Despite my good intentions to finish out two more days of our 25 Days to a More Organized You posts, I realized today it’s just  not going to happen. I’ve scrubbed and shined and Mr. Cleaned (and vacuumed and dusted and decluttered and ughhhh…  ) in hopes of getting our house ready to go on the market soon, so here’s just a quick peek at all of our organized closets!

Sorry to not keep up as well as I’d planned ~ this is one of those times that life just got in the way, and I appreciate you all understanding. 😉 However, if you have any (any!) time in your week to work on organizing any rooms your home, I encourage you to get started. I hate that I’ve waited to move to tackle these chores, but isn’t that always the case? Oh well . . .

Our closet after our home “stager” recommended adding a chair and baskets to make it feel more like a dressing area (hoping to borrow a better mirror from a friend!)

Jacksons closet

Reagan’s closet  

Caroline’s closet

Four basically tidy closets. Success! 😉

Have you shined your kitchen sink and completed your laundry?  If you can’t get anything else done over the next few days try to tackle those two! 

Just 3 more days in our 25 Days to a More Organized You Series. (Whew!) I decided to spend the last three days cleaning out our bathroom drawers and cupboards, since that’s one of those chores I constantly manage to put off. Because it’s been nuts around here I’ll keep it short and sweet, but encourage you to join in with me. (I promise you’ll be so glad you did!)

Here are the before and after pictures . . .

And these are a bunch of sample sized items I’m going to donate to our local homeless shelter. (They fill backpacks with these items to give to people who stay for the night, so if you’ve got a few extra items you don’t need it’s a great way to do some organizing and give back too!)

After spending the last few days really cleaning out our home to get ready to put it on the market, I can tell you it feels sooooo good to just purge the clutter. I doubt that anyone will ever listen to me, but even if you’re never moving I think it would be worth “staging” your home once every five or six years just to do a good cleanout. I just can’t believe the difference it’s made, and my house feels so much better for it (and we’re not even done yet!)

This weekend I tackled my 13 year-old’s (disastrous!) bedroom. As we’re getting ready to put the house on the market, this one clearly needed some attention, but trust me, you are crazy to wait until you have to organize to get projects like this done! We probably worked for about two hours, but afterwards both he and I were so much  happier with the room. Why on earth did we wait so long?

Here’s a peek (I can’t believe I show you all this stuff… ack!) Just forgive the iPhone pictures on some of these . . .

Before

And after . . .

These pictures are awful from my phone, but I can’t get a good lens on my better camera to give you a good view ~ hopefully you get the idea!

You can also see how we organized his Nerf guns a few years ago ~ that’s made his closet so much better and is well worth the investment of a few laundry baskets!

Do you have a room in your home that needs some attention? Determine to schedule a few minutes (ummmm . . . hours?) to tidy it up this week ~ I promise you’ll be so glad you did!

First off, can someone please tell me why on earth we let ourselves live like this? And secondly. . . my husband pointed out to me that I can do this as many times as I like and most likely it’ll come right back to a mess again. Ugh.

Before

Several items I found in the junk drawer that clearly had no business being there. Double ugh!

And here we are all done – so much better . . . at least while it lasts. 😉

Do you have a “junk” drawer that cold use a little TLC? Take 15 minutes and see what you can accomplish ~ I’m betting you’ll surprise yourself with how much you can get done in just a small amount of time, and I promise (promise!) it’ll feel so good when you’re done.

So, I shared with y’all about our upcoming move (yikes!) which of course means I’ve got a closet or two to clean out. My ten-year-old’s closet is the last one that needed a serious cleaning, and I’m so glad to have it done today! Now, the clean closet doesn’t look all that impressive, until you see where we were just eight hours ago . . .

Ackkkk! (Did I really just show you all that?  I couldn’t even hold still to get a good picture it bothers me so much!) 😉

The only good thing that I know about moving (at least that I can come up with so far . . . ) is that it forces you to do a serious de-cluttering, and I am thankful for that.  Take some advice from me ~ don’t wait until you’re forced into some de-cluttering ~ get ahead and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

I really encourage you to tackle a few of the closets in your own home over the next few days if you can. When my husband and I realized a move was coming, we did a major de-cluttering of our own closet, and I can’t believe how much more peace I have just having that one closet clean. If you struggle with keeping up tidy closets (ahem, or your children struggle with that one . . .) I encourage you to take on the challenge and make 2014 the year to keep those closets just a wee bit more organized. You’ll be so glad when it’s done!

Before

After

Better.

Now go spend a few minutes working on yours too!

Here’s a sneak peek of this week’s upcoming challenges so you can get ahead for the week:

• Day 9: the freezer
• Day 10: the spice cabinet
• Day 11: the pantry (part one)
• Day 12: the pantry (part two)

How are you doing on staying organized this month? If you can, tackle these challenges every day, and I’m betting your home will feel so much more peaceful:

• Shine your kitchen sink once a day
• Do a quick wipe down of all the bathroom sinks
• Complete the laundry (I know I know, it’s hard to keep up with!)

During (yes, all of that was inside that one closet – craziness!)

And finally, the after ~ wooooooooohooooooo! 🙂

I donated a few blankets that we never use to our church’s thrift store, put larger flannel sheet sets away in my kids closets, and stacked blankets that my kids could use for “fort-building” at the bottom of the closet so they can easily get them (and put them away!) when they’re playing. Goodness, gracious, why do I settle for that mess when I could have something so much better?

So, go. 

30 minutes, a good sized trash bag for items to donate, and a little resolve to get it done. If I can do it, I know you can too!

Here’s a sneak peek of this week’s upcoming challenges so you can get ahead for the week (I had a few requests for these!)

• Day 8: the refrigerator
• Day 9: the freezer
• Day 10: the spice cabinet
• Day 11: the pantry (part one)
• Day 12: the pantry (part two)

Did anyone manage to tackle their laundry this weekend? We got home last night from Atlanta and it was so nice to know that my laundry was mostly caught up on ~ so I’m determined to stick with this one all month long.

While my laundry room for the most part though looks pretty good, the ironing has been just waiting for someone to get to work. So last night while watching some of Downton Abbey (I have to finish the rest tonight), I decided to get this job marked off my list.

Here’s before . . .

During . . .

And after (woot!)

And here’s proof that I really did iron a few. 😉

I still have five little girl dresses that need to get finished up on tonight, but for the most part these are done and out of my way . . . yay! I don’t iron many of our clothes, but it’s so good to have some of the ones that have been hanging in our laundry room for months finally ironed and put away.

(Does anyone else have a few clothes that they just don’t iron because you know if you do you’ll just have to iron it again? I did have that thought while I was at work  . . . ) 😉

Let’s talk laundry.

Sooooo exciting, right?

This week (thanks to keeping up with Motivated Moms), I’ve been really working to keep up with my laundry, and oh my heavens, it feels so good to have that tiny bit of life just more put together.

This, my friends, is my washer.

And  come right on over and meet my dryer.

Do you see what’s special about them?  Clearly, they are not fancy, but they are ~ drum roll please ~ EMPTY!!!

Happiness might just be an empty washer and dryer when you’re a momma who’s done thousands of loads of laundry over the last few years. 😉

Here’s the thing about laundry: you can put it off, you can hide it in your closet, you can hide it behind your door or stuff it in your hamper. But guess what? It doesn’t go away, no matter what you do (well, until you do it), and whether you tackle it today or wash it all a week from now you still do the exact same amount of laundry.

This is not one of those chores that helps a procrastinator out a single bit.

So here’s my challenge for you this weekend (get ready and brace yourself!)  

Wash all your laundry.

Every stitch of it.

Get caught up, completely. Even if it means beginning at 7 AM tomorrow morning and not finishing until Sunday night.

Once it’s done, join me and tackle a load a day (maybe more or less, depending on what season of life you’re in!), and let’s really keep up with our laundry this month.

Soooooo, anyone with me? Let’s go!

Note: if you’re a working mom or have little ones at home, I know keeping up with the laundry is even a more monstrous task than I can imagine ~ even as a mom who works at home it is one of those things that’s hard for me to keep on top of. I encourage you though to really (really!) try to get control of this one area of your world as I promise it will give you so much peace. But, in the midst of it, be sure to give yourself grace during this busy season of your life ~ we’re definitely all at different places and I know some days the laundry is just too much! 

Okie dokie, so now that we’ve all got our sinks cleaned (right?) it’s time to tackle the entertainment center or whatever holds the television in your home. I’m starting at the very top, and for the next few days we’re going to give it a thorough dusting/organizing/cleaning/de-gunking.

Guys, I’m embarrassed to say that I have walked down the stairs in my home at least 1000 times each year, and never (ever) taken a few minutes to clean off the oh-so-dusty top of our entertainment center.  I’ve glanced over there every once in awhile, and then just hope no one else ever does.

Seriously?

Do you see that box for Direct TV? We haven’t had Direct TV in four years.  I asked my husband if there was any reason we should keep it (the box, not even the actual Direct TV machine), and he said he just never knew if we might need it.

Ugh.

So, 15 minutes of scrubbing, and we’re so much better . . . one job off my list!  One of these days I really need to get some cute decorations to put up there, but they’d just be one more thing to dust. . . . 🙂

Who’s with me? Go ahead, find a ladder, step stool (or maybe even your husband), and clean off the top of your entertainment center too. If you don’t have one, clean off another tall surface at home (how’s the top of your fridge looking?)  If you have things that just need to go, get rid of them too.  I can’t believe I waited this long, and know you’ll feel so much better too when you cross this one off your list!

I’d love for you to hang out with us as we attack the clutter, grime and cleaning this month, and feel free to share your tips as we go along. Happy Cleaning! 

Our car’s command center: includes baby wipes, hand sanitizer, band aids, and a few snacks in case of emergency while I haul my kiddos around town.

If you know me, you know that I’m the last person on the planet who should give much advice on keeping an organized car (or garage for that matter . . . my husband’s in charge of that one and I’ve pretty much given up all hope!) But today I spent $6 at our local drive thru car wash and about 20 minutes using their vacuum, and my car is so much better for it. (I drove my husband’s car yesterday which he occasionally has professionally cleaned for work, and oh my heavens, I couldn’t believe how bad mine looked in comparison! I can’t justify paying for a high end car wash, but $6 isn’t too bad . . .) 

Here’s the before. . .

(In fairness, my youngest found out about 3 minutes before taking this picture that she was old enough to go to an extra gymnastics class today, so she changed those clothes and hurried in as fast as she could . . . hence most of the disaster below that I can’t believe I’m sharing with you!)

And the after . . .

I’d really love to get a new set of floor mats for my car, but for now I’ll settle for at least a vacuumed floor. (Does anyone else’s car floor look like that? And does anyone have tips to clean it? I’d love to hear them!)

So, take $6 and 30 minutes and get your car cleaned out too if it’s not already. If you want to pinch a few extra pennies, at least vacuum it out at home . . . I promise you’ll be so glad you did!

Looking for more ways to get organized? See previous 25 Days to a More Organized You:

• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 1: Stop Procrastinating
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 2: Handling Paper Clutter
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 3: Set Up a Spot For Kids Artwork
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 4: Simplify Lunch Duty
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 5: Shine the Sink (I promise, it works!)
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 6: How To Make The Most Of Your Freezer Space {Day One}
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 7: How to Make The Most Of Your Freezer Space {Day Two}
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 8: Menu Planning
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 9: Create a Command Center
• 25 Days to a More OrganizedYou Day 10: What Do You Need In Your Kitchen? 
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 11: The Spice Cabinet
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 12: The Medicine Cabinet
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 13: Laundry Room Makeover
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 14: The Junk Drawer

Cracker Barrel’s Grilled Chicken Tenderloin Sandwich (see more penny-pinched recipes)

Probably my number one way to make my life just a little more organized as well as pinch quite a few extra pennies each week is taking a few minutes to make a menu each week. There’s just something about having a plan in place that makes eating at home so much easier, so even if I don’t stick with it perfectly, I at least have a few ideas of meals that can easily be made on a busy week night. Here are a few tips if you’re new to menu planning:

1. Look at your weekly calendar to decide which nights you’ll have time to cook a “bigger” meal and which nights need to be dinner on the go.  If you know you’ll have no time for a “real meal”, consider sandwiches or soup for dinner.
2. Determine what meals you can make based on what you have stocked in your pantry. Every few weeks, I look through our pantry and come up with at least 6-10 recipes that I can easily fix without heading to the store. Then, in a pinch those are always available instead of racing out to the store!  I also try to come up with recipes of any “leftover” items that I can use out of my fridge so that they don’t go to waste.
3. Look over the sales ad at your favorite store and see what items are on sale to determine your menu plan. While I try to keep my freezer fairly well stocked with meat, occasionally I’ll find a great price on something we wouldn’t normally buy so our menu switches to a new recipe idea. If there’s a great deal on chicken, plan a chicken recipe, but if pork’s on sale come up with a great pork recipe. (I love these Slow Cooked Ranch House Pork Chops!)
4.  Plan more than one week at a time, and re-use the menus your family loves. If you have several meals that your family really enjoys, make sure to add them in frequently, and ask your family’s suggestions on their favorites dinner ideas to make your menu planning go more smoothly.
5. If you use an online calendar, add your menus to the calendar to help keep you on track.  By having those meals easily accessible, you’ll become more accountable and know you need to get cooking. 😉
6. If you have a recipe that calls for a specific item that you don’t regular keep at home, try to make another recipe using that same item during the week so that it doesn’t go to waste. If we have Mexican for dinner and want sour cream to top our tacos with, I’ll also add Baked Potatoes to the menu plan later in the week so that any extra sour cream doesn’t go to waste (or you could always use that extra sour cream to make some Honey Bun Cake . . . ) 🙂
7. Take advantage of free printable menu planning guides. There are a ton of great printable online resources for menu planning, but here are a few of my favorites:

Looking for more ways to get organized? See previous 25 Days to a More Organized You:

• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 1: Stop Procrastinating
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 2: Handling Paper Clutter
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 3: Set Up a Spot For Kids Artwork
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 4: Simplify Lunch Duty
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 5: Shine the Sink (I promise, it works!)
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 6: How To Make The Most Of Your Freezer Space {Day One}
• 25 Days to a More Organized You Day 7: How to Make The Most Of Your Freezer Space {Day Two}