The Kitchen Cabinets!!

So, I'd gone thru and organized the kitchen once, right after we moved into our apartment last March...basically re-creating how the cabinets were arranged in our old apartment...which really wasn't the most efficient arrangement. We also STILL had too much stuff to really fit comfortably into the cabinets. So while my dh was working on his project, I tackled the kitchen cabinets. I got rid of some random things...potholders, a vase or two, some mugs and mismatched bowls...and just by doing that, rearranging where certain things went, and switching out my canisters to some pretty ones my mom got (from an old country store that closed down)...it freed up a lot of space and made things much more user-friendly!!

I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking...posting before and after pics of each cabinet and drawer area. If you look closely, you can see where things were moved around and re-arranged and what things didn't make the cut to the "new and improved" kitchen area!!

 

My dh's latest project...

I realize that this blog is really more about my personal organizing projects...as well as posting about frugality and simplicity and green living...but I really think my dh's latest project really fits into this realm of organized simplicity...and well, I really must brag about my man!!

Inspired by some posts on Lifehacker.com, my dh decided that something MUST be done with all the cables piled up in dusty piles behind the desk and the entertainment center!! Those piles of cables and cords only attracted dust (and our curious kitten) and really were a mess to sort thru when he wanted to rework a particular component...as he had to untangle ALL the cords to get to the one he wanted.

So dh headed off to the hardware store and brought home some 1x2's and pegboard and got to work. With saw, hammer, and zip ties he came up with a very neat and organized desk area...and then tackled the entertainment center and got it in order too!! Now our printer actually fits into the entertainment center..which clears up surface area in our apartment...helping us maintain a simple, uncluttered look.

The coolest thing is that not only did this clear up the actual under-desk area and the inside of the entertainment center...but there is not even a big pile of cables and cords hanging around the back of them either...in fact, behind the entertainment center there is only one cord...going straight back to the electrical outlet!!

Once again, we failed to get before pics...but just take a look at these after pics and see how neat and uncluttered it looks!!

 

 

Tackling the storage room...

So it's been a while since I've posted...but we have sure been busy!! A few weeks ago we decided to tackle our biggest project...that of getting the storage room off our balcony in order. It had not really been organized since we moved into our apartment last year in March...and the plastic tubs of stuff were piled onto each other so high that the bottom tubs were buckling and breaking!! So one weekend we tackled it...and it is now in much better order (though we still have a couple tubs full of papers to sort thru that are occupying corners in our bedroom)!! We unfortunately did not think to take before pictures, but you can just imagine it piled up as high as the top of the door, with no floor visible!!!

My dh went to the store and bought a couple of sturdy shelving units and some clear plastic tubs for organizing. We've gone thru everything and have Freecycled a LOT of things that we no longer need and taken some things to family members as well. The things that remain that need to be stored (suitcases, Christmas tree and ornaments, the Star Wars stuff that is waiting till my dh has a separate home office space for it to be arranged in, grilling stuff and the ice cream freezer...along with any bulk food items we've purchased) are all neatly organized into tubs and labeled with my new label machine. I'm pretty excited to have such a nice organized space now that we can actually find things in without pulling out half the contents of the room to find!!

Here are the after pics...what do you think?!!

 

Organizing a Teenage Girl's Bedroom!!

As I stated in a previous post today, it has been rather hectic the last two months with lots going on!! One weekend, about two weeks ago, we went to my parents old house in the country. (To read about my goal of helping them get that house in decent shape, please visit my A Missionary Journey blog).

The big project that weekend was to help my sister get her room organized. I have to admit that organizing and keeping things organized is not something she's good at naturally!! She really needed some help to clear out unnecessary stuff and to get the rest organized in a neat fashion.

We started out about 11am and didn't finish till just after 10:30pm with only a few breaks here and there...but I think it was worth it and turned out pretty great...what do you think? Here are the before and after pics!!

Bathroom drawers and cabinets...oh MY!!

Today...since I'm insane...I tackled the bathroom cabinets and drawers...thinking "Ahh, shouldn't be TOO hard"...WRONG!! I am SOOO tired, and you don't even wanna see the odds and ends still on the countertop to deal with...I've still got a good 20 minutes of work...just to get the bathroom back to looking like it did this morning...when all the junk was hiding behind closed doors!!
In any case though...I DID get it done. Sorting thru all the vitamins and meds and tossing the old stuff, deciding what toiletries to pass on to others (hey, the unopened ones will make nice little gifts!!), and trashing/giving away some other stuff. Granted, the pics are a little more bare than the shelves will usually be...seeing as there are at least 3 towels that need to be put in the one cabinet...and that we are almost out of toilet paper!! All in all though...it DOES look a whole lot better. Even though I'm tired...I am happy!! One more area organized and simplified!!

The REST of the closet!!

So, it's no secret my dh is more of a clothes-horse than I am. After all, he's lived in the metroplex for 8 years...and before that lived in one town in West Texas for the majority of his life...so he's never had to ruthlessly weed out clothes like missionaries have to!! (In fact, it was only a couple months before our wedding in late 2006 that I got him to finally give away his WHITE jeans that he hadn't worn in years)!!

Yesterday, it was a rather yucky day outside and the poor man was feeling a bit under the weather. He was sweet enough though to lay on the bed as I hauled clothes out in segments and as I held each thing up he would tell me to keep, keep for now, or get rid of. He actually parted with 16 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shorts, and 51 shirts!! (Of course, he still has twice that much that he is keeping...but it is a start)!!

Check out the before/after pics...and the pile of stuff he is saying sayonara to!!



Oh, yeah...and if you really look close...the hangers are organized by color (his pants on blue, his shirts up top on green, and his shirts on bottom on white--mine are black and maroon)!!