Organization Fever

This may seem a bit strange, since it is only February 22nd, but I've been feeling like I should be doing some Spring cleaning. Maybe it's because this Winter has sort of been a dud? Or because the weather is already getting nicer? Or maybe it's because I looked at a calendar the other day and discovered that Daylight Savings is on March 11th this year? Whatever it is that's making me feel this way, I'm loving it. It finally got me in gear to go through the very large pile of magazines that has accumulated in the past 6 months, clean out the kitchen pantry and finally get a 2012 calendar (hey, I was only 51 days late!).


Everything is in pencil because it's constantly changing!
I've always kept a calendar for my personal schedule - I find that it's a great way to keep track of apppointments and make sure that Josh and I don't forget things - but I find more and more that I have plenty of other things to keep track of. Case and point? This blog. And so, I needed a shiny new planner for 2012. I meant to take care of this back in December (of 2011), but then life sort of got in the way. I've been using Google calendars to keep track of life, but there's just something about a physical planner that I love. And so, enter my new planner:


This past weekend, I hopped over to my local OfficeMax and scoured the aisles for about 15 minutes before deciding that this planner was perfect for me. It gives me space to track important monthly dates, and space for day-to-day planning. Before this, I was keeping my menu planning, blog post planning and lists all over the place. But now? Ah... Now, it's all organized.


This is a shot of this week - with dinner, errands, and a short shopping list all included! This planner matches my needs and - BONUS! - I absolutely love the color. 

Next task up? De-cluttering some of our pantry. We really don't have a lot of pantry space in the kitchen and so we have to make the best with what we have. After doing some general de-cluttering of our shelves, it occurred to me that a lot of the clutter was coming from baking products that I only use when I'm... well... baking. They were taking up almost an entire shelf and, even worse, were seeming impossible to corral. Enter Bed Bath & Beyond. For less than $3, I grabbed a small clear bin and voila! - instant clutter removal!


Now, whenever I need icing or chocolate chips or some food coloring, I don't have to jump up on the counter or scream Josh's name to come and help me. Instead, I can simply reach up and grab the container. Easy, simple, organized - I love it.

My final pre-Spring de-cluttering project took a little bit more time. You see, I have a confession to make. My name is Sara and I hoard magazines. It's true, I do. And it's terrible! I get magazines, I flag pages for projects, I admire the pretty pictures, I make note of the recipes - and then I toss the magazine into my magazine bin. I used to put the magazines into magazine holders, but um... they started overflowing and so into the bin they went! First, I started with this huge stack of magazines:


Then, I divided them into piles by type and went through each of them. Ones where I already had things flagged got moved into a spend more time looking pile, ones without anything flagged got a quick look through - maybe a quick tear out if I noticed something interesting - and then got tossed into the recycling bag.


After going through the pile of more flagged magazines, I ripped out pages from some, kept some and recycled the rest! Not having this overflowing bin of magazines now makes me feel a lot better!


Blurry pictures and all, I'm so excited to be starting my Spring de-cluttering now! And I am more than enjoying today's 50+ degree weather! Have any of you been starting to clean up for Spring? I cannot wait to be able to open windows and let in the fresh air that Spring has to offer!

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2 comments:

  1. I have been in cleaning mode this week. I too am a magazine-a-holic. lol.

    Tranae
    www.becomingfab.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I realized I had the same bug when I took my linen closet apart at 10PM...smart timing, huh?

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