DIY Hair Accessory Storage

Why do kids have a problem with hoarding and organization? I guess I never really did learn to let go of things until I was an adult (although growing up I'm pretty sure my mom threw away and tossed everything possible while my dad was the hoarder). As a parent it's part of my responsibility to teach my kids HOW to organize and how to KEEP it organized. But sometimes it takes 12,735 different ways of organizing stuff to find a solution that actually works. 

Right now I'm having trouble with hair crap. It's all in a bin, it's not organized, hair ties are everywhere and The Monkey can't seem to keep the bows in her room (I resorted to throwing them away when I found one on the floor because I AM SO FRUSTRATED FINDING CRAP WHERE IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE). 

I'm trying something new. We'll see if it works. 

I looked on Pinterest for ideas for hair bow storage - not all of it was exactly what I wanted and I didn't have a random picture frame lying around (who has random photo frames lying around????). I needed an idea for something that stores the bows/clips/headbands with stuff I already have.

You'll need 3M hooks, I used the clear extremely small hooks. I used 4, but you can use more or less. Hang those suckers on the wall where you want them to go. 

Next, find some ribbon (I used 4 foot long ribbon that is 1/4 inch wide. I would have used wider ribbon, but I couldn't find anything else in the basement). USE WHAT YOU HAVE. Don't make some special trip for this. If I had to, I totally would have used the holiday wrapping ribbon and The Monkey would have to live with blue snowflake ribbon. WHATEVER.

You'll also need something that's a ring - I used key rings, but I also had old shower curtain hooks and then book rings. Anything will work. These are used to tie the ribbon to, then hang from the 3M hook, so honestly, if need be, just hang the ribbon straight from the hook. No big deal. 

After gathering your materials, tie one end of a ribbon onto a ring. Hang ring from hook. Put hair bows onto ribbon.

For the headband holder - tie two pieces of ribbon together. Tie one end of the double ribbon to a ring. NEXT, every few inches, make a knot until you get to the end. The headband then goes between the ribbons in the spaces between the knots.

I had a helper who wanted to wear some hair clips, in BMW colors according to Baby Chewie. 

I'm hoping this small organization for hair stuff will help in the long run. She's really wanted to have her hair done in the mornings but then it doesn't end up happening because she can't find what she wants or needs. It drives me insane!

Happy Thursday!

The Art Cabinet in the Dining Room is CLEAN

I finally went through it.

It was -30 degrees outside and I had no energy for actually starting the car to get to anywhere.

So I started pulling shit out of the cabinet and trying to see if any of it was salvageable artwork from a toddler.

I took this "before" picture after I had already pulled all the shit out of the bottom shelf.

As it turns out, little scribbles that I totally thought I would remember really mean nothing.

I ended up recycling and trashing almost all of the "little scribbles" that I thought were so precious. Last January I gave The Monkey my old college art drawing book so she could have something to color in - she actually filled the whole thing up. So I'm going to label it with her name, the year 2014 and then put it in one of her storage boxes. When she's older and needs some inspiration for her own art, then she can pull that out at any time and take a look back at what she did. I also saved one painting where I really liked the colors and one foam sticker art project because she LOVED doing that. The rest went goodbye...

Not quite finished yet - I still need to clear the top and swap the larger "napkin basket" with Bimmer Man's "biking stuff basket."

Top shelf = paints, stickers, art project supplies

Middle shelf = napkins, playdough

Bottom shelf = loose paper, foam sheets, dot stampers, markers, craft supplies

Art easel with basket of coloring books and paper

Washable paints came out of a bin and into a metal basket - the old shitty paintbrushes went into the trash. Every time I rinsed them I would have to re-glue the bristles to the handle. Stickers, buttons, and other craft items went into one basket, markers into their own, dot stampers into their own. I pulled out all of the coloring books and larger paper pads and put those into a basket by The Monkey's new art easel.

I can't move the napkins because it's The Monkey's job to get everyone a napkin before each meal - it needs to be at her level. I saw an immediate response to art organization because all we did that day was art projects and she was able to get out what she wanted to make what she wanted. In fact, she really just wants to color in her Princess coloring book with her markers so I'm thinking I might buy myself coloring pencils and a coloring book from Pocket Posh.

With it being organized I'm no longer shoving used paper back into the bottom shelf, stepping on fallen art supplies or continuously getting out paper for The Monkey to color. It's awesome.

Uncluttering My Jackets

I don't think I can do it.

I seriously don't think I can get rid of any coats or jackets.

This is Minnesota.

This is the Land of 10,000 Jackets.

I need a light jacket for summer, a little heavier jacket for spring, a light jacket for spring, a heavy coat for winter (ok, a down blanket jacket, a dress coat, a winter coat that I can use for snowshoeing, playing outside, etc...), at least two different types of fleece for winter, spring, and fall, some type of sweatshirt jacket for spring, summer, and fall.

I already donated two jackets (a really nice down jacket that was too short, and a VERY NICE Banana Republic dress coat that the arms were too short).

I set aside two fleece jackets but I ended up using both of them this past fall.

So that plan failed (putting the two coats in a very different room to distract myself from the fact that I had those two jackets).

But I did hang up a sweater two weeks ago and I haven't used that yet... so that will be donated next week. Not only did I decide that I mostly wear 3/4 sleeve shirts but I end up stretching out the arms of all my long sleeve sweaters because I end up pushing my sleeves up for most of the day so most of my long sleeve sweaters will likely be donated. Or sold. I'm not sure - I don't really like keeping stuff around to sell that I've decided I'm done with. With dress clothes I need to put together a bag for Dress for Success.

I think in the end, I WILL just donate one of my fleece jackets. I'm just going to do it. It was from Old Navy quite a few years ago. I haven't used it enough to wear any of it out. There's no holes in the pockets. I just need to donate it and use my purple fleece. I don't need two fleece jackets.

There.

My mind is made up.

Get rid of it. Make more space in the front closet.

First world problem, right?

(Ok, I just set it aside in my donate pile)

Does my one item inspire you to donate one item? More items?

I sure hope so! Happy Friday!

My Recycling Conundrum

First world problems whine, I know.

I know.

I KNOW.

This has been a problem in our house for years. Where do we put the items we need to recycle in our kitchen. Well, we don't use the side door so I just pile up our paper bags in front of it and that's that. Problem solved. Sort of. I unfold 4-5 paper bags and we just fill them up, let it all pile up, and then I get mad that nobody but me takes out the recycling (which isn't totally true... but at the same time... yes, I do take out almost all of the recycling or I put it in front of the back door for Bimmer Man to take to the big bin so I don't have to nag him. Nobody likes being nagged at, right?).

But the other thing is that I hate stealing paper bags from the grocery store just for my recycling. How stupid is that?

And why can't Target just stop with the plastic bags? JUST USE PAPER. I don't know. That's another first world problem. I guess I do live in the land of Target, I could complain.

I think I'm going to get these, suck it up, and take them out to the large bin when they get full instead of just opening another paper bag and filling it up. Now I can use my re-usable bags all the time, not just at the Co-op and the farmer's market.

Bimmer Man better bring these bags back in the house instead of using them for car parts in the garage instead.

We've had this recycling problem for years. Please, please, let's just hope these darn bags fix it. 

The Lone Empty Shelf

I've never had an empty kitchen shelf.

Never.

And now I do. 

WOO HOO.

Ok, it's a super small and awkward shelf, but still. It's empty and I call it a fantastic step in emptying out my house of stuff we don't need.

My road to a more minimalist lifestyle is beginning to take shape, I'm hoping that I can empty out the above closed cupboard of random leftover containers without lids tomorrow and get a box of stuff over to Goodwill. I'd wait for the Disabled American Veteran pick up, but it's still a month away and I just want to get rid of stuff. 

Another thing that I did was rid the kitchen of the rug beneath the dog water dish. All I would do is vacuum it and then it would be dirty in about two minutes. That went into the garbage and I've never been so thrilled to be rid of a chore. I hate cleaning so the less I have to clean the better. 

I also took the small kid's potty chair for the Monkey out of the bathroom since she prefers to pee on the seat that we put on the big toilet. One more less thing to clean.

Next up for small steps on Friday: open up a book case in the office and clear out one shelf. And then put away some crochet stuff in the book case. Or maybe move magazines there. I don't know yet. I don't have the heart to part with my Garden Gate or Domino magazines yet. I still read those and get a lot from them so... they shall be saved for now. A few weeks ago I went from having maybe 18 full magazine holders to 10. I can still part with more and toss more into the recycle bin. I also need to pare down office supplies - by that I mean throw away pens and markers that don't work, and see if we have doubles of tape dispensers, pencil sharpeners, too many folders, etc... and put those in a box for donation too. 

Updated Entryway

Before:

After:

Added Bonus:

Instead of painting the inside of the door white, I was too lazy. And my sander was at my mother-in-law's house to help her with her kitchen. So I organized instead. There's now room for my boots at the bottom AND there's extra space for more shoes. SCORE!

Metal Storage Baskets

I am so awful. I can be so cheap sometimes. It's really bad. Sometimes I settle for something and don't get what I really want.

Let's take storage baskets for example.

I want 2 storage baskets for the front entry table, 2 baskets for inside the front closet to hold hats, scarves, gloves, etc... and then I want 2 baskets for the bookcase in the dining room and maybe more throughout the house (I could use a few for the bookcases in the office and the shelves in the office and probably a few for inside of my closet too).

What do I really want for baskets?

These. They are from The Container Store for $16 - $25 each. And of course I really want the large ones. Which means that at $25 each, I'd be spending $150 on wire baskets. Is that justifiable to my cheap ass? No, not really. And even if I bought them two at a time I would still be spending the same amount of money. It just wouldn't be as big of a gut punch at the point of purchase.

Eep.

I am cheap, aren't I?

Because now thinking about it... I want a heck of a lot more baskets.

But then this large basket is $67 from Iron Accents.

So maybe $25 is a better deal after all.

So now that you see what I want, let's show you what I have.

Yeah, it's obviously from Target. I bought them on sale when they were like $4 each.

Le sigh. I just need to bite the bullet and buy what I want. Right?

MISSING: Furminator

Missing: The Furminator

Last seen: Living room about three weeks ago

Reward: A less furry dog

Places I've Already Looked: Living room, all baskets, under tables, under the couch, the hall closet, doggie crap basket (I did find a tennis ball), office and back porch.

Wanted: Any ideas of where else to look for this magic animal de-shedding tool.

No Mudroom, I've Resorted to This

Below are pictures of a problem spot in my house. We have no mudroom. We have no room under the sink for the garbage and recycling bins. It's awful. And I don't know what to do anymore. Anyone have any recommendations?

I'm thinking about purchasing a Simple Human garbage can, but then that still leaves me with the problem of recycling. And I hate using paper bags.

So I guess I'm stuck with ugly for awhile unless there's some magical fantastic 3 bin garbage/recycling container out there that can handle cardboard too.

P.S. If you know of any fantastic and magical device, please let me know. Thanks.

Lessons Learned From Spring Cleaning

1. I sneeze. A lot. Dang allergies.

2. I found 15 plastic bags in the hall closet. Not where they are supposed to be so a few weeks ago when I was picking up dog poop... I should have looked for plastic bags instead of using paper bags.

3. Too many gift bags. Christmas, birthdays, store bags. The next present I give gets a bag from West Elm.

4. I sneeze even more when I start dusting.

5. Which eventually causes a bloody nose.

6. The hall closet is a good hiding spot for gifts... (Note: check for illegal substances when we have future children here, this closet is an endless pit)

 (PS - yes, I know - I'm lazy and didn't want to clean out the closet to paint the inside of the door. I will do that at some point this summer.)

(PPS - Please, this is not an organizing blog, I'm totally making fun of myself by naming this blog "The Organized McTatty)

FOUND:

3 puzzles
1 set of drill bits
3 rolls of tape
1 box of 300 pieces of silverware
2 flower vases
4 candles
Missing camera lens cover
4 bamboo placemats
Bag of nails and screws
The Clapper

STILL MISSING:
Gift card to nice restaurant
Roll of packing tape

Cork Board Cabinet Organizer

Sigh. The microwave. Just ignore how dirty it is. I know. I know. Just follow along with the FlyLady and clean your appliances every 15 minutes. Whatever. I don't do that. I just sort of, well, wipe when necessary.

The cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, which I really like. There's a TON of storage, though, now I can't reach it (Hey, Bimmer Man, can I just go get myself another footstool? Thanks...).

However, we also have a small fridge so it gets cluttered easily. I decided to just, well, go for being organized for a week and put up the corkboard. I only have pics of it half up because I got distracted (like now, I have pasta sauce on the stove which I'm supposed to be watching, but I'm not).


And now enjoy the lovely organizational zen which comes after being organized for about 30 seconds.

Ok, now I bought the corkboard at Target, used the two sided sticky thingys that came with (supplemented those with my hot glue gun) and fitted the pieces with straight edges (happened to be two cook books). I cut the cork board with regular scissors too.

Easy.

How to: Clean a Nasty Microwave

No close ups will be taken of my nasty microwave. I know it doesn't look too bad, but that's thanks to bokeh and photoshop.

Step 1: Combine several cups of water with the juice of 2 - 3 lemons.

Step 2: Microwave on high for 5 - 7 minutes.

Step 3: Let sit for 5 - 10 minutes.

Step 4: Wipe down with damp sponge, rinsing often.

Et voila! Clean microwave!

I just used a regular sponge, I didn't need to use the scrubby side.

Seriously, in 20 minutes, this is the best way to clean a nasty, gross fraternity used microwave. Blech.

Ok, have fun cleaning if you dare!

Today's Cleaning Jobs

The fridge. Yuck. But it's mostly done.

Getting the cobwebs off the porch. Gross.

Cleaning the microwave and pantry. Yuck. But I've started. (Oh, I'll post my secret to cleaning the gross frat microwave later!)

Organizing dog stuff. And washing the dog bed. Yuck (so slobbery!!!).

Already completed today:

Purchasing short term health insurance
Donating dog food to the humane society
Washing towels
Organizing all the piles of paper. And there were lots. Boo.

Tomorrow:

Doggie bathtime!

T-7 Days Until The Movers Arrive

And here's my cleaning list for today:

1. Wash all the breakable dishes so they don't get packed with dust.
2. Clean the island thoroughly.
3. Wash the appliances
4. Make more cleaning supplies
5. Drop off excess pet food at the Humane Society
6. Clean out pantry and make meal plan for rest of week
7. Pick up new bag of dog food for THE MONSTER.
   

Does that sound like it can be accomplished in one day? Eek, I hope so because tomorrow I'm deep cleaning the bathroom!

Exciting News!

Bimmer Man is done with school. Forever. Well, unless he wants to go back.

Graduation is on Saturday and I'm sooooo excited!

Unfortunately that also means that I have to clean. If you don't know about this, take some inspiration from the eclipse cleaning system from The Container Store. But I kind of have a cleaning problem.

It's called DOG FUR.

Since I'm fairly eco-friendly, I've decided that I need to get a new mop, but that doesn't really conquer the dog fur. For dog fur I've been using the Swiffer and the Swiffer disposable sheets (I know, I know, you can totally reprimand me!) but I just don't know any other way to get all the dog fur. We have all wood floors, thank goodness otherwise I think our vacuum probably would've died by now.

If you have a dog - how do you clean the fur balls from your floors without using the Swiffer disposable sheets?

If you use microfiber cloths, how the heck do you get all the fur off?

Who Wants Cheap Magazine Subscriptions?

I just got this lovely link in my e-mail because I subscribe to Real Simple.

Totally cheap - Cooking Light for $12, Southern Living for $10, This Old House $10

If you like having the tangible magazine instead of looking online - definitely get one. The prices are amazing!

This Is An Organizing Post

Amazing, right? Um, yeah.

So I chose the facebook cartoon, not because it's all that funny but because it seems like every time facebook makes a change, there's a change in our lives.

Like moving.

So here's the To-Do list that I have in my notebook - because we're moving in... 8 1/2 weeks.

Can you believe it? Back to the MSP we go... This time I have to document it so that way I know how I packed everything so when we move again, I'll have an established checklist.

So here's the list:

1. Bimmer Man needs to graduate first and foremost
2. Stop eating take out so I can cook and blog about it
3. Close out the photo business here, establish LLC in Minnesota
4. Finish out photo orders here
5. Try to remember how I packed everything the last time we moved - it seems like we're missing some plastic bins... (Mental Note: Ask Bimmer Man about plastic bins)
6. Re-establish the number system for packing - where all boxes end up in the garage of my mom's house. Seems like all the boxes will have a #1 on them where the garage = #1.
7. Don't go to Sam's Club to buy food. Eat what we have and only replenish what we need.
8. Play more Wii Fit. And Shaun White Snowboarding.
9. The MONSTER needs a moving plan too - darn it, that means another list!
10. Take advantage of health insurance and get all check ups before last day of work.
11. I thought this was going to be about moving, but um... I guess not!

So, as the 8 1/2 weeks comes closer and closer, I'll definitely have more leftover recipes and what to do with all the random crap that you're left with in the fridge. Like the half box of spaghetti, cucumbers and feta (pasta with cucumbers, feta & olive oil perhaps...). And all the other randoms that you happen to find - like black beans, canned tomatoes and frozen corn (Hmm, Southwestern Black Bean soup anyone???).

Ok, enough... Have a fabulous Thursday!!

McTatty

ShamWow Guy...

He's so NOT hot in real life. Check this out - the Sham Wow commercial crew must have fabulous make up artists because he definitely does NOT match his commercial face!

The Google Reader

If you look closely, you'll see that there are a TON of subscriptions in my Google Reader. Some people tend to post more, others don't. And I've cleaned up my RSS feeds, believe it or not.

Generally I use Google Alerts for certain tags like green living, sustainability, cooking, etc... Those are shortened feeds which I only peruse the headlines (peruse... I really like that word). To get to this area of your Reader, click on "Trends" on the left hand side. I think you'll be surprised about who posts the most (Um, hello Perez) and who posts the least (which would be a friend that doesn't have the internet at home).

Mostly, I'm more addicted to iambossy.com, F***MyLife.com (which you can tell that a lot of these people are either in high school or make the shit up), Digital Photography School and my green living tips alerts (Oh, I can't forget Ideal Bite).

I try and go through my Google Reader daily, but sometimes I feel bad about commenting on a blog post that's older than a week. That's because I probably just got to it...

And you wonder why I've been posting randomly... I haven't had time to cook! I've been too enthralled with my Google Reader when I get home from work!

(Though, funny story = last night I made pulled pork and I didn't correct Bimmer Man when he called it chicken. Sorry, Bimmer. I just couldn't help it! You were way too cute!).

So, enjoy the stats!

I Want This... And It's On Sale

I need the 8 x 10 size - $199 from West Elm. Hurry! It's on sale!