Preparing for Schoolwork

I really want to keep things organized in our new home. I'm learning little by little what we can live without and what we can't. Everything is still an adjustment having moved from a two thousand square foot home into a twelve hundred square foot home and trying to shove everything in. We don't have a garage or attic to store things so it has to all fit somehow. Needless to say this is one idea that I found on Pinterest from I Heart Organizing, that I really loved. I would love to have my report cards and class pictures to this day, but the only one I have is the first half of Kindergarten. So, I want to organize all the important papers for them to have and do with when they get older. I don't really scrapbook much, even though I would love to, but everythime I pull things out they get messed with because the boys want to know what I'm doing so I get lost with the ideas that I wanted. Anyway, this is perfect and I have it all organized up so that when Joshua starts pre-school in two weeks his box will all be set up and ready for papers. I do keep a couple scrapbooks around to collect their more precious art projects that can't be scanned.

To start I purchased the bins (I had one already), I had the hanging folders and manilla folders on hand, as well as the labels, and I printed up the form to go into the folder to hold their pictures and yearly information.

I took some scrapbook paper that fit each boys personality and then used some cardstock letters I had to spell out their names, laminated them, and then zip tied them to the bins.

 

 

For the labels I just used a little diploma and then wrote out each grade and then placed the printout into the folders.

I placed them in the playroom closet on the shelf so I could access them easily. The years will only get busier so I want to stay as on top of it from the start as I can.

The next project will be a station to hang their backpacks and a spot to post important papers/schedules for school. That is going to take some thought since again it's a small home and I will need to find the perfect wall for it to go onto.

Master Bathroom

Pinterest...a place to make people envious of what other people have done in their houses. Then I started watching things and began to realize that we are all going to end up with houses looking the same. I loved the baskets in the bathroom to hold towels, toilet paper, etc., but then I started seeing other friends doing that and I'm usually the last person to start decorating my house the way it is in other peoples houses, especially someone I know. So, I'm pouring over my head and trying to see what I can do with a wall in my master bathroom. This is probably the largest unusable wall in the house. I mean what do you put on the wall in a bathroom. I wish I could find some gorgeous picture or something to enhance the garden tub experience. I am at a loss, but in the meantime I got a hanging basket from Lowe's and hung it on the wall above the toilet in the bathroom. It holds extra toilet paper, kleenex, air freshner, and a little box that holds my feminine products. I actually love it.

The wall in the master bathroom

With the basket up

All filled up

I like it and it cleans up the back of the toilet, which always bothered me having something sitting on the back of the toilet. Now, just to figure out the rest of the wall.

Cleaning and Organizing

I've spent the last week cleaning out things and organizing each room of the house. Some areas that are out in the open and a total eye sore every time I walk by them so I started here. It's the hallway from the master bedroom into the kitchen.

Before

After

I took the bookshelf from Joshua's room because it was bowing under the weight of all the books and there was just way to much wasted space because we didn't use a couple of the shelves.

Then I moved what was in the hall to Joshua's room and it works out so much better. He can reach all of his books and they can be spaced out a little bit more. 

My next project will be the wall in our bathroom...seriously of all the walls in the house to have so much space to do anything with and it's in the master bathroom. Well, here is it now...I'll figure something out and show an after picture later.

Clear Plastic Containers

We tend to buy most stuff in bulk around the house...it's cheaper and goes much further than going to the store every other day. So I bought a box of Oatmeal (which the boys LOVE for breakfast) and poured the bags into my plastic container. Then I thought...how am I going to know how much to make. So I pulled out my dry erase maker and wrote on the container...I didn't use permanent because I don't always put the same cereal in the same container.

New Use For Old Creamer Containers

So we go through coffee creamer in the house like crazy. I've been saving the containers and cleaning them out and letting them dry really well for about a week or more. Then I start filling them with things that I could use an easy pour spout for. Right now, I love the Cheerios in them because the boys love to eat them and I can just grab this from the counter or table and pour them onto the coffee table for them to eat up.

The containers...the first still has creamer in it...then Cheerios, then my Hot Chocolate Marshmallows.

New Wine Rack and Wine Glass Holders

Ever since Matthew was born I've really become a wine drinker...while I rarely have more than one or two bottles of wine in the house I've wanted a wine rack and someplace to hang my wine glasses (which after almost two years I've finally unpacked) so that they can be easily grabbed. We live on 5.6 acres and I really want to incorporate our farm life into our decor so I've really trying to decorate using items that we use here on the farm or that can be recycled.
So, while surfing the internet I ran across the blog, Tattered Style, where she used a rake head to hold wine glasses and all I could think, was how easy, inexpensive, and perfect.

Here are the rake heads after sanding them, wiping them down and then I sprayed them with Polyurethane to protect them and the glasses. Actually made them look really great.

Here they are up on the wall

 

Now the wine glass holders would not be complete without a wine bottle holder to go with them. Again, I ran across another blog, Wilsons & Pugs, where they took a pallet and made a wine holder. As I said above, I don't usually have bottles of wine on hand so we did half the pallet and put a couple of our bottles of Tequila in it for now. I also stained mine an Antique Jade color since we already have dark cabinets in the kitchen and the green will go good with the color I have picked out to paint our walls with later.

Joshua and Raul sanding down the wine holder

After I stained it

And how it looks up on the wall with the wine glass holders

Starting the Organizing Process

After being in the house for almost a year we are finally going to be doing some real decorating and organizing. Taking it room by room. This past weekend we added a couple of racks into the "pantry" closet off the kitchen. There will still be another full shelf being put in between the two already in there. I look forward to getting it completely organized with all the labels or chalkboard paint.

Here is the full pantry

The two existing shelves...one more will go in between them

The new racks under the bottom shelf