Easy to ORGANIZE

OK my Crafties ... I have the most simple way to keep yourself organized.  It is cost effective and easy to find. 

Yes ... it is a spiral notebook!  Silly right?!  NO ... not silly, smart.  This is what I do EVERY night after the kids are in bed.  I sit in the kitchen and write down what I need to do the next day.

The next day, I add to the list.  Things pop up, calls come in, errands need to be added to the list.  I put the bills I need to pay in the front pocket.  I carry this with me everywhere .... it is in my hand, on the console of my car, in my purse at WalMart, etc. 

These 2 things go hand in hand! 

Some of you out there (I won't name anyone specific - you know who you are), ONLY NEED ONE NOTEBOOK/PLANNER, NOT FOUR!  Get a bigger notebook - don't try to get over-organized and buy muliptle notebooks/planners. 

I realized many years ago that this is SO very simple.  Help simplify your daily life and GET ORGANIZED.



Best Curtains EVER!

Earlier this summer, I decided that I couldn’t walk through our dining room again and see the scuffs on the walls, paint chipped off the trim and the chocolate paint drops all over the ceiling. It had to go!  5 or 6 years ago, my husband and I (...then boyfriend living it up in the frat pad, a.k.a our house) painted our dining room. It went from a lovely peach color (nag) to a Ralph Lauren suede tan. The ceiling was done in chocolate suede and at the time it looked pretty good! P.S. We will never. ever. ever. paint a ceiling again.   We did an awful job!  Our poor room screamed for a professional to come in and take over!

6 years later… We finally had our dining room repainted and the new curtains I used in there are fab-u-lo-so! My decorator friend, Emy, recommended these curtains from IKEA. I’ve got to give her all the glory! LOVE THEM! They are $19 for a pair and they are glorious. I doubled it for extra fullness using 4 panels per window. What a mean bargain for such great looking curtains! They’ve got a yummy texture and they just soften up the space so well. They come with a hemming strip you can iron on (easy as pie) but I just wanted them to be casual and didn't touch them.    IKEA RITVA CURTAINS

I didn’t use the tiebacks. Also, I already had the drapery rods from Home Depot from the last curtains so I don't count that in pricing (good justification, eh?). I bought some of the rings from Home Depot and think a pack of 12 is about $14. You can go Pottery Barn for rings if your budget allows as well. 

If you’re looking for great curtains at a much affordable price, IKEA's got your back!

Have you tried these curtains? You likey? What’s your favorite curtain steal/deal?

Katie

Can a laundry room be a HAPPY place?!

What the heck is this mess???  Ummm....my laundry room. Yes, I have 4 boys, but this is embarrassing.  I cannot believe I am posting this.  Sigh. ;)

So the problem is obvious.  I make them take off their shoes when they come inside.  The shoes end up in a mountain of mess.  Ewwwww. 

Mornings consist of looking for their shoes in this pile.  Annoying on many levels. :)

Being the obsessive organizer that I am, I decided to make this room a happy place! 

I bought 4 stackable white bins at Dollar General for $4 each.  Then I wrote each of the boys' names on a bin with a blue paint pen.  (Oldest on top because he is tallest ... but the other ones were upset that theirs was not on top.  Seriously?)

 I was inspired ... so I kept on going.  The boys hang their backpacks in the kitchen on a drawer knob.  Cute and functional, but it gets in the way of me being able to get things out of the lower cabinets.  This is where they normally hang ....

 I bought this over the door hanger at Target for $15.  Love it.    In my laundry is the hot water heater with a cabinetry access door. 

Hang it  & a place for back packs.  4 hooks, 4 boys!  Yeah. 

Still inspired ... kept going.

What should I do with the millions of baseball hats they leave in the laundry room, floorboard of the car, under the couch, etc.?  HOOKS!!  Target!

I bought these 3M hooks that have the sticky tape on the back.  The tape peels off the wall with no damage to your sheetrock (my construction hubby says "yeah").  Got a 6 pack for $8.  They have different weight limits available.  I got hooks that could hold 2 lbs. 

Arrange them as you wish.  TIP:  Put a hat on the one up top before you place the bottom hook.  Then you KNOW you will have enough room.  The directions say to place the hook on the wall and PRESS HARD for 60 seconds.  Then WAIT ONE HOUR before you put anything on the hook.  Target also has BIG HOOKS that can hold up to 40 lbs.  Put them on a wall and hang your backpacks there. 

6 hats (4 boys, Mom and Dad) next to the garage door, grab one on a bad hair day and go! 

Organized and happy. 

Wreath surgery 101

Hello, door in need of decorations ....

Meet my old, worn out, leaves falling off, live in the attic under the Christmas boxes, 4 year old Fall wreath.  Can it be in any worse shape? 

Keep it or toss it?  Keep it!  I can fix it.  :)

I looked through my Fall/Halloween tub of decorations and found some fruit that I usually put on the table in a basket.  Then I thought .... hmmmm .... let's spice things up a bit and glue these on the wreath! 

You can buy fruit like this @ Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Michaels.  Get a hot glue gun if you do not own one.  It is a STAPLE.  (I have made curtains, fixed toys, repaired furniture, you name it, I've used it ... you need one.)

I placed a huge clump of hot glue on each piece of fruit and stuck it in different areas on the wreath.  No arranging.  Just stick it where you like it.  I went through about 8 sticks of hot glue just to make sure the fruit would stay on with the door slamming and the wind blowing. 

Now all I need is Halloween decorations.  It is only October 5.  Maybe I will wait a week?!  Come back for Halloween decoration ideas next week. 

Ahhhhhhh....much better. 

 

Amy

I'd Cook in This Kitchen!

Today's post is a before and after of the most hideous kitchen in America... mine. Seriously, it was a shame.

The previous owners thought black linoleum would be FAN-tas-tic in the kitchen and they paired it up with two small sections of cheap cabinets. There was only one TINY area we could use to chop or prep food... I'm talking a foot by a foot area, people. It was a true balancing act to cut something and have a plate on the counter simultaneously. A closet backed into the kitchen from an adjacent bedroom so that took up a huge chunk of space. The list goes on and on. Let's just settle it with this: It was a disgrace to kitchens nationwide.

After years of this frowned upon kitchen, my hubby and I decided OUT WITH THE OLD! A few things we knew we wanted: a pantry that was actually IN the kitchen (previous one was in the hall), a big yummy kitchen island, a gas cook top, a kitchen sink with a window above it, double ovens and finally we really wanted an area that our friends, family and children could hang out in while we cooked. Let's face it, the kitchen as we ALL know is the heart of the home and everyone gathers and hangs out there.This was problematic considering that outside our small kitchen space was a deck. Humm.... bye bye deck! Smell ya later!

After hiring an architect drawing my new kitchen on a napkin, we presented it to our very talented builder (Jason Peck - little plug for him)  to revamp the space.

Here are some pictures of the progress:



This is what you saw when you walked down the hall and entered the kitchen. Don't you want to go there and immediately
whip up a gourmet meal? The exposed wood was the closet we ripped out from an adjoining bedroom.

What a mess! Our dog is staring at the ugly black linoleum floor. That's a sign. She can't believe it either!



A view from butlers pantry of our small kitchen. The open door leads to our deck. Well, the old deck.





The drywall you see is a small room we added on to the end of the kitchen. That used to be a porch and now it's our little cozy nook and our favorite place to be.



HELLO BIG BEAUTIFUL ISLAND AND HARDWOOD FLOORS! I HEART YOU!



This is the wall that had a big fat closet hogging the space.



New window and beginnings of the sink/fridge/dishwasher area




Look! Wash dishes AND look outside at the same time! Delish!





Our new nook! my hubby has no idea he's in this pic.



(View from the hall)
 Wait, no huge fridge and a closet? No linoleum?

Chalkboard paint made this little spot my son's favorite place in the kitchen

We've loveddddd our new kitchen! Thanks for taking a look and hope you enjoyed!