Organizing Helpfuls

Most of the world of household organization requires expensive labels, racks, or totes. But I have found a few tricks of the trade to help cut down on space and time. I’d like to share them with you, as well, for they are virtually free.

I recently tackled the explosive cords drawer. You know, that grocery bag or drawer filled with random electronic cords, chargers, old cameras (still working but upgraded), headphones, etc. I hate that drawer. I feel like no matter what I do I never know what is in it and then ultimately end up going to the store and buying the exact same cable because I didn’t dig through the heap of wound up cables in the “ever terrifying” drawer.

Well, a while back I started collecting recyclables that we could use to crafts. We have a box in the garage of old cereal boxes, various funny-shaped boxes or canisters, toilet paper rolls, etc for preschool crafts. Then I saw an organizational idea and ran straight to the recycles box. I found that old toilet paper rolls are wonderful organizers of chords. Simply fold up the cord, shove it in the tube, label the tube and if you’re really tricky, leave the ends of the cord poking out the the ends of the tube. That way next time you want to figure out if you need to buy a new cord you can compare the cord’s ends to the appliance to see if it’s compatible without ever unraveling the cord.

I also used small snack bags to put earbugs in and then put them in a ziplock with my headphones in them. Next time I need to get any kind of headphones – voila! just take out the bag and have my pick. Maybe these tricks could be helpful to you to finally know what is in that electronics hodge-podge drawer. So now that hideous drawer looks like this:

(I put it all in a box in the drawer because I hadn’t decided if I’m just going to store it all in the box and thus free up the drawer space or not.)

I also found that folding sheet sets and putting them inside a pillow case helps for neat linen closet shelves, uniform folding and easy “grab and resheet” options. That way you are not spending all your time and energy tracking down all the pieces (bottom sheet, top sheet, pillow case) when it comes time to wrestle that bed on “new sheets” day. And if you have a queen bed, just shove an extra pillowcase in the sack to complete the set. My shelves went from sheet chaos to:

(Don’t judge the shelf below it. I haven’t gotten there yet.)

I also found it quite helpful to label cords, especially on those power strips, with old bread bag tags. Not only does it help you to keep from resetting the alarm clock a billion times, but it allows you to make a judgement call on what you can unplug in the moment to plug in something else without having to trace cords back to the appliances. I have found this one very helpful in “I’m just going to use this once and the closest plug is full” situations.

Yay for knowing what you’re unplugging. =)

Yay for practical and FREE (or nearly free since you had to first buy and use the toilet paper) organizational ideas. By the way, I found these ideas at various locations online. I just thought I’d share what I’ve found to work.

February 25, 2012 0

Useable Space

After taking a few pictures of Rachael’s homeschooling I noticed my ugly, explosive school shelving unit in the background. Ever done that? Found some nasty, “Oh I really need to fix that” section of your house in the background of your favorite memories?

So with the inspiration of a dear friend, Kassie’s, recent Spring cleaning kick, I tackled the “should have been done months ago” task of the school shelves.

First came the ever-so-obnoxious task of figuring out what to do with the puzzles. I had been looking around for seriously months at various puzzle-stacking racks. Man those things aren’t cheap! And I was nervous that after spending our life inheritance on one of those said racks, we would have the dreaded, unthinkable happen to us: we’d get a new puzzle – one too many for the rack. And since our children are not past the puzzle using years, I figured the dreaded would repeat itself many, many times. =)

So I recently looked into other methods and found this one to be realistic, cheaper than half a puzzle rack’s cost, and affective for other non-puzzle yet bulky items. Thus I bring to you (cue the music and pull out the megaphone): The Ultimate Puzzle Organizing Experience!!!

I used an old dowel rod, three screw in hooks (that fit said dowel rod on the ends and in the middle – cause puzzles are heavy), hefty zipable gallon and 2.5 gallon sized bags, shower curtain hooks, and binder clips (large metal pinchers to use a practical description). I screwed the hooks into the top shelf’s ceiling of our bookshelf, alternating directions to avoid the inevitable “everything falls off the rack when it’s bumped” possibility when you have small children shopping through the puzzles. Then I hung the dowel rod (Thanks Jenney and Brian for using your sweet saw to cut it down to size – my steak knife and box opener blade would never have gotten me there.) Then I hung the shower curtain hooks (I chose c-hooks because I wanted us all to be able to get the binder clips off without Rachael and eventually Abi being dependent on Mommy only to wrestle them off – though I am aware that this makes Abi able to take them off right now during the “don’t touch this- EVER” training phase.) Then I bagged up our puzzles in the gallon or 2.5 gallon sized bags (I found the larger wooden puzzles – those bigger than a sheet of paper- in need of the 2.5 gallon size to fit well). Then put our lovely clip on them and hang them on the curtain hooks.

As seen in the picture, some heavier puzzles either needed to be clipped to the clip itself (binder clips providing said aid) or the bag needed to rest far enough down that the puzzle could use the shelf to relieve the weight – thus not actually hanging, but attached nonetheless.

I also found the bagged method QUITE helpful in bagging up other “what the heck do you do to store this” homeschool items such as the loved and hated Cootie catcher bug pieces (Does Abi ALWAYS have to end up with one in her mouth even though she’s not playing?). [Does anyone actually play the legit game or are you like me and just attach the legs and crazy mouths/eyes for freeplay?] Or the ever loved, but crazy hard to store knobbed and chunky puzzles. I also found it a nice way to store the awkward shaped things and the “we would actually use this if we saw that we had it” items.

Some things will always need a box – like our beautiful and rolling wooden train (Melissa and Doug). I love that train, but that space-hog is far better in a stackable box than occupying 6 puzzle spaces on my shelf. And with the addition of the dowel-rod method my shelves went from this:

(Large open space on top shelf had “Please let these survive Abi’s toddlerhood” books that I decided to move to safer quarters.)

to this:

(No worries, Jes, the indoor snowball fight just moved to the game shelf since apparently it’s frowned upon to snow-bomb your preschooler during quiet homeschool work – who knew?!)

Yay for actually seeing what you have, spending a total of $13 on the project and getting to see that cute picture of baby Rachael from her first Easter that I haven’t seen on the mantle in over 6 months.

Oh and for those of you wondering what’s the deal with the “Stop” and “Go” signs on the shelves. We have non-readers here, but I have placed these signs on the shelves to remind my non-readers of the things their “need for independent” selves can do without Mommy and those they need to come ask Mommy to do. Due to Abi’s oral explorations, small pieces are in the “Stop and come ask Mommy” section and require tabletop play. Added bonus? These signs are helpful for babysitters when we have to run out quickly and I forget to explain the school shelves.

Maybe these ideas could be helpful to you.
If not? Eh, thanks anyway for reading my organizational delights. =)

February 24, 2012 0

Rebounding School

We were sick with a stomach virus – all of us except Rachael, so homeschool was put on hold while I was *ahem* rotting into the couch. But today we picked back up from where we left off on Monday and, while we decided to have school in our Monkey jammies (slow start post sickness), we found ourselves back in the regular swing of homeschool excitement.

We are learning the concepts of “more”, “less”, “most”, “least”, “more than”, and “less than” in preparation for expanded math skills. To familiarize ourselves with the language and build on the math concepts, we used food dye in bowls this morning, pouring and comparing various amounts. At first we began comparing different colors and when the concepts were obviously sticking, then we started comparing alike colors to reinforce the concepts themselves and not just identifying difference based on color. Then we lined up four different amounts and compared them in a large group, ranking them from “most” down to “least” with comparing each size until we found the right places in line. It was quite fun work with two large measuring cups (the initial starting point of the water), a funnel (for my increased accuracy in pouring) and four bowls.

This joy about “the one with the most”

And “the one with the least” ensued.

Then an obstacle course helped us practice two preschool skills of walking on a straight line

and walking backward with a “crawl through the tunnel” and “hurry down the slide” to keep things exciting.

Rachael enjoyed her “watch this Mommy” accomplishments with flailing arms for balance. =)

Today was a good step back into the ordinary.

Now back to my laundry while the girls enjoy some together play post school. And then, I guess, we’ll actually change out of pajamas…. maybe. 😉

February 24, 2012 0

A Day Away

We took the privileged opportunity to President’s Day to go to a dear friend, Kassie and Jacob’s house and bombard their clan. Kassie, a fellow “youth pastor’s wife” enjoys her three wonderful kids age 4 down to 11months. Jeffrey is 4, Josie is 2 and Josiah is 11 months. So with those three little ones, we highly enjoy group play and discovery. And I’m tell you right now, these are some of the best behaved kids I know – comfortable in love and boundaries. So I love the opportunities, though sometimes far between, that we get to spend time with them. Many times we get the opportunity to enjoy play together amidst a joint-church youth function.

Monday, on the other hand, we joined in their normal schedule, joining them for a pizza lunch (yum), naps and some fun indoor and outdoor play before returning home to our Daddy. While the kids all napped, Kassie and I enjoyed some Mom-time chatting about homeschooling, kids, and life.

It was a wonderfully refreshing time for all to play and enjoy eachothers’ company.

I look forward to further hangouts.

Here’s a few pictures I took during outside play:

Rachael enjoying the car.

Abi after she “patiently” awaited her turn.

She means business, don’t even think about asking for your turn.

Abi traded her four pink wheels for Jacob’s two wheels.

(Jacob had just returned home from a weekend youth function when we were leaving.)

All the kids minus Josiah, who was in the house due to the weather and only being in a onesie (he wasn’t feeling so well, poor guy).

Wonderful day had by all. Thanks again, for the invite and the joy, Kassie.

February 21, 2012 0

Meatball Soup Goodness

Tried this and thought it quite yummy.

“This meatball soup is easily made with frozen meatballs, beef broth, tomatoes, and vegetables, along with herbs and seasonings.

Ingredients:

1 pound frozen meatballs, Italian seasoned
3 cups beef broth
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings (I didn’t use Italian seasoned tomatoes and it was good)
1 cup diced potato, about 1 medium potato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
16 ounces (about 3 cups) frozen mixed vegetables

Preparation:

In crockpot, combine meatballs, broth, tomatoes, potato, onion, garlic powder, and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, until potatoes and onion are tender. Stir in frozen vegetables and cook on HIGH for 1 hour longer.
Serves 6.”

I chose to put everything in at once and cook on Low for 5 hours and high for 1 hour. It turned out great.

Mmm, this was tasty and cheap and easy and we already had everything thanks for some meatball and tomato can sales Matt had previously taken advantage of.

– just sharing.

February 21, 2012 0

57 Dollars of Silence

There is danger in believing that we deserve something. There is danger in elevating ourselves and puffing ourselves up to “deserve better than this” or “deserve” an ice cream or a long walk on the beach. We can begin to set ourselves up for not only a superiority complex with others who are “depriving us” of the things we “deserve”, but we can also begin to look upon our current situation as the enemy. If I deserve an ice cream, then not getting an ice cream or worse yet, being deprived of an ice cream is absolutely unacceptable. Can you imagine the level of selfishness that could come out of an “I deserve” lifestyle?

Sometimes I slip dangerously close to justifying “I deserves” in my mind. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there. I think that’s one of the reasons God makes it so clear that we must serve Him with our minds as well as our hearts, bodies and souls. Our mind is an outpouring of our heart. You harness in what your heart believes and shut out the untruth that pops into your mind when it is in conflict with your heart… the very heart Christ redeemed.

Breaks can be that way, as a mother. They can be highly appreciated when happened upon, or I can choose to live my life in discontentment of “never getting a break” from my fill in the blank (kids, laundry, dishes, cleaning up cat puke, you name it). I can look at a break with gratitude as it arises and as I am able to incorporate it into my schedule or I can live a lifestyle of exhaustion and loathing getting the “short end of the deal” by being “on-call” 24/7.

It’s all an exercise of the mind. What truth and untruth am I clinging to?

I found a quiet moment out tonight, pumping $56 dollars of lifesavings into our van. 😉 The cold, quiet breeze refreshing my soul. The dark, wearing down minutes of eight thirty dancing headlights and neon fast food restaurants across the horizon. Winter dark freezing time, stilling time. The pulsing click of the pump as the numbers turned and turned before the receipt was printed. Still. Quiet. Breathing deep.

The wait I didn’t mind. No where to be. No demands. Liberty. The teenager asked for my order as I pulled a ten from my wallet. The last of my allowance money for the month felt so freeing in my hand. One dollar ice cream cone of cheap and liberating delight. Sunday driving on the way home, soaking up the wind rustling the van windows and watching the neighborhood settle in for the night.

I don’t deserve this. I didn’t earn this. It has been given me. The enjoyment of life. The fast and the slow. The loud making an appreciation and a soaking in of the quiet. The quiet refreshing for the loud.

Thank you, Lord, for the break. Unplanned escape.
The 57 dollars of silence.

February 17, 2012 0