Operation Organization: Homework Station/ Bookshelf

Here are my pics from my project last week. I didn't post last Friday, things just got a bit too crazy around the house, but I spent the week making a homework center for the kids. We are (very) slowly getting back into the school routine.

Here is the before:

and the after:

Now all of their art/ paper/ markers/ crayons/ scissors/ glue/ books/ etc. is all in one place and organized.

Next challenge:

This week I am going to work on my room. I've let it get a bit out of control. I have more clothes than drawers or closet so I need to go through everything and purge, purge, purge.

My husband reminded me very kindly that my new dresser (aka, his desk chair) isn't working well for him and he would like it back. He hasn't been able to sit on it since June. Oops!

Operation Organization: My Dining Room Table Results

Here is my week 2 update.

The dining room table got cleaned, YEAH! I worked on it a little bit each night.

Halfway through the week, it looked like this:

I finished it up this morning before work. It's amazing how many papers I think I need until I allow them to sit for a month or two. They somehow become un-informative and really easy to throw out.

You can look back at the mess I started with and see how good it must feel to walk into the dining room and have the table clear. It's an instant de-stresser.

There are still a few things that need to find homes, but with the limited space, it seems we're always moving something around to make room for something different.

You can take a look at the mess I started with here. Yikes! This week, I'm going to take it easy and continue to concentrate on getting rid of my gimcracks and putting things into their 'forever homes'.

Word of the Week. Operation Organization week 3

I received the Bill O'Reilly newsletter this week and was laughing at the



It's gimcrack.

huh?

yeah, that's what I said too.

It is pronounced: /JIM•krak/
Definition: n. a showy but useless item; a gewgaw.

It got me thinking, how many gimcrack's do I have around my house?
I wonder if I collected all the gimcracks, how many would I find?
Hmmm... This week, I am going to see if I can fill up a bag with all the gimcracks I can find in the house and say goodbye.

that is my goal for the challenge this week. To find my gimcracks and get rid of them.
less clutter = less to clean.

Operation Organization: My Dining Room Table

Here is my project for week 2.




These are the before pics. What A Mess!!!! I tend to let things pile up (literally) when we get real busy. This is what piled up at the end of the school year over the summer. I didn't organize the kids paperwork from the end of the year and the mail, all the catalogs, junk, magazines, crafts, etc. all just got piled until it became a bother to deal with. Once that happened to the 1 basket I keep things in, I moved the contents to another basket and began the pile again.




Ugh, so now, I have to deal with the mess. I keep saying I'm going to do this "tonight" but it gets late, the project is overwhelming and it doesn't happen.



This is the week I fix my problem: here I go...

Operation Organization: My Pantry

I found a really realistic organizing challenge that I am going to be participating in for the next 8 weeks. I am excited to know that I am going to tackle many of the "dirty laundry" spaces that I have to live with every day.
Some of them are 'lack of space' places where things just get shoved because there is too many items to fit in the confines.
Others are lazy places that people just pile things on because they know they can and since we are so busy, they know until mom is fed up enough, they don't have to pick up and things just get dumped.
So over the next 8 weeks, I am going to commit to taking on 1 organizing project and posting the results on Friday. There are sooo many things I would love to get in order so picking my first 8 will be the hard part. lol I have learned that I am much better at focusing when I realistically plan and write things out. It helps me to break things down into smaller goals where I can see the to-do's step by step and feel accomplished when I achieve them.
So, (drum roll), for my first project, I am going to post my newly organized pantry.
I want to look through some old pics since I didn't take a before shot, but I am so happy with the after, I really don't want to remember the before. The new layout makes it easier for the kids to get the dishes, cups and bowls they need and get snacks and lunch items since school is right around the corner.

Here is Melinda's blog, which you have to check out:
Coming Clean: Confessions of an Imperfect Parent and her 8 weeks to organized boot camp.
http://parentingconfessions.blogspot.com/2009/07/operation-organization-battle-for-order.html