Jul. 30, 2008 - Wordless Wednesday - CHEAP organizing and de-cluttering

I have been very busy organizing things around here since we are officially starting school on Monday.  This post is kind of a Tightwad Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday post in one.  My "Tightwad" tip is that I used cardboard boxes to make my space more organized, thus I organized, but in frugal fashion! 

I had dd decorate these folders for me.  Now I will be able to easily find what I'm looking for when I need it.  Here is the drawer where I am keeping those:

Not only do I have my folders, but the blank paper in the front is all scrap paper.  To the right of that is index cards with Home Ec items I need to have dd do this year.  Under that are all of the recipe books that came with my GT Xpress.  Behind that are some items we will need for our Apologia science experiments this year, along with a few card games.  I may try to come up with a better way to organize the science items but don't want to tackle that one right now.

The above photo is the drawer with all of my baggies, along with some misc. items.  Those misc. items tend to roll around in the drawer, making it very difficult to find, so I added a box in the front to hold the tape, glue sticks, recipe cards that I still need to file away, etc.  Over to the right, you will see a jar with a lid.  That is a baby food jar we use to hold all of dd's erasers so that they can be easily found.  We have had this for a couple of years, and it has been wonderful to know EXACTLY where they are when she needs them.

The next photo is our "homeschool" drawer:

I have added three boxes to this drawer because there are so many little items that keep getting lost among the larger things.  In the front is a box with nothing but pencils.  The box behind that is all pens.  The box to the right has things like glue rings, recipe cards for dd's home ec project, sticky tabs for notebooks, etc.  I have her compass and protractor where they are very easy to find.  My planner is the blue book on top where it is easily accessible.  Under that is the YMCA schedule, which we use frequently.  I took all of the paper clips and put them in a baggy in the back of the drawer since the plastic container they came in would not stay closed.  Much nicer and much more functional.  DD was VERY happy to see it so organized. 

Here is our bread drawer, making use of boxes:

This drawer often has things (like candy, gum, etc.), just thrown into it.  I got tired of the mess and added the boxes, as well as a plastic container to keep those things more organized.  When they are thrown in there, they tend to get lost under the bread, then they go bad.  I have found that poptart boxes work really well in this drawer.

Next photo the bathroom drawer BEFORE added boxes:

And now the AFTER photo:

I added 2 boxes to the drawer to help keep things in their place.  I also added a baggie to hold all of dd's dental supplies.

Next is a BEFORE shot of my "Ebay" closet:

And now the AFTER shot:

Now when I stock up on paper supplies, I have a place to store them.

Next is the BEFORE shot of the shelf in this same closet:

And now the AFTER shot:

I didn't do a whole lot to it, other than straightening it a bit and making some room for books that had been on the closet floor.  Just an FYI -- I will likely be having a contest in the future and giving away some of the books in this closet. 

One last photo:

This is the bottom drawer of my nightstand.  I was brainstorming a couple of weeks ago and took all of the smaller items out of here and put them in my large jewelry box drawers.  I decided to put all of the 2-pocket folders + all notebooks in here.  This way, they are ALL in the SAME location instead of scattered in several different places.  Now we all know where to go when we need a notebook. 

On top of cleaning out the drawers, I also completed this list:
Went to the library, bank, book store,
2 days worth of LA and math with dd,
Washed towels,
Installed science cd-rom to get it ready for school next week,
Marked science book where we need to use the cd-rom,
Wrote out a tentative schedule for doing history,
Cleaned the clutter drawer in my bedroom,
Straightened up the bathroom closet,
Organized my hs books, and pulled some more from a closet so they are ready to go for next week,
Searched online (and bought) a hb dictionary with bigger letters (mainly for my menopausal eyes), 
Made 2 batches of window cleaner that is also a great disinfectant cleaner,
Straightened up the computer table and organized it,
Saved dh's files to a cd-rom,
Sharpened a huge amount of pencils,
Bleached our kitchen glasses to get the tea stains out,
Cleaned the fridge,
Baked a peach pie,
Dusted the furniture,
Did devotions,
Made some phone calls,
Did some blogging,
and I am sure there are some things I missed.  When I went to bed that night, I felt very refreshed because I tried my hardest to keep my thoughts focused on the Lord while I worked.  It was a very productive day indeed! 

I hope you have enjoyed looking at what I have done, but more than that, I hope it has inspired you with some fresh ideas for organizing your own home so that it will function more smoothly! 

~~ Stacy ~~

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Comments

Jul. 29, 2008 - Hi

Posted by Susan (A Happy Heart at Home)

Great idea using the boxes!

~Susan
http://ahappyheartathome.blogspot.com

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Jul. 31, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by eclecticeducation

Thanks for participating in Thoroughly Organized Thursday! :) I guess that was one way to take care of 3 Memes at once! lol! :) I really like all your little boxes. Great idea!

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