How Long Should I Keep The Boxes? (A.K.A. My Little Hoarding Problem)

As I've worked on creating clutter-free closets, I've discovered evidence of a little hoarding problem: I keep boxes. The above picture is an example of a"stash" I found in my basement. I almost always save the boxes from kitchen appliances, decor items, dishes, and  electronics, and I feel guilty when I recycle them.

So whats wrong with keeping my boxes? I feel like my reasons are logical:

Pantry Challenge Part 2 and Free Printable Labels!

Yesterday, I shared the first part of my Pantry Challenge. Let's just cut to the chase, shall we? Here's the final product!

Making it Pretty:

Pantry Challenge Part 1: Four Weeks To Clutter-Free Closets

Week Three Already!
If you haven't checked out the other closet makeovers in my Four Weeks to Clutter-Free Closets challenge, you can find them here:

Coat Closet Challenge: Four Weeks to Clutter-Free Closets

It's Wednesday, and time for a Four Weeks to Clutter-Free Closets Update!
I have to start by saying that I'm a total procrastinator. I did the bulk of the work on my coat closet yesterday (Tuesday), but didn't finish the full re-org until this afternoon. Then I had a dear friend over for a visit, followed by Pioneer Girls, and now it's time (at 9:52) to edit some pictures and write this post. This is the closest I've cut it (11:57 p.m.) to meeting my self-imposed deadline. 

Linen Closet Challenge - Four Weeks to Clutter-Free Closets

Week one is up, and it's time for an update! First up is the linen closet.
Let me start this week's update by stating that I definitely created this month's challenge for myself. My closets have actually been bugging me for a few weeks, but I held off because I knew I wanted to blog about it. Talk about commitment, right? ;-)

Four Weeks To Clutter-Free Closets

Hi, friends! Tips & Tricks Thursday will be back next week.

On Monday and Tuesday's posts, I mentioned that I was going to hold a Spring Cleaning Challenge. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I was still debating on how to implement it. I promised it wouldn't be very intense, because I know we all have busy lives and schedules. At first I was thinking a room-by-room plan, with a few deep cleaning projects included, but there are so many other good tutorials and cleaning challenges, and cleaning isn't really my thing.

To be clear, I do clean, but my house isn't spotless by any means. I probably do the big cleaning 

jobs less often than I should, but we're definitely not living in squalor either. Just keepin' it real. :)

Anyway, if you're looking to do a full-on spring cleaning, I'm not your girl. If you're interested in Spring Cleaning resources, check out some great ones here, here, and here. Instead, I'll be focusing on closets in the month of April, specifically how you can best use the space you have.

Simple Toy Bin Labels

 Well, the Family Room Update is still a work in progress. Now that the painting is done, I'm left with the slow work of finishing the room with a rug and décor. I'm turning to Pinterest for inspiration because it's really not my area of expertise. But lets focus on the positive: the paint is on the walls, so that is a huge step in the right direction. If you'll remember, the Family Room opens right into the Sunroom/Playroom, so I'm counting it as one room. Here's a sneak peek:

Containing the Cord Clutter

We're not really into tech gadgets in this house, but even a few charging cords can make a space seem messy. For awhile I had been keeping the chargers for our two cell phones, an electric sweeper, and the video camera in a basket. Then we added in my new Nexus tablet (an early birthday present from Hubby) and the cord clutter was starting to get to me. It was just so frustrating to dig through and untangle the cords every time I needed to charge something.

$0 Organizing Challenge: Kiddo's Closet

I have tried a few times to organize Kiddo's closet since we moved in, but mostly it lasted just long enough to dig through and re-stack boxes of clothes after switching seasons. When we moved in, I just shoved boxes of clothes and other Kiddo-related items in the closet and closed the door. (I'm sensing a trend.) It wasn't in terrible shape, but I knew I could make it much easier to find things if I just spent some time in there.
Organizing Kiddo's closet was on the mental to-do list, but it still hadn't happened.  For me, it just wasn't worth it to try organizing while Kiddo was awake. He either would cause a huge mess trying to help me or leave the room and get into trouble.
Then, about a month ago, I had a mother's helper for the morning, and let me tell you, it was glorious! She and Kiddo had a great time and I got to organize his closet without all the "help" and mischief that usually occur when I'm trying to accomplish something. Thanks again, Kylee!

The Linen Closet: A Work in Progress

Lately our linen closet has become that closet. You know, the one that you throw things into and quickly shut the door so you don't have to see the mess... And it was starting drive me a little crazy.

I have written a few blog posts about home organization, but that certainly doesn't make me an expert. I'm definitely happier when a space is organized, but it's not in my nature. Just ask my parents or siblings what my bedroom looked like when I was growing up!
Which brings us to the before picture for my linen closet. Such a sad sight. You can see why I wanted to keep the door shut!

I cringe when I see this. The top two shelves at least have neatly folded stacks of linens, but the bottom is pure chaos!

Improvised Broom Closet

As I have mentioned before, we have less closet space and concealed storage in this house than I would like. We actually have one less closet downstairs in our 2200 square foot 4-bedroom colonial than we did in our 1300 square foot 3-bedroom town home. I was so spoiled, and I certainly miss the storage!
We also have laminate flooring and tile throughout our first floor. With a toddler in the house (messes and crumbs galore), the broom and I have developed a very close relationship. I needed a good way to store our broom, mop, and the like where I could reach them easily throughout the day.
I was Pinspired by this beauty of a pin. Cleaning is probably my least favorite part of household management, but looking at this broom closet simply makes me happy. Crisp, clean, organized... it almost makes me want to clean - almost!

source

Maybe someday, when we re-do our kitchen, we could add something like that. But until then, I needed to come up with an easy-access storage solution. My attempts - shoving them in our coat closet or hanging them on nails on the basement wall - weren't cutting it.

I had broom closet envy, but what do you do when you don't have one? A few months ago I was at Target in the Dollar Spot and noticed an over-the-door hook rack for $3. It wasn't until I got home that I realized it was the solution to my broom closet dilemma! We don't go to Target often, and Dollar Spot items don't usually last, so I wanted to seize the opportunity. Thankfully, a friend was going there the next day, so she picked one up for me. Thanks, Beth!

Since most of my sweeping jobs happen in the kitchen, I chose to hang the hooks on the inside of the basement door, right as you enter the kitchen. It's been in place for a few months, and it's working perfectly! Here's my new "broom closet" in action.

From left to right we have a $1 handheld broom and dustpan from Target's Dollar Spot, a broom (I think it's from college), a lint brush to get the cat hair off the couch with a baggie of Swiffers behind it, my Rubbermaid Reveal mop, and the cleaning pads for said mop {affiliate links}. The empty hook normally holds an old Swiffer-style broom, but the kiddo was playing with it while I took the picture. He loves to sweep!

(Oh, and please disregard the scattered toys on the floor and general 

mess behind the door. He makes messes faster than I clean up!)

As I said, this is an old project. This "broom closet" has been in place since the spring. I chose to post this now because the hooks were back at the Dollar Spot when I was at Target a little over a week ago.
I can think of so many other uses, and for $3, it's a very affordable organizational tool! You could hang scarves or baseball caps on a closet door, pans on a pantry door, towels in a bathroom.... Makes me want to go out and buy a few more!
How would you use hooks like this in your space?

I linked up at:

Easy-Access Recipe Cards

When it comes to recipes, I'm not afraid of trying new things every once in a while. But for the most part, we stick with what we know and love. There are several meals that are in our regular rotation, and we almost always have some sort of quick bread for breakfast (it's a great way to bribe encourage the little one to eat his eggs and fruit).
All of our favorite recipes are on recipe cards. Many come from Pinterest, and while I do have some cookbooks, I don't like taking up valuable counter space while I'm cooking. If a meal from any source is deemed a "keeper," I write it on a card.
Storing the cards in a box is great in theory, but I found that the recipes I used regularly ended up in a pile next to/on top of/underneath where they were supposed to go. Not organized at all, and the clutter was starting to get to me.
The solution came to me one day when I was cleaning off the fridge. If Pinterest has taught me anything, it's that just about anything under the sun can be re-purposed. I was planning on putting a magnetic picture frame in the yard sale pile until I realized it could hold a few recipe cards. So, I gave it a trial run with a few of my favorites, and I was very happy with the result.
Since it worked so well, I decided I could use a few more frames to store different categories. I could have bought more at the Dollar Tree, but I put a out plea on Facebook first, and sure enough, my friend Sue gave me some that were taking up space in her house. Win-win! 
The only problem was, my favorite recipe cards are a bit loved...

Not exactly pretty... These great labels from Better Homes and Gardens were just what they needed. I used a similar label for our pantry storage, and I love how they make even the simplest project look pretty! All I did was print the labels on some computer paper, adhere them with clear contact paper, and voila!

Here they are at home on the side of my fridge with my cooking reference sheets, grocery list, etc.

They may not be something you'd find in a designer kitchen, but they're practical, pretty, and free. I count that as a success!

Making the Most of Our Closet

We recently moved to a new (to us) house. Now that it's almost July, we're very thankful for the central air conditioning in this home. However, since our home was not built with central air, there are a few places that duct work has been added. Two are in our son's room, and one is in our master bedroom closet.
Our closet is a walk-in, but it stores less clothes and accessories than the his & hers closets in our last home. And since the duct work was placed in the corner, we lost some hanging space. Observe:

It even takes up an entire shelf!

Pantry Organization

Now, I definitely admire all the beautiful designer pantries out there on Pinterest, but I will not be shelling out the big bucks for fancy containers or taking the time to paint, much less stencil, the interior. I really don't like to spend money on home decor when I can find a free or almost-free solution.