Getting Organized!

Since moving my my office downstairs into the living room I realized for the first time that I actually have my own space! My son and husband tend to like things less neat and tidy than I do, so long ago I had to make a choice; spend all of my time cleaning up after everyone, or ignore their clutter as long as it took for them to "get to it".

I wanted my home to be "magazine ready" all of the time, but with the boys living here it's just not realistic. And, it would not be a home after all without them, so clutter, dog hair, and pop tart crumbs are just part of my life, too.

The silver lining tho, is that I get to have the living/dining rooms as my office/craft space, and they have the rest of the house for all their "boy stuff"!

So, I am making an effort to de-clutter and organize - especially now because the Russ and Jodi's Retirement House project is going to be the biggest one I've ever attempted to accomplish. I am going to need to maximize my space!

I started when I moved things downstairs. New and old stuff I never use is getting listed on ebay and Craigslist. This week I'll be listing lots of various scrapbooking stuff on ebay.

I've been trying to think of a better way to store all my plywood, basswood, stripwood and mouldings. Right now, I spend more time than necessary looking for things, and as I am digging to find something I inevitably knock things over and create a mess.

I just got a resupply order of stripwood from Hobby Builders Supply so it was about to become even worse! The wood box also lives on my buffet, and that is going to become valuable real estate when I get going on the barn kit.

A few Christmases ago I decided to make my grandma's homemade cinnamon rolls for everyone in our family. Boy was that a labor of love! I purchased some boxes from Ikea as the gift boxes for the cinnamon rolls, but I had several left over. I kept imagining what I could use them for every time I looked in the pantry. Today I finally figured out that they would make a perfect wood caddy!

I assembled 6 of them, taped them together, then used the 7th to create a tray for the bottom adding strength. I literally used a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife, and some packing tape!

After assembly, I cut a slit in the top of each box. This allowed me to slip the wood pieces and packages in. The slit in the cardboard holds the pieces right in place!

Now I am able to store the unit next to the buffet, freeing up the space, and I'll be able to find, inventory and order what I need in a way more efficient manner. And there's more room in the pantry, and the red and white design on the box makes them cute!

I just love it when an idea turns out so perfect!