Organize it Mondays - Silverware drawer

We are sure hoping for a healthy Christmas at our house!  As if the 4 months of colds weren't enough... we were hit this weekend with that horrible flu that is going around.  I got it first and thought maybe we were in the clear with 2 full days and no other sickies.... then last night I was woken up (though barely asleep) at midnight with toddler puke.  I was awake most of the night attempting to ensure that a bucket made it under her mouth in time.  I was mostly successful and only had to do one load of laundry.

Organize It Mondays - Silverware Drawer

enough about the sickness... moving onto my regular Monday posts.  (I needed something small and manageable today with the events of last night) so as I was unloading my clean dishes from the dishwasher I couldn't bare to put another clean utensil in a dirty utensil tray (I had been looking at this dirty tray for weeks but had yet to do anything about it - how does a drawer that holds only clean items get so dirty anyway?)

Looking at these pictures you can't see the dirt, but the drawer was gross

There were a few problems with this drawer (though I know it is already fairly organized).  My main problem is that the silverware tray would slide into the back of the drawer and I couldn't easily get at the baby utensils I had at the back.

I pulled everything out of the tray, cleaned it (and the drawer) and took out the items we never use (mainly the chopsticks and fondue sticks).  I added in a drawer liner to prevent sliding.

I moved some of the items I had at the front of the drawer into the empty sections (from the chopsticks and fondue sticks) and placed everything back in.

The tray no longer slides and I turned the tray so the baby spoons are at the front and easier to access.

Easy-peasy and cost me nothing as I had the drawer liner on hand already.

It is amazing how long we live with something that isn't as efficient as it could be, especially something so easy to fix.

I love it and challenge you to clean your silverware tray (come on, we all know it is dirty ;)

Organize It Mondays - Menu Plan Printable

Do you hate deciding each day what to cook for dinner, breakfast, lunch or snacks?  Last minute planning is THE WORST!

Solution = Meal Planning

It doesn't necessarily make cooking more enjoyable but it does take away most 'worry' about what you are going to make.

My friend Rhonda made this awesome printable to assist with all those meals you have to plan.  I have had this menu planner for a few years now and have found it SUPER useful.  I first used it for at least 6 mths straight but it has been sporadic since (though I wish I did use it every week).

The best thing is that once you have a week planned you can reuse it with minimal adjustments.  Don't forget to add on the back of each plan a grocery list for items needed to make those meals.  You can also change things up and have one day a week where you make a new recipe that you haven't tried before.

You can print a blank form, laminate and use a dry erase marker - or keep it in hard copy form and collect them in a binder for re-use later.

you can find the menu plan here on Rhonda's blog

Organize It Monday - Diaper Caddy

Diaper Caddy

Sometimes it can be a real pain to cart those dirty bums all the way (up or down) to the change table.  Do you have supplies on another floor of your house so you can change a diaper without traveling?  Are those supplies scattered throughout a room, over a shelf or on a table top?

My solution = the diaper caddy

I purchased a cloth (wire framed) basket to hold everything I would need to change either of my daughters diapers.  *side note - having 2 in diapers = a lot of changing each day*

In this diaper caddy I have 2 stacks of diapers (3's for my baby and 4's for my 2 yr old).  I used to just keep a couple stashed downstairs on our bookshelf but they ran out quickly and I always forgot to refil them.  There is a wipeable change pad with disinfecting wipes to clean it, diaper cream, powder and wipes as well as diaper sacks to hold the dirty remnants so I can toss it up the stairs by the garage to go to the trash.

Everything fits perfectly in this basket and the entire basket fits nicely on our bookshelf out of the way.  It has come in handy on numerous occasions and keeps everything together and organized.  I love it.

Create a caddy for your child and put it somewhere you frequently 'hang out' so you don't always have to return to the nursery for a diaper change.

*if you noticed, I used a sharpie to write a note on top of the clorox wipes to make sure they weren't accidentally used to wipe bums instead of the change pad.  I imagine alcohol wipes on your bum would likely hurt ;)

Organize It Mondays - Drawers

Drawers

Do you have a drawer in your kitchen that collects papers and other miscellaneous items?  Typically near the phone?  Isn't it always in need of a little organization?

Does it look like this?

Usually this drawer contains recipts (many), recent birthday/celebration cards, confiscated toys, reward stickers/tatoos, frequently used office supplies (tape, scissors, sharpies, page markers), menu plans, health benefit reimbursement forms, small tools and I am sure more. *actually I am pretty impressed I got all of that in there*

Needless to say... it was a problem.  The drawer was no longer effective as it was overfull.  I couldn't find anything in it without other items falling all over the floor.

So I pulled everything out and sorted the items into piles.  I put away all the items that didn't belong in there, sorted through recipts (garbage and important ones to keep) and collected all of Haileys stickers, tatoos and trinkets and put them in a ziploc bag (used for potty training).  I also added in a small (childrens) shoe box to house future recipts, piled the papers together and collected the tools at the back.

For now this is a temporary fix as I am working on an organizer for our phone nook that will take some of these items.

I am happy to have it useful again and be able to find what I am looking for without having items spill out onto the floor.

I challenge you this week to find a drawer somewhere in your house that needs some organization help and clean it up.  It is a small task that will be easy to accomplish.  

Good luck.

Organize It Mondays - Toy Storage

Welcome to ORGANIZE IT Mondays.

Each Monday I will post about an organization project I have completed in my own home.  I will post 'before' and 'after' photos with a little blurb about how I made that space more efficient and tidy for myself and my family.  It could be anything from a massive room makeover (that isn't going to happen often) or a simple drawer tidying solution.

Today's task was all about TOY STORAGE!

This is our living room upstairs!  Initially I had big plans that it would be an 'adult only' space with NO toys.  Didn't happen!  Children come with way too many 'extras' that take up valuable floor space.  ie: swing, exersaucer, bouncy chair, bumbo, kiddie chair, floor mat play center (Seriously? and that is just what we have upstairs).  Secondly I find myself on the main floor of my home 95% of the day, therefore I had to cave on the toys upstairs rule. 

For the last 2 years (since baby #1 was born) I have used these large bins to hold their toys (one is all of Q's baby toys and the other are H's toys).

These present 3 very large problems.

1. They are very ugly!  They may hold a lot of toys but they are always in full view.
2. They are so big that H literally falls head-over-heels trying to get toys out of the bottom.
3. Only the toys on top really get played with.  How is she supposed to find and pull out her Buzz Lightyear if it is packed under mounds of other toys?

Solution...

A new storage unit (thank you Ikea and your Expedit shelving)

It allowed me to sort bins (large toys, other toys, baby toys, stuffies, books) and get rid of everything else that didn't fit (aka pack away for rotation later on).  I likely will trade these toys with the ones downstairs as she doesn't get to play with those often.

I think it is very practical and looks slightly classier than the open tupperware bins.

An extra bonus is that this shelf can double as a bench!!!!  Wooo hooo!  I plan on making a cushion for it over the winter.

Do you have something staring at you everyday just begging to be organized?