Category: Organize

Lessen the mess and keep it all together!

DIY, Farm, Frugal, Getting Girly, Home, Organize

My Pantry

veronica

Ok, confession time…. I actually posted this by complete accident.  I meant to just get the pictures and then go back and write the post but obviously I reversed the process. So here is the *actual* article.

Now, this room is shabby at best.  It’s basically shelves in a half sunken room off of my kitchen.  Nothing special.  Concrete, unfinished boards and canning supplies.  But I took a shine to this ratty little corner of my home.  It became a pleasure to see my canning jars lovingly lined up on the shelves.  Some bursting with past produce and some awaiting their turn to be filled up with home canned goodness.  Not only does it hold all my kitchen essentials it can serve as a shelter should we need it.  (We don’t get hurricanes or tornadoes here but you never know)

And so because this little room is near and dear to me I have a plan to give it a make over.  Of course. The first step was sealing all those pesky cracks because old saw dust insulation kept trickling down on me…. not fun…especially when there are spiders and one might accidentally mistake said sawdust for a spider running down one’s back…maybe.

Anyhow, that was a simple fix.  I DIYed a quick wall paper paste and used large sheets of white card stock to paste over the cracks. Ta-da! Take that tricky saw dust!

The next faze will be to white wash the whole shebang.  I am planning on going totally old school on this little jobby so  I am going to mix up another DIY for white wash.  This will be my first go with that and if it works well I plan on using it for the interior of the smaller outbuildings to brighten things up (so I can see when I go hunting in the large freezer).

Finally, I plan to use those awesome vintage wall papers to dress up those plain white shelves.  It’s going to be all granny blissed out I tell ya’!

I am super excited for this little make over and as soon as my little self is able I want to put some time into it.

Happy DIY!

 

 

0111191146c-01708899651.jpeg
What awaits down the pantry steps?
0111191146a-01161292772.jpeg
Shelves full of jars and totes full crafting supplies … these are a few of my favorite things!

 

 

0111191146-01146050427.jpeg
Though she be shabby- she be useful!
0111191146d-011277034309.jpeg
Are you in love with these vintage papers?! Guilty!

What do you think?  I will put out a  completed “tour” once it is finished.  Until then, have a wonderful day!

Advertisement
Farm, Home, Life, Organize

The Hidden Corners

veronica

A picture is worth a thousand words….

wp-15469868583181822148773.jpg
Exhibit A: side view of glorious mess
Exhibit B: top view of glorious mess

This glorious mess was my craft closet. The place you go to for glue sticks and markers. Where the glitter, paper and paint hang out. Where the wild things are.

I was doing admirably well on my decluttering mission but I could not face the craft cupboard. You see, I have been a teacher for the last decade. That pile of junk represented years of well thought out activities and all the chaos that they bring. It represented children whose faces lit up when I told them it was time for art. It was their pride in creating something of their own that made me just so happy to be the one who got to share that moment with them.

It was also a festering cubby that had grown into an aggressive stash. It would attack anytime someone opened the door searching for a clipboard. It was time…

The empty space. Wow. That’s a pretty big cupboard!

I have come to the conclusion that these things just take time. I am still adjusting to not being a full time teacher. It hurts a bit not to be that anymore but it’s where I’m at. I gave myself permission to get rid of what I no longer needed and also to be who I am right now. This stuff that is so meaningless was tied into who I was, or who I had been. Now I have set it free and also myself.

I can honestly say I feel like the possibilities are endless. God use me for YOUR glory. Make me what you will.  ❤

Also some cool bananas I drew a while back. Because Bananas.

….🎹🎶🎵”Isn’t she lovely?”🎼🎵🎤…..

Um, sorry I was having a moment. Anyway, all the useful stuff found its way back home. No more leftover school stuff and half baked art projects. I may or may not have opened the door just to gaze at it 10x in a row…

I know it doesn’t seem like much but this cupboard really nagged me. More for what it represented to me than anything else. Sometimes the things we collect can really hold our minds in limbo. I have found decluttering to me is much like showering or praying.  The weight of worry lessens and you just feel better about life in general.

Unfinished business is always at the tail end! Thrift and gift time! I take out the trash then I can donate or gift any useful items in not going to use.

Aaahhhh…..did you hear that? It was the cupboard door closing with nary a bump!

Best of everything to you all!

Being Mama, Organize

Capsule(ish) Wardrobe to Simplify Life

veronica

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I posted. Life. You know how that goes! 😶😯😄

Today I am working on school prep. I’m sure you are wondering how that applies to my closet…Well, when you have chores and kids and animals all crammed into your school morning anything you can do to streamline is a big plus. So in with the capsule(ish) wardrobe! Ok, so I kinda cheated. I narrowed it down to 40 pieces and a true capsule wardrobe would be half that ( or less). But to be real I live where the weather is very changeable so I did repeats of some items in different fabrics. For example I have 3 black toppers: a sweater cardigan, a lightweight layering cardigan and a heavy neoprene hooded vest. That easily could have been one item instead of three but, again, the weather… I also have three denim skirts because I live in them and I don’t want to wear the same thing 2x a week. (Yes, I’m an over washer and if you think I’m “saving” that shirt for another wearing you are wrong)

So here was the 40 piece capsule(ish) wardrobe

If you will notice the bulging suitcase above… yeah, those are summer clothes. And down the hall there is this…

This is back up in case I just get sick of the whole idea after a while. So yeah, I definitely cheated but I have to be real here. I know that things get stale after a while and I may want to swap my color palate around.

For this capsule I used denim, black and beige tones for neutrals. I added blue/ greens, gray and berry colors to liven things up. My goal was to create fast and pulled together outfits every day that consistently looked good and saved me time.

In my capsule:

10 bottoms- black, denim, beige

10 tops- blue, green, berry, black , cream

2 vests- black, beige

10 toppers (cardigans or jackets to layer)- black, beige, denim, green, gray

8 dresses- beige, berry, green, blue, gray, black, patterned

I feel like this is a good amount to get me through 2 weeks if needed but not so much that my closet is crammed.

Why bother with all this work you ask. Well, the great thing about a capsule wardrobe is that each item is supposed to easily mix and match with the others so that you always have a pulled together look without all the time matching an outfit while you are standing in your towel and late for work. Basically, all your outfits are preplanned to go together in a snap.

So the big question is – does it work??? I didn’t want to wait a week to do a test run so I did a BLIND sample.

I turned off the lights and walked to my closet and closed my eyes. I grabbed a bottom and a top and then peeked to see what I ended up with.

Test 1:

Test 2:

Test 3:

To be fair I could feel the nubby texture of the sweater vest in test 3 and the cream bell sleeve was next to it which also had lacy fabric in it so I guess my tactile senses helped on that one.

I’d probably toss a denim jacket over the top in test 2 but I would wear all three of these out so I consider it a success!

Tell me how you save time in the morning!

Home, Organize

Multi Tasking and Taming the Paper

veronica

The stack of things going with me today are as follows:

  1. A Bible
  2. A lesson plan book
  3. A planner filled with scraps of paper that need to be dealt with
  4. A plain notebook filled with bubbling ideas
  5. 2 manuals on 2 completely unrelated subjects
  6. A clipboard

What can I say? I like to get stuff done. And I’m feeling optimistic.

Since my son has been driving with a permit it has enabled me to use the time for office tasks that ordinarily would be left undone. I’m not saying I’m finally getting everything nailed down but after a major purge of the house (and more to come) I’ve cleared a bit of room to work and space in my brain. Now I’m beginning to see the light if day and make sense of the mess. *Sigh!*

If car drives are how I can conquer the mounting paper piles the, by golly, I will use my mobile office as often as possible!

So tell me, how do you tackle projects and keep your life clutter free?

Home, Organize

Just Getting Started

veronica

Yesterday I was in big time purge mode. I just got tired of being tired. I’m sick of managing “stuff”. I want clarity of mind when I look at my home and I want to be able to find the stinkin’ tweezers!

Anyway, I cleared out a couple of kitchen cupboards and ended up with a full trash can and a bag to donate. That felt so good I kept on going…and going… it’s like that one action sparked a whole chain of events. We ended up with 3 bags to donate, 3 bags in the trash and several items that we could sell.

Now, I’m no mimimalist by any stretch of the imagination. But when you are wearing many different hats simplicity is the name of the game.

Just for funnsies I took a before and after of my most dreaded cupboard. The baking cupboard. *shudder* Truth is…it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just goes to show you that the old saying “Once begun is half done” still rings true!

My girls love baking! Putting things away neatly? Not so much :/
Neater but not very easy to get to…I need a shelf!
Pretending to be handy and install my shelf…um, yeah…
Reason #5, 001 why I love this guy!
So.much.better. It really is the little things!
Frugal, Home, Life, Organize

Tidy and Thrifty*bring in 2018!

veronica

If selling a house has taught me anything it’s that you can always use a healthy edit. This is true for our inner lives as well as possessions. I like to dig through cupboards and closets periodically and just get a little ruthless with the items hidden within. Has it been used in the last year? Do you love it? If either of those is a no then it’s probably something you really don’t need. Well, I love gathering as much as I love purging so this is an almost endless cycle at times. I’m working on a new edit system so we don’t get a pile up. It helps to keep things from coming in the house so that it doesn’t become clutter in the first place.

I always love a good container too. If I find some thing that fits the bill I will use it no matter what it looks like. If I find something that fits and is cute I will love it forever.

Here are a few of my finds from my latest thrift trip. They are of the functional variety, not the cute kind *sigh*

Gloves! And hats! And scarves! Oh my! Love these hanging organizers for those little items.
Napkins, we need them, OFTEN. Now they can stay on the table:)
The farm animal closet holds all of our extra small feeders and medicines. I found a small wire basket to keep the bunny water bottles in place.
Junk drawer organizer? I think, yes:)
Old samsonite to keep my sewing notions in one place? Yes, please!

I usually go there first if I’m in need of something then go to the next expensive place. The order is: thrift store, Dollar Tree, Walmart, Amazon – (that’s my money saving buying progression) so now you know another one of my budget secrets. 😉

Happy New Year everyone! I hope it’s fresh and bright and tidy and filled with blessings!