Teen Room ReDo! :-)

My teen daughter's room had gotten a little out of control since we moved into this house two years ago.  And when I say a little I am being nice. ;-)  Let's just say tidiness, cleanliness and organization are not as dear to her little heart as they are to mine and leave it at that.  

Did you know that one of the best ways to force ;-) reorganization and cleanliness is to paint??  Yep!  On Saturday afternoon, while my daughter was at the mall with a friend, I had had enough. I just flat out decided to stage an intervention. ;-) I knew she would never get her room looking good without a fresh start.  So...I took EV-ER-Y-THING out of her room and moved it into our living area.  And, I mean everything - off the walls, out of the closet, everything. Boy was she surprised when she got home!  On Sunday afternoon my husband painted her room "tree branch" brown - her choice.  It matches most of the rest of the house.  And I went shopping for some new bedding and curtains.  She requested white sheets and a white comforter and black curtains.   I got the t-shirt style sheets.  SO soft - she loves them.  (The curtains are the black-out kind that makes her room really dark and they will keep her room cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter as well.  This morning she had to wake up early to go to her babysitting job and she said it was so hard to get up because her room was black as night!  She also said that she had slept better last night than she has in a long time!)  She and I then spent ALL DAY yesterday wiping down her furniture, rearranging it as we put it back in her room, and going through everything before we put it back.  Nothing went back in her room that wasn't useful, beautiful or sentimental.  (We had several bags of trash and several bags to give away when we were done.)  I, of course, was in my element  sorting and purging.  My daughter not so much ;-) but she persevered.  She wanted to be finished!

I present to you, her new room.  We still have a few decorative items she'd like to get and we're searching pinterest for some cool things to do.  But, for now everything has a place and everything is in it's place.  Ahh!  Her "vision" for her room is for it to be peaceful and "earthy" so that's what we'll be looking to do.  I'm just glad it's clean and healthy again.  It was definitely worth a few days of work. :-)

This is all we have left.  A few bags of mementos, hair things, and jewelry that we have sorted and just need to decide how to display and/or store in her room.  She is enjoying her room so much already that I think even my messy girl might keep things a little more tidy!  I am hoping that we have set her up to be successful.  Here's to hoping. :-)

Tuesday Tips

I thought this was a really neat idea. It comes from "101 Ways to Cut Out the Clutter" by Emilie Barnes. I am forever making lists of projects to tackle when I have bits of time, but this way just sounds like so much more fun. Instead of going to a boring list and just doing what is next, you get to be surprised at what you are going to accomplish! ;-)

The Idea Jar

"If you can't decide what to do next to make your home better organized, try this. Cut some paper into strips and write down the various projects that need to be done on each of those strips. Place them in a jar - mix them up. When you need to decide what comes next, place your hand in the jar and select one slip of paper. If it reads, "de-clutter the pantry," that's what you do next. When you need another task go back to the jar and reach in. Bam! You have your next project! As new projects come to mind, write them down an another slip of paper and then drop them into the jar."

~from "101 Ways to Cut Out the Clutter" by Emilie Barnes

Magazine Storage for the Magazine Addicted ;-)

Most organizational books and popular television programs about organizing and decluttering are likely to tell you that one of the best things that you can do to clear out some clutter is to get rid of all those magazines laying around. The ones you never read and that are gathering dust and taking up space. "Get rid of all but the latest issues!" they tell us.

Well, that happens to be one organizing tip that I have never followed! ;-) I keep lots of my old magazines because I do refer to them for inspiration and ideas. In order to do this, though, I need to keep the magazines stored in a way that will make getting to and using the magazines practical for me.

I store my magazines in six rubber maid containers. This keeps them safe from dust or potential water damage. In the containers, they are organized by month.

I keep all the containers under the bed. They are easy to get to, but are also hidden from view. The key to making them useful is to take out a few issues of each magazine for each month.

I store these in my nightstand. I have about two dozen "September" issues in the drawer right now, just waiting to be looked through in the evenings or when I have a little extra time. The articles, crafts, recipes, and ideas will all be relevant to the season, and if I didn't get to something last year, maybe I will this time around. At the end of September, I will put these back in the containers under the bed and replace them with October issues.

My monthly Taste of Home issues are stored in two binders in the kitchen so they will be handy for menu planning.

If you are a maggazine addict like me,

I hope this gives you some ideas

for keeping your magazines around a little longer.

Happy magazine reading! :-)

I just couldn't end this post without sharing how I acquired these binders. They are very special to me. :-) I purchased them with a $20 gift certificate that Riemann Publications sent me for contributing to an article in Country Woman several years ago. It was about funny things that children say and I shared a story from our supper table when my son was about three years old. We were having spaghetti that evening, and as soon as we sat down, my son quickly reminded me that I hadn't put everything we needed for our meal on the table. He requested the "pizza sugar". It took me a moment, but I soon realized that he was asking for the parmesan cheese! ;-) We had a chuckle that night and down the road it earned Momma a gift certificate for a storage solution! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 10

location ~ kitchen

cleaned and organized ~ dishes and glasses cabinets

I think with Day 10 I will stop posting each day. I do plan to continue a small cleaning and organizing project on most days throughout the rest of April and May. I will be working in our master bathroom next. I hope you continue to tackle a small thing each day. I enjoyed reading what each of you were working on. Did you discover how much can really be accomplished in regular, small blocks of time?

Little by little our spring cleaning will bring big rewards!

What did you work on today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 9

I played too much today and didn't get to any spring cleaning! Back to work tomorrow!

Did anyone else work today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 8

Oops! The day got away from me today and I didn't get to any cleaning or organizing on my list. But that's ok - it will be there on Monday. ;-)

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's wonderful progress. :-) Enjoy all of your hard work over the Easter holiday! Spring Cleaning will be back on Monday. I hope to be finishing up in the kitchen and moving on to other parts of my home...

What did you work on today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 7

location ~ kitchen

cleaned ~ microwave

organized ~ napkins, place mats, tablecloths and aprons

What did you work on today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 6

location ~ kitchen

cleaned ~ window

organized ~ utensil drawer

What did you work on today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 5

location ~ kitchen

cleaned ~ cabinet and drawer surfaces with orange glow

organized ~ paper goods cabinet

What did you work on today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 4

location ~ kitchen

cleaned ~ inside and outside of refrigerator

organized ~ candle cabinet

What did you work on today? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 3

location ~ kitchen

cleaned and organized ~ under sink

What did you work on? Please share! :-)

Enjoy your weekend! Spring Cleaning will be back on Monday.

I hope to share my lists with you then.

Spring Cleaning Day 2

location ~ pantry

cleaned ~ shelves

organized ~ contents of rubber maid tubs

What did you work on ? Please share! :-)

Spring Cleaning Day 1

location ~ laundry room

cleaned ~ baseboards, door frames, doors, walls, light switches, and light fixtures with a damp cloth and a little Mrs. Meyers

organized ~ cookbook cabinet

What did you work on? Please share! :-)

Ok! Let's get ready for Spring Cleaning at Heritage Schoolhouse! :-)

I'm a busy stay at home, homeschooling mom with lots of commitments, responsibilities, and wonderful activities as part of my life. I know you are busy, too, whether you also home school, or work full time, or have several children in public school, or are retired and busy with grandchildren, or maybe several of these things at the same time...a busy life is a fun life! But, it also means you realistically don't have a week or two at your disposal to completely spring clean your home top to bottom with no distractions. (If you do - you go girl! :-) Here at Heritage Schoolhouse we are going to spring clean a little bit each day, baby steps, one step at a time! :-) This is doable! I can do it! You can do it! :-)

If you would like to join in, each day we will be cleaning one item and organizing one item. Sometimes your cleaning and organizing item might be the same ~ for example the pantry that needs to be organized and the shelves wiped down. Or you might clean and organize separate items ~ launder all the curtains in one room and organize a drawer. Whatever you do, each day's work should take approximately one hour total and not much more.

Now, where is this extra hour miraculously going to come from?! ;-) You have to create this hour! And you can! The hour can come from getting up an hour earlier than your usual rising time. Or, if you're not a morning person, you can use the hour that you might usually be on the computer or maybe record your television programs, watch them over the weekend, and use that hour. The point is that we all rarely have hours at a time, but we can use a little time every day to reach our goals!

So, today, take a little time, go through your home and make two lists ~ one for things that need to be cleaned. For example ~ windows washed, curtains laundered, ceiling fans dusted, light fixtures cleaned (you can do all the ones in your entire home or just a particular room, depending on how many windows, curtains, etc. that you have.) Make another list of areas (small areas!) that need to be decluttered and/or organized. Examples ~ a specific drawer, a bookshelf, a cabinet. You can assign these items to a particular day or just leave your lists as is and tackle one item of your choice from each list each day.

Now we have a plan! So much of the success of getting things accomplished is in the planning part. Plan the work ~ work the plan! :-) We will only be working on weekdays, taking the weekends off for fun time (or catch up time if you need it!)

Who's in?? How many items do you have on each list? I don't have the technical savvy to have a Mister Linky ;-), but please feel welcome to share your progress in the comments each day or share a link to your blog in the comments, if you are blogging your progress. I will post a spring cleaning update each evening. Tomorrow, April 1st, will be Heritage Schoolhouse Spring Cleaning Day 1. What will you be working on tomorrow?! :-)

Living Room Organization

I am participating in this month's "Organizing Round-Up" contest hosted by Organizing Junkie. The month of December focus is on living rooms. I worked in the tv area of our living room on two spots that were needing attention.

Our Wii equipment organization left a lot to be desired. ;-)

And that is because, there was no organization! Everyone was just putting things where ever! I needed to make some "homes". A place for everything and everything in its place. :-)

Mr. H. suggested using baskets to store the controllers and the games. (What he actually said was ~ "Why don't you go buy some baskets to help organize this?" Now, if that's not speaking my love language, I don't know what is!)

Keeping the controllers in a basket will free up the small drawer

to store the remote controls and instruction manuals.

Our entertainment cabinet was also in quite a disarray!

I took every thing out, sorted through what I wanted to keep
and then arranged nicely what was left.
And now we have room to grow! ;-)

Thank you Laura for hosting the round-ups! I have enjoyed participating this year. :-)

Neat New Book

"One Year to an Organized Life - From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good" by Regina Leeds

The author divides getting organized into 12 monthly sections with four weekly tasks. The first week of every month is devoted to journaling and understanding the psychology of disorganization. The remaining three weeks of every month are for tasks like creating a bedroom sanctuary, packing wisely for trips, and creating a festive holiday atmosphere. Full of useful information for everyone, from the person who needs simply to clean a messy desk to the person requiring a whole new approach to life; highly recommended for all libraries.

Yay! Organizing by the season - I love it! I am SO starting this in January! :-)

A Perpetual Shopping List

If you think about it, most of the things we buy at the store, we buy over and over again. After awhile, I got tired of writing basically the same lists for the grocery and wal-mart every week. So, I made a master list on the computer. But after awhile, I got tired of printing the same list every week to check things off on. ;-) One day, I decided to put my list in a sheet protector, use a dry erase marker and now I am a happy girl. You can do this, too!

All you need are sheet protectors, scissors, a glue stick or super glue, clothes pins, magnets, a dry erase marker and a paper clip. After today, you will never have to write out a grocery list again!

The first thing you need to do is take some time to make a list of things you routinely buy at the store. Leave some extra space to add items each week that you only buy occasionally or seasonally. Print your lists out on a sheet of paper with little boxes for check marks if you like.

Slide your list into a sheet protector and as you run out of items during the week and when you make your weekly menu plans, simply check of the items you need with a dry erase marker.

I have four sheets total - one for wal-mart/drugstore items and three for the grocery. It is nice if you organize your grocery list by category and then list your categories according to your store's layout. My list includes - bakery, produce, pantry items, canned goods, refrigerator and freezer.

Make your self some little clips to hang your lists on the fridge. Glue a magnet to a clothes pin and you're all set.

When you are ready to make your weekly trip to the store, add any extra items you might need, paper clip your sheets together and off you go!

And guess what? As you put items in your grocery cart, you can wipe the check mark off! :-)

Comfort

"It doesn't matter what you have, someone else always has something bigger or better. And those decorating magazines can often give us great ideas but also a dose of the "gotta have it" syndrome. Maybe it's time to take a little break. Instead of focusing on "home beautiful", concentrate on what makes your home warm and caring. A place where you can express your God-given talents. No mater how little or how much you have, you can experience the results of a godly home. Make it more of a sanctuary in the best sense. A place of security, trust, and comfort. That comes from you. There's no decorating scheme in the world that can replace the role you play in your home!"

from "The One Minute Home Organizer"
by Emilie Barnes

Inspiration

"Have nothing in your house

that you do not know to be useful,

or believe to be beautiful."

~William Morris

from "Creating a Beautiful Home" by Alexandra Stoddard

"Have a time and a place for everything, and do everything in its time and place, and you will not only accomplish more, but have far more leisure than those who are always hurrying, as if vainly attempting to overtake time that had been lost."

~Tryon Edwards

from The One Minute Home Organizer by Emilie Barnes

Moving a Mountain - One Small Stone at a Time :-)

Yeah! I tackled "my pile" in the garage! The one I've been putting off for far too long. What a difference a few hours can make when you set your mind to it. :-) My husband has great plans for organizing our garage, but he has been hindered by a 6 foot by 4 foot pile of "my stuff" that I needed to make some decisions about - should I store, should I give away, or should I throw away? When I started, I made sure to round up my "sorting buddies" -

~ trash bags, note cards, hole punch,

sharpie, and twist ties ~

After a few hours and some concentrated effort

I present the results -

2 bags and 1 box for the attic, 1 bag of trash,

and 11 bags that will be leaving my home!

(I giggled when I thought about having an "I'm Outta Here!" shelf like Laura, the Organizing Junkie, suggests. For this pile I would need an "I'm Outta Here!" room.)

The "outa here" bags -

4 bags to Goodwill (men's clothes, children's clothes, toys, and household items)

4 bags to my sister (boy's clothes, girl's winter clothes, girl's summer clothes, and toys)

1 bag of borrowed girl's clothes I'm returning to a friend

1 bag of boy's clothes I am passing on to another friend

1 bag of books to return to the church library

Whew!