I’m quite pleased with my accomplishments this week! Although I was surprised to see that the closets in Sienna’s room didn’t need much work because I’ve been diligent in trying to keep them tidy!
I did however, manage to find a ton of clothes to donate from our closet and dresser! I was being quite ruthless.
Here are the clothes I’m getting rid of, minus a few jackets and shoes that aren’t pictured. I’m actually trying to sell them on a local Buy & Sell site!
The picture I took of the closet was horrible quality, but you can trust me that is emptier and tidier now after refolding some things!
I actually had to dig a few things out of the boxes storing Sienna’s outgrown/out of season clothes because we’re headed to Mexico next week!! Woo hoo for warm weather clothes!
Homemade dryer sheets have answered one of my laundry conundrums. For the longest time I was using plain white vinegar as a fabric softener in the wash, but I started to miss having that fresh smell that store bought fabric softeners provided. So, I thought I'd try my hand at creating my own homemade dryer sheets! The bonus in my mind, is that I'm still not using harsh chemicals to scent my laundry which is perfect for my family!
Here's how to make homemade dryer sheets:
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
a jar with a lid
1 cup white vinegar
20 drops of essential oil
several "rags" (ripped up t-shirts, baby cloths)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Place your rags into your jar.
Pour 1 cup of white vinegar and 20 drops of essential oil over top the rags.
Put the lid on the jar and shake it up!
Each time you put a load of laundry into the dryer, take a rag out of the jar and put it in with the laundry.
Dry as you would normally.
For my homemade dryer sheets, I've been using old baby cloths and a few rags that I cut from stained baby clothing. I also used lavender essential oil, but next time I make a batch I'll add 10 drops of vanilla and 10 drops of lavender!
Storage containers can be expensive if you have to buy them new. So take time today to assess your storage container situation to help you Get Organized in January. Take a look around at the things you already own that may be useful for storing things:
Plastic grocery bags. Use these to help seal freezer foods
Tins. Thinner tins such as cookie tins and chocolate tins can be used to store first aid items, sewing items and more. Coffee tins would be great for pens.
Cereal boxes. These work well for magazine and paper storage
Plastic buckets. For example, ice cream buckets!
Shoe boxes. Or any cardboard box in good condition for that matter.
Unused shelves
Baskets. Do you have any empty wicker or fabric baskets?
Old luggage/travel trunks. Decorative luggage and trunks can serve a dual purpose by storing out of season items while providing something neat to look at.
Here are some more affordable storage container solutions if you’re having troubles finding anything:
London Drugs. They quite often have faux suede decorative boxes that go on sale for about $2.99 which are great for holding magazines, DVD’s, CD’s and more.
What are some things around the house that are great for storing items that might not be on the list?
Last week, I organized my coupons. Took out the expired ones, clipped the new ones, then organized them into my binder system.
If you’re following along with the Get Organized in January event you may be interested in reading this How to Organize Coupons post I wrote last year. It details several different systems and ideas that may work for your coupon stash!
How do you organize your coupons? Will you be trying out a new system this year?
I’m back with the first update on my organization progress! I managed to get everything finished that I set out to do this week.
I started out with purging my books and magazines:
These are the books that will be leaving our house. Nearly a whole box! I cut my ties with some books that haven’t been touched in years or ever.
And the magazines that have left. Not too many! I seem to be getting better at not accumulating magazines.
Here’s the box that any magazines will go into. Every time it’s full, I’ve decided to purge some magazines to make room for any new ones that may land in my hands, rather then finding another box to fill.
The toys this year were a bit tricky. Sienna doesn’t have what I would call a lot of toys, but they still take up a corner of our living room and a couple of baskets. I’ve been putting things away in storage as she out grows them. I just can’t part with them for good in case a #2 comes along or we have little visitors!
This basket sits on our bookshelf where our CD player used to live (sold it!).
Her little figurine/toy phones/etc. live in this box which has a spot in our TV stand.
Coupons. I actually started this on December 30 because I wanted to use any full value coupons I had left! I cut and sorted the coupons into my binder system.
Guess what? Since I organized my coupons, that means you can expect to see a coupon giveaway on Monday with all of the coupons pictured below! (and more!)
