minutes sitting in the car waiting for golf to finish, why not clean out my purse?

Oh, maybe because my purse is such a jumble of receipts, loose coins, gum wrappers, school programs and other what-not, that I need more like 25 minutes and a tall kitchen garbage bag. 

Once I start, I want to finish.  I don't want two clean drawers, I want an immaculate closet.  Does anyone else have a hard time with this? 

Once I get through the next two days (which really are too nutty for words), I am going to dedicate myself to accomplishing smaller tasks.   Cleaning Matt's closet has lingered on my to-do list for a couple weeks.  Breaking it into 6 different jobs might make "the list" a little overwhelming at first, but actually getting some of them crossed off would be pretty awesome.

As for the purse, I'm going just going to have to suck it up and dump it out!

Jewelry nirvana!

While I have not in any way abandoned my aspirations for a more organized office, I found something on Pinterest today that KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF!

Check out this amazing organizer for jewelry.  I struggle with keeping my necklaces organized (having conquered bracelets last year with the addition of an awesome small cabinet made my dad), but necklaces, charms and earrings tend to find themselves in various pottery bowls, hanging over my dresser mirror, in jewelry trays, in my closet, etc.  Basically, they're in many different places, which makes it hard to keep track of what you have and you wear the same few things over and over. 

 

This is awesome piece is 4 Elfa system pieces from The Container Store put together.  Then they added a frame to give it a custom look.   Isn't it fabulous?

 

And guess what else I discovered?   I know the person who made this!  She is a friend of a friend here in town.  How often does that happen?  I thought people who put things on Pinterest were mythical creatures. 

 

Needless to say, I think this is worth pinning . . . and copying!  

 

 

Paper problems

I have a paper problem.

If you've stopping by here for a while, you've probably heard me mention this before.   I've read countless books and articles on organization.  I follow organizing blogs.   I've purchased file folders, baskets and other organizers galore.  I've set up a shredder next to my desk.

And yet I repeatedly find myself in the same situation of having to shove piles of crap off my desk into a basket to clean off my desk and then having to spend a chunk of time going through it days later when I find myself hunting for something that is missing.

Truth be told, our home office isn't very efficient.   We need more file space and better storage.   I need a way to organize various projects in a way that I can access them, but don't have to look at it when they aren't in use. 

And there is the fact that I completely, 100%, whole-heartedly regret purchasing black office furniture.  Hello, dust magnet!   As if feeling disorganized isn't bad enough, feeling disorganized and like a bad-housekeeper is a double whammy!

So perhaps with that thought and the need for more storage I'm drawn to pictures like this as I think about redoing our office. 

Realistically, I won't choose white(ish) furniture either.  Surely there is a happy medium out there somewhere. 

Other than "handle each piece of paper only once," does anyone have any great advice?

Attacking the Accessories

Proving yesterday's pantry purge wasn't just a flash in the pan, I continued my adventures in organization this afternoon.   Today I tackled JEWELRY.    The fun part about this task was I got to make a trip to the Container Store!!

Is that place 137 kinds of fun, or what?  Seriously . . . . I looooove Container Store!   They make bins, baskets, racks and hangers for EVERYTHING!

So here's where I started   My jewelry is currently stored in many places.   I have a jewelry box, which mostly as stuff I don't wear often like the skull necklace Matthew made me for Valentine's Day when he was 5 (but I still wear every Halloween), sentimental pieces from Grandma and random bridesmaid jewelry and other rhinestone-y baubles. 

Then I have a necklace rack and hanging clear pocket rack in my closet.  These pockets work okay, except that chunky bracelets (which many of mine are) don't fit and necklace chains seem to magically get knotted when they are put away.   

 Nevermind that I have it next to my belt rack so the whole thing looks like a tangled mess of accessories.

Everything else sits on my dresser or in my closet in random bowls, boxes and drawers like these.

 A little cluttery, but I don't mind.  The real problem is I can't see everything, so I wear a lot of the same pieces over and over. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I have some awesome jewelry that I rarely wear because I forget about it!

So with all that in mind, I purchased a number of flocked velvet jewelry trays with clear lids which stack and slide (on sale, too!).  For now, I emptied out a dresser drawer to accommodate them.   Will I miss the drawer space?  Probably, but I'm feeling a whole lot better about how things are organized.

I should also mention that I purged a whole lot of stuff during process. There was a whole lot of tacky that had to go and some stuff I just didn't wear.  

And before you go thinking, "Why is she telling the world where she stores her jewelry?" I will remind you of 2 things.   First, I'm not telling the whole world . . . I'm telling the 15-20 people that regularly read this blog.   Second, if you know me at all, you will know that every piece of jewelry in these cases is COSTUME.   I'm a "Charming Charlie's girl," not a "Tiffany girl."  The most valuable pieces of jewelry I own are pretty much on my body every day, so if someone wants it, they're going to have to rip it off my cold, dead hand . . . not loot through my pretty new organized drawers.

I did buy one other nifty piece at the Container Store today for my bracelets.   I'm not at all nuts about the way it looks . . .because quite frankly, it looks like something you would find on top of the jewelry counter at a department store!  However, it does hold a whole bunch of bracelets and I can easily see what I have.   I'm thinking my woodworking dad can whip up something similar  that is a little less "Macy's" and a little more me!

I do have a birthday coming up, Dad!  *hint, hint*

And for anyone else reading, I do have some empty compartments for more jewelry, too!  

Why do I have 5 cans of baked beans?

Despite gray skies and some showers in the morning and early afternoon, Easter was a lovely day.   Our small church was bursting at the seams, the egg hunt after worship (which I coordinated--and had to be set up inside at the last minute!) was a success, Matthew and Gracie were thrilled with the goodies left by the Easter Bunny at our house and Bassam got to resume eating chocolate and drinking Diet Coke, having given them both up for Lent.

Life is good.

Despite that, I was glad for Monday to come around (Wow!  Who says that?!?!).  My little "April Fools" were back at school and I was able to catch up on PTO work, get the church newsletter out, and make a trip to Sam's Club and Target.

Having just spent the better part of last week at Tammy's house, I found myself re-inspired to spend time organizing my house.   I understand this is an oft recurring theme in my life, but if you were to spend time at her place, you would feel it, too.   Tammy would argue she has no choice but to be organized with limited space in her condo and has no one else to pick up after, but I appreciate and admire her organization and wouldn't mind infusing a bit of it in to my house. 

 

After spotting a set of OXO POP Containers (airtight, stackable containers that keep your dry food fresh with a push button on the lid) like Tammy's at Sam's this morning, I decided my first task would be the pantry. 

 

I should probably be embarrassed to show you how untidy my pantry was, but here goes.  I did already have some bins for granola bars, oatmeal packets and the vast amounts of candy that found it's way in to our house on Easter, but still things were kind of messy.  There were also things like two opened boxes of graham crackers and enough rice and baked beans to feed everyone on our street for 3 days.  

So now  . . . for your viewing pleasure I present another slightly-blurry photo of the new-and-improved pantry!   Ta da!!!! 

 It's not perfect, but it looks so much better and I know all the open dry goods will stay fresh!  Thanks for the inspiration, Tammy!

Now . . . what should I do tomorrow?

Open letter to personal organizers

Dear Professional Organizers of the World (or at least Nashville),

I have a wonderful a professional development training seminar for you.   You will have the opportunity to hone your skills on clothing/closet organization, kitchen organization, desk/paper management and as well as organizing toys and craft/hobby supplies. You can practice advising a well-intentioned but presently disorganized family of 4 on how to get their house and lives back in balance.  

Please report to my house and let's get started! 

Sincerely,
The Management

p.s.   Hurry!! 

Paper, paper everywhere. . .

Today I continued on my purging streak and tackled our office.  I rearranged the books and whatnot on the shelves, sorted through various baskets, cleaned the desk drawers and emptied out and reorganized the large trunk that we use for storage.    I stopped short of dealing with the file cabinet, because when I went to empty the bin on the paper shredder I discovered it was way overdue in being dumped.  When I pulled it out, shredded paper seemed to explode around me all over the floor.  To add insult to injury, Charlie meandered through it when I went to get the broom and dust pan and proceeded to make a trail of it throughout the house. 

After 30 minutes of cleaning up the paper mess, I decided enough was enough for today.

But in my organizing frenzy I came across this picture from Christmas 2006.   I'm fairly certain it will be one of my favorites as long as I live.  This was the first year, we got a true, non-coerced smile out of Matthew visiting Santa.  As you can see, we weren't quite so lucky with Gracie.

Closet craziness

Fall in Nashville is tricky.  The calendar says "fall."   The weather says fall, sometimes.  Other times it still says summer. 

This weekend has been amazing.  Sunny with temperatures ranging from the mid 60's to 70.   In a few days, it will be back in the upper 80s.  The summer stuff is still in the the kids' drawers, but I'm regularly hauling down the big Rubbermaid's from their closet shelves to pull out a pair of jeans, a long sleeved shirt, etc.   At Friday night's football game we had all pulled out our fleece.   I think it went down to the 40's overnight!   BRRRRRR!!

And then there's the whole issue of what fits the kids.  Two years ago (when Matthew was 6) on my shopping trip with Amy and Dana I bought him  a stack of size 7 pants thinking he would wear them the next year.   But being the skinny thing he is (and no big growth spurt), he didn't grow in to them last year.  And honestly, I saw he was still  wearing a pair of size 6 jeans yesterday, too, although they were a bit short. 

Safe to say,  I could use a block of time with each of them to try on stuff, but nobody is exactly chomping at the bit to do that . . .myself included.   

All this has me thinking about how it's just one month until the Container Store opens!    Not that we'll be waiting that long to clean them up or anything.   Sounds more like an exciting Monday activity.

Wheee!

Closet rehab

After seeing the authors on the Today Show a few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of "I Have Nothing to Wear" at Barnes and Noble.    Yes, Barnes and Noble.    I still dislike B&N, but since Borders is gone (and I had a coupon), I had to suck it up and go in to “the other bookstore” and buy a copy.

This would be a great time to tell you all about the book, but unfortunately, I haven’t finished it.   But I’m going to.   I am actually really enjoying it, I just haven’t finished it.

Yet.

But what I can tell you is it’s “12 Step” program for people (like me!) who can  walk in to a closet full of clothes and say, “I have nothing to wear.”

You can’t wear X because it needs ironing.

You can’t wear Y you don’t have anything that goes with it.

You can’t wear Z because you’re really not sure if you can carry of that trend/style, but it didn’t stop you from buying it in the first place.

I just finished reading the chapters on editing your wardrobe. While I haven’t tackled my summer clothes, a collapsing closet rod in my guest closet (where I store my out of season clothes) was the perfect spark to get me started on some heavy duty purging with that stuff –for which the folks over at Graceworks greatly appreciated.   Last Friday, I dropped off  two large moving boxes of fall and winter clothing (plus a box of maternity stuff) that I had in my closet, but wasn't wearing.   Really, I am baffled why I had so many pairs of pants that were simply too big.   Keeping them seems like an open invitation to gain back the last 10 pounds I lost.  No thank you! 

The authors recommend uncluttering your closet with a friend or “sponsor.”   This person must be both brutally honest AND have good taste.    As the best candidates for this job don’t live in Nashville, I tackled it solo.   This may have resulted in less purging and a larger “maybe” pile that needed a second pass, but I felt pretty good about it when I was finished.   Having said that, I couldn't help but think about the scene in the Sex in the City movie when Carrie cleans out her closet. 

I'll keep you updated as I continue the process!  Wish me luck!

New Years Resolution?

So here we are on the 2nd day of 2011.   There are still traces of holiday at my house . . . the banister is still decorated (maybe coming down tonight after the kids go to bed?) and the outside decor is still up (but not lit, thank you very much!).   It was still wet today, so there was no sense taking it down since I couldn't box it up.  

I decided that instead of making one of my resolutions getting more organized (although I do want to), I will instead resolve to purge more.   Don't get me wrong -- I love my stuff and I am quite sentimental.  Still, with less stuff, I know I will be more organized.  At least I think I will.

And it's not like I am some kind of disorganized slug.  I just used to be really organized . . . and I miss that.  And when I say "used to be" . . . I don't mean as a child.  I'm fairly certain I was a messy kid.  But once I was "grown up" and had my own place, I just remember feeling that it was nice to be in control of my stuff and my space.  My space nor stuff was not that nice, but it was mine and even with the crazy hours I used to work, I could always find time to keep it organized.   Getting married didn't affect it too much . . . but having kids?  Oh yeah!  It's not necessarily them and their stuff, I mean Bassam and I have stuff, too.   But it's  the constant chaos and amount of paraphernalia (especially books and toys) that we've accumulated since becoming a family of four. 

Today while Bassam and Matthew were at the Vandy game, Gracie and I tackled her room.   It was already clean and reasonably organized, but we went through the closets, book shelves and drawers anyway and came up with another box of clothes for Renn, two bags of stuff for Goodwill and a bag of garbage (all while rocking out to Justin Bieber on her new CD player!).   While I did the big stuff, Gracie sorted out her mirror table and organized all her jewelry and silly bands. 

So that's how the year has started out on our end . . . how about you?

my little organization-loving girl!

Washing the washer . . . .

While Lady G napped this afternoon I decided to tackle my laundry room. One whole room dedicated to cleaning and it is a mess more days than not. Why is that?

Couldn't pull the machines out fully and really clean behind them (they were running--of course!!), but it looks so much better. And oh, how I want to really revamp my laundry room. A little more storage, a better place to hang things dry and the pièce de résistance--a fabulous new washer and dryer that the paint (or whatever the finish is) isn't flaking and rusting off. Ours are 12 years old--shouldn't they be dying at some point?

I know, I know . . . I'm knocking on wood. I don't like parting with a big chunk of change for nothing, but the new ones are sooo nice and efficient. And *gasp* they come in pretty colors!!!! Maybe a new washer and dryer would be so fabulous it would change my attitude about laundry!?!

Unlikely. But a girl can dream!

Lists, lists and more lists . . . .

I'm not the only one in the world struggling to get things done, am I?

I have the same 24 hours each day as the rest of the world, the same 7 days every week. Nothing irritates me more than people say, "I'm just too busy." Yeah, we're ALL too busy. Our time and how we spend it is dictated by our choices. Sometimes we have little control over our choices, but there is usually some level of choice present. Having said that, I've found being busy can make me forgetful, thus things fall through the cracks, but that's a topic for another day.

The past few days I've chosen sleep over the bevy of things around the house that would benefit from my attention. By going to bed by 9, I feel better physically, but mentally am challenged by the pile of laundry that only grows taller and my master bathroom which has not magically cleaned itself.

I chose to exercise at least 5 out of 7 days. I could use that hour or two each day towards other things, but have decided this has to be a priority for my physical and mental well-being. Of course, vegging out with a junky magazine and some Bugles would be equally good for my sanity, but quite frankly the flab around my stomach that would follow would send me in to a tailspin when I have to put on a bathing suit in June.

School will be out a month. I know my somewhat-organized life will take a big hit. The kids will be home and my priorities will change. While I am excited about having both kids home for summer, I am secretly anxious about all the things I really should get done before that happens.

I started to make a big old "to do" list (or "balance list" --the things you need to get balance back in your life --as my friend Dana calls them), but quite frankly, I got a bit over-zealous putting things on it and then it freaked me out.

Next up? Make a new to-do list and pick up the tiny scraps of paper that once made up the old one!

Got it done -- day 7!

I feel like I celebrated the end of "Get it done" week by getting very little done. Went to church, practiced with the kids for the Christmas program, played outside, played outside, played outside, supervised leaf raking *hee hee,* and had dinner over at the Clarks. I didn't even work out today, less a 2 mile walk with the dog this morning. It was a glorious (and warm) fall day and I wanted to take in every bit of it, knowing full well that reality (read: cold) could set in at any point.

But just for good measure, I'm going to throw in a load of laundry when I finish writing this. And pack the lunches for tomorrow. And maybe empty the dishwasher. Nah . . . no need to go crazy.

Took some pictures of some of handiwork this week. I actually took before and afters, but decided it was just too mortifying to show what my junk drawer used to look like. And yeah, I actually took the time to make a slide show with it!! Dork alert!!

In the end, I think getting"the little stuff" done was a really good thing for me. I had a feeling of accomplishment, but I was also getting things done that really needed to be tackled, but just kept slipping through the cracks.

Got it done -- day 6!

We got things done today --that's for sure!

First thing we got done? Matthew's soccer season! The boys played back to back games. They were EXHAUSTED, but happy when it was over. We won both games and Matthew scored a goal on the first game and had an assist. We also got his soccer pics back and I was thrilled to see both kids had great photos this year. We've had some doozies in the past, so it was a nice surprise!

After soccer, we got some yard work done. Another dozen bag of leaves at the curb, but still a lot of leaves to rake. The kids got to jump around and mess up the piles, too, so they were very happy.

I also got 1 more kitchen drawer and 2 cabinets emptied out and reorganized. One was the "kids' cup" cabinet, which is always a hodge podge of random cups, water bottles and plastic tumblers that they collect from here, there and everywhere. When no one was looking, I stashed a number of them in the Goodwill box.

Bassam and I are off to dinner and a movie tonight, while the kids have a sitter. They're more excited than we are right now, which is a great thing, I think!

Got it done (and had some fun) -- day 5

Getting things done at home is largely dependent on being home to get them done. Therefore, galavanting off to Christmas Village with Heather while the kids were at school put a bit of dent in my plans.

Gracie and I went and volunteered at Kenrose before I took her to preschool this morning. We've been collecting clothing all week for Glenview Elementary, which is a school in downtown Nashville that has a lot of kids in need. This was the third morning Gracie and I worked --and she was surprisingly helpful running items from one area to the other, while I sorted and bagged up items.

As soon as I dropped her at preschool, I met up with Heather and Claire. As I mentioned, we went to the Christmas Village at the fairgrounds. Needless to say it was PACKED, but we both managed to score some holiday goodies, plus a couple cute things for ourselves. In the last room we shopped in I bought this great decoration for my front door (Sutton--it's one of those painted screens like the pumpkin one you gave me!). Love love love it --but carrying it back through the buildings proved to be a challenge. It was a very large (albeit flat and lightweight) box and made for some interesting maneuvering through the crowds. I tried to let Heather lead the way. She had Claire on her chest in the Baby Bjorn and people seemed to give her at least a little leeway in getting through.

Picked up Gracie and 2 and then found myself making an impromptu trip to the vet. Poor Charlie's allergies are AWFUL right now. We've been doing the Benadryl thing for a while but he just doesn't seem to be getting any relief this week. Vet said they are seeing a lot of it now, so Chuckie is not alone, but we had to break down and got him the steroid injection which will hopefully help.

Matthew was home right after that and I had to keep my promise for a playdate with Bennett. Always glad for the kids to play outside (especially on a beautiful day like today), but all I could think about was my house being a wreck and the last two loads of laundry that I really wanted to get done.

Alas, both had to wait as we played right up until dinner time. I bathed the kid (who had been rolling around in piles of leaves) before we ate and later they enjoyed a "movie night" and watched the Thanksgiving Charlie Brown video. The time change and early arrival of darkness is still doing a number on them and they were in bed and asleep by 7:30.

Not wanting to lapse in "getting things done," I attacked the desk. Balancing the checkbook was on the agenda, as well as finishing up the piles of coupons, magazines, catalogs and receipts that I started the other day. Love having a nice clean desk. While I was at it, I created a file for all my Christmas receipts.

But now my work is done and I'm off to bed. The darkness makes me tired, too!

Got it done -- day 4!

I was definitely not as productive today in reaching my 2-a-day-goal. Well, that's not exactly true. I worked on stuff, but didn't cross two things off my forever-and-a-day long list. Boo! I started doing some purging in Gracie's closet. Much needed. Had to abandon that task when she went down for her nap. Since I was in attack mode, I went down to my own closet and started on the same job. Unfortunately, didn't finish either. Double boo!

On the other hand, I did get in a trip to the Y, do 4 loads of laundry, give the dog a bath, take Gracie to ballet and make a Publix run.

Getting things done is kind of fun in it's own weird way, but I think I'd like to go out and do something fun the regular way, too! I think I've got just the ticket for Friday . . . .

Got it done -- day 3!

Despite having kind of a cruddy day, I was able to stay on track with my week of "Get it done!"

Although our fridge is stainless, the sides are magnetic. As the mom of 2, it is naturally covered with a calendar, reminders, random magnets, artwork and photos. While I'm not ready to go "cold turkey" to an all clean fridge (I don't have a "command center" type area--so I think it's hard), I was definitely able to make it look better . Papers purged, talking fridge toys and the giveaway magnetics you get from businesses are GONE (minus the vet and pediatrician magnets). It's amazing how much stuff I got on only 1 1/2 sides of a fridge (1/2 of one side was hidden by cabinets). Staying on the kitchen theme, I went through another drawer and then did a bit of reorganizing in my dish cabinet (although the latter was in pretty good shape).

In non-organizing news . . . .

Bassam was home early today and did some raking. 6 bags of leaves and he barely made a dent in the backyard. The kids, of course, were just happy for some piles to jump in to! Looks like they'll get some more this weekend.

Happy Birthday Betsy!

Got it done -- day 2

I had hopes for high productivity today. However, a myriad of events and activities stood in my way--not the least of which were three bloody noses for Gracie and the laundry that resulted. Still, I did manage to complete two more tasks: the ever-looming plastics cabinet and the skinny cabinet next to my microwave that is too small for anything, but holds a lot of everything. Not too shabby.

I'm actually taking a break from another task to type this entry -- my true nemesis --the piles of paper that come from the mailbox (especially catalogs this time of year), kindergarten, the preschool, bills, fliers and coupons. I will probably be 90 years old and still struggling with paper management, but then it will be coupons for Fixadent! All I know is that if there is a program about paper management, I've attended it. A book written and I've read it. But I just can't get a handle on it.

Just like me, it's a work in progress!

Got it done -- day 1

I'm off to a good start! The first job today was cleaning out my junk drawer in the kitchen. Overflowing with this, that and the other -- I dumped it out and started from scratch. I purged quite a bit of stuff and it looks great.

The second job was a little more fun, but no less delinquent. Back in September, Learning Express had a silhouette artist from North Carolina visiting. I took both kids over and had one made of each them. A week or two later I bought some mat board and frames. And that is where the project stalled.

Stalled no more -- the silhouettes are now matted, framed and hanging in my hallway. As luck would happen. I also managed to get one more small job done which was purging and organizing a binder of papers for the parent association at preschool. Admittedly, that was done more out of necessity (meeting this morning--needed to find some information), but it's finished nonetheless!

All in all, not a bad start to the week!