Organizing Our Home

So as I stated, one of my goals this year is to organize more. I had tons of project ideas I wanted to get done, but I wasn't doing anything to actually do them. After talking with a co-worker I got motivated enough that I realized that I needed to get started if I really wanted to get it done. I decided we should start with the inside of the house and once it gets warmer outside we can finish our backyard (rather Larry really wants to get going on our yard, but the ground is still pretty frozen, so that's how that decision came into play).

I figured I'd start small by working on the little wall area between our pantry and mud room. It was just this small, empty space and I wanted to create something that would have a calendar, be a place for coupons, and a memo center-type area. Originally I couldn't decide if I should do a whiteboard or corkboard, it needed to be magnetized (since the front of our fridge isn't so everything is on the sides) so it needed enough room to put things on it AND have a calendar without looking too cluttered.

I saw this really awesome idea while watching "Life As We Know It":

SO freaking simple, right? Just a corkboard with a paper calendar in the center and pinned stuff around it! I LOVED the idea and how easy and cheap it would be to re-create. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a framed cork board to save my life, at least not one that was within the cheap range and in a decent color (they have black or light brown ones on Amazon, but I wanted a white one to go with our kitchen area), but I was able to find a good one, with good reviews for under $30. The 2018 paper calendar was only $8, and the clear pins were $4 (of course I later found the same ones at Smith's for only like $2, but oh well). Larry pulled an old office supply storage box I had down and we found old binder clips that would work perfectly for coupon storage (although I did find these cute ones on Amazon that I was tempted to get, but I decided to save the $15 and just stick with binder clips for now) and my creation ended up pretty awesome:

It's made me so excited as a starter project for us and it's got me all giddy for the upcoming projects. What we have planned (for just this year) includes:

• Paint, organize, and add a center support post to the pantry (complete with containers, baskets, and racks). We also bought some shelf liners to put down.
• Finish our backyard. This will include creating a tiered veggie garden, digging a giant hole for our tramp, building and putting in the trampoline, putting down grass on the rest of the yard that needs it, and adding sprinklers of some sort.
• Add a bench/shoe storage to the mudroom as well as some cleaning supply closets. This way I can get rid of cleaning supplies from under the sinks so that it's one less danger for our exploring baby.
• Spring cleaning: cleaning out window sills, the door frame areas, junk drawers, baseboards, and any little nook and cranny that gets passed up during regular cleaning.
• My organizations totes: I'll have one for each holiday/season that will have the following inside - decorations, craft ideas, special clothing (like costumes) or fun things for the kids to do, and binders with anything that I've pulled from a magazine or internet article that I'd like to hold on to or had good ideas (etc. etc.). I'm SO excited for this one.

Those are just some fun ideas we have going this year that will help me cross of my years goals (such a bonus), hopefully I get some good before, during, and after shots to show off here!