I have a few resolutions, but #1 on my list is getting organized. I started on this resolution the week before January 1st because in this
vida loca of mine, getting organized is the only way to stay sane.
I used to be a pretty organized person before the kids came along. Now, I have to make a conscious effort to stay neat, tidy and have everything in its place. When the good folks from Simon Malls approached me about doing a post on organization - well, let's just say I was all over it because just a few weeks into the new year and I'm already running on fumes.
So I took a little trip to
Westminster Mall and walked around for hours (literally) before finally settling on a few products that have made a big difference in my home and my life.
Following are a few pictures of what I've been doing around the house with these products.
The Refrigerator
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Products: Food storage organizers purchased at Babies 'R Us (under $11). |
We have a big fridge. Food is easily lost in there, which usually ends up costing us money because we end up throwing away so much of it. I went the extra mile here and after organizing the foods into categories (beverages, coffees, baby food, spreads, condiments, "meats", cheese and yogurts, eggs, toppings, leftovers), I labeled them using my Dymo label maker. This ensures that I consistently take the time to put food away where it belongs and allows for the Hubster to find food easily too.
Now that the baby is at the 7 month mark I'm ready to start distancing myself from my
JJ Cole Swag diaper bag
(which I completely adore but can get pretty heavy). However, there are
two things that absolutely need to go with me wherever I go - besides
my phone and diapers that is - and that's the hand sanitizer and the
baby's feeding utensils. I purchased these two items at
Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle (my new favorite store at Westminster Mall).
I tackled my disastrous cabinets with a vengeance and organized it as best I could given the limited amount of space. I honestly wish I had taken before pictures because I can assure you - it was a complete mess.
I decided to use materials that I had in our home to help with this pantry by cutting up cereal boxes and using them to organize mixes and all those spices that come in those cello bags.
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Top shelf - baking products
Middle shelf - treats and hot beverage mixes
Lower shelf - oils and spices
Door - spice organizer via school fundraiser |
Every room in my home could do with some organizing... including my restroom. How happy was I when I found just the thing that would do this! This uber-cute Hello Kitty toilet paper cover was purchased at
Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle and it has a place to stash an extra toilet paper roll. I am especially in love with this product because the Hubster now has zero reason for not replacing the roll.
When I
purchased the toilet paper cover I noticed that it said, "For Sale in
Japan Only". I couldn't figure out why it would say this until I got
home... turns out you need a special type of toilet paper holder for
the cover to be displayed as it was intended. It was way too cute to
return so I just wrapped the band around the entire holder.
By the way, the light in the room makes everything look yellow, but it's actually a light beige.
And finally, this shoe rack (which I originally purchased to go in the
closet) now sits by our front door. Though I had thoughts of putting a
large basket there for shoes, I find that this fits our needs much
better because it keeps the shoes from getting dirty, squished and
mistreated. I'm thinking of painting it black.
My organizational shopping trip also gave me a dry-erase board which is hung in our kitchen and lets us know at a glance our to-do list. I also purchased these little plastic boxes for my son's underwear and sock drawer. He loves to have things in their place and the boxes make it much easier to keep them separated.
This week we're working on my son's room and getting all of his toys organized while simultaneously creating more room and hacking an IKEA toddler bed and making it a trundle bed that will go underneath the baby's crib. Busy, busy, busy...
So while I'm on this organization trip, I invite you to come with me and we'll keep ourselves motivated to stay organized the entire year. I've started a couple of boards on
Pinterest which I'm constantly adding ideas to. If you have any cheap, easy and effective organizing ideas, I would love to hear them!
I am a Simon Mall Correspondent. I received a gift card from
Westminster Mall to facilitate my shopping. This post do
not necessarily represent Simon Property Group's positions, strategies
or opinions.
