The Planning Desk

In our kitchen we have an area we refer to as the planning desk.  Basically it's an area with a small counter top, a middle drawer, and 3 small drawers along the side.  Above the desk is a double cabinet. 

We keep cook books, coloring books, play-doh, and messy projects in the cabinet.  The drawers held a mess of junk that we weren't sure what to do with. 

I have been meaning to 'fix' it up for awhile, but just haven't gotten around to it until shortly after Christmas when I was home on maternity leave.  If I had been smart I would have taken before and after pictures.  Oops, Sorry!

Here are the after pictures:

The left side of the cabinet.                                 The right side of the cabinet.

Close up of the cabinet.

It seems as if my kids are given some sort of coloring/activity book for almost EVERY holiday!  I used baby wipe containers with the lids taken off of them to help sort the books.  I put a label on the outside of the box.

On the other side I used old containers with lids to sort crayons, markers, colored pencils, pencils, card games, and erasers.  Again, I labeled the containers so that we would know what is inside each of them.

Brent likes to keep his keys in this cabinet.  I put Command hooks on the inside of the door so that we can easily find keys.  Can you guess which set is mine?

In the center drawer I used some small baskets to contain items so that they are not sliding all over the place.  I also put some rubber non-slip grip stuff under the baskets so that they stay in place when the drawer is opened and closed.

This is the top drawer along the side.  I put small baskets that link together in it.  We keep our phone chargers in it along with MP3 players and GPS.  I guess it's kind of like our mini-media drawer.

Next we have the homework drawer.  Now B is only in Kindergarten, but he does have some 'homework'.  G is in preschool he doesn't have homework, but he likes to do his 'work' when B is doing homework. 

The items in this drawer can only be used for homework.  This way B and G know where the items are and they are in good condition. 

I have 'assigned' my kids a desiginated color.  I started this for the scrapbooks that I make for them.  I use the desiginated color in other ways as well.  For example, B's color is blue.  When I write events for him on the calendar I use a blue marker.  This way when we see blue we know it's for him.  G's color is green and Baby M's color is magenta.

In the drawer B has a blue kit with the things he needs to complete his homework.  He can easily grab his box, go to the table, and complete his work.  I did purchase the same boxes for G and Baby M just so they would all match and fit in the drawer. 

B's homework box.

G's homework box contents.

The bottom drawer has an address book and some note cards.

So there you have it the organized planning desk!  How do you keep things organized?

Check out these other areas that I have organized:

The Closet

Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Jewelery Organizing

Kids' Bedrooms

Kids' Bathroom

The Coat Closet

The Coat Closet

On the top shelf of the closet I have containers for gloves, hats, and scarves. The outside of the containers have labels on them.

The rack where coats are hung has dividers attached to it. I hung all of Brent’s coats in one section, my coats are in a second section, and the third section holds extra hangers.

There is a set of hooks on the lower inside of the wall (They were like this when we moved in, great idea!). It’s just perfect for the kids to reach and hang their coats and “On the Go Bags”(see Mommy Things tab).

On the floor I keep my bag for work. It’s easy to grab on my way out the door and out of the way!

There are 3 hooks on the inside of the door. B and G hang their backpacks on 2 of the hooks. We hang the diaper bag on the 3^rd hook.

Kids' Bathroom

Kids’ Bathroom

The kids’ bathroom, or hall bathroom, only had one towel bar. One towel bar in a bathroom that will eventually be shared by 3 children causes 2 problems. 1) It’s not big enough! 2) It’s too tall!

We added this set of hooks that contains 4 hooks. In our old house it was in our son’s room. There really isn’t a place for it in his room at the new house. It works as a great place for the kids to hang their towels on their own!

B and G are beginning to have trouble sharing items. To alleviate the arguing I gave them each a shelf. The shelves are labeled with their names and their personal items on their personal shelves. The bottom shelf has items they share, like toothpaste.

The bathroom has a double sink. Under the first sink there are two containers. Each container is labeled. One container holds item for guests (like lotion, body wash, shampoo, etc.) while the other container holds lotion and body wash for the kids.

Under the second sink two more containers can be found. One container holds bath toys. The other container holds extra toilet paper.

Kids' Bedrooms

As I organized my kids’ rooms I tried to keep things simple. This way they will be able to easily understand the organizational method and put things away where they belong (I’m not holding my breath on this one, but hey a girl can hope, right?).

In B’s room the biggest challenge is his toy shelf. It’s tall therefore, difficult for him to reach some of the spots. I put games and puzzles on the top self because these are items that are usually played with an adult who is able to reach the shelf. I was also thinking they would be less likely to be knocked over and loosing pieces would be avoided.

I put labels so he would know where items belong. He’s in Kindergarten, he can read them.

The problem with his reading area was that books were all over the place, despite the fact that he had a book shelf. He would take a book out and just shove it anywhere, causing there to be a lot of books on one shelf and a few books on another shelf.

I put all of his holiday books on one shelf. Small books were put on the middle and all other books on the bottom.

Now onto G’s room. Organizing his room was a little more of a challenge because, well, he’s 3 and doesn’t pay attention to detail as well as B does. My point is I had to really pull out my creative thinking for this kid’s room!

Rather than using labels with words in his room I used pictures. He is a very visual kind of kiddo. So far he has really been into the picture labels on his toy boxes. He’s done a great job of putting things where they belong. I love to listen to him cleaning up. He will say “Let’s look at the outside of the box so we know where things go!”

I also used picture labels in his drawers. You’re probably thinking I’m crazy because my kids put their own laundry away, but hey I figure they have to learn sometime, right?

His former reading area was rather spread out. I moved his chair and his book shelf to another area so they would be closer together. G thinks it’s cool behind his door. He calls it his reading hiding spot!

Jewelery Organizing

Jewelry Organizing

I used to keep my jewelry in this pretty little thing. It sat on top of my vanity, where I sit to get ready in the morning.

I was having 2 problems with it.

1) I couldn't easily find my jewelry (Let's face it, I don't have time for that in the morning!)

2) It was one more thing to dust (Again, something I don't have time for!)

I found this at Meijer in the scrapbooking section.

There are small compartments to fit different pairs of earrings in. I am able to quickly and easily locate just want I am looking for. On the front there are 2 sliding locks so that the lid doesn't just flip open. My jewelery is safe in side!

I have a total of 4 boxes. They fit in a drawer in my vanity.Now my dusting has been simplified! What more could I ask for?I’m a happy girl J

Master Bedroom Organizing

2/22/12

Master Bedroom

In preparation for our new addition we needed to make our guest bedroom a nursery. This meant we needed to combine our guest bedroom with the playroom. The room was big enough, we just needed to rearrange things, get rid of items that the kids didn’t play with or out grew, and organize.

Part of this ‘clean up’ included moving a few items to new spots. Between my husband and I, we had accumulated quite the collection of VHS movies. We didn’t want to get rid of them despite the fact that we only own 1 VCR that works accurately. The working VCR is housed in our bedroom.

We thought it made the most sense to move the VHS movies from the play room to our room. We purchased bins that matched our room from Meijer to store them in on a shelf that was already in the room.

I really liked the way the binslooked on the bottom shelf so I purchased 2 more bins to put books and CDs in.  

Bathroom Organizing

                             My master bathroom is connected to my closet. So naturally, after the closet organization was completed I moved onto organizing the master bathroom. Although I did more 'tidying' and de-cluttering as opposed to actual organization here.

The bathroom has double sinks. My husband claims one side, while I claim the other. This is a picture of his side. I used baskets, I love to use baskets. It's so much easier to keep things 'contained' with them. I also think things look much neater in baskets and miss placing items is avoided. His personal care items were already in a basket. Items he no longer used were thrown away. I wiped the basket out and added a label. 2 new baskets were added for items that were formerly just 'sitting' under the sink. These were baskets for the toilet paper and the dog bath items. I finished his side by adding labels to the baskets. Everything has it's own special spot now!

On my side of the cabinet I took a similar approach. I threw away un-wanted/needed items, wiped down my baskets, and added labels. I added a basket labeled 'Shared items'. I'm sure you'll notice it's the basket that doesn't match :( I love for things to be uniform and matching, but I couldn't find the white baskets for a price I was willing to pay. So I went with second best. The items in this basket just sat under the sink before.

Next, I moved onto the bathroom closet. This closet is a little tricky because it is VERY narrow and it is directly behind the door that leads to the bathroom. I often find myself shutting the bathroom door and locking it (so my kids don't pop in) before attempting to enter the closet. In the closet I began with straightening the towels and sheets. Next, I moved onto TRASHING things! I was so surprised with the amount of 'stuff' we had aquired and just shoved in this closet. It was no wonder that we had trouble finding items we needed. When I got to the basket that we keep the sun screen in I was so thankful that items were in the baskets. A bottle of lotion had opened (I'm still not sure how this happened) and the entire bottom of the basket as COVERED with lotion. It was a bit of a mess to clean up, but it could have been much worse. Can you imagine cleaning up lotion that leaked through those wire shelves? Not to mention trying to clean up the lotion that had leaked onto other items in the closet.

As I took items out of the closet I tried to sort them into piles. I did this so I could put like items into baskets together and determine which size basket to put the items into. I finished by adding labels to the baskets and the wire shelves.

Some More Couponing!

Week 1

Week 2

Weekend #3

                My coupon envelopes are beginning to overflow.  I had to come up with a new way to organize and find my coupons.  First, I sorted them into envelopes and attach a post-it note with the expiration date to the top of the envelope, like a file folder tab. 

Next, I sorted the envelopes in order according to the expiration date.  Each months set of envelopes are filed in a plastic accordion file that I already had.  No need to spend more money. 

Finally, I created a grid (kind of like a data base) on my computer.  The grid has 2 columns, Expiration Date and Product title.  I typed the expiration date of the coupon and what the coupon was for into the grid.  The coupons are sorted in alphabetic order on the grid.

                after i t the coupon was for into the grid.  As I go through the sale ads looking for items that are on sale I am able to check my computer coupon data base (to see if I have a coupon for that item) before writing the item down.  I am then able to retrieve the coupon from the appropriate envelope rather than creating the list first and then searching through all of the envelopes several times for the necessary coupons.  I also highlight the coupon on the grid.  I do this so I know that I may be using the coupon.  After my shopping has been completed I go back to the data base and delete any coupons that I actually used or un-highlight the coupons I did not use.

                I did purchase (from the dollar spot at Target, so I only invested $1.00) a mini-coupon organizer.  I labeled the organizer tabs with the names of the stores I shop at.  I also labeled on tab with ‘Not Using’.  When I find the coupons I am going to use I file them in the mini organizer behind the tab for the store I will be using them at.  While I am shopping I pull out the coupons that I am not going to use and put them behind the ‘Not Using’ tab.  When I get home I re-file the unused coupons and un-highlight them from my computer grid.

Purchases and Savings for the week:

Target

Sale and Coupon purchases:

Item:	Original Price:	Sale Price:	Coupon:	Savings:
Milk Storage	$9.99 (I purchased 2 = $19.98)	2 for $12.00	$1.00 off of 2	$8.98
Pajamas	$8.50 (I purchased 2 =$ 17.00)	$6.00 ($12.00 for 2)	20% off (I had 2)	$7.40
				Total Sale and Coupon items savings: $16.38

Total Target Savings: $16.38

Meijer:

Sale and Coupon Purchases:

Item:	Original Price:	Sale Price:	Coupon:	Savings:
Yogurt	.70 (I bought 10 = $7.00)	10 for $6.00	.40 off of 6 (doubled = .80)	$4.20
Cheese	$3.49 (I bought 2 = $6.98)	3 for $6.00	.50 off of 2 (doubled = 1.00)	$3.98
Chicken fries	$7.47	$5.99	$1.00	$2.48
Foil	$2.98 (I bought 2 = $5.78)	2 for $5.00	.50 ( M Perks can’t double)	$1.28
Toothpaste	$4.28 (I bought 2 = $8.56)	2 for $7.00	$1.00 off of 2	$2.56
Bratwurst	$4.99 (I bought 2 = $9.98)	$3.49 (I bought 2 = $6.98)	$1.00 off of 2	$4.00
Popcorn	$2.99 (I bought 4 = $11.96)	Buy one Get one Free	.75 off of 2	$6.73
Peanuts	$3.99 (I bought 2 = $7.98)	2 for $5.00	$1.50 off of 2	$4.48
Chips	$4.29 (I bought 2 = $8.58)	Buy one Get one Free	.28	$4.57
Canned Chicken	$2.85 (I bought 2 = $5.70)	2 for $4.00	.55 off of 2	$2.25
Chili	$1.57 (I bought 2 = $3.14) $1.72 (I bought 2 = $3.44)	4 for $5.00	.75 off of 2	$2.33
				Total Sale and Coupon items savings: $38.86

 Sale Item Purchases:

Item:	Original Price:	Sale Price:	Savings:
Barbecue Sauce	$1.77 (I bought 2 = $3.54)	5 for $5.00	$1.54
Trash bags	$7.89	$6.99	.90
Coke	$7.48 (I bought 2 = $14.96)	2 for $10	$4.96
Toy	$5.04 (I bought 4 = $20.16)	$2.52 (I bought 4 = $10.08)	$10.08
			Total Sale items savings: $17.48

 Total Meijer Savings: $56.34

Marsh:

Sale and Coupon purchases:

Item:	Original Price:	Sale Price:	Coupon:	Savings:
Frozen Pizzas	$1.45 (I bought 4 = $5.80)	Combination of Pizzas and Pizza Rolls 8 for $10.00 get 2 free 2 liters of Coke	$1.00 off of 4	$1.80
Pizza Rolls	$1.99 (I bought 4 = $7.96)	Combination of Pizzas and Pizza Rolls 8 for $10.00 get 2 free 2 liters of Coke	.40 off of 2 boxes	.94
2 liter of Coke	$1.89 (I got 2 = $3.78)	Combination of Pizzas and Pizza Rolls 8 for $10.00 get 2 free 2 liters of Coke	X	$3.78
				Total Sale and Coupon items savings: $6.52

 Sale Item Purchases:

Item:	Original Price:	Sale Price:	Savings:
Frozen Veggies	$1.75 (I bought 4 = $7.00)	4 for $5.00	$2.00
			Total Sale items savings: $2.00

 Total Marsh Savings: $8.52

Walgreens:

Sale and Coupon purchases:

Item:	Original Price:	Sale Price:	Coupon:	Savings:
Toilet Bowl Cleaner	$2.99 (I bought 2 = $5.98)	$1.99 (I bought 2 = $3.98)	$1.00 off of 2	$3.00
				Total Sale and Coupon items savings: $3.00

Total Walgreens Savings: $3.00

Total Weekend Savings: $84.24

What I learned:

1.  Because I signed up for M Perks the Meijer ad was emailed to me before Thursday.
2.  M Perks coupons cannot be combined with Manufactures coupons and cannot be oubled.
3.  It is less expensive to have the Thursday and Sunday papers delivered to your home than to      purchase the Sunday paper at the store.