the perks of being an organization freak

Hello, my name is Michelle and I'm obsessed with organization.

Organization makes me smile.
It calms me.
It is second nature to me.

For you fellow organization freaks, you get it.  You know what I mean.  You're my people.

For those of you who are skeptics, or just don't have the Organization Bone (I'm sure there is one, right?)....well, I'm guessing you wouldn't be here based on the title of this post.  But if you are, how sweet are you?  Reading my little blog just for the fun of it.  :)

So maybe I should get to the inspiration behind today's post, and what pulled me out of the almost one-year drought of writing here.  Each summer, I make a list of projects I want to do around my house.  All of those little things that I have no time to do throughout the school year, and finally get to do during some of that much-needed down time.

Lots of this year's list included cleaning and organization projects....and I'm checking some of those things off my list this week.

Yesterday's project:

Organize my Junk Drawer!

Everyone has a junk drawer, right?

That Drawer of Randomness.
The Pit Where Unwanted Items Go to Hide.

Here's what mine looked like yesterday morning....

Keepin' It Real for you all.

(and now I'm slightly embarrassed)

So the first step, as with any good reorganization project I do....empty EVERYTHING out of the drawer.  

And, as I've learned through years of organizing....as I touched every item, I put it into one of three piles:

1- Keep in this drawer

2- Relocate to a different area that makes more sense

3- Trash/recycle

For the items that I was going to keep in the drawer, I also grouped like items to come up with a game plan of how I was going to put it all back together.

One group happened to be "paper items"....like coupons, menus, pamphlets, reference pages, product info, etc.  So I grabbed an accordian file from the amazing Target Dollar Spot, labeled the sections, and filed away what I didn't recycle.

Speaking of the awesomeness of the Target Dollar Spot....which is always my first stop when I enter my favorite store....

I bought these a couple months ago, knowing that I'd find a use for them....for a DOLLAR people!

All my little clips, rubber bands, and wet wipes fit nicely into this square one.

I had a few partially full boxes of candles, and a few other random ones...plus some match books found in different drawers.  Now they're all in one place thanks to this cute little container.

And the best part is that both of these plastic boxes come with clear lids!

FOR A DOLLAR! 

(Seriously, Target isn't paying me to say this....I just LOOOOOOVE Target!)

I had a few more groupings of markers/pens/pencils that needed places to go.  I put the pens and pencils in my desk drawer where I'd need them, and the Sharpies and dry erase pens went in this drawer.  Since those are the only writing utensils I need in the kitchen.

I had one organizer that I took from a different drawer where it wasn't really needed, and used it to corral my Sharpies, and a few other small items.

But....I needed something for my dry erase markers and mini eraser that I wanted to keep in there because the drawer is right next to my dry erase calendar.

I didn't want to spend ANY extra money on this project (all of these items were ones that I had stored for months in my craft closet)....so I made a box!

I cut the top off a pasta box that was going in the recycling anyway....

Next, I covered it with this adhesive drawer liner I got at....yes, the Target Dollar Spot.

(Note: It was one of those "3 Dollar" items-- but still a great deal in my opinion!)

Here's the finished project....cheap and easy!  :)

And here it is with the dry erase board materials, and a few other small items that needed a "home".

So, once everything had a "home", I cleaned out the inside of the drawer, and lined it with more contact paper (same design, but different color).

Finally....time to put everything back in the drawer!  

The back of the drawer

The front of the drawer

The finished project!!!!  This makes my heart happy.

Seriously, I've opened this drawer to peek inside almost every time I've gone past it.

And since every other organization project I've done like this has remained organized and pretty, I'm sure this one will last, too!

So I'll leave you with my top five reasons why I spend time on projects like this....

1. You save time- you don't have to search for things you need! 

2. You don't keep things you DON'T need....because if everything has a place, then you don't have place for "extra stuff".  In other words, you won't become a hoarder!

3. You save money- you won't buy items you don't need because you can SEE what you have.

4. By using items you already have, you save money and exercise your Creativity Muscles.

5. Once you start reorganizing/decluttering, it becomes addictive.  And you want to find more projects to do.  Okay...maybe that's just me.  But I bet I'm not alone!!

Here's evidence of that....right after I finished this drawer, I reorganized my desk drawer!!

Hope this inspires a few people to dive in, join the Organization Club, and have fun with it!

monday made it....cute craft closet!

My first "Linky" of the summer!!

I'm linking up with Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics for a Monday Made It.

I know....it's Tuesday...but better late than never.  Also, unlike most projects on this linky, this isn't a classroom/teaching based project, but it's definitely one I'm proud of sharing!

After years of living with all of my crafty/DIY materials scattered about in about seventeen different places around my house (okay...maybe seven....but it felt like seventeen when I had to find something)....I finally have corralled them all together in one place.

My new.....Craft Closet!

Please note....all photos were taken on my phone in low lighting....so don't expect super high quality here.

First.....time to be real with you all.   Although I think of myself as an organized person, one who doesn't deal well with clutter, when I get busy (also known as "September through June")....I tend to pick one place to pile up the clutter when I just don't have time to deal with it.

Here's what the closet in my guest room looked like before this transformation....yikes.

BEFORE

Left Side....Top.

Left Side....Bottom.

Right Side....Top.

Right Side....Bottom.

I'm a tad embarrassed to show this, but I also love a good "Before and After" comparison.  

So, luckily my family was having a garage sale this summer and I ended up selling enough to make a good dent in all of that stuff hanging out (some of it literally) in the closet.  

I started out with SIX baskets of purses.....and now I'm down to just four.  For those who know me well, that wasn't easy.  I loooooooove purses!  The other basket was wallets, and I downsized those, too.

The bed in my guest bedroom first became a dumping ground for all of the clothes I was going to sell or donate.  Yes, there IS a bed under there somewhere!

Once all of my garage sale stuff was cleared out, it was time to collect all of my craft items in one place.   This made it much easier to see what type of storage I would need, and I could start grouping like items together.

 Sorry, guest room bed.....you'll see daylight soon.

This left me with a completely cleared out closet.....a blank slate for my organization-loving self to embrace.

Perfect time to clean the shelves, walls, and floors that had been covered up for a while.

My next stop was my favorite store....Target of course....to stock up on some items I needed for this project and a couple others I had in the works.

I wanted to do a little something extra....a little something cute....a little something different....to make this stand out from other closets I've recently organized.

Target came through again.

I was in the paint aisle (for another project I'll blog about soon) and saw that they have "wallpaper".  Not the typical wallpaper that people cringe about taking down because it's been literally glued to the wall. 

It's actually more like contact paper....just thicker and higher quality.

And of course, since it's Target....it's absolutely the cutest.

So I found a print I loved, in a color that coordinated well with my paint project, and I brought it home and used a good amount of patience, along with a little compromising with my semi-OCD self, to get this result:

You may already notice the "compromise" on the bottom, right-hand side.  There's a section that I couldn't get to match up with the rest.  Since I had decided to put the pieces on horizontally, I matched up the sections the best that I could, but since I had precut the three pieces I had to shift them down to match.

That left a little section at the end of each piece that was "missing" and had to be replaced with another piece that didn't match with the pattern.

My advice....don't precut all of your pieces.  Also....it probably would have been quicker and easier if there was someone else to help hold the paper while I smoothed it down.  Like I said.....LOTS of patience.

However, since I knew I had some items to put in front of the wall, I wasn't too worried about it.  Most of "that area" will be covered the whole time. :)

So I brought in the drawer cart and storage container I got from Target, along with a bookcase I transformed from a thrift-shop find.  The bookcase will get it's own post soon.  :)

And then I just started filling in the rest!  Lots of these were organization items I already had, so in the end this project didn't cost very much at all.

AFTER

Left Side....Top.  

Purses, wallets, and less than half of the clothes I had in here before!

Left Side...Bottom.

Scrapbook paper supply, craft books, baskets with random items, and a paper cutter.

Right Side....Top.

Gift wrap storage (the long gray thing), extra totes, and a shelf of crafting items.

Right Side....Bottom.

Extra frames, and lots of craft items now grouped and stored in containers!

Here's a closer look at some of the groupings....

I put this on Instagram a couple days ago....I found this adorable jar on clearance at Meijer, and knew exactly what I could use it for-- my washi tape collection/obsession!

The three little boxes (super cheap- from IKEA) hold smaller items, like this one that has mostly ribbons.

Underneath those, some extra small frames in a cute basket that my washi collection outgrew, and any extra fabric and my glue gun/sticks (underneath the fabric) are stored in this cute Thirty-One bag.

This larger storage box (from IKEA) holds all of my stamping and card making items. I had more than I remembered....mostly because they weren't all in the same place.  Now I know not to buy more!

Small scrapbook papers, stickers, and other embellishments filled one drawer.

Hole punchers, and other cutting tools (including my adorable mini-paper-cutter) filled another.

This storage box was the perfect size for my extra gift bags, and party plates, napkins, and straws.

I relocated this basket from my bedroom and it now holds all of my "adhesives"- glues, tapes, and sprays.

This box, which holds all of my extra greeting cards, got a little makeover with some extra wallpaper and....of course....washi tape!  :)

That pot and plant (fake) are both from IKEA.  It serves no purpose other than to be cute.

This tray.....which once held things in my bathroom....got cleaned up and is now holding some of my paint supplies.  The rest are in the bottom drawer in the cart, along with other larger items.

The little drawer set next to it just holds smaller items that would get lost in the other boxes/bins.

That's about it.  Except for some labels that I'll be making for those boxes/drawers.  Yep, even when I'm "done"....I just can't stop organizing!  

I can't tell you how exciting this project is for an organization freak like me.  Not only does it make it easier for me to find things when I need them, but now I won't buy things I don't need.  I'll be saving money and crafting more now that this is finally done!  :)

And now....guests can stay at my house again.

The bed is free!

even knife blocks can be cute

I'm back!  It's been so long since my last post.....and of course, I blame life.

And work.   

Mostly work.

So now that my summer is in full swing, and I've caught up on some things that have been put on the back burner for so long, I now have.....dare I say it....free time!

This week, I've been finishing up some small projects around the house, so I thought I'd share a few of them on my little blog-who-has-been-neglected.  

Today's project was inspired by two things....

First, I was cleaning my kitchen cupboards out (like the full-on, taking-everything-out-and-cleaning-the-inside-and-outside type of cleaning) and decluttering everything in my kitchen.  Getting ready for a garage sale in a couple weeks!   

Second, I was also starting a big reorganization of my craft supplies and was looking through my washi tape collection.  And realizing how much I love my washi tape but "need" to use it more.

So, if you're following my train of thought....which I realize is hard sometimes....I was thinking as I was cleaning, how can I use my washi tape to brighten up a few things in my kitchen?  

And here's what I came up with for project #1...

Simple and Cheap Knife Block Makeover

Okay.....so I didn't just use washi tape.   I painted it, too!

Here's the quick play-by-play of how to do it.....but honestly, if you're at all crafty, you probably have it all figured out by now.   Plus, there's no one way to do this.  The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!   (Cheesy, I know)   :)

First, assemble all of your craft goodies.

I spread out something to protect my counter, and took out a piece of sandpaper, painters tape, paints and paintbrushes, and of course....washi tape!

Clean your knife block.  Just soap and water is good.

(If you're like me....that part of the knife block in between the knives, which has been neglected for a while, might be pretty dusty.  Oops.)

Give it a good sanding down.   Nothing too crazy, just enough to make it easier for the paint to adhere.

Wipe it down and dry it well before the next step.

This step is only if you're like me and couldn't decide on one color....so I decided to use two.

Use some painters tape to mark off the areas where you want to divide your colors.

Then, paint away!  I used two coats of each color.

I was a little impatient and didn't want to wait until the gray was absolutely dry.  Instead of taping it off, I just took a small flat paintbrush and slowly cut in where the colors met.  Worked perfectly!

Let it dry completely.  I just let it set out overnight.

Choose your washi tape.....and because it's easily removed, just try out a small section first.

Since a lot of washi tape styles are somewhat transparent, it's a good idea to check what it will look like on top of a color.

I ended up loving this coral-colored, chevron tape with the paint colors I used.  It was so fun to try the tape in different positions.

This was one of the easiest projects ever, and I'll be doing a few more to feed into my washi obsession!

Stay tuned....