FYSF – Videos! June 19, 2009

Since summer is upon us and we are spending more time outdoors than in, this is a great time to go through your old VHS tapes (we know you still have some laying around!!!) and get rid of the ones you haven’t popped in the player this last winter.  Clear out some space and ditch those puppies!

FYSF June 12, 2009

So for this free your space friday lets tackle the crayons and markers!!!  I am coming off a long year of homeschooling and have been challenged to clear out the art supplies starting with the crayons and markers and colored pencils.  Take 5 to throw out markers with no caps, caps with no markers and broken crayons. 

FYSS May 16, 2009

Sorry about the late post!!  For this free your space I want to encourage everyone to clean out their pantries!!!  I usually go through and try to throw out old cornstarch or baking soda that might need replacing.  These unpredictable spring days (for those of us in the North :) that bring cold winds and rain storms are great for using up cans of soup.  This is to make room for all the summer stuff.  I usually stock up on canned beans for salads, tuna, and bbq fixings for the summer.

FYMF May 8, 2009

Mixing it up a little today… and the theme is: Find Your Mind Friday :)

I want to encourage all you whams out there to take a little longer than our normal 15 minute block and TAKE YOUR TIME doing something you usually speed through. For me, it was a shower. I think I spent maybe 45 minutes in the bathroom this morning. I took a longer shower, and then took my time brushing my teeth (and flossing! bonus points!!), and getting ready. It was so nice. Usually, I’m in and out of the bathroom in a flash (20 minutes, tops) and this can be a very stressful way to take a shower. The speed has to do with several factors– the need to keep my children from killing each other while they watch George and the fact that I am often running late…. 

Today’s long shower was a result of Andrew’s 4 ten-hour day work schedule. This schedule is such a blessing to me at this stage of life. Andrew is around on Fridays to help discipline, give structure and spend extended time with our kids. 

FYSF May 1, 2009

We’ve missed a few FYSFs lately. Sorry about that. Sometimes, I get to the end of the day and think, “oops. I forgot it’s Friday…. oh well!”
Today, is another switch out-clean out toys day. By accident, I brought some toys up from the basement the other day (thinking the box was completely full of clothes) and the kids dug in immediately. Apparently, it’s been too long since cycling the toys. Now we have new toys, but all the old ones are still in the playroom, too. Yikes. As usual, it’s my own home situation that has inspired our post today :)

Spring Cleaning Tuesday: The Garage April 14, 2009

(As I’m sure you know by now:)) We have a small house!  Therefore, what doesn’t fit in the house, goes in the garage.  When we can no longer walk through the garage we have to clean it.  Here are some pics of the pit,  before & after.

The workbench: (before & after)

We had just a few “do the project but never put away the tools” situations as well as the pile of broken/need new battery toys on the workbench…can’t do much “work” when it’s surface is covered in randomness.  Solution?  Replace those batteries and PUT STUFF AWAY.

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The shelving: (before & after)

We were experiencing just a wee-bit-o-clutter on the floor of the garage.  We remedied the situation by using the space more effectively on the shelving.  By just moving a couple of items around I was able to get my canning things as well as my kitchen aide things off the floor and onto the shelf.  Ahhh, feels good.

The big picture: (before & after)

The garage had become a landing pad for many things…as you can see.  Cardboard for the kids to make a fort with, legal papers, recycling we weren’t too sure how to dispose of, luggage that could totally have gone into the attic, tools that needed hooks so they could hang on a wall- rather than lean on a wall, and bikes that still need to be mounted on wall hooks to provide more floor space.  Overall, we gained a lot of space in the garage by the end of our clean-up effort, a bunch of gunk and leaves and whatnot was swept out, and the treadmill is once again accessable and ready for use.  (I actually just got off it….yea me!)

SO, be encouraged- get out there and spruce it up!  It’s not as bad as it may seem.  :-)

Spring Cleaning Monday: The office/playroom April 13, 2009

Okay, people. Planning 4 hours of cleaning during the week of Spring Cleaning was a great idea… until I realized that since I post on Mondays, my room had to be done before Spring Cleaning week had begun. Ha ha. Thankfully I did get to spend at least 3 hours of undivided time with my “Multipurpose Room” before today. And, it has come a long way. First, I will explain the nature of this room. The room is off of our dining room and it is about 7×11 ft. We use it for an office, playroom and storage/coat closet.  (And I’m actually wanting to move my exercise bike into it so I can watch HGTV on Hulu.com while I ride!)

Anyway, Here is the room before: As you can see, the many purposes of the room had collided and things had gotten quite SCARY! While I had some organizational pieces in the closet, there were still many areas that needed help- like inside the drawers and the scary stack of games, sewing kit and cardboard box up to the right. And, something that drove me crazy is the printer, sitting on the file cabinet, which I had to haul out and and plug in every time I wanted to print something (at the computer, which is to the left of the closet with no room for a printer).

DRUMROLL, please……

Here is the room after: Doesn’t it look like a much happier place? For the closet, I made use of some of the vertical space in by adding two stacking wire shelves ($5 each). Then, I didn’t have to stack all of that stuff on top of each other. I have games, a sewing kit, my painting supplies on those shelves. I moved some of the random big books downstairs to basement storage since we didn’t use them regularly. I reorganized and thinned out the stuff in the drawers using the 3 bag method: One for give-away, One for put-away, One for trash. I was able to throw away, give away or relocate about 1/2 of the contents!  My favorite part of the closet makeover is that I moved the printer up to a shelf where it can live permanently. I was SO EXCITED to realize that the cords will reach the outlet and computer from the closet.

For toy organization, I combined the cubes (which had been broken up inefficiently throughout the house) and made a large organizational structure. Many of the baskets I already had, but I did purchase the aqua ones ($3.50 ea). The striped one is a LUVS diaper box covered in scrapbooking paper.

PS. If you need to majorly declutter, check out these 3 questions to cut clutter. (If you want to keep up this page while checking out a link, you can apple key + click to bring up a new tab. PC users, try ctrl + click and see if it works)

FYSF – California Edition March 27, 2009

Alrighty girls, We’re in California visiting my parents for the week and I’ve officially kidnapped Free Your Space Friday from Andie….!

This week’s challenge it to hit that backyard and TOSS THOSE TOYS that don’t have all their parts, the broken toys and the ones that you are just simply sick of looking at.  You know- the Walmart golf set that is now scattered all over the yard,  the cracked boots, the water toys that don’t hold water, the bubble blowers that are caked with dirt…etc.

No excuses my snowy friends, I know you have things hidden in the drifts. Send the kids on a snow mission this week to find things out there.  :-)

Taking a look back… March 11, 2009

This post is going to really date me :)  We have lived in many different places since getting married and starting a family.  We got pregnant 3 months after we were married and we were not on a track to settle down into a house yet so I will share all the many various housing situations we have lived in and how we coped.  With our first child we lived in a one bedroom apartment (we moved three times before the birth of our second 18 months after our first but they were all 1 bedrooms).  With our second pregnancy we moved to a 2  bedroom apartment.  Then as we prepared to move to Minnesota we moved in with my parents to save money.  We then moved in with our wonderfully gracious Sister and Brother-in-law who had 900 sq. ft. house.  From there we moved into the first floor of a house that had 1 bedroom and a den.  We bought a duplex next that had 14oo sq. ft. and seemed huge to us with our 2 children.  Then our family grew :)  We had 4 kids, 2 bedrooms and a nursery (a room that was only big enough for a crib not a twin bed :).  The Lord provided a huge house for us to live in last July that is a much longer but amazing story :)  With all that said here are some tips we have learned:

• We moved so much that we never really accumulated much “stuff.”  This is key.  I think I tend to be a pack rat but have been trained to get rid of stuff.  I still go through the house and say would I want to move this???  That is my real test.  You have to pare down and live with what you love.
• Well marked plastic bins for kids clothes (Thank you Christa!).  Each season and size gets its own bin.
• If you are in really cramped quarters like we were, movable furniture in a necessity.  Our babies slept in pack and plays or bassinets that you could move or smaller cribs (not the wonderful picture of a nursery that I dreamed of!).
• Furniture that does double duty.  Our coffee table also houses our Bibles, journals, and current books we are reading.  Attractive baskets or bins that go with our decor hold toys.  Ottomans that can store blankets and such.
• Memberships- We belong to the YWCA which is an absolute lifesaver for my family.  It has activities for the whole family, a pool, babysitting, classes and a place to run around.  We go most everyday and it is so helpful especially in the winter.  Memberships to zoos and children’s museums also have helped in the past.  Just to have place to go and hang out.

FYSF March 6, 2009

Today’s Free Your Space is to weed through a little place that usually has WAAY too many things in it- your medicine cabinet. Ours is on a shelf in our kitchen. It is easy to forget to check expiration dates and toss old medicine. So, take 15 minutes today and throw away expired things or things that you haven’t used for more than…. a year? You know- those vitamins that you planned to take, but never did. If you don’t want to throw them out because you still want to take them, maybe put them on your counter for a few days until you get in the habit of taking them.

I almost forgot to mention this handy tool- the turntable. These are useful many places in the house, but I use them mostly in the kitchen. You can find  a turntable at Target… but not where you’d expect. It wasn’t ANYWHERE in the kitchen section and no one who works there will be able to help, either. I think I finally found them in more of the home organization stuff. Where silverware dividers were, I think. I can’t quite remember, but don’t give up.