Label maker

My mother is even more of an organizational freak than me.

So last Christmas, I bought her a label maker - the Brother PTouch. It's amazing. At the cabin last week we labeled everything in sight. It is particularly good in a linen closet, and to label electronics and cords (I did my camera, IPad, Blackberry, etc.). Now I'm walking around my house thinking about all things I'd label if I had my very own label maker!

OCD

Yes, I have OCD.....and I have no desire for recovery. I revel in it.

Check out the 'ribbon' drawn in my newly purged office. ...more photos to come now that the purge is complete.

Now I can't wait to wrap a gift!

Purging continues!

Today my husband took the kids out, so I had a chance to tackle another room with my purging paws: my son's nursery!

The purge in progress!

I went through all of my son's clothes. Too-small items were packed away in sweater bags, while others were destined for the Goodwill or my garage-sale pile. I followed up by giving the room a much needed cleaning.

After



After



After

After (pictures temporarily missing because my son grabs at them while being changed!!)

After (the closet)

The urge to purge

Perhaps it is because at this time last year I was very pregnant and was nesting like crazy....

Perhaps it is because we have a street sale in the fall and I want to be a seller this year, not just a buyer....

For the street sale...why did I ever have 4 ice trays, anyways??

Either way, I suddenly have the urge to purge. I am diligently going through every cupboard and drawer in the house and tossing anything I don't use regularly or have a special affinity for (such as Grandma's vintage table linens..they are not going anywhere!). My goal is to not have any overstuffed drawers/cupboards...my stretch goal is to have an empty drawer/shelf in every room. I have been at it for 3 days so far. Outstanding rooms include the office, my son's room, and the basement. I am getting more aggressive as I go. I'm on a rampage. I told my husband that if he gets caught in my path, he might be the next item to go...just kidding. He's a keeper.

I am making a number of piles:
- For the Goodwill
- For Nellie's (a nearby women's shelter)
- For the street sale
- For my sister (who has a new house to fill!!)
- For friends who are having a baby (it's still a secret!!!!)

Goodwill go-tos, part II

Lentils? check
Coffee? check
Prunes? check

I can see you all so clearly now!

In addition to the necklace that I bought at the Goodwill on Monday, I also purchased a few more glass canisters. As you can see, I have quite the collection in various styles and sizes. Goodwill is an excellent source for these and the rubber ring can always be replaced at the hardware store to keep things extra fresh.

My new purchases inspired me to purge my pantry cupboard. It feels sooooooo good!

PS: These are typically $0.99 at Goodwill....this makes Ikea seem pricey!

Found storage

We are short on storage in our kitchen. We have little room for all the stuff that isn't required for cooking but still needs to be close at hand, like....

...Zip lock bags
...rubber gloves
...garbage bags
...Swiffer sheets
...WD40
...vaccum bags
...silver polish

So, upon my Mom's recommendation, my husband installed these cubbies on the inside of the doors of the closet adjacent to the kitchen. This works as long as you have enough clearance once the doors close and is a great way to create more storage space.

Of course I was immediately able to fill them with 'stuff'! Next I need to purge!

(PS, you may be wondering why there are so many dress shirts in our kitchen closet...well the last thing my husband does in the morning is put his work shirt on so it doesn't get marked with baby goo....and it is the first thing he takes off when he gets home!)

Order in the house

The kids and I are currently out in Vancouver, staying with my parents.

My parents live in the house I grew up in, and recently completed a major renovation. With a big new kitchen to revel in, my Mom has taken her obsession with organization to a whole new level. Here are a few ideas that I love (the photos are just taken with a point-and-shoot camera, so they aren't the best quality...sorry!). I only wish I had room for all these ideas in my mini-kitchen!

What keeps your kitchen humming?

Seagrass basket for recyling

IKEA placesetting organizers

IKEA accordian organizer for tops of pots and pyrex

Controlling kid clothing chaos

When my daughter was born, I couldn't beleive how quickly she grew out of clothes. I was resistent to get rid of the clothing, but was at a loss for how to corral the growing mountain of clothing that was too big or too small.

In the end I decided to use canvas sweater bags. They have a clear top allowing you to see the contents of the bag and are the perfect size for small clothes - you'd be amazed at how many onzies you can fit in one sweater bag! I have mine sorted by the standard sizes (e.g. 0-3mos, 3-6mos, 6-12mos, etc) and labelled using a folded piece of paper on top of the clothing.

I originally was buying the sweater bags at IQ Living on the Danforth, but they no longer carry them. I am sure they are avilable at home organization stores, but I don't have any close to me, so I am now buying these ones on Amazon. Let me know if you know of where I can buy these in Toronto!

I know that this is a bit geeky, like a dewey decimal system for kids clothes, but it works! When my son was born and I wanted to quickly find some gender neutral newborn onzies, it was eaaasy peasy!