Shoe Racks as Toy Storage

I'm a little embarrassed to show you these pictures.  Our youngest son has an armory ... an armory of Nerf guns.  He LOVES his Nerf guns and I have become quite a good shot playing with him.

However, I can't say that Nerf guns are the easiest thing to store and find a place for!

So, a genius idea came over me!  I put an over the door shoe rack on his door to put the nerf guns in!  The pockets are the perfect size for many of his smaller guns.

He can't reach the highest pockets, so I'll be putting things in those that he doesn't use so often






We are hanging his larger ones on hooks around his room.

Yes, there are more than pictured here!

Oh, well ... at least he is not addicted to TV and video games!

Organizing Task - Recipes ... and other foodie books

For a while now I have wanted to get my recipe's and cookbooks out of my bedroom and into my kitchen where I use them.  You see, we only have one bookshelf in the house for adult books (the kids each have one in their rooms), so all of my books no matter the subject are in my bedroom.  Which means constant tromping between rooms when I am looking for a recipe.

I was inspired to get this done this week by the 52 Weeks of Organizing on Home Storage Solutions - Here's the post in case you are inspired too! http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organize-recipes.html

Several years ago I made 2 binders full of page protectors, photo pages, and made fabric covers for them.  The fabric covers are showing their age now, but that is a project for another day!  I love the page protector sleeves because when I find a recipe that has been given the husband and boy stamp of approval, then I can just drop it in the page protector.

Generally I don't have a lot of recipes that haven't been given the hubby and boy stamp of approval.  I tend to keep a bookmark folder on my computer with potential recipes, and then I print them when I want to make them.  If they are no good the paper goes in the trash, and if they are winners they go in the binder.

So, I decided to clean out one space in one cabinet for my books ... this is the cabinet that I chose to tackle

 I decided that the spinning thing for plastic containers needed to go.  Sure, it is handy-dandy, but several of the containers have broken, most of the small ones are just too small, and the larger ones are all being used by food in the freezer and can be easily stacked with the other plastic containers.  So ... it is gone!

Next, I gathered all of my cookbooks and recipe books.  I have a few other gardening books that are an excellent resource for canning and preserving foods that I pulled out also to store with the cookbooks. I also got rid of some of the cookbooks that I really just felt repeated recipes from the other books, put my recipes in the binder into the sleeves, and tossed the ones that I have decided I don't like or will never make.

Unfortunately there was a glitch in my plan ... because the books were too tall for my shelf!  So I opened the cabinet next door and a larger space that was occupied by the bread maker looked like perfect real estate!

In the challenge it also talks about organizing your recipes, but luckily besides putting some away in my binder, my recipes are fairly organized already!

I have decided that I use the bread maker a lot more when it is on my counter and not in the cabinet.  Cause really it is too heavy to be on that top shelf anyway. 

Oh it has been so long!

I knew it had been a long time since I have blogged, but I didn't realize it had been since April!

Oh My ... I guess I had better either get back on the horse, or let it go.

So, let's try getting back on the horse before I throw in the towel.

I have blogged a lot in the past about trying to get organized, and well the past few months I have really been getting better. The house doesn't look like a tornado went through - or at least not as often as it used to! So that is a big improvement. I have also not been acquiring as much 'stuff' as I used to - so less stuff to find a place for! Hubby has FINALLY started working again, and school starts this week - so less people here to mess things up!

At least that's the plan! I seem to be able to mess things up plenty when left to my own devices, so maybe I can get better about that!

So, what did I do today?

Today I cleaned off my magnet board above my desk. It was hard putting away some of those art projects from last school year - and I must confess that I left the mother's day card up there - but with a new year comes lots and lots of new art work to display. I also went through the lunch menu with the little one to find out what days I need to pack lunch and what days he will be eating school lunch. I also clipped all of the coupons and got them organized in my coupon organizer.

Tomorrow I really need to work on things for the Etsy shop - I feel like I haven't made anything new in months! Which isn't really true, but every thing has been either for the consignment shop or custom orders - so no new listings. Which actually has been okay since I would probably would have gotten heat stroke taking pictures outside! So, tomorrow I am pulling out all the fabric, updating the fabric inventory, and taking pictures of the fabrics that aren't listed on my fabrics page! I also need to do a bit of grocery shopping and find loose leaf notebook paper since the walmart seems to be completely out!

There ya go - I have a plan now!

New Fabrics!

I have been working really hard to keep the fabrics page on my website up-to-date with all of the fabrics I have available! Here are some that were recently added! Some of them I just received and a couple of them have been around a little while. I am starting to add some solids to my collection also!

I am expecting a couple more new ones this week! So stay tuned!

Organizing Tip Tuesday!

If your house is anything like mine, you ALWAYS need more organization! So, I hope that you can pick up one tip from my blog that will help you get just a little more organized!

Closets! Between me, my husband, and 3 boys there is always a closet in the house that needs to be organized, and most of the time it is due to clothes and shoes that don't fit or that no one wears any more. So, years ago I decided that each closet needed two bins in them no matter how the rest of the closet was organized. One bin is for dirty clothes, and the other bin is for clothes that don't fit, or that no one can or wants to wear anymore.

The donation bins are treated very much like the laundry bins - but they are not mingled with the laundry bins. So, every few weeks they are checked, and sorted by color, and washed. Once they are washed I sort the clothes by things that will be handed down, and things that need to be donated, and things that are just too worn out to be donated. The hand-me-downs are transferred to the next wearers closet, the worn out things are usually sent to the garage or workshop, and the donations are transferred to bags or boxes and taken to the donation center.

I don't wait until I have a truck load of stuff to go to the donation center - I found the closest one to a store that I frequent, and stop and drop of just one bag or just one box at a time. My boys know the difference in the bins - they were cued by color when they were younger - and they use them sometimes. Actually the teenagers are starting to use them more and more as they are much more motivated by style right now!

Hope that helps! Good luck on your organizing quest!

Clean Up The Crap Wednesday - Continued!

So, I decided that I really needed to clean up our coat closet. Kinda funny that I call it that since we don't put coats in it, but I use the closet to store the vacuum, winter hats/gloves, and stuff for my business. This morning is was a complete disaster, and I actually couldn't even get the vacuum into the closet. Bad since I haven't used the vacuum since last week!!

So Here is the before picture:


I am ashamed that this closet still housed:
- playdoh toys that my son hasn't played with in almost 2 years
- a basked of coloring books, markers, and crayons that I didn't know about
- and bags that I transport product in that were falling all over the place
- the lids to plastic storage bins that are probably long gone

I want to use this closet to house:
- overflow shipping supplies
- bubble wrap
- over flow baggies for product
- wooden shape supplies
- overflow of magnets
- winter hats/gloves
- vacuum cleaner and parts

So, I emptied it out and put everything back - I have relocated the coloring things to my son's room, but most of the other stuff is going to goodwill or the trash!

I can even fit the vacuum in the closet now!

Also - I wanted to point out my organizing solution! I hung an over the door shoe rack with clear pockets on the back of the door a while back - but most of the pockets were empty. So - they have been filled up and arranged so that I can see everything! The best part is the pockets are clear so I can give the label maker a rest for
the day!

Clean up the Crap Wednesday

My house is a mess! So I really do need a clean up the crap day! I haven't decided what task I am going to share with you yet, but I can promise lots of pictures and that the space will be organized when I am finished!

So... Stay tuned, this post will be updated later today =)

Cleaning up my spiritual house

I will start this little clean-up series with cleaning up my spiritual house, and because of how I am conducting this little cleaning exercise; I will also end the series with cleaning up my spiritual house.

You see, as I have been going on this journey to clean-up and organize my life, I have discovered that my spiritual self is benefiting greatly from this. At the core of my belief system is the belief that the way that I treat myself and those around me is the most important thing of all, and when the things in my life are an unorganized mess, it means that I am not treating myself or those around me very well.

I would say that the unorganized mess is responsible for 80% of the arguments that I have with my spouse. The unorganized mess causes lots of stress and is a good excuse of why I don’t spend as much ‘quality’ time with my children as I would like. The unorganized mess is why I didn’t get holiday cards out at Christmas time. The unorganized mess is why it takes me two or three times the amount of time working on projects, because I spend so much time trying to find adequate space to work and looking for the tools and materials that I need to finish the projects.

The other thing that I have found in this process is that, when my other houses are cleaned up, I get more time to spend in my spiritual house. This means more time for reading and reflection, more time to enjoy the people around me, and a better feeling about myself in general. My husband has also complimented my efforts, my kids love their spaces that we have created together, and knowing that I have finished lots of those lingering projects gives me a sense of accomplishment.

So, how can you start to clean up your spiritual house?

First, begin my completing one of the small cleaning tasks relevant to one of your other houses. When you are finished, take a moment to praise yourself and enjoy the feeling of having one less thing on that to-do list. Next, tell your spouse or someone close to you what you have just accomplished. By telling someone you are first celebrating your accomplishments, and next creating a sense of accountability to continue your efforts. Finally, don’t quit, spend some time figuring out what needs to be done and rank the things that need to be done in order of importance and size of the task.

If you are following the lead of this series you will also need to decide which of your houses each task fits into. For an example, a large part of my cleaning was my physical house, but once things were put away, it was time to re-visit the overflowing drawers of my desk and stacks of paperwork. Since I work from home, my drawers and stacks of paper work included things that belonged in my business house, financial house, and family house. I didn’t try to conquer all of those things at one time. Instead, I started by sorting the stacks by which house they belonged in, and importance.

Since this post is about cleaning up your spiritual house, you need to add another item to your list. Every time you complete a task, no matter how big or small, celebrate it! Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done, and tell others about your accomplishments. Also, if you too have a spouse that complains about the unorganized mess, ask for praise for your accomplishments from them. When a person receives praise about their accomplishments, it greatly increases the likelihood that they will repeat these same accomplishments. You are no different. Explain this to the other people in your life, and let them know how important it is for them to recognize your efforts. This was extremely difficult for my husband to understand. However, as time has gone on, and he sees that I am continuing to make improvements, the compliments and praise have come easier and easier.

It was never my intention to live in a spotless house, and that is still not a goal of mine. Please do not come to my house and expect to be able to eat off of the floors! My goodness, that is what the plates are for! However, it is my intention to live in a house that isn’t a chaotic mess all of the time. So, as I tell my husband, I am not going for a immaculate – just less complete disaster!

I hope you have been inspired in some way by this post and your comments are always welcomed! I will continue to post about cleaning up the houses in my life!

Getting Organized for a Craft Show

Hello World! You can find me on the web at www.mooremagnets.com

So, I am going to be in a craft show this Saturday, Arts on Easy Street in Salisbury, NC. I have been assigned to space number 2 - I don't think I have every been this close to the entrance before, so I think I need to be really organized and keep my space neat. So, here is what I am doing/have done in the past.

I have plastic see-through bins for products, tools, show props, supplies, and unfinished product to work on. I don't mix any of these items together anymore so that set up and take down are organized looking. I have found that this is very beneficial because shoppers and vendors (and vendors are shoppers too!) are watching so you want to look organized at all times.

I have table cloths that I made out of sheets (got a great deal on them at the outlet store on clearance) that reach the floor to cover all of the bins under the tables. I use PVC pipe and PVC clamps (I will try to take a picture this weekend) to hold the cloths down at the bottom - The wind is always a factor!

I pack my SUV (couldn't do this in the Honda!) so that I can fit as much product as possible. In fact, I have in the past left some of my booth set up at home so that I could have more product instead. I try to pack so that the items (like the tent and sandbags) are the first things out and last things in the car.

I have a separate card table that I use only for checkout and what I am working on so that I am not mixing unfinished with finished product. I forgot this table at my last show, and realized that this is essential to me a shows! I keep bags, a receipt book, and calculator in their own box (one that has a lid) so that I am not looking for these items every time I have a sale.

I display items so that people can touch the items and see the quality that goes into my work. I mix things up in the displays, as I have found that when I display like items together people don't see everything.

I have items that are from 50 cents up to $50 so that I have something for every price range. I can't tell you how many times I have covered my booth fee from only selling the 50 cent items!

I wear an apron with my logo on it, but I don't keep my $ in the apron pockets - I do keep business cards handy at all times!

Talk to people, smile, tell them how much I enjoy what I do!