Time To Organize

I'm organizing everything around our home. I've gone mad, but everything must be in order I've decided this year. Not only will it make the house look better, but run smoother too. I've been looking at other blogs who have inspired me to join their challenges. It feels good to have order and feel like I'm accomplishing a goal each day. This month I started in our basement and sorting through each box. I'm still not finished but it's a big task that should be done by Spring. I'll be ready for a big yard sale then.

Currently I just finished organizing my kitchen cupboards/pantry. I hated finding half empty boxes of crackers or cereal the kids would put back. Taking up extra space that could make room for some nice containers. So I decided to take everything out of their original boxes and just place them into bins. Every container is labeled by category and much easier for me to find. I took inventory of what I had on hand as well and was able to go to the store today knowing what I actually needed this time. I found the labels on my favorite blog, I Heart Organizing. Check her site out. You'll come to love her as I do.



I found all these matching green baskets at my dollar store. I didn't spend a lot on containers for this project.





Even my beverage cupboard got a little make-over. Luv it!



Good-Bye Ugly Boxes!



Hello Organized!

Under the Bathroom Sink

I just wanted to share with everyone how I organize in my bathroom to keep clutter at bay. Under my bathroom sink I have four rubbermaid storage containers that keep stuff like our health and beauty supplies tucked away. I don't have a medicine cabinet and I don't like them on the counter. Less is more and keeps my bathroom counter looking clean. I label everything too so everyone else knows what's inside.

Here is what I do to create more storage and organization under the bathroom sink.











There you have it! It works for me. Simple and keeps little toddler hands from getting into unsafe items. I would love to see how others organize under there sinks.

Must Haves in my Kitchen

I thought I would show you what I must have in my kitchen. These are some of my favorite products and they make my life so much easier. If you haven't tried any of these, you must.

First up, Press & Seal. Much better than Saran wrap and clings on your dishes without any fuss. Reusable and doesn't get stuck together like plastic wrap does. Makes storing left-overs in the same dish you served it in a big help. I hate creating any extra dishes to wash, since I AM the only dishwasher in this house.



Next up, slow cooker liners. I make a lot of meals in my crock-pot and hate the clean up. So you just put this down in the bowl first before you add your ingredients. Cooks the same, just with less mess when it's all gone.



Third, I love pre-cut foil. It dispenses the perfect size and I don't have to mess with cutting. Brittany is always making little pouches of food to cook in the oven, so this comes in handy around here.



Cooking sheets! I am always baking something in the oven on these things. I found a baking sheet that I just love. Most that are sold don't have enough depth on the side edge to catch juices that sometimes run out. The commercial bake ware does make a big difference. They are deeper to catch more and just seem to be all around better. This is what restaurants use in their kitchens. Since I'm feeding an army now, I feel like I need to have more industrial cooking items. I picked up another Oneida one up at Wal-mart the other day.




Well that's all for now. I will be posting more of my favorite products and household items in a future post. Look for that to come soon. I hope you'll try these and if you have, what do you think of them?

Baking Kit

Yesterday I was in the mood for baking. I have been reading blogs about favorite desserts and decided to get out my baking kit. I was tired of looking through my cupboards for misplaced sprinkles or cupcake liners. I decided it was time to make a storage box to hold them all so I could find things easier. This is what I used.

It's a fairly large Rubbermaid storage tote that I decorated with pretty ribbon to dress it up. I used stickers on the outside to label the container.



Inside holds everything you might need to make up a quick batch of cookies or cupcakes. You never know when you might be running low on snacks and have a couple of hungry kids to feed. That's why having this on hand helps me get through till I can go grocery shopping again.



I decided to try my hand at making Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Ball's. They taste just like the candy, except they are made with cake. I started with this. Cherry Chip Cake and Vanilla Icing. I mixed the cake according to the directions and baked it in the oven.



When it came out of the oven I cut half of the cake up and crumbled into a mixing bowl. I added vanilla icing and stirred them together. This makes it all mushy and easy to form into round cake balls. Afterwards,I stuck the batter back into the fridge to harden and cool.





After about half an hour I got the cake back out of the fridge and melted Hershey's chocolate chips in the microwave. I took formed cake balls and dipped them in the chocolate to cover. I placed them on wax paper till they hardened. They were ready to eat in just a few minutes. I kid you not, these taste just like Chocolate covered cherries and are soooo sweet. My kids just loved them. You will have to make up a batch and try them for yourself.