Don't they look nice?

OK, so as I posted previously, I finally did it. I sorted through all of the kids toys and got rid of what they absolutely do not play with. Again. I then organized them into categorical labeled see-through bins and stored them in my new cabinets in the sun/play room.

This is what is behind door number one:

Door number two:

And door number three:

The upper cabinets are still empty. I managed to fit the majority of their toys in the lower cabinets where the kids can easily reach them. They still have a few things in their rooms, but now everything is so much neater!

Complete!

Our sun room is complete! Well, actually they still have to install the window sills, which will be done on Monday, but otherwise it is done! Here are a few pictures. Again, I do apologize that they are not better pics. One day I will get around to taking that photography class. You know, in my spare time.

And here we have storage. Ahhh...so wonderful. My kids cannot wait to cram the cupboards full of toys and games. In fact, Hulk, Spiderman, a giraffe and that clown from Gymboree are already residing in the cabinets.

There is still much to do. We are going to do a major sort of all toys and keep only the ones we really play with. Hmm...seems I did this just a couple of months ago. Anyway, toys will all be re-sorted and labeled into clear containers with lids and stashed neatly away in the new cabinets. We will be so organized! I am not saying that I will never again step on another Bristle block in the middle of the night, but I think my chances of doing so will be greatly decreased.

The paint color is not too evident in these pictures, but we went with a nice calming light green. It looks good with the dark wood. Emma was v. disappointed we did not go with her choice of pink paint, so I have promised her a pink room. Finally. I must start on that project next week. Poor Emmie has wanted pink walls for 4 years now. It is about time I honored her wishes. Aidan said he would like orange walls, but thankfully he is super easy-going and is just happy to have a new room to hang out in.

Now for the fun stuff -- I get to choose some fabrics and furnishings! We have not even begun our search. Brandon and Emma have been sick, and I got sick this week as well. Hopefully I will feel much better next week so I can do a little shopping. We want to keep everything kid friendly which roughly translates to WASHABLE. So far that is the only thing I am not willing to compromise.

So this is the room. We couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!

Mission Organization: Day Four

This was a great Monday. Still is, I suppose, at least for another 4 1/2 hours. I made it to my MOMs group and I was even on time. I finally remembered to bring my friend's very belated baby gift. Emma had a great time in her class. Aidan and Brandon hung out and had fun playing with Aidan's "guys."

When we got home we had lunch, after which I promptly dove into Aidan's room. I got all of his toys organized in their bins, organized his closet and new dresser drawers, finished the "summer to fall clothing switch" and thoroughly cleaned the room. It looks so nice! It is really easy for him to choose which toys he wants to play with as well as put them back.

None of this would have been possible if not for my kids playing so well together today. I just love it when a plan comes together. Tomorrow I will tackle Emma's room. I hope all of you had a great Monday as well!

Organizing: Day Three

Today was so productive. Insanely productive one might say. I don't have the pictures to prove it yet, but I hope to have some posted in the next couple of days.

The dresser finally found a new home in Aidan's room. Of course there was an issue with the tip kit, and I will have to finish it up tomorrow once that pesky drill charges. Oh, guess I had better plug it in. Anyway, one of the straps is attached, so it is not dangerous tonight, but I do want to get the other on tomorrow before my little monkey tries to climb on it.

I moved my fabric bins and labeled them even though they are clear so I can easily see what I have. I did a ton of laundry, sorted out some of the kids' summer things to make way for fall fashions, completed two nap mats and a blanket, and started another blanket for a baby gift. Yep, I am feeling pretty good tonight.

As always, thanks to Brandon and my mom for all of their help. Without them I would not have had such a productive day. I am a long way from organized, but I feel I am really on my way!

Organzing: Day Two

DISCLAIMER: Okay, so I know it has been a few days since my last post, but I am counting this as my official second day of organization because it is the official second day I have worked toward my goals. So these posts probably won't be daily, although that would be ideal. I will do my best!

Whew, now that I have that outta the way, on to what I accomplished! First, I painted a dresser for Aidan's room. I know that may not sound like much by way of organizing, but it is. It has been sitting in my overly-crowded dining room for how long now I cannot precisely recall. So it is moving out of there tomorrow, hence freeing up space. Also, I will now have a better place to store Aidan's clothes.

Tomorrow I will install the anti-tip kit I purchased and move the dresser into his room. And I will make the drawers look great. I predict they will stay that way at least until I leave the room. After that, I make no guarantees.

The best thing about this dresser, other than providing storage for my little boy's things, is that it is recycled. It is Brandon's old dresser. A new coat of paint and new hardware, and it looks great! I will post a picture tomorrow after I get it set up.

I also got rid of the batting that ate New York. Temporarily anyway. I am going to keep it at my mom's house, crammed in a closet, for the time being. At least it is gone from my poor overworked dining room.

I have come to the conclusion that I am literally drowning in paper. There is paper piled up all over the place. It seems every flat surface is covered with the stuff. A lot of it is the stagnant stuff that I mentioned last time. I am doing my best to wade through it, shredding when necessary and bagging all of it for recycling.

The paper seems so innocuous, but it is a crafty foe. Once I have it under control, here it comes, sneaking up on me again, slowly at first, so that I hardly notice it or pay it any mind. In a few days I have a pile on the bookcase in the entryway. Then it creeps onto the island. I move some of it to the roll top desk, with intentions of sorting and shredding, but you know what they say about good intentions. Life is busy, and I tend to go all Scarlett O'Hara, vowing to think about it tomorrow.

I realize now that it is a daily chore, and with this I will struggle. I hope the recent purchase of a handy-dandy compact filing unit will help. It contains 43 folders, one for each month and one for each day of the month. My ultimate goal is to immediately file away any paper that enters the house in this unit. If I can make it a habit to do this and check it every day I think it will immensely cut down on the paper mess.

Lastly, I worked on my website today. I have decided to just feature my children's products. I have removed all of my stationery items. I still love to paper craft, and I will still occasionally list some things in my etsy store as well as continue custom orders for my regular clients. I must say that I feel really good about this decision. I am very excited to be adding lots of new merchandise and pictures, and I hope to have it completely updated soon.

I will try to post some pictures of my progress tomorrow. No promises, because I never know what the day will bring. Here's to a productive Thursday. And to all the kiddos, have a fun and safe fall break!

Day One of Mission Organization (for real this time)

So, my house is a mess. As usual. My dining room is still being taken over by the batting that ate New York. My bins of fabric are sorted, but not yet labeled and still sitting on the floor at the end of my dining room table. My island looks like, well...I cannot quite come up with a colorful enough phrase to describe it. It is a mess of paper, things that don't really have homes, a stray dish or two and some random fabric scraps that I have yet to decide if they are worthy of keeping.

My living room is getting better. We were able to clear out several big baby toys and empty a tub of random toys, thanks to the garage sale we had a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I have not yet seen through my vow to have no more toys in the living area. Going through toys exhausts me. I don't know why, but I have a sneaking suspicion is has a little to do with my family's guilt curse. What I should ask myself as I sort is: Do they love it? If the answer is yes, then I should ponder as to how deep the love goes. You know, do they love it enough to actually play with it? If the answer is no I should then move on to whether the toy is in good enough condition to donate or if it will need to be regulated to the landfill where it will no doubt remain until the end of time. I wish we could recycle toys the same way we recycle those pesky but oh-so-convenient water bottles we just have to have now and again. But I digress. I usually don't take the proper approach when sorting through the flotsam. This is a sample of the internal (and sometimes external, as you will see) struggle that I face when getting rid of toys.

I pick up a stuffed animal. It has been in the bottom of the toy pile so long that my kids don't even remember that it exists. Well, it is clear, I should just toss it in the donate pile. But wait! Who gave this to them? Was it a grandparent or favorite auntie? Was it a birthday present from one of our closest friends? What if that person comes over, and after two years, just happens to mention said stuffed animal? What do I say?

Enter my husband. "Hey," he casually says. "You're not donating Mickey are you? The kids LOVE Mickey."

So you see, I have internal guilt AND external pressure. No wonder I never get organized. But all of this is changing! I am making my resolutions early this year. I am going to de-clutter my way to peace. Tips from a great article I found on a green living website: Tag all of your clutter with one of the following Clutter Codes.

Stagnant: things you can no longer use, such as a pile of magazines or catalogs. You know you are never going to read them, so put them out with the recycling, or better yet(my tip), drive them over to a recycle bin at your local school or library. Institutions with the big green bins actually profit from your paper donations! Clothes that no longer fit, old vitamins and pills, and expired coupons also fit in this category.

Stuck: This is a big one for me. Stuff you will probably, if you are honest with yourself, never use. I am talking old high school papers (you know you have them!), papers, mags, fliers, books you will never read or have read but will never read again, and (drum roll please!) unfinished craft projects!! Yep, I have a million of those!

Waiting: things you use occasionally or seasonally.

Active and Disorganized: My life. But seriously...clothes, papers, projects that may be used soon, but are homeless for the time being in that they are not stored, filed or put away properly. Think MESS here rather than CLUTTER.

Active: Things that you actively use, usually on a daily basis, like sunglasses, schoolbags, etc. This category also includes activities of the day or next few days that are in process.

Luckily, I already have the waiting category pretty much taken care of. Or so I think. I am pretty good about keeping seasonal items stored together in bins that are placed in the attic. It makes me crazy to have Christmas lights shoved in with the Halloween decorations, so I don't have a lot of work here. These other categories, however, will prove to be a challenge.

I hope these tips will help you on your quest to finding peace through organization. I would love to hear from all of you, so share your tips, struggles or success stories. Good luck!

Mission Postponed

So yesterday's mission did not exactly work out. My poor little Aidan is sick. Unfortunately he takes after me and suffers from pretty bad allergies from time to time. I watched the noon weather report today and all of the allergens seem to be in high categories, making it a tough week to live in Oklahoma. We are taking Aidan to see the pediatrician in the morning just to rule out anything like ear infection. I just want my little guy to feel better now!

I did run to the store while Aidan napped. I picked up four bins to store fabric. I am afraid I have grossly underestimated my stash! I am blaming the minky - it takes up more room than the cotton. The minky alone looks as though it might take up all four bins. I hope to get it all together this weekend, but I am not going to stress about it.

Emma and I worked on a fun little school project today. She had to make an "all about me" poster. I think it turned out pretty well, but I could have added more if I just had a little more time. Some projects scream at me when I am finished, but others haunt my thoughts. I will no doubt dream of this poster tonight.

Do you have any unfinished projects? Leave me a comment and we'll compare notes. Or maybe we will be inspired to complete them and finally put them to rest.

Have a great Friday and a safe holiday weekend!

Getting it together

Today I am on a mission: get organized.

Okay, so I know it will not magically happen in a day. My goal for the day is to get my fabric organized. I know it might not sound like much, but trust me -- it will be quite an undertaking. I plan to break my fabrics into simple categories and store them in clear plastic bins so that they are completely visible. As the day is still relatively young, not even 9 a.m., I know I can tackle this task today. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I will take on my paper stash.

I hope you will join me later tonight. I will post the results of my mission to make a little corner of my world a little neater.