Special Sunday-Bedtime Stories

For those of  you who aren’t in bed for this 8:50 pm post, here is something that I believe in.

I believe that if you take the time to tuck your little ones in and sit on the beds of your teenagers right before they sleep, you will have some of the best moments of your relationship.

There is a time, just before slumber, after a sometimes, very long day, there can be moments of MAGIC.

A time to teach, to show an outpouring of love, and to just be one-on-one.

Try it this week.

Some of you might wonder what this has to do with organization, but it does.

It does, because if you have worked so hard to make your home “a house of order,” you will be able to have a clear mind to have these moments with your children.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

I LOVE THIS!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Super Saturday-Paint Power

First of all, I apologize for a 6pm post, BUT, I did have a great kid day with lots of games, cheering, and fun.

Now to business…PAINT!

This project will probably take you less than 30 minutes, but will save you time and money in the future!

Who doesn’t want that?

Here’s how we do it:

STEP #1- COLLECT all of your paint.  (We are talking house paint, inside and out.  We will organize craft paints later, so don’t worry.

STEP #2-SORT all you paint into upstairs, downstairs, basement, and outside.

STEP #3-LABEL with Sharpie.  Surprise, I want you to label each one according to the coordinating room. (See picture below)  You can label anywhere on the can, but make them all uniform, so that when stacked they are aesthetically appealing.

STEP #4-DOCUMENT all colors, brands and any other important information by room in a binder for house information.  If you don’t have a binder just yet, print on paper and tape to wall above where paint is stored.

STEP #5-STACK by room in a cool spot.  You can stack them in milk crates for easy moving, or just in a safe corner of a cool basement or garage.

THERE WE GO!

YOUR PAINT IS ORGANIZED, READY FOR A QUICK TOUCH-UP DAY, OR AVAILABLE FOR ANYTHING ELSE.

For tomorrow:

Tomorrow is SPECIAL SUNDAY, and we are going to have a sweet moment to talk about something I feel very strongly about, as well as, introducing how we are going to celebrate 1000 visits!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Fax-Friday-Terrific Tubs

Today’s special organization tool is none other than the DISH TUB!

DISH TUBS aren’t just for the kitchen sink.

These little babies can work for more things than I can count.

I will show some pictures and give you some ideas to get you started on your love affair with DISH TUBS.

#1-CHARGERS-These tubs hold chargers perfectly!  They hold my chargers for the camera, video camera, etc.  It fits perfect on the top shelf of the front coat closet.  It is wonderful to know where your chargers are at any minute.

#2 GAMEBOYS/SM. ELECTRONICS-I stash the kids’ handheld game boys, their games, their chargers and cases in this tub in the front closet.  We don’t use these very often, but they are ready at a moments notice with every necessary part all together!

#3 TO SORT-These work great for collecting small stacks of paper that need to be sorted later.

#4 TO DO-This is my HOT tub!  I call it my “hot tub” because it works great for keeping all my things together that need to be taken care of NOW!

#5 GIRLS’ HAIRBOWS-If you have a small to medium collection of hair bows and clips, these tubs house the ribbons quickly and they are perfect to fit under the sink.

#6 PAPER SORTING-These are great for sorting paper.  See a past post for the “how-to.”

#7 KIDS’ PAPERS-Need a place to keep your kids’ school papers for review later?  Grab a tub.

#8 BOOKS-One of these tubs would be a great place to store your library books to be read, cuddled up on a couch.

#9 VIDEOS-These tubs are the perfect size to take a load of movies, on the go, in the car.

#10 SMALL TOYS-Maybe you need a place to tuck away a small collection of small toys, in an office, kitchen, etc…one of these tubs would work great!

THERE YOU HAVE IT!  TEN WAYS TO USE THE “PERFECT TUB!”

If you had a way you use one of these universal tubs, send us a picture!

For tomorrow:

For SUPER SATURDAY we will be talking about organizing all those PAINT CANS in your garage!

Don’t miss it!

~Laura

Therapy Thursday-Do you feel the “light?”

Do you feel “lighter?”

You should.

With your special place organized, and your paper under control, you should feel empowered!

I do.

I am still working on some paper boxes that I came across, hiding in the garage!

Today, I just want you to journal, somewhere, how you FEEL about having these two things done.

It can be on your family’s blog, your personal journal or take a before and after photo.

Just write it down, because it is not going to stay perfect, but with a system, you will enjoy being organized in these two areas.

January has been great for me!

I hope that it has been great for you as well!

For tomorrow:

I think we are going to hit our 1000th visit to our organization blog today!

If we do, tomorrow I will introduce you to the many different uses for another one of my favorite organization tools,

AND have a GIVE-AWAY.

If you have been hesitating sharing this resource with a friend or family member, DO IT TODAY, so they can get in on our journey!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Wrap-up Wednesday-Goodbye Paper Madness

We are going to do a little REVIEW on our PAPER MADNESS journey!

If you are just joining us today, you can review the last couple of weeks of posts.

QUICK LOOK AT OUR PAPER:

**You can use this same technique anytime your paper starts to take over again.

Step #1-Take boxes or baskets and collect EVERY piece of paper in your home.

Step #2-Sort paper into five categories:

TO DO, TO FILE, TO SHRED, MEMORIES, and TRASH.

Step #3-Empty each basket individually and put paper away.

Step #4-Organize each category using different strategies and containers.

**(See past posts for pictures and ideas)

IF YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR PAPER AND HAVE SOME GREAT BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES, SEND THEM MY WAY FOR DISPLAY!

For tomorrow:

Tomorrow is THERAPY THURSDAY, tune in for a simple question with an answer that will bring a smile to your face.

Still finishing my PAPER MADNESS!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

 

Tackle Tuesday-To File, My Style

Today is the TO FILE basket’s turn to be organized!

Lucky basket!

My system is simple to me, but you may have one in place in your home already.

Just do it!

Sit down and start going through those piles.

Here is how I do it:

STEP #1-Take one more walk around your entire house in search for those things that need to be filed.  Don’t forget your cars, your office, maybe on top of a dresser, a church bag, wherever it is all hiding.

STEP#2-I take the trash can and my basket over to the couch, and plug in a good movie. I don’t know why, but I can accomplish so much more if a have a little entertainment.  It is like having the radio blasting while washing a car, or headphones while mowing the grass, you get the picture!

STEP#3-SORT AWAY!  I actually sort things into piles that go directly to the filing cabinet.  For example, I don’t just pile all medical paperwork together, I sort by children or doctor.  Remember: Use what works best for you!

STEP#4-I throw all trash directly in the trash can while sorting and make a separate pile for shred.  When you are done sorting everything, take care of these two piles first, TRASH and SHRED!

STEP#5-I pick up pile by pile and put DIRECTLY in file cabinet.  Do not stack them up to be put away later.  Take the extra 10 minutes or so and file them directly into their folder.

YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR!

Here are a few photos of the filing cabinets I use and an example of the filing system.  Just basic, put everything is better with pictures.

For tomorrow:

Tomorrow is WRAP-UP WEDNESDAY and we are wrapping up the PAPER MADNESS SERIES!

If there is something we did not cover that you need help with or you have a suggestion for us, PLEASE EMAIL OR COMMENT me and we will cover it tomorrow.

Otherwise, we are moving on!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Monday Madness-Storing Memories

I love memories.

I love the ones in my head, and I love the ones that are represented in journals, drawings, pictures, projects and the like.

Today, we are going to sort the MEMORIES box.

Here is how we do it:

STEP #1-First you need a container for each person in your family.  I use these plastic containers from Wal-Mart.  They are about $4 each.  You can use office boxes, other containers or even FREE apple boxes from the grocery store.  I like these because they are inexpensive, keep things clean and dry and are critter-proof.

STEP #2-Sort all your things from your MEMORY basket.

STEP #3-Label the boxes and store in a safe place together.  I store ours under the stairs in the basement.

This is how I store each of the kids’ school year memories.  Take a poster board, cut in half and then fold halves together and staple sides.  I have a file drawer in the kitchen to store the children’s work throughout the school year.  At the end of each year, we go through it together and only keep the favorite work, and store them in these cheap folders and place in the memory box.

If you have a great way to store your memories, PLEASE SHARE.

Let me know and send me a picture and we will post it!

For tomorrow:

TACKLE TUESDAY is going to be our day to tackle that TO FILE basket.  So, look around and find EVERYTHING that needs to be filed, and we will take care of it tomorrow!

Off to finish my memory boxes!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Special Sunday-Daily Journaling

Ok, is it the word “DAILY” that was scaring you, or the word “JOURNAL?”

Hopefully, after today, you won’t be frightened by either word.

I have a dear friend, Amy Stewart (CO), who journals a little something about her life in a daily planner.

I have the same daily planner, but fill it with appointments, to do lists, etc.

She uses it in a completely different way…that I absolutely love, and have started one of my own!

Here is how you do it:

STEP #1-You get a daily planner of some sort.  You can get one like the one I have written in below that has a week-at-a-glance where you store your little memories, or you could even use one, like the other one shown below, that has a month-at-a-glance with a little box for each day.  The first daily planner can be found anywhere office supplies are sold for between $8-$10.  I got the month-at-a-glance at Wal-mart for about $3. I even got one of the monthly ones free in the mail from our old real estate agent.

STEP #2-Keep the planner in a place that is convenient to just jot down a few things that you would like to remember from the day.  I keep mine in my purse or near the phone.  It gives me a chance to fill in different things that happen when I have a quick minute.

STEP #3-Then record what it is you want to remember.  I have written down things like new teeth coming in for the baby, new words that she has said, the feelings of a child that I have noticed or they have shared with me that I want to remember, a kind deed by a family member or friend, a prompting that came to me, etc.

I love this!

You think that you are going to remember every funny word that your kids say, the cute habits they have or the moment when they learn a new thing…but you won’t.  Trust me.  I have a great memory.  It is one of my gifts.  I can vividly recall childhood memories of family trips, playing in the woods and phone numbers of dear friends, but I don’t always remember what that “cute” thing was that Easton said last week.

Write it down.  The good, bad and ugly.  The simple, sweet and priceless.

If you don’t get to it everyday, don’t worry.

Even if you only capture the memories of the week in little “snippets” it will still be more than most wrote down from last week, and you will have precious moments recorded from throughout the year!

Have fun with this.  Maybe get one for your spouse, your teenager or one specifically for a baby’s first year.

For tomorrow:

For our MONDAY MADNESS we will be learning different ways to save, file and organize our MEMORIES basket from last week’s PAPER MADNESS!

Look around to make sure you have collected everything that you would store in your MEMORIES files.

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Super Saturday-Coat Closet

Take 20 minutes and give your COAT CLOSET a mini-makeover.

We are halfway through Winter, and now is a great time to take back over that closet.

Here we go…step-by-step.

So simple, you can print this off and pass it off to a child or spouse with some free time this Saturday.

STEP #1  Empty everything from the closet. (*Tip-As you empty, sort things into piles (ex. kids’ coats, gloves, hats, scarves, etc.)

STEP #2  Clean out interior of the closet: Vacuum baseboard, vacuum floor, vacuum shelves, wipe down shelves, wipe down baseboards, wipe down walls, wipe down door (inside and out,) wipe down doorknob, and wipe down hanging bar.

STEP #3 Hang all coats the same direction and in order from largest on the LEFT to smallest on the RIGHT. (This will ensure that little ones see their coats first, and the closet will have a neat and organized appearance.)

STEP #4 Decide what containers, if any, will hold gloves, hats, scarves, bags, etc.

STEP #5 Sort items into organization systems that will make them easy to access and easy to put away.

Some examples may be the following:

A HANGING SHOE ORGANIZER-For gloves, scarves, and hats

A MEDIUM SIZE CONTAINER-For smaller items like baby hats, missing gloves, extra supplies, etc.

AN INEXPENSIVE WICKER LAUNDRY BASKET-For bags, backpacks, and extra supplies.

AN INEXPENSIVE LARGE DISHTUB-For groups of things to be stored together (ex. chargers, camera and camcorder supplies, etc.)

 

AN INEXPENSIVE PLASTIC LAUNDRY BASKET-For large item storage, such as shoes, bags, backpacks, etc.

A WELL-ORGANIZED COAT CLOSET CAN HOLD A LOT MORE THAN AN UNORGANIZED ONE!

There it is!  If you have a closet that ROCKS, send us pictures and we will post them on the site!

For tomorrow:

Come on over for a quick tip from a friend in beautiful Colorado on DAILY JOURNALING.

Don’t be scared, it is easy and wonderful!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

-

Fast-Fix Friday-Box of wonders

Ok, so calling our BILL BOX,  a box of “wonders,” is a little stretch, but it isn’t if you look at it like organization in this area saves us time AND money!

Today we have  a GUEST LINK to www.crapivemade.blogspot.com.

Below is an example of Char’s Bill Box that she has agreed to share with us today. I have highlighted her entire post in BLUE.  You really should jump over and check her out, she is AMAZING!  Thank you Char for today’s post.

Today, I'm showing you my bill box. Oh how I love my bill box! Going out to buy one *might* be my favorite part of the new year.
You've all seen these accordion files before, right? You can get a solid colored one at any office supply store or super center. Those run about $8. I usually spend a little more and get a cute one to make my bill paying life more pleasant.
Here's last year's:

I label it with the year clearly on the outside.
Some of these files come pre-labeled. I don't really like their categories, so I re-label. I bought a pack of file folder labels for just a few dollars 7 or 8 years ago and I still haven't used them all.

You can label them however fits your needs. I use the following categories:
Bank Account
Cable
Chase/Old Navy/TCP
Debit Receipts/Check Duplicates (I clear this one out after I've entered receipts and reconciled statements)
Dental
Insurance
Medical
Mortgage
Newspaper/Magazines
Pay Stubs
Questar (gas)
Qwest (phone)
Receipts (for major purchases)
Retirement
Taxes
Tithing
Utah Power (electric)
Water
At the end of the year, I take the entire box downstairs to our storage room. It doesn't take up a lot of room and it's easy to locate something should the need arise. Like the time the cable company turned us over to collections for a $16 bill because they hooked cable up at a house we hadn't lived in for THREE YEARS and then tried to tell me I never paid off our original account.

Thank you CHAR!  www.crapivemade.blogspot.com

 

Another way of using this system that I learned years ago when I was teaching organization classes and had a friend guest speak on her BILL BOX is the following.

My friend, Jill Mason (CA), had a similar system to Char’s above, with just a little different twist.

Jill uses the same great BILL BOX base, but separates hers’ into the months of the year, with the front pocket being used for incoming bills.  She talked about how when current bills came in, they went in the TO PAY front pocket.

She would sit down once or twice a month, pay the bills and then store the paid bills in the month that corresponds.

At the end of the year, she takes all 12 utility bills, puts them in order, staples them in the corner and stores them in her main file cabinet.

She then shreds the set from FIVE years back that no longer needs to be kept.

VIOLA!

So simple.

She can even tote her little box to the park, let her kids play and complete her bill paying for the month.

Thank you Char!  Thank you Jill!

I love both ideas.

This little BILL BOX can also be used for lots of other things.

Just a few I have thought of are:

To store sheet music

Organize Personal Progress

Store cards

Organize paper

So many ideas, so little time.

We may cover some of these ideas later in the year, but for now organize those bills.

For tomorrow:

If you are not done with all your paper, don’t panic, just keep sorting or working on the stage you are in, because we are tackling the tails of the paper Mon, Tues and Wed of next week.

Tomorrow, we are going to tackle a mystery closet, so don’t miss it.

See you tomorrow.

~Laura

 

Therapy Thursday-Process your paper

Today we are going to ask a question that will prompt us to complete a certain paper pile that will change our lives.

I want you to ask yourself,

“Which of these piles effects my life the most RIGHT NOW?”

Is it the TO DO box that needs the quickest attention?  For me, it is.  It is the one that holds Christmas rebates, thank yous, upcoming registrations and so on.

Is yours the TO FILE box that needs to be taken care of in order to be ready for tax season?

Before you do something about the question you answered and focus in on that one,

THROW AWAY ALL THE TRASH and SHRED or BURN THE SHRED PILE!

TWO BASKETS DONE ALREADY!

Now focus on that “special” box.

Do the things you have time to get done today.  If it is make an appointment that you have on paper, make it, write it on the family calendar and move to the next thing.

If you are still working on your paper piles, KEEP GOING!

We are going to work all next week on PAPER, FILING, BILLS, ETC., so keep up the great work.

I found SIX more paper containers with MOVING STICKERS that I need to get to.

Wonder if there is anything important in there, (considering our last move was SIX years ago!)

For tomorrow:

I have another wonderful FAST-FIX FRIDAY organization item!

Don’t miss it!

We will be featuring Char from the website www.crapivemade.blogspot.com (admittedly one of my favorite bloggers, even though I am no crafter!)

We will also be featuring a friend in California with a tip to share.

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Wrap-up Wednesday-Pretty Paper Piles

Did you know that paper piles can look “pretty?”

Ok, not really pretty, but sorted in a way that is it simple to stay up on everything, which makes everything look so much better!

Today we are going to take that TO DO basket and SORT it again, to make it really work!

Here are the categories today:

I use these GREAT dish tubs to sort my paper into manageable categories.  They can be found anywhere house wares are sold, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. for around $2-3.  You can buy them in different colors and sort that way too!  You can also use the organizing bins just bigger than the shoe box.

Sort your TO DO basket the way that it works best for YOU!

This is how I do it that works best for our family.

Here is what “qualifies” a paper item for each tub:

TO DO-NOW-This tub is RED for a reason!  I consider this my “to do list” with the papers to match what needs to be done.  This is the tub that holds rebate information, thank yous, lesson material, Scout info, etc.

COUPONS-This one holds coupons on the back of receipts for dry cleaning, coupons that Nana cuts out for us (thank you Nana,) grocery coupons before they are filed, and any other coupons that you come across before they are filed into those nifty coupon holders.

TO FILE-This category is for things that you have taken care of that now that need to be filed.

BILLS-When mail comes in and goes in the TO DO basket, this is where the current bills land.

RECEIPTS-I use my receipt holder in my car, but occasionally receipts come from other places and can’t get lost.  They may also belong in a tax folder, stapled to a warranty file, or need to be turned in for church or business.

BUSINESS-This is where my ideas go for my organization “business/hobby” and anything to do with the children’s jewelry company that my sister and I own.

I have a great system for being organized in each of these areas.  We will cover that next week day-by-day until the PAPER MADNESS is GONE!

If you have any ideas that work for you in any of these categories and want to be featured next week, just email me or comment for your link.

I have some great ideas that have been sent already that will be featured in the upcoming weeks.

KEEP THE IDEAS COMING!

This is a great way to show many different possibilities!

For tomorrow:

THERAPY THURSDAY is going to ask a very important PAPER question, so make sure you tune in!

My organization task for the day is done, so I am off to clean the house to surprise a hard-working husband who gets back from a very long week out of town!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Tackle Tuesday-Sorting Paper

Ok, everyone, the day kind of got away from me.

Let’s talk PAPER SORTING.

I am going to tell you something that you are not going to want to believe, because it is so positively simple, BUT IT IS TRUE!

ALL PAPER CAN BE SORTED IN TO FIVE BASIC CATEGORIES

I know, too simple to be true, but it is my friends.

Here are the categories:

TO DO

FILE

SHRED

MEMORIES

TRASH

Now that you know the categories, go pick your favorite movie (mine is Father of the Bride Part II, those who truly know me would easily be able to tell you that,) take your baskets or boxes of paper that you collected yesterday, and we will begin.

First you need FIVE pieces of paper labeled TO DO, FILE, SHRED, MEMORIES, and TRASH.

Tape each of these papers to empty baskets or boxes that are lined up in front of you.

Before we begin, let me talk briefly about each of these categories.

TO DO-This box contains anything that needs to be taken care of.  For example, field trip paperwork, current tax items that are coming in the mail this month, coupons, wedding announcements, etc.  These items answer yes to the question, “Do I need to take care of this item?”

FILE-These are things that are already taken care of, but need to be saved for reference.  For example, medical bills that are paid, bank statements, warranties, etc.

SHRED-These are items that have your address or personal information on that are not necessary anymore, but need to be shredded or burned.  For example, a credit card application, expired bank cards, old address lists, etc.  If it can be traced to you personally, be safe and put it in this basket to dispose of later.

MEMORIES-These are items that are specific to someone in your family that you would like to save for them.  Examples can be awards, report cards, special art, advancements in school, church or Scouts, etc.  If it is special to you, keep it.

TRASH-This category should be obvious, but just in case, this is where you put old calendars, past schoolwork that has been graded, junk mail, etc.  Hint: If it doesn’t fit in one of the above categories, it probably belongs here.

Make a large glass of water, turn on the movie and start sorting.  It may go slow at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will be flying through it in no time.  Just remember: Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this paper?”  Then answer the question by putting it in the corresponding basket.

This may take you the whole movie or two.  Just remember that today we are not reading old letters or looking at that advertisement we found, we are only SORTING!

Tomorrow we will work on the next step.

For tomorrow:

Speaking of tomorrow, just get your sorting done tonight and then enjoy how much you have accomplished in just two short days.

Have a great night!

~Laura

*If you don’t have a movie you love, Biggest Loser is on tonight and it can motivate you to exercise more with all your new free time.

 

Monday Madness-Paper Madness

This is what I collected at my house today.  I literally put every single piece of paper I could find in these baskets.

Do you have PAPER MADNESS at your home?

We used to.  NOT ANY MORE!

Once a month, I collect EVERY piece of paper in the house.

Sometimes there is a lot (like the end of the school year,) sometimes there are just a few piles to go through.

Today I searched high and low and came up with these three baskets full.

HERE IS THE SYSTEM:

TODAY you are going to find EVERY piece of paper in your home.

Take a laundry basket or box and start at the front door.  Put every piece of paper you find in the basket.

Today is JUST COLLECTION DAY.

Tomorrow, on Tackle Tuesday, we will talk about what to do with all this fun paper.

Some places where paper could be hiding that you may or may not of thought of: Office, kitchen counters, kitchen desk, taped inside and outside cabinets, front closet, table, bedside table, kids’ rooms, cars, garage shelves, family room, book bags, diaper bags, church bags, purse and maybe even the garage.

FIND EVERYTHING and tomorrow we will free you from your PAPER MADNESS!

For tomorrow:

Have baskets that you collected today, ready.  Carve out an hour or more depending on how much paper you have.

I’m off to do our task for tomorrow, so that you have pictures to see.

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

Special Sunday-Today is your day!

Today is your day.

One of the major reasons for getting and being organized is to have the extra time to do something that you love.

Today, do something that you love.

Something that you usually don’t allow yourself to do because there are so many other things needing your attention.

It can be calling up an old friend, a relative out-of-town or a college roommate.

Maybe it is making a special meal, reading a long overdue book, or taking a nap.

DO IT!

You will feel rejuvenated to complete so much more in the upcoming week.

I rarely take the time to snuggle with my little ones on the couch and watch a movie of their choice.  I do sit with them often, but I am sorting paper, folding laundry or checking homework.

Today is the day I do it just for us!

For tomorrow:

THIS WEEK IS A DO NOT MISS WEEK!

The most requested need for organization was concerning PAPER.

PAPER and I used to not be friends…now we are!

We used to get in arguments about dates, times and due dates…not anymore!

Tune in tomorrow to start our PAPER MADNESS WEEK!

MONDAY MADNESS is the perfect day to start this challenge.

Tonight-think of EVERY place you have paper.  It could be the kitchen, office, car, maybe even your nightstand.  Think of every place it would be and I will see you tomorrow.

~Laura

 

Super Saturday-Car addition

YEAH!  Today is the day that you can put together everything you could possibly need for your car.

A Super Saturday indeed!

Last week we learned about an EMERGENCY CAR STORAGE KIT, today, the rest.

Let’s talk GLOVE BOX first.

What should be in your glove box?  The baseline essentials ONLY!  If you have ever been pulled over and asked for your information and you open a glove box full of nonsense and are missing a current insurance card…it is not pretty. 

You need: proof of insurance, current registration papers, a phone list (ward, family, etc.,) a small notebook and maps.

What else can you think of that is essential for your family?  Include these things as well.

Every other paper item, concerning your vehicle, can be kept in your MAINTENANCE BINDER that you can store in your emergency box in the back of the car.

Let’s move on to that MAINTENANCE BINDER that I just referred to.

This little ditty is GREAT!

My sister has one of these for each of her cars, and I loved it so much, I made one for each of ours.

This can be as simple as a 3-ring binder and some plastic page protectors.  I used a protector for each of the following, and, of course, labeled each one accordingly. You can also accomplish this just by making a file folder with your home bills to store these important papers.

Oil change

Tires

Repairs

Maintenance work

Past registrations

Miscellaneous

**Having all of these records together has proved invaluable in maintaining our cars.  We can see where and when tires were bought, when the last oil change was performed, etc.

Now let’s talk about CAR HABITS.

Car habits are the patterns that we do that keep our car clean, organized, and maintained.

The following are the things that I consider “habits” that we do to keep our cars nice.

Wash/vacuum-We live in Colorado, so washing the car weekly is never an option.  It must be done. Find a place locally that has the best price for what you need.  For those of you locally, I love the car wash off Lincoln & Jordan.  If you wash your car before 9am, the drive thru wash is only $4 and you can vacuum your car for free.  No trying to guess with quarters, AND your children can stay in the car while it is washed and you vacuum yourself.  They give you a damp towel for the interior and Tootsie Pops for the kids.  How can you beat that?  No matter where you live, find a spot that works for you and have a day that you get it done.  I go on Fridays.  I fill the car with gas, wash and vacuum the car and have everything ready just in time for it to get crazy messy on Saturday and Sunday!

Quick pick-up-This is what I consider emptying of the cars.  This is one of our children’s chores on the chore chart, so ideally it gets done everyday, but realistically it is every other day.  Take an inexpensive laundry basket and have them empty everything out.  I keep a basket in the back of my suburban for returns, mailings, dry cleaning, etc.  It works great, because when I am out, I can look in that basket for everything that needs to be taken care of and complete those tasks.  Every time I find something in the house that should be outside in that car basket, I just place it on the garage stairs and add it when I get in the car to go.

Gas-look online and find the two cheapest gas stations in your immediate area, and try to frequent these places the most.  If you have a habit of filling the vehicle on certain days, you can ensure that you get the best price on your schedule.

Here are a few pictures of things that I use to keep the car organized, AND have everything I need when traveling and completing errands.

This first one is our dry cleaning bag, the second, reusable bags for grocery shopping and easy clean out, and an activity bag full of easy things to do for ballgames of older sibling, meetings for mom, exercise class, etc.

These items above are just reusable and recycled bags that I use for easy containment of different car related items.

There it is!  Did I leave anything out that needs to be covered?  Do you have another car organization challenge that we need to talk about?

Just email or comment.

GO, GO, GO!  It is easy, so get it done this weekend!

For tomorrow:

For Special Sunday I have a little surprise.  Work hard today to complete this week’s challenges and tomorrow…tune in!

I’m off to finish a little bit of everything that we covered this week!

See you tomorrow!

~Laura

 

Fast Fix Friday-Over-the-door-wonder

Today is Fast Fix Friday, and today’s little organization tool is quite the little wonder.

It has so many uses, and many more that creative people will find!

I am simple, so these little wonders work magic on unorganized closets, bathrooms and small spaces.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

 

Uses include baby shoes, winter items (hats, gloves & scarves,) office supplies and ball caps.

(Last picture:courtesy of Kara Hereth)

   

 

ISN’T THAT SO COOL?

You can use these babies for anything that you need sorted and kept in a safe place.

I have a friend who uses one for her girls’ hair ribbons (Debbie Huber, CA.)

They can be used on the back of a bathroom door for hair, teeth and other supplies.

WHAT CAN YOU USE ONE FOR?

You can find them at any place that sells house wares for between $3-$6.

Great price…Fast fix!

If you have one of these in place in your home, send me a picture!  If you need one, buy one today and organize something.  Send me a picture of your success story and we will post them.

For tomorrow:

Your spouse is going to love you, because tomorrow we are going to go step-by-step through keeping your car organized.  If you have any brilliant ideas on this subject email me at laura.cecil8@gmail.com and I will add it to our information tomorrow.

See you then!

~Laura