Quick Drawer Reorganize

Remember how on Friday I went shopping?  One thing I bought was a drawer divider set.  I put it to use the other day.

Before

After

 

This was quite simple and took very little time, maybe even fifteen minutes.  I'm so happy that now I have spot for all my little bathroom things.  Everything has it's place.

Jen from IHeart Organizing always says everything must have a place.  I always assumed that the drawer was the place, but now I see that if it has a place WITHIN the drawer it is easier to find stuff.  She is so great and so helpful in helping me organize my life.  Go Jen.     

My little shopping spree paid off, now I have one more part of my life organized. 

Spice of Life

No, there is nothing raunchy about this post, it is simply about spices, but they make me happy and when I can find them they add a little "spice" to my life, in a good way.

Here's a quick project I did while I was waiting for my pasta water to boil.
                                             Before                                           After

I labeled all my spices. You see, when we moved in we got  great little shelf system for the spices, but my spices are very large and the spices on the two back shelves were blocked, I could not read their labels.  This was fine until my hubby started cooking and moving around the spices.  I could not find anything anymore.  (This upsets me a lot, because I am usually in the middle of cooking something and then my onions burn because I'm looking for the oregano, that silly oregano!)

Who knows what those top two shelves hold!

So after yelling at him for messing up my spice rack I realized I was being unreasonable.  How can I expect him to put the spices back in the exact same spot?  It was not fair of me to yell.  (It's a good thing he loves me).

I took out my handy-dandy lable maker and ... now I can see what spices are where.

Ahh much better.

There's the oregano!

I even put them back in an order that makes sense to me (most commonly used spices in the front, least in the back) but it is fine if Jeff messes up the system.  I will still be able to see what they all are (that is as long as he keeps the labels facing front, oh no now I have something new to yell about)  I don't actually yell, I speak harshly.  

One last before and after:

Before

 After

What do you think, am I crazy or was this a good idea?  Do other people get so upset about their spices?

Tool Drawer Reorganized

Thanks to Jen over at IHeart Organizing, I have been inspired once again to organize something in my life. This time it's the tool drawer.

My husband and I have tool drawer upstairs so we don't have to go down to the unfinished basement to get a quick tool.  Somehow this drawer became our second junk drawer and had way too many non-tool stuff in them.  


Here is the before:

 That big yellow bag is a powered screwdriver.  Under it is more stuff...

Stuff that are not tools:
a package of unopened coasters
an umbrella
a small bag of rocks
several unopened spare Christmas light bulbs
an unopened package of car freshners
two no-longer-sticky sticky hooks
the family phone book
one empty jar
two empty tin canisters
stickers

I also found a whole bunch of tools, nails, and screws that should be downstairs.  After I got rid of all that stuff and added some containerstto keep the place in order this is what I got:

All the necessities are there.  The right screwdrivers (normal ones), a hammer, a level, a measuring tape, and the supplies for some projects I still have to finish. 

I used an old silverware organizer for the tools. 

The hammer and paint swatches (I have to have my paint swatches on hand at all times) go on the side.  

 

Now I'm not afraid to use my tool drawer, and now, I can actually find the tools I need. (yay!)

Here is one last before and after:

Before

After

If you came over from IHeart Organizing please feel free to browse some old posts.  I'm small, but I do a lot of creative stuff.  Welcome to Designed by Chance.

Clean House for a Month (without a maid)

I have a confession to make, I don't always keep my house clean.  Don't get me wrong I wish my house was clean.  I love when I can walk on the floors (yes even in the kitchen) with socks and not get stuff stuck to them.  I love when all the surfaces in the house are clean of clutter.  In short: I love a clean house, but I don't love actually cleaning it. 

I have read about unnamed people who say they clean the house a little every day and it never gets dirty.  I have visited people's homes who seem to live without dirt or clutter, and I can't figure out how they do it.  So for the last month I have turned a new leaf.  I have worked to clean the house a little each day, and follow a plan, in  hopes that nothing gets so bad that I'm embarrassed to have people over.  I'm happy to report it actually works!  Those people were right.  There is a way to keep your house in a state of general cleanness for a whole month without a maid (I had a maid in India and it was amazing, but that is another story). 

But I have a secret.  I could not have done it alone (no, not the maid again).  I found a 30 day cleaning schedule.  Honestly, I don't remember where I found it, and I read so many blogs it could have come from anywhere, but a quick Google search revealed that the original article (I think) comes from Apartment Therapy.  I don't know how I got it, but I found the schedule as a word document (go figure). 

As I now see, the theory is that with twenty minutes of cleaning you can keep your house clean all month, and it works.  I swear.  I used this schedule most days, and my house was pretty close to under control for the entire month.  Some days I cleaned more than twenty minutes but the schedule kept me on track and no one room, or one job, got so bad I felt overwhelmed. 

Here it is:
30 Day Cleaning Schedule!!!!
1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)
2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)
3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)
4. Surface clean "extra" rooms (basement, office, play room)
5. Surface clean living room and kitchen
6. Clean bathrooms
7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)
8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don't forget stairs)
9. Surface clean bedrooms
10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)
11. Clean bathrooms
12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)
13. Surface clean "extra" rooms
14. Deep clean bedrooms (organize drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)
15. Surface clean living room and kitchen
16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)
17. Clean all door knobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, banisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.
18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry
19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they're often our home away from home)
20. Surface clean living room and kitchen
21. Surface clean bathrooms
22. Surface clean bedrooms
23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable
25. Surface clean living room and kitchen
26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)
27. Surface clean bathrooms
28. Surfaces clean bedrooms
29. Clean one item you've been meaning to get to and haven't (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)
30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

If you are like me you are probably looking at this list and thinking "Right, this will never work." But it does and after years of getting really upset and overwhelmed when my house was a mess, for this past month, I actually felt I had it under control.

Now here are a few of my own tips for being a happy cleaning person:
1. Listen to loud music.  I have some very upbeat rave (read club) music that I blast on my sterio when I'm cleaning.  That way I can dance my way through the job and get a little extra exercise as well.

2. Don't try to do it all.  It won't work, you will get burnt out.  Just do one step each day and the house will look better over time.

3. This list does not include laundry.  I have found that now that I have my own machines I just do the laundry two or three times a week.  It is much better that way!

4. You will end up cleaning your kitchen every day, but on the off days I just clean it less. (Do the dishes, wipe the counters, but I don't go crazy with the clutter control)

So there you have it, one little woman's new way to control her household.  I have to admit the house is not spotless every day, but it is better than before, and that is what matters to me.

What works for you?  Do any of you  have a system that works? If you try this system shoot me an email or make a comment so I can see how it worked (or didn't) for you. 

Happy cleaning!