Organizing Is Not My Strong Suit

This year is going to be the year of organizing our house. It is a sad truth that it will literally take the whole year! That is because I want to do deep organizing and a deep cleaning. Not to mention getting rid of all the unnecessary things we are hanging on to. We need to really take the time and figure out the best ways to organize everything. I love the idea of everything having a place and everything in its place. That is going to take some serious work and planning. I signed up for Apartment Therapy's January cure to help get a jump start. I also started a pinterest board for organization. It is exciting to get started on something that I really hope will help simplify our lives. Below are some great links I found with TONS of ideas. 

50 organizing tips

Love this storage idea and this list.

um what?! This is a freaking awesome idea.

I love this totally cute bathroom storage.

I NEED to do this!

Free First Day of School Printable!!

Friends!! Where is the summer going?? I had to have that talk with my girly's about getting our sleep schedules back in order. (It takes 30 days to adjust your bodies sleep patterns they say.) Woah! Its flying by...Are you freaking out? Would a free printable help you feel better? :) Here is a darling sign you can have your cute kidlets hold in the "first day of school" photos. Free for the taking from the ever adorable Miss Lily. (Gabby)

You can print it any size you'd like up to 11x14.

Download the Printable!!

Also, somethings to think about...

1.  Now is a great time to buy/stock up on art supplies for Christmas presents for all the artists on your gift lists while prices are lowest. 

2. if you are planning on giving gifts in a jar now is a good time to buy the jars while they are readily available. 

Check out some ideas from Tidy Mom here...

Gift in a jar

AND

3. If any of you want to make homemade vanilla extract to give for Christmas, you should start that soon. It takes a few months to brew.

 Here's a link for the how to/recipe... 

Homemade Vanilla Extract

(I haven't made any before but I sure want to!!) 
PS be sure to read the reviews!! 
There's some great advice and tips! 

Freezer Breakfast burritos (great for camping!!)

I don't know about you but my summer mornings are meant to be slept through. HAHA!! Unfortunately, they mostly don't get to be BUT I can still hope and try right?? When I do manage to sleep/get my way I like knowing that my children who prefer to get up instead of sleeping (WHAT??) have something they can eat for breakfast that isn't cold cereal or pop tarts. Enter Freezer Breakfast Burritos!! 

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

18 Eggs

2lbs Sausage

 1 Yellow Onion

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

4-6 chicken bouillon cubes

12 Med. Potatoes, chopped

4 Cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded

24 Tortilla Shells

 Salt & Pepper to taste

 Foil for wrapping

Optional: Salsa and extra cheese  

Chop potatoes and boil with bouillon cubes until soft. Crack eggs and cook over low heat until you have soft, scrambled eggs.  Salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile Saute sausage yellow onions and garlic in 2 T. olive oil until fragrant and cook all the way through and no longer pink.  In large bowl combine Sausage mixture, scrambled eggs, drained and squashed a smidge potatoes,  cheese, and Salt & Pepper.  Divide ingredients into 20-24 tortilla shells.  Roll and wrap in tin foil -- freeze. ready to unwrap and microwave for a soft shell or fry in butter for a crisp shell or throw on the fire. Serve with salsa and extra cheese if desired. (makes 20-24 burritos)

ENJOY!!

PS they were absolutely amazing for camping!! I just put the frozen still wrapped burritos over the fire and they were great! AND they helped keep things frozen and cold also! WIN WIN!!

Christmas is Coming! Are you getting ready??? Come see how!!

It is approx 6 months until Christmas!! 

I am so excited! 

I should tell you that as you get to know me better you will discover that I am a Christmas nut...I really do love the entire holiday season and Christmas is the entire month leading up to the actual Christmas day for me. We do daily advents and focus on quality time and family togetherness.  All of this takes money and can really break the bank if you are not prepared.  

Awh...now on to the reason for this post....

My husband and I made a vow when we were first married that we would not ever go into debt for Christmas. We felt like having to pay for Christmas for the year if not many years after would steal the joy the gifts etc were given for in the first place. This would require putting money away. Savings.  Not an easy concept for us until recently. I discovered a company called Smarty Pig a few years ago and it has been life changing. What is smarty pig you ask?? It is a set it and forget it savings website that will help you set a financial goal (it isn't just for Christmas) and will come and withdraw money for you (when you ask them to) and put it in a savings account for you. They are FDIC insured and secured with VeriSign which is the strongest encryption available so you can trust that you and your money are safe. SO... I now decide on a budget in Jan (see I told you I'm a Christmas nut) and I do my best to make sure I have thought of everything we may need money for. Including parties, special foods, like our Christmas Eve munchies, decorations that need some updates, neighborhood gifts etc etc etc. Then divide it by our paychecks coming and wah la I know what amount my withdrawls need to be.  NOW... I know it isn't Jan but every little bit helps. YES? We still have 6 months to get a little nest egg started and every little bit helps right?? 

Go check them out HERE! 

PS. I am not being paid or receiving compensations from Smarty Pig. I just found a great thing and want my friends to know about it. Cool? :)

DIY cork board

Since I started back to work full time I have felt the need to get a little more organized in our day to day life. I am taking minuscule baby steps but steps none-the-less. We have been in need of a central place to have all of our appointment cards, permission slips, birthday invites and schedules posted. So how's about a funky cork board? I have been eyeing that crazy cork board down there at SteinMart for a really long time. Once it was marked down and I had a coupon I bought it for 7 bucks! I love getting a good deal. The size is great and I thought the bamboo-esque frame was a great detail. It seemed a little dated with that bronze colored frame. The print on the cork was pretty bad too. It had to go.

After seeing this round up of DIY cork boards at Apartment Therapy  I knew what I wanted to do! I have been grooving on the color combo of white and gold lately. Well really gold with any other color. What a perfect opportunity to test it out! All I did was spray paint the crap out of it! I used white spray paint with primer built in and sprayed over the whole thing- cork included. It took three coats to really cover it well. After the white was totally dry I used blue painters tape to tape off the white frame. Then came the gold. The gold spray paint needed 3 coats as well.  

Heinous! 

I can't wait for those walls to be bright white too! Now I need to find some really great tacks. Maybe I should make some.

BTW I had to air out that bad boy for a couple days. It was super stinky from the spray paint. Nothing like using spray paint to get a contact high! I kid! I kid! But seriously you need a well ventilated space to use spray paint.

Do you use cork boards to help organize your day? Any fun DIY projects lately?

Let me know that bizness- Anne Marie

Sock Bag

I have this idea that if I give my kids places to put their stuff that they will magically always put their things away. HA! They prove me wrong every single day. Clearly it is wishful thinking. That didn't stop me from making a little bag to hang in their room to throw their dirty socks when they take them off. That way we may end up with more when it comes time to wash them. Because I swear we are down to three mismatched socks each! 

I have to admit I saw this idea on a blog a long time ago. It was before I became obsessed with Pinterest and only bookmarked the things I loved. Which is no good when your hard-drive has to be replaced! So if anyone knows where this original idea came from please let me know so I can give the proper credit! 

For my version of this project I used a thrifted t-shirt and a 7 inch embroidery hoop. I cut through both the front and back pieces of the t-shirt to 15 inches across and 17 inches top to bottom. I flipped them wrong side out and pinned every few inches. I sewed around the edge leaving a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I am not very good at sewing with knit fabrics but one thing I have learned is to let the fabric move on its own! Don't push or tug it through your machine. You can serge it to finish the inside edge. I honestly left mine raw because I have yet to tackle threading my serger yet. After sewing I folded the top edge in and hammered a huge grommet in it. Putting the grommet on was difficult to say the least! I used this tool set and holy bananas it was hard for me to use. And it looks like crap so no close ups! But it is on and now the bag hangs. After the grommet I put it in the hoop and tightened it up. I trimmed the edge to make it look a little more presentable.

And bingo bango! 

It is hardly perfect but I love it. Plus the kids are excited so far to use it so lets hope it serves its purpose! Now I need to make a bag for all the clean socks without their mates. 

BTW please ignore the mud on the walls! We are in the middle of painting, sanding and re-doing every room in the house. Literally. Maybe some house projects are going to pop up here!

What are you working on right now? Any home organization ideas you can share? I need all the help I can get! 

ut .