Organizing A Small Pantry

Warehouse Clubs are my friend; it takes a lot of food to keep 6 people happy and fed! But when you don't have a big pantry (or much extra storage space in general) it takes some organization to make it work. To make the most of my space, I used stackable baskets from Target (which I had made in Birmingham), as well as  an over the door pantry organizer from Amazon. 

I recommend as much as you can take out of boxes and bags, do it! Pour your flour, oats, sugar, etc. into containers. Take those little instant oatmeal packets from the box and put them in a bin. Open granola bar boxes and snacks and dump them into a "Snack Bin" for easy access for the kids (see the bottom bin).

To make the labels I bought the cardboard cutouts fromHobby Lobby and laminated them with individual sheets that I got from there too. I hole punched them and used some ribbon to

tie them onto the baskets. Simple and easy.

To label the flour and sugar containers I used rub on letters that I found at Hobby Lobby too.

This over the door pantry works really well BUT, I recommend using two to four
medium size rectangle command hooks placed UPSIDE DOWN to hold it in place
and keep it from swaying any when the door is opened and closed. 

Back to School Organization

With school in session and so many papers coming in and out we have to have a way to stay organized. I put together this wall as our command area, so everything has a place and kids can be responsible for their own stuff.

Backpacks

I used extra large command hooks for the backpacks. Are they the most stylish...no, but they hold up well and are movable if need be. And there are no holes in the wall! The stickers above the backpacks are dry erase wall stickers that I got off of Amazon. I thought they would be fun to write cute messages or reminders, such as PE today, on them. 

Folder and Agenda Organizer

I bought this wall organizer off of Amazon. Its hard to find one with four slots, but this one is perfect! The school gives every child an agenda book which must be brought home nightly, and signed for the younger ones. and of course, we have homework and folders. So everyone can unpack themselves and I can go through their stuff and put back in the cubby what goes back to school. In the morning they know to take everything that's in their cubby and put it in their backpack. 

Calendar

The kids like to know whats going on, so I put our family calendar in that spot as well. Its color coded so they know who has activities each day. I of course still use my trusty COZI app for my main calendar. I know I have raved about that app on here before; of your in need of a calendar for your device check it out. 

Bulletin Board

I have the Bulletin board there for school newsletters, birthday invites, etc. Those things that need easy access.

Pictures

My sister-in-law got me those two frames. They make it easy to display the kids artwork. And of course, they love having it up! It can hold up to 100 papers, so you can just keep adding work to them. 

That's our little corner of school organization this year. Cheers to an organized and  FUN school year everyone!

Organizing our new home

As most of you know I LOVE to organize. It brings me JOY...seriously, it makes me giddy! Our new home was just the project. We moved from a 4400 sq foot house in Alabama to a 2600 sq foot house in Florida. A lot had to give. There are no basements, which is a huge difference from Ohio and Alabama. But location, location, location...we are minutes from the Gulf, the weather is gorgeous year round and there is so much to do. 

Our house is a pretty open floor plan. We have living, dining and eat in kitchen all in one open area. We decided to make our dining room into an office, since we have the eat in kitchen space and outdoor space for eating. And we needed a place for the computer and homework. I rearranged and rearranged and pondered and stared until I came up with this configuration. And I have to say after living with it for a couple of weeks now, this was absolutely the right decision for us. Much more practical than another dining space.

Our entry and office area flows into the loving area. We have no basement, no playroom, no rec room or any other rooms for the kids to be in besides their bedrooms. BUT I hate toys all over the main living space. 

We were at Rooms to Go Outlet and spotted this gem of a piece for this space. A coffee table with storage, extra seats, and the top can be turned piece by piece to make a tray. So we have it filled with toys in one half and games in the other. It makes for easy clean up and storage. And its the perfect place to all sit around and play a game. We can use the stools for sitting or relaxing and putting up or feet. It really is a perfect piece!

The girls are sharing a room again. We had to get rid of a lot of toys and those we didn't we divided up between the kids rooms. The drawers under the bed are filled with their toys and legos. Again, easy clean up and storage. They only brought with them to Florida what fit in the drawers.

The girls love their dress up, so I hung them up with command hooks. easy access and easy to hang back up. Their accessories are in the trunk below.

Another place of opportunity was the girls closet. Two girls, lot so clothes, accessories and dance and gymnastic wear. I got a second hanging bar for under $10 from Amazon (love me some Amazon Prime!) and that makes for easy extra hanging space. The stackable drawers are an easy solution for the dance and sports wear. 

And last but not least..the arts and crafts. We have so much!! I got some bins from the dollar store and reused some drawers that I already had and sorted everything out. I found the blank label template online (http://www.sonyadehartdesign.com/free-printable-chevron-labels-from-sonya-dehart-design.html). I printed them out and then hand wrote the labels tailored to what I had in each bin and I taped them on the inside.

  

I made the craft table/ desk for the girls out of an old kitchen table from college that had been painted red. I sanded and repainted with the pink and white and then polyurethaned it for easy wipe off and clean up. I bought the little bins for crayons, markers and pencils from the Dollar Spot at Target.

Carson has the the most toys since he is the youngest. His trucks are all lined up, the castle on the floor, two bins for dress up... lots of floor space for his big stuff.

I made his closet into toy storage. He doesn't need the hanging space. The bins are from Target and I used a dry erase marker to label them.He can easily grab what he wants to play with and though it back into a bin for clean-up. What I have to let go is that their rooms are going to be messy. Since there is no other place to play, I have to take deep breaths and ignore it and they just have to clean it all up every couple of days and start fresh, so they have room to play.

We only have one small storage area in the house. A BIG difference from previous homes. Everything from extra kitchen supplies, paper towels, vacuum, clothes, suitcases, etc has to fit in the one under the stair space!  

I had wrapping paper and bags in 4 bins!!! So granted, that needed some cleaning out for sure. I ordered an over the door pantry holder from Amazon. It just snaps together...so easy! And made this into my wrapping paper storage on the inside of the door to the storage closet. I dod fin that I needed to use some extra command hooks to give it some extra support and stay in place. Not a big deal really. It worlds fabulous so far and doesn't move an inch.

I still definitely have some work to do, especially the garage. But its coming together. And sometimes you have to live with it for a while to see how you are going to best utilize space. Back to school is coming SOON...ACK!!! So the next project is figuring out our backpacks and lunch boxes and important paper spots. I'll keep you posted on how I organize all of that shortly.

New Year 2015 Kids Goals

As we rang in the New Year yesterday (with an awesome Buckeyes win, I might add!) we worked on setting GOALS, not resolutions, with the kids. I guided them on how to make S.M.A.R.T. goals and then they each came up with their own list. I think they did a GREAT job of coming up with REALISTIC and ACHIEVABLE goals that meet where they are going, and what they want to do this year. 

It was a fun activity and I am hoping this keeps them ENERGIZED and EXCITED about WORKING HARD to achieve things. 

LOGAN

1. Trip to Ohio

2. Run twice a week

3. Read 5 long chapter books

4. Dont loose more than 2 tickets a week

5. Do a volunteer project once a month

MELINA JO

1. Trip to Ohio

2. Read 30 chapter books

3. Run a 5k

4. Draw a better portrait

5. Get all 3 splits

6. Backhandspring

7. Make Dance Team

8. Learn to cook

MEEKA

1. Trip to Ohio

2. Learn to read better

3. Run faster

4. Run a mile

5. :earn to Skateboard

6. Do more art at home

CARSON

1. Learn to write all letters

2. Swim the whole way across the pool

3. Score goals in soccer

4. Do a ropes course

5. Go to Ohio to see Ava

Granola Bar Recipe

Today, among other thing (like having to go get Alabama tags for my car- nothing like waiting until that last minute) was Project Pantry Clean Up. For those of you who don't know me well yet, I am freak organizer. I like to have everything in its place; and the pantry needed a clean up and re-organization today.

After cleaning it all up, I threw some granola bars together and I thought I'd share the recipe again. These are a staple in my house; in fact Melina Jo will not even eat a store bought granola bar. We mix up the flavors. Sometimes its cinnamon raisin, but today was peanut butter chocolate chip. The recipe makes a whole 13x9 pan, and it seriously only takes me as long as the oven takes to heat to throw in ingredients together.

Granola Bars
2 C Rolled oats
3/4 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Wheat Germ
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 C Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 C Honey
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 C Oil
2 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 C Raisins or Chocolate chips or dried fruit of any kind
(and today I added 1/4 cup PB2)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 13x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Mix well using your hands. Pat mixture evenly into pan.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. DO NOT allow to coll completely or they will be to hard to cut. Let cool completely to set.

ENJOY!!

Kitchen Command Center...keeping life semi-organized

How do you keep 4 kids organized? 

Honestly I'm not sure I always do, but I certainly try...My OCD would have it no other way! 

I get a lot of questions about how I organize things, so I'll share with you my system in this house. The layout of your house has a lot to do with how things work for you, so what works for me, might not work for you.

This is my KITCHEN COMMAND CENTER. The kitchen is the heart of the home, so everything stems from here. I have an office and an entry way, etc. but this is where all the action is, so this is the best place for most things to stem from. 


Our calendar, my computer, pens, pencils, envelopes, kids school folders, etc...anything important or essential is in this area.


After the kids unpack, they bring their school folders up and put them in the magazine rack there next to the pen/pencil organizer. From there we can go through them. There papers that stay home, but are NOT IMPORTANT get put in the wire basket and we go through them every weekend. That way they can show dad what they have been working on etc. 

Anything that is important, I take out and try to take care of right away, OR it goes in the little pocket in my desktop organizer. I know things in there need attention. 

The pad of paper is ALWAYS sitting there next to my computer. Its my go to TO DO. I jot down anything that comes to mind that needs to be done, whether it be call doctor or buy eggs.

The bottom magazine racks have coupons (think pizza and Chinese), recipes, and school things like math games, workbooks, etc that stay at home. 

These ticket jars are our behavior system. Each child starts the week with 40 tickets. Anytime they don't listen, talk back, etc. etc. a ticket get s taken away. If its a large offense, 5 tickets get taken away. Believe me, they do NOT like to see tickets disappear!!

At the end of the week they can "shop" in the family store. There are just little goodies and they all have "price tags" on them labeled with the number of tickets it cost to get them. They look forward to the family store because its little treats they don't get on a regular basis.

On the wall is our family calendar. I use the COZI app on my phone religiously, but this way we can see what is going on at a glace. Its color coded per kid, so they like to look too and see what they have going on that day.

We have a weekly calendar and I just write chore for the kids on there daily. 

And then the folder is just things that need to go down stairs to the office, like mail, or things that need filed, etc. 

And then I just have this bulletin board where I put birthday invites, doctor notes, whatever I might need. 

I keep the school lunch calendar and each child's weekly newsletter on the fridge.

I had this piece made. I needed some kind of organization for the kids coats, backpacks, shoes and sports stuff. It has worked wonders! I LOVE IT!! It pretty much spooks for itself. This is located right inside where we come in from the garage. Which is on the lower level.

So there you have it. Thats how I try to keep everyone organized and not forget that it is spirit week and book fair in the elementary school and dance observation week and we have cub scout snack and an orthodontist appointment, etc.....

Life Organized

 I get a lot of questions on how I stay organized…these days I don't know if I do… 

I am enjoying my new real estate career, but it sure has thrown a curveball into my life in that it is very unpredictable; so I am learning more and more to go with the flow. But my OCD for organization still is hiding inside…So I will share with you what I do to try to stay organized in this crazy life!

This is my "Command Center"
I do my work for home, school, real estate and everything else from here.
This tiny space with my big red exercise ball (Its what I sit on instead of a chair)
is where I spent a lot of time.

I have a big master calendar in our kitchen.
Its color coded for each member of our family.
That way the kids can easily pick out and see what they are doing that day

In addition to the calendar in our kitchen I use the COZI App religiously.
It automatically sync's to my phone, computer and I-pad and Michael's. This eliminates the 6pm, middle of chaos, phone calls to ask what soccer field someone is playing on - just look in COZI!
I use it for shopping list too- so convenient!

Speaking of organization on my electronic devices…I am super OCD about my email. If I have a page of emails it stresses me out. I only keep what is necessary for "action or response" in my inbox; otherwise its filed. I have a "folder" for everything.

At my desk I have a bin for each child.
And each child has a folder for each activity.
That way when I need information on something I can hopefully find it.

I also have folders and bins for all of my "activities"

I have a bulletin board where notes and invitations
 and things that are of importance right now get hung.

When the kids come home from school they have a list of things that must be done before they can do anything else. They know what to do, backpacks, lunch boxes, school work, etc. They put their schoolwork in here that is finished and we go through it once a week, and they show daddy their stuff, and then I pitch or save…mostly pitch….

This is a new thing I am trying this year and so far so good.  It hangs on the door to the garage.
At the beginning of each week I am writing what each child needs each day (dance shoes, water bottle, soccer ball, etc) and then they are responsible for checking it and getting their own stuff. I have to much to do and to much to think about to constantly say, "Do you have your_______?"
And with a daughter who would forget her head if it wasn't attached, this can get frustrating real quick!! I am hoping this will start to help them think for themselves and remember….and then when they don't have something the only person they have to blame is themselves.

The kids each have a backpack hook and I have each of their school specials lists and school calendars, that tell us if they should bring in something square etc., next to their school bags.

They each have a hanger too. That way there is no excuse for "I can't find…."

This is certainly not foolproof but it helps me function and get out the door
and places on time…most of the time!

Happy Organizing!

Homemade Hair Bow Holder

The girls hair bows were overflowing and I although we had a make shift holder, it just wasn't holding up. So I decided to make one from some stuff we had. The sign is a Melissa and Doug sign, which Melina got for her birthday. She had been itching to out her name on it and out it up, but we were not sure of the right spot. So she and I put the letters on it and decorated it with a couple of additional heart stickers that we had. Then I hot glued 2 pieces of ribbon to the back and viola…a very cute hair bow holder. 

And we have the perfect spot now…right next to the girl’s dressing table!

Organizing Arts and Craft Supplies

I am still on an organizing kick. I have been meaning to get the Arts and Craft supplies more organized for some time now; so the past couple of days Melina and I have worked on this project. We got $1 bins that all match and sorted all of the supplies out. Then we labeled. It is not anything super fancy; I just printed labels from the computer and taped them on. But everything is organized, and I am hoping it will make everything easier to find and easier to clean up. Maybe the kids won't take everything out at once….maybe.

The view of the whole art supply shelf in the playroom

A few of the bins

This shelf is behind the art supplies shelf,
behind the wall in the storage room.
It holds lots of craft kits and extra supplies.

And yes, I am that mom who has a bin of stuff…
just in case!

Hall Closet Organization

I have been itching to organize something…I know, I know, I think its a sickness too, but I am learning to live with it. The the hall closet has been on my short list, so today while at the dollar store I picked up a couple of bins and in 20 min this afternoon I knocked this off my list.

Check it out, simple, effective and inexpensive.

The whole picture

Top Shelves

Middle Shelves

Bottom Shelves