frazzled JOY

Bathroom Storage & Organization

Hey there! I'm back to share with you our newly organized bathroom. As I said in my last post, I knew I would have to get creative with storage solutions for bathroom necessities when I removed the cabinet above the toilet. I was planning on installing shelves and knew I could disguise things in baskets there if needed. But, after some serious purging and creative container storage, I was able to fit it all in the vanity very nicely!

Read More Here »

Labels: Bathroom, One Room Challenge, Organizing

Plans For 2016

How is it possibly Friday already!?! Like many of you I'm sure, I have been busy reclaiming my house after Christmas. I don't know about you but for me there just seems to be things stuffed everywhere during December. And by January I feel like I must clean out all the stuff before the walls close in on me!!

I've been thinking a lot about the direction things will be headed in 2016 and I've nailed down a few things that I would like to accomplish.

Read More Here »

Labels: Blogging, Closets, Crafting, Ideas, Inspiration, Organizing, Updating

5 Things To Make Back To School Easier For Moms

Maybe your kids have already started back to school, or maybe you have a couple more weeks. Here they start tomorrow. After a summer of slothing around I'm looking forward to a schedule, but thinking about all the things that are going to be on the schedule kinda freaks me out a bit. Over the past couple of years I have put a few things in place that have seriously made my life easier and more peaceful.

Read More Here »

Labels: Encouragement, Family, Meal Planning, Organizing, Parenting

Spring Makes Me Want to Clean

I have to say, even as I typed that title I laughed to myself. I'm here to admit that I am not the best at housekeeping. Not for lack of trying mind you, it's just not something I have ever enjoyed. I love it when it's done, I just don't want to do it. Can I get an amen from anyone. It's okay, this is a safe place.

See I would much rather be ~~making a mess~~ crafting or DIYing then cleaning one up.

But to my surprise the posts that get the most action on pinterest are the ones about cleaning. This post I did about cleaning baseball pants has been all over. It really is a great tip!! If you have a child who wears a white polyester uniform in the dirt you need to read about this magic soap!

Read More Here »

Labels: Baseball, Cleaning, De-cluttering, Encouragement, Organizing, Spring, Tips

Ribbon Makeover

Sometimes the little things help bring things together. Sometimes I have to take a break from the big projects and just do a small project that I can start and finish in an hour or so. This project was just that.

I bought these canvas baskets from Target a few years ago. They are perfect for holding back yard things by the back door. One for dog stuff and one for all.the.balls.

Read More Here »

Labels: Crafting, DIY, Organizing, Updating

Recipe Organization

I consider myself an organizing junkie. In that, I like to try out all kinds of organization methods. In fact, I try out several different ways to organize the same thing, until, hopefully I discover a way that actually WORKS for me. Anybody else out there?

Aside from design inspiration, I love pinterest for new recipes. When I am feeling in a bit of a rut, I will spend an hour or so printing recipes from my pinterest boards I have collected. After a while of doing this I have quite a collection of printed recipes just floating around. A couple of years ago I made myself a binder with pocket tabs for different types of recipes, and sheet protectors to slide the recipes into.

Well....after a while I quit sliding the recipes back into the sheet protectors. And then....after a while I stopped putting the recipes back into the right category. And then....I stopped putting the recipes back into the pockets. So, I ended up with this mess.

I knew it was time to try something new. I tend to organize better loosely. Meaning, I don't do well when I have to put things into lots of things. So, a sheet protector, into a section, into a binder was just too many things.

I found this cutie at walmart and decided to give it a go.

Since I am using this mostly for main courses - for meal planning purposes - I labeled each section by the type of meat and also a "favorites" section and a "misc" section. Favorites for those meals that my family could eat everyday, and misc for a few side dishes, bread, salads, and you know, misc. :)

I re-sorted all the recipes, threw out a few that hadn't turned out well, and filed them away.

I've shared before my easy-peasy meal planning system and where I store the recipes for the planned period. I still love this method! It's easy to see the meals, it keeps the recipes I need handy, and the sheet protectors keeps the recipes clean while I'm cooking!

I'm hoping this new file sorter will be easier for me to manage when it comes to meal planning, and putting things back in the right place! We shall see. :)