*** Please note - this post is a little lengthy, so click on the "read more" button at the bottom to read the entire post. ***
Maybe it's the start of school, or the approaching fall season, but I've been in the mood to organize lately!First up... baby clothes! It's amazing how one little, itty, bitty person can have SO MANY CLOTHES. We kept almost everything from Payton, so we've got bins and bins and bags and boxes and who knows what else up in the attic brimming with baby stuff. It really needed to be contained.
My loving husband took everything down from the attic. This in itself was a feat considering it's 100 degrees every day here and that attic is probably way hotter than that. We put everything into the garage and then decided what we could get rid of (who knew we had 2 highchairs and another stroller - that makes 4 total - up there?!?) and what we wanted to sort through.
Here's a pic of the clothing that I needed to go through. Actually... that's not true, there were 2 more bins we discovered after this picture was taken:
I wish I had a picture of my entire kitchen table and countertops filled with baby clothes, but we had a busy evening and I forgot to snap a pic. Let's just say, it was a disaster! But, it has to get worse before it gets better.
In the end, we had 3 vacuum storage bags, 5 plastic storage bins and 1 cardboard box FILLED with baby stuff. And this is what we ended up with:
One label on top, and one on each side so the hubs can easily see what's inside when I ask him to get down the next size of clothing.Now we just have to sell/donate/trash the stuff we don't want.
Next up on the organizing list was the freezer!
You're say to yourself, "The freezer? Really? That needs to be organized?" My answer is... "YES!" Not only to save yourself time, but to save yourself money. Do you know what foods are buried deep in your freezer? Do you know if you have hot dog buns somewhere in there, or should you buy more for the BBQ this weekend? Do you have a bag of chicken nuggets in there somewhere? It can really save you a lot of time by know exactly WHAT you have in your freezer, and exactly WHERE it is. Here's what I did:
1. Empty out the entire freezer. Obviously you have to do this quickly, or stuff will start to melt. So, do this when you know you have a good block of time and won't be interrupted half-way through.
2. Clean out the empty freezer. Might as well clean it up while you're cleaning out! Take out the drawers if they are removable and wipe down all interior spaces with a wet sponge/rag.
3. Toss the old stuff. I know this may be hard for some of you, but there is no logical reason to keep that old steak that is covered in freezer burn from God-knows-when. You won't want to eat it, and hopefully you won't want to serve it to your friends. :) So... if you don't remember putting in the freezer, or you can't tell what it is... TOSS IT!
3. Determine the most user-friendly places to store your food. For us, we have little hands that often want to grab a Popsicle or ice cream sandwich, so it was important to have those items at eye level for him. It was also important to have the ice packs readily available for bumps and bruises and sore teething gums. Also, some of our drawers pull out and some are stationary, so I took that into consideration as far as what items I store the most of (for the pull out drawers).
4. Label your shelves/drawers, etc. Now this one is optional, but I highly recommend it. Now when I am unloading groceries I know exactly where to put items. It also helps Brian find things quickly (like the ice cream - you know he isn't cooking dinner).
Speaking of labeling things... you may have noticed a lot of labeling going on in these pictures. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Brother P-Touch label maker. It's the BEST! I wish Brian would let me label more things around the house. :) I highly recommend purchasing one, and you may be surprised at how motivated you'll become to start organizing!
I've labeled my laundry room shelves, again to help keep inventory of what we have so I don't buy duplicates, but also so I can quickly find a product when I'm looking for it. I've also been known to label other things throughout the house... hmmm.... maybe I have a labeling addiction... or does everyone label their sunscreen and bug repellents???
Next on the "organizing agenda"... apparently it's my Tupperware cabinet. Parker loves it all messy, but it's driving mama bananas!!! More to come...
You're say to yourself, "The freezer? Really? That needs to be organized?" My answer is... "YES!" Not only to save yourself time, but to save yourself money. Do you know what foods are buried deep in your freezer? Do you know if you have hot dog buns somewhere in there, or should you buy more for the BBQ this weekend? Do you have a bag of chicken nuggets in there somewhere? It can really save you a lot of time by know exactly WHAT you have in your freezer, and exactly WHERE it is. Here's what I did:
1. Empty out the entire freezer. Obviously you have to do this quickly, or stuff will start to melt. So, do this when you know you have a good block of time and won't be interrupted half-way through.
3. Toss the old stuff. I know this may be hard for some of you, but there is no logical reason to keep that old steak that is covered in freezer burn from God-knows-when. You won't want to eat it, and hopefully you won't want to serve it to your friends. :) So... if you don't remember putting in the freezer, or you can't tell what it is... TOSS IT!
3. Determine the most user-friendly places to store your food. For us, we have little hands that often want to grab a Popsicle or ice cream sandwich, so it was important to have those items at eye level for him. It was also important to have the ice packs readily available for bumps and bruises and sore teething gums. Also, some of our drawers pull out and some are stationary, so I took that into consideration as far as what items I store the most of (for the pull out drawers).
4. Label your shelves/drawers, etc. Now this one is optional, but I highly recommend it. Now when I am unloading groceries I know exactly where to put items. It also helps Brian find things quickly (like the ice cream - you know he isn't cooking dinner). 
Speaking of labeling things... you may have noticed a lot of labeling going on in these pictures. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Brother P-Touch label maker. It's the BEST! I wish Brian would let me label more things around the house. :) I highly recommend purchasing one, and you may be surprised at how motivated you'll become to start organizing! 
I've labeled my laundry room shelves, again to help keep inventory of what we have so I don't buy duplicates, but also so I can quickly find a product when I'm looking for it. I've also been known to label other things throughout the house... hmmm.... maybe I have a labeling addiction... or does everyone label their sunscreen and bug repellents???
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