Organized Chaos: Kid’s Closets
What a mess!
We live in a home with imperfect people. Life has a way of getting messy. Over time the busy messiness of life over spills into other areas such as our closets. It happens to all of us, including our kids.
On this particular day when I opened the closet I noticed several things out of place – clothes out of their specific baskets, shoes not lined up, headbands askew, and the hair accessories organizer not even hung up, hang up clothes in the wrong spots, crafts all out of sorts, and more disorganization.
Thankfully with the system we have in place it usually doesn’t take too long to get everything back in shape and looking good again. The kids are not always “excited” about cleaning out their closets, but they do enjoy it once it is done. It does look much better to Momma too!
Here are some closet organizational systems we already have in place that make the closet clean up easier:
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Organized Chaos: Jewelry Organizer
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Organized Chaos: Hair Accessory Organizer
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Organized Chaos: Kids Shoes
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Organized Chaos: Closet Clothes Baskets
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Organized Chaos: Kids Crafts & Activities
Once all the items listed above are checked, organized, and put back into their proper places there is only one thing left to do. Make sure all the hanging clothes are properly on the hangers and put them in their correct places. For our family we switch out cold and hot weather clothes depending on the season. In South Carolina we typically have a longer warm season then some other places so we are a little heavier on the short sleeve shirts and tank tops than on the heavier winter long sleeves and sweaters.
I used a picture from the colder season (the long sleeves show the different sections better than pictures with tank tops). As you can see her long sleeves / vests are on the left side of her closet with her short sleeve shirts in the middle and her dresses on the right side. In the summer her tank tops would be on the left where her long sleeve shirts / vests are located in this picture. We do pull out the kids winter dresses and replace them with summer dresses as well.
Looks so much better with everything put away and organized nicely!
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Organized Chaos: Kids Crafts & Activities
Kids crafts
Our kids love doing a variety of crafts and fun activities. Anything from artwork to bead work to pottery and so much more! A lot of times for their birthdays or Christmas they will get some neat crafts and activities gifts to do.
We wanted to find a convenient place to store them until they had time to do the craft. Originally, we had all the craft items stored together in one general location, but not in their room(s). As the girls got older we had to start putting names on the boxes or items so each one knew which ones were theirs when they went looking for a craft to do. Since they are twins it is important as parents to make sure that each child has some items that are specifically for them. We felt like this was something easy to do regarding their crafts and it has worked out well for our family.
Once the kids moved into their own rooms we decided to put their individual crafts on one of their higher shelves in their closets. Each kid has their own individual craft or activity shelf so they can pick out their specific item whenever they want to do a craft. Some of the crafts on their shelves are the same while some are completely different. They can easily get a chair or step stool when they want to pick out a craft to do, but with the crafts being on a higher shelf it isn’t as accessible so when we have younger kids visiting the crafts stay in place and don’t get all spread out.
Crafts lined up, visible, and ready to be used.
Organized Chaos: Closet Clothes Baskets
Baskets of clothes in the closet
On the bottom shelf in the kids closets we have 3 baskets of clothes. Each of these baskets contain specific items. The clothes are easy to access for the kids. The baskets make good use of the space between the the hanging clothes and the bottom rack.
The 3 Baskets contain:
- Basket of Blue Jeans and Pants
- Basket of Shorts and Skirts
- Basket of Outside Play Clothes
In the Spring and Summer the short and skirt basket will be in the center with the jeans / pants as well as the outside play clothes are on the sides. During the Fall and Winter the jeans and pants are in the middle with the short / skirt as well as the outside play clothes are on the sides. All the girls have to do is grab a shirt from the hanger above, a bottom (jeans, pants, shorts, or skirt) from one of the baskets and they have the majority of their outfits picked out. When they are going to play outside they can pick a shirt and bottom out of their outside play clothes.
They usually do pretty well with keeping the correct items in the right baskets. Although, sometimes when they are in a hurry or if they are digging for a specific pair of jeans they don’t always keep all their items folded nicely. For the most part they keep the baskets looking good. If the baskets do get messed up we can just pull out one or all three baskets and fold or organize them again.
We have been using this system for a few years now and it works well for our kids. It helps makes those busy mornings go more smoothly. Even though they are suppose to lay out their clothes the night before sometimes they forget or decide to switch into something else at the last minute.
Basket on the left is full of shorts & skirts. The middle basket is full of jeans and pants.
The middle basket is jeans / pants and on the left side the basket is full of outside play clothes.
Organized Chaos: Kids Shoes
Organized Kids Shoes
We live in an older house. Most days it’s fine, but there are a few things (like any house) that we would love to change. The closets in this house are pretty small. When the girls shared a room their closet was full even though they were babies. All the closets had in them when we moved in was a small wooden shelf with one metal bar underneath to hang clothes on. We have slowly been converting the closets to a rack system* which allows us to use the space we have more efficiently.
The kids are now in their own rooms and we have updated both of their closets with the rack system. We decided to leave a space underneath the bottom rack for their shoes. They have enough space to stack both shoes from each set under their bottom rack and line them up.
The shoes that are stored in their closets are slippers, sandals, crocs, dress shoes, and ones they were for special occasions. The girls dirtier shoes like their school shoes, outside boots, and other outside shoes or sandals stay in a basket by the back door or the garage. It makes me happy when I look into their closets and see them neat with their shoes lined up.
Shoes lined up in the kids closet!
*If you are looking at converting your closets to a rack system you can locate them at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or another store.
Organized Chaos: Hair Accessory Organizer
All Brina’s headbands, flowers, decorative hair ornaments organized and in one spot
A few months ago I showed you our Easy DIY Headband Holder. As you can see from the pictures on this post we are still using it. It works very well for our girls. Since they wear more than just headbands I wanted to find a solution that would help organize all the pretty, fluffy, and decorative hair ornaments they have as well.
My qualifications for getting these items organized:
- Must assist in making these items more organized
- Able to be hung in a visible location and still look nice
- Easy to see, reach, and get access to the items when the kids need them
- Reasonably priced organizer because I will need 2 (one in each of the kids room)
- Something that we could hang near to the headbands (which were already hanging on the back of their closet doors).
It took me a little longer to find the perfect organizer for these items. Part of the reason it took longer is I wasn’t really sure what I wanted for the decorative hair accessories. I wasn’t in a rush so I just kept an eye out for ideas while in various stores. One day when I was going through CVS the clearance section happened to catch my eye. I paused for a moment and these little blue and black organizers were in the clearance section marked down to $1.* After looking at them and thinking about them I decided to pick them up and see if I could make them work for the kids hair accessories.
It was exactly the type of item I was looking for and at a great price! The organizer fit all the current hair accessories items I wanted to put in it plus had room for some extra ones too. When I am on top of things (which doesn’t always happen) I will put the kids seasonal hair accessories in the extra pockets on the organizer too (ie. Christmas, July 4th, Halloween, etc… hair accessories during that specific season).
The organizer hangs on the back of the closet door where the kids can easily reach it. It goes right under the Easy DIY Headband Holder so everything is available in one spot. The items are visible and easy to reach. It meets all my qualifications for getting the kids hair accessories organized. These have worked very well for our family!
*I tried to find these on the CVS website, but either they do not carry them online or they are not available. You can look in your local store or I am sure there are other stores that carry a similar item. This one on Amazon or something similar might work well too if you are looking for one.
Looking down on the Easy DIY Headband Holder and Hair Accessory Organizer as it is hanging on the closet door
Organized and ready to go!
Organized Chaos: Jewelry Organizer
Necklace & Jewelry Organizer
Having girls in the house means you are bound to have some jewelry around. As the girls got older they continued to accumulate more necklaces. It slowly became harder to keep the necklaces organized without them getting tangled or putting them in a spot that was hard for them to easily access.
I wanted to find something simple, easy, and reasonably priced. It took awhile of looking around to find one that I liked and could hang on the back of their closet doors. I ended up finding this one at our local Michaels store and bought it using a coupon. At first I only got one because I wanted to make sure I really liked it before getting another one. After a couple weeks I still liked it so I used another coupon and got the second one. It has been nice to having all their necklaces organized and visible.
Our kids are using it mostly for necklaces since they do not have pierced ears yet, but you can use it for earrings, belts, watches, scarves, rings, bracelets, ties, or a multitude of other things. I like that it is simple design, not too big, and yet pretty. It hung on the back of the closet door so it is accessible for the kids to reach when they want to wear one of their special necklaces. All of these necklaces were given to them from family or friends and have special memories so I am happy that they are now displayed well and tangle free.
Brina’s necklaces are organized now!
Organized Chaos: Cleaning Out the Refrigerator
Time to be cleaned
Have you ever reached into the refrigerator for something specific and couldn’t find it because everything is a mess? I have. Every once in awhile our refrigerators need a good cleaning and scrub down. It is best if you do it on a regular basis. I try to do a quick clean and organizational update every week or two, but it still need a thorough cleaning about once a month.
We are usually pretty good about eating up leftovers and not letting them go to waste, but every once in awhile something gets tucked in behind another object or in the back until it starts growing extra crunchies on it. You pull it out thinking what’s this? When you open the lid and take a whiff you are instantly gagging. Yup, been there too many times. The good news is if you clean out your refrigerator regularly you will minimize these fun science experiments with growing mold, mush, and who knows what else. It really doesn’t take long to fully clean out the refrigerator if you take the time to maintain throughout the month.
When I do a thorough cleaning here are some steps I take to make sure it looks good and is organized:
- Start from the top of the refrigerator and work your way down that way any crumbs that fall down you can get on the next level.
- Do one shelf or drawer at a time.
- Take everything off the shelf or out of the drawer. Wipe down the shelf. Check all the items for expiration dates. If they have expired throw them away, if they have not expired wipe them off and put them back on the shelf only if it belongs on that specific shelf. If it doesn’t belong on that shelf wait until you come to the shelf where it belongs to put it away.
- Continue making your way through the refrigerator shelf by shelf until you are at the bottom and have cleaned and organized each shelf and drawer in the refrigerator.
- Do not forget to wipe down the top, sides, and bottom inside the refrigerator as well. These areas can get splattered with food, drinks, or contain finger prints.
- Your refrigerator should now look shining and organized. I LOVE looking into a sparkling clean refrigerator! 🙂 If only I could figure out a way to keep it that way for a longer period of time!
- If your refrigerator is clean, but seems to still have a smell to it (especially if there are no items that are causing it to smell) it may be time to change your air filter in the refrigerator. Also, putting an open box of baking soda inside the fridge will help absorb some of the extra odors.
Condiments need checked for expiration dates
Items facing every which way with some shelves or drawers over loaded while others are empty
Needs some cleaning and organization
All done and so much better! Everything facing the correct way and on the right shelves or drawers so we can easily find items. You need to organize your refrigerator in a way that best suites your family and your needs. Make sure the items you want most accessible are in front or easy to reach. Also, every refrigerator will be slightly different so do your best to make it look good, smell fresh, and organized. Enjoy your sparkly clean fridge!
Nice, shiny, and organized! Now I am ready to start cooking!
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Organized Chaos: Organizing Our Stockpile
I LOVE getting a great deal but over the last couple of years when I find a good deal the more I find myself asking “Do I really need this?” Yes, using coupons are wonderful and getting a great deal is amazing only if you are going to use those items or plan on giving them away. A friend introduced me to the show “Extreme Couponing” and after a few episodes I could no longer watch it. The amount that some people had stuffed in various places in their home was too much for me to even watch. After some thought I decided to come up with a plan to organize my stockpile in a way that would give me a visual indication that our family’s stockpile is full plus keep the items organized in a way that anyone in my family can find an item, including the kids.
Here is what I did:
- Reorganized our Linen Closet to make room for the stockpile bins.
- Purchased inexpensive containers from the Dollar Store.
- Used the Label Maker to put the description on the front of each container.
- Filled the containers with items from the stockpile.
- Once a bin is full then I know it is time to stop buying that item
- Any extras items that I get for free I put into a separate box to be given away.
The new system had to be practical for our family. I think it is wise to be good stewards of what we have been given and find opportunities to share what you have with others. I decided that if I had enough of a certain item to last our family for 6 months to a year our stockpile is considered full and I didn’t need to purchase any more of those items. If I did get a couple items for free they would be put in a special box to give to others (charities, school, church, people in need, friends, family, and anyone else that may need an item from it).
I have been using this system for several months now and I am really pleased with how it works. It is easy to know when the stockpile is full enough for your family and it is more efficient when someone needs to locate an item. The majority of the items in this closet are office supplies, school supplies and miscellaneous household items. I love having the freedom to take a few weeks off from using coupons, shopping, or getting deals in general because I know exactly what I have on hand and when I have enough for my family.
The Exploding Spice Cabinet
It had become apparent over the last few weeks that our spice cabinet was overflowing with goods. We try to keep a stocked spice cabinet (buy ones we use when they go on sale) and haven’t had any problems until recently. When my husband went to get the garlic salt out of the cabinet and a whole mess of stuff came tumbling down I decided it was time for organizing.
Our regular spices have always been in alphabetical order on the first shelf. (It really does help when you are trying to find a spice for a special recipe, my husband loves it that way too). That shelf was in pretty good shape. The second shelf holds baking items, sprinkles and bigger containers. This shelf was a little crazy and appeared to where most of the items were falling from lately. The third or top shelf was where we stored the spices we buy in bulk or extra spices when they go on sale. I pulled everything out and found what was causing all the commotion.
The problem was that since having kids we have purchased more “sprinkles”! When I pulled all the sprinkles out of the cupboard it was amazing how much extra room we had for everything else. We had Princess Sprinkles, Cars Sprinkles, some for Halloween, Fall, Colored Sprinkles, Holiday Sprinkles, Balls, Shapes, and more sprinkles. We had different 19 containers of just SPRINKLES (and none of them the same so we couldn’t just consolidate)! The girls love to help me cook and a lot of their cookies or goodies they make have sprinkles on top so while they are necessary it had gotten out of control.
The Solution was to go through the sprinkles, find out which ones were almost gone and put them in smaller container or set them aside to use soon. After re-organizing the sprinkles I even had a little empty shelf space left in the cupboard.
Sprinkles make everything taste better! Have you ever tried them on pancakes and waffles? We love our girls and sprinkles!
