Our Living Room: The Disaster Has Been Tamed!

Remember this disaster?  I was planning on including this in my once-a-week decluttering project.  Yeah, not a chance!  This ended up being an all day project that my husband and I tackled while the girls were at my parents house for the weekend.

And they say it gets worse before it gets better.....

Um.....we LOVE books!!  And we had too many in this small space.  So some of the books got relocated to other parts of the house!

Where did all of this stuff come from?  My goodness!   Anything that the girls have not played with in the last 4-6 months....gone!   A week down and they haven't seemed to notice that things have disappeared!

Our main focus was to make sure that everything had a home and that the girls know exactly where each thing goes.  We also wanted to do this without spending a dime :)  Just use what we had on hand.

One of our previous problems was a pile of stuff thrown into those canvas boxes so I grabbed smaller boxes - old wipes containers, pencil boxes, anything you have around the house - to group things together even more.  The next step will be to get these labeled!

Another problem area was all of Cailynn's papers - papers from church, papers from school, and pictures she colored at home.  Of course, they are all special to her so I found a binder in the basement and turned it into her work binder.  All of the stuff that I don't feel the need to keep go in there.  The zippered pocket in the front holds valentines, cards and other small things.

And here's the final product.......

And it almost looks the same right now while I'm typing this!  So far, they've done a very good job of keeping up with it.  Everything has a home and has plenty of room in its home!  Makes a huge difference!

Once a Week De-Cluttering Project - Wanna Join Me!

So.......we have some major organizational issues in our house right now.  Basically we have too much stuff for the amount of space we have.  If I could send my family away for an entire week and worry about nothing but my house, I do believe that I could transform it BUT that's not possible so my plan is to tackle one organizing project a week!
This is actually week two for me.  Last week I completely organized the arts and crafts/coat closet.  I wish I had taken some before pictures of that one but I didn't so we'll just have to start with this week!

Week 2: The Basement Stairs........

This picture really doesn't look half as bad as it actually was.  Lots of stuff just thrown in there, right at the top of the stairs, behind the door.  We have a bad habit of throwing stuff in there that we want to head down to the basement and then never bringing it down when we go. 

And this is the end result!  The basket at the top of the stairs is for the clothes (like socks) that come off before we go upstairs.  I think it's silly to bring it upstairs to the laundry basket when it has to go downstairs to the laundry.  So, the dirty stuff goes into the basket.  The other boxes are for (1) used dish towels once they have dried, (2) resuable laundry sheets after we fold the clothes, and (3) used towels for cleaning.  Someday I'd eventunally like the boxes to look like this but for now, the cardboard box works just fine.  It's behind the door anyways, who's going to see it!

And here's next week's project........

I wish I could tell you this was the playroom and it is...kind-of.  Except that the playroom and the living room are the same thing!  This mess may be a two week project.  I'm hoping to use the laminator that I got for Christmas to make some fun (and helpful) labels to help keep this area neat!

Simply Organized: How to Hold a Yard Sale

Are you planning on holding a yard sale this year?  I know I am!!  Renae, over at How to Have it All, has some great tips on how to organize your yard sale!  Not planning on having your yard sale for awhile?  Its never too late to start clearing the clutter and setting things aside for your sale!

Be sure to check out the rest of our Simply Organized series!!

Simply Organized: Clean Your Car and Keep it Clean!!

Be honest.  If I opened up your car door, what would I see?  Cheerios all over the floor, maybe?  Sippy cups in every seat?  Books, toys, papers, bottles.........the list goes on!  Is that your car?  Unfortunately, up until this past weekend, that's what mine looked like.  See.....

Once again, I wanted to write about car organization not because I have an awesome system of organization but because we needed to find one! 

Our problem........once we clean it, it gets messy within a few days because we don't have a system to prevent it from happening again.  So, the books end up scattered, the garbage ends up on the floor, and the sippy cups get left behind!

To start, we figured out our problem areas!  For us, it is books/small toys, garbage, and sippy cups/snack bowls.  We don't have any extra room in the budget to buy new organizers so we used what we had on hand.  Plastic bins and tubs.....I just love these things!

Books/Small Toys

The girls love to read when they are riding in the car.  In fact, we rarely bring toys in the car, just books.  Ellie tends to read the same book for the entire trip but Cailynn doesn't.  When she is finished with her book, she tosses it on the floor.  So we put a bin on the floor for her to toss her books in.  It is within my reach, as well, so I can hand them too her when she runs out.

Sippy Cups/Snack Bowls/Empty Pop Bottles

Basically things that need to go back inside the house!  The problem.....my hands are full, we need to get lunch started, its cold out.  The excuses reasons go on and on!  So, I grabbed another plastic bin (did I mention I love them).  One with a handle.  The sippy cups, etc go in there and it gets carried into the house.  We are putting Cailynn in charge of this!  Not only do we keep our car free of the mess but we are teaching responsibility!  It's a win-win!

Garbage

It should be so simple, right?!  Just bring it in with you.  But, again, hands full, no time, its cold, etc!!  So the garbage gets stashed and accumulates!  Papers, wrappers, usually nothing big.  So, we used another bin, just like the one we used for books.  It keeps it in one spot and will make it easier to take care of! 

And here's what it looks like now:

We decided to go the extremely frugal way and use things that we have around the house but you may not be a former teacher with bins, bins and more bins in your basement!  Amazon.com has some great car organizers for great prices!  Especially if you have earned some gift cards through Swagbucks!!  Here are a few of my favorite:

Sunshine Kids Travel Pal for $13.99

High Road Floor Litterbag - Black (XL)for $19.95

SafeFit Backseat Storage with Seat Protector for $24.99

And for a laugh.....check out this video on Youtube that I bet a few of us can relate to!!

Be sure to check out the rest of the Simply Organized series for some more great organizational tips!!

Simply Organized: Garage Organization

Is organizing your garage on your to-do list?  If it is, you'll want to check out Karen's post, from Saving the Family Money, on what she used to get her garage organized!!  You've got to check out her tool organiztion - it's great!!

Be sure to catch up on the rest of the Simply Organized series!!

Simply Organized: Laundry Organization & Clothing Storage

Do you have piles of laundry sitting in your bedroom?  Or maybe it is sitting in a pile on your couch?  Alecia, over at Savings & Stewardship, has some great tips on how to keep your laundry organized!!

Be sure to check out the rest of our Simply Organized series!!

Simply Organized: Odd Things to Clean

Have you ever cleaned the coils on the back of your refrigerator or remember to clean your flatware drawer?  So many odd things that need to be cleaned!!  Renae, over at How to Have it All, has a great post on all of those odd things that we forget to clean!!

Be sure to check out the rest of the Simply Organized series and "like" Simply Saving on Facebook!!

Simply Organized: 5 Freezer Meal Recipes

 Dinnertime always seems to coincide with "I want all of mommy's attention" time so cooking dinner was stressful.  Until I discovered freezer cooking!  I love being able to pull a meal out of the freezer the night before and popping it in the oven right before dinner!  And that's it!  Amanda, over at A Few Short Cuts, shares five great freezer recipes in today's Simply Organized post!!  The Cheesy Chicken Empanadas will be going on my menu plan for next week!!

Catch up on all of the Simply Organized posts here!!

Simply Organized: Creating a Menu Plan

Do you plan your meals each week?  This is something I only started doing in the last year or so and I have found that having my meals planned and organized has been a huge time saver!  Renae, over at How to Have it All, has a great post on how to get started with menu planning!

What are some of your tips and strategies for menu planning?

Catch up on the rest of the Simply Organized series here!
And don't forget to "like" Simply Saving on Facebook!

Simply Organized: Organize Your Stockpile & More!

A series on organization just would not be complete without a post on stockpiles!!  Most of have them and many of us have at least one stockpile are that is out of control!!  Amanda, over at A Few Short Cuts, has a great post on how to organize your stockpile and keep it that way!!

How do you keep your stockpile organized?

Simply Organized: Toy Organization

Everywhere I look.....toys!  Is that how it is in your house?  There are days when it seems like I can't take a step without stepping on a toy!  Alecia, over at Savings and Stewardship, has some great ideas on how to get your toys organized and, in the process, make it easier for your kids to take care of their toys themselves! 

We live in a small townhouse so our living room is also the playroom.  We were determined to have toys in only one section of the living room but before long, toys had made their way throughout our entire living room.  To solve this problem, we bought a shelving unit with bins.  This worked great for organizing the toys in our living room.  For more ideas (and pictures), be sure to check out Alecia's toy organization post!

Be sure to check out the rest of our Simply Organized series!!

Simply Organized: Mail In Rebates

Mail in Rebates are a great way to save some money and sometimes even make a little money!  Unfortunately, it is easy to purchase something for a rebate and never fill out that rebate form!  Karen, over at Saving the Family Money, gives some tips on how keep those Mail In Rebates organized so that you aren't missing out!!

Personally, I love mail in rebates!  I try to use them to my advantage by pairing them up with promotions and deals at stores to earn even more!! 

Be sure to catch up on all of our Simply Organized posts and "like" Simply Saving on Facebook to get even more organizational tips!

Simply Organized: Office Organization Part 2 - File Cabinet

Piles of papers everywhere!!  Is that what your house looks like?  Where do you put your receipts, bills, tax information, etc?  We have a large box and all of our "must keep" papers go in that box.  We've lived at our current residence for over a year and I have yet to go through that box!!  It has gotten so bad that we just ignore it - it's easier that way!!  Well, Amanda, over at A Few Short Cuts has a great post on how to organize these "must keep" papers!  She even provides a list of how long certain papers need to be kept!! 


Head over to A Few Short Cuts and check out her great tips on getting your file cabinet organized!!

Be sure to check out the rest of the Simply Organized series!  Great tips and motivation!!!

Simply Organized: Clearing the Clutter

When my friends and I decided to do a series on getting organized and I got assigned to clearing the clutter, I was excited!  Not because I am an expert on this topic.  In fact, it's quite the opposite!  Clutter has creeped into just about every room of our house!  And our bedroom/home office is the worst!  So when this topic was offered, I grabbed it!  No excuses to leave it for another day! 

As I mentioned, I am no expert so this is definitely not a how-to!  What it is, is a glimpse at the steps that we took to clear the clutter in our bedroom/home office!

Get Rid of the Clutter: The first thing we did was go through each and every drawer, closet, nook and cranny and got rid of the things that we no longer use or need.  I couldn't believe some of the things we found - a FREE product coupon that expired in August 2010, a train schedule for Chicago (we moved to Michigan 3 years ago!), and more.  We also came across things that did not belong in our bedroom/home office.  So, what did we do with these things?  We designated four boxes to our unwanted clutter: trash, giveaway, sell, and another room.  We managed to fill up a huge bag for the trash, a couple of boxes of clothes to send to Goodwill and a box that we are saving for our garage sale this summer!

To continue to battle this unwanted clutter, we put a large plastic tub in our closet to collect any unwanted items in the future!

As you can see, we've already started filling it!!

A Home for Everything: Now that we had all of the unnecessary clutter out of our room, we needed to make sure that we had a home for everything that was left. A huge problem in our bedroom was the office section.  We had drawers that were filled with things that we no longer used so the things that we did use were now sitting on the desk, on the printer, or on the floor next to the desk.

Eek.....I know!!

After removing all of the unnessecary clutter, we organized what we had and found a place for each item!  Using trays and plastic bins, I was able to make sure that each thing (coupons, receipts, ads, blank paper, etc) had its own place.  Since I used to have my own classroom, I had all of these trays and bins on hand but they can be pretty inexpensive to buy and easy to find.

With the unnecessary clutter gone and finding a home for the necessary clutter, I think we will be able to stay on top of it in the future!  So now I challenge you!  Pick a room in your house.  Get rid of everything that is unnecessary (check out Amanda's great post for tips) and find a place for everything that is left!

Simply Organized: Letting Go of the Clutter

One of the hardest things about cleaning up the clutter is letting go of the clutter!  We always seem to have a great reason why we should keep each and every little thing.  Amanda, over at A Few Short Cuts, shares some great tips to help you let go of the clutter!

Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in our Simply Organized series!  And, don't forget to "like" Simply Saving on Facebook for all of our posts and more!!

Simply Organized: Setting Up a Weekly Chore Schedule!

Today's Simply Organized post shows us how to set up a weekly chore schedule!  This is something that Jeff and I listed as one of our goals for 2011.  We tend to leave things until they all need to be cleaned at the same time and, by that time, it has become a HUGE task! So, needless to say, I was looking forward to this post!  And I will be sharing our weekly chore schedule when we complete it!

For now, check out how Alecia at Savings and Stewardship sets up her weekly schedule!

Don't want to miss out on our Simply Organized series and more?  Be sure to "like" Simply Saving on Facebook!

Simply Organized: Office Organization Part 1

Looking for a cute way to get all those important papers, to do lists, and pictures in your office organized?  Karen, over at Saving the Family Money shows you how to make homemade, decorative bulletin boards! 

Right now our office is set up in our bedroom BUT we are hoping to move it into our spare room this month!  And these bulletin boards would be perfect!!

In addition to a detailed how-to for these bulletin boards, she shares the savings worksheet she uses to track her savings!! 

Head on over to Saving the Family Money for Simply Organized: Office Organization Part 1!!

And be sure to "Like" Simply Saving on Facebook to keep up with all of our Simply Organized posts!!

Simply Organized: 3 Steps to a Family Budget

Today's Simply Organized topic......creating a family budget!  We keep close track of our spending and earning but we really don't have a set budget.  I think the hardest part is trying to figure out what we spend.  When we think we have it, a new expense comes up!  Chris, husband of Alecia over at Savings and Stewardship, does a great job of reminding us that it is a workable budget, not a perfect budget!  Check out Simply Organized: 3 Steps to a Family Budget over at Savings and Stewardship!  You won't be disappointed!

Don't forget to "Like" Simply Saving on Facebook to get all of the Simply Organized posts and more!

Simply Organized: Coupon Organization

It's Day One of our Simply Organized series!  The first post comes from Karen at Saving the Family Money and it is all about coupon organization!  Not only does she give you step by step instructions on how to create a coupon binder, she demonstrates it on her video post!

Karen's coupon organization system is very similar to the one that I use!  And I LOVE my coupon binder!!  But different things work for different people.  Some people prefer using a coupon box, while others prefer to use envelopes.  My very first coupon organization system was a small accordian file.  If you are interested in seeing other methods, take a peek at this article!

Don't forget to join us on our Simply Saving Facebook page!  In addition to our articles, we will be posting anything organizational that we come across!

Simply Organized......

One of my goals for 2011......Getting Organized!!  And since I know I'm not alone on this one, a few of my blogging friends and I have teamed up to offer you Simply Organized, a month long series on how to get organized in just about every aspect of your life!  From budgets to the little nooks and crannies in your house that get overlooked.  Stockpiles to closets!  Coupons to Toys!  And so much more!

To help you keep up on all of the tips and suggestions, be sure to "like" Simply Saving on Facebook!!  Stay tuned.....our series will begin tomorrow!

Simply Organized Blogger Team:
Renae @ How to Have it All
Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
Karen @ Saving the Family Money
Alecia @ Savings and Stewardship