Creating a Cleaning Caddy

There are some great caddies all over pinterest and blogland. All kinds of caddies. 

Art

Crafts

Bathroom 

Desktop

Silverwear

School Supplies

And the focus for today

CLEANING

The situation under my sink was, well a bit alarming. How is one supposed to clean if you can't even locate the proper cleaning supplies and tools? Right, you can't. Not saying that I was like living in a potential biohazard zone. Just that a few cleaning tasks may have been neglected. And so I decided that I was jumping on the caddy wagon. Starting with a cleaning caddy.

I got some inspiration from my favorite blogs:

A bowl full of lemons

I think we might even have the same caddy??

I heart Organizing

So let's take a peak at what we're working with here:

 This is the right side of the cabinet. At one point, ya know when we moved in, everything was stashed away nicely in those dish tubs. Cheap dish tubs are some of my favorite storage items these days. I used to have my whole closet organized with them {here}. They are super cheap, sturdy, and get the job done.

 

And here's the left side. Just as bad as the right side.

To start with everything had to come out and the cabinet got a good wipe down with antibacterial wipes. That means doors, sides, bottom, the back wall, and the insides of the tubs.  Leaving me with a clean slate to work with. As I took everything out of the cabinet, I tried to group things by type. I also created a pile for the things that would find a new home in my cleaning caddy.

Then I was able to start putting things back in, starting with the tubs (and some random booze shoved in the back) clearly I wasn't concerned about easy access to it.

Then I was able to start filling the tubs and my new cleaning caddy. whoop, whoop!

 All of my extras and infrequently used items went into the far back right corner. This back tub held a few spare method cleaners (I moved with seriously like 10 of them- and the bathroom ones are stored in there!) A random furniture polish, wasp killer, floor cleaner, and febreze finished out the remainder of the tub.

 On the left side, behind the tub I stashed some excess dish detergent and a few flashlights. They fit just perfect in the space behind that tub.

 

And here's the front of the left side. This tub holds light bulbs, comet, jet dry, garbage bags, a few sponge, a scrub brush, and the Kitchen Antibac Method. I didn't put this one into the caddy since it would only be used in the kitchen and it didn't make sense to take up space in the caddy if it was already in it's intended room.

 

In the space between the two tubs, I put our current dishwasher detergent and the big jug of dish soap that I use to refill the small one that I keep on the counter next to the sink.

And here's what I put into my caddy:

starting at the right front corner--

 swiffer/febreze dusting spray

 carpet stop treatment

 Method glass & surface cleaner

 Method multi-surface cleaner

Clorox Anywhere spray

window cleaner (with the microfiber rag folded and tucked in front of it)

febreze (extra strength)

microfiber cleaning rags- light blue and white, darker blue rag for TV screen

glade carpet freshener

 

And the nice little stack of trash that I was able to clean out from under the sink. All packed up nicely in the garbage bag box. I actually combined the two different sizes of trash bags that we had. Crafty, huh?

Now I can just grab my caddy and run around the apartment cleaning like a crazy person! It will be super handy to have everything I need and just go from one room (or area) to the next. It will also be a great help when I start my spring cleaning!
I'm working on a clear the clutter project in conjunction with my spring cleaning, so it won't be your traditional spring cleaning but all the necessary cleaning tasks will get done. A spring cleaning printable for you is in the works, so stay tuned. This also means that my spring cleaning will be more like late winter cleaning. I don't trust myself to just let my brain come up with all the things that need to be done, gotta check it out for myself. So stay tuned for your spring cleaning pleasure!

Kitchen Corner Clean-up

I am awesome at alliteration. I know you are jealous!
What you will not be jealous of is the fact that I am at home with 3 sick kids. :( However, I am still tackling some organizing projects.
Jen at I heart organizing is sponsoring kitchen organization month. She has tackled her pantry. I am headed there next. But for now I started small with a corner that is kind of a catch all for us.
I am so embarrassed to show you all this. But this is what our corner looked like:

I started by just grouping all like things together, throwing away garbage, that kind of thing.

The pop got thrown away, it was totally flat, the wine is actually Shannon's got put in the cupboard, the can got ditched, the food got put away, including the delicious home made bread, that I made. I had no idea we had crammed this much stuff in that corner!

Once I got all those things put where they belong, I cleaned the counter very well. I used my trusty Method anti-bac. I cleaned under the microwave, the Keurig (that my lovely mother in law got me! Thanks Shelly!) and all along the wall. I felt better already.
 The only thing I put back on the microwave was a basket that holds out box tops, milk lids and pop tabs. The kids collect all three to take to school, so they need to be somewhere easy for us to stick or we won't do it. I don't want it to stay there, but I'm not doing a whole kitchen overhaul, so it's staying there for now.

Over all, I'm happy with what I look at when I head over to microwave something. Here is a good old before and after. Much improved, in my opinion.

Are you tackling the kitchen a la Jen? Somewhere else? Share your projects with us!

15 Minutes of Organizing {school bag}

I have a thirty-one bag that I use as my "school bag".  I don't even know why I really carry it back and forth other than to hold my planners and a few papers, but I do. It was all nice and neat for quite a while but lately it has been looking like this:

Definitely not pretty or functional. Do you think I could find anything in there? Not a chance!

  So I sat down on the living room floor, like any good organizer. And took everything out of the bag.

  And then I tipped it over and shook it, forgetting that there were things in the pockets. Oops.

Ps. you like my leggings and bootie slipper look? cute, right?

Then I started sorting things into like piles.

 After everything was sorted out, there wasn't much going back in my bag.  Which is a good thing. No sense in hauling around a bunch of extra junk, right?

The surviving items were my thirty-one pencil bag, blog planner, life planner, a small notebook, and a few papers that are popped into my thirty-one pouch. Nothing is floating loose in the bag, which makes me super happy. Hoping I can keep it looking like a teacher's bag and not some sloppy high schooler :)

No Repeat February {week two}

Here I am again! I can't believe Shannon left me in charge of the blog! Hence the fact that it is 1:30 and I am just sitting down to write the blog! ACK! So, here goes our weekly outfits!
Edit: So, clearly this is what Shannon does the blogging. The pictures are completely unedited, nothing has been pinned, there is no logo, I missed a picture this week and all this has taken me over an hour. Hopefully when she comes back, she will spruce it up. My apologies in the mean time.
Update: I'm back from my long weekend vaca, that wasn't really much of a vacation. Glad the blog survived my absence and I will make a few additions but I think it was pretty good to start with :)

Monday: 

khaki's: Maurices (hand me down's from mom I think)

long sleeve t: Old Navy

Sweater: Daytrip from Buckle

shoes: Buckle, old but they still sell them

Pants: Old Navy
Shirt: Wal-Mart
Cardigan: Wal-Mart
Scarf: Wal-Mart
Shoes: Target (PS what socks do you wear with red shoes?)

Tuesday

pants: Maurices, before school this year. I love that they have a tiny sparkle pinstripe :)

tank: Buckle

burnout: Buckle

Sweater: Target, last year- but this school year

Scarf: Walmart clearance!

Shoes: Buckle, super old

My picture from today was deleted. What a helpful baby. I wore Gap khaki's, my white cami, a heather blue long sleeve V-neck from Target, a coral scarf from Wal-Mart and my black flats from Fashion bug. If I can find all the pieces, I will throw it on and snap a picture.

Wednesday

(today was my hot mess day- I didn't get my clothes picked Tuesday night so it was a disaster morning)

Khaki's: oh hey, slacker, you wore these pants on Monday!! ugh.

tank: Buckle

burnout: Maurices

Sweater: Old Navy

Shoes: Buckle, old but they still sell them

This was our Valentine's Party day, so I was fancy in my sequins. You know you like it. :)

Pants: Sam's Club (I really need some black pants that fit)

Cami: Wal-Mart

Sequin Tank: Old Navy

Cardigan: Wal-Mart

Shoes: Fashion Bug

Thursday

skinnies: Walmart :) Black Friday
tank: Buckle
long sleeve tee: Old Navy
sweater: Target? maybe?
boots: Vera Wang at Kohls
scarf: Walmart

Sorry for the blurry picture, CT took it. I was in PD all day today. I wanted to wear something comfy and these pants are super soft and comfy. I got there and EVERYONE else was in jean. #fail

Pants: American Eagle, they have a light blue pinstripe and I love them, I just rediscovered them.
Sweater: Wal-Mart
Cami: Wal-Mart
Shoes: American Eagle from Payless

Friday

Jeans: American eagle (three pairs of these babies!)
Tank: buckle
Shirt: buckle, last summer
Shoes: buckle, a few years ago

Coat: north face- love it! And in case you were wondering, the white washes up like a champ!!
(This is what I will probably actually be wearing today!)
(uploaded these babies on the fly from Waterloo. Awesome creepy bathroom photo right?)

Jeans: Wal-Mart (I don't like how the legs are cut, so I tuck them into my boots, not really sold on that either though, so after seeing this picture, I think these are going in the Goodwill bag.)
Shirt: Old Navy
Scarf: My mom knitted it for me
Boots: Target

Don't forget you can follow along on our pinterest board to see our actual outfits and our inspiration.
{follow us here}

We would love for you to link up with us! A day, all week, two days, an instagram photo. Anything at all!


Friday 5

1. Tried out a scuff cover on my Vera Wang boots, they are at least 3 years old and now these babies look good as new again!


2.  I got this gel nail polish at Walmart for a couple bucks, so far so good.  Polish has stayed on all week. Much cheaper than shellac. 


3. Niki's kids both got awesome reports at conferences this week! 

4. I got to babysit these little pumpkins last weekend- who could resist that face?


5. I got to help Faith, Niki's daughter, make her valentine's box for school. So much fun!

BONUS!

Shannon saw this purse while perusing her Pintrest fashion boards and clicked on it. The link took her to amazon.com, of all places, and she had to have it! It has been ordered and will arrive shortly. The fashion gods were really looking down on her this week! Lucky girl!



I'm a bad blogger

Last week Shannon asked me how many blog posts I was going to do and which days I wanted. I told her I would to 2. Clearly this is my first and tomorrow is Friday 5 and our outfit post. So. I failed. And what I was going to post about is not ready.
So instead I'm going to show you what I did for Jayce's Valentine treats. Except I didn't get a picture of the finished product today, so you're going to have to use your imagination. Remember, I'm a bad blogger.
I didn't want to do traditional chocolate. But I also didn't want to go totally pintrest and make some big complicated valentine for all 22 kids. So I compromised. Jayce gave bear hugs!
I just whipped up some stickers using Avery labels and some free clip art, and stuck them to snack sized baggies and put 16 Teddy Graham's in each bag (the portion recommended for 4 year olds.)  He helped stick the stickers and count the bears, so he loved it! It was cheap and easy for me, all I had to buy were the Teddy Grahams. I'm calling it a win.
Sadly all I have to offer in the way of photos are the stickers we used. If there is an extra bag tonight, I will throw a picture up. Ok? Ok.
What did you do for valentines? Old school store bought cards? Something amazing? Share with us, we always need inspiration for next year!

A packing list freebie

I am one lucky lady this week. I get to go on vacation....to Waterloo, Iowa. Vacation hot spot right?? Ha! But it is away from my house and I don't have to cook or make my own bed, so I'd say its still a win.
So because of said impending vacation you get a freebie. I know I could have just written my list on a piece of notebook paper, but this was way more fun.
Here are my lists in action:
I'm sure there will be more things frantically scribbled down before I actually get my packing done...tonight. Which is a little late for my preferences but I've been a busy gal. I did color coordinate my list with my favorite papermate flair markers.

purple is for bathroom type supplies

blue is for clothing

green is for electronics

pink is for snacks

light purple is my list of things that need to be purchased or done

And here's the freebie for you. In case any of you get to go on super cool vacations too!

Although it could be used for a move too, since I kept the label generic.

Also, since I will be "vacationing" I will be leaving the blog completely in Niki's hands. So look forward to a post from her tomorrow and she will be wrapping up our weekly wardrobe on Friday too.

can you sense the theme in my recent printables? I'm way into borders, bright colors, arrows, and chevron!

Scarf Storage

I have a thing for scarves. If you checked out my wardrobe from last week, you can tell how bad it is! I hit up the scarf rack every time I go to WalMart. I can swing $3.42 for a scarf! My scarves were hanging on a hanger in our coat closet because there clearly is not room in our bedroom closet. Actually there's not really room in the coat closet either, but that's another matter. Anyway my scarf hanger met it's demise the other day and ended up like this.

Whomp, whomp. Scarves in a pile on the floor is not very conducive to checking out the inventory to select one to wear for the day. 

I had pinned a few different scarf storage solutions and thought some of them were fab, but like most of my projects there was a budget of $0. Maybe $5 if I could justify a purchase. 

{source}

{source}

This is my favorite storage option so far. But alas I do not have a nice place to hang tension rods. So maybe in my next apartment/house. Or maybe if we rearrange?? or find an awesome sale??

{source}

I happened to have a shower rings, so inspiration option number 1 is the winner.

I brought my babies into the living room and sorted them into two piles. 

Scarves for daily wear and actual winter scarves

 

I popped my cheapo shower rings onto the hanger and folded my scarves in half and hung them through the rings. I put all the winter scarves to one side, since there's only a few and my daily scarves took up most of the hanger. I can see them all at once, which will be so nice when I go to pick out my outfit.

And then I put shoved them back into the coat closet.

I can't wait for warmer weather so I can pack up all these coats and actually have a normal looking, functional closet again. 

I would to hang my scarves on a tension or curtain rod someday....sighs. maybe next time we move?

How do you store your scarves? Are you a scarf loving weirdo like me??