Teacher Appreciation Gift

I am not a crafty person at all, so most of my gifts are not homemade, unless it’s food. I’m a pretty good baker. :)

I always struggle with teacher gifts, but my usual go-to gift is supplies of some sort in a fun or practical container, which I decorate and wrap up nicely. Money is tight for teachers these days—at least in our district, and I assume in most other parts of the country—so I’m sure extra supplies are always appreciated.

Before Christmas, I was browsing in Michael’s and found some dollar bin items that were actually on clearance. Score! I think I paid around $5 for the entire gift, including wrapping. I got some black and white monogrammed pencils and magnets and a fun coffee cup to put them in.

I wrapped it up in cellophane and tied a pretty bow around it.

And there you have it—an easy, attractive, and most importantly, inexpensive gift.

The Great Shoe Purge

I am a major shoe horse – or at least I used to be. Years ago, I discovered what shoes could do for an outfit. The right pair of shoes can make an outfit shine. So, I started collecting shoes, buying them at the end of season clearance sales. I bought shoes specifically for certain outfits and shoes that would go with most of my wardrobe. One pair of black shoes wouldn’t do. I needed a dressy pair, super casual pair, clogs, flats, etc. I’m sure some of you can relate, no? I ended up with so many shoes that I had to change them out each season.
I finally decided that enough was enough! I got to the point where I was only wearing certain pairs, and many others were looking ragged.
I packed two garbage bags full of shoes to give away—a total of 17 pairs. I don’t think I ever wore the lime green heels and wore the white mules maybe once.

I’m so proud of myself! However, I still have 30-40 pairs left, and I’m not ready to part with any of those yet!

Linking up with:


IHeart Organizing

Microwave Cart Frustration

I have a microwave cart that was given to me when I got married. It was handmade, and in that regard, is very special. I don't plan to ever get rid of it. I have struggled to keep it organized, though, especially the bottom part where I keep my plastic containers. I tried Rubbermaid wire risers/shelves, but they just didn't work for me. Finally, I decided to forget about the shelving. I got rid of a bunch of mismatched containers, and this is what I ended up with:

Believe it or not, it stays organized like this!

There is one shelf above this part, and it has been a mess for years:

The blue basket with snowflakes on it contains a mess of papers and coupons. I recently bought a bunch of paper plate/napkin sets that were on clearance at Target. Those were crammed in a drawer in my dining room buffet.

I finally had enough. I remembered that I had an extra plastic container from Target. It fits perfectly in this area and is a great place to store the plates and napkins. I moved the plastic wraps to another part of the kitchen (future post), stored the folders elsewhere, and added this container:

I also had my kitchen towels stored in different places in the kitchen and dining room. That was bugging me big time, so I had this revelation that I could corral them in a smaller storage container that fits perfectly beside the bigger container. And, of course the containers match. :) I got them both at Target.

So, here's the new and improved top shelf of my microwave cart, and there's even a little extra space to the right of the smaller container. I'm sure I can find something to put there. :)

I really can't believe I didn't do this before now. I've lived in this house for almost four years and have been frustrated with this cart from the first day I unpacked boxes. It's amazing how small things like this can make such a big difference.

My next task is to tackle that blue basket with snowflakes on it, which is sitting on top of the ironing board in the hall. ~sigh It never ends!

The Wedding!

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I admit that I am excited about watching the royal wedding tomorrow morning. I can't believe I'm going to get up at 4:30 to watch, but I just love pomp and circumstance and am interested in what Kate will be wearing.

I snickered this morning when my 13 1/2 year old daughter, who is my stylish social butterfly, talked about how she would love the wedding to be held later in the day so we could have a Wedding Party.

Complete with...

Union Jack Nails

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Fancy Suits and Hats

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Scones

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Tea

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And Croquet

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Sounds like a fun afternoon to me!

Command Central

One of the things I have learned from so many awesome organizational bloggers is that life is much easier when daily paperwork and basic supplies like pens and post-its are at your fingertips. As a busy mom of two children, there are always things to keep up with--notes to sign, coupons to clip, receipts to save, etc.

I previously kept these things in lots of different places--some in the microwave cart, some clipped to the refrigerator, and who knows where else! Pens were never close at hand and post-its were downstairs in the basement.

I finally decided that something needed to be done. I cleared off one section of my counter top and designated the space to my important papers and supplies. First, I searched for a container for holding file folders, but everything I found was too wide. I needed something narrow because I don't have that many files, and I didn't want it to take up much space. I finally got my daughter to let me use one she had in her room that was the perfect size. I'm supposed to replace it, of course ;-).

 

I attached a calendar for my daughters' school information and schedule.

Next to the folders, I have a cup of pens and pencils (from Starbuck's) and a letter sorter (from TJ Maxx) which holds pads and post-it notes.

I have seven file folders. One day I will make proper labels for them. :)

This has helped me so much and has kept me so organized. All I have to do is pull out the proper folder, and everything I need is right in front of me.

Linking up with:

Organize and Decorate Everything

I'm An Organizing Junkie

I'm Here

More posts are on their way, I promise!! Life is getting in the way of my blogging time. I work full-time and have two active children who keep me very busy. Editing photos takes so much time, but I'm getting the hang of it.

Be back soon!

Household Binder Love

I've seen family binder challenges all over blogland since January. Thanks to so many great, inspirational bloggers, I have been motivated to clean up and bring some order into my home. I love to be organized and could be really obsessive about it if I didn't control myself! I mean things like color coordinating EVERYTHING--labels, containers, tab folders, etc., or spending copious amounts of time figuring out how to determine categories for filing, etc.

But, thanks to bloggers like Jen from iHeart Organizing, I have put my organizational skills to work. I decided to participate in her Household Binder challenge.

Without further ado, here's how I organized my binder. I still have some work to do, but it's a start. I used most of Jen's wonderful printables (and of course tried to color coordinate everything!).

Here's my binder:

I was going to get one of Target's pretty ones but decided to be frugal and use something I already had on hand. I got some pretty scrapbook paper from Michael's and slipped it into the clear pockets on the front and spine. I didn't label my binder or put in a cover sheet, because it's the only binder (so far) that I have. A recipe binder will follow at some point.

I got the pocket tab dividers from Target:

And labeled the tabs with these categories:

Important Dates
Calendars
Important Information
Auto Logs
Gifts and Wish Lists
Household Wants
Finances

Here's what's inside:

Important Dates

Calendars

Important Information

Auto Logs

Gifts and Wish Lists

Household Wants (in this section I included places to jot down things I'd like to get for the house or movies or books that I'd like to read)

Finances (I made up my own charts here. I pay almost everything online but do get a couple of bills. Those will be placed in the front pocket of the tab divider. All I really need is a place to jot down the bills that need to be paid for the month, the amount, when they are paid, and totals.)

That's it for now. I have room left to add categories if needed, and I would also like to add a zipper pouch to keep pencils, pens, stamps, and anything else I might need to keep the binder up and running.

I'm looking forward to having everything all in one place!

Linking up to these parties: