It's Organized!

A very short month ago, I began organizing my office for the 29 Day Organizational Challenge at Orgjunkie.com.

Twenty-nine days later, I have one room in my house that doesn't look like a tornado tore through it. I never thought I'd say that about any room in my house. Laura at Orgjunkie.com asked that we answer a few questions, so I'll tackle those first before unveiling the before and after pics.

1. What space did you decide to organize and why?
My office/guest room/Little M's room. Yes, it is all one room. I don't actually work in my office, but it's where I keep all of my files. The room was always overrun with bills, office supplies, paper, clothes, toys, and electronics. When I had guests, I would try to shove everything into one pile to make room for them. It was embarrassing. Little M was starting to get his hands on anything and everything that was lying around. I could never find what I was looking for. And because I'm focusing on organizing my business this spring, I needed to organize the physical space first.

2.  What steps did you take to ensure you completed the space within the 29 day timeline?
I wrote out a list of tasks that needed to be accomplished. After I wrote the list, I was completely overwhelmed. I didn't think I could do it all in 29 days. But I tried to do something small in the room every day. It was great to be able to cross things off the list. There were some things I didn't get to, but those were mostly decorative. It's amazing how much cuter a room looks just by being more organized. It's not about buying expensive organizational gear or artwork for the walls. Just clean up!

3.  What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and how did you overcome it?
Not getting sucked into organizing every space in my house. (See question 4).

4. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?
I didn't have much junk in this room. It was mostly stuff that needed to be filed, computer paper, and stuff I use all the time. Don't get me wrong--I was able to purge quite a few things. One of my first steps was getting rid of random stuff filling random baskets. I had an adorable purse that I never used sitting in a basket. I loved the purse, but I wasn't going to use it. One of the first days of the challenge, I took that along with a change purse and some other random items to a friend's house and gave it away. The other items taking up space in the room ended up in other rooms in the house. (My house is a huge work in progress, so it was nice to be able to make small, quick changes in other rooms).

My favorite part of purging, though, was going through all of my computer wires and CDs. I had wires for phones and electronics that I hadn't owned in years, and I think I had kept every CD-ROM I had ever owned. Now I have the wires I do need neatly organized in a storage box in the closet, and the CDs are in the living room next to the DVDs, so when the kids try to fight me to play with a shiny DVD, I just hand them one of the old ones and avoid a tantrum.

5.  Tell me one of your proudest moments during this challenge?
My mind is really what needed to get organized during this challenge. I think organizing my office was symbolically organizing my brain. One of my biggest challenges in life is keeping a calendar. I often have a few different calendars going at one time, and I'll frantically thumb through all of them to find appointments and playdates I set up.

Since I've been working on organizing my business, however, I needed to look at the big picture. I've been saying for a long time that I need a huge wall calendar so I can see every month at once and plan out goals for the entire year. I tossed around the idea of getting a large calendar at the office supply store or building a giant bulletin board. I finally ended up with a really simple solution.

I took my kids' brown craft paper and unrolled it onto the wall. Using a word processor, I typed up and printed out the names of the month in a cute red font and glued them along the top of the paper. I drew 30 lines under each month. Now I have an easy way to see my entire year at once. I can plan out my goals and lay out specific tasks necessary to reach those goals. After I got that up, it was a huge sigh of relief. All of a sudden, I didn't have to hold all of the information in my brain anymore. It was free, simple, and it's my favorite part of the room now.

6.  Explain any organizing “tools” you used to help you create additional space and to establish some limits and boundaries?
Since the room is very multifunctional, I wanted to establish decorative spaces and office spaces. The armoire has some great hidden areas where I could stash ugly office supplies like my giant hole punch and computer speakers. The drawers had been stashed with computer wires I didn't use, and the space was mostly empty since it was so hard to open the drawer that was missing the knob. Once I organized my office supplies in the drawers, the armoire was empty. I didn't know what to put in it. Then I realized that it's nice to have one space in the room that's purely decorative. So I decorated it. It's nice to not have to have a productive space in every corner of my house.

At one point in my life, I was convinced that I could organize all of the inspirational pictures I tear out of magazines and other information I keep in paper form in three-ring binders. The problem with binders is that I never take the time to punch holes in the papers and actually file them away. I needed a better system. Making file boxes out of cereal boxes was so easy, so free, and made it simple to drop in all of the loose papers that inspire me. They are easy to access and easy to clean out periodically.

The biggest challenge was making the furniture work in the room. The file cabinet is a strange size, the glider is necessary in the room for rocking Little M to sleep, and there is a pack n' play at the end of the bed. I love the armoire, but I never saw it because my back was to it as I entered the room. It was also blocking the space instead of inviting you in. And the chair just didn't make sense next to the bed. Once I rearranged the furniture, I was so excited. Now, it's easy to file paperwork because the cabinet is right by the door, and the glider seems to have its own space.

7.  What is ONE piece of advice you’d give to someone else to encourage them on their organizational journey?
It is possible; just start small.

I had always gotten overwhelmed with the idea of organizing anything. I can't even get a handle on my laundry. Especially with two kids running around. But I had a whole month in front of me, and I only had one room to tackle. I didn't even consider doing the closet. Just the room. And I did it. (Although I did have to forget about some of my more lofty goals, like spray painting the file cabinet). I put one foot in front of the other, took one step at a time, and I did it. The room got worse before it got better (just see the photos from the 20-day update), but then all of a sudden it was done. I love going in there now. I wish it was the room I hung out in all the time. Now I guess I'm going to have to do this to all of my rooms. In fact, I'm going to tackle one small part of each room every month. Next is the kids' craft cabinet. Focusing on one small thing each month has also worked its way into my business plan, and I feel so much more focused overall now.

And voila. The before-and-after photos:

Compare the unmade bed, too-small, crooked pictures on the wall,and random chair next to the bed to the more pulled-together look in the second picture.

Every inch of space in the first picture is overflowing with papers because they had no home. Now they have a home. And it's not in the armoire. Look underneath the armoire: I covered a box of computer paper with kraft paper and burlap to hide messy-looking boxes of papers, folders, and page protectors.

Words can't even express the difference. The space seems so much bigger now! I hung a shutter (purchased for $8 from the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store) to organize paperwork that isn't filed yet or can't be filed for some reason. The basket on the file cabinet will catch any overflow.

Less is so much more. I love my burlap-covered file boxes, and I put uniform computer paper in the green storage bin at the bottom so it looks more peaceful. I left an empty shelf for guests.

Even Little M seems to like it better.

And a few extras:

This little setup on top of the armoire hides the modem and router and gave me a place to put my greeting card organizer and pretty turquoise candle.

The piece de resistance: My free, giant wall calendar.

Cereal boxes covered in burlap. The chalkboard labels are made from old business cards painted with chalkboard paint and hot glued onto the boxes.

Not every place has to be functional. This room is now decorative too.

29 Day Organizational Challenge: 20 Day Check-In

Really? Another week has gone by? Although I haven't gotten much done this week (granted, I did have to fly with a 13-month old, so I was gone--and stressed--for most of the week), I did make one major change. I moved around the furniture. It made such a difference that Baby T walked in and said, "Wow! Who did this?"

I did, honey. All by myself.

So I went from this:

To this:

And then I realized that I actually was going to have to show people this photo, so I cleaned up a little:

I'll admit it. I'm a procrastinator. I start strong, then slack off, then bust a move when the pressure is on and a deadline is approaching. It's also why I snapped the photos at 6 PM with two rugrats ducking around the room. Actually, it's hard to do much of anything at any time of day with those two rugrats around, but I'm managing.

Moving the furniture around was huge. The armoire is now more of a focal point, the chair appears somewhat grounded, and the filing cabinet is easy to access. See?

The room just appears more open.

Now I have more of a blank slate. The armoire is practically empty.

The bookshelf is not.

I have made the bed, pulled out the pillows that I once made for it, replaced the picture above the bed, and spray painted the wicker basket on top of the bookshelf that now holds empty hanging folders and manila folders.

I still have to cover my filing boxes with burlap, do something cute with my file cabinet, and organize the armoire shelves. I have an amazing idea for a calendar on the large wall over the chair and file cabinet. I heard Walmart promotional codes can help me get some great storage containers to better organize my room.

I have discarded my fantasy of creating a cute pillow for the chair, adding shelves on the small wall between the closet and the window, and getting a bigger garbage can. But I'm still living the fantasy that this room is going to be incredibly useful and organized incredibly soon.


Disclosure: Some of the links on this post are paid advertisements. But I wouldn't put them here if I didn't think you could use them!

29 Day Organizing Challenge: Day 10 Update

I can't believe it's already time for the ten-day update. This is going by faster than I thought. I had originally planned to do a little something every day, but it hasn't quite turned out that way.

On February 1, I went through a mail organizer that was filled to the brim with random paperwork.

Uh...that's about it.

It's not that I wasn't planning to do other things, but furniture needed to be moved, curtains had to be bought, things needed to be spray painted. I felt like I couldn't start until I had some nice weather so I could spray paint. I also needed a big chunk of time during which I could clear out the furniture so I could move it around. That wasn't happening.

I have gotten some little things accomplished.

On February 3, my friends came over and gave me some great ideas. That entailed 3 adults and 3 kids climbing all over each other in the room. That was interesting.

Remember that mail organizer I organized? On February 4, I transformed it from this:

to this:

I also moved it to the entrance and stashed it with envelopes, stamps and return address labels (all in the same place. That was a tip from my genius friend). It also holds a notepad with pen for grocery lists, and business cards I collect.


I made 2 burlap-covered cereal boxes to hold some of my paperwork. I'll add a tutorial for these soon. They were free, and I love the way they turned out! I have to make more to fill up the whole shelf.

While my friends, the kids and I were hanging out in the room last Friday, the blankets came off the windows. And then I saw: I actually do have curtains in the room! I had completely forgotten. I still need something to block the light. On Saturday, I bought some light-blocking curtain liners at Wal-mart, but they were too small. Great idea, but I need something that fits. I don't want to have to make new curtains, and I don't want to have to install the kind of shades that roll down. I'm looking for easy. And cheap. But that means I'm still looking.

Slowly but surely, I'm tackling the room. I pulled all my stationery out of the armoire and added most of the cards to the $5 box of multi-use cards I bought at Office Max (which has the cards organized by type). I pulled out some computer paper and put it where I really use it--next to my printer in the living room.

See that set of orange drawers on the middle shelf?

It now holds papers here:

Now I don't have to run across the house every time I need to use the printer! (Why are there q-tips on there, you ask? Well, they are there to erase the items I tackle on my dry-erase to-do list, which is hanging on the wall next to that buffet.) Ignore the situation on top of the printer:

Baby steps, right? See? There are boxes to organize. They just aren't being used yet.


I took all the small office supplies like paper clips and index cards out of range of visibility and organized them in the armoire drawer. I used the empty boxes left over from organizing the note cards to organize the little stuff:

This is what the inside of the armoire looks like now:

Emptier, but messier. Working on it.


This is what the file cabinet looked like last week:

This is what it looks like now:

Ok, it looks the same. But I assure you that I filed away a lot of paperwork!


This is what the bookshelf looked like last week:

This is what it looks like now:

And this is what it looks like when I back away a little bit:

Just so you know, after I took these pictures, I threw away that diaper, took out the trash, and put away those file folders and notepads you see on the right side of the bottom shelf.

This is what is still on my list to do:

• Do something with the garbage can (I don't think it needs to be bigger; it just needs to be less of an eyesore).*
• Organize armoire drawers*
• Get longer screw for armoire knob
• Cover cereal boxes with burlap for work paperwork*
• File/organize old documents (there is an empty beer case filled with old paperwork under the armoire).
• Rearrange room
• Spray paint the armoire
• Fix wire situation behind armoire
• Do something about the curtain situation*
• Fix the artwork in the room.**
• Put shelves on wall for photos**
• Cover pillow on glider**
• Organize armoire shelves*

What?! That list is exactly the same as last week! I swear I've been working diligently. I put one star next to the stuff I've been working on, and two stars next to the stuff that would be nice but is optional. We're rearranging the room this weekend, and once that's done, I feel like everything will fall into place.

So stay tuned. I promise, this space is going to be awesome when I'm done. {starts to sweat} At least I still have 19 days to go.

Does anyone else feel like they have been working diligently but don't have much to show for it?

SUNDAY SURF: Organize your Home

I'm joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!
For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.
Happy Surfing!
I've been a little preoccupied with organizing this week because I'm doing the 29 Day Organizational Challenge at Orgjunkie.com. So I've been digging around for unique organizing ideas. I didn't think I did much of anything else, but apparently I did. Here's my favorite reading of the week.

Organizing/DIY Home Decor Ideas
Dressers Make Excellent Storage Containers -  I'm more of a bookcase person myself, but dressers make sense because they hide clutter. Plus, you can customize them with your own hardware. Hmmm.... something to think about...

DIY Clipboards Out of IKEA Panels - Too bad I don't have an IKEA near me. I love the idea of clipping photos and other inspiration to clipboards instead of keeping static frames. My tastes change often, and I get bored with what's on my walls. This is an easy way to switch it out.

Life
Manifesting Lessons - Rachel at Clean talks about the law of attraction. I have always had amazing experiences with this. It's what led me to believe that energy is tangible, and when you put your energy out into the universe, other energy comes to meet it. Rachel talks about how just focusing on what you want can lead to positive results. This has always been the case for me. I went through a spell where I didn't paint or create art for 2 years. I was in a rut, and I was uninspired. As soon as I began creating again, I began getting random emails from people who found my art on sites I had put it on years before. They told me how amazing my art was. Other people reached out to me and asked to buy my work. I wasn't even actively doing anything; I was just thinking about my art. This is an amazing concept and really emphasizes to me that we are so much more than our material world. Read it. Practice it. Enjoy it.

Quick Tips - How to use less conditioner, ways to reuse plastic storage bags, and how to (not) clean up cheerio crumbs. It's the little things that help us find our groove as moms every day!

Love is in the Air, Keeping the Spark Alive - Stylin Momma gives a really good tip: After a long day with the kids, take some time for yourself, and then find time to reconnect. If I had an hour of alone time, I would be glad to give it up!

Poop? What Poop? - Yes, poop is a big part of my life right now. This article describes how Osocozy Bioliners changed my life. I swear, I don't work for the company and I'm not compensated by Osocozy. This explains how much I am addicted to Bioliners for cloth diapering a solid-eating toddler though.

Breastfeeding and Birth
Breastfeeding as Birth Control Clarified - This article by Marah at Happiness Redefined clarifies how effective breastfeeding is for birth control. Basically, the more often you breastfeed and the more time you spend with your baby, the more effective it is. But every woman varies, and the list sounds exhausting, even for the most attached mama.

Nipple Stimulation for Labor - One of the students who recently attended a Tmuffin childbirth education class was asking about ways to encourage her baby to come out. Since I don't think standing outside her vagina with a dog biscuit would work, I gave her the link to the website. Nipple stimulation for labor releases oxytocin, which can help bring on contractions. If her body is ready, maybe it will give her that extra "push."

Pins of the Week:

Squirrel Sorting Activity Source: toadallytots.blogspot.com	Art Armoire Source: theembellishednest.wordpress.com	Flaxseed Pillow Source: etsy.com
DIY Mason Jar Labels Source: thepaintedhive.blogspot.com	File Cabinet Upgrade Source: salvagelove.net	Art Supply Shelves Source: apartmenttherapy.com

Tmuffin in 2012

 I'm not a big New Year's resolution person. That's probably because I tend to make resolutions all year long, and then time passes, life happens, and I forget all about them. I don't want the added pressure of making resolutions I might not keep and feeling guilty all year. And I don't tend to like doing what everyone else is doing. ("Why am I blogging then?" you wonder. I know, right?)

My last photo of 2011

This year feels different. Instead of feeling like I have to break out on my own to prove myself, I've become enveloped in this community where everyone is feeding off of everyone else. It's like college, only with fewer vices. And my all-nighters aren't self-inflicted. The past few years have only been getting more meaningful, and this year feels like it's going to be the apex. Things are going to happen. I'm going to make them happen.

And things don't happen without goals. So here we go: My resolutions for 2012.

Be more honest in my blog - I tend to want to write content that people want to read, and I'm also a bit of a know-it-all. So I often write blog posts that make it sound like I have the answers. I've mentioned before that I don't have the answers. In case you were confused. I'm learning as I go along, and I often have no idea what I'm doing. Sometimes I do feel like an expert on a given topic. (I told you, I'm kind of a know-it-all). But sometimes I don't. I'm going to remind you guys of that more often this year.

Start exercising again - How cliche. I am so bad at finding the time to exercise. I don't prioritize it at all, but I need to. It can add years to my life. Right now, I feel like I want more time with my kids and Big T. I might change my mind when I'm 105. But I need to get my weight and my health back under control. I've also started menu planning in an effort to spend less money and eat more whole foods. I write about my menu plans every Monday, so check back for great recipes and menu planning tips and ideas.

Promote my business - I've been trying to build the Tmuffin brand for two years now. In 2011, I quit my full-time job to take care of the kids and work on my business. I've done a lot of setup and a lot of planning, but when people ask what I do for a living, I still stumble on my reply: "Um, I do a lot of stuff. To help moms. I make things, I teach classes..." I usually trail off. This is my new reply: "I run Tmuffin, a business that helps moms find their groove."

Make more art - I tell people I'm an artist, but I have spent the past year focusing on blogging and initiating my business that I've put off actually making things. This year, I need to be making a lot more art. I'll be making coloring sheets and printables, as well as educational and sensory toys for kids out of things like repurposed sweaters. I have an itch to create, and this year I have to scratch it.

Listen more and talk less - Shut up; I know what you're thinking. Especially if you know me in person. But this year is about learning, listening, and making connections. I often fail to make a true connection with people because I'm too busy talking and sharing. And I appreciate so much what other people have to share. This year I'm the one who is going to shut up.


Get more organized - I cringe as I write those very words. I am not organized. I spend as much time looking for things as I spend doing them. I try to get organized and I always fall back into my messy ways. I don't like taking time to organize or to put things away. I move from project to project, stuffing things into drawers and flinging supplies around the room. You think I'm exaggerating. I'm not.

The house is stuffed to the gills and I drive myself crazy going into four different rooms looking for the diaper cream. I'm tired of having to come up with five options every time Big T asks me to find something. I'm not one of those people who always misplaces their car keys. I just always misplace everything else.

I am going to start by having a place for everything. I want to treat my space like a blind person does, so I can just reach for something and know it's always there. If I can organize my space, I feel like I will feel so much less overwhelmed. I also need to organize my time. I made a huge dry-erase to-do list the other day, and I'm determined to use it. (Ignore the two tasks on there from Thursday that I haven't done yet). I just have to organize my time as well as my space. Maybe get on Facebook a little less or something.


Be more present and mindful with my family - Probably due to my lack of organization, I tend to always be doing 10 things at once. I often find myself getting frustrated with the kids because I can't finish a particular task that I'm working on (or several) because someone woke up early from a nap or didn't sit down to lunch. When I'm with the kids, they need to be my number one priority. They notice when my mind is all over the place, and no one benefits when I tell them "just a minute" five thousand times. Baby T is starting to notice. He now tells me "just a minute," or he tells me, "Mom! You forgot my juice!" And I do. I forget a lot of things. I need to focus, and that includes focusing more on my kids and Big T.

And that's the end of my resolution list. I'm not going to go crazy with it. This is enough for now. I can tell you right now the hardest things are going to be exercising and organizing. I should have added "hire a personal trainer and an assistant" to the list of resolutions. Oh, well. There is always next year.

Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar to the right so you don't miss out on any of the cool stuff I'll have for you this year!

Dry Erase To Do List Tutorial

I'm getting ready for the new year, and one of my resolutions is to be more organized. One of the conclusions I've come to in 2011 is that although my mind is all over the place, I can rein it in by keeping a to do list. For the past several months, I've kept a list on extra sheets of used paper hung under my kitchen cabinets. But my newfound addiction to Pinterest gave me a better idea.

One of my friends had pinned a to-do chart made from sticky notes and a picture frame that she found on the blog Modern Parents Messy Kids. Cute and simple.

Of course, I had to take it one step further because I like to make things hard on myself. I made a dry-erase to do list from a picture frame, scrapbook paper, and sheets from a grocery list pad. It's super cute (even Big T swears he likes it as long as it gets used), it's attractive enough to hang in a busy part of the house where it will actually see some action, and it's big enough to fit all the stuff I have to do.

I created it from an extra 18" x 24" frame that was taking up space in the closet. Below is a tutorial in case you want to make one to get yourself organized in 2012.

Making a Dry Erase To Do List (A Tutorial)

Get your supplies: A frame of any size (mine has plexiglass in it, but glass would work even better); pretty paper, such as scrapbook paper, and post-it notes or pages from a grocery list pad. You'll also need some kind of adhesive. I used double-sided tape.

Decide how many categories you want. I wanted three different categories, plus an area for days of the week at the bottom. I laid it out in my head and cut three pieces of coordinating scrapbook paper to size for the categories at the top. You'll have to measure based on the size of your frame and the number of categories you have. I wanted two separate sub-categories within my categories: a list with the heading "soon" and a list with the heading "someday." I tore off pages from the grocery list notepad, then I cut plain beige scrapbook paper to put behind it as a background. (This is going on patterned paper, so I need something to break up the busy-ness.)

Write your headers on the "list" pages and adhere them to the background pages.

Now I had to figure out how to incorporate space for the separate days of the week across the bottom. I wanted to use Post-It notes, but I couldn't find them, so I cut pieces of bright orange paper to fit across the space. I also cut beige paper to create a neutral background. I used double-sided tape to stick the paper onto the background.

Now I just needed some blank space to write in the days of the week. I tore off strips of sage green paper and stuck them across the tops of the orange papers I had cut for the days of the week.

I decided not to write the To-Do List categories or the days of the week on the paper itself. Instead, I wrote them in dry-erase marker on the plexiglass after I assembled the frame. The categories may change, and I might change my mind about days of the week and change it to something else down the road. Now I can quickly add tasks I have to do to my to-do list, and Big T can join in when he has a project going on. This is what the final To-Do List frame looks like:

And it fits well with my decor. You can choose whatever colors and patterns you want and make it as complex or as simple as you need. It's really easy to make and totally flexible.