Happy filing!
Monday, August 5, 2013
File Cabinet Clean Out
Every year I go through my filing cabinet and clean it out. All of the bill stubs, receipts, etc. go into a box and get stored away. Rather than just dumping them into a box I have decided to take advantage of the $1 section at Target and bought file folders. Now I can have them a little more organized in the box and label them by year. Easy peasy. Once again, simplifying things for now and later.
Happy filing!
Happy filing!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Simplifying Your Kitchen Cabinets
Seven different spatulas, four half bags of sugar and parts and pieces of small kitchen appliances that you no longer have haunt your kitchen drawers and cabinets. Just like a closet they collect a lot of junk. Using the same pointers as yesterdays post Living Room Closet Reorganize you can do the same for your kitchen.
I find that having an organized kitchen simplifies my routine in cooking and grocery shopping. Knowing where everything is keeps me up on what I am out of. To spruce things up I lined most of my drawers and cabinets with contact paper. My biggest reason for doing this is because I recently put in a new sink and garbage disposal and I saw how bad it looked under the sink. Here is what it looked like.
Before I put my contact paper down I painted the bottom of the cabinet with a primer that helps with mold and mildew. Kilz is a great product to use and it dries quick. Considering that I had minor water damage I figured this was a smart move.
After all is said and done this is the new look under the sink. I put my dish cleaning supplies in a separate tub than my other cleaners. I also made sure that my tubs had solid bottoms just in case anything leaked.
Moving onto my spice cabinets. I am warning you it's bad...
Seriously, Martha Stewart would pass out seeing this! I moved my spices to the other side of the stove in a different cabinet.
The most used spices are in the front rows and then what ever was left over I put on the side. My flour and sugar went into glass containers. My baking soda, baking powder and other small boxed baking/cooking items went into a tub and I labeled it on the outside. Being able to see and know where everything is makes cooking easier. I always hate when I go to cook something and I am missing an important ingredient. We all know the spice cabinet is a dreaded area to check when making a grocery list. This will definitely be a BIG saver for me.
If the task of taking on your entire kitchen is too much start with one cabinet or one drawer. Happy cleaning!
I find that having an organized kitchen simplifies my routine in cooking and grocery shopping. Knowing where everything is keeps me up on what I am out of. To spruce things up I lined most of my drawers and cabinets with contact paper. My biggest reason for doing this is because I recently put in a new sink and garbage disposal and I saw how bad it looked under the sink. Here is what it looked like.
Before I put my contact paper down I painted the bottom of the cabinet with a primer that helps with mold and mildew. Kilz is a great product to use and it dries quick. Considering that I had minor water damage I figured this was a smart move.
After all is said and done this is the new look under the sink. I put my dish cleaning supplies in a separate tub than my other cleaners. I also made sure that my tubs had solid bottoms just in case anything leaked.
Moving onto my spice cabinets. I am warning you it's bad...
The most used spices are in the front rows and then what ever was left over I put on the side. My flour and sugar went into glass containers. My baking soda, baking powder and other small boxed baking/cooking items went into a tub and I labeled it on the outside. Being able to see and know where everything is makes cooking easier. I always hate when I go to cook something and I am missing an important ingredient. We all know the spice cabinet is a dreaded area to check when making a grocery list. This will definitely be a BIG saver for me.
If the task of taking on your entire kitchen is too much start with one cabinet or one drawer. Happy cleaning!
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Living Room Closet Reorganize
Not only am I a neat freak about what you see in front of you but I am a neat freak about what is behind the closet door. If I were to have guests over and they were to open a closet door I would want them to be blown away. Plus it gives me peace of mind. The more clean, the more organized the more simple your mind and life will be. I shared with you how I organized my movies, well you will see how they were before in this post.
I even simplified my steps and rules to reorganize the closet and I am happy to share them with you.
1. Take inventory of what you have and decide what stays and what goes.
-I used the rule if we haven't used it, watched it, worn it, etc. in the last 6 months and there is no
sentimental value then it GOES.
Example: We had games that we haven't played in a long time so I put them in the donation box.
2. Decide where and how you are going to store the keepers.
-Prioritize your items and start from the ground up keeping eye level and reach height your top priority item space. This makes them more accessible and easier to keep organized.
Example: My vacuum is used once a week and my t.v. trays needed to be put "out of sight, out of mind" so we could have dinner at our kitchen table. So I put them out in the garage right next to the door. Then that way they are still in reach but they are not in the way.
3. Be patient and give yourself time to dive in and focus on the closet or area you are reorganizing.
-The more you rush yourself the more crap you will keep and the less organized it will be. You will be back to square one before you know it.
4. Try to keep a color scheme. I know that sounds crazy BUT the more uniform closets look the more organized they look. Rather than your eye looking at twenty different colored boxes your eye has one or two colors to look at.
So, with those simple steps plug away. Here is my before picture:
Total CHAOS! This seriously made me crazy every time I opened the door. Now I can relax and know I can open the door and find this:
For the items on the top shelf I labeled them. It gives it a little decorative touch. Here is a close up:
Now it's your turn. Happy reorganizing!
I even simplified my steps and rules to reorganize the closet and I am happy to share them with you.
1. Take inventory of what you have and decide what stays and what goes.
-I used the rule if we haven't used it, watched it, worn it, etc. in the last 6 months and there is no
sentimental value then it GOES.
Example: We had games that we haven't played in a long time so I put them in the donation box.
2. Decide where and how you are going to store the keepers.
-Prioritize your items and start from the ground up keeping eye level and reach height your top priority item space. This makes them more accessible and easier to keep organized.
Example: My vacuum is used once a week and my t.v. trays needed to be put "out of sight, out of mind" so we could have dinner at our kitchen table. So I put them out in the garage right next to the door. Then that way they are still in reach but they are not in the way.
3. Be patient and give yourself time to dive in and focus on the closet or area you are reorganizing.
-The more you rush yourself the more crap you will keep and the less organized it will be. You will be back to square one before you know it.
4. Try to keep a color scheme. I know that sounds crazy BUT the more uniform closets look the more organized they look. Rather than your eye looking at twenty different colored boxes your eye has one or two colors to look at.
So, with those simple steps plug away. Here is my before picture:
Total CHAOS! This seriously made me crazy every time I opened the door. Now I can relax and know I can open the door and find this:
For the items on the top shelf I labeled them. It gives it a little decorative touch. Here is a close up:
Now it's your turn. Happy reorganizing!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Fitness Friday: My Favorite Workout Equipment
One way I (and my husband) simplified my life is by bringing workouts home. Rather than going to the gym, (which we hardly used and then had a huge guilt trip) we decided to take control and create our workouts with our own resources around us. Why not right? So, of course we bought some minor equipment/accessories (my husband prefers to call it equipment) so we could better our work outs. These are my favorite things to use:
1. My blue workout/yoga mat. This is about an inch thick! This was $30.00 BUT check Ross or Marshall's because they had them for half that. I found that out after. However, having hardwood floors it's totally worth it.
2. Hand weights. I have 3 lbs and these are great to add to a lunge routine.
3. Jump rope. This will give you serious cardio and a great boost right before a run. Plus it rolls up nice and neat.
4. Elastic Band. This is an amazing multi piece of equipment. You can adjust it just by your stance on the band.
There you have it! I have all of this in my living room closet where I can grab it and start working out. Keeping your workout equipment where you can easily access it will keep you using it more. Happy workout!
1. My blue workout/yoga mat. This is about an inch thick! This was $30.00 BUT check Ross or Marshall's because they had them for half that. I found that out after. However, having hardwood floors it's totally worth it.
2. Hand weights. I have 3 lbs and these are great to add to a lunge routine.
3. Jump rope. This will give you serious cardio and a great boost right before a run. Plus it rolls up nice and neat.
4. Elastic Band. This is an amazing multi piece of equipment. You can adjust it just by your stance on the band.
There you have it! I have all of this in my living room closet where I can grab it and start working out. Keeping your workout equipment where you can easily access it will keep you using it more. Happy workout!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Simplify Your Life Week
I have been missing for a couple of weeks but with good intentions. I have been gearing up for this new month and some great projects that I think everyone will like.
To start things off this month it is National Simplify Your Life Week. For 7 days I will blog about the things I have done to simplify my life. From de-cluttering my closet, reorganizing the tiny spaces to sharing ways I simplify my mind and body.
So, to start the week off I will show you how I reorganized my movies. Both my husband and I don't really buy the collectors editions of DVD's so when I decided to take them out of their cases and into paper sleeves I didn't have a hard time parting with the clutter of the cases. For those of you who do have some of those collector items you can always get rid of the cases of the ones that are not collector's editions. My friend did that and even though she had quite a few that she wanted to keep in the cases she still made a ton of room from the ones that she put into sleeves. I cut the picture from the case and glued it to the front of the sleeve. I saw this idea on Pinterest. I think that they used the clear plastic sleeves and just slipped the picture into it. This would save you time. Then I alphabetized them and put them in a canvas bin. Of course I went through and got rid of the ones I had doubles of or just didn't like.
Above is a picture of the before disaster. Over 200 DVD's and they are all pretty now. Check out the picture below to see what a little simplification can do...
WOOOHOOO! I feel so relieved. This has been on my list of things to do for a long time. I had done this with some other movies a long time ago but not with my favorites or with putting the picture on the front but I am glad that I did it. Happy simplifying!
To start things off this month it is National Simplify Your Life Week. For 7 days I will blog about the things I have done to simplify my life. From de-cluttering my closet, reorganizing the tiny spaces to sharing ways I simplify my mind and body.
So, to start the week off I will show you how I reorganized my movies. Both my husband and I don't really buy the collectors editions of DVD's so when I decided to take them out of their cases and into paper sleeves I didn't have a hard time parting with the clutter of the cases. For those of you who do have some of those collector items you can always get rid of the cases of the ones that are not collector's editions. My friend did that and even though she had quite a few that she wanted to keep in the cases she still made a ton of room from the ones that she put into sleeves. I cut the picture from the case and glued it to the front of the sleeve. I saw this idea on Pinterest. I think that they used the clear plastic sleeves and just slipped the picture into it. This would save you time. Then I alphabetized them and put them in a canvas bin. Of course I went through and got rid of the ones I had doubles of or just didn't like.
Above is a picture of the before disaster. Over 200 DVD's and they are all pretty now. Check out the picture below to see what a little simplification can do...
WOOOHOOO! I feel so relieved. This has been on my list of things to do for a long time. I had done this with some other movies a long time ago but not with my favorites or with putting the picture on the front but I am glad that I did it. Happy simplifying!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Corkboard Spruce Up
Rather than hanging my plain ol' cork board on the side of my fridge in my kitchen you know I had to do something to spruce it up. So, I took a black Sharpie marker and a stencil that I have had for a long time and traced the design and colored it in. Yes, that easy.
After I traced the pattern I moved it around until the board was filled. Then I went back and colored it in. Just a simple way to decorate a cork board and not waiting for paint to dry. What's nice too is that you can use any colors! Happy designing!
 |
| My supplies |
 |
| My pattern after I traced it. |
 |
| My finished product! |
Friday, July 12, 2013
Fitness Friday: My Favorite Work Out Video
Sometimes we don't always have time to go to the gym or to the school up the street to work out. Luckily I had the great opportunity to borrow a work out video that, well, quite frankly kicked my butt AND gave me some of the best results I have seen. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred is AMAZING! There are 3 levels and each work out is 20 minutes long. You will be pouring sweat 5 minutes into the video. My endurance has increased and my under arm jiggly-ness has gone away. Not to mention I can do push ups like a pro. Try this video out I am telling you it is worth it. Happy fitness!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)