And the Winner Is...

Thank you all so much for your fun comments during the month of April.  I hope that you are feeling organized in a few more spaces now.

And the winner of the Speedy Spring Pretty Organize is...

Congratulations!

Your prize will be delivered to you shortly.

Be sure to check the blog this week to see some basement updates!

The Fridge

I hate the fridge.

H. A. T. E.

Okay...let's back up.  THIS fridge I love.

Look how suuweeeet he is with his retro vibe!  My parents got him for us when we moved to our current home.  I had seen him in a flyer and had to do some serious pestering at Home Depot to get him delivered to my door.

THIS is the fridge I hate.

Inside

Door

I am the person who leaves things all moldy in there until my husband finally throws them out.

However, today I grabbed a pail of soapy water and a cloth, set my timer and got started.  I emptied it one shelf at a time and wiped it out.  

I got rid of anything gross or old.

 I tried to categorize a bit and keep similar items together.  In our family we make the next day's lunches as soon as the kids arrive home from school so I often have 3 lunch kits in there.  I planned for extra space while I was cleaning the top shelf out.

Before

After

There wasn't that much to sort on the door but I emptied everything and wiped it out.

It actually took awhile and I went 5 minutes overtime.

Door Before

Door After

I guess the freezer will have to wait.

And that concludes our 8 organizing sessions.  I hope you have felt encouraged to tackle some of your spaces that needed a little face lift.  

Looking forward to announcing a winner on Sunday night!

Office Tidy

It is great to have both a desk and table in my office but it is also easy to let them get covered with piles of stuff.  And yes, the point of having two work spaces is to use them both, however, every so often I need to do a little tidy so that they don't end up piled any higher.

Table Before

Desk Before

I was worried that both spaces were too much for 30 minutes but I decided that if I really focussed, I could manage it.  The problem with an office tidy is that it is really easy to get distracted with projects and to-do lists and such so my goal was to only do the task at hand.

I started with the table.

I cleared out some gift bags that we brought home from a gala the other night.  My pile of 40th birthday cards got put in my special card box.  I had a little pile of papers and magazines that needed filing.

Before

After

Moving on to the desk, I had a quick look through all the papers on top, kept what needs to be done right away under the paper weight, threw some out and filed the rest.  I have file folders for projects or tasks that are coming up soon as well as to-do's that are not a rush.  I flipped through the files and removed items that were out of date.  

Before

After

On the other side of the desk I tidied my little turquoise organizer.

Before

After

When you tackle your space try to keep your focus on getting everything into its place.  This is not the time to actually DO the many little jobs that most of us have piled up (call the doctor, pay the bills, choose the summer camp).  This is the time to organize them so that you can come back to them later and none will be forgotten or get overlooked.  

Before

After

Okay, confession.  It pushed me 5 minutes over the limit but I did a quick drawer tidy as well.

If you never use it, get rid of it.  Keep often used items in front where you can reach them easily.

Before

After

I hope that a little office organize will help you to work more efficiently in your space!

Final Week

Here we are in week four...only one hour of organizing away from the big prize draw!!

Our last two projects will be:

~office/desk tidy

~the fridge

See you tomorrow!

Wardrobe

Today I tackled my wardrobe.  

Goals:

~Move sweaters from other locations of my bedroom into the wardrobe.

~Give bathing suits a bigger box.

~Make room for new swim towel.

~Purge.

~General tidy.

First I grabbed sweaters that I was storing in my closet, moved them to the wardrobe and instead put turtlenecks on the closet shelf.

Before

After

Next, I went through all my sweaters, purged a few, and then sorted them into piles for winter, cardigan, summer, etc..  You can sort according to categories that make sense to you.  I put them all on the top 2 shelves of the wardrobe.  If you have limited space, store off season sweaters in a box in your closet or under your bed.

Before

After

I wanted to use a pretty box I had to store swim suits and cover ups as they were overflowing out of their turquoise basket.  I also have a fab Hudson Bay swim towel that has been sitting on a bench in my room since Christmas so I wanted to make space to store it as well.

I used the now empty turquoise basket to store small purses.

After

Before

I decided to hang purses with long straps on the doors.

It's easy to get lazy and just toss clothes into spots that are the most convenient, but then I find that I forget where I've put something and end up not wearing it for awhile until I discover it hiding under a purse or whatever.  The extra second it takes to put it back on its pile helps me to wear it more often, and also helps me to realize which sweaters I am not ever wearing and really should be purging.

Before

After

Happy Organizing!

Bathroom Drawer

 This top drawer of the dresser in our bathroom is full of my stuff.

I have lots of organizers and for the most part it's not so bad in there but every so often it needs a little tidy.

What I wanted to focus on for this project was getting rid of stuff I will never use.  I have a hard time with waste.  But the truth is, whether it sits in my drawer for 6 years unused or sits in the garbage dump, either way, it is wasted.  

If you have toiletries that you know you really will not use, the goal today is to either donate them (if they are new), pass them on to a friend who might love that scented lotion that gives you hives, or, as a last resort, throw them out.

So, with timer set, I split my drawer into 3 sections and got sorting.

I was able to clear out a bunch of elastics and hair stuff that actually belonged to the kids.  I also took out one of the hair sprays and left it on my dresser so I will use it up...I am terrible at starting a new bottle before the old one is gone.

Before

After

The middle bins got a little tidy and items that did not really belong got moved.

Before

After

I sorted through the make up and organized a bit.  This clear plastic organizer is from Ikea and I love it!  Beside the hairspray I also left out some furniture pads which Dino and I were supposed to put on the legs of the dresser weeks ago.  

Before

After

After 25 minutes I was done and while putting some nail polishes away in the second drawer, I noticed that it was breaking apart.  So I ended up emptying it out, getting Dino to fix it, and then replacing everything - so it got a little tidy up as well. 

Before

After

Guess what did not feel wasteful to throw away?  This ridiculous motion sickness bracelet did not work and as far as I am concerned, is complete MALARKY!  

Not to mention it looks like some sort of Jane Fonda work out gear.

Have fun pretty organizing your toiletries space!

Speedy Spring Pretty Organize Week Three

We're half way there guys!  

2 hours gone, 4 spaces pretty organized.

Many names in the hat.

We are enjoying the updated areas around our home and so far things have been maintained.  

For week three we are moving to the personal stuff.  

~bathroom drawer

~my wardrobe

Now you may have a cupboard rather than a drawer in your bathroom and a dresser rather than a wardrobe...but basically, it's my make up area and sweaters.

See you tomorrow!

Nightmare Cupboard

This is our candy cupboard.  

Want a closer look?

Yah, I know.  Yikers.

The problem?

Bag upon bag of candy that belongs to a specific kid.  I want to just have general bins we dump it all into but they want to keep some of their treats separate.  Of course I can't blame them, which is why I end up with multiple bags flung up there in a general state of disaster.

The solution?

Dollarama.  

A jar for every one of us (except hubby...who does not have a sweet tooth) and a couple of general storage bins.

Process:

~Grab garbage bag.

~Set timer.

~Label storage.

~Sort!

~Purge!

The upper shelf in the cupboard held crackers.  I decided that was silly since we use crackers often and I cannot reach up there.  I switched them to a lower cupboard and instead put jello and ice cream cones up top.  This also left me more space for the general chocolate storage bin.  I love that the handles make these bins easier to grab down.

Before

After

I really need a mini egg now.