organize : ordinary mom

category: organize

May 22

2013

how I start – my current method for organizing my home

So I am on a mission. This mission is to have my house pretty much organized and finished by the time the kidlets are done school. Hence why I am trucking along, hitting one space after another, getting those little (& some big) jobs done.

I have found my mojo (as my mom says – seriously – she says this!) :) and wanted to share what works for me.

The first thing I did before embarking on a full house project plan was to close my eyes. Yup. Close ‘em.

And then I pictured my perfect days. Two days. One weekday and one weekend. And what I would be doing. Being realistic of course. I mean, with a husband, 2 kids and a dog, I can’t honestly say I could keep 4-5 hobbies going or that I want to travel to far away places monthly.

a perfect day @ ordinarymom.ca

But in my realistic perfect day visions I found myself:

Sitting outside with my coffee in the morning
Cooking meals with and for my family using vegetables and fruit we have grown ourselves
Reading books and sitting outside in the sunshine while the kidlets play in the yard
Working on design and working on my blog
Sewing quilts and some clothing for myself and the kidlets
Painting
Going for runs, bike rides and swims

What was missing in my perfect day visions was:

Cleaning (obviously – who wants to do this!)
Crafting/Scrapbooking/Paper crafts
Cross Stitch
Yoga
Golfing

This is just a snippet of things I would not say were part of my perfect day but may be Someone else’s. This is where I started. You see, I had a yoga mat. A pretty green one I bought years ago that I loved the colour and the IDEA of. I went to yoga classes. Two to be exact. I just am not a yoga person. It is not something I feel comfortable doing or that inspires me. So that was one thing I let go and donated so that someone who HAS that in their perfect day can use. Same with the box of pink golf balls. This made more room for my running sneakers and swim bag, two things I grab often during the week.

This is the idea that I hold in my head as I look around my house. If I have craft suplies, tools, an appliance or something else that I don’t use and doesn’t fit into the idea of my perfect day, then I let it go. It may be just the thing someone else needs to create theirs.

It also helps me from purchasing things moving forward. For instance, a while ago I noticed that I would buy candles and never burn them. Ever. And they just collected dust. So I stopped buying them. Same thing with washi tape or paper tape. I LOVE the look of washi/paper tape. I even have a bowl filled with a few on my desktop. But I started to find myself purchasing it JUST because I liked how it looked. I liked the IDEA of washi tape but never used it. I don’t scrap book or paper craft and it was just another thing I started to spend my money on that I didn’t use.

So now I have put a stop order on purchasing washi tape.

I guess my point is, figure out HOW you want to live and then it is easier to figure out HOW you can get there.

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Posted by Janet under life, organize

May 15

2013

function over form: small changes

function over form - small changes - master bath @ ordinarymom.ca

So in my bathroom I have a small tray that contains two covered jars and my perfumes and some pretty carved rocks (and collected ones too).

And usually when you see a bathroom with covered jars on the counter, they look something like this:

function over form - small changes - master bath @ ordinarymom.ca

One jar with cotton swabs and one jar with cotton pads. But since I have been going through the house with new eyes choosing “function over form”, I realized something. I never use cotton pads. Ever. Maybe once a year if I suddenly decide to try a new skin care regime right before I realize that my skin likes unscented basic soap the best.

So instead of having something pretty but not useful, I switched my jars to this:

function over form - small changes - master bath @ ordinarymom.ca

Now my second jar contains flossers that I use daily. It may not be AS pretty as cotton pads but it is definitely more useful and to me that is way more important.

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Posted by Janet under function over form, organize

Apr 28

2013

reorganizing the art supplies

We love art. Art is always in the works in our house. There is a in our kitchen right near the kitchen table that houses all the kidlets’ art supplies and puzzles/games. When we first moved here, I created bin with labels to house the different supplies and that worked for us for quite a while. But now that the art supplies are pretty much always in use, the table usually looked like this:

messy table @ ordinarymom.ca

And that is a good day as there are only two bins open on the table. Sometimes the art required 3-4 bins and tops, and paper, etc. Messy and a pain to clear for dinner. Now was the time to come up with a new solution.

Last week, I ran into Ikea and came across these two items:

art caddy supplies from Ikea @ ordinarymom.ca

A lazy susan and 7 metal plant pots.

Now, I have seen many DIY art caddies online on pinterest. A few almost identical (slightly different sized pots, etc). So I decided to make my own.

At first I considered painting the lazy susan as I had seen done before. And then I talked myself RIGHT out of that. I mean, really, WHY add extra time to something that 1) that you don’t see much of and 2) functions and looks nice as it is. By NOT painting the lazy susan, this project was completed in less than 15 minutes.

I drilled a hole in the bottom of each pot (did not measure but eyeballed center – doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect):

DIY art caddy - ordinarymom.ca

Then I placed the pots on the caddy so they were touching and centered. (again, by eyeballing, not measuring – not worrying over perfection):

DIY art caddy - ordinarymom.ca

And then I screwed them all down onto the lazy susan.

Instant art caddy:

DIY art caddy - ordinarymom.ca

And the best part is, that I don’t even mind the mess of art projects anymore. If we need to clear off the table for dinner, we can just move the single caddy and then it’s done.

Simple and functional. LOVE it.

DIY art caddy - ordinarymom.ca

Now I just have to reorganize the art supply cabinet.

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Posted by Janet under create, organize, our house
Tags: art, DIY, ikea, kitchen, organize

Mar 31

2013

don’t accessorize me

Last week I wrote about embracing my crazy. Which is just really embracing who I am and who I am not. As I get older I find myself more content in who I am which is a nice place to be.

And it is helping me organize and create the space I want/love!

Case in point. As I troll on pinterest and drool at all the wonderful organizing ideas, I sometimes stop at something that I love but that, upon closer inspection, is just not me.

For instance, this pin of an wall jewelry organizer. I loved it and considered it.

But then I considered me. And I honestly don’t change my jewelry often.

And when I say often, I mean never.

2006

2007

2010

2012

See? Same necklace that hubby gave me after our daughter was born.

And I am fine with that. I still love my necklace. It has been through a few chains but it still is me.

So I don’t need an organized jewelry holder. But then it got me to thinking about the jewelry box I DID have. It was HUGE! (something I made out of leftover parts of a piece of furniture I didn’t use).

don't accessorize me - old jewelry box @ ordinarymom.ca

See the OLD jewelry box (yellow arrow)?

It was so big and filled with stuff I never wore. When a friend was visiting we went through and I gave her a bunch of stuff I no longer wore (she is forever changing up her jewelry) and I kept only the important, special and family pieces.

And I found this SMALL jewelry box to hold it all:

don't accessorize me - new jewelry box @ ordinarymom.ca

See how small it is next to the quilted box?

And I love it. Small and perfect. Now I don’t feel bad for not wearing jewelry I have and I know I don’t have room for any more which stops any impulse “maybe someday I will start changing up my jewelry”.

Cause let’s be honest.. if I am still wearing the same necklace 7 years later, I doubt I will suddenly become someone different tomorrow.

It’s who I am.
And I am embracing it!
:)

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Posted by Janet under life, organize

Mar 24

2013

knowing yourself & embracing the crazy

source: Striking Truths

As I head into my fourth decade (not yet! not yet! next year! geesh!) I am learning more and more about myself. And I find that often that is the best guide book for living an organized and more simple life. To know yourself. And to embrace it.

And for me, knowing myself is also knowing that sometimes I can be a little crazy. A little OCD with one thing and COMPLETELY lax on another. For instance I may walk over a pile of toys to get from one room to the next, walk past baskets of laundry without reaction but if my blinds aren’t all going in the same direction? I may just sop and adjust that.

Hence embracing the “crazy”. LOL!

Yesterday, I repainted the dining room for the second time. Here is a sneak peek (post coming soon):

dining room almost done @ ordinary mom

And you can see how many windows are in this picture. The front window has 3 blinds for a total of 5 blinds. Each blind has 3 cords. On the right is the cord for lifting the blind and on the left are the 2 directional cords. These are the ones I am forever tugging on.

So yesterday, as I was tidying up, I came up with a perfect idea. I raided my daughter’s bead box and stole 5 little silver beads and did this:

marking the blind cord @ ordinary mom

Now I know which cord is for up and which is for down and can easily go through the room and not have to do a tug test.

And yes, I know it is a little crazy. But I am embracing my crazy. And I love it! :)

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Posted by Janet under happy list, life, organize, our house
Tags: dining room, know yourself

Feb 02

2013

finding my way back – instagram friday saturday

Wow! It has been a while since I have blogged. My break ended up being quite a bit longer than anticipated. Mostly due to the fact that I took longer to recover from my surgery (tonsillectomy) and that it has taken even longer to regain my energy levels and motivation.

But I am back. Happily moving forward with purpose and stride.

One thing that has me excited and inspired is the notion of getting things in order. Working towards the warmth of spring with a spring in my steps and goals in my head.

I had previously mentioned wanting to work on updating the dining room. And while that is still a plan for the near future, I decided that a more pressing issue were the trouble spots in my house that are making it hard to stay organized. Or even get there. I had recently read an article about making a room more beautiful for free just by removing the items you don’t love. That struck a real chord in me and I have tried to look at my home with fresh eyes and remove items I no longer feel enchanted by or don’t serve any purpose.

My main focus right now is one area of the kitchen. The desk area. On a good day (MANY eons ago) it looked like this:

this kitchen desk area NEVER looks like this

But even though I can remove all the paper, and hide all the evidence of living in this space, it wasn’t functioning for us. The kidlets bring in a LOT of paperwork, we have mail and bills to sort, and I need this space to work. So I am thinking of adding something like this and removing the framed tea pots from the side wall. It won’t be as pretty sure, but tidy and functional will be better than pretty. I desire tidy and functional. I LONG for tidy and functional.

So that is my next project. I have ordered some items, plan to pick up some more this week and hopefully will have a family life system in my kitchen that I can use and maintain.

And since I haven’t been around lately, here are snippets of my life recently via instagram.