Make up drawer

My dressing table has several drawers that I have organized my make up in.  If you haven't already noticed most of what I do is to make my life easier and to make mornings faster.  Mostly because I hate mornings.

In my make up drawer I have lots of baskets of different sizes.  The first basket in the top drawer closest to my chair is a basket labeled "daily"  I grab this basket out every morning and it is my routine make up.  If I start using a different lipstick or eye shadow it goes in this basket and the old one moves out.  If I am going somewhere special I move to the other drawers and use different things but for the most part this 1 basket serves me on a daily basis.  It is a grab and go kind of basket.

The rest of the drawers are organized with baskets by item.  Eye Shadow, Lipstick, Lip Liner, Eye Liner, blush brushes, etc.  It's pretty simple but it's organized.

I also keep a basket with notepads and a couple pens for quick notes and grocery list.

Storing Clothes

I take great care in storing my daughter's clothes.  I want to make sure they are well preserved if I ever want to use them again or sell them.  Also there are some items that are sentimental that I take even more care with.

First I start by sorting them by size.  I only put one size per bin.  Everything gets labeled accurately but simply.

 

Next anything that has sentimental value I put in a plastic ZipLock bag and label.  I wanted to remember who made the item or who gave it to her and what it was. 

Then I try to keep it organized in the attic or storage room.  Not everyone has this much space but it is so nice to be able to see everything.  The main thing is to label both ends and the top and maybe the sides if you are really pressed for space.  This way no matter what way it gets turned you can still read it.  It helps if you can keep all of one type of thing together as well.  Such as, clothes, christmas, toys, etc. 

My Mud Room

I love my mud room...catch all....It is great!!!!

I took this closet at the front door and turned it into a mud room.  All of my husband's shoes stay there.  This is basically for ease and convenience for him and my sanity.  It is supposed to encourage him not to wear his shoes in the house.  I keep a pair of house shoes there for him to put on when he takes off his other shoes.  It is important that your husband like whatever shoes you put there.  Otherwise it won't work.  And they are never to be worn outside...not even to get the mail.  That would defeat the purpose of "house shoes".  So here is an overview of what I do in my mudroom and how I have organized it.

 Each person has their own shelf with things that they are taking with them to school/work the next day.  Purses, backpacks, scarves, gloves, keys, etc.  I have a basket for each person that has their own gloves, scarves, winter wear, and sunglasses(Zaylei only).  I also keep a bag for going out to eat with games and toys and and food.  This cuts down on "hunting" time when we are going somewhere.  Makes morning so much easier too. 

 I have this extra space for keys.  These are not really the keys we use everyday but extra keys to who knows what. 

 These 2 baskets hold umbrellas and "lost and found or return" items.  If we have something that belongs to someone else that we need to return it goes in this basket.  Then we return it when we see them. 

 This is not our coat closet but everyone is allowed 2 coats.  This is for quick escapes in the morning.  As seasons change the coats change. 

 This shelf shows bins that have dry cleaning that need to go.  Also, I found we had luggage tags and key chains that weren't being used.  Who really has a place for those things.  They sorta get shoved in that infamous junk drawer (I don't have a junk drawer) so I made a place for them.  Then the 2 green baskets are for light bulbs. 

 Here you can see I put some cutsie labels on the shelves with our names. 

 The keychain and luggage tag basket.

Dry cleaning and light bulb baskets.

This closet/mud room makes my life so much easier in the mornings.

Make mornings easier

I do a couple of little things to make mornings easier for everyone in my house.  These things also help my husband if I am not around.  One thing I do that leads up to what I will show in this blog is to hang outfits together in the closet.  When I do laundry and hang the clothes, I always hang them as a full complete outfit.  Then if I am not home my husband can go to the closet and get something knowing that it matches.  I am a little crazy and I have a divider.  So after laundry is on hangers I hang everything we have worn behind the divider.  Then only clothes on the other side of the divider are worn until you get to a point where you really need to start over.  This keeps us from over wearing clothes and guarantees we wear everything.  If something isn't worn after a season we can get rid of it knowing we don't like it or it doesn't fit.  Might as well let someone else get some use from it.

Each week I get a full week of clothes ready.  Full outfit, socks, shoes, undies, hairbow and anything else that might be needed.  Then each night we just go over and grab the outfit for the next day.  In the "shoe holder" that I have turned into an outfit organizer I have labeled it by days.  Also, if it is gym day or music day I have added that so I can make sure appropriate clothing is worn that day.  Sunday has two slots.  One for church and another for after church.  On Saturdays Zaylei likes to get her clothes and get dressed so it is best for that one to be low so she can reach it.  This cuts down on morning arguments over what to wear.  It has already been decided.  If I question if anything fits, I try it on when I am putting together the weeks outfits.  It probably takes me 15-20 minutes a week to do this.  Instead of 15-20 minutes every morning and a crying fit.

I keep items in the closet easy to get to as well.  They are organized in catagories easy for a 4 year old and on the bottom shelves.  Some of these things would be in drawers ordinarily but we have these shelves so I decided to utilize them.

Who doesn't love a good foaming soap

I love foaming soap.  But I get tired of paying the higher price for foaming soap when I know it is mostly water.  So I developed my own foaming soap.  Let me tell you....it is EASY AND CHEAP. 

So here it is.  First you need to use up some foaming soap you buy. These happen to be my favorite.

Once they are empty, you can make your own soap.  The absolutely best thing to make soap with is dish washing detergent.  The clear (not creamy....color doesn't matter) seem to make the best soap.  I bought the Hand Renewal last time.  I figured I might as well try to do something nice form my hands.  

Next add about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch to the bottom of the empty soap bottles.  Then fill the rest of the way with water.  It is very important not to get too much soap.  If you do it will not create foaming soap.  

Notice I didn't fill the water to the top.  This is very important.  The foaming tops are bulky and take up space in the bottle.  If you over fill it will gush out as you put the top on wasting your new foaming soap.  

Now shake.  And there you GO!  Foaming soap.  Very cheap.  I think the Dawn Hand renewal cost me somewhere around $3.00.  I use very little per bottle.  Imagine how many bottles of soap I can make for $3.00.  Foaming soap at Bath and Body is $5.00 per bottle.  Granted, I still buy it on occasion if it is on sale.  Your foamers won't last forever so you have to replace them eventually.  

Enjoy making your own soap in minutes.  The whole process takes maybe 3 minutes. 

Storing extras

Sometimes when I'm out shopping if I see something on sale that we use I will pick it up. I always try to keep one extra of all our toiletries on hand. When you open the last of something we put it on the shopping list instead of waiting until we are out and have no hairspray for the day etc. So I came up with a little bin that simply states "extra supplies" and in the same cabinet are larger bottles of extra supplies. Everyone knows where to go for the extras. Simple but effective.




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Laundry tips

Laundry is a chore we all wish would just take care of itself but unfortunately few of us have live in servants. Here are a few tips to make it slightly less daunting.

Stain treating
DO IT!!! It will save you money in the long run and could make you money. I'm not wearing stained clothes and I doubt you plan to. If you plan to sell your clothes they cannot have stains on them. Children's clothes sell great if they are taken care of.

Greased Lighting is the greatest overall stain treatment. It's cheaper than shout and spray and wash. It takes out grease like no other. For deep stain treating you will require more which I will discuss in a future blog. If you treat your clothes as you sort them you save time as you switch your loads. Keep in mind some clothes shouldn't sit with chemicals on them for extended periods of time so be cautious.

Keep the items you use each week handy and easy to access. You will actually use them that way. Group small stuff in plastic bins to prevent out of control cabinets.




Sorting
Get some collapsable mesh laundry baskets to use for sorting. This keeps your piles neatly sorted and off the floor where they collect more dirt and prevent them from getting stepped on. As you wash a load you fold the basket and store it until your next laundry session.






Hangers
Keep a bin of hangers on your dryer to hang clothes as you take them out of the dryer. This means you don't fold them only to hang them later or throw them in a basket which could lead to wrinkled clothes and the dreaded ironing. Keeping hangers sorted in seperate bins will save time. Cycle your hangers from your closet to laundry room and you will never run out. Have each family member deposit their hangers in the laundry room once a week.






Above picture shows clothes I hang dry and transport straight to the closet when dry and my sorted hangers.

Laundry cart
Greatest $50 I've ever spent. My laundry cart. I use it to bring all the dirty laundry to the laundry room, return it to closets, hold folded laundry and bring groceries (or anything) from the back door to kitchen. It is GREAT!!! I can't give it enough kudos.


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Cool app and blogs

So I found this great new app for my iPhone called blogpress which allows me to blog right from my iPhone with pics and videos. So I'm going to try to blog much more often. I'm going to try to add a cool app of the day. We shall just see how it goes.


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Cool app of the day

Snapture. Make picture better from your iPhone.


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Soo Busy

I have been so busy lately. I am so overwhelmed at work that I am worthless at home. We spent all last weekend switching the kitchen out. Taking mom's stuff out and putting my stuff in. YAY. First step to getting settled. This weekend I am going to put my books on the shelves since Mom packed up the books last weekend. Then I might just put my china cabinet in the dining room and unpack that stuff. I am terrified it is all broken. I only found 4 broken things when I unpacked the kitchen. Not bad I suppose. Mom and Dad plan to move around March 15. It will be total chaos but we will all be so excited to have our own space again.

pulling my hair out

Well, Life has been absolutly crazy lately. Zaylei has had a really hard time with Matt working long hours. She has been refusing to sleep in her bed. She got a new princess bed for christmas and hated it. Wanted her baby bed back. I finally gave in and put it back up. I thought, fine, at least i will get some sleep. HA, No WAY. Screaming bloody murder at night....so much she puked. Yep. I thought I was going to go insane. So we tried everything...rocking, yelling, threats...nothing worked...NOTHING. So all of a sudden one day Zaylei says she wants to be a mermaid like Dora. She asks me if she has a mermaid outfit..."no" i say, so she ask me to get her one. So the bribe of a mermaid outfit has stopped the fits. Every night we go to bed, I say no crying if you want a mermaid outfit, and she lays down happily and goes to sleep. What is that about??? Hey, who cares, whatever works at this point. I needed some sanity back. Tonight she told me she wanted a Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella outfit. Now I have leverage for a while. One outfit at a time. If you ever said you won't bribe your kid....Just wait. You will. I'm not proud of it, but I am well rested and functioning at work so life is good. Thank you Dora Mermaid.

Back to Blogging

Well, I haven't been blogging lately but I plan to return to it. Today I have spent some time reading some of my favorite blogs. Other than a few of my friends the following are ones I really like.

http://dealseekersanon.blogspot.com/

http://lifeasmom.com/

http://www.frugalshoppingwithjulie.com/

http://www.nicolesnickels.com/

http://neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com

http://www.centsablemomma.com/

SteffieLous.com is open for business

Check it out.... steffielous.com We sell Scarves (Hand knitted), Baby Hats (hand knitted), and POSH PACI HOLDERS. No more chacing that paci all over the place and washing it 100 times a day. Just get a Posh Paci Holder and you will not only have a stylish baby but also a clean paci.

cool websites

Here are some websites i have found that you can save money through...get free stuff...or trade.

freecycle.com - this is a yahoo group and you join for you local area.
zwaggle - kids stuff - you trade by earning points
paperbackswap.com - trade books dvds cds
freepeats.org
gilt.com

Christmas Cards in January

Do Christmas Cards stress you out??? Well...me too. Right after Christmas I go to the 75% off sales and buy next years Christmas Cards. Then I bring them home, open them, and sign our family names inside. If you are worried about an addition to the family you just don't use the word and. Stagger the name straight down or just use commas and omit the word "and". No biggie. Then put them in a box (i use a photo box) and keep them til next year. I always get a photo printed of my daughter and stick in the card. This is much less expensive than the picture cards and can fit in a photo album easily. When December rolls around, I pull out the already filled out cards and stick the photo in, then stick a seal on the back. I refuse to lick envelopes. Flip it over, stick stamp, return address label, and address label, and they are ready to go. Last year I created a word file with all my christmas cards. I just review it each year for family additions, deaths, and people who have moved. Print it and you are ready. Takes me a couple of hours to do cards instead of several hours. Make the christmas list in January from the cards you have received in December. This will help you make your list complete. Then add anyone special you want to who may not send cards. YOU ARE DONE!! If you don't send pictures in your cards you can seal them up and have them labeled and ready to go long before December. Happy Mailing!!

1-11-09

Hello All,
I feel like I have lots of random thoughts on organization and little tips that I want to share so instead of writing a random book no one wants I am going to write a random blog. Maybe someone will read. Enjoy. Send me your thoughts.