Purse and Handbag Organization

I love purses. Some weeks, I might switch purses two or three times. The issue is that I hate spending the time making sure I have everything when I'm changing them out.

Right now you can pick up pencil cases for about a dollar. I put all my make-up or first-aid type stuff in them. Changing purses is a breeze. I just grab my wallet, phone and pencil cases. I have everything I need and changing purses only takes about five seconds.

This pencil case has hand sanitizer, band-aids, triple antibiotic ointment, and anti-itch cream.

Tuesday Tip...Back to School

We are headed back to school. Here are some tips I use to keep things going smoothly in the morning.

1. Prep as much as you can the night before. Homework is done and in the backpack.
2. Put all coats, shoes and backpacks by the door.
3. Pack lunches the night before.
4. Get clothes ready the night before.
*Sign any papers or put anything that is needed in the backpack the night before (book orders, library books, etc).

I also put a checklist on the laundry room door (this it the door leading to the garage). It makes things go so much smoother in the morning and helps my children remember to check and make sure they have everything! I also list which days are library and which days are PE so they make sure they have the right materials/shoes.

Pretty much in the morning my children have to get dressed, eat, comb their hair and brush their teeth. That's more than enough most days :)

For some reason time is warped in the morning at my house. Anytime I am in a rush everything takes twenty times longer! Rather than running around like a crazy lady, I do things the night before and have a pleasant morning!

Tuesday Tip...Dryer Sheets

I found this tip on a budget board from Melissa. If you get cooked food stuck on a pan, let it soak with a dryer sheet. Sure enough, shortly after I found out about this tip, I managed to get cooked rice stuck to a pot. I let a dryer sheet soak in the pan for about fifteen minutes, and it cleaned up so easily! I never would have guessed a dryer sheet could clean up a cooking mess!

I then googled to see what else you could do with a dryer sheet…

From keeping shoes from getting too smelly to removing static from a tv screen, dryer sheets are not just for the dryer. Dryer sheets also are a great way to pick up pet hair and keep thread from tangling while sewing. Packing a dryer sheet in your luggage will keep your traveling clothes smelling fresh.

Weekend Organizing...Kitchen Drawer

Here's another fifteen minute project...clean out and organize a few kitchen drawers. I worked on my junk drawer, the drawer that holds the phone books and my silverware drawer. That drawer led to organizing my utinsil drawer. Overall it ended up taking twenty minutes and things got sorted and put where they belong.

If you do this for the next three days, most of your kitchen drawers will be organized! A great time to do this is while something is baking in the oven.

Terrific Tip Tuesday...Pencil Boxes

Pencil boxes are great organizers at a great price. Right now you can pick them up for around fifty cents!

Stock up...before they run out! Okay, I’m being kind of dramatic, but you wouldn’t believe how many uses a pencil box has. These are great for organizing children’s art supplies, but they are also great for organizing lots of other things. Feel free to comment and add to my list!
Here’s my list so far:
Colored pencils/markers/crayons/scissors/glue
Rubber bands
Post-it Notes (my mom stocks up on these and they fit great inside)
USB Cables/chargers
Paper Clips
Jewelry
Hair accessories
Stamps
Small envelopes
Spools of thread
Mementos (hotel room cards, concert tickets, etc) I have a weird obsession with hotel room cards, and I hate throwing them away, so this is perfect!
Make-up

Let's Talk Kitchens..Another Fifteen Minute Project

I decided yesterday I would tackle the cabinet where I store all my spices. I’m not a big fan of cooking, so my cabinet that has my spices doesn’t get much attention. I probably haven’t attempted to organize this cabinet in years!

I took everything out. I had a few things (bread crumbs, fried onions that you put on green bean casserole, gluten free flour and baking powder) that were almost empty and expired. I had to throw those items away. I found some SpongeBob tattoos that didn’t belong in my spice cabinet, as well as a baggie of Chuckie Cheese tickets. Those items were moved.

Then I divided my spices into “sweet and salty”. The sweet baking supplies went on the right and the cooking seasonings went on the left. On the bottom shelf I use my three-step shelf system. It works great because you can see what you’ve got in a deep cabinet. It works best if the shortest items are in the front, tallest in the back. I purchased mine years ago at Walmart.

The second shelf has cooking oils, measuring cups and other tall spices.

My top shelf has candles and matches if the power goes out. It also has my meat tenderizer and a funnel. I suppose you never know when you need a funnel!

I used a small basket usually for pencils and pens and put all my packet seasonings in it. This is a great way to store these!

Talk about not having to worry about organizing your closet...Fashion Diet

I just read this article in the New York Times. It is a fashion diet. If you did this diet, there wouldn't be much to organize!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/fashion/22SIXERS.html?_r=1

Essentially, people are limiting themselves to six clothing items and they wear them for a month. The idea is that you appreciate what you have and are not being materialistic. I believe this is a very noble endeavor, however, I couldn't last three days doing this!

I run, so I'd need running shorts and a top. That would leave me with four items left. I pretty much would be left with a pair of pants and three tops or two pairs of pants and two tops. I'm pretty sure I would want at least five shirts/tops (in addition to my running shirt). This way I could wear a different top everyday. Plus with Kansas weather, it could be cool one day and the next day hotter than heck! I'd need one long sleeve shirt and one short sleeve shirt. I'd have to hope the weather would cooperate with my fashion diet so I could alternate tops!

I don't like doing laundry THAT much! Think of all the water I'd waste washing my two shirts and two pants!

Plus, the people I work with would notice after about three days. If they didn't say something, the students I work with would sure say something! "Why are you wearing that shirt again?"

However, I could probably NOT go shopping for new clothes/jewelry/shoes for a month. Heck, I could probably make it to the end of 2010 and not buy anything new. That would be much more realistic and give me lots of time to appreciate everything in my closet!

Perhaps this weekend, I will go through my closet and make sure I'm giving all my clothes the love they deserve! I organize my tops by color and I always have my black and white clothes towards the front of my closet, which is usually where I grab from first. Perhaps I'll do a little rearranging and move the black to the back. It will be like a whole new wardrobe!