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!

welcome...to my home away from home!

You know how teachers joke around about how their students think they "live" at school?

Well....it's closer to the truth than I'd care to admit sometimes.   I spend an average of 11-12 hours at school (sometimes more, sometimes less) a day during the week and then I usually come back on Saturday or Sunday for a good chunk of time to get ready for Monday.

The past two nights, I was literally giddy over the fact that I left work at or before 5:00.
State testing= less planning for the next day.  
Really the only perks of standardized testing.

The reason I bring this up.....I spend a lot of time in my classroom, so I want it to be comfortable, inviting, appealing, colorful, organized, and a reflection of who I am.

So I bring to you tonight.....my very first.....

CLASSROOM TOUR!  

Please note that all of these photos were taken the week before school started, so everything is new and clean and neat and organized.   And while it's still neat and organized (I wouldn't have it any other way), it's definitely more "broken into" like a new pair of shoes after a month of wearing them.

Warning:  An obnoxious amount of photos are to follow.  I just love my classroom that much.

View of the front of the room

View from the door toward the "window side" of the room

Standing in the front, looking toward the back of the room

And the last full view- to the "cubby side" and doorway

 

Cubby Wall

All the cubbies are loaded up with the student supplies, ready for the first day!

Above the student cubbies are all of my Reading Street teaching resources (we got a TON of stuff for this new curriculum!). 

On top of the cubbies are totes of all of my extra books.

I'm kind of addicted to buying books for my class....:)

As you can probably tell, I heart organization.  All of my Reading Street resources are now organized by unit and reading level.

Such a time saver!

I provide my students with five colored folders and label them ahead of time. 

(The past two summers I've bargain shopped and got them for a penny each!)

 

This is one of my favorite organization tips that lasts the entire year.  Papers for every subject have a place, and with a quick scan of the room I can tell which students have out the correct folder!

I put everything they need in their cubbies before the first day: all of the books, workbooks, notebooks, folders, planner, clipboard, etc. are numbered and ready for them. 

These do NOT stay in their cubbies-- that would require way too much getting out of their seats and wasted transition time.

Within the first couple days, all of this (except for the clipboards) will be brought to their desk.  This process provides a great opportunity to practice efficient procedures.

 

Next to the cubbies is a small bulletin board, with a weekly calendar of events, reminders about our Michigan Miles, and a few signs with inspirational quotes.

 

Michigan Miles are a behavior reward program we came up with years ago to have the students "earn" their trip to Fourth Grade Camp.  They earn miles through good behavior, turning in homework on time, and getting their planner signed.  It's been a great motivator for the kids!

 

Another sign next to the door.....a list of what students can do when they're done with work.  These "May Do" activities aren't choices every day, but often enough to keep up as a reminder.

 

Front Wall

One of my bulletin boards up front.....with my calendar/birthdays, jobs board (which I explained in this post), and Social Contracts for my homeroom and math classes.

On the table in front of this board are some free choice activities- Hot Dots, writing prompts, and math facts practice activities.

 

 

You can get these calendar pieces at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.   :)

 

On this side of my board-- Volume Control (freebie here), the poster where I list each day's homework assignments for students to copy into their planners, a pocket chart for our daily schedule, and a few other signs for reference.

 

Right in front of the board-- my Elmo/Projector table, covered easily with some chevron fabric (see more about that process here).

On the left side of the board-- my daily objective frames (read more about these here and here), a spot for missing work stars, behavior clip chart, and SLANT reminder poster.

 

My other bulletin board....Reading Street Concept Board and posters with literary elements and different genres of literature.

 

This part of the board changes every week.....if you teach 4th Grade Reading Street, go to my TpT store to find these Unit and Weekly Question signs!

 

Window Wall

 

My classroom library....and there are more book boxes in the front of the room.

Did I mention I am addicted to books?  ;)

 

 

Above the bookshelves is my "Moral Focus" wall.  I teach at a charter school with a Moral Focus and Citizenship component.  We teach the Core Democratic Values along with Moral Virtues.  Each month, this display changes but the CDV posters above it stay there all year.

Sorry this is so blurry-- I tried getting everything in the picture.  I should know better by now!

 

The dull and sharp pencil cans I made from metal buckets I found at the Target Dollar Spot last summer.  Love these!  And with my new pencil sharpener (described in this post), I start each day with a supply of perfectly sharpened pencils for the kids to trade.

 

I had to include this.....one of the few things I still have (and use) from my first year of teaching.

 

A shoe box, covered with contact paper, having seen better days, but still serving its purpose.

Students write compliments to each other when another student does something for them that they want to recognize.  I read these at our weekly class meetings, and give the students their compliment slips to keep.  Those little pieces of paper mean a lot to many of the kids.

And they mean a lot to me, too.

 

The front corner of my room-- storage for supplies (read this post about the labels I created), class rules/consequences/behavior reminder posters, and my bookshelf that I wrote about in this post.

(Yikes....I apologize for the blurry pictures-- my classroom has some areas of low light)

 

 

Two motivators-- Homework Stars and Catching Compliments.

 

I'll write more about these two things in a future post.  :)

 

Back Wall

 

On my back counter....drawers for organizing my supplies/copies for each subject area, and the binders/resource books/Teacher Editions I need for planning.

 

The file box is for "Extra Papers"-- I make a couple extra copies of homework assignments, study sheets, spelling lists, and reading logs for students who lost theirs.

Proudly displaying my two diplomas as well!

Close up of this Command Center--- Bandaids, Travel Passes (basically like a hall pass),  Lunch Parent Reports, and Behavior Notes.

 

My second microwave with lunch supply tub on top, and the filing cabinet that I beautified this summer (as described in this post).

 

Reading Area.....lots of comfy pillows to read comfortably around the room during silent reading time.   I even have a student whose one job is to keep the pillows organized. 

I'm a little OCD like that.  :)

 

Right above the reading area....my Star of the Week board (which isn't bare anymore) and my "bed" of Scooby Doo dolls.  Many gifts from many students over the years. 

 

Next to that....my gallery-wall of  "Wise Words".  Most found via Pinterest.

This came to be after changing my objective frames to plastic magnetic ones.....I took the glass out of the remaining ones and used the frames to go around some laminated signs.

I did the same with a couple cheap Target frames too (glass taken out for safety reasons!)...

 

One of my favorites.  :)

 

 

And finally.....a Welcome Sign that I whipped up an hour before our Parent Orientation this summer.  Because for some reason I needed to do one more crafty project....

 

Phew!  If you made it to the end of this tour, I congratulate you.

And thank you.

And am impressed by your stamina.....and patience.

 

As you can probably tell, I love my classroom.

I should.....since I kind of "live" there.  :)