Personal Storage Touch

Since I have started helping my mother get thing a little more organized and under control, I have started to find (time and again) things of my own I could keep more organized.

I find it more personal to make my own cards. This normally entrails that I have a lot of supplies (such as stamps, inks, blank cards). I found these plain photo storage boxes at Hobby Lobby that I thought I could dress up to make them fit better in my craft area.

I took the covers off and painted them a light blue color to go with the overall color theme of my room. Once I had completely painted the covers I set them aside to dry.

I had one box that would hold all my stamps and another that would keep all my inks and paints. It only seemed appropriate to decorate the stamp box in a decorative stamp. For the box that would hold my inks and paints I went with a more vintage, old English look for the main box sides, front and back.

Once I finished doing those stamping, I took the lid that was dry and picked a slight eastern looking stamp and positioned it several times on the lid. Then I stamped the sides of the lid with the same stamp, but in different positions in order to see different parts of the detail on the side of the lid.

This is the completed version of my storage box for ink pads and paints that I use.

The stamp I picked for the box that would hold my stamps looks much like a letter. I used that all over the main box, but not on the lid. I also used a stamp that looks like postage stamps and paid markers. I used that in certain sides of the main box and positioned between another stamp on the lid. I used a new stamp I found that is two pens together with wings. I used that only on the lid of the box.

They feel more like.... me now. I like that. They are practical, but also creative and personal. I don't like having random, boring, lifeless items around me, especially if I can make them SOOO much more.

Sweater's repurposed

Just because something is not your style or doesn't fit, does NOT mean it isn't worth your attention and consideration. Take previous owned sweaters. The A.R.C. stores here have a sale every February on sweaters for .99 cents. Means the stores will be busier than normal, but its worth it.

Mom has been looking for wool sweaters that have interesting patterns or designs on them for a purse project. She wants to felt the sweaters and make them into a purse. We got the idea from a lady that goes to our quitting store in town. She had a really lovely one and she told us both how to do it.

I wanted to find some ones to wear and I wanted to find a few for projects of my own. I have found two of three projects online that use old sweaters, so I thought I would give them a try.

We found MORE than enough to do our projects, to enjoy for ourselves and then some more!

These are mine.

These are Moms.

Boxes are so much more than cardboard!

In the spirit of helping my mother get the house more organized and getting used to keeping it that way, I took an entire afternoon (and then some) and went through EVERY piece of clothing I own. I ordered a book from my book club/program called What is a disorganized person to do? by Stacey Platt and it suggested in the bedroom section that you take a look at your clothes and think 3 things:
1.) Have you worn this in a year?
2.) Are you keeping this for a specific purpose? (like say I would wear this if I ever went on a cruise to Alaska) and
3.) Are you keeping this because you feel guilty? (like your aunt knitted it and she is 80 years old with bad arthritis. Wear it once for her and get rid of it)

I applied these things to everything I owned. I ended up with two very large boxes full of clothes I did not wear, fit into, or really like.

 A few of the items ended up with my Mom, but thats fine because she will wear it/it fits her. The boxes have since been getting fuller and fuller. Once I went through everything I made a list of everything in there for when we give it away. At the same time my Mom, randomly mind you, went through her own closet and got rid of about 20 items she never wears or doesn't fit into. I had to really push her to get rid of some things, but it was for the best! =) Since then we have regularly been adding to the boxes. Really anything that we suddenly think we don't want or care for anymore.

The cats got a joy out of the boxes the first night. They just can't help themselves.

The part that always gets me is the differences in both cats. Stue (the black one) will explore, but only to find a place to sleep. Grace explores to explore and destroy. She loves to chew on boxes. During Christmas its hilarious to hand out gifts and notice the teeth marks. Ah got to love cats!

Under sink is under control

I finally got around to finding decent baskets to finished organizing the bathroom. I did under the sink and used two baskets from Target and one cloth one I had over from my own room. I wasn't using it so it seemed a waste to not use it some where. 

There was about 7 bottles of cleaner that were mostly empty (as in about one or two sprays left), so those got the heave-ho. I found about 7 different types of leather cleaner, which is an odd place for these to be located, but until I get around to cleaning out the front door closet they will have to stay under the sink in my bathroom.

Thankfully this house was so new and well maintained that I didn't have to do any scrubbing or anything under the sink. I did put a few cedar balls down there to try and overpower the cleaner smell.

The fabric basket is holding all the leather cleaning supplies, shoe cleaning items, and my bra cleaning solution.

Giving a MUCH needed push.

I have decided that, if left to my mother, nothing would ever get organized in their house. SO... I figure I will just have to give her a serious push in the right direction by starting it on my own. Maybe then she will see that its pretty easy to do and start doing it on her own. She does OK once something has already been organized for her, but she isn't overly motivated to do it on her own. She always says things like, "I wouldn't know where to start", or "That just seems too complicated", or "You know I don't always finish a project once I get started cause I get bored. I wouldn't want to do that now." I have heard them all and may more. Love my Mom, but its time to jump start her... and the only way I see fit is to run head first into her and her messes!

I thought it would be best to do an area that both her and I use, so it can be like a double bonus. (or at least that's how I see it in my mind!) There are 3 bathrooms in the house. One is in Mom and Dad's room, the second one is downstairs, and the third is the main one in between my room and my parent's room. This is the only bathroom in the house that has a closet. Since it is the most used one in the house I decided tackling it first would be best.

Now I don't make a huge paycheck, but I make enough cushion to go shopping now and again. I willingly put this paycheck's "spending money" to use on supplies for the bathroom closet. Next paycheck I am going to get supplies to clean up under the sink in the same main bathroom, and if I can afford it, for all the other under sink areas.

This project took me about 2 hours.... mostly because it was a mess! (Some of which was my own fault, which I will explain about in a second.) Little embarrassed that we let it get so messy.
I am going to explain the closet a little just so you get a better idea of how bad it was. The closet has 4 shelves. Three of the shelves, not the very top one, jut inside the closet and then corner in a little. Makes for a corner shelf on the inside left half of the closet. I tried to show you that in the second picture. (Its easier to see when its done.)

The closet was so messy that you couldn't find all the pieces to a matching sheet set without digging, which lead to things falling on you. Everything was so crammed in that nothing else could be stored in here.

I picked up two large dark bamboo baskets, and a matching set of 2 medium and 2 small baskets. I also picked up two plain brown fabric baskets for the corner spots.
When my parents originally moved into this house they thought just 3 folding the towels and stacking them would be fine. That WAS true, but then my Mom kept finding really good towels at the thrift stores and they became over loaded. Then along comes me and all my stuff. Most of my stuff is in boxes in the storage room downstairs. However some things that were boxed up got unboxed when I moved into the bedroom. I found 5 towels that were mine (Mom has a color pallet of whites, brown, tan, greens of all colors, and blues, while all my towels are bright or pastels.), plus two sets of sheets and my bed cushion liner. All these things, and a few other items, were pushed into the bottom corner of the closet. All these items were boxed up, labeled, and moved downstairs.

The two big baskets were used to hold the majority of the towels. I put all the white ones in the one and all the colored ones in the other. I sorted through all the towels and "donated" some of the frayed ones to the rag bag. There were still ALOT of towels, so rolling them was the best way to get them all to fit.
The white basket went on the bottom and the colored basket went on the next shelf up. We had a few large towels and those were rolled and put a tan basket that was in the closet before. Those were stored on the bottom floor with the whites, as alot of them were white. The brown towels didn't fit with the other colored towels, so they were stored in the two brown fabric baskets and put on the next shelf above the other colored ones in the corner part of the shelving. One of the medium baskets was used to store all the hand towels. One of the smaller baskets was used to store all the wash cloths. Those baskets were on the next shelf above the colored basket of towels. The other medium basket was used to hold the decorative towels we use for company and the holidays. This basket is also holding the linens for the table. (I will need to pick up another basket to hold these separate.) The last small basket is also holding decorative and holiday stuff, but its the hand towels and washcloth items. This closet is also holding one of the holiday quilts we use for Christmas. The decorative baskets and this quilt are on the shelf above the other hand towels and washcloths. The very last shelf holds extra pillows for guests.
On the floor of the closet in the corner I put all the female products and tucked the scale in between the large and regular white towels. The next shelf up in the corner holds all the other supplies for the bathroom: extra deodorant, extra bath wash, extra toothbrushes, few bottles of lotion, sunscreen, leg wraps, shoulder support harness, knee supports, and an extra bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Little elbow grease, some patience, and what you get is a clean and open closet!

 

I am not the greatest at folding fitted sheets, so don't knock me for that.  

I will have to wait for the store to have more of the baskets I baught, so I can put the sheets in them.

Not the greatest views of the inside corner section, but it gives you an idea.

Stue and Grace both like the improved closet, as there is room for them to explore... and sleep.

Now I would generally not suggest that you do it the way I did, which is box yourself inside the bathroom with the heater running for 2 hours, but I wanted it to be a surprise to my Mom.