Jan 30, 2012

The Closet


The Closet



For the most part I am honestly pretty organized. I do have to admit from time to time things do get thrown into a pile, rather than being placed in their proper spots. Eventually, the pile grows to the point that I can no longer stand looking at it and I am forced to sift through it and put things where they belong. Does this cycle sound familiar to anyone? I actually have taken the time to create a space for several of the items in our home. At times it is so much easier to just toss items in a pile rather than ‘find’ their proper space. I became overwhelmed with the contents of our home. We just had too much STUFF!



After Christmas I began cleaning, de- cluttering, and reorganizing our home. Who needs soap from a hotel stay that occurred 3 years ago? If it hasn’t been used in 3 years, am I really going to use it?! Why am I hanging onto this stuff? As difficult as it was I really had to force myself to stop and think about many things we had collected or accumulated in our home. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I was feeling even more overwhelmed with stuff than normal. Oh that’s right, at Christmas time you are given more items to add to the already overflowing pile of stuff. In my opinion this is the perfect reason to take a look at what can stay and what needs to go!



I needed to get rid of things that we simply did not use or need. I gave myself permission to part ways with many ‘things’ I was holding onto. I’m not going to lie, at first it was hard to just toss things, but in the end I had to put this all into proper perspective . . . these were just things. They were not serving a purpose and in the long run they were taking away from the little precious family time we have. If I don’t put things away the junk pile accumulates. At some point I am eventually forced to deal with the pile rather than doing something more enjoyable. The junk also takes up space that could be used for materials we do actually need and use.



Armed with garbage bags and a sharpie I began my mission in the closet. I labeled 3 garbage bags: Trash, Donate, and Garage Sale. I am into labeling. Labeling helps to define what belongs in a specific container and eliminates just tossing items into a container which will eventually result in the over flow problem. My clothes were the first items to be evaluated. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I actually had many items I used to wear in high school . . . wow, really?! I graduated from high school 10 years ago; I think it’s time to say GOOD BYE clothes! Another problem I have when it comes to my clothes is, that I tell myself I could wear them again someday . . . well someday hasn’t come in the last 7 years that I have been married; I don’t think it’s coming anytime soon! –LET IT GO, SISTER! While I was sifting through items I added a 4th bag and labeled it, Downstairs. I put items in this bag that needed to be put away downstairs. When all the de-cluttering was said and done I had 3 bags of stuff to donate, 1 bag of trash, part of a bag filled with things to put away downstairs, and 1 small garage sale bag. It blew my mind that all of this stuff came just from my closet!



Ok so the de-cluttering was done, now that’s a step in the right direction! Next, I moved on to straightening and re-arranging. Basically this means finding a specific ‘Home’ for items and labeling where necessary.



On the left wall, as you walk into the closet, my husband added 4 shelves shortly after we moved in. His clothes are on the top 2 shelves (because I can't reach them) and mine are on the bottom 2.



I sorted through my clothes and those that made the cut were organized and neatly stacked as you see. I have to give my husband credit because when he saw me going through the closet he took it upon himself to do the same. I only sorted and organized my stuff, he did his own!



You will notice that I have 3 baskets with flip flops in them on one of the shelves. After getting rid of some (yes, I know it's hard to believe that I actually parted ways with some when you see what's left) I organized them according to color and added a label. Now, I have a defined place to look for the color I am in search of and I know where to return that pair after I have worn them. Before adding the labels I just threw them in any ol’ basket.






Continuing around the closet to the right of the shelves are my hanging clothes. I sorted the clothes according to type and then by color. For example, you will notice that all of my camisoles and tank tops are grouped together. They are then sorted by color. All of the green together, blue together, etc. Grouping them like this eliminates some searching time in the morning when I am trying to find a specific item. On the shelf in between the 2 hanging racks I have 2 baskets with tights, pantie hoses, leggings, and trouser socks in them. I don't have room in the dresser for these things and it was hard to find specific colors so I put them in baskets. I added labels to the baskets as well. My boots are in boxes on the floor under the lower rack of hanging clothes.









My husband added shelves on this wall for our laundry baskets. The top basket is for towels and sheets. The next basket is lights and finally the bottom basket is for darks. Sorting items when we are finished with them eliminates having to do a whole bunch before starting laundry. We also hang our empty hangers in the space above the baskets so we don't have to search for hangers when it's time to put clean laundry away.









My husband has a million hats! He claims that that I have too many shoes. I guess he is to hats as I am to shoes! Anyway, I put some of those Command hooks (you know the kind that you can take down without leaving a mark) up for him to hang his hats from.









My husband's side . . . the final wall! His clothes are arranged like mine, by item and then by color. I have to confess, I actually got the idea from him. He arranges his by color because he is color blind. It helps him to have like colors together. I put hooks on this wall for his belts.





You may have noticed the hanging organize with the Vera bags. If you did notice it I'm sure you're thinking, wow her husband uses Vera bags!? Rest assure, he does not! Those are mine. I didn't have room on my side of the closet for, so he shared. What a nice guy! I got the organizer at Target in the dollar spot (it was actually $2.50). I used to keep the bags on the top shelf, but it was difficult for me to reach them that high.




Ta-Da! The closet is DONE! On to the bathroom next. Please let me know what you think and share any organizing tips you may have

Jan 29, 2012

More Coupon Adventures . . .


Week 1
Weekend #2

                I eagerly waited for Thursday to arrive this week because I knew the Meijer sale ad would be in the mail.  Throughout the week I have been clipping, collecting, and sorting coupons in preparation for my 2nd adventure with couponing.  Marsh and Kroger ads arrived along with the Meijer ad on Thursday.  Once again I flipped through the Meijer ad and created a list of items my family uses that were on sale.  I also flipped through the Marsh and Kroger ads as well.

                Once my lists were created I flipped through my coupon stash trying to match up sale items with coupons.  I found 2 coupons for items at Marsh and 12 coupons for Meijer items.  I did try looking up some of the specific sale items on the couponing websites that I have signed up for, but I wasn’t very successful.  To be honest, the coupon websites are more of a hassle than I imagined that they would be.  Not all of the sites, but several of them require you to fill out personal information.  Once the information has been completed you are permitted access to another page.  The new page contains coupon websites.  Once you click on the websites you are often prompted to complete more information, again, or instructed to add a couponing tool bar . . . all of this = a headache!!!! 

                Personally I found the Target website had specific coupons for Target and this wasn’t a hassle.  Also, Meijer has a program called MPerks on their website.  You sign up for it using your cell phone number.  You can choose which coupons to clip and at checkout put your cell phone number and pin that you select.  Then the coupons will be taken off of your purchases.  For some reason mine weren’t taken off.  The manager was very nice and said that I could bring a print out of the coupons in and they would take the savings off of my total.  Next time I plan to bring the print out with me to avoid the problem.

                I created tables with my savings for this week.  I did not go to Target this week because their ad comes out on Sunday and I went there last Sunday.  I did my shopping on Friday of this week.  I will go to Target next week when the new Meijer and Marsh ads come out.

Marsh:

Sale and Coupon items purchased:


Item:
Original Price:
Sale Price:
Coupon:
Savings:
Popcorn
$3.36 (I purchased 4 = $14.52)
$1.82, Buy 1 get 1 (I purchased 4 = $7.26)
.50 off of 2 boxes, coupon was doubled = $1.00 off of 2 boxes
$8.26
Rice
$1.49 (I purchased 2 = $2.98)
$1.00, part of a 10 for $10 sale (I purchased 2 = $2.00)
.50 off of 2 boxes, coupon was doubled = $1.00 off of 2 boxes
$1.98




Total Sale and Coupon items savings: $10.25



Sale items purchased:
             

Item:
Original Price:
Sale Price:
Savings:
Cake Mix
$2.09 (I bought 3 = $6.27)
$1.00, part of a 10 for $10 sale (I bought 3 = $3.00)
$3.27
Foil Pans
$2.09 (I bought 3 = $6.27)
$1.00, part of a 10 for $10 sale (I bought 3 = $3.00)
$3.27
Rice
$1.49 (I bought 2 = 2.98)
$1.00, part of a 10 for $10 sale (I bought 2 = $2.00)
.98
Shave Gel
$2.69 (I bought 2 = $5.38)
2 for $4.00 ( I bought 2 = $4.00)
$1.38



Total Sale items savings: $8.90


Total savings of both sale and coupon/sale items:

$19.15

Meijer:

Sale and Coupon items purchased:

Item:
Original Price:
Sale Price:
Coupon:
Savings:
Hamburger Helper
$1.76 (I bought 4 = $7.04)
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 4 =$4.00)
.80 off of 4 boxes

$3.84
Grands Biscuits
$1.50 (I bought 2 = $3.00)
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 2 =$2.00)
.30 off of 2 (coupon was doubled = .60 off)
$1.60
Pizza Rolls
$1.89 (I bought 3 = $5.67)
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 3 =$3.00)
.60 off of 3

$3.27
Chex Mix
$2.49 (I bought 2 = $4.98)
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 2 =$2.00)
.50 off of 2
(this was a MPerks coupon and could not be doubled)
$3.48
Baggies
$1.50
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 1 =$1.00)
.50 off
(this was a MPerks coupon and could not be doubled)
$1.00
Sausage
$3.99 (I bought 2 = $7.98)
$2.79 (I bought 2 = $5.58)
.75 off of 2
$3.15
Pizza
$5.79 (I bought 2 = $11.58)
2 for $10
$2.00 off of 2
$8.00
Cheese
$3.49 (I bought 3 = $10.47)
3 for $6
.55 off of 3
$5.45
Dog Food
$19.99
$19.49
$1.00
$1.50
Mouth Wash
$4.39 (I bought 2 = $8.78)
2 for $7
$1.00 off of 2
$2.78
Fruit Snacks
$2.49 (I bought 2 = $4.98)
$1.99 (I bought 2 = $1.99)
.50 off of 2 (coupon was doubled = $1.00)
$2.00
Yogurt
$2.19 (I bought 2 = $4.38)
$1.67 (I bought 2 = $3.34)
.75 off of 2
$1.79




Total Sale and Coupon items savings: $33.01

 Sale items purchased:
         

Item:
Original Price:
Sale Price:
Savings:
Fruit Cups
$2.39 (I bought 2 = $4.78)
2 for $2.00
.78
Salad
$1.99
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 1 =$1.00)
.99
Croutons
$1.50
$1.00, part of the 10 for $10 sale (I bought 1 =$1.00)
.50
Shampoo
$3.99
$2.99
$1.00
Conditioner
$3.99
$2.99
$1.00
Ice Cream
$3.49 (I bought 3 = $10.47)
$2.50 (I bought 3 = $7.50)
$2.97
Chips
$4.29
$2.50
$1.79
Juice
$2.99 (I bought 2 = $5.98)
$2.50 (I bought 2 = $2.50)
.98
Taquitos
$6.99
$4.99
$2.00
Poptarts
$2.75 (I bought 2 = $5.50)
$2.50 (I bought 2 = $5.00)
.50



Total Sale items savings: $17.08

 Items purchased with coupon only:

Item:
Original Price:
Coupon:
Savings:
Canned fruit
$1.45 (I bought 2 = $2.90)
.50 off of 2 (coupon was doubled = $1.00)
$1.00

Total savings of both sale and coupon/sale items:
$55.09

                What I learned:
               1.  Meijer, Marsh, and Kroger ads come out on Thursday.
               2.  You need a Marsh Fresh Idea card to get flyer sale prices.
             3.  You can sign up for Meijer online coupons using your cell phone number.  Bring a copy of the coupons with you just in case they don’t show up.  They will take the coupon price off if you  show that you did in fact ‘clip’ them.
              4.  Look inside boxes of products you purchase for coupons that may be difficult to see because they are printed on the inside of the box.