1. This week has NOT been good. Everything just seems to go wrong. It's nothing SERIOUS...but one of those weeks where you stub your toe and then turn around and stub it again.
2. I spent the day cleaning house. Well actually I spent the first half of the day with my kids but then I cleaned house.
3. The kids and I watched movies and played board games. Aubry won two games of Sorry. I don't think she was sorry. ;)
4. I've started creating art again. I'm not painting because I don't really have a good spot in my apartment to oil paint and all of my supplies are at my mom's...but I found my colored pencils and I'm starting a few little things. I'm excited about that.
5. Still working on grad school applications. Uuugggghhh.
6. I've been all about strawberry shortcake lately. The food, not the little Hasbro doll. ;) Ashlyn likes the doll but hates the dessert...mostly because she doesn't like "whoop cream." Silly girl! ;)
7. I bought a bunch of books after I graduated...things I wanted to continue studying in the field. I still have yet to finish the one I started first. :P I'm more than halfway done now, though! I just don't make a lot of time to read. I sit down and read 10-20 pages and then I start thinking of all the other things I need to do. Most of my reading occurs when I'm waiting. I got most of the pages read when I was in waiting rooms at the doctor's office and the DMV. :P
8. It's probably really sad that my leisure reading consists of books about criminal psychology, substance abuse, and social work theories. :P
9. Friday I will be spending the day going to garage sales with my dad. :) We've gone together the last couple years and it's always fun. I don't really spend a whole lot of time with my dad because we just don't have much in common (other than our personalities!), he's a dude so small talk usually consists of him talking about his glory days, and most of the time he's playing outside with my kids. But a whole day buying someone else's junk that we probably don't need...that's always good times. :)
10. I don't have cable but I have all my TV shows on DVD. I tend to cycle through all my favorite shows and have daily marathons of whatever show I happen to be fixated on at the time. Currently it's Grey's Anatomy. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan is so yummy. It came to me the first time I saw McSteamy on the show and now I can't see my McSteamy without thinking of the resemblance.
11. I really, really like riding on the back of the motorcycle. SO relaxing and fun. It's probably been one of my favorite "me" things to do so far this spring/summer. :)
12. The girls can't wait to go back to Botanica. The butterfly house opened this week and they're SO excited to see it again. We also need to go to the zoo and children's museum again.
13. Mostly we've been busy with a whole lot of softball. From yesterday until June 22, one of the girls has a game EVERY weeknight. That's a lot of softball. I'm not really too happy with Aubry's level this year. We are a rec team and some of the teams we're playing are competitive teams. The difference in experience is HUGE. This is the first year for our girls to be playing kid pitch and some of the other teams...they're 9 and 10 year olds and they're throwing hard and fast. It wouldn't be that bad...except two games now the other team has hit at least four of our players. These girls seem to have lots of speed but absolutely no control. It just irritates me. But...I'm not a fanatical die-hard sports fan, either, so...maybe it's just me. :P
Showing posts with label household. Show all posts
Showing posts with label household. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Laundry - Finished Product
I just realized that I never published a post with the actual finished product of the laundry room makeover. So here are some pictures of the girls' new closet! I even broke out my actual camera for the occasion instead of using my cameraphone. ;)
Here is the complete view of the laundry room from the door. The washer and dryer are at the right behind the door. Next to them are the hampers for dirty laundry: whites, lights, darks. I love that they are stacked because it doesn't take up as much room and it fits perfectly right there. When one gets full, I throw a load in the washing machine. Then the open area with the slanted ceiling...that's my storage area. The pink tubs have photos, old electronics and computer stuff, and then behind the white stacked drawers are my holiday decorations and stuff like that. The grey tub holds the girls' shoes. The white drawers...the bottom drawer has the girls' socks, the next two drawers have clothes for Ashlyn that Aubry has outgrown, and then the top drawer is for clothes that Aubry will grow into. On top of the drawers is the crate of outdoor toys...didn't really have a better place to put it. :P And then to the left is the girls' closet.
My dad installed the bar for me to hang their shirts. The shelf on top needs to be screwed down but the battery on the drill died. The boxes on the shelf hold the girls' seasonal clothes (right now their summer clothes are in there). All those cloth bins hold the girls' play clothes and clothes they can wear to their dad's house. They each have a bin for tops, bottoms, and then the middle bin has both their seasonal clothes. Then all the drawers below hold the rest of their clothes. The top drawers hold underwear, tights, and misc things like bras, undershirts, belts, vests, etc. The middle drawers hold pajamas and jeans/pants. The bottom drawer holds the girls' skirts, shorts, and t-shirts. I would actually like to have more drawers, but I really don't have anymore room. What we have works out well, though.
Everything is labeled...I got a great deal on a label maker at Walmart. The girls know exactly where everything is. And if my mom or even my dad (who requires specific instructions for anything) could easily find what clothes they need if I'm not home for some reason or I need them to go to my house to grab something. As the girls get older, they'll also be able to help put away the clothes since it's pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to where everything goes. But...I'm waiting a little awhile on that battle. I'm enjoying the peace of not arguing about them putting away their clothes in their rooms anymore. ;)
I REALLY like having the girls' closet in the laundry room. It makes it a lot more convenient and I'm better about getting their clothes put away sooner. I don't have to carry the hampers up and down the stairs all the time which is really nice. And the clothes stay a lot more organized this way. The girls like it, too. In the morning they come downstairs and pick out their clothes and get dressed in the laundry room. Everything is right there in one spot. And right across the hall is the downstairs bathroom where they brush their hair and teeth. Mornings definitely go a lot more smoothly, now! And before bed, they take off their clothes and put them in the hampers then put their pajamas on. It's just so much more efficient for everyone.
Plus, they both have a lot more space in their rooms. Most of their toys are kept in their closets, now. Definitely a good idea all around!
Here is the complete view of the laundry room from the door. The washer and dryer are at the right behind the door. Next to them are the hampers for dirty laundry: whites, lights, darks. I love that they are stacked because it doesn't take up as much room and it fits perfectly right there. When one gets full, I throw a load in the washing machine. Then the open area with the slanted ceiling...that's my storage area. The pink tubs have photos, old electronics and computer stuff, and then behind the white stacked drawers are my holiday decorations and stuff like that. The grey tub holds the girls' shoes. The white drawers...the bottom drawer has the girls' socks, the next two drawers have clothes for Ashlyn that Aubry has outgrown, and then the top drawer is for clothes that Aubry will grow into. On top of the drawers is the crate of outdoor toys...didn't really have a better place to put it. :P And then to the left is the girls' closet.
My dad installed the bar for me to hang their shirts. The shelf on top needs to be screwed down but the battery on the drill died. The boxes on the shelf hold the girls' seasonal clothes (right now their summer clothes are in there). All those cloth bins hold the girls' play clothes and clothes they can wear to their dad's house. They each have a bin for tops, bottoms, and then the middle bin has both their seasonal clothes. Then all the drawers below hold the rest of their clothes. The top drawers hold underwear, tights, and misc things like bras, undershirts, belts, vests, etc. The middle drawers hold pajamas and jeans/pants. The bottom drawer holds the girls' skirts, shorts, and t-shirts. I would actually like to have more drawers, but I really don't have anymore room. What we have works out well, though.
Everything is labeled...I got a great deal on a label maker at Walmart. The girls know exactly where everything is. And if my mom or even my dad (who requires specific instructions for anything) could easily find what clothes they need if I'm not home for some reason or I need them to go to my house to grab something. As the girls get older, they'll also be able to help put away the clothes since it's pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to where everything goes. But...I'm waiting a little awhile on that battle. I'm enjoying the peace of not arguing about them putting away their clothes in their rooms anymore. ;)
I REALLY like having the girls' closet in the laundry room. It makes it a lot more convenient and I'm better about getting their clothes put away sooner. I don't have to carry the hampers up and down the stairs all the time which is really nice. And the clothes stay a lot more organized this way. The girls like it, too. In the morning they come downstairs and pick out their clothes and get dressed in the laundry room. Everything is right there in one spot. And right across the hall is the downstairs bathroom where they brush their hair and teeth. Mornings definitely go a lot more smoothly, now! And before bed, they take off their clothes and put them in the hampers then put their pajamas on. It's just so much more efficient for everyone.
Plus, they both have a lot more space in their rooms. Most of their toys are kept in their closets, now. Definitely a good idea all around!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
I'm becoming obsessed...
It's true. I think I'm obsessed. Addicted.
With organizing and rearranging my apartment.
Which actually means tearing everything apart and completely revamping. At least that's what it feels like. It's one of those "it gets worse before it gets better" things.
I'm not sure everyone else does it that way...or IF anyone else does it at all. :P But I'm the kind of person who basically just has to take EVERYTHING out, sort it, and put it back in a more organized way.
I've talked a lot about the closet project. And I'm sure everyone is probably tired of hearing about the closet (and frankly my obsession with organizing in general) but it's something that's actually making me feel pretty good about life. I'm a little overwhelmed lately with health problems, issues with my apartment manager, trying to decide what the heck I'm going to do now that I've graduated, and of course dealing with the girls' dad. But I don't really want to talk about all that right now. Instead of continuing to be overwhelmed...I'm just trying to keep busy. So...enter my obsession with redoing my apartment. :P
My living room doesn't really have a lot of rearranging to do. The furniture pretty much has to stay where it is because it won't fit very well anywhere else. But, I DID organize the bookshelf in there. Then of course there was the closet project. And then I started rearranging my bedroom. I'm not finished with it yet, but I'm still not completely sure how I want to arrange it so I took a break on that.
Today's project...rearranging and organizing the girls' rooms. I've been working on it all day...but had to take several breaks because I live in a 2-story townhouse and the upstairs gets unbearably HOT (while the downstairs is very cold...there's no happy medium). I've made a few minor changes off and on in the girls' rooms since moving in...but I basically took everything out and I'm trying to put it back in a way that will help the girls KEEP it organized.
I started with Aubry's room...which was mostly just cleaning up her mess because she's kind of a slob. :P I even vacuumed...which I don't do upstairs as often as I should because it's such a pain carrying it upstairs. I know, poor excuse! But Aubry's room DEFINITELY needed it. I managed to find homes for her stuff...there are just a few odds and ends that still need to be put away...but I ended up getting a brilliant idea while I was in Aubry's room and then switched to Ashlyn's room to make the idea happen.
Since the girls' closets are now empty of clothes...I've been trying to find ways to make the most of ALL the space in their rooms. I am still trying to decide exactly how I want to situate Aubry's room...but the good idea that came to me was for Ashlyn's closet. I'd moved her bed half into her closet after taking all the clothes out but it just wasn't working for me. So I just moved her bed to the opposite wall and decided to put BOTH white shelves in there (one was previously in Aubry's room).
Here are their rooms shortly after we moved in a year ago. Ashlyn's closet is on the left and Aubry's room with the shelf is on the right:
This was halfway through my process today...what a mess!
And this is what Ashlyn's closet looks like now!
If you'd like to know all the details:
Almost all the "toys" are in Ashlyn's room now. She plays with them a lot more than Aubry does and Aubry really hates when Ashlyn goes into her room. So having both shelves in Ashlyn's closet with all the toys on them will work better, I think. All the plastic storage containers have labels (yay for the cheap label maker I picked up at Walmart last year on clearance!).
All the Littlest Petshop and Ponyville toys are on the left shelf. The houses are on the middle shelves and the little pieces are in plastic containers with a lid on the top and bottom.
The top shelf on the right is all the dress-up stuff. Ashlyn still LOVES playing dress-up. I have the clothes in the large pink pink and then the smaller bins next to it have makeup, jewelry, and then I put the magnetic paper dolls on top (kinda dress-up!) and the Legos next to them for lack of a better spot. Oh and the plastic high heel shoes are on the very right of the top shelf.
The next shelf has all the Barbie furniture and big items, small Barbie toys in a container with a lid, and then the Barbie clothes are on the right. I need to figure out where I'm going to put the Barbie car. :P All the actual Barbies are in an underbed plastic storage container.
Then the next shelf, Ashlyn uses it as her desk. It has her notebooks, pencils, office supplies, etc. After I took the picture, I found her chalkboard and it fits perfectly on the shelf (it's *almost* too tall but it fits just enough for the shelf above it to hold it in place).
The bottom shelf just has a mixture of her other toys...snap dolls, Tinker Toys, her princess castle dolls and furniture, a fold-up Barbie house, and some other random things.
The Little Peoples and the princess castles are still on the actual closet shelf that was in the before picture. And the crates in between the shelves have Little People toys in them. And the bookshelf on the right was previously in her closet along the very left wall. She likes it now at the foot of her bed.
Ashlyn REALLY likes how everything is set up now...she can't wait to start playing. I told her I at least want to have it all organized ONCE before she makes it messy again. :P
I still have quite a bit of work to do. Tomorrow I'm hanging out with the girls but they leave at 5pm and then I'll have until Wednesday to get their rooms all done. Hopefully I'll have some final photos soon!
With organizing and rearranging my apartment.
Which actually means tearing everything apart and completely revamping. At least that's what it feels like. It's one of those "it gets worse before it gets better" things.
I'm not sure everyone else does it that way...or IF anyone else does it at all. :P But I'm the kind of person who basically just has to take EVERYTHING out, sort it, and put it back in a more organized way.
I've talked a lot about the closet project. And I'm sure everyone is probably tired of hearing about the closet (and frankly my obsession with organizing in general) but it's something that's actually making me feel pretty good about life. I'm a little overwhelmed lately with health problems, issues with my apartment manager, trying to decide what the heck I'm going to do now that I've graduated, and of course dealing with the girls' dad. But I don't really want to talk about all that right now. Instead of continuing to be overwhelmed...I'm just trying to keep busy. So...enter my obsession with redoing my apartment. :P
My living room doesn't really have a lot of rearranging to do. The furniture pretty much has to stay where it is because it won't fit very well anywhere else. But, I DID organize the bookshelf in there. Then of course there was the closet project. And then I started rearranging my bedroom. I'm not finished with it yet, but I'm still not completely sure how I want to arrange it so I took a break on that.
Today's project...rearranging and organizing the girls' rooms. I've been working on it all day...but had to take several breaks because I live in a 2-story townhouse and the upstairs gets unbearably HOT (while the downstairs is very cold...there's no happy medium). I've made a few minor changes off and on in the girls' rooms since moving in...but I basically took everything out and I'm trying to put it back in a way that will help the girls KEEP it organized.
I started with Aubry's room...which was mostly just cleaning up her mess because she's kind of a slob. :P I even vacuumed...which I don't do upstairs as often as I should because it's such a pain carrying it upstairs. I know, poor excuse! But Aubry's room DEFINITELY needed it. I managed to find homes for her stuff...there are just a few odds and ends that still need to be put away...but I ended up getting a brilliant idea while I was in Aubry's room and then switched to Ashlyn's room to make the idea happen.
Since the girls' closets are now empty of clothes...I've been trying to find ways to make the most of ALL the space in their rooms. I am still trying to decide exactly how I want to situate Aubry's room...but the good idea that came to me was for Ashlyn's closet. I'd moved her bed half into her closet after taking all the clothes out but it just wasn't working for me. So I just moved her bed to the opposite wall and decided to put BOTH white shelves in there (one was previously in Aubry's room).
Here are their rooms shortly after we moved in a year ago. Ashlyn's closet is on the left and Aubry's room with the shelf is on the right:
This was halfway through my process today...what a mess!
And this is what Ashlyn's closet looks like now!
Almost all the "toys" are in Ashlyn's room now. She plays with them a lot more than Aubry does and Aubry really hates when Ashlyn goes into her room. So having both shelves in Ashlyn's closet with all the toys on them will work better, I think. All the plastic storage containers have labels (yay for the cheap label maker I picked up at Walmart last year on clearance!).
All the Littlest Petshop and Ponyville toys are on the left shelf. The houses are on the middle shelves and the little pieces are in plastic containers with a lid on the top and bottom.
The top shelf on the right is all the dress-up stuff. Ashlyn still LOVES playing dress-up. I have the clothes in the large pink pink and then the smaller bins next to it have makeup, jewelry, and then I put the magnetic paper dolls on top (kinda dress-up!) and the Legos next to them for lack of a better spot. Oh and the plastic high heel shoes are on the very right of the top shelf.
The next shelf has all the Barbie furniture and big items, small Barbie toys in a container with a lid, and then the Barbie clothes are on the right. I need to figure out where I'm going to put the Barbie car. :P All the actual Barbies are in an underbed plastic storage container.
Then the next shelf, Ashlyn uses it as her desk. It has her notebooks, pencils, office supplies, etc. After I took the picture, I found her chalkboard and it fits perfectly on the shelf (it's *almost* too tall but it fits just enough for the shelf above it to hold it in place).
The bottom shelf just has a mixture of her other toys...snap dolls, Tinker Toys, her princess castle dolls and furniture, a fold-up Barbie house, and some other random things.
The Little Peoples and the princess castles are still on the actual closet shelf that was in the before picture. And the crates in between the shelves have Little People toys in them. And the bookshelf on the right was previously in her closet along the very left wall. She likes it now at the foot of her bed.
Ashlyn REALLY likes how everything is set up now...she can't wait to start playing. I told her I at least want to have it all organized ONCE before she makes it messy again. :P
I still have quite a bit of work to do. Tomorrow I'm hanging out with the girls but they leave at 5pm and then I'll have until Wednesday to get their rooms all done. Hopefully I'll have some final photos soon!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Laundry Room...almost done
I finished organizing the laundry room.
It feels so good to have everything sorted and put away. Everything has a home and it looks all neat and tidy. I am still working on getting the rod up to hang the girls' shirts. I have the brackets up but I'm getting the bar cut to size and everything. So it will be done this week. I may also need a few more drawers...but we'll have to wait and see how much room we have after the shirts are hung up.
The girls really like having their closet in there so far. They take their pajamas off, put them in the dirty clothes hamper (which is the stacking hamper on the right with three separate canvas bags) and put their clothes on for school. It's also MUCH easier when they're changing their clothes to go to their dad's house.
There are hampers on top of their drawers and they have play clothes/clothes they can wear to their dad's house. Before, I had them in the dresser that used to be in the laundry room...but the drawers were broken. So either a drawer would fall out, wouldn't close, or whatever...and the girls always ended up calling me in there to get their clothes (and then gripe about what I'd get). We definitely don't have that problem anymore, and it's great!
It's so much easier to do laundry, too! I was a load of laundry, take them out of the dryer, and then just fold and put them away right there. I have a hamper to put my clothes in since I still have to take them upstairs...but overall it's just SO much easier. I also don't wait until I have 10 loads of laundry to fold and put away, either. I would keep up washing and drying but actually putting them away...I always put it off. So this has really helped that bad habit of mine. :)
OH! And one of the best decisions...the tall set of four drawers were already in the laundry room. They used to have bags and purses and miscellaneous stuff in them. Now they have clothes that the girls will eventually wear but don't fit into yet. I'd been keeping them in under the bed organizers that were stacked in my room. But it wasn't convenient and I tended to just stack all the clothes on top instead of putting them away. And I didn't check them often enough to see when they'd fit. But now...clothes that I've gotten for Aubry that she can't wear yet are in the top drawer...then the next two drawers have tops and bottoms that Aubry has outgrown but Ashlyn will eventually wear. When something doesn't fit...Aubry can just fold it and put it in the drawer instead of throwing it on her floor for me to eventually put it on top of the pile and maybe someday put in the plastic bin. :P I'm really excited about that part!
My goal is to get the whole house organized. The house looks a bit chaotic in the process and it seems to be a lot of work...but I think it's worth it in the end. My hope is that it will make things easier in the long run. If everything has a *convenient* home, it will be easy to put away and keep everything moving smoothly. I get excited about things like organization. ;) And it has really become my "theme" this year.
It feels so good to have everything sorted and put away. Everything has a home and it looks all neat and tidy. I am still working on getting the rod up to hang the girls' shirts. I have the brackets up but I'm getting the bar cut to size and everything. So it will be done this week. I may also need a few more drawers...but we'll have to wait and see how much room we have after the shirts are hung up.
The girls really like having their closet in there so far. They take their pajamas off, put them in the dirty clothes hamper (which is the stacking hamper on the right with three separate canvas bags) and put their clothes on for school. It's also MUCH easier when they're changing their clothes to go to their dad's house.
There are hampers on top of their drawers and they have play clothes/clothes they can wear to their dad's house. Before, I had them in the dresser that used to be in the laundry room...but the drawers were broken. So either a drawer would fall out, wouldn't close, or whatever...and the girls always ended up calling me in there to get their clothes (and then gripe about what I'd get). We definitely don't have that problem anymore, and it's great!
It's so much easier to do laundry, too! I was a load of laundry, take them out of the dryer, and then just fold and put them away right there. I have a hamper to put my clothes in since I still have to take them upstairs...but overall it's just SO much easier. I also don't wait until I have 10 loads of laundry to fold and put away, either. I would keep up washing and drying but actually putting them away...I always put it off. So this has really helped that bad habit of mine. :)
OH! And one of the best decisions...the tall set of four drawers were already in the laundry room. They used to have bags and purses and miscellaneous stuff in them. Now they have clothes that the girls will eventually wear but don't fit into yet. I'd been keeping them in under the bed organizers that were stacked in my room. But it wasn't convenient and I tended to just stack all the clothes on top instead of putting them away. And I didn't check them often enough to see when they'd fit. But now...clothes that I've gotten for Aubry that she can't wear yet are in the top drawer...then the next two drawers have tops and bottoms that Aubry has outgrown but Ashlyn will eventually wear. When something doesn't fit...Aubry can just fold it and put it in the drawer instead of throwing it on her floor for me to eventually put it on top of the pile and maybe someday put in the plastic bin. :P I'm really excited about that part!
My goal is to get the whole house organized. The house looks a bit chaotic in the process and it seems to be a lot of work...but I think it's worth it in the end. My hope is that it will make things easier in the long run. If everything has a *convenient* home, it will be easy to put away and keep everything moving smoothly. I get excited about things like organization. ;) And it has really become my "theme" this year.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Closet Progress!
I've been thinking about my closet idea for quite awhile and trying to figure out exactly how I wanted to do it. I even went through all the girls clothes, folded them, and decided how much space I would need. I looked online and used the measurements of different things I found to see what would work best. I even drew a diagram of the drawers and what I would put in what sizes...I think I was a little over-invested in the "planning" phase of this project. :P
So I went to Walmart the other day after having lunch and decided to jump in and actually start *doing* something with my ideas. So...I did! I was able to get *almost* all I need. I still need a couple more drawers and the hardware for the rack that I'll be hanging clothes from...but I've definitely made a good start!
Walking through Walmart was fun! I had my entire cart full of the drawers. They were stacked taller than I am so I was having to kinda look around them to push the cart. They are clear so I could kinda see through them but looked around to be sure I didn't run into anything (or anyone).
One of the women who worked there walked with me and moved a stray cart out of my way which was very helpful. Then at the check-out line, I was able to just tell her how many I had of each instead of putting them all on the belt. And then she went and got an extra cart for me so that I could put half the drawers in there and make two trips instead of walking outside in the wind and losing everything on my way to the car. I'm sure it was entertaining for anyone looking at me. ;)
I loaded everything in my car (filled the trunk and the backseat) and then unloaded when I got home. I had some help moving the broken dresser (that had been holding the girls' play clothes) out of the laundry room and cleared all my painting supplies out of the way (I still haven't decided where I'll put all of that yet). And then I started setting up all the drawers, organizing the girls' clothes, and getting everything put away...
I love how it is coming along! The narrow drawers on top hold shocks, undershirts, leggings, and all that kind of stuff. The medium tall drawers in the middle have pajamas and jeans. Then the large drawer on the bottom has skirts, shorts, and capris pants. The hampers on top have all their play clothes and clothes they can wear to/from their dad's house. They hampers also hold the top drawers in place...when they were open and looking through them they had a tendency to fall forward. But now it works perfectly!
So far, all of the girls' clothes fit but the drawers are packed full and I'm gonna need room for more. Like mom said...they're clothes are only going to get bigger (unfortunately!). And the bottom drawer is really *too* full so when I get more drawers I can remedy that. I also want to have some of their t-shirts and sweaters in drawers. So...I need to decide what sizes I want to get and pick those up. I think I'll also get a few extra (if I can afford it) because I have bad luck of things that I use end up being discontinued (another good point from my mama).
And...these kinds of things can be used for SO much stuff. I could use some in my room, put arts and craft supplies in them...pretty much anything! Ultimately that's what I decided to go this route instead of building some type of shelving unit. If we move or decide to do something different or anything...I can still use the drawers for something else.
Disclaimer: this isn't a sponsored post...I just happen to like the product! :)
So I went to Walmart the other day after having lunch and decided to jump in and actually start *doing* something with my ideas. So...I did! I was able to get *almost* all I need. I still need a couple more drawers and the hardware for the rack that I'll be hanging clothes from...but I've definitely made a good start!
Walking through Walmart was fun! I had my entire cart full of the drawers. They were stacked taller than I am so I was having to kinda look around them to push the cart. They are clear so I could kinda see through them but looked around to be sure I didn't run into anything (or anyone).
One of the women who worked there walked with me and moved a stray cart out of my way which was very helpful. Then at the check-out line, I was able to just tell her how many I had of each instead of putting them all on the belt. And then she went and got an extra cart for me so that I could put half the drawers in there and make two trips instead of walking outside in the wind and losing everything on my way to the car. I'm sure it was entertaining for anyone looking at me. ;)
I loaded everything in my car (filled the trunk and the backseat) and then unloaded when I got home. I had some help moving the broken dresser (that had been holding the girls' play clothes) out of the laundry room and cleared all my painting supplies out of the way (I still haven't decided where I'll put all of that yet). And then I started setting up all the drawers, organizing the girls' clothes, and getting everything put away...
I love how it is coming along! The narrow drawers on top hold shocks, undershirts, leggings, and all that kind of stuff. The medium tall drawers in the middle have pajamas and jeans. Then the large drawer on the bottom has skirts, shorts, and capris pants. The hampers on top have all their play clothes and clothes they can wear to/from their dad's house. They hampers also hold the top drawers in place...when they were open and looking through them they had a tendency to fall forward. But now it works perfectly!
So far, all of the girls' clothes fit but the drawers are packed full and I'm gonna need room for more. Like mom said...they're clothes are only going to get bigger (unfortunately!). And the bottom drawer is really *too* full so when I get more drawers I can remedy that. I also want to have some of their t-shirts and sweaters in drawers. So...I need to decide what sizes I want to get and pick those up. I think I'll also get a few extra (if I can afford it) because I have bad luck of things that I use end up being discontinued (another good point from my mama).
And...these kinds of things can be used for SO much stuff. I could use some in my room, put arts and craft supplies in them...pretty much anything! Ultimately that's what I decided to go this route instead of building some type of shelving unit. If we move or decide to do something different or anything...I can still use the drawers for something else.
Disclaimer: this isn't a sponsored post...I just happen to like the product! :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Organization!
I've really been in the mood lately to get my apartment all organized. Organization makes me happy. I organized all my books on the bookshelf in the living room. I put all my gift wrap stuff in my new storage bag. I've also been getting all my laundry done. I'm going through all the clothes and packing up all the ones that don't fit or aren't worn. I'm trying to get everything ready to rearrange our closet situation.
I've decided I want to turn my laundry room into a family closet. Well...it's likely just going to be the girls' closet because I don't think there's going to be enough room for all three of us to keep our clothes in there. But...I think just getting the girls' clothes all in one spot will help a lot.
I absolutely loathe doing the laundry. I really have no problem putting them in the washer and dryer. But then it's a matter of sorting them all, taking them upstairs, putting all the clothes in three separate bedrooms...putting them away neatly knowing that as soon as the girls look to find something to wear, they will get all messed up again. When they dig through the drawers or the closet, it always seems lots of clothes end up on the floor. And it's a huge fight to get them to put their own clothes away...and it's definitely not organized when they do it.
So when I'm sitting in front of a pile of laundry...I stare at it with dread and think of all the other things I'd rather be doing instead. :P I know this is all very normal stuff but it's just one of my least favorite chores around the house.
My laundry room is about 10x9 but shaped rather oddly. I came across this website on pinterest awhile back. I put in all the measurements of my laundry room and played around. Here's what I came up with:
The space across from the dryer is where I will put the girls' clothes. The square area at the left is where I store everything. I would utilize that part too...but it's under the stairs which means the ceiling is short and slanted there so it would make getting in and out of there rather difficult. It's hard enough getting all my holiday decorations out of there once or twice a year. So even though I'd love to have ALL the clothes in there, I don't think I'm going to be able to swing it. There's just not enough room.
I was going to build a shelving unit to put in the closet area but I'm starting to rethink that plan. When I was at Walmart with mom the other day, I found some modular storage units with drawers...there are several different sizes. I think if I use those on the floor and then hang a bar over them, there will be enough room for all of their clothes.
This way I can just take their clothes straight from the dryer and put them away. Hopefully it will all work out the way I'm hoping it will!
I've decided I want to turn my laundry room into a family closet. Well...it's likely just going to be the girls' closet because I don't think there's going to be enough room for all three of us to keep our clothes in there. But...I think just getting the girls' clothes all in one spot will help a lot.
I absolutely loathe doing the laundry. I really have no problem putting them in the washer and dryer. But then it's a matter of sorting them all, taking them upstairs, putting all the clothes in three separate bedrooms...putting them away neatly knowing that as soon as the girls look to find something to wear, they will get all messed up again. When they dig through the drawers or the closet, it always seems lots of clothes end up on the floor. And it's a huge fight to get them to put their own clothes away...and it's definitely not organized when they do it.
So when I'm sitting in front of a pile of laundry...I stare at it with dread and think of all the other things I'd rather be doing instead. :P I know this is all very normal stuff but it's just one of my least favorite chores around the house.
My laundry room is about 10x9 but shaped rather oddly. I came across this website on pinterest awhile back. I put in all the measurements of my laundry room and played around. Here's what I came up with:
The space across from the dryer is where I will put the girls' clothes. The square area at the left is where I store everything. I would utilize that part too...but it's under the stairs which means the ceiling is short and slanted there so it would make getting in and out of there rather difficult. It's hard enough getting all my holiday decorations out of there once or twice a year. So even though I'd love to have ALL the clothes in there, I don't think I'm going to be able to swing it. There's just not enough room.
I was going to build a shelving unit to put in the closet area but I'm starting to rethink that plan. When I was at Walmart with mom the other day, I found some modular storage units with drawers...there are several different sizes. I think if I use those on the floor and then hang a bar over them, there will be enough room for all of their clothes.
This way I can just take their clothes straight from the dryer and put them away. Hopefully it will all work out the way I'm hoping it will!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
