Getting the Playroom Organized

We have an extra room in our house that has been commandeered by our son.  It does serve multi uses and eventually I would love to add some sort of space saving pull out couch/bed.  But keeping this space organized and just clean in general is kind of a pain.  I think, number one reason is because it has so many uses and becomes the catch all room most days.  Its like the room version of the junk drawer.

So, I have a mission to give this room some purpose and organization.  Not too long ago we had a really sweet friend give us some unused shelves she had - they were the perfect thing for adding some  organization space in this room. (Here is a quick before pic) Eventually I would love to paint them, but that is just not on the top of my list of must do projects right now.

We gathered up all of the bins we had around the house and began to work on getting all of those toys, games, etc corralled. {I really think someone needs to get Silas another car.}   This helped, but it still wasn't quite working....see overflowing bins above.  And because it wasn't working, we were not as diligent as keeping it up.  I have really found that taking your time with putting together a space is important.  You find out what works, what doesn't and what the space is really being used for.  

Sometimes organizing can seem expensive.  I love all of those beautifully organized spaces I find on pinterest but after doing a quick look at prices on organizational items, you get quickly discouraged.  For me, that's where patience and waiting a space out is important. Use what you have for a while until you discover what works and then slowly pic up the pieces that will really pull it all together.  A few weeks ago I was able to grab a few more bins for the space - and they were on sale!  Patience paid off. 

Silas really loved helping sort everything out and was such a great help!  Getting the kids involved in the process seems to help them keep the process going!  Another thing I did was walk around my house and find a few bins that weren't really being that utilized that I could move to this room.  I found a matching white bin right in my own house that worked great.

Let me just say, these fabric storage cubes from Target are awesome - they hold so much!  Plus now the shelves are beginning to have some uniformity - which I like.

I thought about labels on the bins but honestly Silas is really great at knowing what goes where.  After getting more organized in his spaces has spurred me on to make a little chore chart for him to work on everyday.  Its not huge but gives him some responsibility.  He looooves it.  He can't wait to do chores. I will enjoy every second of this.  I know it will be short-lived.

There is still much to do in the space but little by little its becoming more cohesive and organized.  Next up is hanging the curtains I have had for over a year!

Getting Organized: Bedside Drawers

Today I have another installment of project - get organized.  Our bedside drawers were pretty much a disaster, overrun with junk, papers and cords.  It was time to tackle both and get them clean, organized and functional.  

So this getting the house organized thing has become a goal of mine for this year.  I've chosen to take it slow and do it right - tackling one drawer or cabinet at a time.  I think it has really helped me to not get overwhelmed and frustrated and also stay on track.  So far we have conquered our kitchen junk drawer, organized our small office space and created a shared and pretty organized space for our laundry, craft and utility supplies.  Things are looking good and we are liking the new organized spaces.  Ok, so on to our before & after shots of the bedside drawers...

So much better right?  So like all the others spaces I have tackled, I started this the same way - taking all of the junk out and sorting through it.  Its always amazing to me how many things can just be thrown away.  After sorting and throwing away the useless junk then I begin putting things in the right places and I'm usually left with much less than I began with.  Next its time to line the drawer with pretty paper (this one is a wrapping paper from Target) and then finding the right arrangement with my new organizers.  The blue and pink containers were from the Target dollar spot, the white ones were left over from a pack I got at Homegoods for my desk and the clear ones I found at Homegoods as well.

We had a ridiculous amount of cords in these drawers so I needed to come up with a way to keep them all corralled and neat.  I just simply used a few binder clips to keep each cord together and designated one of my containers for all of the cords.  

Its amazing how much extra room you have after you purge and organize.  We always think we don't have a lot of space and then after you finish you realize you have plenty - we were just not properly using it.

I also added a little catch all tray for Justin for things that might be in his pockets and such.  

It's so nice to know where to find things now.  The cord situation is so much better - no more searching and searching for that specific charger or usb that you can't find.  I always thought that staying organized would be impossible for us but it has been amazingly easy.  Once you get going and figure out the best methods and function for your home it really isn't difficult.  I'm beginning to realize that organization is really attainable for everyone.  Just check out those before & afters again.

So I'm kind of thinking my next move is going to be tackling the kitchen cabinets.  Its a much bigger task but one that needs to be done.  

What is next on your list of organizing?  Any kitchen organizing going on? Share with me!

Have a fantastic day!

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Home Office Organization - Sorting, Files & Clutter

The organization crusades of 2013 are up and running and I have a little update to share today.  So far, we have conquered our kitchen junk drawer and I have been getting my craft supplies in order and today I have begun work on our home office space.  Now, let me stop there for a minute - a small house = no home office space - so when I say home office, for us that means a little desk in the kitchen and a few small spaces that we designate for certain things (most of which we are creating now).  So because of limited space we have to get kind of creative as to how we organize and manage some things.  I honestly haven't really spent much time thinking about this until now - so its a work in progress for me.

I am pretty much starting from scratch in the form of home office organization - its pretty bad really but we are making great strides.  First up in the battle is our little secretary desk that sits in our kitchen - it was a complete wreck and a place that I was pretty much avoiding due to over stuffing and clutter.  Here it is in all of its glory...

First thing I had to do was just get everything out and then come up with a sorting system to get it all in order.

I used some extra storage bins I have to use as sorting stations for all the the paperwork, bills, etc that we had shoved in the desk.  I also had a bag for trash (which there was a lot of).

I also sorted out all of the little knick knacky things and instead of waiting until later to worry about it I immediately began to put away everything that didn't belong in the desk to its rightful spot.  This is so essential in getting organized...make it a no procrastinating zone while you are working.

Just so you can see that I did have a spot for everything - here ya go.  The "keep" things are going back into the desk and everything else went to its correct location.

Ok, back to the paperwork.  Since we don't really have a home office room or very much space I wanted to keep our filing system simple, easy and functional.  Since this is all new territory for us, just getting something in place like this is huge - maybe it will develop into a great system down the road but I'm ok with this for now.  

So I found these pretty files at Target and a pretty magazine file at Office Max and started there.  After I had sorted through all of the paperwork I gave each paper pile a file folder and label - making sure to file away in date order - woohoo for organization!   All of these file folders are filled with items that we might need easy access to and also will need to be quickly filed away.

Oh, I used some washi tape for the labels, a cute little trick that Jen from I heart Organizing shared on her blog.  I love that it makes it pretty (i'm all about that) and the washi tape is easily removable so if you need to change out a file its easy to do.

Ok, so not the most exciting project, but a long overdue one.  The feeling you get from de-cluttering and organizing really is so great - and the fact that you can make it pretty and fun is just an added bonus.  This job was a little more time consuming than our junk drawer but well worth it - honestly it was one of those, I wish I had done this a long time ago things.

I have more organizing to do in our desk and office areas so I will share them soon!  Happy Organizing!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

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Organizing Your Junk Drawer

So I did it, I began the great organization crusades of 2013 in our house over the weekend.  It has begun with the cleaning and organizing of one kitchen junk drawer - but that one project has given me much motivation and energy to take on the chaos of clutter that lurks around the hidden places.  

Here's the thing, it was super easy and cost very little money.  It didn't take that long at all to clean out, purge, organize and make pretty this junky little drawer.  Here's its tiny journey...

The best way to begin a project like this is to start by taking out everything that is packed in.  As I pulled things out I made little piles and gathered similar items together.  I even got organized with this part and made sticky note labels for my gatherings.  We learned in the process that we had a crazy amount of batteries shoved in this drawer, along with a thousand pens and pencils, remotes that don't belong to anything we own and I found the sunglasses I have been missing the past three months - lots of scores here.  Everything I pulled out did not go back in the drawer.  Some things were moved to their rightful spot, some things were just trashed and some things will receive a new space to live in the future (its all a work in progress over here).

This was a sight that hasn't been seen in a while, an empty and clean drawer!

Ok, for my attack plan I found these little bins in the Target dollar section.  Those bigger bins were two for a dollar - so I spent a total of $6 on this drawer project.

After everything was cleared out I decided on my strategy for organizing.  I knew it had to be functional, I knew I couldn't leave a lot of open room for future shoving and clutter and I knew I wanted it to be pretty.  For me, if its pretty I will be more likely to keep it organized.  So I grabbed some polka dot paper I had and measured and cut it to fit the size of my drawer and sprayed a little adhesive to keep it in place.  Next I just adjusted the storage bins for optimal usage - giving a specific place for everything to live.

Then I started filing up the space with what I wanted to keep in the drawer.

As I filled everything in I decided I wanted some labels - I think that will help keep us accountable for keeping things in certain places and not junking it up again.  

I grabbed a label maker and some washi tape I had on hand and made cute little labels for my bins.  I haven't decided yet on labeling every single little spot but for now the larger ones needed it.

And here is what that junky drawer is looking like now....so much better right??!!

Just for fun and because everyone likes a good before and after, here's our junk drawer before...

And after...

I was so excited about how easy and inexpensive this project was.  Anyone of you could totally do this!  I think I might have caught the organizing bug and I can't wait to get more of our spaces looking more like this.  

What kind of organizing projects are you guys tackling?  Share with me!

Have a great week!

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Pretty Organized Drawers: Inspiration

I think its time for some inspiration and motivation.  Yesterday I shared with you our tucked away clutter abounding chaos thats hidden away in our drawers and cabinets. Now its time to get our behinds in gear and conquer that clutter.  Organized spaces can not only be functional but also pretty too.  I love looking at pretty organized office spaces or a fun, pretty and functional cabinet or pantry. So here are a few pretty, functional and organized drawers to help propel us into action and give us some ideas.

Up first is an organized drawer from Pretty Planning.  I love her post about office organizing and her office space is super pretty! She shares all of her sources too, which I love.

Next is a colorful pretty drawer found on BHG.  I love the simple labels and pretty paper. You can a find the printable's for both labels from the link.

You can't talk about organizing without mentioning I Heart Organizing.  I.love.her.blog.  Really, if you haven't checked it out - go do it now!  She is the queen of making things not only organized and functional but beautiful too!  I love her entryway drawer below.  So many great tips and ideas here!

This last one if from Apartment Therapy.  Its so simple and pretty to me.  How wonderful would it be to open up this drawer and find exactly what you need?  I can't even imagine.

So I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling really inspired now.  I'm off to go purge and organize some more!  Hope you guys have a great weekend!

PS- I know these blogs would love for you to pin their great photos, just make sure you pin from their site and not mine!