Bathroom organizing

Project 8 of 52

One of my goals for this year it to get organized. You know how it goes. You organize then the kiddos come behind you and undo your lovely work. Yep, well, it's time to re-do that work. Each room of my home needs a little attention. I live by the motto "a place for everything and everything in it's place". I hate having to search for something. That is probably because I am so incredibly busy but I digress. 

I have a few problem areas to focus on first. The rest will come throughout the year. One blogger put it nicely that it takes time to learn organization (mostly for the boys) so doing it all at once won't help to KEEP it organized. Hey, sounds good! We are giving it a go this year.

 First up...under the bathroom sinks. Mine was a mess. I don't have a lot under there but it still looked a mess.

I know there are deals at the Dollar Store but I liked these bins from Walmart.

Taking care of hygiene stuff made a HUGE difference. I tossed a lot of stuff too. 

These bins come in different widths that stack nicely together or separate. I plan to get a couple of narrow ones for the other side but they haven't come in stock yet. (Our Walmart is the only game in town and they are slow to restock). The pipes got in the way of my original plan but I am still happy with the results. The real test? My sweet hubby was pleasantly surprised at the improvement. He always comments on my projects but he was extra excited about this one. Huh, who knew. ;-)

DIY tile~ cooling the storage room

We have a small cool storage room under my stairs but it was time to fix a couple of issues.

I store the produce I bottle from our garden in there so it needs to be cold and dark.

It was also a bit of a squeeze through the doorway.

I thought if I took the insulation off the outside walls it would cool off more and I wanted to cover the floor in something. We had used the sticky tiles in our other house and they worked great! This was definitely a project that needed to be done before canning gets going full swing.

I found some nice (but cheap inexpensive) vinyl tile at Home Depot. I didn't have room to empty the storage out completely so I enlisted my boys help and did the job in 3 sections.

 First I started under the stairs. My boys were great helpers at taking out all the empty bottles. Once the tiles were laid they went to work moving the bottles back in place. 

Now for section 2. We had to move my homemade shelves, no easy task mind you. Those babies are He-avy!

Most of the tiles went down nicely. We have to do a bit of cutting but not much. I am not good at that part so thankfully dear hubby indulged me after he got home from work.

Then we finished off with the last little bit, working my way out the door.

The insulation I took off the walls gave me 8 inches more space. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but it was perfect. Now the shelves fit better and my lunch bins easily slid in between the shelf and wall. Remember that tight fit~ yep, no more.

Ahh, that is wonderful! So much better. It's amazing how little things can make big differences.

Now my bottles are no longer right on the cement. Did you know that water bottles can leach the taste of  cement into it. Uck! This is better. I plan on putting my water on pallets as well.

I don't mind the cement walls. They are outside walls and will help to keep the room cooler.

Now for a door and light switch of it's own....

Bike Helmet Rack

 I found this large but narrow piece of peg board in Home Depot's cull lumber area. They have a cart that they discount various pieces of lumber on. It is usually only $0.60. Sometimes they have great pieces on the cart. I always check it out. I wasn't sure what I would use it for but knew this peg board would come in handy. The price was literally pocket change.

I already has a 1x2 to frame the back. It turned out to be a great project for my boys to learn to use the power tools with. Simple cuts. No big deal if you cut wrong. They did a fantastic job.

 Just frame the back to give a space between the wall and the peg board. This allows the hoods to slide into place. I think the pegs were less than $5 so for around $5 I have all the helmets within easy reach.

An just above the helmets are the fishing poles. After returning from camping I set a pole up on this tool wrack and realized it was perfect for holding all the rods. Sure enough, a perfect fit. Now the rods won't get tangled with other camping gear. 

What do you think? Are you bikers in the fall? This might work for you.

Flashcards organized....

I absolutely love it when inspiration strikes unexpectantly!

I also love that my hubby doesn't question why I buy various things, sometimes I don't know until later what I plan to use them for. 

I stopped by Walgreens today and noticed several items on sale. I make a point to stock up on sale items, even school items. They had several goodies for our PTA santa shop too. I picked up some small notepads (a constant need for OCD list makers like me) then I noticed flashcards for math and reading on clearance. We had looked at them last spring but never bought any. They will work great for our road trip coming up this weekend, so I grabbed 4 different sets. Moving on down the line I picked up a few other items, including some index card holders. I didn't know exactly what I would use them for but I knew there was something wonderful waiting for them. Plus they were only $0.49. Score for cheap organization.

After getting home the boys helped unload the bags. Some stuff to the PTA box. Some to the kitchen. Some to the school supplies.....

Hours later, as I am getting ready for work, I look down at the flashcards on the counter. The boys have already tested Mr. Matthew on his letters.....A thought suddenly comes to me. "What if I put them in those index card boxes?! I bet they'll fit!"

 Downstairs I go, grab the boxes...straighten a few things...notice the boys need to clean up their games...ah-ha that's where the Windex I just bought got put. (every mom multitasks to the max right?!) ......ok, back upstairs

 No to test my theory....

 Wouldn't you know! A perfect fit. Now the cards might have a chance to survive...but how are the boys going to know which is which? Some of those cute labels I have pinned on pinterest...Nah, I don't have time for that right now. The boxes have bright labels already....I wonder....

 Ahhh, just cut around the label and use clear packing tape.

Voila! Perfect storage for our flashcards. These will be going with us this weekend.
Gotta love inspiration!

Mason Jars+Cupcake wrappers=Organized!

 What a mess. I hate getting into the cupboard for 1 thing and having 10 come out. I have been wanting to do something about this for a while. Yesterday, I broke down and took 5 minutes to do just that.... 

Take 1 pile of cupcake wrappers

 1 wide mouth mason jar....

 Place wrappers inside. Nice, neat, and tidy...

Put the lid on it nice and snug and VOILA! No more jumbled mess.

Ahhh, I feel better already!

PVC bikerack

 I love Pinterest! And I use the ideas from there A LOT. This is one of them a PVC Bike Rack. Our vehicles were getting quite the scratches from little boys moving their bikes in and out of the garage. They ride to school so bikes are always on the move. This turned out to be a great mom and sons project.

 With a $25 gift card from grandma- Thanks mom! we picked up all the supplies we needed. Then we headed home and started measuring. I had my oldest do the math to make sure we made the correct cuts. He had to work with fractions so it was good practice. Then they helped assemble it. Once we were sure we had it right we went back through and glued it all together. They were thrilled! Dad was impressed. So was our neighbor. ;-)

 We placed just inside the garage so now they just pull up and park the bikes in their slot. When they leave in the morning they can just pull straight out and be on their way. It saves lots of room and organizes the garage. But the best part is I don't have to worry about another handle bar crashing into my van!

See...Nice and Neat. Just how mom likes it!

Here is the direct link to the project.

A Clean Freeze

What could a pair of gloves....

a shop vac.....

and chunks of ice possibly have in common?

A clean freezer.

We try to purchase meat from local ranchers. It has a flavor that the store stuff can't match. It is from hormone free and grass fed animals. Plus it is much less expensive!

This year was the first year we purchased a pig. I am already LOVING it.

When I got back from the butchers I had to spend some time cleaning and organizing the freezer.

Winter is a great time to do this. You may get cold- just keep that coat in place- but you don't have to worry about anything thawing while you arrange your goods. It is also a great time to clear any ice buildup. My freezer had quite a bit.

I took a chisel and gently knocked away at the ice along the edges. I just let it fall to the bottom of my near empty freezer. The trick then came to how to get all those ice shavings out.

Out came the shop vac. If it didn't fit it stuck to the hose allowing me to toss it to the side. I pulled most of the baskets out. It didn't take to long. Most of the ice fell off in chunks. The gloves kept my fingers warm.

Before I knew it the ice was gone and my baskets could once again slide along the guides.

I organized the pork on the left side, chicken on the right and our soon to be purchased beef in the middle.

 

Larger cuts of meat all went in the bottom.

Smaller cuts and packages of ground meat went on the next row in baskets.

Popsicles, gogurts and other quick snacks for the boys go on the top. They will help to hold in the cold for the meat down below.

Organizing my freezer this way helps with temperature control. During the summer my boys are constantly getting in the freezer for ice cream and other cold treats. I don't want meat at the top exposed to the heat. It also helps with rotation and what gets eaten fastest.

Now I just need to make a bunch of pumpkin treats to use that frozen pumpkin before I get a new crop going this summer.
Pumpkin cookies or pumpkin bread? Hmm, maybe some of both.

Go ahead and clean out your freezer BEFORE your spring cleaning starts. You will be thrilled with the results. It just makes ya feel good. I love to look in my organized, clean freezer!

Jewelry organizer

I have so many projects that I have been wanting to get to over the past several months...it is SOOO nice to finally be able to do just that. In this case it also means reclaiming some of my bathroom counter space. I don't have a lot of jewelry but have been getting more of late. Earrings are one thing but necklaces are another. They are always in a tangled mess. I saw this idea on Pinterest and grab hold of it.

Just take a curtain rod or fancy towel rod; use the shower curtain hooks to hang your necklaces from.

It turned out great. My sweet hubby commented on it right away. He really liked it which made my day! Guys just don't pay attention to things like this.

I hung mine a higher so it would be above my handtowel.

Now I may need to get more jewelry and more hooks. Plus I will be wearing my necklaces more often, now that I can see them!

Simple.

Stylish.

Functional.

I love it!

Jewelry stand....

Last year I made some cupcake stands. I also made some out of glass plate (I can't believe I didn't blog it, or if I did I can't find them now) but it got me thinkin'. A dangerous pasttime I know. You see I have been needing something for my jewelry. I have seen lots of cute ideas but never got around to doing any of them. I also don't have much space to hang anything in my bathroom.

After a bit of thinkin', being careful not to hurt myself, I came up with this...

I figured I could put the cupcake stand idea to work here too. I must say I am pleased with the end result.
I found these dishes at the DI- goodwill and simply glued them together.

Now I have a small bowl to hold my earings and plates to hold my necklaces.

I love that I found matching plates and a bowl. I didn't paint them or anything.

I noticed the fumes from the superglue discolored the cups they are stacked on. I was hoping to keep the clear color but it didn't work out. Otherwise I would have painted the cups white to match the rest.

Still, I am thrilled. 

Posts of note...

I added curtains to my bedroom- finally. Now, I need something to dress up my kitchen window. With a house of boys not many of my window treatments have a soft edge, but now, my kitchen will. I saw this and had to post about it so I could find it when I am ready to sew curtains.

Curtains from Char at Crap I've made

I love organized closets! Take the side street has it perfect! My oldests closet started out great but has gone down hill. I need to redo it with something better. This closet is just inspiring.

With our trip to California creeping closer and closer this car organizer caught my eye.

We need to make use of all the space we can. Hmmm, I think I am gonna have to get the sewing machine out.

Clipboard project

Each week my friend and I get together and do some project or another. It has become something I look forward to each week. My little piece of indulgence. Just some girl time to talk and laugh and enjoy while the boys are in school.

Our plan over the next little while is geared towards organization. Appropriate for springtime don't you think? This week we opted for clipboards. One for each boy. They were already given explicit instructions that their school papers go on their clipboard, not in front of mom while I am in the middle of preparing dinner.

Having all boys can be easy in some ways. I simply pick the same style and somewhat coordinating papers and repeated the process 4 times.

I love the way they turned out. I am totally into monograms right now. It gives each of them ownership of something and a place to put their stuff.

Of course there is a draw back...

I amy not want anything covering up MY artwork. he he he!!

Since I already had my cricut out I cut some more monograms.....

One for each of the boys doors. Except the 2 little boys still share a room. That will change in the coming months but that is what is great about vinyl. It is easily taken off.

I also cut a "Welcome" sign for my front door. My friends looks amazing on her cream door. I wondered if you would notice my on my brown door but dear hubby commented on it as soon as he walked in. Yeah, he knows just what to say to make me smile! Gotta love the man!

So what do you think? Are you a fan of monograms too?
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