On organizing

{Dear Spring, please come soon. We're ready and waiting!}

We've been in the house now for a year. When we first moved in, things got put where I thought I might want them, where I thought they'd work best. It seems like I've been moving things around ever since. Some day, everything will have it's perfect place. In the meantime, I've been working on a bit of organizing. ~ My least favorite part of my "job" is planning meals for everyone. If it were just me, I'd likely choose yogurt with berries and granola for dinner. With two kids and a husband, that doesn't work so well. I finally put together five weeks of menus. So far, I haven't used a week as it's laid out, but it helps so much to have the list available to pick and choose from. If I need a recipe for what we're having, they are numbered on the menu page and the corresponding recipe with shopping list is found in the three-ring binder after the menus. My second binder is for coupons. I've always clipped coupons, but I've mostly left them at home in a basket, waiting to expire. Now, they are organized in card holders by type. I write my grocery list on a full piece of paper so I can put it in the front of the binder while I'm shopping. It's been so nice to actually use the coupons I spend the time clipping! And it's so very nice to save money.

After the coupons are full page protectors with "eating out" coupons...all in one place.

I have a lot of stamps. Many have been given to me, and some I purchased. They've been stored in stacks or tubs...never in a way that I can actually see what I have. Last month, I took some time and made a binder for my stamps. First, I went through my stamps and kept only the ones that I could see myself using. Then, I stamped every image from every set, numbered them on the page and then...

...put the same number on the stamp set case. Now I can look through my book for the set or stamp I want, and then go directly to the stamp set in the tub. If anyone needs a stamp set to borrow, give me a call!

One thing I've complained about in every house we've ever lived in has been the lack of closet space. Well, no more. Each of the kids' bedrooms have full closets, and our bedroom has two. There are three closets in the hallway. One is for the kids' games and activities, the second is for cleaning supplies, medicine, the vacuum, the kids' hamper. The third, well, it's a mess. Half of it is shelving and the other half has a rod for coats.

(This is why these doors are always shut when company comes!)

Right now, it's holding the recycling, storage tubs, the kids' play-doh, small appliances, phone books...a little of everything! It's just around the corner from the kitchen...

....which has very little cabinet space. Just after moving in, we added these two stand-alone cabinets to act as our pantry. They work, but I really don't like them. As we've been planning our painting, etc for the kitchen this spring, my thought was to have Bob build some low cabinets to go along this wall to store our canned goods, etc. Then, today, as I glanced once more inside the hall closet and promptly shut the doors, I wondered if it would work to take out the coat rod (we have many other places to keep coats and jackets) and have Bob add some more shelving to the hall closet. It's close enough to the kitchen to be convenient, and I think everything just might fit. That would also leave a wall free in the kitchen for a bit of decorating. And I think those cabinets would work perfectly elsewhere (maybe to store fabric and craft items?)

~~~

Sure wish tax season would hurry up and end so we can get crackin' on this! :)