Before:

My Professional Organizer self interviewing my hoarder self.

What is this room’s purpose?

I FINALLY have my kiddos playing downstairs when their friends are over {or not}. I also have workshops and meetings down here. It is a nice homey space with great sunlight during the day and a warm fireplace at night.

 What IS working in this space?

I have really culled through the kids toys. There is not much left to PURGE. My kids are also getting to the ages {10 &12} where their toys do not dominate our home anymore.

What is NOT working?

The beautiful built in bookshelves have not been utilized well. I would like to go through the house and put the books we will reread and LOVE here and move the “storage” off the shelves.

Let’s get started.

Last week, I moved the scrapbooks from this shelving unit to the basement bedroom. They fit nicely there and would be fun for guests to look at.

I took one game board out of the basement bedroom to this shelving unit. Whenever I look at this wooden Chinese checker board I think of my childhood home and seeing it in our basement. I am also taken back to my great grandmother’s home. She lived to be 103 and I don’t think anyone ever beat her at Chinese checkers!

The bookshelf on the right

This bookshelf did not need much help.

I liked how the sports memorabilia and Left Behind book collection look looked on the shelves. So I just dusted and straightened.

The bottom shelf however was bare once I moved the scrapbooks. I had noticed hubby’s yearbooks in the top of the basement bedroom closet. I also found my yearbooks on the bookshelves in the storage room.

I moved both sets to the family room bookshelves. I will move the kid’s yearbooks here as well when I clean their rooms.

Ironically, I have put “storage” items on these beautiful bookshelves and our books all over the place. Upon digging deeper into the books in the storage room I found some childhood books I want to save for the grandbabies. {Yep ~ I’m talking about them again!}

I thought those childhood books fit perfectly next to our year books.

The bookshelf on the left side

I was in a quandary here. I knew I needed all the shelving for actual books. However there isn’t quite enough room.  I decided to keep my homeopathy books in the storage room and find a way for the rest to fit.

On the bottom I placed travel, organization and general books.

The middle shelf is all books about God, the Bible and prayer.

On the top shelf I placed beautiful adult picture books {Maybe we will look at them in retirement?!} and GFCF diet books.

I moved the 2 huge picture organization boxes into the basement pantry.

Part of why I am organizing the WHOLE HOUSE in 40 days is because it’s all connected! One project leads to thenext!

Part of this challenge for me is to reclaim my home, my life and the “me-ness” of me. So each day I will be reflecting:

How did today’s de-cluttering change my life?

I am so glad I took the time to do this. There was a time when I had 10x this amount of books. I am getting better at letting go and knowing what I REALLY want to keep.

I am also happy to finally have the bulk of our books in one location.

How about you? How did you do today?

By Jennie and Kim…

As a mom of two young boys, I have to say that I am always looking for ways to maximize my time. If you have children, you know that time is of the essence and it seems like there is just no way to do all the things on your to do list! Because of this, I have a new love affair and its name is PINTEREST! If you haven’t heard of it before, you need to check it out! Believe me, you are missing out!!!

There are SO many things I love about Pinterest:

1. Whether you are looking for fashion, beauty, wedding, cooking, crafts, home decor, education (the list goes on), you can get ideas and inspiration for just about ANYTHING! Think of it as following all your favorite blogs in one place. Rather than going from website, to blog to email for ideas and tips, you can go to one place and get it all… saving me SO much time!! SCORE
2. If you create your own account, you can “pin” those ideas that you love onto your virtual cork board so that you always have them. You can organize them any way you would like so you can find them easily. When I want a new idea for a craft, I just look up my “kids craft” board and I have endless amounts of ideas to choose from. This saves me from having a million papers and post its to keep track of because it is all organized online and in my account!
3. Almost all websites and blogs now have “pin it” apps so that if you see something you like and want to save it for later you can pin it to one of your virtual boards and look it up when you are ready. I have a favorite DIY blogger I follow and I was looking for big boy beds for my son (yes, he his still 3 and in a crib!) and as I found beds I liked, I just pinned them to my “kids room” board so that I can take a look at all of them at once with the hubs and we can make a decision… finally!! Saves me again… ever since having children, my mind is mush so I cannot remember one thing without having it written down. Pinterest keeps it all together for me
4. If you are walking around a store and see something you love, snap a pic from your smart phone or ipad and download it right to your pinterest account. I know, totally awesome right?! I know you are falling fast!!
5. If you are a blogger or someone who just likes to connect with others, pinterest is a great place to socialize on the web. It is a great way to get your name out there and meet others in the social media world!

If I haven’t convinced you yet, which I know I have (!), the last thing I will say is that I have been SOOOO inspired by pinterest. I am a tired mama and pinterest has re-energized me. I have found such great organizational tips, crafts and fun things to do with the kids that I could pick something new from there everyday for a year and still not be through everything I have pinned on my boards!

So… what are you waiting for? Go and check it out! You can follow Surviving Motherhood (which is me) and check out all the cool things I have pinned already and then I can follow you back!! If you are a mom and looking for a place to get some great ideas on parenting, healthy pliving, saving money, recipes and more, please come check out Surviving Motherhood and get signed up for our free newsletter. We also host a lot of giveaways so come and stop by, get your self signed up and win!

Have a great day and happy pinning!!

My Professional Organizer self interviewing my hoarder self.

What is this room’s purpose?

It is a place for guests to stay when they come to visit. We have guests once or twice a year.

 What IS working in this space?

I love the new furniture from my dad’s house. There is nothing under the bed and only linens in the dresser.

What is NOT working?

I have never had a good set up for this tv. This bookshelf is what I have to work with currently. I love these wooden game boards and blocks. But the shelves are empty, and they are not exciting for guests.

Let’s get started.

As I often do before organizing ~ I took a tour around my home to see what else wasn’t working that would be better suited on the bookshelves in this room.

I found some scrapbooks in the basement family room that fit nicely here and would be fun for guests to look at. I will add afew more scrapbooks from other rooms throught the next 40 days.

I took one game board out to the main basement family room and brought back in the checker pieces for the game board that stayed in the bedroom.

Part of this challenge for me is to reclaim my home, my life and the “me-ness” of me. So each day I will be reflecting:

How did today’s de-cluttering change my life?

I have decided to house all the garage sale – Craig’s list items in the basement bedroom. That will give me a place to hold and price my wares without seeing them all the time. I dread having a garage sale, but it would really help with some of our medical bills.

How about you? How did you do today?

Before:

Basement Bedroom Closet "before"

My Professional Organizer self interviewing my hoarder self.

What is this room’s purpose?

When we moved here, this bedroom was where hubby’s old furniture and “stuff” went. Slowly we have up graded to a full working guest room. Now there are just a few dress clothes, baseball cards and binders left.

My crinoline from my wedding dress and a nice hamper from my parents home “fit” here.

 What IS working in this space?

I never come in here?

What is NOT working?

It would be nice for a guest to be able to hang clothes in here.

Let’s get started!

This was a really quick job!

Both hubby and I have ski suits that we are not going to use – those are out.

The fatigues are paintball clothes and as luck would have it, Job is getting into paint ball!

I LOVE this blue dress and want to keep it.

I went in the storage room and reclaimed my wedding dress and veil from the hook they were on.

The hamper is going to my aunt and the crinoline fit perfectly in the top of the hall closet I organized yesterday.

 At the last minute I added the misc. excersize equipment that was laying around into the bottom of the closet.

Basement Bedroom Closet "after"

Part of this challenge for me is to reclaim my home, my life and the “me-ness” of me. So each day I will be reflecting:

How did today’s de-cluttering change my life?

My mom wore her wedding dress on her 25^th anniversary. I wonder if I will be able to do the same?

How about you? How did you do today?

To view my whole 40 Day list click here.

Before:

Basement Hall Closet "before" right side

Basement Hall Closet "before" left side

My Professional Organizer self interviewing my hoarder self.

What is this room’s purpose?

This hall closet has never worked well. It houses travel bags, workout equipment, camping supplies, pillows and sleeping bags.

 What IS working in this space?

The doors still close?

What is NOT working?

It’s a mess! I can’t see what I have, nothing is accessible.

Let’s get started.

First I emptied the room and swept the floor with a vacuum.

Second I assembled a new shelving unit. I have put small book shelves in this closet before, but I think a nice big storage piece is what this closet needs.

Third I put the hot pink suitcase aside to fill for my friend’s trip to Guatemala.

Fourth I filled the shelving unit shelves by storage type:

                Bottom shelf – inflatable beds and a tent

                Next shelf – sleeping bags

                Next shelf – duffle bags and hanging bags

Top shelf – small travel bags and left over Cub Scout supplies

Basement Hall Closet "after" left side

Fifth I put the two large suitcases on the right hand side. I went back into the storage room and realized that there were 2 suitcases in there too

Basement Hall Closet "after" right side

Finally I condensed the pillows on the top shelf and placed the crinoline from my wedding dress on the top right shelf.

The Nascar tire is outside the closet. I’m not sure where it will end up at the end of 40 days, but it’s a keeper. It’s so Job!

Part of this challenge for me is to reclaim my home, my life and the “me-ness” of me. So each day I will be reflecting:

How did today’s de-cluttering change my life?

This closet has been a nemesis of mine for years. I am so glad I have started with the basement first. So often I organize my whole house from the top down. By the time I get to basement, I’m done!

I think this solution will work for many years and was a HUGE improvement.

And it only took 30 minutes!

How about you? How did you do today?

Starting…

As to be expected, today did not go as planned. My daughter has 5 tests/ new doctor’s appointments in the next 10 days so I am busy copying, driving, informing and waiting.

Which is what I should be doing! So I want to temper my HUGE challenge with these thoughts:

• ·         Since I am following the 40 days of Lent, I will not be organizing or posting 40 day posts on Sundays.
• ·         Done is better than perfect.
• ·         And to quote Anna Sicalides, I’m going for “good enough”.

(You can win the Book Get Organized Today with Anna and 18 other professional organizer’s wisdom. Just read the book review in this post.)

Before:

There is a lot to be done here. So much so, I have given myself until next week to keep plugging away on this room. It’s not really even THAT terrible, it’s just overwhelming.

You know how some spaces just zap your energy when you think about them? That’s my storage room.

So, to psych myself up, I interviewed myself like I would a client:

What is this room’s purpose?

To house “stuff” I need for decorating, organizing, painting, grand babies, kitty litter, tables and chairs, picture frames, my wedding dress and the Christmas Tree.

I thought you were buying a new tree next year. Why keep this one?

I’m not sure we will be able to afford it and it seems silly to try to sell, or donate it 11 months before Christmas.

Aren’t your kid’s 10 and 12? Why are you saving for grand babies?

Yes. I am only saving 2 boxes of heirlooms. I just PURGED a few more generic toys.

Ok. What IS working in this space?

I like the shelves I have set up. The holiday bins work, I just need to PURGE them. The general zones work, but I need a much bigger storage area for my empty organization containers and school supplies I brought home from teaching.

What is NOT working?

I haven’t maintained my systems and you can’t even get to them!

Now I feel better – Let’s get started.

First I emptied the room and swept the floor with a vacuum.

Second I assembled a new shelving unit to house my growing collection of organization pieces.

{note – If you use the same shelving or bookshelves, you can mix and match sizes. This shelving unit is not as deep as the others, but is still the same height assembled. This adds to an organized feeling.}

{Also, I use about 3-4 basic shelving components in my house. This way as my organizational needs change, I can repurpose the units to other rooms.}

newly PURGED holiday bins

Third I PURGED each of the seasonal boxes and baby boxes on existing shelving.

Fourth I continued PURGING the craft shelf and put all the organizers on the new shelving unit.

a new shelving unit FULL of organizing containers!

{I like how I Heart Organizing is always using cute labels when she reorganizes. So I went searching for some. I ended up buying basic Avery labels and printing in color with a cute font. I really like how defined my boxes feel with labels. I have a feeling I could be over labeling by the end of this challenge! }

I am stopping for today, but made nice progress!!

Part of this challenge for me is to reclaim my home, my life and the “me-ness” of me. So each day I will be reflecting:

How did today’s de-cluttering change my life?

Growing up, my mom planned some really fun parties for my friends. One of them was an Easter egg coloring and cookie decorating party.

Last year, I bought extra egg coloring sets on sale. I also have an awesome GFCF sugar cookie recipe that everyone loves.

So, I decided that I want to have an egg coloring and cookie decorating party for my kids this Easter.

I have deferred so much of my “mommy desires” due to lack of finances and the hectic doctor – tutor – working schedule of our life.

I want to have a PARTY!

How about you? How did you do today?

 

Get Organized Today is a series of interviews with 19 different professional organizers.

I love how each organizer’s strength and excitement shines through their stories.

This book is perfect for you if you haven’t found your organizational strengths yet. You will be sure to find a few organizer’s whom mirror your thoughts.

Here are some of my favorites:

Janet Schiesl, Staging Your Home, uses the four elements of staging {focal point, furniture, storage and lighting} to help you redesign the five living areas on the first floor of your home. I love how Janet walks through really planning the placement and size of a desk in a home office.

Anna Sicalides, Organizing for High Performance Families, embraces the idea of “good enough” versus perfection. I came to this realization a few years ago, and it is SO freeing!

Melissa Stacey, Conquering Your Paper Piles, says: “Do not create a ‘miscellaneous’ file. If it isn’t good enough to have a name, it isn’t good enough to be in your filing cabinet.” I love it!

Rhonda Elliott, Capture the Vision, gives great framework to the process of redefining how we use our space. Rhonda shares the story of how she turned a client’s cluttered guest bedroom into a “fancy hotel” room for her daughter’s visit. Rhonda really made me see how FUN organizing can be!

Is Your House Overweight is a funny and practical guide to putting your house on a diet through de-cluttering! That is exactly what I am doing in my 40 Days ~ 1 Whole House challenge.

I met the author, Sharon Kreighbaum, through a mutual contact and we hit it off right away!

I have printed Sharon’s free -book, to use as I am PURGING and cleaning my home in the next 40 days. Her hardcover book adds so much to the free checklists.

Sharon shares how she and friend went through their homes room by room and took back control from their clutter! I love the “girl friend” feel you get as you read this vintage inspired story of Barbara, Betty and Bob. It’s like an adult picture book!

The second half of her book is a compilation of “recipes” for low fat rooms! I will be reading each room’s “diet” from the book as I tackle her printable check lists.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Both of these books were entertaining to read! I am even more excited now to put my new found resources to the test tomorrow as we START 40 Days ~ 1 Whole House!

To enter to win like my Facebook page ~Organize 365 and leave a comment below saying you did!

Leave a comment about what area of your home most needs organized for a second giveaway entry

The WINNER will be picked Sunday at 8pm.

There will never be enough! So the best we can do is just GET STARTED!

Organize one room, or 15 minutes a day. Just do something  toward your goal of organizing your home.

My plan is organization on steriods!

Hopefully reading my blog over the next 40 days will be like watching Extreme Home Makeover. You might not do it all, but it will inspire you to change your home as well.

I am so excited that so many of you are joining me! Anything is more fun with friends!

So, what’s the plan?

I will attack each space as I would in someone else’s home. I am going to be my own professional organizer. J

1. 1.       What is this space’s purpose?
2. 2.       What is working in this space?
3. 3.       What is NOT working in this space?
4. 4.       PURGE!
5. 5.       Clean.
6. 6.       Reorganize.
7. 7.       Make a list of what needs to be purchased, fixed or finished.

That’s it!

Later today I will be blogging about 2 great organization books I have just read to help me in this challenge. AND I will be GIVING away a copy of each book!

It’s not too late! Make your list of 40 and join me!

I am soooo ready for this challenge to start!

I feel so trapped by my clutter and chaos. I am spending way too much time looking for and tripping over things.

I must confess the idea of spending hours PURGING, cleaning and organizing has me giddy. It’s to the point that I am already dreading when my house will be done.

I am so weird. I love the challenge of a disorganized mess.

Here is my plan

I laid out my 40 day room allocations here. Now I am planning my attack.

First:

Get a friend. It is so much easier to do any challenge when you have a friend by your side.

I hope my posts encourage you and give you ideas throughout the next 40 days. So join my Facebook page. I will be posting 3-6 tips per day to encourage you as you challenge yourself to PURGE, clean and organize your home.

Second:

Decide where your PURGED items will go. Here is where mine are going:

• ·         EvenTrade Ministries is a local free store. I met Tanisha a few weeks ago and knew I wanted to support EvenTrade Ministries during this challenge. Tanisha is looking for:            
  • School Uniform tops (white, red and navy) boys/girls All sizes
  • School Uniform bottoms (khaki & navy)- skorts/skirts/pants for girls,
  • shorts/pants for boys (desperately need 42×30)
  • boys shoes (dress, sneakers, basketball)
  • All men’s items
  • Women’s pants
  • coats, gloves & hats, boots
  • baby items
  • small appliances, dishes
  • beds & linen
  • toys
  • household decorating items
  • For the store: clothing racks, shelving, plastic totes
  • We will take anything in good condition (including all furniture and vehicles)
  • Receipts provided. I’ll set a few hours each week or by appt.
• Guatemala.My friend Michelle adopted 5 children! from Guatemala. She has a list of items they need when they travel there as missionaries. I know I will be PURGING at least one suitcase and will try to fill it for her.
  • suitcases (Will not be returned)
  • Travel toiletries.
• Reach Out Lakota is our local food bank. I am a terrible recycler. L But I am awesome at donating food to our local food bank.
• Craig’s List
  • Longaberger
  • Vera Bradley
  • Furniture
• Garage Sale. I have been going back and forth on this one, but after 2 friends gave me the same counsel, I decided I will have one.
  • I set the date: Friday, April 6 {8 am -11}
  • I will price items as I PURGE
  • I decided I will store items in my basement pantry.
  • I have a few big items to sell, and a few collections.

Third:

Make your 40 day plan. My friend Sharon shared hers with me. She purposely left some days blank to fill in as she needed to throughout the challenge.

1)  Straighten Out Storage (attempt to deal with the mess that is called storage)

2)  Closet under the basement stairs

3)  Basement Closet – Pull out things for garage sale stuff

4)  Basement Entertainment Center

5)  Craft Cubes in Basement

6)

7)

9)  Dining Room Cubes

10)  Dining Room Cubes

11)  Dining Room Wardrobe

12)

13)  Fridge

14)  Pantry

15)  Kitchen Cabinets

16)  Kitchen Drawers

17)  Pantry

18)  Kid’s Closets

19)  Kid’s Closets

20)  Master Bedroom

21)  Master Bedroom

22)  Corie’s Bedroom

23)  Corie’s Bedroom

24)  Laundry Room (Pull out Garage Sale Stuff)

25)  Hall Closet Upstairs

26)  Master Bath

27)  Kid’s Bathroom

28)  1st Floor Bath

29)  Basement Bath

30)  Jordan’s Bedroom

31)  Jordan’s Bedroom

32)  Dining Room

33)  Foyer Closet

34)  Garage Pantry

35)  Garage Freezer Defrost

36)  Garage Miscellaneous

37)  Mom’s Car

38)

39)

40)

Finally:

Leave a comment and let me know you’re getting ready!

I think it’s the paper monster that causes the most dread.

I will often paint a space I am reorganizing. Everything feels fresher with a new coat of paint. When I came to make a plan for Mike’s office, I recommended we start with paint.

Office before:

office straight ahead before

office to the left before

office left side before

office to the right before

Mike had a great desk and hutch already in his office. The family had just put a small love seat in the hallway and I knew it would look great in Mike’s new office.

The old chair, folding table, laptop and lamps were on their way out. By the time I came back 2 days later, the room was ready for paint.

Painting

I chose 2 paint colors. The family liked the nautical border, so we matched the rust in the lighthouse and painted the back wall rust. The other 3 walls were painted in a creamy ivory which made the room bright and cheery.

PURGING & Repurposing

While I finished painting, Mike relentlessly PURGED his paperwork in the hutch to make way for the laptop he rarely used, but still needed access to.

We also repurposed a table to hold his printer.

The hutch that was once hidden when you entered the room took up a prominent space in the room redesign on the left wall.

The old folding table was replaced by the couch that was set to be donated when I arrived. Now there is a nice place for the kids to come sit when they talk to dad as he works.

 Office After:

Mike was so happy with his new office. And we came in under budget! Labor time was 7.5 hours including painting time.

office straight ahead after

office to the left after

office to the right after

How about you? Would you like help getting a space in your home in shape? Email me at lisa {at} warriormama.com and we can talk about transforming YOUR space this week!