Space Saving Over The Door Wrap Center

Ever wonder what to do with your wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbon, tissue paper and other wrapping/craft supplies?

I recently came across a wonderful space saving idea from Better Homes and Gardens and it was to good not to share and the best part is all you need is the back of a door in your house.

How practical is this?


You can get the pantry door rack from CHEFS for around $29.95 depending where you live, which in my opinion is a great price considering the hassle that it saves you from having to look here and there for your wrapping supplies when you need.
Not only is it a space saver but also a time saver too!

Spice Rack or Bookshelf

I'm SO excited about these! If you are on a budget, don't have enough room in your house or kids rooms for a bookshelf or are simply looking for a simple solution for keeping books together have I got the coolest thing for you.
I just LOVE these spice racks from Ikea, not only are they so affordable (they are $3.99 in the U.S and $6.99 in Canada), they make the perfect kids bookshelf. I can't wait to get some for the kids rooms!

You can use them like this


but this is Genius


and how awesome is this?

picture from Ministry of Deco

If you are the handy type I'm sure you can easily make them but if you don't have much time in your schedule for new projects you can't go wrong with purchasing them since the price is great!

The Cluttered Kitchen

This week I'm working on decluttering my kitchen as part of my 30 day purge challenge. It's only Wednesday and I've already been able to get rid of so much, I now have space for the things that I actually need.

Your kitchen is a food preparation area, not a storage! Get rid of you are no longer using by giving it away, donating, selling or tossing, then put similar things together and find the best place for them.

Food Containers- All of your plastics should have lids, if you are missing lids or vice versa recycle them.

Appliances- Any appliances that are broken or you haven't used are just taking up space. Do have you have any small appliances that are missing parts or that you are keeping just because they were a gift, get rid of them.

Knives- If you don't have a lot of counter space you night want to consider a type of knife block that goes in a drawer.

Pots and Pans- If you don't have a lot of cupboard space you might want to consider using a pot rack.

Cook Books and Magazines- How often do you really use the cookbooks that are taking up space in your kitchen? If you've had it for a year or two and have yet to use it, donate it. If you are keeping magazines for one or two recipes, take them out and put them into a recipe binder.

Is your kitchen cluttered? Are there things in your kitchen that do not belong there?

Does this look familiar?


or maybe this?


maybe the clutter in your kitchen isn't as bad as the pictures above but likely heading in that direction?! I encourage you to go through your kitchen to see what you can get rid of and maybe turn THAT into

THIS




There are so many wonderful organization solutions that you can get these days which can help you to maximize the space in your kitchen, check out your local organization store or places like the container store.

Here are a few of them






I'll be back in the next day or two to post a picture of all the things that I got rid of in my kitchen, I'd love to hear what you were able to purge.

Happy Organizing!

Organizing "Junk" Drawers

I'm on a mission to get every drawer in my house organized so yesterday while my little one napped I decided to conquer my desk drawer, I have wanted to do this for while but was overwhelmed by the clutter, it got so bad that I was having a hard time opening the drawer.

Here is what it looked like before




Here are some tips on how to organize a junk drawer or any drawer

-Take out everything from the drawer
-Give it a good wipe
-Throw out everything that you no longer use and all the paper clutter that has accumulated
-Group like items together
-Move things that don't belong to it's proper home
-Use trays and containers to organize

I used a metal cutlery tray that I bought on clearance for $3 to put stuff like pens, pencils, staples, tape, glue, erasers and a hole puncher,this was all stuff that I could never find in the middle of all the junk.
I also used a couple of other small containers to put things like envelopes, calculators, index cards etc...
Using containers helps to contain the items in your drawers and keeps them from getting lost.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and really love knowing where everything is when I need, doing this also helped get rid of more clutter which is part of my 30 things in 30 days challenge.

Here is what it looks like now






and just to compare here is the Before and After



Do you have any drawers that need some organizing? Set your timer to 15 minutes and go for it, if you are up to it take some before and after pictures and post them here under link within. I'd love to see them!

I Love my Life Planner

I'm on quest to getting organized in all areas of my life so making sure that I keep track of every appointment,important phone numbers and information,birthdays and other special occasions I decided to get a Life Planner by the talented Erin Condren.

I received a beautiful package in the mail yesterday with my pretty planner in it and it is even better then I imagined, I just LOVE it. I got the cover personalized so it's not only a planner but our very own family planner with our names on it, what can I say I love the little touches.
Erin thought of everything so this life planner is packed with lots of goodies, here is a list so you can see what I mean

✳ A laminated personalized cover (adding your own pictures is also an option)
✳ 192 colorful pages to brighten each day!
✳ 12 month-at-a-glance to simplify plans for the future.
✳ Perpetual calendar so no birthday or anniversary on your list gets forgotten.
✳ Color codded quick-view tabs to identify future months.
✳ 12 inspirational quotes.One to start every month off right.
✳ To-do lists and goals list throughout.
✳ 13 blank pages for notes to jot down phone numbers, directions and more.
✳ 240 colorful stickers, some preprinted, others simply color coded.
✳ Plastic ziplock envelope bound in to hold receipts, photos and more.
✳ 3 round clips to save your page and attach important items.
✳ 6 personalized & 6 assorted gift labels to stylize gift giving on-the-go.
✳ 3 "date" cards...perfect for lunch dates or playdates of all ages.
✳ A helpful binder clip to hold pages.
✳ Important numbers to reference & to fill in
✳ Keep it together 2-sided pocket to hold loose items

As if all of that wasn't enough Erin also sent me four 10% off cards for future purchases and some beautiful personalized gift tags for me to add to any gift, giving it that personal touch!

I highly recommend this planner and have already written so much important information in it, this is the perfect planner for me because writing things down helps me to remember them and I get to keep everything in one place.

Here is what mine looks like but it's personalized with our names on it, there are many different designs to choose from and since it's no longer the beginning of the year the Life Planners are now 35% off. Woot woot!

Pantry solutions for those without a pantry

Today I thought I would post some before and after pictures.
I don't have a pantry in my kitchen so I have used a regular cabinet next to the stove to hold all the thing that usually go into a pantry, it's a corner cabinet often making it difficult to find the things needed. I was tired of being frustrated and wasting money on things that I already had somewhere at the back of this cabinet yet hard to find so I decided that it was time to make some changes.

Here is what I did, I moved the pots and pans next to the stove and used the cabinet where the pots and pans use to be to store the pantry stuff. Such a simple solution and it makes so much more sense this way because when we are cooking and need a pot or pan it's right there, so we no longer need to walk across the kitchen.

Here is a before picture of the cabinet with the pantry type of stuff, what a mess!




After I took everything out and moved the pots and pans in there






Here is a before picture of where the posts and pans use to live


and here is a picture after I took all the pots and pans out and moved the pantry stuff in. I bough some inexpensive tall containers to hold stuff like cereal, oatmeal, pasta etc... and two can organizer racks.
I'm so happy with how it turned out!


Here is a close up of the can organizer that I used, it's so perfect for the space. You can purchase these at most home organization stores or places like amazon.

Project "30 Items in 30 Days" {Day 2- Entryway Closet Purge}

Yesterday I worked on our entryway by getting rid of shoes we no longer use or need, if your entryway still needs to be worked on then continue with it, get rid of anything you no longer need, love or that hasn't been used in months. Mine still needs work too but since we are working on the entryway and living room this week I decided to focus on my living room today because it is a big source of stress for me.

I worked on decluttering my t.v unit because over time it has accumulated so much stuff that I didn't even know what lived there.

Here is a list of what i ended up getting rid of

○ 1 doodle board
○ 2 Frames
○ 1 old cell phone
○ 1 belt that I no longer use
○ 1 timer
○ 1 dvd cleaner
○ 1 antenna
○ 1 old film camera
○ 1 hairbrush
○ 16 VHS tapes
○ 4 DVD's

I also got rid of

○ 3 Kids winter jackets
○ 1 backpack





The total # of items that I purged today is 34, I'm already starting to feel lighter and can't wait to purge some more tomorrow.

I was so energized by purging that I had some energy to put into organizing the now clutter free t.v unit, I also can't wait to paint it one of these days!

Here is one of the drawers before, I can't believe the things that I found in there


and here it is after, I still need to get a little box for the Wii controllers and things with cords but you get the picture. I'm so happy that the kids videos now have a home.






Here is a close up of the mess that lived on the shelf above the t.v



and after

Project "30 Items in 30 Days" { Day 1- SHOES}

I have decided to join the 30 items in 30 days challenge from one of my favorite blogs, this challenge is about getting rid of 30 things in the next 30 days and what better timing then while Spring cleaning.

It's amazing how many things people can accumulate over the years, in most cases there just isn't enough room for all of these things and that's when clutter starts to pile up.

I am often overwhelmed by clutter and have decided that if the things that I'm trying to hold on to are adding stress to my life then why bother keeping them, especially since so many of them haven't been touched in years or just sit in box or in a pile of clutter in a closet or drawer, sound familiar?
I really want to get rid of the clutter in my life and simplify things in our home, the more stuff we have the more time we need to stay on top of it and I would rather put that time into important things like God and the people that I love.

Today's challenge was to get rid of shoes that you no longer use or need, I went through my front hall closet and ended up getting rid of 19 pairs of shoes, yup that's 19 pairs. Some will be going in the garbage, others I plan on donating and two pairs I will be selling since one still has the price tags on it and the other was only used a couple of times.
It felt so great to get rid of stuff that we really no longer need yet it has been taking up room on home, room that we don't have.

How many pairs can you get rid of today?

When debating whether to keep or toss/donate as your self a few questions

Are they in good shape?
Do I love them?
Are they worth the space that they are taking up?
When was the last time you wore them?

Yes some people might have a lot of room to keep everything but the reality is that most of us don't so lets take steps toward decluttering, you will be glad you did.

Then take a few minutes to organize the shows that you ended up keeping, there are so many different options when it comes to organizing shoes, check out this post for some of them!

Here is a picture of the shoes that I got rid of.