WHAT THE WHAT???

YOU GUYS!!! 

Christmas is less than 4 months away?

Did you know that?

I'm all of a sudden on panic mode.

Hold on. Breathe. Breathe. BREATHE!!!

Let me explain. 

I start Christmas shopping on January 1st. Yes. I know, it's a bit ridiculous. But hey, I'm one of those people that don't like getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I'm usually done with all of my shopping before Thanksgiving. I am not a Black Friday kind of gal. I like knowing that after Thanksgiving dinner and clean up, my family will set up our Christmas tree {yes, it's fake} and watch a Christmas movie to kick off the season and I have no worries or stress coming.

But you guys, I don't have anything yet. I don't have one single solitary gift! I don't even have any ideas. I can probably come up with a million excuses, but none of them will really justify not having anything yet.

But never fear. I have found some great resources to get me back on track... I HOPE!

 Life On Paper Co.

I Heart Organizing

Just Dawnelle

Mom On Time Out

Pinch a Little Save a Lot

I love Bekah's stuff! This link takes you to all of her holiday organization printables. She has tons and they will be very helpful throughout any holiday!

I have to admit I'm a little old fashioned. My mama raised me to send thank you cards. I know a lot of people don't do this anymore, but I love receiving and giving them.

If you do too, here's an adorable printable for you.

Organizing Homelife

Pinch a Little Save a Lot

When do you start your shopping? Are you a far in advance planner or a last minute shopper?

ORGANIZE MY NAIL POLISH!!!

It's time to organize the nail polish!

I have seen some cute and clever ways to organize nail polish.

Source

 Source

 Source


So here is what I did... I gathered up my boys and headed down to Walmart.

I first did what I said I'd never do, (you know, before I had kids) and stopped in the toy department and picked them out each a toy.

Then I headed over to the kitchen section. Yes, KITCHEN.

I searched the aisles until I found a spice rack worthy of my taste.

There was nothing... BUMMER.

So, I headed over to Target, luckily it's on the right side of the road on the trip home!

I repeated the steps from above, yes another toy too. Luckily I shop cheap and find dollar surprises that my boys love.

And yet again... nothing. Nada. Double bummer!

We came home and I got online.

I saw this...

 Source

It's like the heavens opened and angels sang to me.

Luckily, my husband was taking vacation soon. So, I said, "I wanted something like this." He said, "OK."

But I also needed some other modifications.

This is what he gave me.

 

My modifications? Well, I wanted a spot for my nail polish remover, buffer and a few taller shelves on the bottom half for the taller nail polishes, cuticle oils and hand creams. 

The exact dimensions are 22 in by 36 in. I would have liked it wider, but the space I was putting it in was actually only 25 inches wide and I didn't want to push it!

I am putting this in a closet away from heat, away from sunlight to help preserve the nail polishes from getting ruined.

The top 3 shelves are 4 inches high, the bottom shelves are 6 inches high. The buffer shelf is 3 inches high and the nail polish remover shelf is 9 inches high.

As suggested, we headed over to Lowe's. We bought three 21/32 x 2 x 8 boards, which were $4.24 each at my local store. They do give you the first two cuts free. All other cuts are $.25 each. If you don't have a way to cut it, then have them do it there. 

2 pieces at 36 inches - {outer height}

6 pieces at 20 inches - {top & bottom to frame, plus 4 shelves}

1 piece at 15 inches - {smaller shelf}

1 piece at 13 inches - {diagonal board between two bottom shelves}

1 piece at 4 inches  - {buffer shelf}

My husband got a Father's Day gift which he just "had to" use for this project. It's a

Portable Pocket Hole Jig Kit, you can find one here. I agreed to it because it would give me a seamless look on the sides since the holes come from underneath, except the small diagonal piece in the bottom. We did also have to screw the small shelf in, it wasn't long enough to add a pocket hole on both sides, so we opted for just the outside frame.

 Your other option would be to pre drill holes in the sides of shelves with a drill bit and then screw the shelves to the frame.

Now... to fill it up! 

What are your favorite hand creams and nail polishes?

MY NECKLACE ORGANIZER!!!

I love necklaces!

They can be simple and delicate. Or they can make a statement.

I have lots of necklaces. Most are dainty. I usually don't make too many statements with my necklaces. They fit into my jewelry box. They look so pretty hanging up inside.

But my big, long, chunky ones had no place to go.

I was sad. They were all crammed into another jewelry box laying on top of one another. Not very pretty at all. 

Then I did this...

I followed this tutorial on making a magnet board. Or you can just buy one from a craft store and paint it just the same. 

I bought the magnetic hooks from Walmart. 4 hooks for under $4. I found them in the school supply section.

I spray painted them black and white.

The circles behind the hooks do come off and both pieces are magnetic. I left them black/ black & white/white, but they could totally be switched to black and white & white and black.

After I added some fabric to the sheet metal, but I wasn't in love with it, so I took it off. But if you want, Walmart sells a fat quarter of fabric in different fabrics for $.97. I loved this purple polka dot, but it just didn't go with my room well enough. 

I have to say I do love it! And it's not too hard of a thing to do, especially if you buy the frame already put together.

What do you think?

DOLLAR STORE FRIDGE STORAGE!!!

I usually only go to the dollar store for party decorations and prizes for my boys for whatever I want to encourage them to do... potty training, chores, good behavior.

This time I had my husband in tow and we actually walked through the store. 

There are some great scores in there.

For instance, I did not know that there was a whole section dedicated to organizing bins.

Hello? Score!

So, I loaded up...

I got some for my boys room, some for the toy room and some for the kitchen.

Today I will show you what I did for the fridge!

My fridge only has two drawers, the crisper drawers. So, I have no place to store my cheese, lunch meat, canned biscuits... anything. Seriously, it's ridiculous!

This is before I go grocery shopping. With three men, (1 big and 2 little) this is about twice it's size.

Well, no more!

 Stick on a label and voila!

I like it.

Total cost: $3 without the label. $10 without the label.

PANTRY STORAGE!!!

A while back I mentioned that I'd do a series on cleaning and organizing.

I did my Let's Clean series which included cleaning grout, cleaning the dishwasher, cleaning the carpet, cleaning and getting rid of the mold, and cleaning and disinfecting the humidifier.

I have also started the Organize Me series which has so far included diaper storage and toy storage.

I've decided to move on to the pantry.

My first pantry after I got married was a nice sized pantry. 

It was walk-in.

The room was 4ft x 5ft. 

I didn't realize they were not all like this.

When we moved into our apartment, I quickly learned this.

My pantry is currently 2ft x 3ft.

I had to come up with new ways to organize everything. 

This is what I came up with.

I started slowly because these canisters cost almost $4 a piece. But I slowly accumulated just what I needed. 

But something was missing.

I needed to label them. 

I've seen so many different types of labels and could not figure out which one I preferred most.

Then I found these...

I went to Avery's website.

It allowed me to design my labels without having to log in to Microsoft. 

{Am I the only one who still creates labels via Microsoft?}

This is what I chose...

I.LOVE.THEM.

It confirmed my desire to have a blue/green kitchen!

They printed off so nicely.

Here is how it looks.

I'm incredibly happy with it!

I decided to extend my label love to my canisters.

I can't get enough of it. 

I think I am on a label frenzy... I want to label everything!

Am I the only one?

MAGNET BOARDS!!!

I think I have an addiction!

I L.O.V.E. MAGNET BOARDS!!!

I have them all over my house!

I use them for different things...

Like in my room, it stores my makeup.

I bought this big board in a craft store in Utah that is no longer in business. {I mourned for weeks.} I painted it black, slapped on some vinyl, added some magnets to the back of my makeup and voila!

In my boys room, I hang up their pictures above their dressers.

This one is a bit smaller and I painted it black, again slapped it with vinyl and voila. I found a wooden letter{first initial of each name}, painted it and a little mirror, added in vinyl "I am a child of God", put some magnets on the back and added it to the board with their pictures.

In my dining room, I use it as decor.

This was super simple. I just painted the frame black... (I like black wood, then I can add in other things, but this gives me a continuous look) and added a sheet of scrapbook paper. You could glue it to the sheet metal, but I like the idea of changing it as my taste changes, so no glue for me. Then I found a cardboard "S" for our last name, painted it black, added some magnets and voila!

In my husbands office, He uses it for sports stuff, pics and decor.

My husband is a big BYU fan, I made this for him last year for Christmas {sorry for the glare}. I painted the frame white since the wall will be painted navy, I left the sheet metal unpainted and added a navy vinyl "Y" for the Cougs. I found some magnets {5x7}, applied pictures to the magnet sheet that can now be used to hang up some of our tickets and autographs and such.

IT'S SPRING TIME!!!

And that means it's time to clean!

I do my deep cleaning twice a year, spring and fall.

This is the time that I clean, declutter and organize... EVERYTHING!

If you asked me, I would say, cleaning is always the first step in this series.

Over the next few weeks, I will be starting my LET'S CLEAN series up again!

I will show you my favorite cleaning techniques for cleaning grout, a microwave & dishwasher, getting rid of hard water stains and mold around the tub.

Once I have shown you these cleaning techniques, I will move on to decluttering & organizing your life with my ORGANIZE ME series. As a mom with 2 young boys, we gather a lot of stuff every 6 months for donations and trash!

I hope you'll stick with me and let me know how it's going for you! I would really love to hear!

TOY ORGANIZATION!!!

Toys and I have a love.hate relationship!

I love toys. When I'm busy, it's a great thing to entertain the boys. Some are for fun. Some build imagination. Some are even educational. My boys have plenty, so they never get bored.

I hate toys. They seem to multiply all on their own. They can cause pain either on their own or with the assistance of others. One of the worst feelings is stepping on one. It's almost as bad, if not worse than stubbing your toe.

I remember growing up as a kid, everything went into one big toy box. However, I didn't have very many toys. I was more in to dancing, so I kept my room clear of things to have room to dance.

Now my boys have tons of toys. Some in their bedroom. Some in the toy room. Some in the car. Some in to go bags. I was tired of having them all over the place.

I recently took a trip to my local Walmart and Dollar Store. I think the Dollar Store is my new favorite place for storage bins. They are fun, cute and cheap... who doesn't want that?

For the boys room, I used the canvas bins like you can find, here.

My oldest likes to sit in them, that is why the cream ones look a little odd shaped.

Organizing this shelf cost about $15. A little too much for my taste, but it looks nice and you can't see what's inside the bins from a distance.

Then I headed over to the Dollar Store and found these lovelies... they came in blue, green, and pink.

This ran me $4. I like it!

My boys like to go over pick their bin and play with what's inside. My youngest has the bottom shelf and my oldest has the top. 

I have to brag for a moment here, my oldest is very organized. He's only 2 1/2 and heaven forbid you mix the toys. He still likes to pull out every single toy he has, but he also knows that when you say it's time to clean up each bin has their own toys: dinosaurs , blocks, action figures... He's a chip off of the ol' block!

MOVIE ORGANIZING!!!

One thing that attracted me to my husband was his organization... with his movies. 

And that's about where his organization skills end.

When I first went to his place, he had all of his movies on a shelf, alphabetized!

He had so many movies, he actually even had them listed in a spreadsheet! 

Yeah, I fell in love! :)

But to be honest, it's a simple thing to do that doesn't cost any money!

Look how nice it looks!

I have mine separated into categories {think Blockbuster}: 

Animated

Christmas

Church

Television Shows

and everything else...

And each section is alphabetized.

It makes it super easy to find the movie you want and no money is required, just a little time!
Or if you are like us with over 250 blu-rays and DVDs it takes a few more minutes...

HOUSEKEEPING!!!

I recently came upon a blog that has some amazing tips for cleaning and organizing! 

You know I'm a sucker for that kind of thing!

As I was soaking up the valuable information here,  I knew that I just HAD to share this with you!

This site had put together 25 Blogs with Advice for Homemakers!

I was super excited to find new sites for Time Management, Organizing, Cleaning, Menu Planning and even a few that will help keep the flame burning in your marriage.

They have some other amazing posts with some great tips!

One of my favorites is 10 Lessons Children Can Learn From Doing Household Chores, found here. 

Here are the first 3:     

1. Self-Sufficiency and Independence – When kids learn to complete their chores on their own, without having to be cajoled into doing so by a parent or caregiver or directed in the proper way to do so, they’re also learning their first lessons in self-sufficiency and independence.
2. A Sense of Responsibility – Children who know that there are certain tasks that must be completed, and that it falls to them to ensure that they’re done well, are learning about personal responsibility. Gaining this understanding during childhood years helps kids grow into more well-rounded, capable and successful adults.
3. The Knowledge That a Feeling of Accomplishment Accompanies a Job Well-Done – One of the greatest rewards of a job well done is the sense of accomplishment and pride that comes with it. Mastering a task boosts a child’s self-esteem and confidence level, helping her to excel in other areas.

10 Tricks to Make Your House Easier to Keep Clean, found here.

Here are the first 3:

1. Keep shower doors cleaner with Rain-X.  Start by thoroughly cleaning your shower doors with a glass cleaner.  If the glass is textured, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get into the glass grooves.  Using a razor blade, scrape off any soap that has caked onto your doors.  Dry the glass completely with a soft towel.  Spray on Rain-X or a product called Aquapel, then wipe the glass clean with a microfiber cloth.  The product leaves a thin coating on the glass which will repel soap and water. The end result is that your shower doors will stay cleaner for much longer. While these products, which can be found in the automotive department at discount stores, are typically used for windshields, they also work great on shower doors.
2. Squeegee off the walls after each shower.  By squeegeeing off the water and soap after each shower you will limit the amount of water and soap that dries onto your shower walls and doors.  Make sure to dry any water off of your faucet and the metal around the glass on the shower doors to avoid water spots.  This will keep your shower looking sparkling clean.
3. Brighten cabinets with heat. Over time kitchen cabinets get coated with grease. This happens so gradually that it’s usually not even noticeable.  Microwave a sponge for 30 seconds and then put on some rubber gloves before grabbing the sponge.  Spray the cabinets with a cleaner that contains orange oil.  Use the hot sponge to wipe away layers of grease and grime that have accumulated on your cabinets.  Not only will the kitchen smell like fresh oranges, but the oil will give the cabinets that just like new shine.  The oil will also help to prevent food from sticking in the future.

And lastly, 10 Uses for Bleach for House Cleaning, found here.

Here are the first 3:

1. Mold and mildew – Bleach is great for killing mold and mildew while whitening at the same time. You can use it on grout, in the shower (including shower curtains and mats) plus to remove mold from cement and exterior paint on your house. Mix with water and let stand for at least 15 minutes before rinsing.
2. Kitchen – Every household should have a spray bottle of bleach mixed with water to use in the kitchen. You can use it to kill germs on cutting boards and counter tops plus use to clean your kitchen appliances.
3. Sanitizer – Since bleach is an effective way to kill bacteria, it can be used to sanitize just about anything around the home. Use it to sanitize kids toys, second hand items bought at a garage sale or anything else you touch with your hands to keep from spreading germs.

So, go on over to Housekeeping.org and check out their amazing tips.

DIAPER STORAGE!!!

I have two in diapers. 

This is what our bi-weekly purchase looks like.

One is 2 1/2, the other is 9 months.

I cannot wait to be out of them, but seeing as how I have boys, I may at least have another 2 years to go for my youngest.

I don't know about you, but I don't always have time to go across the house to the changing pad to change every diaper. So, I've created little diaper stations throughout my house to go along with diaper central.

Yep, I have one in my room, the family room and the boys room. 

Of course the boys room is diaper central completely filled with wipes, diapers, diaper cream, powder, everything we need in full size amounts.

For diaper central, I bought the storage bins at IKEA, 6 for $8 and when you don't need them anymore, you unzip and it folds back down flat. There are 2 of each size.

The big ones I use for diapers and bibs. The medium ones hold the wipes and diaper creams. The small ones hold the baby lotions and oils, teething gel, pacifiers... all of the lose odds and ends.

The diaper stations in my room and family room are smaller amounts. Just a few diapers for each and wipes, diaper cream, lotion and powder.

Do you change all of your diapers at the changing table? Or are you more like me? 

CREATING YOUR OWN MEAL PLAN!!!

Heard that before?

Only like twenty times a day!

How about... "We're eating that again?"

Well, let's organize your meal plan.

Ready? 

Grab paper.

Grab pen.

Sit down.

Write down 14 of your family's favorite meals.

Need some ideas?

Chicken Enchiladas, Tacos, Quesadillas, Burritos,

Grill - Burgers, Chicken, Ribs, Steak/Chicken Kabobs,

Pizza, Pasta, Meatball Subs, Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, 

Meatloaf, Pork Tenderloin, Beef Stew, Pot Pies, Beef Roast,

Chinese Chicken Salad,  Sloppy Joes, Stromboli, Beef and Broccoli

Still need more?

Check out my Pinterest, here. 

Did you come up with more than 14? 21? 28?

The first time I did this I came up with exactly 30 meals. One WHOLE month of dinner!

Ok. Done?

Next, collect recipes.

Have some of your own... don't have some of the others?

Check out these awesome recipe sites, AllRecipes, Food.com, Betty Crocker, Food Network, Chef in Training, Mandy's Recipe Box, Momma Hen's Kitchen, Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Ok. Done?

Grab a calendar.

Don't have one? 

Check out Professor Poppins, and download her calendar printables like this one for meals, here.

Or you can use these fancy ones from, Ollibird.

Fill it in. 

Attach the recipes, in order, in a folder and store in your kitchen.

If you have time and money, buy a binder and plastic page dividers; place the menu in the front and add the recipes, in order.

There you go!

Now shop.

Once you are comfortable with the two week plan, double it, then triple it... keep going!

Check out Modern Parents Messy Kids 6 week menu plan, here. She even has links to the recipes.

Enjoy!