52 Weeks of Organizing: Craft/ Scrapbook Supplies

LET'S GET ORGANIZED!!!
Week #6: Organizing craft/ scrapbook supplies

I'm really on a roll with this organizing thing. It may have a little to do with the fact that in 4 short weeks I'll be back to work....yikes!!!! so now I have a deadline to get it done. I'm cleaning a bit differently this Spring, and it seems to be working great. On Monday, I pick a designated room to work in the entire week. I may have a few hours to spare on some of the days, or may have only a few minutes on other days, either way, I spend some time in that room each day. I normally tear the entire house up as I try to clean a room. I am very poky, but thorough, so the house can look a wreck for weeks until the Spring cleaning is complete. Cleaning this way allows me to keep the rest of the house looking nice, and I'm able to fit in other life stuff as well, and the room I'm working in doesn't look like a bomb went off. This week I'm cleaning the craft room/office/den. Check out the posts I did last fall of the entire room re-do, it turned out great. I love this room! It is now my favorite place in the house!! I have kept it pretty clean and tidy through the winter months, but the dresser that holds my craft/scrapbook supplies had become a mess!!!!!!!!! With my supplies so unorganized, it has kept me from completing any scrapbook pages this winter {I know, I know...excuses, excuses!!}...Well, as of today, it has now been organized, so I guess I should get busy scrapping! Here is the dresser, pretty, yet functional:

Here are some before/after pictures:

 before: two of the smaller top drawers....junky! 

after: this one holds stickers-and they are filed according to category..awesome!

after: the drawer next to it holds ribbon, glue, binder rings, hole punch

before: the other two smaller top drawers before....again...messy!

after: this drawer holds my label maker {did I tell you how much I love my label maker?} and it also holds candles.
I'm sure I'll be buying lots of pillar candles for my seasonal mantels! The other small drawer is empty...for now!

before: this drawer was full of banner flags, stickers, notebooks, etc. I moved the flags to the storage cube in front of the sofa, and organized the rest of it.

before

after: the drawer now holds only seasonal items/stuff for craft projects. Notice the cute eggs I bought at Hobby Lobby...you'll see them soon!

before: a hodge-podge of stuff

after: scrapping supplies only

after: this drawer stayed the same, as did the one next to it: albums and totes only

after: this drawer now holds the glue gun, stapler, scissors, notebooks, binder supplies

before: my paper was a mess!

after: this drawer now holds scrap-pack paper, letters, borders, & embellishments

The dresser holds almost all of my craft/scrapbook supplies. I do keep my larger sheets of paper in the file binder shown below. I file by color and it makes finding the right paper for my pages much easier!

I keep the binder file in my newspaper basket along with a couple of my most recent 12x12 albums.

I often wonder why it takes me so long when it comes to getting organized. I love the feeling of knowing where everything is. I have so much catch up on, but at least now I can actually find things!!

52 Photos/ Down

Week #10 - Down
I've been trying to get a picture that features our word for the week....DOWN....hmmm....I automatically think: look DOWN, upside DOWN, DOWN by the...., DOWN time, let your hair DOWN, but for the life of me, I couldn't get a picture that worked {and not to mention I'm doing a photo challenge with a not-so-great camera} UGH! :O( So, once again, I go through my online albums to see what I can find. The picture below was taken in January of this year, during our road trip to Florida. As it was nearing sunDOWN on our first day of travel, I snapped this picture as we were about to exit to find a hotel for the night. It was taken near the GA/FL border I believe. It was a beautiful evening to be traveling!!

Baker's Twine....on the cheap

Yep, you guessed it, yet another obsession.............baker's twine.

I've been pinning lots of craft projects and cute wrapping ideas using baker's twine.

 I really like this easy DIY wreath....

 It comes in lots of pretty colors, but can be quite pricey!

check out your local Dollar Tree!!!

I stumbled upon these while browsing through Dollar Tree a few weeks ago. It is labeled as clothesline, but it looks just like baker's twine! I picked up the 2 colors they had, and of course, only paid $1.00 for each!! I can't wait to use it....now to decide which project to start next!

52 Weeks of Organinizing: An Organized Attic

LET'S GET ORGANIZED!!!
Week #5: Organizing the Attic
I posted awhile back about the floor we were putting in our attic . Peter did a great job, and I finally got around to completing the organizing {thanks to Mom's help!} and getting some pictures to post.

Here is a before picture:

and here it is now.....

The northwest corner holds keepsakes I cannot part with: the boys books, some toys they loved, and several boxes of special keepsakes. Next to that, along the north wall, is Christmas stuff...

we bought our first live tree this past Christmas and love not having to store a fake one anymore!

the southeast corner holds my seasonal decorations and a few household items that I'm holding on to...for now...

along the south wall, I have a bin for each of us for clothes. Nathan keeps all of his clothes in his closet year round, but Peter and I have some summer/winter clothes that we store in the attic. I also keep suitcases in this section. The next section of containers and boxes is what Logan left behind when he moved in August. Since he's only been back home for one night since then, and hasn't had a chance to look through it, we'll have to store it awhile longer....this is in addition to all of his stuff in our shed...that boy has wayyyy too much stuff!

I love how open and roomy it is up there now! I have a few boxes set aside for the upcoming yard sale we'll be doing as a fundraiser in a month or so, and a few containers of stuff to sell on ebay{which I've had on my to-do list for over a year}, but other than that, our attic is now clutter free and super organized!!!

A Simple Woman's Daybook: March Edition

The Simple Woman's Daybook

March Daybook - Tuesday 3/13/12
Outside my window-it has been a beautiful, warm Spring-like day! The temp was near 70 - I even have the windows open!
I am thinking- that I sooooo need a diet...ugh!
I am thankful- that Logan's job wasn't affected by his company's downsize today. This affected many and my thoughts and prayers have been with everyone today.
In the kitchen-I just packed the dishwasher. I cooked the last duck dinner for the season. Dad and Peter's brother, Denny, joined Peter, Nathan, & I for dinner. YUM!
I am wearing- black Nike pants & my NYC tee.
I am creating- a new budget. I really want to try the envelope system again.
I am going- for a walk with Peter in a few minutes.
I am wondering- why haven't I picked out a new camera yet?????
I am reading- Nothing right now. I am reading mostly devotionals, and the latest issues of the magazines I get. I need to pick out a new book to read though, I haven't read anything since the New Year...:O(
I am hoping- this gorgeous weather sticks around for awhile.
I am looking forward to- another good year at the b&b.
I am learning- to say no. I've always been the type of person who automatically says yes when asked to do something, even when it's not a good time for me or I'm already overextended. I've learned {finally} that it is okay to say no, I'm not the only person that can do it, really, I can be easily replaced. :O)
Around the house- there are signs of "Spring" cleaning being done!
A favorite quote for the day- "Enjoy the little things". I have this written on my chalkboard this month.
One of my favorite things- bubble bath, jammies, diet coke, & a night on the couch watching seasons of "One Tree Hill".
A few plans for the rest of the week- more cleaning & organizing. No activities on the calendar this week {shocking}, except church.
A peek into my day- I'm currently cleaning my craft room/office/den. I have a dresser FULL of scrapbook and craft supplies that is in desperate need of being organized. Here's a peek at one of them before....

I'll post the after pictures in a future post.
I know this is supposed to be a daily journal, but I think I'll do a monthly post, just so I'll be sure to keep up with it. See you next month for my April edition of The Simple Woman's Daybook! I wonder what I'll be up to then??

Top Ten & Pin It Tuesday....3/13 Signs of Spring

Signs of S-P-R-I-N-G.................here's what I've been pinning:

TOMS flats...

daffodils in bloom....

monogrammed eggs.....

st. paddy's banner....

chocolate dipped peeps....

lilacs....

robin's egg blue.....

a cute springy wreath....

an easy DIY spring centerpiece....

and a beautiful spring mantel......

Hoo Are You???? St.Patrick's Edition

1. What are a couple of your favorite green foods? I'm a big veggie eater, so pretty much any green veggie! I also love mint chip icecream!!!

2. Do you decorate for St. Patrick's Day? Yep, just posted about it! I just love my new mantel-all decked out!

3. Do you have Irish in you? Not that I know of.
4. Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? When the kids were little, I always made sure they wore green on St. Patrick's Day. I still try to wear green! :O)

5.Use one word that represents each letter in the word LUCK in your life! L-ove
U-nderstanding
C-aring
K-indness

                                                           Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!