Week #3 Jan 11-16 Organizing your cleaning supplies

This week’s focus is on where you store your cleaning supplies as well as other sundries. In order to keep your house neat and tidy you must be able to easily find and access your supplies. “Right tool for the right job” kind of mind set.

What you need to find out is what works with YOUR schedule and YOUR lifestyle.  What are your confines? Time, Money or Space?

Here are some examples of how others organize:

                One blogger shares one bathroom with her entire 7 member family. She was short on space and wanted simplicity. She stated she only bought products that were white or had white packaging so she had a more uniformed look as they sat out on the counter. Space and time were a concern so she sacrificed money (by not purchasing on sale items or stocking up).

                Another blogger suggested having an entire cleaning kit in each bathroom so you don’t have to haul your supplies around and you can clean whenever you are in that room. This person apparently had no limits on storage space or money but time was more important.

                A third blogger keeps a simple cleaning kit of paper towels, baking soda, vinegar, microfiber rags. She also made her own laundry soap, detergent, and dishwasher pods. Her main motif was organic, thrifty, and simple. She had the time to make and store her own cleaning supplies.

Here is what I try to do:

                Laundry Room is off of the garage. I would eventually like to have ALL cleaning supplies in there. Right now it is laundry supplies, the vacuum and the steam mop supplies. I moved the broom, stick vac, and steam mop to the hangers right outside the door in the garage. We use the vac more than the other 3 so it made more sense to save space for it rather than the others.  Dad and Chris have not finished putting up my shelves in the laundry room so the rest of the supplies are in the hallway/linen closet.

The linen closet actually holds no linen. We store our bed sheets and towels for the master bath in drawers in a 12 drawer dresser in our bedroom. We had the space for it in there and it made more sense. It also helps me limit the number of bed sheets and towels we have/need. The hall bath holds the spare towels for guests and the guest bedroom has the spare linens in Chris’s old dresser.

I used to keep spare office supplies in the hall closet as well but it made more sense to keep them in the office.

The linen closet was a previous homeowner project so the shelves are not even and not even that deep – which is also why we decided to move our linens elsewhere because they kept spilling off the shelves! I do try the "ultimate super couponing stock up" once in a while on toiletries.  I store them in the paper photo boxes from Michael’s AND I can stack two on top of each other. The front of the boxes have a nice space for LABLES and they come in all sorts of colors and designs. Medications are sorted by symptom and stored in clear Ziploc containers. I wish I could find the rectangle ones again because they fit wonderfully. Our prescription meds are kept in Thirty-One zipper pouches. The doctors always want you to bring all your meds with you – or if you have to go to the ER or have an emergency overnight stay. This way, we can grab the bags and go. And they are quite fashionable and no one knows what is in them (as opposed to clear Ziploc baggies).

Also stored in our linen closet: Spare batteries, light bulbs, extra tissues, rags, dusting supplies, carpet cleaners, candles, Scentsy and WallFlowers, flashlights, and some décor items.

I am trying to pare down what we have. As I stated earlier my goal is to have all cleaning supplies in one location. I would also like all candles and décor in one location as well and just use the linen closet as a storeroom of sorts.

Take a look at some awesome organization ideas from around the web :)

Martha Stewart keeps her supplies in a bucket so she can carry them with her as she cleans

Just some cute laundry signs to brighten your space

Laundry bags to sort and hold dirty clothes until you can run a full load

One very tidy linen closet

Add Command Hooks inside of cabinets to hold wire baskets



Store your trash bags on dowel rods and curtain rod hooks to keep them easily accessible

 

  

Car cleaning supplies need a space too! Use a 31 organizing utility tote to store and carry everything you need



This is a 31 organizing utility tote, I store all our steam cleaner supplies in one in our laundry room

Put a shoe organizer on the back of the laundry room door to store all your cleaning supplies



A tension rod under then kitchen sink adds space to store all the spray bottle cleaners

 

Shoe organizer holds miscellaneous cords and vacuum adaptors

Defining Your Zones /Why I suck at blogging

1)      I am so sorry I have been behind in my posts. This past week included root canal x2, psycho rabbit, new water heater, dealing with personal property taxes, and life in general J

2)      I posted out of order! I should have discussed “defining your zones” before we dove into organizing them. So without further ado…

 

Defining Your Zones

A zone is an area of your house that you have dedicated for specific purpose(s). These areas do not necessarily need tangible walls dividing them. In our house, our zones are defined more by physical boundaries rather than activities. With that being said; here are some helpful hints on how to determine your zones

-          What is the space currently used for?

o   A dumping ground?

o   Dust bunny corral?

o   Unsure?

-          What would you like it used for?

o   Is your dining room currently a hot mess of junk that gets dumped there rather than being put away? Would you like to eat meals at your dining room table rather than in a chair in the hearth room? If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, you might be living at my house J

-          Can this space be multifunctional?

o   A dining room may also double as a game room, study room, or craft room but a bathroom should only be used as a bathroom.  

-          What space do you need more of?

o   More office space for files?

o   Storage space so you can park in your garage?

o   Dedicated area for cleaning supplies?

o   More accessible coat closet

o   Usable linen closet

Answering these questions (write them down in your BINDER) will help you as you organize and de-clutter your home. And as always – BE FLEXIBLE. You may realize if you move all your cleaning supplies into the hall bathroom, you just freed up valuable real estate for linen storage.

Up next, organizing your cleaning supplies.

Week #2 Jan 4-10. Focus on storage areas

Well, the holiday season is over and now it is time to put away all those decorations. But where? Do you dread the changing of the seasons? Is your storage area scarier than a haunted house? Would you have better luck finding Al Capone’s vaults than last year’s Christmas lights? Here is a compilation of different organization and storage tips to help you tame your tinsel and calm the clutter

1) Designate your area. It helps if you plan out your space before you start shoving things in there. Think of size, access, and how often will you need to access these items you are storing. Due to my shoulder, we no longer store Christmas in the attic so I am in the process of making room in the garage. This means moving some other items around.

2) LABEL LABEL LABEL – it doesn’t have to be pretty, just identifiable. IF you want a more detailed inventory of what is inside the box – use a numbering system and write out a more detailed inventory listing. Keep your detailed list in your household binder.

3) Try to use the same sized boxes. You don’t have to go all Martha Stewart and get matching color coordinated totes; but if you have shelving space, it is easier to access and looks neater if the same size boxes are there. Ask your IT department at work for the green bar printer boxes (if they still use that) or copy paper boxes for a free option.

4) If you have to buy storage containers -

     a. Use  clear totes.  Labels are great but they can fall off and seeing what is inside is a good visual reminder if you need to cut the clutter.

     b. Measure BEFORE you buy. Keep the measurements in your phone contacts or purse. I found a lovely sale on clear boxes only to find out later that they were a smidge too high for my garage shelves.

     c. Think of what you are storing that is making you buy a container. Is it some clothing you need to pare down? Which means you will not need the tote when you are done. Or is it Christmas décor which will be used yearly and need to be sturdy to last for years to come? Are you storing in a damp place (basement) where plastic containers would be better suited or is your storage area in plain view where something more decorative would be appropriate?

     d.  Do NOT overbuy. This is a work in progress. Don’t go hog-wild and buy 10 clear totes only to find out you only needed 4.

     e.  Buy ON SALE.

               i.  Use cardboard boxes as much as possible until you are SURE your storage plan will work

              ii.  Storage containers are mainly on sale before the fall school season and in late January/February. Look around, keep a list of sizes you need and check online to see which store has the best sale.

     f. Get a container that can be re-purposed if needed. The totes I originally bought to store Christmas décor in (see “b.”) worked out wonderfully to store Ozzie’s hay.

     g. Banker’s Boxes are cheap and can be stored flat when not in use. When I had my apartment, I covered them with wrapping paper since they were in plain view. I am currently using some to help sort all of our paper clutter.  I also use them around Christmas time to keep supplies together for the different gifts I am making.

5)  BE FLEXIBLE!!! This is a work in progress. Your space requirements may change due to reasons beyond your control. Roll with it.

 

Nice use of attic space

Good design for basement storage



Thirty-One brand totes are good for durability and style

Wow

Okay, so my husband finally convinced me to start my own blog. Well, I am in the midst of holiday stress so I can't really rant o a topic right now; but rest assured there will be more to come!