Legoland Corner, in the Home

Lego's small pieces tend to scatter everywhere & anywhere!
UNLESS they have a home
Located where curious 1-year-old sibling won't dare enter without a fight from older sib.

A bit of a squeeze, but YES.
Random Legos neatly store
in a lower drawer that transports to a table

Thrift store wooden chess & game tray storage box
+ Lego 10x10 building board glued to a game board
= ease of portability to a table for creative building

Lego towers on a table

Craft Cabinet Presto-Chango

In its former life, this thrift store gem was a portable bar.
Now the outside is painted black & re-purposed to a craft cabinet.
The top flips open for use as a surprisingly sturdy, laminate-covered, 6-ft. tabletop.
Hmmm. This monstrosity? in the master bedroom?

Shelving holds tape, ribbons, embellishments

Shelving holds glue gun & sticks & glue

Paper, felt, acrylic paints

Clear shoe boxes = view-able items

Top flipped. Doors closed & locked.
Presto-chango. Where did the craft items go?
No one knows.
The cabinet can be rolled to the dining room to use as a serving table,
&, during the holidays, it will be
rolled to the living room's second entryway to deter a curious 1-year-old
from easily attacking the Christmas tree!

At-Home "Crossfit Box" on Garage Landing

Five workout zones created for under $30
All are non-electric thrift store purchases

     Our ample yet formerly under-used garage landing is now re-purposed as a workout area with five Eco-friendly, non-electric items. It is a healthy addition to our home and a value-added idea. The better each space in the home is used, the greater its resale-ability.

     A recent Healthspan study found that women spend an average of 5 hours a week in a bad mood. One positive way to attempt to fight a bad mood is with exercise. Strengthening workouts build muscle, and muscle helps for higher caloric burn. In other words, hit the exercise machines rather than kick the dog.

     (Potentially germ-filled) gyms haven't fit into our one-income budget, so I've spent the last few months purchasing the following workout zones, in counter-clockwise order:

1. Vintage stationary bike ($7.50)
2. Core-strengthening, "Red" swivel seat ($5.50) and a 10-lb. workout ball ($3.00),
3. Folding, non-electric treadmill ($6.00), 
4. Lateral thigh trainer ($3.00)
5. A variety of hand weights ($2.00),
6. A flight of stairs (not shown in photo) is a sixth zone for stepping variety ($0.00).
7. The sturdy railing is perfect for important cool-down stretches.

     Multiple stations and upbeat music makes strengthening workouts a bit less tedious, or possibly workout-buddy-welcoming.

     The garage door can be opened for added airflow and variety. A mirror makes the area feel larger and is helpful for the all-important posture check, especially during weight training.

     A fan is cooling during warmer summer temps, and will be replaced with a space heater in the cold winter months. I read while pedaling the stationary bike. Bright, colorful circles affixed to the cabinet are cheerful, and a large, eager-eyed ladybug bank (to the left of "Red") is my accountability partner. A token into her slot each exercise time is motivating. I NEED any tangible motivation I can find.

     Caution! Make certain that your landing is sturdy, AND that any chemicals stored in the garage are contained and sealed. Temps in the higher 80s and above seem to create fumes (breathing fertilizer or insecticide odors during workouts negates the healthful benefits of exercise). 

     A small area in the basement might be an ideal alternate location. Always use caution on any exercise equipment and with weights. Moderation is the key. My cardio workouts are generally done outdoors.

Ways to fix a bad mood

Dishwasher Sparkle

Be kind to your dishwasher & it will be kind to you. Just do it.

     Are your dishes dingy? and you think your dishwasher is the culprit? Over a year ago I thought this about my less-than-6-year-old dishwasher and that it needed replacing. I did some research and saved a major appliance purchase.

     To restore your dishwasher's cleaning punch, the following are manageable and do-able tips. Saving money as well as enjoying sparkling glasses and dishes are bonus by-products, (really, the tips are basic, but do take some thought):

• Before starting the dishwasher, run the tap water until hot water comes out of your kitchen faucet. Otherwise, the water will be tepid for the first two cycles of cleaning.
• Is the rinse aid dispenser empty? If so, fill it.

        It may help to switch your dishwasher soap. More than 3 years ago, soap manufacturers changed their formulas, omitting phosphates from their ingredients, to benefit our environment. Our environment is happier, but the dish sparkle factor has decreased... thus, the need for the right soap. Cascade Complete is the best option, but it is a bit pricey.
          A cost-effective alternative is Walmart's Great Value powder.

• Refer to your dishwasher's owner's manual to learn the proper dish-loading instructions for your machine. The positioning of the various items, allowing for the soap to freely discharge from the dispenser and the water to adequately flow, makes a difference.

• Load dishes down. Make sure no pans, bowls or cups are facing upward and open. Open dishes catch dirty water, and the entire load gets repeatedly bathed in it (Tip: When a load doesn't clean, this is usually the culprit!).

• Use full-strength, white vinegar to sink-soak dingy, stubborn build-up on everyday glassware.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

     IF your dishwasher is older and the above steps don't adequately produce the sparkle factor, don't purchase a new dishwasher yet. Buy a dishwasher cleaner (CLR or Dishwasher Magic) and follow these steps:

1. Empty your dishwasher of any dishes.
2. At the sink, run the tap water until it becomes HOT.
3. Select your dishwasher's "High Temp Wash" or the "Sanitize" setting.
4. Start the dishwasher....
5. The first step or cycle of many dishwashers is to drain! You need to make sure the initial draining is complete before adding CLR or Dishwasher Magic, lest it literally runs "down the drain" prior to performing its magic.
6. When you hear the dishwasher actually begin to wash, add CLR or Dishwasher Magic (refer to the package for the accurate amount and precautions).
7. For the initial treatment with stubborn build-up, run only briefly, and then stop the dishwasher to allow the solution to set (refer to package directions). Then, finish the entire cycle. For successive treatments, the set time is shortened, so refer to package directions.

     Your mind is now fully loaded... with more dishwasher information than you will ever need. Enjoy the sparkle, money savings, and saving precious landfills by extending your dishwasher's lifespan.

Click the link for some thoughtful reading material: Dishwashers... and Easter?

Suitcase Packing Cubes: Like Drawers-to-Go

Packing Cubes have netting, for breathe-ability & view-ability
Rolling my clothes seems to lessen wrinkles

     I am recovering from Packing Anxiety Sanity Syndrome (PASS). This ailment's symptoms include sweaty hands, a racing heart, and mind confusion that peaks the day before a trip. Avoidance was my response. I would find anything to do but pack; and, because of PASS I was at times tempted to PASS on some intriguing trips.

     Until.... the day my husband purchased packing cubes. These life-savers made me step back to re-think packing. The helpful cubes are like drawers-to-go, suitcase style:

• For lengthy trips, one cube can hold pants, another tops, and another underwear.
• For overnight stays, each cube can hold entire outfits.
• Different colors and sizes of cube sets create quick visual cues for locating items. 
• Packing organization options are numerous.

     We like the portability of packing cubes. Upon arriving at a hotel, entire cubes can be transferred to a dresser drawer, keeping its contents in the cube. When it is time to pack up to leave, simply zip the cubes and transfer them back to the suitcase. And (for germaphobes) they're washable.

     Forgive me for sounding like a commercial. I receive no kickbacks from this endorsement or from any of my blogs, and I don't plan to. I merely enjoy sharing gems that save my sanity, and summer travel is coming soon.

     An Internet search will lead you to various companies that sell packing cubes. EBags work for us, but there are other companies.

Kitchen Organizing 101 in Pictures

     Here is a brief pictorial purview of a few of my kitchen's organization centers. These centers help, particularly when more than one cook is in the kitchen.


Less-used & smaller UTENSILS
Contained in narrow, section-creating baskets
...SPATULAS, etc. are handily contained on the counter above
for easy access to multiple cooks

Plastic-coated spinner in the pantry
Easy viewing & no oil on shelves

Cooking spices create a Cooking Center
Stored on levels (sold at BBB) for easier viewing,
in somewhat alpha order left-to-right
(Baking spices are in a different cabinet, for the Baking Center)



Hide produce in a drawer?
Out of sight, out of mind! At eye-level healthy foods will be eaten.

     For additional kitchen ideas, click this link: Stations, everyone!

Kitchen Tips, a Pictorial Purview

     An organized, thoughtful kitchen welcomes memorable people-events. This past year I've had time for many things, including developing kitchen flow for advantageous culinary group workouts. Here is a pictorial plethora of ideas, for family baking/cooking times. Please note disclaimer, located way at the bottom*:

Knives & utensils attractively reachable for guest cooks

BAKING spices store separately from COOKING spices, for stations
To view: Kitchen Organization: COOKING spice rack--click here

Tea organizer (Ikea) lets company easily view their options

  

Rolling pins creatively store in an unused space



Green Tea (high in anti-oxidants) brews easily every a.m.



Kitchens may have can openers, but this is...

...an electric JAR opener to save precious wrists

 

For frugal dishwasher tips, graduate to:
Sparkle University--click here 

*Disclaimer: Confusion (OR even over-organizing) may be a comfortable dynamic for some families (avoiding unpleasant or delicate issues as in my toxic, dysfunctional childhood home).

OR, maybe chaos creates adventure! Approach organizing with caution, & avoid extremes.

Synchronized take-away:  1) "Birds of a feather flock together" and,  2) "You can't have your cake and eat it too."

Closet Organization: Pictorial Finale & Tips



Front door... company red-y

     Getting red-y for company has included major hustle, including two, years-begging-to-be-tackled, projects (painting the front door and organizing the closet). Today's post reveals my side of our walk-in closet (previous blogs reveal my angst about closet organization and contain photos of husband's side of the closet). 

     It is embarrassing to admit that for 8 years our roomy closet has felt crowded. Now, with a logical set-up and tools, my father-in-law's favorite motto is fulfilled: A place for everything, and for everything a place. I now manage my clothing. Purging and re-surging were also beneficial (I actually found a couple of valuable pieces of lost clothing).

     This closet finale is like reality TV & National Treasure, combined. Reality because it is not perfect, but the tools were affordable, using items I already owned OR purchased at garage sales or thrift stores. A treasure because of unexpected, reasonable finds to creatively store our clothing. Here is a pictorial reveal, to possibly inspire other "closeteers":

 T-shirts, rolled & stored in Red & brown bins. Belts hang from a belt hanger.
Dress pants hang strategically folded above the counter
(pants to the right hang unfolded)
The stool and counter-top help when dressing & to fold clothes

Occasional dress-up purses, binned

Garage sale medical cabinet's
counter top & 5 drawers...

...neatly store socks & undies
well worth $50 (With shallow drawers, no digging through piles!)

     
Now, to see my full but now contained, REALITY side of the closet...


 What's with women & shoes?
I could only part with 10 pairs, so viewable storage creates voila!

Yes, more shoes!

 High- & low-rise racks of shoes
Side pocket lights illuminate
Thrifty CD high-risers, re-surged




Casual & long-sleeve workout shirts, rolled, are readily spotted.
Garage sale plastic shoulder covers shield from dust.

Slick workout wear
Inexpensive, re-surged Wal-Mart dorm bookcase lays sideways
for visible shelf storage (pants, t-shirts, shorts)

     Click the yellow link to view a gadget we use, the FlipFold. It neatly folds sweaters, shirts, and t-shirts: FlipFold's official ad demonstrates its benefits...(FYI we don't fold sheets with it)  .

 

Scarves
Ikea's hanging storage has 28 holes!

Closet Organization: Tips

     The following are some helpful organizing and cleaning tips learned thus far in my closet-organizing... adventure (see disclaimer below):

Hubby's stations & rolled t-shirts in bins

• Have a plan. Give time for ideas to germinate and evolve (isn't that perfect justification for why I didn't rush into this project?)
• Invest. It is worthwhile to spend the money for the right tools (shoe organizers, baskets).
• Cover your nose. If you have dust allergies, wear a dust mask. Vacuuming as much as possible before moving the clothes and shoes will alleviate allergies (I ended up sneezing with a stuffy nose).
• Promote visibility with lighting. To prevent the clothes-hiding factor, and to speed up your clothing and shoe searches, it is imperative to clearly see. I upped the wattage in my closet's bulbs; or, buy a few battery-operated dome lights, and place them on the inside walls.
• Provide clothing stations. My husband's workout/casual wear is now in one station (shoes, shirts, and pants), and his work clothes are in another station.
• File, file, file. As you hang your clothing, treat it like a filing system. Place your dresses together, your pants together, and so on. Within each section, align items by color, on color-coordinated hangers (c.-c. hangers are a dream idea from a website... it's not necessary, but certainly sounds professional).
• Store to save space. To save closet rod space, hang pants lengthwise (don't fold them in half--that bulks them up and encourages unsightly knee creases). Use hangers that have grips.
• Store for practicality. Sweaters and heavy knits keep their shape better when kept folded on a shelf. (If sweaters end up a bit wrinkled as you dress, use a water sprayer for wrinkles.)
• Roll with the flow. I rolled my husband's t-shirts (he has millions of them) for storage into handy bins pictured above. It is now easy to see his array of t-shirt options and quickly grab.

     Synchronized Take-away: 1) Don't be penny-wise and dollar foolish, and 2) It is robbing yourself to buy something never worn.

Disclaimer: The size and shape of every clothes closet is unique. Mine tends to be... somewhat generous. However, most of the tips in this blog could work in conjunction with a closet/dresser combo.

Closet Organization: Stirrin' Up More Than Physical Dust

     Key background for closet organization, round II, includes a condensed version of the spousal interaction which occurred AFTER my husband's always-busy workday and its collision with my  5  hours of closet organizing:

     DeRachel, what do you think about changing the location of the laundry baskets?

     Actually, I like them where they are.

     OK.

     Caution:  TROUBLE is brewing! After applying make-up for our Friday evening Wendy's meal, I turn to annoyingly catch my husband doing... whaaaat? He's changing the location of the laundry baskets!

     I've been working all day organizing the closet and want the laundry baskets where I put them. I already tried them there and didn't like it. I turn my back and you change the set-up! without including me!... and yada, yoda.
 

Today's donation pile (round pillow excluded)

      I now realize the physical and intangible dust stirred-up with closet-cleaning. Wardrobe decisions include emotions. But, chaos will be worthwhile for all, in the long run. Here is a re-cap of the beginnings of order (presented in the chronological order I performed them--Sensory Processing Disorder or HAMS doesn't necessarily allow me to work in an orderly fashion):

     It helps to allot a few days for this challenge AND purchase a few inspirational tools beforehand: Two random thrift store purchases birth in my mind the beginnings of order... a 4-tiered, sturdy shoe rack that holds 15 pairs of shoes and a storage basket. It's like Christmas in October.

•  The huddled self-cheers begin: Start somewhere!! Just begin, with any step, to motivate myself.
• Store the ironing board. It takes up space and can be easily set up when needed. It is a magnet for strewn clothing. 
• Wade through zillions of dusty shoes. Some are ancient! The new shoe rack and arranging my shoes differently really helps, as well as getting rid of at least 10 pairs.

     I sensory react and distract, to delay additional unsettling clothing decisions. I turn to the testosterone-laden portion of the closet. What was I thinking diving into that chaotic danger zone, attempting to create a semblance of order? This ultimately stirs up the emotions I shared in the beginning of this blog and includes these ??harmless?? actions:

• Create logical stations: Hubby's work shirts and pants are miles from each other. His exercise wear is equally scattered. His side of the closet begs for logical stations.
• Create a large shoe-purging heap: Hubby's work/casual shoes could fill a large bathtub, and he wears less than 6 of the pairs.
• Be storage-creative and re-use: I roll into the closet from another room, a mildly-used, small oak TV stand/storage unit. First, it needed to be cleaned out. I position it with the laundry baskets.

     It is now 4:30 p.m., and I know that my husband becomes uncharacteristically disturbed, with process chaos. He will hate the donation pile in the bedroom and the shoe-purging heap in the closet, but surely the day's productive accomplishments and closet-vacuuming will override the chaos.

    I re-position the laundry baskets and tweak a few more items, and then enjoy a much-needed shower. My husband will LOVE my work. NOT!

    Enough of the dusty mess. I stirred up both dust and thunder clouds, with allergy-sneezing and hairs standing on end. 

     My closet now has two beneficial seeds: 1) It has the beginnings of organization, and 2) It is manageable. Round II, done. Round III will be shared soon.

Closet Organization: Mind Gymnastics & "GOIN'-IN!"

Unruly Employees?

     Attempting to corral my disorderly, unruly clothes closet has been an unaccomplished goal for over 18 months. This to-do bullet has been erased and replaced, many times over. My closet is like the chaotic aftermath of a tornado... with endless, dusty debris. Bringing order and manageability to the beast seems like a dangerous duel. I'll sneeze from dust sensitivities, scale mountains of shoes, and unearth shocking surprises.

     I creatively procrastinate, finding thousands of other things to tackle. Interestingly, every other area of our home has been overhauled, except for under the kitchen sink (hmmm, maybe that HAS been re-organized).

     The closet and its contents are like large, unruly employees who will not, most likely, easily submit to pipsqueak-me. Seasons, temperatures, styles, sizes and wardrobe changes nurture a mind-of-its own closet monstrosity:

• If I donate to charity this shirt that seems too loose now, WHAT-IF styles change? 
• I like this skirt and paid lots of money for it, but...
• How can I affordably replace this very worn but treasured wardrobe item?
• Can I lose weight to fit into these too-small items of clothing?
• I don't have time to think past today, let alone this season! and prefer to not because: When I strip away the clutter, will I mercilessly bully the vulnerable giants within me?

     No wonder I've bristled at this looming project. Even though organization is one of my strengths, it makes me feel overwhelmed. My wardrobe's dynamic nature and feeling emotionally small is uniquely portrayed in this entertaining 30-second Ford commercial...

My Way! My Way! My Way!

  

     Oh, to have style confidence and my daughter's intuitive fashion-sense! On the other hand, who knows what treasures or muck will be uncovered? There might even be an irrational skeleton or two. Creepy!!

     Writing will therapeutically help me through this nightmare. I will sensory blog the experience for accountability. I can make it through this... adventure. After consuming 2 days worth of mind-bending dark chocolate, I take the first step... GO-IN' IN!... to the dim and dusty closet.

Organization: Accessing Accessories

Hobby hanger hooks (Michael's)
A great display for numerous earrings
(in larger, low-humidity bathrooms)

Necklaces
Contained yet sectioned in a drawer

Bracelets
Displays are like pretty décor

Scarf display
Ikea scarf hanger eases accessorizing



Extra purses
Boxed in a helpful see-through container

Costume jewelry rings
Contained in their individual sections

Shoes
Easily viewed with upward & outward tiers

Boots
Cardboard inserts for storing
OR use re-purposed child floaties 

Belts
Round hanger holds repurposed
shower curtain rings

Socks, tights & underwear
Rolling medical cabinet provides ease of viewing