simple Analogy

You'll Notice In the Top Left Corner

 
Ok, I've been working on getting my tutorials into a better organized way for you to search through.  The "Tutorial Goodness" category is kind of maddening if you're looking for a specific type of tutorial - say like the fabric flower tutorial, etc. - because they are all lumped in there by date posted and must be scrolled through.  No way to categorize; no organization. 

You know how I love things nice and organized!  So I am making a new page, accessed by clicking the "Tutorials" tab underneath the banner, by searching through the archives and placing all my tutorials into categories with pictures and links to the different tutes.  Here are the categories that I forsee:  clothing, accessories, decor, multicultural crafts for kids, kids crafts, recipes.

Ah!  Organization!  It's a lot of work right now going back through several years worth of posts, but from now on any new tutorial will be immediately added.  It may take me a while to get it all done, so make sure to stop by every now and again to see what else is listed. 

Here's to a happy weekend...

My Jag

Jag - a period of overindulgence in an activity; a binge

I am on an organization jag.  It's official and I admit it!  I just can't seem to stop organizing my house.  Not a bad problem to have, eh?  This weekend I tackled the fabric scraps.  I do not have baskets and baskets of scraps, just one small bag full.  I organized them all by color, folded, and stacked them back into my scrap bag with a new determination to use up all the goodness I found there. 

My improv projects will help.  Also, if I can get it together, tomorrow I plan to sew some Maverick Stars for the Bushfire Project.  I'll have to hurry though!  They are due by March, which is right around the corner.  If you haven't jumped into this project yet, there's still time.  But wouldn't you know - the only thing I don't have for this project is the light background.  An excuse to go to the fabric store!!!

Newest Organizational Help

I'm hooked on Itso.  I was really having a problem storing all my cooking mags.  I had them in stacks under the kitchen sink.  Whenever I wanted to get them out, I had to dig through piles.  But no longer thanks to my Itso fabric covered storage bins!

 

Oh, and check out the Orla goodness as well!

Closet Space

The closet of my dreams.  Who wouldn't drool over a closet like this!  We spent some time at Container Store today getting some simple shelving for the linen closet and the pantry.  Elfa is 30% off.  I say simple, because it looks nothing like this.  Oh, that place is an organizers heaven!  I put blinders on and stuck to what I had on my list.  I call that self-control. 

***This is not a not a picture of my closet, but the one I'd love to have.  This is the Container Store version. 

Christmas Lists

Usually by this time of the year, I am pretty much done with all my Christmas gifts.  I know.  Some of you are wanting to shoot me, but please don't because this year I have almost nothing made or purchased.  Being out of my regular habitat probably has something to do with it.  Also, I've been too dog gone busy.  Did I get that phrase from Sarah Palin?  Sounds better when she says it. The busy-ness is about to be lightened though, so last Thursday I dared to get a list going.

I am a list maker.  It keeps me organized and on task.  After making my list, I discovered that maybe I'm not as far behind as I thought.  This year's list is made up of simple projects that do not require oodles of time.  And even better than that - I already have many of the items I need!  Now to clear the calendar... 

Speaking of lists, I enjoy looking at other's lists of Christmas suggestions.  When I saw the new Real Simple mag on the shelf I snatched it up, as well as Rachel Ray's Holiday edition.  Pardon the chopped off picture.  It's been rainy for several days and no good for photography!  I hardly ever buy any of the things listed, but it's fun to look at anyway!  But the lists I really enjoy looking at are the one that crafters put together.  Sew, Mama, Sew is my favorite.  Lots of good stuff going on over there!  You can also access their list from last year!

Comedy in a Drawer

I was putting dishes away Monday morning and had to put some kitchen gadgets in the drawer.  I couldn't even get it open.  Total chaos!  It's been this way for a long time, but since I'm the only one who has to put up with it and it wasn't visible, I put it on the bottom of my to do list.  But I finally had enough fighting with the drawer.

"I'm cleaning out the gadget drawer!"  I announced.  My husband exultantly said, "YES!  It needs it!"  I guess I'm not the only one who's been putting up with it.  After yanking the drawer free, I started taking out everything in it.  I ran out of space on the counter and decided it was time to get the trash can. 

Gadgetry is something that gets out of control very fast.  You know, the newest kitchen tool comes out and you think, "How could I ever live without this!"  Oh the money I've wasted.  So as I started digging through the mountain of gadgets I made the decision to use the method I use when purging the boy's toys.

As I went through the pile it started getting funnier and funnier.  Beside all the normal stuff I found large quantities of. . .

• dull paring knives (5) - I don't even use paring knives!  Must have been dull when I bought them, but why did I buy them?
• baby medicine dispensers  - Um, I haven't had babies for quite a while.
• crazy straws - These were the culprits that were making my drawer not open.
• dull vegetable peelers (4) - Did I think I would need to hold onto these in case a blight on sharp vegetable peelers hit America?
• empty cooking thermometer covers (3) - I always seem to melt the thermometer.
• and funniest of all . . . chip clips (53 to be exact) - Really!  I know we like chips, but come on now!  Exercises some moderation on the clips!

There's always the things you know you have to keep because you might need it one time in the next decade . . .

• cake knife/server - If at some point your butter knife just won't cut it.
• tea ball - The technology of tea bags might turn out to cause global warming, El Nino, and all the other environmental issues that could be blamed on it.
• cookie dough scoop - What if tablespoons go out of business?
• orange peeler - Peeling an orange with your fingers might become too strenuous an activity.
• V-shaped cutter - In case a watermelon has to be carved into a basket for some odd reason.

Anyway, I threw away a ton of the ridiculous, most of the not been used, and only kept 20 of the chip clips.  I just couldn't part with them.  Do I have a fetish for chip clips or what?

All In a Row

I like all my ducks chicks in a row!

PEEPS!  They are nothing but sugar and a tiny dot of wax.  Such a simple pleasure.  I love the texture of the squishy marshmallow, the crunchy sugar, and the waxy dot that sticks in your teeth.  It all goes together marvelously.  They come in many shapes (chicks or bunnies) and colors (yellow, pink, blue, green).  I have eaten all of the possible variations, but I have to say that my favorite combination is the yellow chicks.  I love the curve and the color!  Of course, I prefer to eat mine after they have cured for a few days, and are a little bit more firm (but not stale).

I also like to have all my ducks in a row,  meaning having everything organized and in its place.  I can't take too much clutter!  I am a thrower.  At least four times a year, I purge my house and get rid of anything that is in the way, or hasn't been used in a reasonable amount of time.  This includes toys.

Have you ever notice how toys seem to multiply without any help from us parents?  I don't know how this phenomenon happens, but over my twelve years of being a mom I have witnessed  it to be true.  I don't buy my kids very many toys.  I don't have to!  Any spare money they get is spent on them, although Landon is starting to go for clothes as well.  Along with the accumulation from the grandparents, birthdays, and Christmas, our toy piles just continue to expand throughout the year without any help from me.  Oh and don't forget all the things they bring home from kids meals.  (Although I must say that Chick-fil-A's are worth bringing home!)  My kids are also involved in AWANA at church.  They memorize verses, and for each verse they get shares (AWANA money).  A few times a year they get to spend it on . . . yep, toys in AWANA store.  They are getting better about their choices , but still it adds to the collection.

When my children were little, I would purge the toy box by myself and immediately take the bag to Goodwill so that they wouldn't drag it all out again.  Now that they are older, and have grown used to my quarterly tangent, they are quite willing to help me with the process.  This makes the whole thing go much faster. 

Our method:

• We have two bags . . . one for Goodwill, one for trash.


• Going drawer by drawer, we take every one of the toys out and analyze it.


• If it is broken it goes in the trash.


• If they don't like it any more, it goes to Goodwill.


• If I can't stand the toy any more, it goes to Goodwill.  (Some of them are just obnoxiously LOUD!)


• Also, if I see that the toy hasn't been played with in quite a while, we have a discussion on whether it should stay or go.  If they decide it should stay, I keep an eye out to see if they actually play with it after that.  If they don't, it goes during the next purge.


• After the drawers have been emptied and the unwanted put into the correct bag, we organize the toys and put them back into the drawers.  It's much easier to find the Lego piece you want if it's actually in with the Legos!

The whole thing doesn't really take that long, once you get the process down.  And what peace of mind I have knowing that everything is in it's place!  So can you guess what we will be doing during Spring Break?