Getting Organized

I know I've been a lazy blogger lately! 

Is it just me or does life get crazier once you have a child in school? This year my oldest is in Kindergarten and afternoons are so busy now! I miss those days of not having to go anywhere. Waking up early and homework are not fun! 

Anyway, I have been doing some projects around the house. I decorated the girls bathroom and the hall bathroom for cheap! Thank you Goodwill! I will share those projects with you later. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite organization pins from Pinterest. I've been trying to organize our home, it's always hard for me. But I have made some improvement. Here are some good idea's to get you started:

Tricks to use lingerie bags to keep sock organized.

I have to get some of these bags! I think they can be found at Wal-mart and dollar tree. The link explains that you give each child a bag for their socks, so they don't get lost in the wash. What a great idea! I just fixed our washing machine last night. We had a sock in the hose, for the second time! Luckily this time I found out how to fix it by watching a video on youtube. Last time it was $75 for the repair! These dang socks are driving me nuts. So from now on our socks will be washed in these bags. I might have to make my own depending on the price. If I do I will make a tutorial.

Dollar Tree Baskets

I bought two of these $1 baskets from Dollar Tree for my girls to keep their shoes in. They are a good size to hold quite a few pair of shoes, or toys if you like. They are so inexpensive and a great size. The picture below is of smaller baskets from Dollar Tree. Many come 2-3 per pack. I recently organized my junk drawer in the kitchen with two sets. You can't beat $2! 

Pocket Shoe Rack used to Organize

This is just genius! You can use this pocket organizer under your sinks, or in your hallway closet! I've seen picture on pinterest of them being used for cleaning supplies, pantry items, and children's art supplies.

The link for this pin was not working, so I don't know where the idea originated. It is a spice rack made out of a mop holder and attached to the inside of a pantry door or cabinet. Another great idea!

Organizing Drawers with Ikea

These storage boxes are awesome! I wish I had these when my girl were babies! Their drawers were always a mess because everything was so tiny and was easily lost. I'm sure they are great for older kids too, and even for organizing crafting supplies! 

My sisters are coming to visit me in December and we are going on an Ikea trip (my first time!) any suggestions on what I should buy? I'm thinking just organization stuff and home decor.

I feel like organization is a never ending battle, but it feels good to have an organized home. Check out one of my favorite organization blogs over at Simple Organized Living.

Happy Organizing!


Linky Buddies:
 Not Just a Housewife,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  Vintage Wanna Bee,  The Winthrop Chronicles,
 Sumo's Sweet Stuff, I Should Be Moppin The Floor

No Sew Curtain Ties

 

 I love my new curtains! 

The only problem is they are a little snug on the rod and do not want to move over to let light in. So I had to find a solution. I didn't want to screw more holes in the wall and use metal curtain holds. Weird name, but that's what they are called. I also didn't want to spend the money on the metal holds. 

So I decided to make no sew curtain ties. I used fabric left over from the fabric blind I made.

What you will need:

1/2 yard or so of fabric

hot glue

Velcro

iron/ ironing board

 

You may need to use different measurements depending on the width of your curtains. So just wrap the fabric around the curtain to get an idea of how long you will want your tie to be. I cut my strips to 7inches x 23 inches.

I used heat n bond tape instead of sewing. As you can see I placed and ironed on a piece of tape to the ends of the material. Then I removed it, folded the material over and ironed it down. (Remember to follow the directions on the heat n bond. If you iron too long it will not work as well.)

Then I folded the top over 1/2 inch or so and ironed it down (not using any tape).

I flipped the material over and ironed on a piece of tape to the top. 

The folded under piece is on the bottom now as seen below.

The I flipped the material back over and pulled the tape off and ironed the sticky side over the other end of the material.

Then I hot glued the Velcro to the ends of the tie.

All done! Now just repeat this process for the amount of ties you will need.

Sorry for the picture quality, the sun coming in through the curtains made it tricky. I might need a lesson or two on taking pictures, lol!

Check out my linky friends! :

A Glimpse Inside, Hubby Made Me, The 36th Ave, The Shabby Creek Cottage,
House of Hepworths,  Shabby Nest,  At The Picket Fence, Craftionary,
Blissful and Domestic, Western Warmth, 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, 
 Nap Time Crafters,  Six Sisters Stuff,  Too Much Time,
Tatertots and Jello,  Sumo's Sweet Stuff,   I Should Be Mopping The Floor
 Sew Can Do, Skip To My Lou

DIY Key Fob

What is a key fob? Well it's a stylish key chain! The reason I love key fobs is because they make it so much easier to find your keys! Especially when you are digging through your purse or diaper bag. I just look for the bright colors and I've found my keys. 

  I noticed the one I made two years ago was getting really nasty, so I decided to make a new one. This one is much easier to make!

 What you will need:

Scrap Ribbon- 9 inches

D ring- found in the craft section of Wal-mart and fabric stores, they are around $1-$2 for a pack of two. 

Sewing Machine

Embroidery Machine- optional

 I decided to use this ribbon that I had left over from another sewing project. It's from Hobby Lobby. 

As you can see I embroidered mine, you don't have to do that. You can always 

try freezer paper stenciling, or sewing on a felt letter if you want.

 After I embroidered my name on the ribbon I folded it over.

 I then cut it, my ribbon was 4 1/2 inches folded over. So that's nine inches before you fold it.

 Then I simply sewed down both sides of the ribbon. 

I pulled the open end through the D ring and folded it over once.

 Then I folded it one more time and sewed it straight across using my sewing machine. It's that easy! Remember to back stitch!

 Now you have a pretty boutique key fob of your own! These are great as gifts too! 

Happy sewing!

Check out my linky friends:

Not Just a Housewife, Sugar Bee Crafts, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sweet Little Gals, 

The Winthrop Chronicles, My Girlish Whims, 
 Sew Much Ado, Southern Lovely, 
Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The 36th Ave, Hubby Made Me,
A Glimpse Inside, 
Shabby Nest, At The Picket Fence, Craftionary, Blissful and Domestic,
Chic on a Shoe String Decorating,  Naptime Crafters, Six Sisters Stuff,
Too Much Time, Tatertots and Jello, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, I Should Be Mopping The Floor,
sew can do, Skip To My Lou

Gallery Wall

 We have a large wall in our dining room and we have no large pieces of art. I knew I needed some way to fill the space.

I found all of these picture frames at Goodwill. They were only $1.50 each! They were all a light wood color so I spray painted them black. 

The first picture frame on the left is holding a dot drawing done by my 5 year old. I just scanned the picture and printed it off on photo paper. I found my photo paper at Dollar Tree months ago. So that was a great deal! 

I removed the glass in the two chevron picture frames. I covered the board with left over chevron fabric from my couch pillows. I secured the fabric with painter's tape in the back. I can easily change the material out if I decide to change the colors in the room. I bought these two clips at Wal-mart for $1.88.  I hot glued them to the fabric. Now I can change the pictures out easily, or even use them as brag board for my kids artwork.

The middle photo is from The Vintage Lemon, she has a ton of adorable state printables. The best part is that they are free! 

I bought the photo mat boards at Joann's. With a coupon it was around $5 for four. I think they make the frames look nicer.

This is my wall art for around $15. Our past two family photo shoots are still on CD. I will eventually replace these photo's with more recent ones of our family. 

Have a great Day!

Check out my linky friends! 

Not Just A Housewife, Sugar Bee Crafts, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Winthrop Chronicles,
Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Krafty Kat,  Sew Can Do, Such Much Ado, My Girlish Whims,
Southern Lovely,  A Glimpse Inside, Hubby Made Me, The 36th Ave,
The Shabby Creek Cottage, Johnny In A Dress, Some What Simple, Mine For The Making,
House of Hepworths,  Shabby Nest, At The Picket Fence, Craftionary,
 Six Sisters Stuff, Too Much Time, Tatertots and Jello

Ashley Suzanne

I've been featured on Ashley Suzanne's blog, check it out here.

You can also enter to win two cloth burp cloths made by me 

here. She's always having a great giveaway, check her out! 

Have a great weekend! : )