I feel so organized!!

[MrsManiac]

One of my resolutions for the year was to get my entire house under control, from the storage crawlspaces to getting the basement back into "playroom" shape instead of being a catch-all area, to getting rid of all the excess paperwork dh tends to stash in the desk drawers! I've sort of implemented the fly-lady method of doing things in short bursts...it's taking forever but it's getting done lol!!

Anyways...I totally cleaned out all my kitchen cupboards. I mean I took EVERYTHING out and set it on the counter, the floor, the table. I washed the insides and began carefully putting things back. I found so much junk that had no reason to be in the kitchen lol!! I also got rid of a lot of unused storage containers, glasses, etc. I was able to create enough space in my bottom cupboards to get my crockpots and bread machine off the counter! I can also find all my bags because they're all together. And since everything now looks so nice, I'm finding it a LOT easier to keep up on it. Everyone knows I hate washing dishes, but I've been doing them after every meal and getting them put away so my kitchen stays neat-looking.

Which brings me to this post lol!! This morning I got the chili for dinner going in the crockpot, washed the breakfast dishes, wiped the counter, swept the floor, and realized all the stuff I had dreaded doing today was already done! I then took ten minutes and picked up the living room and ran the vaccuum, and did a quickie clean in the bathroom. AND I've got a load of laundry going that will most likely be dry by this evening(I line-dry) so I can get it put away. Oh, and I made the bed, too--I always forget that lol!!

Now, what to do with all my free time?

[barbszy]

MrsManiac, you're doing great! How about bottling all that energy and sending me some?

Congratulations on your accomplishment in the kitchen. Mine surely needs that kind of overhaul.

[SherBear]

GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!

I really REALLY need to do that too!!!

the one thing I have done lately is gotten to the basement... cleaned up my laundry area.. and we have a bedroom down there that has been the dumping grounds for everything.. well I finally got in there and (a trip to the dump later) I can see the floor!!!!!!

BUT the kitchen cupboards are a big big thing... I have a cupboard of just sippy cups that the kids dont even use anymore!!!! why are they still there taking up precious space!?!?!

I gotta get back to fly lady....I really do think it is a great plan!!

[barbszy]

SherBear, gotta love the sippy cup thing!!!!! I still have one child of "sippy cup age" so it will be a while before I get to get rid of those. OK, right now, empty them out! Keep 1 or 2 in case you have visitors of "sippy cup age" and give the rest away.

I have to figure out what to do with the sippy cups I bought my son who then decided to have a "brand preference" He will not use those other sippy cups. They've all been "tried" once, put in the dishwasher after, and are now taking up space in my basement while I think of what to do with them DH has a cousin with 4 kids, 2 of them are under 3. Maybe they can use them. These cups are BRAND NEW.

[Jenna]

Good Job, MrsManiac!

I am making spagetti sauce in the crockpot today! I dread making dinner sometimes too. I love my crockpot! It allows me to cook when I feel more like it, in the morning and then I have the freedom in my mind for the rest of the day.

I don't know how organized I am though! I'm preparing to painting our second bedroom, so there is stuff all over my dining room. I have been a bit sidetracked! My DH broke his ankle on Tuesday, so I don't think I will be painting for a while! I will have to get used to the mess in my dining room...for now!

Glad for you!
Jenna

[Lee]

I know what you guys mean about sippy cups! I have sooo many! I need to clear a few out myself. I only let ds use in between meals, otherwise its open cup with a straw! Now since I run my own daycare I have about 10 open kid cups...Have to laugh though I have 4 open cups from tupperware that my brother and I used when we were kids, I saw them in my grandmas cupboard and asked if I could take them. I think she was to happy to have them gone! Now I seem to be starting a collection of plastic cereal bowls...I dont see my cupboards being very organized for awhile, as I probaly will be adding a few bottles to the mix with the new baby! lol
Leighann

[MrsManiac]

Lol Lee--if you have a daycare. organization of the cups and bowls will NEVER happen!!

I just donated all the sippy cups to friends and family with little ones--and I sorted through the plastic bowls and saved just a few. My SIL gave me a nice set of breakfast stuff from Tupperware for Christmas(the cereal bowls have lids!! ) and we've been using that, so I'm slowly weeding out the extra stuff.

Dh got really motivated to clean up the basement! So yesterday we got to it--all the holiday stuff is now neatly stacked in the crawlspace, we've got a few huge bags of old blankets, etc to donate, and I went through every toy the kids own and put all the peices together. The ones that were missing most of the pieces got tossed, some older toys are getting donated. The rest are put away, at least until the kids get down there to play lol!! We also managed to clean our room--which has been a disaster for a while now. It looks like a totally different house! Now if I can just fight the urge to "replace" everything with more stuff, I'll be okay hehe.

[barbszy]

I went through Luke's room yesterday. Took out the changing table (he's 2 next week and a climber, so I felt it was risky to leave it there) and took out the clothes he's outgrown. Now I am boxing them up (went through the other kids' things last week) along with what I found in the other kids' rooms, and I already called the Vietnam Vets to come and pick it up on Monday.

I have some kitchen things to put in there, too....yesterday I took apart the kitchen hoping to rearrange things, only to discover that I had put things in a certain spot because that's the only place they fit!!!! Oh well, I wiped out all the cabinets and took out a milk crate full of things I no longer use.

If I get REALLY motivated before Monday I can go through the miscellaneous kitchen stuff in the basement and maybe get that in the Vets box too!

[barbszy]

Decluttering once again....
thanks to Luke.

I had to find a way to keep him out of the cassettes and CDs we have. He can open all the boxes and strew them around. So I decluttered a couple of bookshelves and put the boom box (small one) on a high bookshelf. All the CDs are there except about 10 that are still with the stereo in the family room. Those are high up in a little CD thing. They are the kids' CDs and this way they can reach them, when they want to listen to something.

In the process I got rid of about 35 old cassette tapes mostly from my HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE DAYS some of these things are 20+ years old I kept the "commercial" ones but pitched the tapes I made of my LPs

All the cassettes I still wanted to keep fit in some cassette boxes I already owned, which I slid under the couch. It has a skirt so no one can see what's under there. One smaller box has all the "read a story" tapes so when Luke is a little older I can take those out for him and let him play them on the Fisher Price tape player.

[SherBear]

WOO HOO on the decluttering!!!!

We did that nasty room in the basement.... and yup... had to make a trip to the dump!!!!

AND I cleaned out the sippy cup cupboard and gave them to the preschool .... AND I cleaned out the bowls and lids... holy moly do those stupid lids have a way of mulitiplying and where do all the bowls go?!?!?! lol...

I am procrastinating doing ds's closet...... and mine for that matter too....