Organization challenge.....December 2015

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Alright, usually I think of cleaning, sorting, organizing as a January (New Year's resolution) type of thing. But this year....I need to get it done BEFORE the end of the year. Mom is moving in this month and I need to find room for all the things we want to have in our combined spaces. It's fun, but a lot of work!

So, who's with me? How much can we accomplish before the end of 2015? Think about how much more organized we will all be, it will be easier to find things (hopefully) and we'll be able to donate some items that will make very nice Christmas presents, in the process.

I shop at Goodwill all the time...so dropping off my donation and then shopping for unusual furniture and accessories is how I spend every December. This year, I'm going to try to donate more than I acquire :)

So, we have 31 days in December. Let's get started!

Featured Answer

oasisowner

8 years ago

Today I listed some books on Amazon and a computer part thingie that has been sitting here for months on ebay. I also have 2 HUGE bags ready for goodwill.

We are putting the tree up this coming weekend and I am determined to get rid of or pack up for kids at least 50% of the ornaments.

Now if only DH were on boards with decluttering.....

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Comments (79)

Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
Tell me about it. My kitchen remodel in 2010 resulted in a big island. Big clutter-attracting surface!
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Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Studio is off limits to minimal. LOL I have most of my bits of glass and china and oddities in containers I can see into and a lit of the over flow scrap glass lives in small kitty litter pans bought for this use and labeled on the ends. I keep all of this behind easy to move curtains so I do not have to look at it until I need some thing. It has worked pretty well. My problem there is I have 4 projects going at the same time. I do this to myself so I have stashes of things for each project. I am winding down two projects so I can clean up those stashes. Project three is my hallway wall and I need a break from it. Fourth project which will probably become the first up is my mannequin. It is her turn on the table I think. LOL

UGH flat surfaces. I try to pick up every morning whatever has been set in the wrong place. I like cleared kitchen counters but did manage to find the perfect green canisters and added them to my coffee tea area on the counter. The rest of the house I have eliminated most of the stuff to set on flat surfaces.

I LOVE my kindle. I know last time I checked I have over 1200 books in my cloud. Many can go away. 95% were free. Some gifts too. I also purged my piles of paperbacks. I also purged lots of craft books I knew I would no longer use. I still have way too many from beading of various kinds some favorite crochet even though I am not sure I can crochet any more because of arthritis. Decorating books. Not too many of them and some general craft books. Some how they take up three three foot long shelves in my studio. I should be able to calm that down. GGGRRR

All in all it feels like a constant battle to not let more in than goes out. I just bought 4 thrift store pair of pants today but I have 8 pair to go away. I wanted to keep them until I had replacement even if they looked like potato sacks on me. It is winter I have to have some thing warm to wear.
Lavender Lass thanked Shades_of_idaho
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Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
We have been planning a bathroom remodel for two years. I have been buying parts for it for over a year. I put up two shelves in the basement this fall and one is shelf unit A, other is shelf unit B. Their individual shelves are numbered, too. So I have a spreadsheet in my computer with all of the bathroom parts telling what they are, where I got them, what they cost, and where they are stored - unit A, shelf 4, for instance. That way, when the time comes, all the parts for the bathroom will be easy to find. Some are now stored under my mat table (a physical therapy exercise table I got off Craigslist). I think I will move them to the shelves in the basement if there is room.

I thought that the spreadsheet method of keeping track of where "away" is for things that you don't use often might work for others, too.
Lavender Lass thanked Nancy in Mich
desertsteph
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
"My biggest issue after a clean out is finding stuff. I try very hard to organize like things together when ever possible. Trying so hard to make sense of all of it so I do not spend a whole day looking for one thing. GGGRRRR.

I am also trying very hard to train myself to put it away as soon as I deal with whatever I am doing. So I do not have to keep picking up after myself. I worry about remembering so it is not safe to leave things laying around."

Shades, I didn't know we were twins! this sounds just like me. I'm driving myself nuts looking for things I had even just 5 minutes before.

I have taken to putting some important info (about things in the house) on a card and taping to the inside of a cabinet door. Like how to reset the tv after electricity goes out, how to trigger the switch on the pump etc. Things I didn't used to have to write down - or even think about.

last month I looked for my box of envelopes off and on for about a week. then I went back to the first place I looked (where I keep them) and there was the box right where it belonged. The box I 'didn't find' the first time I looked. The dog isn't tall enough to reach that shelf either...can't blame her.

I'll be sorting, giving away and cleaning for yrs to come - lol! I'm so slow at it. next week my friend and prev boss is coming out to visit me and bringing lunch. I'm gonna have to clear the table off before then. That'll be a good thing tho. Maybe I'll try more to keep it cleared off then.

I lose phone numbers, appt dates and times, the grocery list. You name it and I can lose it in seconds. I spend a lot of time walking from room to room looking for ... something. At least I'm walking - and counting it as exercise!

oh, and passwords? I even lost my list of passwords. I was being good and made a list - and lost it. ok, I changed those I could and made a new list and am going to tape a copy on a cabinet door.
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desertsteph
8 years ago
nancy - I don't have a ss program on this computer... I need to find a free one online but have put it off. i keep thinking someone could put a virus in one and offer it online and it could ruin my computer.

A friend from yrs back kept everything in its particular place. She also kept a list of what was where in the attic. If 3 things in her house were out of place when it was needed, everyone (4 kids and dh) were bound to the house (except for school and work) until every room, closet, cabinet etc was re-organized and everything in its place again. I don't think it happened often but it did a time or 2 while I lived by her.
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scone911
8 years ago
^ Thanks, but I think it's more laziness than willpower. We'll be retiring in about a year, and I just don't want to move it-- that thing weighs a ton. I'll be consigning out some more stuff before we go, but there are some things I'm so emotionally attached to, it's a struggle. Like the baby grand piano that needs a lot of work...
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Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Nancy. A spread sheet is a great idea to keep track.

Steph Open Office is a free program with spread sheet available.

I keep my passwords in my little hard back address book. It is a smaller one. I am finding I never misplace it because it is always beside my chair. The other day I came across a slightly larger one. I am considering using it to keep track of those things I put away.

For right now I think I have the house sorted to logical places to store things. I am going to do one more go through from one end to the other tweaking then I think I will start on my address book. I can add the things in alphabetically.

Thing about a spread sheet is it is easier to change when some thing moves.

I really pared down the kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff and clothes for me. I have an empty dresser except for one top drawer I keep my kindle, glasses case and pills I need to take in the middle of the night in it. OH and flashlight and gun. The rest is empty. I moved the clothes,mine, into a small stack of plastic drawers I had in the closet. Now my closet is a nice little dressing room.
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Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
Chris, I use an address book for my passwords, too. I keep it in the pocket on the side of my recliner. We also have a password system in our anti-virus software that saves encrypted passwords to the cloud, but I don't know how to access it if the computer crashes, so I keep the paper method going!
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Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
One thing about a spreadsheet is that you have to think about what you name something. It is okay until the list gets long, and then suddenly, the difference between naming it the "pink cotton blanket" and "blanket, cotton pink" makes all the difference in the world!
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missouribound
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
It is so good to see the old names posting again. I've missed you Chris. Your wall of flowers is fantastic! Is it mirror tile? And yes, tell ML to come back here. It's not as bad once you start posting and see how it works. Not really that much different than the old GW. (And if I haven't told you who I am, shoot me a message. This is my Houzz I.D. I dropped my GW I.D.)

We're going land hunting tomorrow to see if we can find a lot in an RV community. Not many around here.
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Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Missouribound, I am sorry I can not place you and can not find how to email you. WWAAAHHH some times I hate my memory. Message me or email my way since you know how.
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desertsteph
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
"And yes, tell ML to come back here. It's not as bad once you start posting and see how it works. Not really that much different than the old GW"

that's true. I've gotten used to it ... if I can, anyone can.
Lavender Lass thanked desertsteph
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
What was her previous user name. My brain is mud I can not remember much now. Yes I went there but no link to email for me.
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desertsteph
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
how do we email someone on here? anyone know? I did see that I put my email addr on my houzz info - so, that's how I got an email. my info shows I emailed LL ages ago - but I don't know how I did it!

do you have your email addr on your acct info where it says you can put it?

my memory isn't any better than yours is shades!

eta - I went out on my profile page again and still don't see a way to email you.

over on the far left it says 'advanced settings' and I looked there and didn't see a way to email there either.

I did see that I have my email addr listed and somewhere else I marked to email any msgs anyone sends to me. I get emails thru a houzz email. it came thru like those we mark for them to send us - as in: comments from someone, comments we make etc. I didn't see it for a long time 'cause I don't usually look at them.

ok, I figured it out. click on the other person's name ! if they allow msgs to be sent to them, it will show there.
Lavender Lass thanked desertsteph
desertsteph
8 years ago
shades - check to see if you get an email from me. I just sent one.
Lavender Lass thanked desertsteph
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
YES Steph I did get an email to you but o way to email you back so send your email to me this way. you might have to spell it out. Sent you a message with my email. GADS.
Lavender Lass thanked Shades_of_idaho
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years ago
Please send me one, too! Although I think I know who missouribound is by process of elimination. ;)

I'm in the mood to declutter, weed out, and organize. I think it's from having all the Christmas stuff out in the living room and kitchen, or maybe all the recent rain is making me feel hemmed in.
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mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years ago
Thanks, lavender!
Lavender Lass thanked mama goose_gw zn6OH
stringweaver
8 years ago
My sister and best friend are cleaning this week, even though we're thousands of miles apart, it helps keep me on track.

I'm nearly done with the kitchen

and ready to take break from scrubbing and do some simple sorting, so I'm moving to the living room.
Lavender Lass thanked stringweaver
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Stringweaver I love your little stove. Your kitchen is darling!! I have been goofing off all day. Hubby felt well enough to venture out. We just got home. I have sewing to do. A window to hang. and lots of picking up to do. Warm kitty is laying against my cold legs. Not sure how fast I will be getting up from here. Just had lunch. Maybe I will watch all of you work. LOVE the pictures. I will do one when I get my curtains sewn and up.
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desertsteph
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Stringweaver - I like the way you ran a board across part of your end counter and made more counter space with it! great idea!

and wow, I think that's the tallest fridge I've ever seen. Wouldn't be good for me - I'm too short. looks like it has good freezer space.

shades - I was sorry to read up thread that Joe was in treatment again. happy to hear that he was up to going outside today tho. hope he soaked in some sunshine and fresh air!

Be sure to take care yourself too Shades! don't try to do too much too fast.
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stringweaver
8 years ago
Thanks Steph. When I get the fridge cleaned I'll post a pic of the inside. Love this fridge, 2 feet square, which is all the room I have for it. It's 6 1/2 feet tall. I'm 5 foot, 3/8 inch. The top shelf is a wine rack (love european design), so I actually can reach everything. It's going on 13 years old, I've defrosted it once and it finally needs it again. It's very quiet, it sips electricity and it's beautiful. I love the contrast of it standing next to my grandmother's pie safe.

Shades, I saw your mosaic in another thread....stunning. and what is the band in your video? I like your style and taste in music.
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Lavender Lass
Original Author
8 years ago
Stringweaver- Your kitchen is charming! I like the shelf over the counter, too. And what a fridge! Thanks for some great kitchen ideas :)

I just found out I'm only working a few hours today...then off until Monday! Now, I can get back to my floors and maybe I can post a few pictures next week!!!
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
AWWWW The Statler Brothers did Flowers on the wall. I felt it was fitting background for the video and my mind set. LOL Thank you. It is a fun project and a long way to go on it. I have to hang a window I just completed and the sucker is super heavy. I need to work up the courage.

I think your fridge is a great one too. wine rack on the top is always a good thing in my book.

I also noticed the shelf spanning from counter to wall and thought what a great idea. So glad you are here. Stingweaver.

WHOOT LASS Unexpected days off are always good.
Lavender Lass thanked Shades_of_idaho
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
I am also admiring your efficient kitchen, Stringweaver.

I am having trouble understanding why MissouriBound wants to keep her/his GardenWeb name a secret. A lot of us will remember you and appreciate the continuity of linking the old persona to the new one in our mind's eye. It helps through the transition from the old "neighborhood" to this hidden corner of Houzzland.

Speaking of our not-so-new anymore neighborhood, when I am on my Kindle, the "Advice" tab does not have "forums" listed, so I can't read or write to THS forums when I am on my Kindle. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone else access Houzz through a Kindle and do you have the same issue? I tried downloading the Houzz app again, but it did not help. I use my Kindle when I am in bed, trying to go to sleep or trying to wake up. I am on my laptop the rest of the time. No problem accessing THS or the Garden Web there.
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hubby waiting on his food. Posted from my kindle. More in a bit.

So what I did was tried to go directly to the link at the top of this page and it was a no go. I then went to just ths.gardenweb.com/ and hit enter. Then it opened to the choice of forums page and from there went to Small house board and was able to post from my kindle. I am using the Silk browser. It just updated last week. Gave me an S in my carousel. Like I need more crap there.

I do not see an advice tab then going to that link I posted above. Just a listing to all the forums.

I LOVE my kindle and also read in bed. Rarely post as I do not like typing on the glass screen much. I usually read a book then listen to music to go to sleep.
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
It never occurred to me to try the old web address. I was trying to go through the Houzz app like I do on the computer. On Houzz, in the upper right, it says "advice." From there you get a drop down menu that includes Garednweb Discussions and you can click on Home Forums. That is how I have been getting to THS since the change. More or less, that is. It did not used to even say GardenWeb until enough of us complained that we had lost our identity. It said "Forums" I think, and then once you clicked that, you saw GardenWeb.
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Ta da, from my Kindle! Thanks for the tip, Chris. I find that I enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles on my Kindle. It is satisfying in a color and pattern kind of way, and does not hurt my neck like bending over a real puzzle does. One of my medical issues is with joints, and my neck and upper back and ribcage really feel it if I try to do much.
caroline94535
8 years ago
For easy forum access...

Once you get to the Forum(s) on whatever device, you can add a link to the Favorites tab, or put a short-cut on the desk-top (I use short-cut links on my iPod, too ). This makes it very easy to just click on the Forum you want to visit.

I keep Organizing the Home, Smaller Homes, Home Decorating, Cottage Gardens, and Kitchen Table shortcuts all in one folder on the iPod and in the Favorites Tab on the desktop. And, of course, from opening any one of them with one click, I can quickly move to all the other forums.

I love these forums and appreciate "knowing" all the creative and interesting folks that post here. You have all helped me in so many ways beyond just "how to do" or "where to put."

Thank you, and Happy New Year!
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Nancy I am so glad it worked for you. I love my kindle so much. I know many refuse to get rid of their books but like you because of joint issues it is just too painful for me to hold a book for more than a couple of minutes. Even turning the pages cause pain. Funny because I can do my mosaics but the little glass bits are light enough to not cause pain.

Caroline that is good information. I will give it a try. I just left the tab open. Heaven forbid I loose it. I will book mark it. Thanks!!

Getting off here. I started the third window for the dinning room. It is a small one. BUT TODAY I am going to clean around in the studio because it is making me crazy working in a mess. My workbench will stay as is because I have glass bits laid out but all other areas can be cleaned.

Have a good one folks.

Looking for the after picture. Hopefully tonight! OH and I can work and listen to an audio book that was gifted to me.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years ago
Do bookmarks work on a Kindle? I keep my favorite forums bookmarked on the toolbar. Is that the same as favorites?

I didn't read the whole thread when I popped in a few days ago ... because I thought it was about organizing. ;) Being in the mood to organize didn't last long, unfortunately.

Chris, I hope Joe's tests all come back with encouraging results. I can't get the videos to play, but the wall is amazing. I don;t know where you find the patience!

stringweaver, I love your charming kitchen and your grandmother's pie safe. We call those cabinets 'flatwalls' and I've also heard them called 'Ohio cabinets.'
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
LOL Mamagoose on the organizing I am their right this minute myself. I had to clear the little patio and walk of snow and so some, as in a huge pile of them, kitty dishes and now drinking coffee to warm up. It is a blazing 15 out there right now Happy to see it that high but it wears a person out fast. I hope you are safe from the rising waters. Tree house looks even more amazing up close.

I love my kindle and have had it almost three years but I a still learning to work it. My browser on the kindle is Silk. Thought I had chrome but it is silk. I am still learning how to do bookmarks. I had it figures in chrome but silk looks different. I do not know where the tool bar even is. I just leave the tabs open for now. I only have about a dozen of them. GADS I need to figure this out. Also learning Ubuntu on my old old Dell computer so I get confused between the two. ARGH I need to get a brain.

OK coffee is gone off to studio to do this!.
shelayne
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Ha! I didn't even know that I was "joining" the reorganization club, but I completely reorganized a couple of my kitchen cabinets that were on my last nerve, and also the pantry I created a couple years ago in a closet off the kitchen. It is so much more organized and clean looking. Now the true test is how LONG I can keep the pantry looking that way. And it is completely ALL ME when it gets out of hand because I tend to over-shop and then have to cram it all in to make it fit. Using the racks recently purchased for canned goods will help immensely, because I can see exactly what we already have, and they save a lot of space, which makes it appear less cluttered.

Next is my desk, and that is just too much for me to contemplate right now. LOL. It really isn't THAT bad, but it drives DH bonkers. He cannot stand clutter, and my side of the office is the very definition, according to him. Ha!

Precipitated by a dinner debacle the other night, I have decided that we will no longer pack the freezer full of meat (on sale!) because, honestly, I am just not on top of it. Often, I will not pull something out for defrosting and end up buying fresh because I am in a pinch. Eventually, DH will go through the freezer, in a huff, throwing out untold amounts of old, freezer burned beef cuts, pork, and chicken (not to mention $$$), and I am ashamed of the waste. We have a brand new grocery store, with an amazing meat department in our neighborhood, so I am now going to buy more fresh cuts of meat, planning meals accordingly. I am not delusional thinking that I won't be setting aside an occasional package in the freezer, but I am bound and determined that I will no longer be finding chicken from 2014 lurking in the corners, which tastes HORRIBLE by the way. Or so I have heard... *cough*.

Shades, your mosaics are beautiful! Your Wall of Flowers is really spectacular! And, Stringweaver, your kitchen is so charming. Your additional counter and storage is very clever, and I love your spacesaving fridge that is actually quite spacious.

Since the "switchover", I have never accessed these forums through Houzz.com, I always use my gardenweb bookmark, and it still takes me right to the GW corner. :)

Anyway, HERE'S to a wonderful (and more organized and less cluttered!) New Year! :D
scone911
8 years ago
I've got that January "urge to purge." Should I post pics here, or will you be starting a January 2016 thread? A bright shiny new year is here-- Christmas decor, avaunt! Daffodils, forward! :)
stringweaver
8 years ago
this thread is getting long, I like the idea of starting a new one for january.

Although back at work I have continued working on my list. My sink is back to spotless white. I moved my rowing machine to the bedroom, dusted it and have been using it.

I went back to the junktique shop monday and bought a table lamp I've been eyeing. I figured out where it will live. I'll post a picture when I get it back from the electric shop, where it is getting a new plug and a touch switch in the base. Then I'll need some advice on what style shade to get for it.
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
I have an 1978 ranch home with one of those raised fireplaces with a hearth that goes clear across the room (along with the wall o' brick) and is 15 inches high and 18 inches deep. Last summer I bought an old child-size chiffarobe from a local guy who fixes up junk furniture. He had painted it that dark mustard color that was so popular earlier in the last century. It fits right onto the brick hearth ledge, making all the lower drawers accessible from my chair.

I have my various orthopedic braces in the big top drawer. Then there are four drawers going down the left and a hanging bar behind a door on the right. I hung all my extra afghans on hangers and hung them on the bar, then stashed a few things on the floor. The drawers hold my pills and supplements, snacks, my knitting, my project folders, and some magazines I won't throw away. It has really cut down on my clutter. Under the decorative cut out for the bottom edge, I have lined up on the bricks things like the dog's toenail clippers and styptic powder, dog brush, dog comb, remotes, and a hand mirror. I hang a little rubber bendy guy from a knob and he holds my bluetooth headphone I got for Christmas, so I can listen to something on the computer while hubby is busy with something else. I often have a plastic shopping bag tied to another knob for garbage.
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
Hubby ordered a rack for CDs that he will put next to his chair. This will get them out of his Library/Music room and give him more room for books. It will be here any day. DVDs may also go there, freeing up a drawer on the chest below the TV for other things.

I have spent the last two days shopping online for shoe storage. I have shoes in several places in this house and I sometimes forget what I have, since I wear the nice ones so seldom. In the past few years, though, I have gone from wearing only the two pair that my orthotics will fit into to wearing a variety of shoes that will mold to fit the foot. Now I need a place to stash them, and I am past the age where I want to deal with anything that comes apart, that is open to letting dust in, or that looks cheap. Done that, don't want it anymore. I also do not have walk-in closets. I have my closet fixed with double rods and cannot use the bottom for shoes. My skirts are long and drag on the floor already. This shoe storage is going to be in the room with the real furniture.

Though I rather regret it now, when we bought this house, we splurged on a bedroom set with matching furniture from a furniture store. It is the only matching anything I have ever owned (that I did not build myself - but I gave that set of pine Early American away). So if we ever get around to hiring someone to strip wallpaper, pull up stained carpet, lay down flooring, paint, and lay the nice rug I have in the basement, we could have a pretty nice looking bedroom. I don't want a plastic shoe cabinet sitting there.

Did you know that you can spend over a thousand dollars on a cabinet for shoes? Well, maybe not YOU, or ME either, but they sell them. I was all ready to spend $350 on one made in Italy that arrives assembled

Until I checked Craigslist and learned that you can get an ottoman with fabric inserts to hold shoes vertically. Hers was bright pink and not my color, so I went looking and found them new for $175 for this huge one:
to $80 for this one that holds 12 pair along the perimeter with room for other things in the center.
Time to measure and decide. But no more dusty shoes that I cannot find or do not even remember that I have!
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Nancy what a wonderful solution to the shoe situation. I had no idea these were available and a place to sit or rest your feet if you also have a chair in your bedroom.

I agree with Stringweaver. Lets start a new January Organizing for small houses. I will be bold and do it and I also think we can add to this one as needed.
wantoretire_did
8 years ago
Wow, I'm late to this party! It's been awhile. Chris, your wall of flowers is breathtaking! You are one talented gal. About that song, which is still one of my favorite toe-tapping ones, we lived in England (USAF) in the early 60s when it was popular there. The Brits didn't have a clue of what was meant by "smokin' cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo". He wasn't on TV there.

I am the consummate weeder outer of things, so am able to stay on top if it. But, I always find new ideas here to ponder and sometimes put into action. DH bought a label maker last year and I've finally put it to good use. I cleaned out a lot of paper and made new files and labels. Looks so much better and makes it easier to find what I need. Also did the tops of my large spice containers that are in a pullout plastic container so that I can just find what I need by looking at them from the top, rather than having to pull each one out to see. Baby steps :-)

Sorry to hear that Joe is not well. Its a struggle for both of you, I know. We both had close calls last year, DH with liver cancer, me with melanoma. Both localized (mine was in situ), but still…….. its an elephant in the room.

Good to see the old names here.
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
wantoretire good to see you posting too. Hoping we can drag all the old regulars back in to play. This was such a fun board.
desertsteph
8 years ago
"drag all the old regulars back in to play. This was such a fun board."

yes! and I miss so many of them. good to see you here Shelayne!

we need ML and idie back too! I wanna see ML's reveal of her new kitchen and know how she is cooking up a storm in it...and how her critters are doing.
shelayne
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Nancy, I love those clever shoe-storing ottomans; I wish I had the need for yet another ottoman. I confess to having an out-of-hand shoe situation, and I really need to address it before DH throws them (and ME!) out on the driveway. Fact is, I like shoes. A lot. My problem is I don't have one of those humongous walk-in closets with dedicated shoe storage, it is smaller, and I have had to improvise- with tiered racks, with those hanging shoe thingies, and just shoving them here and there. Mostly they end up in various places after I wear them. I am fooling myself if I think that I will dutifully bring the ones I wear the most back upstairs. I told DH the other day that I was going to address this situation, and I will. I am thinking about sticking a little tiered wired rack into our front hall closet, and will line up some of the most often used shoes there. That is the closet he throws them in when they assault his visual space. OR maybe I will install shelves, low to the floor, where I can make the most of the space. I will need to ponder this.

I also want to see ML's kitchen reveal!
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
ML is still having internet issues. I would love for idie to come back too.
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Well we do have a small walk in closet so I used the plastic drawers for my shoes and boots. Again my love hate relationship with those plastic drawers. Now my feet are healed I can get rid of some of the washable shoes I was wearing for a few years. UGH Hoping I never go back to that misery again.
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I can understand that, Chris! Shelayne, nice to see you. I actually did a spreadsheet to help me decide which shoe storage solution is best for me. I ordered one from Lowes that was available at a half-dozen sites, but my sister works at Lowes, so loyalty made me order from them. Let me go see if I have a photo...
The next day I got sent a message that a fabric I had looked at and saved at Houzz at some point in the past was on sale, so I ordered enough to make a dust cover for the front.

[houzz=https://www.houzz.com/products/light-blue-floral-toile-sateen-fabric-prvw-vr~10860030]

I am thinking I may just use dowel rods in the top and bottom to make it hang nicely. I ordered enough to recover a stool I have and maybe make some pillowcases. It should go well with that nice rug in the basement if I ever get the room walls de-papered, prepped, and painted, the floor covered in flooring instead of carpet, and my rug laid! It has only been 10 years in this house!
Shades_of_idaho
8 years ago
Nancy what a perfect shoe storage. The fabric front is a great idea and can be changed if you choose for the new look. It is really pretty and adding it in a few places in the room will tie things together. I had no idea they had such lovely shoe storage pieces.
shelayne
8 years ago
Oooh, Nancy, that is beautiful! I love the fabric you chose for the dust cover. Make sure you post a photo of your finished product. It is going to be so lovely! I wish I had space in my closet for something like that, because I certainly don't have room for it anywhere else at this point. It would probably help me if I could get myself to part with a LOT of my clothes. I do these periodic purges, and then find myself a couple years later looking at new clothes I wore maybe once or twice. I even have a few pieces that still have the tags on them- usually those are my "beach vacation" outfits. I am loath to put those in the pile because they are perfect for those getaways.
Nancy in Mich
8 years ago
Shelayne, sounds like you are not getting away very often! If I get the project finished I will post. I am a notorious non-finisher!
stringweaver
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
sigh....oh to have a shoe storage issue.....

my feet are so impossible to fit. I've only ever had about four pair of shoes (at a time) and of those on two that really fit. If only I could, I would have a real shoe storage problem ;)

usually they store where I kick them off, but I have a small wardrobe in my living room with a shoe rack. I live in hope and put in three tiers of shoe racks. I have been making an effort to put my shoes in there lately, as well as hanging up my coat.
scone911
8 years ago
The ginormous oak file cabinet sold! Somewhat to my surprise-- that thing was a real white elephant. Now I can get to both sides of the basement work table, and the check goes to savings! :)

Organization challenge.....December 2015

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