An Organized Reader: Organized in Austin!

Tamma, a reader from Austin, TX has been doing an awesome job getting organized in her home.  From the looks of it she has been inspired by our challenges and has been working hard!

First off, is her 10-year old son's room, who she loving calls "A Collector."  He had collected a lot of stuff over the last few months and it was time to clean it out!

It looks like Tamma used a great system to make the pile disappear!

She did a great job figuring out what could be donated and trashed.

 And look how nice this room looks after she was done!  Way to go Tamma!    I like the bins with labels!

Next, Tamma tackled some spaces in her kitchen.

Some great before and after's of her medicine cabinet.  I really like how she used bins and labeled things to make it easy to keep things organized and separated.  Labels help her family to keep it that way too.

Onto her spice cabinet.  More bins and labels and other organization tools.  Awesome!

She again did a great job on her pantry making sure everything had a home.

And last, but not least, her office closet.

Seeing these pictures (and others that you are sending) make me heart happy.  I love seeing the changes you are making and how you too are becoming An Organized Family.

Until next time...

I love a good purge!

Hello my lovelies! I am seeing great photos come in by email for not only the challenges but other areas of your home that you are tackling.  I can see the motivation that is stirring in you and I absolutely love it!  Don't be afraid to post to Facebook with your pictures.  Remember practice is PROGRESS!!!!

I myself have been busy cleaning up Christmas (it is FINALLY down), and have myself finally attacked my Master Bedroom this morning.  I had clothes on the floor, a bag that hadn't been cleaned out since our trip the week after Christmas, and piles of magazines, receipts from Christmas, and other misc. items all over our dresser.  Nightstands needed to be cleared off and now I finally feel I can have the peace and serenity back in my bedroom.  AHHHHHH!  Bad motivator, but I totally forgot to take a before photo.  But here is the after.  It makes me so happy!

Along with the Master Bedroom, I also attacked my closet right across the hall.  This closet is weird.  As you can see, it sits up high because it is over our staircase leading to the basement.  

I had organized it once before which worked for a while.  But, it was again in disarray and needed some purging and cleaning up.  When I had originally organized when I moved into the house, it was summer and so we needed access to all of our pool stuff.  But now that it is winter, we didn't need access to it anymore.  So the majority of our beach towels were moved into bins that during the summer store our winter stuff (boots, snow pants, hats, gloves, etc.)  Love that the bins can switch between the two.  I did leave a few towels just in case the kids went to an indoor pool sometime during the winter months.  I also left the bin of sunscreen because I didn't want to store those in a bin.  But, these items (as well as others that are rarely used) were moved from lower shelves to the top shelf.  The shelf is so high I have to climb up and inside the closet to even get to it.

Other items were also rearranged.  I moved decorative pillowcases and extra sheets to an upper shelf and my bin of regular pillowcases (that I seem to get into often) to a lower shelf.  Want to know how to fold your sheets so they are nice a pretty on your shelf?  Tutorial coming!

I also moved batteries, extention cords, and other often used items lower.

And I of course have my bin of Command Hooks on an easy to reach shelf as they are one of my organizing staples, plus a basket of pillowcases, and a Misc. box that basically has our portable DVD player and cords, some playing cards we use often, and usually holds my camera.

I was left with an almost completely empty bottom shelf with just a blanket I keep upstairs for snuggling on the living room couch (The rest of our blankets are stored downstairs) and the bag I take to church (I am the secretary for our women's organization.)   I keep my camera bag in this closet and used a Command hook to hang it up. And of course, to wrap up the newly organized closet, I had to make it all pretty with some cute labels.

Want to see what I got rid of in this closet?  A lot of trash and some items to be moved down into our newly finished storage room (more to come on that later!)  Boy do I love a good purge!

I'll be posting another challenge tomorrow.  

Getting Organized in 2013 Challenge #5 Master Bedroom

How is the Master Bedroom coming.  I'm assuming you guys are working hard because things have been a bit quieter.  We have one last task in the Master Bedroom.

Getting Organized in 2013 - Challenge #5... The Master Bedroom's Final Touches

For the final touches do any last tasks that need to be done.  Clear off your night tables, dressers, etc.  Put away any half finished projects or other things that don't belong.  Your Master Bedroom should be pretty close to being the place of peace and serenity...and romance that you want!

Now take a picture and compare the before and after.  Be proud of yourself and all your hard work.  

Tomorrow's task....the Entryway!

Getting Organized in 2013 Challenge #4 Master Closet

I am so sorry I left you hanging for a couple of days.  I was under the weather and then Sundays are our family day, so I will usually not have a post or challenge on Sundays to give you a day of rest as well!

Getting Organized in 2013 - Challenge #4... The Master Closet

This time we are tackling the closet.  So grab your three bins again (trash, donate box, bin for things that don't belong) and head in there.  I know it can be a scary place.

Today is a day that I REALLY want you to think.  Today is a day to really really purge.  It may be a hard day, but I KNOW you can do it!

1. Carefully go through each item of clothing and evaluate it.

• Does it fit well?
• Does it make me feel good about myself when I wear it?
• Is it in style?
• Is it in good shape?
• Have I worn it in the last 6-12 months?

If the answer to ANY of these questions, is NO, then OUT IT GOES!

Some people think I am crazy, but I seriously go through my closet about every 2-3 months.  And it isn't that I am getting new clothes all the time (I rarely do).  But you want the clothes in your closet to reflect your best self.  If it doesn't, don't wear it!

Now, there are a few things that you know you are going to keep, despite it not following the rules.  I of course have clothes that I use for working in the yard, painting, etc.  They just aren't my every day clothes.  (It just so happens that one of my paint t-shirts is my high school senior class t-shirt....silly I know!)  

As far as the size thing goes...I KNOW the feeling of wanting so much to be in a smaller size and working to try and achieve it (sometimes).  So, I actually DO have clothes that are not my current size in my closet.  BUT, they are in a marked bin in the top of my closet.  Not taking up valuable space.

Besides going through clothes, I also want you to evaluate your shoes, handbags, scarves, hats, belts, and anything else you have in your closet.  Remember that your closet is part of your sanctuary.  You want it to be a place that makes you feel good when you are getting ready for the day.  And, if you can get your hubby to do his purging too...even then better!

Remember the basic steps to An Organized Family

      1.    Remove Everything
2.     Decide what goes back
3.     Divide what doesn’t go back into 3 piles, baskets, bags, etc.
           a.       Trash
           b.      Goes somewhere else
           c.       Give away
4.     Decide the best way to put things back in the space you have.
5.     Label it
6.     Put it away
7.    Keep it in Order!!!!

Remember to post before and after pictures!

Getting Organized in 2013 Challenge #3 Master Bedroom

Ok friends, you have been doing so great the last couple of days!  I have loved seeing the photos coming in of all of the trash you are throwing away and the boxes you are donating.  You are doing a GREAT job!  Let's keep it going.

So....ready for

Getting Organized in 2013 - Challenge #3... The Master Bedroom

Now, you may be thinking "Out of all of the spaces in my house, why does she choose to start with the Master Bedroom?"  Well, the answer is actually quite simple.  You are going to be putting in a lot of hard work over the coming days, weeks, and months getting the rest of your house organized.  I want you to have ONE place in your house that is a place of peace and refuge from the chaos that surrounds you.  And while there may be places in your house that are in more chaos than  your master bedroom, it is YOUR space.  If you were to clean a child's bedroom first....would it be so easy to take refuge in there when the day is done?  Nope!!!  So let's give YOU some peace right off the bat!

First off, I want you to close your eyes and make a picture in your mind of what you envision your master bedroom to be.  Do you want it peaceful and relaxing?  A place for you to escape? A place for sleep and maybe even some romance?  Now just sit on that for a moment.... Ahhhhhhhhhhh

Ok, so right now what does your master bedroom look like?  Piles of laundry?  The catch all? Lefttover Christmas wrapping? (I was out of town for a week after Christmas, so I am totally guilty of this one.)  Do you do a lot of your work in there? Do your kids' stuff tend to end up in there? (I have one who likes to sneak in and sleep on the floor next to the bed).  This is YOUR space!  YOUR refuge.  YOUR peaceful place.  TIME TO TAKE IT BACK!!!!

Yesterday I asked you to grab 3 items to prepare for today.
1. A Trash Bag (for trash)
2. A box (for donations - feel free to grab the one we stashed at the end of yesterdays challenge)
3. Some sort of large basket or bin. (Laundry basket, big Rubbermaid tote, etc. for putting things in that don't belong in YOUR bedroom.)

Before you begin, take a picture!  I want you to be able to see the progress you make!

Now, slowly move through your room putting everything on the floor, bed, dressers, and nightstands into the proper place or receptacle.  If the clothes are dirty, put them in the laundry basket. If they are clean, hang them up.  If they are too big or too small or out of style or don't make you feel FANTASTIC about yourself, throw them in to the donation box.  If they are stained, ripped or torn or have been in need of repair and you just aren't ever getting to it, THROW THEM AWAY!  If the clothes don't belong to you or your husband and are dirty, throw them in the laundry.  If they are clean, put them in the laundry basket to be sorted into other rooms later.  Anything that belongs in a another room and doesn't fit in with your vision for your room, put in the bin to be sorted later.  If it is something that belongs in your room, put it in its place.

You are done for today!  Well done!  More to come tomorrow in the Master Bedroom.  You are on your way to making your room your sanctuary!

Now take a picture of what you have accomplished and either email them to me or post them on facebook.  Can't wait to see your progress!