Ashlee's Top 10

Ways to Get and Stay Organized...

10.) Organize Cabinets and Shelves by Stacking or Grouping

I can not say enough about having organized and ordely cabinets! It makes life SOOOO much easier. Its easier to get dishes out, put them away, and your husband might even unload the dish washer now =)

I put the items that we rarely use on the top sheves

I wanted our pots/pans to be at arms reach while I was cooking. I couldn't stand having to search and find the pan and the lid that goes with it.

I found these fabric bins at Dollar Tree and I found out that you can store so many more books in these rather than lining them up in a row. I takes up less space. I attached scrapbook paper to the bottom of the shelves to keep from seeing the unfished wood from the bottom of the stairs.

9.) Throw Junk Mail AWAY,Put bills in Organizer, and File away Bill Stubs, Reciepts, Misc Info!

Here are the reccomended length of times to keep a particular document: (Source: All You Magazine)

Document/How long you should hold on to it

• 
  
  ATM Receipts/Until recorded into the check book(file away if important purchase)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Paid Utility Bills/1 Year
  
  
  
• 
  
  Medical Payment Records/1 Year
  
  
  
• 
  
  Bank Satements/1 Year
  
  
  
• 
  
  Paystubs/1 Year
  
  
  
• 
  
  Mortgage Intrest/7Years
  
  
  
• 
  
  Alimony/Retirement Contributions/Charitable Contributions/7 Years
  
  
  
• 
  
  Home Loan Records/As long as you own the house
  
  
  
• 
  
  Deeds/Car Titles/Receipts for major purchases/As long as you own it
  
  
  
• 
  
  Birth Certificate/Marriage Certificate/Insurance Policy Information/FOREVER, it a fireproof box
  
  
  
• 
  
  Will/FOREVER in a fireproof box
  
  
  

8.) Clip Coupons and Organize them

I found this cute Owl Coupon Organizer in the Dollar Bins @ Michaels

I seperate the coupons into these catagories:

Food**Fast Food/Resteraunts**Beauty/Personal**Medicine**Azul**

Dept Store/Retail**Misc

7.) Make Lists...i.e menus, grocery lists, cleaning lists...

I keep a list going constantly! That way when something pops in your mind that you need....WRITE IT DOWN

6.) Group items that go together

Plastic shopping bags stay nice and collected in this stainless steel organizer (Walmart $7)

5.) Make things Accessible

I keep all our cleaning products under our kitchen sink. I always know where they are and I can clean up in a flash!

4.) Organize Recipes...I put mine in a photo album

I make my grocery list out for two weeks and make out my menus too! It really helps out to know ahead of time what we will be having. We usually use the crock pot at least 2-3 days a week when I work late.

3.) Use Baskets/Bins/Containers

It's always nice to have a pen and paper ready whenever needed! I also keep scissors, tape and a calculater on hand!

Cookbooks stay nice and tidy in a nice woven basket. The one in the middle is a picture album. Thats where I keep cut out recipes and ones that I have wrote down!

Check out how I organized our herbs and spices HERE!

And...how I organized my Jewelry HERE!

2.) Labels are key

It takes all but a minute ir two to label the items in a basket or bin. You know whats in there and it keeps you from wasting time trying to find something!

1.) Get rid of junk and continue to deal with it immediatly=)

Additional Ways to Get organized:

Store away seasonal items**organize closets by colors**


I was FEATURED HERE on this post!!
Thank You Stephanie from Somewhat Simple!!

I am linking up to We are that Family for other great Tips!!!

The Queen of Clean

The Queen of Clean by Linda Cobb http://www.queenofclean.com/

This book is AWESOME!! I received it from my SIL Christie a while ago. It is packed full of de cluttering ideas, a cleaning routine, stain and spot removers, and a month by month checklist of how to/what/how often you should be cleaning things. ALSO, and my very favorite ORGANIZING tips.

Check it out, it's worth reading :)

Stop by next week and I will be sharing My Top 10 ways that I stay ORGANIZED!!

Thanks for reading!!

Happy Friday!

Don't Forget to comment on the post below for the chance to win a GIVEAWAY!!

DIY Herb and Spice Labels

I LOVE BASKETS!! I bought these baskets at Hobby Lobby For $1.20 each at 80% off (thanks Lindsey!!) although I didn't have anywhere to put these yet. But, ask Matt, I always find uses for everything, especially if it involves organizing :).

I had all my herbs and spices in the cabinet above the microwave, and even though it was organized, it was a PAIN. You had to pull all the spices down just to find 1.

I decided to put the baskets on top of my fridge along with the spices. The idea for labels didn't come until Saturday night at 9 pm :D!!

This is what I did.........so SIMPLE and CUTE and FUNCTIONABLE!!

I gathered these materials:

Ribbon

Scissors

Hole Punch (I used a pen :))

Typed Spice Labels

Scrapbook Paper

1.) I typed out all the spices and herbs according to how often I use them and categories. Baking, Special Seasonings, etc

2.) I used the ribbon carton as my circle guide and traced around it on the back of the scrapbook paper. Cut it out.

3.) I then, cut around the spice label into a squiggly pattern and taped it down onto the paper.

4.) Punch a hole in the paper and string some ribbon through the top. I then weaved it through the baskets and tied a bow!! SO SIMPLE!!!

Finished Product!! What do you think??



I recently found this blog called Along the way with K and J. She is having a giveaway today!! It's some pretty neat notecards!! Check out Katie's blog to find out how you can enter!!

Stop by tommorrow, I am having my first little GIVEAWAY!!

DIY Jewelry Display Board

This is a REAL SIMPLE and VERY STYLISH way of displaying your jewelry. I snatched up this idea from Christy at SimplyDwell, who i found from younghouselove.com.








Materials:

Cork Board....you choose size...mine was 17X23

Fabric that you LOVE.....I bought a yard, which was WAY to much

Coordinating Ribbon

Push Pins

Cup Hooks

Composite Wood Trim or Moulding (OPTIONAL)

Stapler or Hot Glue Gun

Here is what I did.....and for less than $10 bucks!!!

1.) Cut fabric to size, stretch and staple or hot glue gun down

2.) Cut ribbon the length of cork board. I did 4 rows, but could have fit 5.

3.) Secure with push pins about 2 inches apart. Stagger the pins on the next row...(CUTE Detail)

4.) Place Ribbon about 2 1/2 inches apart, that way your earrings shouldn't overlap

5.) Screw cup hooks at the bottom for bangles, bracelets, and necklaces

6.) OPTIONAL: I chose to add moulding around the cork board to add a framed look (thanks Ronnie). To do this, just cut moulding to size. The Angles can be tricky, but you can do it. You could also sand and stain the original frame of the cork board.

Hang earrings from the ribbon in between the push pins :)

Thanks to my SWEET husband Matt for cutting the moulding for me!!!
Give it a TRY and let me know if you do!!