Category: Organizing

Swap Out

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn OrganizingLeave a comment

Today I swapped out my warm weather clothes for the colder ones. I hadn’t meant to do this task so early in the season, but Hannah needed a brown turtleneck which I thought I had (I donated it last season it turns out) and the weather has started cooling off quite a bit. It’s a chore I am not fond of doing because I share a very small closet with Donny. If you ever see a video of small NYC apartment closets you get the idea.

I decided to pare down my wardrobe quite a bit. I tried every single item on to make sure it fit well and I still liked it. I ended up with a trash bag full to donate. I’m always nosy about how people fit everything into a small space and what all goes into that said space. So here is my take on it.

These are my sweaters. I pared them down quite a bit.

I love jeans. I added some brown cords and my olive velvet pants. I think these will definitely get me through the winter months.

I love this denim jacket. I’m keeping my down coat in the storage bag until it gets a lot colder. There’s no need for it to take up precious space.

These are my cardigans and skirts. I love cardigans because they are the perfect layering item for our weird weather.

Purses and backpacks get hung on hooks I have installed around the closet.

These hang behind the clothes.

Keeping everything organized by color helps me find items quicker.

It took 3 hours, but I feel like I got a lot accomplished. I was sick of trying on clothes by the end but I really think that it helped me get rid of so much. I’m so happy that this is DONE.

Mr. Whiskers was not happy about having to move as I was backing up tonight. He has a wound on his hip that he has been coming to me so I can spray it with antimicrobial spray. I have tried to bring him into the house, but he will have nothing to do with that. He does love back scratches and head rubs though.

Kitchen Clean Out

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn OrganizingLeave a comment

Yesterday’s weather was crazy. I didn’t have our television on all day. I was in the kitchen and heard a crash. This is what I walked out to.

It had been pouring and the wind had kicked up, apparently very strongly. I found out later, when Donny got home, that there had been tornado warnings.

I, however, had decided that I was going to clean out and reorganize the kitchen. I cook, roughly, 95% of our meals. I hate spending money eating out when I know that I can make the same meal at home. This means that I have A LOT of kitchen stuff. One of the drawers that gives me the biggest headache is the “gadget” drawer. I like to be able to just know where everything is and be able to grab it quickly. This is how it looked before.

And the after:

My “baking” cabinet was like playing Jenga every time I opened it. There are certain things that I use several times a week which is my blender, funnels, sifters and cheese grater. I don’t know why I never thought to put the panini press in the back and pull every thing else forward, but it makes so much more sense.

I cleaned out the bakers rack. The top shelf is where I keep most of the ingredients I use when I bake. The middle shelf is bread items and the bottom shelf is chips and stuff.

My main reason for doing this reorganizing was to find a place for the new cast iron. Because the giant pot wouldn’t fit in any cabinet I just put it on top of the fridge.

The double griddle was able to be slid in the side of the pots and pans cabinet. It’s still easy to get out, but out of the way also.

I did get rid of several water bottles and just stuff I don’t use. We don’t have a lot of cabinet space so we have to get creative. Unfortunately we have to use a whole set of upper cabinets for a pantry.

The top left is back stock and the top right is baking ingredients.

So that was my kitchen.

I’ve decided to post my dinners on here so that I can have a visual of what exactly I’ve made. I sometimes actually forget and if the family likes it or doesn’t I’ll have a record of it.

Last night I did tacos. I love the little griddle for my tortillas.

Super easy meal. Everyone was happy.

I’m trying to actually meal plan more. I normally have a vague idea, but I’d rather it be more concrete that scrambling at the last minute to try and figure something out. My mantra for this upcoming year is going to be “no matter if I’m tired and don’t feel like doing something, I just need to do it anyway because I’ll feel better about doing it in the long run”.

The Nasty Shed

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn OrganizingLeave a comment

I had three major things on my to do list today: clean out the shed, clean out the laundry room and remove the winter “cat house” from the patio and get it back into usable shape. I honestly did not think I would be able to get them all done, especially when I walked out to look in the shed.

It was SO bad. We had just been throwing stuff into it, especially me, because I was always being stalked and chased by the homicidal rooster. Now that he was gone, it was time.

Here is what I walked into. The right side that holds our garden tools and lawn/coop stuff.

Before:

After:

The left side before. It holds holiday decorations, camping gear, suitcases and just miscellaneous stuff.

After:

This took me about 4 hours because I had to take everything out, sweep and then tetris it all back in. I have to call the city tomorrow to schedule a bulk pickup for everything I got rid of.

I was able to clean the laundry room out. It was just really straightening it up. The hardest part was the patio because we had a large heavy wool rug on the table and containers underneath so the stray cats could stay warm in the winter weather. I didn’t take any pictures of the before because I was running on fumes and just forgot, but here are some afters. We still have a lot of work to do on our yard and the patio, but now at least we can eat and sit out there comfortably.

I found that my rug I’m not using makes a great table cover and protects the table from any sun damage.

The trunk Donny picked up at the estate sale makes a fine little table. Now I’m just praying that I can walk tomorrow because I’m already so sore.

Check it Off

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I have a dry erase board right by our side door. I’ve started writing the things that I need to get done under the To Do category. I feel like if I have the list where I can see it, I will get it done. So today was basically just checking off the chores that needed to get done. Boring, I know, but much needed.

I was so tired of playing Jenga every time I opened the pantry, a.k.a. two cabinets, If you have an actual real pantry go give it a hug right now because having to use two precious kitchen cabinets is the pits. But when your kitchen is on the small side, you just have to make due with what you have.

I honestly don’t know how it gets this bad. I think we all get a bit lazy and end up just stuffing items back in.

Ok, that’s a little better. My home will never be pinterest ready, but that’s ok.

It’s pretty bad. I was just waiting for a can avalanche.

At least I can find everything now.

This one wasn’t too bad, but I realized that I keep replacing spices that I already had in my restock area. I also threw away anything that was expired or that we just didn’t use anymore.

Next I started on our shared closet. The weather has been getting warmer so I knew it was time to switch out my winter clothes for spring ones. I really wanted to quit halfway through. I share a very small closet with my husband so every square inch of it is used.

I guess it has to get bad before it can get better. Hey, at least there is cutie Dean Winchester on the screen. I love Supernatural and it helped me get through this mess.

Purses get hung on hooks to save space.

I have plastic drawers to the left that holds my shorts and ball caps. The baskets on top hold my jeans and pants. I still need to pare everything down, but first I want to see what I wear and if I don’t wear it, out it will go.

All bagged up ready to get boxed up and stored in the shed which is on my clean out list tomorrow. That’s going to be a project.

And just because, here is our stoner cat Monkey that is always high on catnip.