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!

A Change Of Scenery...

Somehow, when I really decide to thoroughly clean something, I really make a big mess!

Moving an office is no small task, and that's especially true when you haven't pulled things out from the wall in nearly 5 years!!! There were actual colonies of dust mites! Yikes! Thanks to my good old vacuum, the old office space is ready to be filled now with some other kind of stuff. That happens pretty quickly around here. We are not what you might consider hoarders, rather, we see the potential in lots of things...

But whew! After a lot of sorting, cleaning, tossing shredding and heavy lifting, my old office furniture is safely (mostly) down in the living room. I connected the computer and managed not to screw up the wifi for everyone. The sound system works, and my printer has power (have not tested it yet). So all in all I'd say it was a very productive day!

The hubbs, (have I mentioned he's wonderful!) is bringing home yakisoba, and after I refuel on that I'll start to tackle the gigantic mess I have made "cleaning".

Then hopefully, maybe, I can get back to the important stuff - the next miniature project! Russ & Jodi's Retirement Home! In any event, it will be nice to have a little change of scenery...

Work Before Play...

Today is all about cleaning and organizing my dining and living rooms. Since my dining room is really my craft room, it really needed to be organized after finishing up Auntie Jackie's Potting Shed.

We hardly ever use the living room, which is sad because it is really beautiful! We usually hang out in the family room, because it's right next to the kitchen and we really like to eat a lot. Plus, it has a TV.

When my grown son said he needed a sofa, it sparked an idea - what if I moved my office to the living room, which connects to the dining room. It would be so much more convenient! I use my computer as my sort of Control Center, so I am here a lot. I also use my computer frequently for crafting ideas or making printies. If my craft room and computer were 10 feet from each other, it would save me many trips up and down the stairs every day! And, I could give the comfy corduroy sofa to my son so there'd be room for my office stuff. Win-win!

So... That means I have to clean out the living room, dust vacuum, clean carpets etc. Then do the same to the dining room. Then move what's staying into it's new place, then clean and organize my office area before bringing all of that down to the living room. Whew! Sometimes my "good ideas" really create a lot of work for me! Hopefully, this is one idea I'll reap many rewards from!

My next mini project is just waiting for me to start it, so hopefully I'll be getting to that sometime this week!