Organization Baby!

I have been motivated. I recently discovered the following blogs:

www.orgjunkie.com and abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com

To say that they have inspired me- an understatement. They really have lit a fire under me. Last year- I had my sweet baby #3. And I was ALWAYS overwhelmed. I never really felt like I had enough time for my home, my calling, my children, my work.....yup- overwhelmed. And it showed. But not this year baby! I'm kicking 2011's trash so far this year- and you know what? It feels amazing. I have vowed that I am taking back my home, taking back my routines...and it is such an invigorating feeling! So here are a few projects that I have tackled- maybe they will motivate you as well!

Most recently- the freezers. We are expecting a half of a pig from the butcher soon and I was not just going to shove it in and make it fit. No sir. No more throwing away freezer burnt food- we are using it all from now on. But man- defrosting and organizing two freezers is a ton of work!

All the food out:



After: I decided to put all of the meat and produce into my stand-up freezer along with my extra loaves of bread and homemade jam. Then I put everything else into my freezer in the kitchen. This way when I am making my menu- I can pull it out and see what needs used without having to consult both freezers.




I also tackled my back pantry (or should-be linen closet) and my kitchen pantry. I'm a little into couponing (you may have heard :)- and my stockpile is way too big for one pantry. But after I organized this back pantry- I started on my main one and found that alot needed to be changed. So this back pantry has since changed. It mostly only holds non-food items like diapers, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc. but still has my home canned goods as well.
This is my project cupboard for the kids (this is the after in case you could not tell!) I have so many craft supplies for the kids and therapy tools for Wyatt that I moved them into my office and organized a 3 drawer container to keep them in. This is just those that we use on a daily basis.
My new idea- a snack cupboard. Now when the kids whine that they are hungry, they just grab a stool and pick something out of the snack basket. One less job for Mom! however, they do have to ask before they swipe something out of here :)
The before kitchen pantry- look at how all over the place everything is. There are cleaning supplies, bags of flour on the floor- it did not flow well. But I was delusional thinking that it was actually organized pretty well considering how much stuff was in there. But Ike made a mess of it all one too many times- so a makeover was in order:

After: I organized all canned goods together and by type. Containerized and labeled everything, put all those packets together in a box, and stacked my surplus food on the top shelf so I can easily rotate it. It's really bothering me that all the boxes I used to organize don't match, so when I get a second I'm going to cover them with something.



I also decided to get my lists and calendar in order. I have a master calendar that I use in my office for work and home stuff, but it was soo full and since it was all the way in my office I often didn't take the time to consult it when making an appt on the phone- oops! Now this is hanging on my pantry door and it makes my life so much easier! I have an ongoing grocery list that I can't lose and my favorite part is the to-do list at the bottom for Shelby :).

I've now tackled nearly every cupboard and closet in the house. I only have my closet, my bathroom, and a few cupboards left that house Shelby's stuff in the kitchen! I see such a difference in how I feel as I work about my house. It's much more enjoyable to clean and do projects in an organized home. Plus I feel much less stressed. Below is a picture of my happy little helper: I love this girl!