Organized 31 Planner - Tried and True Comes Back Around

With 5 in our family, a 10 year old, a 14 year old and an almost 17 year old, we're a busy, busy family (did I mention that we're busy?).  Keeping track of schedules, activities, commitments,  and papers is a full-time job (and guess whose job that would be?  Yep, lucky me!)   Just the category of "papers" has recently included; party invitation, rebate paperwork (to make sure we actually receive the rebate we submitted), doctor's order for an x-ray, first day of school papers, reminder about medical test that needs to be scheduled in 2 months, birthday cards that need to be mailed out this month, and reminders to pay recurring bills.  Whew!

I like to try new systems and tricks to keep us organized, but I've finally come back to the old tried and true document management system known by its old name a "tickler file."  Because that makes my children laugh hysterically, I officially named ours the "31 Planner." (except for those times when I need to hear a good round of kid laughter)


The original tickler file uses a file folder for each day of the month and a file folder for each month in a year. This system was too bulky for our purposes.  I wanted something that I could keep in my kitchen by the phone and calendar. 

Since I'm trying this system out again, I didn't want to spend much money on it and started looking through my office supplies stash to see what I could use.  Since I can't throw away anything that is still use-able I found this old folder of my husband's...from college!  (gosh, it's embarrassing to admit how long this folder has been with us!).  Even if I didn't confess how long the folder has been with us, the "Mac Project" label is a dead give away.



But at the time that I grabbed it, I thought it would work well for my test 31 Planner and my kitchen is decorated in blue so it would coordinate well enough.

Because I'm a simple girl, I first labeled the folder with my handy-dandy labeler.


Bleh.  It reminded me too much of my days in the Air Force (anyone else having flash backs to military binders and files?)  Plus, I didn't like seeing the darker blue discoloration from the previous label.


So as much as I was trying to do this cheaply inexpensively and because I had to go out anyways to pick up the 31 numbered dividers, I decided I could "splurge" for some pretty labels.

Martha to the rescue!

 

Much better.

 

  The most important part of the entire planner is the tabs numbered 1 to (at least) 31.  (I left in the number 32 tab and will tell you why in a minute).

 The numbers on the tabs correspond to the day of the month.   Any papers that require me to do something with them are placed in the tab that corresponds to the date it must be done.    Each evening I check the next day's tab to see what needs to be done for the day.  Each morning right after breakfast, I check the tab for the day and pull out papers I need to take care of that day.

 

As you can see, on the 20th I had to schedule an x-ray and the coupon for the barber shop was to remind me that I had to get my son's hair cut before school started.  So, that day I scheduled the appointment for the x-ray and then placed the paper work under the date that the appointment was scheduled.  And that afternoon, I took the coupon and my son to the barber shop.

I have written recurring bills on a bright green post-it note and placed each one a couple of days before the bill is due (I wrote the 25th, but it's really due on the 29th)  so that I will remember to check the and make sure the automatic bill pay has gone through.  This post-it note won't be removed but will remain on this tab so that every month on the 25th I'll know to check the auto pay for this bill.

I also write notes to remind me of actions, like scheduling a blood test around September 15th.  So I'll call on the 15th and schedule at the next available appointment.  If the appointment had to scheduled on a particular date, I would write that date on my note and place it in a tab several days or weeks earlier to give me enough time to schedule the appointment for the required date.



 I have 2 reminders placed under the tab for the 1st and both reminders are for October 1st.  One is a rebate that I need to make sure I've received and the other lists SAT dates in our area.  I'll leave these papers in my 31 Planner until I need them in October.  On September 1st when I check this tab, I'll see these papers and be reminded that they're coming up in a month. I will leave them in place so that on October 1st, when I turn to this tab the papers will be there for my action.

On the 1st of the month, I place all birthday, anniversary and any other cards for that month, under the appropriate tab.  If I need to mail the card, I put it under a tab several days earlier so that it has time to get there before the required date.




I also file things like birthday invitations or field trip reminders.






Now about that 32nd tab.  I use it to file papers that I might need to refer to in the near future but that don't really have an action date to file under. This is where I keep my gift planning checklist for the year.   I check the 32nd tab at the end of each month and purge any papers I no longer need.  Those papers are either filed, shredded or recycled, as appropriate.


So, my original plan was to use this blue folder for a test run of about a month.  If I liked the system I'd then buy a pretty binder to replace the old blue folder.  But after my test month, I find that I like the blue folder because its binding is tight it holds the tab dividers tightly and so that holds the papers snugly.  If I replaced it with a 3 ring binder, the tab dividers would be much looser and the papers would fall out.  Having my scheduled reminders falling out would pretty well defeat the point of organizing them.  I've decided to stick with the  simple, recycled and, most importantly, very functional folder.

The old tried and true tickler file gets streamlined and updated.  And it gets my vote for best 31 Planner.

My First Feature (woo hoo!)

I'm so excited that my No Excuse Chore Cards were featured at  Practically Functional.  Jessi at Practically Functional has great ideas and projects in "a practical attempt at Domestic Goddessery."  I thoroughly enjoy her sense of humor, too.

I'm so excited.   My first feature!!!

Godzilla Birthday Party

I just added up and we've celebrated 41 kid birthdays in our house.  Yes.  Forty-one!  Some of them were simple family parties, usually because we'd just moved...again.  But I'd still guess that I've had the stress,  uhh, challenge, uhh,  joy of putting on almost 20 children's birthday parties. 

One of my favorites, by far, was the Godzilla party my son had a couple of years ago.  He had just become enamored with old Godzilla movies and other cheesy 50's Sci-Fi movies (probably because those were the "scariest" movies I'd let him watch at that age).   I wish that I'd taken more pictures at the time.  But I had no idea at the time that the blogging bug would hit a year and a half later.

Since we had just moved to a new state, we had a small party (yea!) at our house with 5 boys.  We started the party with some yucky "Godzilla science experiments."

We made "Godzilla Spit", which is a solid that melts when you pick it up and drips through your fingers.  The recipe was easy.  Just mix 1 cup cornstarch and 2 cups baking soda.  Slowly add up to 1 1/4 cup water.  Only add enough water to make the consistency so you can scoop it up with your hands.  The heat from your hands "melts" the solid so that it drips in liquid form through your fingers and then reforms into a solid in the container so you can use it again and again.  The boys had lots of fun with this gooey experiment.  Just be ready for a drippy mess. 

Next we concocted "Godzilla Toots" (also goes by "Godzilla Flatulence" and "Godzilla rhymes-with-carts").   This was another easy recipe that I had the boys help add the ingredients and then mix up with their hands.  In a large bowl mix 8 oz of white glue with 8 oz of water (you can just fill the 8 oz glue bottle with water) and add green food coloring to make a Godzilla-like color.  In another bowl mix 1 cup water and 1 1/2 cup borax powder until the borax is completely dissolved.   Add the borax mixture to the large bowl with the glue mixture and have the boys mix it all together with their hands until it turns into slimy putty.  Divide the mixture to give each boy a portion ( I had doubled the recipe to make enough for 5 boys).  They can manipulate the putty to make it "toot" and make other disgusting noises.  The boys thought this was great fun, of course (Mom and older sisters where shaking our heads as the boys laughed and laughed over the sounds).  I found small clear canisters at Michael's so the boys could take their Godzilla Toots home after the party.  (I know, I know.  Sorry again to those parents).


 
After they'd had enough fun with the science experiments, we then watched  the movie, King Kong Vs. Godzilla.



We had popcorn with green decorator sugar, green candies and drinks in green mugs. 




I added "toe nails" to the cups, a Godzilla looking dinosaur sticker to the lid,  and wrote each boy's name in paint pen.   

After the movie, we served a Godzilla cake.

I made two sheet cakes and cut the cakes into "buildings."  Before I placed the buildings, I made a road out of black construction paper and piped yellow frosting stripes down the road.  Then I placed the buildings along both sides of the street.  I learned the hard way that you should position ONE building, frost it, pipe the doors and windows THEN add the next building.  (I made the mistake of placing all the buildings and then had to contort myself to frost the buildings and pipe the windows.  Fortunately, I could say, "I meant to do that" and say the less-than-perfect frosting had been destroyed and messed up by Godzilla. Bu-ut, really it would have been easier to do the buildings one at a time.) 

I used grey frosting to make buildings look scorched.   I had left-over blue spray frosting tinting, that I got in the cake and frosting aisle of my grocery store, and used it to make the buildings look like had water from burst pipes.  At the end I added crumbled Oreos to add to the charred  and damaged buildings (plus, any excuse to add an Oreo!)  Finally, I added some carefully washed Matchbox cars and the Godzilla figure. 

Overall, it was fairly easy to make and a great project for a novice cake decorator like myself.  Any mistakes you make can be disguised as "designed" damage and destruction.


For favors, we placed toys and candy inside a Godzilla egg.

The eggs were simply balloons that were covered with paper mache.  Once the paper mache dried, we painted them.  Once the paint was dry, we carefully popped the balloon, cut the egg open, added the treats and then patched the cut closed with more paper mache and touch up paint.  The hardest part was being patient and waiting until each step was thoroughly dry.

We hid the eggs outside and the boys went on a hunt to find Godzilla's eggs.  The boys got to crack the eggs open and discover the treats.  The egg hunt and the eggs were a big hit.

This party theme could easily "grow up" for an older child or a Godzilla fan of any age.  And, really, who doesn't love Godzilla?

Inexpensive Ways to Display Baseballs with Repurposed Items

My son played baseball 2 seasons and has gone to maybe 6 baseball games (major league + minor league).  So, basically, he enjoys baseball but is not a huge fan.  And yet.... he still has 5+ baseballs he wants to display in his bedroom.   Two of them are the very important (to him) game balls he was awarded each season by his team.  The other baseballs have special memories for different reasons. 

With one of the baseballs my son was able to walk out onto the field and have each player sign it at the final game of the season for the Montgomery Biscuits,  Yes, that's correct. They're called the Biscuits.  It's a great name because when you yell, "Hey, batter, batter!"  it takes on a whole new meaning.  And you know how during the games they shoot tee-shirts into the stands as free fan giveaways?  Well, at Biscuits' games, the shoot chicken and biscuit sandwiches into the stands.  Where else can you have that kind of fun?!  I've gone to both minor league and major league games in other areas, and I can tell you, that a Montgomery Biscuits game is the most fun.

So, back to reality.  When you come home from a fun game with yet another baseball, how is Mom going to display it?  At first we just precariously balanced them on the shelf.  Of course, if they didn't immediately roll off while taunting me, the baseball would roll off the shelf within a day.  I wasn't sure at the time if those baseballs were going to stick around.  You know how quickly a 5-6 year old boy changes his interests.  So, not knowing how long they'd last, I didn't want to spend anything, not a penny,  on display cases.  But being a resourceful Mom (aren't we all?) I figured out a couple of solutions.

The first one was to cut a 1/2 inch ring off of a toilet paper or paper towel roll.  It worked just fine, but wasn't very glamorous.

Next, I noticed a bottle cap that worked great and was a little "classier" than a  paper towel roll.  (The yucky looking stuff in the bottom of the bottle cap is the glue remnant from the paper insert that was in the cap.  The glue barely shows in "real" life.)

                                                                                   Soon after I figured out the bottle cap worked perfectly, I was making those cinnamon rolls that come in a tube. I looked at the container that holds the icing and "bing"- light bulb.                                                               Look, the icing container works as a stand, too.

                                                                                                 After two years of having his prized baseball collection displayed on miscellaneous bottle caps and an icing container, I finally realized that this display was here to stay.  I purchased 2 real display cases from the Container Store and picked the third one up from a local sporting goods store.  I much prefer the Container Store cases because they have a stacking feature which keeps the cases together when stacked.  And if you have a 5 to 10 year old boy, shelf space is at a premium, so the more you can stack (and not have them fall down) the better for the young collector (and better for Mom!)                                                                                  We continue to display 3 of the baseballs in his collection on bottle caps.  These work and look the best out of the 3 free recycled options.  The black lid is the least noticeable - you just see the baseball and the lid/display fades into the background.                                                                          My son will be thrilled the next time I drag him to the Container Store with me, because he much prefers the real display cases and can't wait to have his whole collection kept in the real cases.  When you're almost 10 years old, that kind of thing is important (oh, to be 10 again.)



No Excuses Chore Cards

 
I love to read ideas about chore charts and chore incentives geared for children in the idyllic years before they hit the double digit ages. I long for the days when an adorable chart with cute pictures solved my chore problems challenges. (Please don't misunderstand, I'm not belittling the chore chart. It's just that the grass is always greener and I would love to make an adorable chart with pretty paper and cute pictures. A chart that would result in excited children admiring my crafty hard work.)

But, sigh, I'm in a different stage of chore problems challenges with my children. My children are 10 years old, 14 years old and 16 years old (almost 17). They are old enough to remember to do their chores and old enough to understand what is expected (and despite what they might tell you, no, I don't expect perfection.)  They are old enough to be unimpressed by cute chore charts made with love by their Mommy.  Sigh.


 In the past year, I've heard all the excuses about why chores weren't done or weren't done correctly.
"I for-go-ot."

"You never told me." (Is it just me or is the emphasis always on it being my fault?)

"I never knew." (Read, it's my fault because I never told them).

"You must have told (name of sister or brother) ." (Hmm, again, this would be my fault.)

"But I did do it!" (said with indignation) (Well, this one must somehow be my fault, too.)


I tried patiently reminding my wonderful children. I tried explaining why each step of a chore is important. I tried reviewing the chore's steps again, and again. I tried scolding. I tried punishing (correct term is "giving them consequences for their behavior") with an additional chore. I was almost ready to give up and just do it myself. But the parent educator in me wouldn't let me do that.

Finally the last time one of my daughters (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) said, "I never knew that. You didn't tell me I had to do that" when I knew very well that I had told her several times, the light bulb went off. Bing.

I made chore cards for each of the chores that weren't being done completely or correctly.  I used a 3 1/2 by 5 inch piece of paper to write the chores down.  I decided to write it by hand rather than print the cards out to personalize it for my children.  I want them to remember that this is our family not just some generic requirement.  And although I really wanted to use cute paper and pictures, I made the cards simple so my children wouldn't disregard them because "they're for little kids."  Need to respect them and their maturity (even though Mommy is still longing to make a cute chore chart).

I pulled out the ol' Xyron machine and laminated the cards so they'll be sure to last a good long time.





The children can take the card with them while they do their chore if they want or they can review the card when they're done with the chore to make sure they hit each of the items that should have been done.  It's up to them how they want to use the chore card.  It's purpose is to help them in whatever way works best for each of them.

My daughters and I had been having ongoing problems discussions about what "doing the dishes" actually means.  Because this was driving me crazy (said in a whisper so they don't overhear me), I decided to place this particular chore card right in front of the kitchen sink.  This way they can't say, "I didn't know."  It makes it easier for me to handle when they don't do it correctly; all I say is "Did you look at the chore card?"  No fussing, no scolding and a happy Mommy.

And you know what they say, "A happy Mommy makes for a happy home."  Or at least that's what I keep telling my children.

Clorox Wipe Bottle to Store Batteries to Be Recycled

I had so much fun last month repurposing a wipes container to hold trash bags that I had to find another reason to decorate a new container.   I held onto another empty wipes container for weeks waiting for inspiration.

And here it is.

In the past year, I've become aware of the large number of batteries my family has been going through. I've been trying to figure out the best way to collect and store the used batteries around the house. The empty wipe container sitting on my counter volunteered for the job.

In our county Household Hazardous Waste (WWH) is collected 6-8 times a year. And of those times only once is the collection conveniently located near to us. That means that I need to collect and store any items that I want to dispose of at the next collection event, items like batteries.  I need a container large enough to store 6-12 months worth of batteries. 

If you use rechargeable batteries, most Best Buys stores will take them for recycling.  In our store, there's a bin right inside the front door.  They take a lot of other items, too, so you should check out your nearest store.  Since I can drop them off anytime,  I won't have to store them as long.  But lets be realistic, I'm not going to run out to Best Buy to recycle 2 or 3 batteries (burning gas every time to recycle batteries seems counterproductive).  I want to collect a bunch of batteries before I make the trip to recycle them.  So either regular or rechargeable batteries, I need a container large enough to hold a bunch.

But back to my wipes container.

I grabbed decorative paper left over from card making last year that coordinated with the yellow lid of the container (plus it's a chevron design!). I attached the paper with Mod Podge, using rubber bands to hold it in place until it was completely dry.  I added a label so the whole family knows where to deposit used batteries in our home (no need to ask Mommy on this one).









The container is now kept right next to the bucket of new batteries.  That proximity should remind everyone in my family to recycle the old batteries.  Trying to make success as easy and likely as possible.

In less than 2 1/2 hours (and that's with 2 hours of drying time) I have a an easy and pretty way to store those used batteries until the next collection event comes along.

It's August, Time to Go Through School Clothes

I remember dreading August as a child.  It was hot, hot, hot.  All I wanted to do was enjoy the last few weeks of summer.  But, noo-oo!  My mother would drag all of last year's school clothes out and make me try them on, even the winter ones.  In August!  

My 10-year old son is actually a good sport about trying school clothes on.  He doesn't complain (much) and we have a good time talking and goofing around. 

This year we took extra time to organize his drawers. When my children were younger, I only asked that the clothes be in the drawer. I didn't worry about the drawers looking nice inside. We hang most of their clothes up, so the only things jumbled up in the drawers were underwear, socks, pajamas and bathing suits. However, now that my son is 10, he's old enough to start keeping the insides of the drawers neat.



This is the first drawer we tackled.



We sorted through everything, pulled out items that didn't fit or he doesn't like, folded the remaining items and put them back in the drawer.


Less than 5 minutes later it looked like this. 

When we opened drawer number 2 - surprise!  Yes, that's a mask and snorkel in my son's dresser drawer. No, I had no idea that's where he was storing them. (Since he just got the mask and snorkel and they are "prized" possessions right now, I'm guess he put them here for safe keeping.  You know how teenaged sisters are always stealing your mask and snorkle!).

After we went through the drawer,  we had plenty of room so I put the mask and snorkel back into his drawer.  The way a 10 year old boy's mind works when it comes to where to keep a mask and snorkel...it just makes me smile so I just had to put them back.

                                                Drawer number 3 didn't hold any surprises, just work.                           

But it was easy to organize.        

           

                                                                           




Here's what we eliminated.  It was both productive and fun chatting with my son while we were working. 








And now we can enjoy the last week of the summer.

                                                      

Simple Girl - Simple Solution Sock Organizer

I'm a simple girl.  I get great satisfaction from a simple solution. 

For years, I've salivated over those fancy sock drawer organizers but can't really justify the expense (no matter how small the expense is) and I haven't been quite ready to ask for sock organizers for my birthday.

I met a friend at Wegman's last month for lunch.  I bought a wrap that was packaged in a plastic tray.  I just couldn't bring myself to throw the tray away.  My original plan was to recycle it at home.  But when I got home, "bing"  - idea.

Yum! Can't just throw the tray away. Recycle it.... hmm, no wait....

Wash the clear top and repurpose it as a sock organizer.

Simple girl....simple solution.

 

 

 



 

Organizing and Storing Your Spices

The first argument my husband and I ever had was about how the spices were stored in the kitchen. Really.  Not very exciting or dramatic, but true.

I had alphabetized the spices, of course, doesn't everybody?  My husband did almost all the cooking at that point in our marriage due to work schedules (I don't miss the crazy work schedules, but I do miss his cooking!).  My husband had not been returning the spices to their correct alphabetized location.  I was upset that he was haphazardly putting the spices away and he didn't understand why he couldn't put them wherever he wanted to since he was doing the cooking.

Luckily, that first fight wasn't a very big one and we're still happily married 24 years later (attributed to my organizing, of course), but the story makes us both laugh and yes, my spices are alphabetized.

Every time the military moves us, I get to set up a new kitchen.  Setting up my spices is one of the first things I consider.  Soon after the "great spice debate" I bought a two-tier Lazy Susan that has organized our spices for 20+ years.  So the first thing to consider is where the Lazy Susan will fit (since it is two-tiered, it's not always easy to place).  In addition to the simple, "Where will it fit and where makes sense in the kitchen layout," I consider where I can I keep the spices that is away from direct sunlight, heat and excessive humidity.  In my current kitchen that place is a corner cabinet near the cooktop, but not right next to it.

It's one of those awkward corner cabinets that nothing quite fits in well.  Fortunately, the lazy Susan  fits the space.  When I first set this cabinet up, the 2-tiered Lazy Susan was in the center of the shelf. Wasting lots of space.  I added the clear box on the left to hold spices that wouldn't fit on the lazy Susan.  Recently, I added the 1-level Lazy Susan that's in the center back of the shelf. 

I'm happy with the current set-up of the cabinet.  Everything is easily visible and reachable.  I can find any spice you might ask for in under 3 seconds.  Really.  Try me.

The 2-tier Lazy Susan holds most of my spices.  The bottom rack holds as many of the spices as I can fit on it starting with "a" (I start filling up the lower level first because I'm 5'3", don't need to explain further).  Less frequently used spices go on the inside of the circle with the spices used most frequently on the outer part of the circle (you can see that Accent is behind Allspice because I rarely use Accent, even less often than Allspice).  The top tier holds taller bottles that won't fit on the lower tier and the rest of the alphabet. 

The 1-level lazy Susan in the Center holds "special" spices and spice blends plus bottle that wouldn't fit on either level of the 2-tier Lazy Susan.  These spices are easily accessed and the Lazy Susan makes efficient use of all that awkward space in the back of a not-square cabinet.  It also keeps spices from getting lost in the hard-to-reach deep recesses of the cabinet.

The clear box is a container that lost its lid during the last move.  It was no longer useful in storing food, but has now found a use corralling more spices.  I put those over-sized Costco spice bottles(see one way in the back), any loose packets and boxes or anything that would fall over on the Lazy Susans.  The clear box can be pulled out  to grab whatever I need.  I can also easily lift the box down and place it on the counter to restock or organize the contents.

If this was my permanent home, I'd install some type of bins or baskets on the back left wall near the top (where the wasted space is).  I would then put the loose packets in those bins.  But since this is only my home until the military moves us again, I'm very happy with the current set-up. 

My very organized Mom reminded me to point out the dates marked on the sides of my spice bottles.  About 8 years ago as I was organizing the spices in a new kitchen after yet another move, I realized that I had spices from when I first got married (they had witnessed  the "great spice debate"!).  I started looking at all my spices and realized that I had no idea how old any of them were except the original ones that were 15 years old (much too old to be very tasty). 

That's when I started marking the month and year on the right side of the label when I open a new spice bottle.  (I do the same with condiments in the pantry and refrigerator.)  As I sit here in my office looking at this picture of my spices, I see dates from 2008 and 2009.  ........ I just had to stop and google the recommended shelf life for coriander seeds and sage leaves.  According to stilltasty.com, it's 1-3 years for the sage and 3-4 years for the coriander.  Guess I need to take 5 minutes and go through all my spices and then head off to the grocery store.  Good thing I marked those dates on the bottles!

(And, yes, I have been smiling each time I've typed Lazy Susan.  My children think that's a hysterically funny name for an organizing tool that I, Susan, love.)

Getting Ready for School - Lunch Boxes

It's that time of year again. Time to get serious about getting organized before school starts (which is before Labor Day here!)   With lunches for 3 children and a husband, times 5 days a week, times 4 weeks a months, times....sigh, let's just say being organized before school starts is a necessity.

In our house there are 4 of us making lunches each morning so having an organized lunch making area is really helpful.  It's helpful for my teen daughters, for my husband and for me, too.  Truth be told, the organization started for my convenience  but now I see how it helps my family (and an organized family makes a happy Mommy).

I've designated one cabinet near both the refrigerator and the island as the Lunch Box Cabinet.  When I set up my kitchen, I picked a cabinet that would create a work triangle with the refrigerator, pantry and counter (the areas  used to prepare lunches).   I was able to set up this work triangle on the other side of the kitchen island so it is out of the way of where most of the breakfast preparation occurs.  With 4 people in the kitchen in the morning and 3 of us making lunches, this was an important factor to consider.

The Lunch Box Cabinet holds all the equipment we need to make lunches.  The only thing I didn't put in the Lunch Box Cabinet is plastic sandwich and snack bags.  I did that on purpose to try to encourage my family to use the environment-friendly containers. But other than that, everything we need to make lunches, except food, is kept here in the cabinet.

I also designated one shelf in the pantry as the Lunch Snack Shelf.

My family knows that this is the Lunch Snack Shelf and the items on this shelf are for lunch boxes only.  The shelf below holds the anytime snacks, but don't bug me asking for snacks on the Lunch Snack Shelf! 

I've chosen not to label the shelf since my children are old enough to understand and remember the designations of each shelf.   I'm one for less labeling rather than more (except for labeling of blog pictures above, ahem).   Excessive labeling is just visual clutter to me and it really bugs me.  I looking at those labeled shelves in magazines and appreciate their beauty.  But in my house, I only label containers or shelves when it has something that might be confused with another similar looking item (for example, cornstarch and baking powder) or when it's an item that is not used very often so we might forget exactly where it's stored.  Guess that's my confession for why the shelf isn't labeled. 

I just received the beautiful Coke crate from my husband.  I've longed for one for years, and my husband surprised me with it (yea!)   After some thought, and a couple of different locations, I decided to put the Coke crate in the pantry where it makes me happy with its charm and function the many times each day that I open the pantry.  The individual bottle sections in the crate are perfect to hold granola bars, packaged crackers and packaged cookies (like Bevita and Fig Newtons).

With everything for making lunches and packing lunch boxes easily accessible and the work triangle out of the breakfast traffic pattern, my family is able to get ready in the morning quickly and hassle-free.  Sigh.  Just because we're ready and organized doesn't mean I'm ready for the school routine to start back up already.

 

 

 





Repurposed Berry Container for Ribbon Storage

Like most crafters, I have too much lots of ribbon. Storing it neatly and so it's both visible and accessible was a problem. Since we move every 2-3 years, I don't want to invest in anything permanent or more expensive than .... free. (Some day when my husband retires from the military and we stop moving, I'm going to have the most elaborate and beautiful craft room ever. But until then, I'm sticking with practical and as close to free as possible).

I had been storing my ribbon in a box from a baby shower gift I received 10 years ago. It worked, but not optimally. I kept the box closed, stored with my other craft supplies and would forget what ribbon I had. I rarely thought to dig the box of ribbon out for a project since it was "out of sight, out of mind."

                                                                                 

 My solution? Berry containers, specifically, strawberry containers.

The ribbon spools fit perfectly into the box. I simply pulled the ribbon tails through the slots at the bottom of the container and it works perfectly when you pull the ribbon out. I  left the strawberry label on the box, I think it's simple and charming.  But you could easily remove the label to have a clear box or even decorate the box.  I just prefer the simplicity of the clear box with a small label.

The containers even stack well.  Nice feature, since no crafter I know would have only one container of ribbon!  These would be easy to stack and store on top of a craft table or a shelf in a craft area.

I store my favorite ribbons in strawberry boxes in a bread box on top of my craft table (my childhood desk)  and the second string (not my favorite) ribbons in strawberry boxes kept in a drawer in the desk.   

I'm thinking that the "temporary" strawberry box solution may become permanent.  Functional AND saved from the landfill, how can I say no to that?