Christmas gifts

This year money is tight so to save some money I am going to be making some Christmas gifts. I am super excited about this because I love to make things. The things I am making are pretty simple and don't cost much to make. I am also going to be making my own wreath this year, I have not made a wreath in years but I am so excited. Making things yourself can help save money and who doesn't like a homemade gift. You always know that time and love went into it. I will post my projects when they are done.

Cleaning and Menus

I don't know if you are like me but things get so chaotic that you never get things done and when the end of the week comes you find yourself with a whole weeks worth of chores and laundry. I have found a simple way to get yourself organized when it comes to chores and laundry. I pick certain days to do certain things. Like for example I try to focus on one room a day, like Monday I focus on my kitchen, now granted you can't just do the kitchen on Mondays but that is the day I deep clean it and mop and clean out the fridge. I of course clean up other rooms but I only do the nitty gritty stuff that no one wants to do on one certain day, that way I know it is done. I would like to show you my list and hey you can steal it or you can make your own. I live in an apartment so my list might be smaller. I am sure that when I get into a house I will have to make some changes and add some stuff, but right now it works for me and I have not had a dirty house since I started it.

Chores:

Monday: Kitchen

Tuesday: Master Bathroom

Wednesday: Kids Bathroom

Thursday: Living Room

Friday: Master Bedroom

Saturday: Kids Bedroom

I do the same with my laundry that way it doesn't seem so daunting. I hate doing laundry but I have found I only have to do two or three loads a day with my system. You can be super busy and still be able to keep a clean home.

I have found that when I plan out my meals that I save so much money. I also have a list of meals that I know my family likes and rotate through but sometimes I throw in a new thing just for fun. Anyway, I like to plan out the whole month. I like to only shop twice a month if I can. Obviously I have to go to the grocery store more often for bread and milk, but everyone has to do that. The day my husband gets payed or the day after I go to the store and buy all the things I need for the week and then I buy stuff to make meals for the next week also. I call it cooking fresh the first week and the second week because money is tight I cook things that I can make from stuff I have. We eat a lot of spaghetti. It has helped me save money and I am not always wondering what we are going to eat and end up spending money on fast food. I also make sure I have a frozen pizza or a very simple throw in the oven meal for the days I just don't want to cook.

You too can start organizing your life and saving money, it is so easy.

Until next time happy organizing!! :)

Fall Cleaning

I know that most people do spring-cleaning but I like to do Spring and Fall cleaning. This means going through things twice a year. I am in the process of organizing my closets; this is a work in progress. My goal this week is to get rid of everything that I am not using. You should all know my motto by now. "If you aren't using it get rid of it." We are hoping to buy a house next year so I am trying to get rid of as much stuff as I can so moving will be a breeze. I get on these little actually I should say huge cleaning binges. When I get on these you better watch out because I get rid of everything. It all started with the Master Bath yesterday because I couldn't find my brush, I did find the brush but I realized that I had so much crap and I wasn't using half of it. So, I spent probably three hours going through everything. I had three piles, now the pile thing is a good thing when organizing. You have your keep, throw away and your donate piles. The smallest pile when you are done should be the keep pile. Since it was the bathroom I only had two piles this time, the keep and throw away. I ended up throwing away a whole garbage bag full of makeup, lotion, and other toiletries that were old and gross. When I was done with that I went on to the living room, my living room is quite easy to organize because it is so small so that didn't take long. I mostly got rid of a game system that my oldest son never plays with and some toys. I then proceeded to the front closet, I am quite proud of myself because I got rid of so much stuff in the closet, I have not been able to fit my vacuum in the closet but I can now. I got rid of a bunch of Easter stuff. The Boys get a new Easter basket every year and my closet was starting to overflow with them. I also got rid of my diaper bags and some other baby stuff.

Today I started on the kitchen, I am not done with it yet but I will be done in the next day or so.

Till my next post Happy, organizing.

Week 1: The closets

I live in an apartment so being organized is really important for my sanity. Four people in a two bedroom apartment can get kind of congested, especially when you really just don't have room. I have to keep up on getting rid of things all the time. Right now my closet needs some real help, it's been more about money than anything why I haven't done it yet. I discovered these really cool slim hangers, they make it so easy to fit more clothes in your closet. I get mine at TJ Max for $5 bucks a bundle. I also got rid of a lot of clothes and bought some baskets to put clothes and other stuff in. I need more baskets and the ones I have were discontinued so now I have to start all over again. I also, bought a shoe organizer but need to get another one. I tried the over the door ones and they never seemed to work for me, so I bought a wooden one that sits on the floor. I also, have my scrap booking stuff and other craft stuff, right now they are in bags but I would love to get some containers to put them in. I also need to get some containers for my winter clothes, right now they are just folded on my shelves waiting for a child to knock them down.

My boys room, I need to go through clothes and either get rid of or pack up clothes that don't fit anymore. I also need to get rid of some toys and other junk.

The front closet needs some real help, it is overflowing and driving me crazy, I can barely fit my vacuum in it and I would really love to be able to fit my vacuum and my steamer in there.

I'm not sure what I am going to do to make it better but I will let you know.

This is my project for the week. I will let you all know how it goes when I am done.

Welcome

I am so excited to start this blog. I have wanted to do this for a long time but just haven't gotten around to it. I have made a lot of changes in my life so that I don't lose my mind. Being a mom to two boys 1 and 4 can be quite busy and challenging. I have not always been an organized person but as an adult I knew it was so important to change, I was not going to go down the same path as my parents. I hate clutter and stuff. I like to walk into a room and see everything has a place. It was easy to be organized when it was just Tim and me. Throw in two boys and you've got chaos. I was starting to drown and then one day I was like "You know things are just things." Here are some of my rules.

Rule #1

If it hasn't been used in a year then throw it out.

Rule #2

Don't get attached to things, it's OK to keep a few things but honestly you still have the memory.

You can take a picture of that item and have the memory forever.

Rule #3

Don't bring anything else home until you have gotten rid of some stuff.

Rule #4

No Impulse buying. Walk away and think about it and if you really want it then go back and buy it.

Rule #5

For every piece of clothing you buy get rid of two old pieces of clothing that you don't wear anymore.

Rule #6

Every season go through your clothes and get rid of clothes that are old, worn or don't fit. If you know you aren't going to wear it just get rid of it.

Rule #7

Go through toiletries and get rid of things that are gone or expired. Like I said before if you don't use it get rid of it.

Rule #8

If you have kids go through toys and get rid of things that are broken or they just don't play with anymore. If they are like my kids then they will notice but what is the point of keeping something if they aren't using it.

Rule #8

I love containers, I prefer clear ones that I can see what is in it. It keeps everything nice and organized and in it's place. I also believe everyone should have a label maker.

Rule #9

Put things away after you use it. It is so much easier to put things away right after you use it then to wait until it gets to the point you want to scream.

Rule #10

IF YOU AREN'T USING IT JUST GET RID OF IT!!!!!!!!!

This blog will be about organizing stuff, your finances and just organizing every bit of your life. I hope I can help someone else organize their life.

I look forward to your comments and ideas.