Category Archives: 15-minute organization

quick freezer organization

Posted on by

0

A couple weeks ago I confessed my tendency to hide my messes inside cabinets and behind closed doors. But since starting this blog I have resolved to organize my home — and my life — from the inside-out. With that in mind, I finally summoned the courage to tackle my freezer.

{Cue the horror music …}

Yep, it was bad. Every time I opened the freezer something would come tumbling out. And I had absolutely no idea what I had in the back of the freezer {I knew most of it probably hopelessly freezer-burned by this point.} How much money and food was I wasting with such a disorganized freezer?

It was time to finally tackle this hidden mess and organize my freezer for good.

My first step was taking everything out of the freezer and giving it a good wipe-down with disinfecting spray.

Better already, right?

Then I sorted through all the food, checking expiration dates and freezer burn-edness. I had to toss a lot out.

My last step was simply putting the food that was still good back in the freezer, organized by type: veggies on one side, side dishes in the middle, and meat on the other side.

TA-DA!

Look at all the space! Look how easy it is to find things! I am swooning over here.

And all it took was a little courage, a trash bag and about 15 minutes of my time!

Are there any projects you’ve been scared to tackle, but once you do it’s waaaaay less intimidating than you imagined? I’d love to hear your success stories!

-Dallas

—————————

Time spent: 15 minutes
Cost: nothing

tips for selling things on craigslist

Posted on by

7

When I first moved to Indiana for graduate school, all I brought with me was what I could fit in my Ford Taurus — mostly clothes, books, small kitchen items, and pictures/special trinkets/mementos. Which means … almost all of my furniture I bought on Craigslist. I had not used Craigslist much before, but I decided to give it a shot because 1) I was on a tight budget; and 2) I try to be as eco-friendly as possible — I love the idea of buying something that might otherwise end up in a landfill and giving it a new home.

All in all, I have been so happy with my purchases! Since then, I have even sold a couple things on Craigslist myself and helped Mike sell some things he no longer needs or uses.

In my experience, often the best first step to organization is getting rid of stuff! Is there any unneeded, unused stuff cluttering up your life? One of my favorite quotes is by Henry David Thoreau: “Simplify, simplify!” He continued, “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

Go through your closets, kitchen, dresser, etc. and see if there is anything you no longer need or want. Have you used it or worn it in the past three or four months? If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to let it go! And if the item is in good condition, you might be able to make a little money by putting it up on Craigslist.

Now, the cons to Craigslist is it does take a little time to get things posted up there. If your items are not very expensive or in-demand, it might be more worthwhile to donate them to Goodwill instead of spending time putting them up on Craiglist. That said {especially as a grad student on a tight budget} every little bit helps!

Here are some tips from my double-perspective: a savvy Craigslist scourer in the days when I was first furnishing my apartment, and a busy sometimes-Craigslist seller of items I no longer need.

How to Use Craigslist to Simplify your Surroundings & Make a Little Extra Moohlah:

1. Include a photo of the item you are selling! When I was looking for furniture for my apartment, I pretty much only contacted people who posted photos of the item. I wanted to be able to “see” what was being sold before I decided if I was going to drive out and look at it in person!

2. Make your title straight and to the point. What are you selling and for how much? Titles that are too long or have a ton of capital letters and exclamation marks scream desperation, which can attract people who want to bargain you down to the bare bones. On the other hand, as a Craigslist buyer wary of being scammed, long titles that seemed too “sales-pitch-y” often turned me off; they made me feel like the seller was trying to pull one over on me. Let your item speak for itself.

3. Use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. If you come across professionally {even in relatively informal settings like Craigslist} people will see you as more trustworthy and reliable. And people want to do business with trustworthy, reliable people!

4. Don’t list your items for too much. Don’t expect to get back what you paid for the item. Think garage-sale prices. Think about how great it will feel to get this item out from cluttering up your space. When I sell items, I often take my first-thought price and knock it down by $5 or $10. I would much rather sell the item for $5 less than I originally thought and get it out of my house and at least get something for it, rather than ask $5 more for it and not sell it at all. At the same time, however…

5. Don’t list your items for too little. Expect people to bargain down a little with you. If you list your item for $10, and that is as absolutely as low as you are willing to go, people will likely want to only pay $5 for it. But if you had listed it for $15 originally, someone might be happy bargaining you down to $10. If you list your item for a certain price and it doesn’t sell for a week or two, you can always knock the price down. I think it’s better to start too high and bargain down than it is to start too low, because if you’re too low you’re stuck there.

6. Show you have done your research. I think the most successful Craigslist post I did was when I sold an ice-cream maker that Mike had never even used. It was still in its original box, just collecting dust in his closet. Before I posted an ad on Craigslist, I went onto Amazon and found how much it was selling for there. Then, I was able to reference this in my post: I listed the original price, the reduced price Amazon was selling it for, and the further-reduced price Mike was asking for it. I received an email within a couple hours and the next day a super nice lady came by and bought it to use with her kids. She paid the price we asked, no questions, and I could tell she was thrilled about it. She got a great deal, Mike got a great deal — everybody wins!

Hope those tips help you make the most out of Craigslist — and organize your space and make some extra moohlah in the process! I would love to hear what other tips you would add. Does anyone have a great success story, or lessons learned, about selling or buying items on sites like Craigslist?

Have a great day!
-Dallas

under-the-sink organization & plastic bag recycling

Posted on by

6

Before I started this blog, I was a big hide-my-mess person. I would shove all the extra stuff I didn’t know what to do with into closets and dresser drawers. Then, I’d feel better, because while my place wasn’t exactly organized, at least it appeared that way from the outside.

The problem with this strategy? It’s only a temporary fix. Any time I would open up an overflowing closet or dig through a stuffed-to-the-brim drawer trying to find something, all the stress I had slapped a Band-Aid over by shoving my mess out of sight came barreling back into my life with full force.

In starting this blog, not only am I trying to organize on a budget, I’m also trying to organize honestly and thoroughly, from the inside-out. And that means tackling the hidden places I might otherwise prefer to ignore. Like: the space under my kitchen sink.

Umm… yeah.

Every time I had to reach under there to get a trash bag or cleaning supplies or dishwashing soap, I felt depressed. I would grab what I needed and quickly shut the cabinet up again. And then wash my hands, because it just felt grimy under there. {Ironic for a place I store cleaning supplies, huh?}

Finally, I decided it was time to tackle this problem area for good! My first step was taking everything out and giving the space a good wipe-down. I tossed some crusty sponges, raggedy dishtowels, and empty cleaning bottles that I found way in the back. Then I consolidated products, like my multiple three-quarters-empty bottles of Windex was poured into one bottle.

The biggest mess-factor was the barrage of plastic bags I’d saved to use as trash bags for small trash cans, to bring my lunch to school, etc. I try to bring reusable bags to the grocery store, but every so often I forget. Over the past year or so I’ve accumulated quite a few, and they were completely taking over the entire cabinet!

Yikes!

Then Mike found this really neat bag holder for me, and it made all the difference! This one is from the company simplyhuman, but there are many other similar versions available.

All I had to do was gather up the plastic bags and cram them into the container, and then hang the container up on the back of the cupboard door. It fit perfectly!

In all, the project only took about 15 minutes, and now I feel even more motivated to clean! It’s an all-around win. I’m feeling more inspired than ever to tackle the other hidden messes in the closets around my apartment. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on my progress!

Hope you’re having a great week —
❤ Dallas

——————————-

Time spent: 15 minutes
Cost: $12.00

marvelous monday: the magic of to-do lists

Posted on by

7

There’s something about the way my brain works that makes me really drawn to lists. These lists permeate my life and range from the motivating {goal lists, markets-to-submit-my-writing-to lists} to the mundane {grocery lists, thank-you-notes-to-write lists} but no matter what the topic, it all boils down to this: lists make me a happier and less-stressed person.

And the mother of all lists is the to-do list, which I write pretty much every day. I kinda feel bad for the to-do list. It gets a bad rap. People complain all the time about their to-do lists. {Sometimes I feel like people compete on the lengths of their to-do lists just to have more complaining leverage!} But I think the to-do list can be a really wonderful tool to boost your feelings of motivation and accomplishment, not to mention your sense of organization over your time, work and daily life.

The trick is to use the to-do list in a way that helps you, not hinders you. You want the to-do list to make you feel good about yourself, not stressed out or overwhelmed.

I think the first step in coming up with an effective to-do list system for your life is to take an honest look at how you spend your time. Is there something you wish you were doing more of? Is there anything you feel like you waste time on that you wish you wouldn’t? How much free time do you feel you have every day/week/month? Honesty is crucial here! I think the biggest mistake people make when writing to-do lists {and believe me, I am guilty of this too} is putting waaay too much on the list, more than anyone could possibly get done in a day, and then feeling bad about themselves when the day draws to close and there are still a lot of un-crossed-off items on the list.

So, Tip #1: Be honest and realistic with yourself.

Another thing that works for me is to break to-do list items up into categories of “big” and “small” … sometimes these categories morph into “things I need to do but keep putting off” and “things I need to do and actually like doing.” Then I try to even out these tasks throughout the week. In a perfect world, I’d do at least one “big” task every day, and one or two “small” tasks. When life gets hectic, a good balance for me is to aim for three “big” tasks every week, and maybe 6-8 “small” tasks.

Here are some examples of “big” tasks on my list this week {i.e. things I want to keep putting off but shouldn’t}: get my car in for an oil change; put some items up on Craigslist that I’ve been meaning to sell; go through my closet and weed out clothes to donate.

And here are some examples of “small” tasks on my list this week {i.e. things I should do and don’t mind doing}: go to the Post Office to send out play submissions with upcoming deadlines; try a new recipe I found for Morning Glory Muffins; write & mail a couple thank-you notes; order prints of photos from a recent trip Mike & I took to Chicago; hang up a new picture I got for the guest bedroom.

At the beginning of every week, I jot down a list of the “big” tasks and “small” tasks I want to get done that week, and then every day or every other day I choose a big task and a couple small tasks to tackle. This works for me because:

  • It really helps me focus on one thing at a time and not get overwhelmed by all the things I want to get done
  • It helps me structure the week {for example, maybe one day I’ll focus on running all my errands to save on gas & car time}
  • It makes it much harder for me to put off or procrastinate on certain tasks because I’m just focusing on one per day or one every two days.

There are also a few tasks on my to-do list every day! These relate to bigger goals I want to accomplish in the year. For example, one of my goals is to read 52 books this year, so reading time is on my to-do list every day. I also have a goal of writing at least 400 words every day {which I track on this super-motivating free website www.joesgoals.com — can’t recommend it enough!}

Chores I designate on a weekly basis, and I go through phases. Sometimes I like having a “chore/cleaning day” where I try to get all my cleaning/laundry/dishes/housework stuff done in a single swoop. Other times I’ll go for a few months when I prefer splitting up chores into smaller tasks that I will do day-by-day. I think it’s all about what works for you, how you’re feeling, and what your free time/schedule is like.

For years I’ve saved envelopes and written my to-do lists on the backs of them. Then Mike got me this pretty notepad from the $1 bin at Target — isn’t it adorable? How can you not be excited to tackle your to-do list when you write it out on paper like this? I still save envelopes though because I am always writing lists and I like to be eco-friendly!

It can also be helpful to keep a pad of paper somewhere you pass by every day so you can write down ideas or reminders when they first strike you. {If I don’t do this, half the time I completely forget!} I keep a notepad on the fridge where I jot down items to get at the store, reminders to myself of things to add to my list or places I need to be:

Do you write to-do lists? What sorts of tips work for you? What do you find helpful when organizing your daily or weekly tasks?

Have a marvelous week!
Dallas

quick bathroom organization

Posted on by

1

I have a confession to make: I have a cluttered bathroom sink.

I am still using {and loving!} the toiletry organization system I put up on the back of the door using a shoe organizer — it’s the perfect way for me to store extra toiletry items, medicine, and items I don’t use all that often.

But what about the items I use every day? As you can see, they were completely cluttering up my countertop, creating a totally stressful environment and making it a big chore to clean.

My inspiration came from actually right across the bathroom: my shower. The tub used to be cluttered with various shampoo and conditioner bottles, body soap, shaving cream, etc. Then I found these vertical shower shelves and {hooray!} the result is a much more organized shower with all my products within easy access.

All it took for me to transform my cluttered bathroom sink was this $1 navy blue shower caddy. All I had to do was plop all my everyday-use toiletry products in the basket, wipe down the sink, and it’s like a whole new bathroom!

I’m really pleased with the transformation! And it is so much easier to clean now. All I need to do is pick up the basket, wipe the counter down, and put it back. Easy peasy!

Have you ever struck upon a cheap and simple solution to transform a cluttered space?

Have a great weekend!
-Dallas

———————————–

Cost: $1.00
Time spent: 5 mins

take-out menu storage

Posted on by

2

Happy Friday! I have a quick and easy organizational post for you today.

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted about my new stationary organization system thanks to a $1 accordian file folder I found at Target? I was kicking myself for not grabbing more of those folders … and then last week when I was browsing the clearance section I came across a stack of those very folders in various sizes! {score}

I grabbed a smaller one in a versatile black color because I had a hunch it would come in handy. Today, inspiration struck about how I should use it: to organize the various take-out menus cluttering up and falling off the fridge.

Like when I organized my stationary, this could not have been an easier project. All I had to do was take down all the menus from the fridge and slide them into the various pockets organized by different types of cuisine: Chinese, Thai, Mediterranean, Indian, pizza, burger/diner food, and dessert.

Last, I found the perfect place to tuck it away next to my reusable grocery bags, still within easy reach when I don’t feel like cooking and want to order take-out!

In fact … maybe I’ll kick off the weekend by doing just that!

xoxo,
Dallas

—————————————

Cost: $1.00
Time: 5 minutes

flour & sugar storage

Posted on by

0

I am so excited to share my new flour and sugar containers with you today! {the ones I gave you a peek at on Wednesday}

I love to bake, but you wouldn’t know it just by looking through my disorganized kitchen cabinet of baking supplies!

I decided that this week was time for a change. Not just for aesthetic reasons, but also practical ones: it was cumbersome to open the plastic baggies I kept my flour and sugar in to try to keep them fresh. Flour and sugar would inevitably spill onto the counter, making a mess.

Thanks to some inspiration from some other organization bloggers, I decided to invest in pretty containers to keep my flour and sugar fresh and neat. I found these online at The Container Store. I chose the glass canisters because I loved the timeless look — my pantry shelves are not very tall so I planned to display the canisters on my countertop, and I wanted something pretty and classic looking.

I got an 80 oz canister for the flour and two 32 oz canisters for the sugar and brown sugar. I also like these canisters because they have wide enough openings to reach in with measuring cups and take scoops out.

Then today, after washing the jars with soap and water and letting them dry overnight, all I had to do was pour my flour and sugar {including my newly softened brown sugar!} into each jar and press down on the sealed-tight lids.

Now I’m more eager than ever to get baking! Stay tuned next week when I try out the new recipe I got for brown sugar/ cinnamon/ apple cookies!

Happy weekend,
Dallas
———————————————–
Time: 15 mins
Cost: $22.00 ($9.99 for the 80 oz, $5.99 for each 32 oz one)

hoping to never again lose my keys…

Posted on by

0

A quick Friday organizational tip for you today!

If you’re like me, you sometimes misplace {ahem, lose} your keys. I used to put them in a little ceramic bowl, but sometimes I would forget, or the bowl would get lost on my table under papers and mail. Then, when I added a gym key and office key and car keys to the mix, the bowl seemed suddenly too small. What to do??

When I was putting on a necklace the other day, looking at my new necklace organization, I got an idea: why not use hooks for keys, too?

I chose a little bigger size hooks than the ones I used for my necklaces. I like these small yet strong metal hooks and how they can hold multiple sets of keys if need be.

I hung up the hooks on this narrow strip of wall right beside my front door, so it’s the first thing I see when I walk in and the last thing I see before I leave the apartment on the way to my car. It’s simple, quick, and easy to integrate into my everyday routine.

Now I’m off to Chicago. {woo hoo} Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

Dallas
——————————————–
Time spent: 5 minutes
Cost: $4.00

pots & pans & cutting boards … oh my!

Posted on by

0

When I moved across the country from California to Indiana, I was fortunate to have some generous relatives who donated their gently used pots and pans and cooking supplies for my new life on my own. Then some friends moved away and gave me a bunch of their pots and pans, too. The result was a disorganized, delicately balanced heap that threatened to avalanche every time I opened the cabinet to get something out:

Yikes. Something needed to be done.

Then, I came across this neat organizer when I was browsing through some of my favorite organization blogs.

I love this product because it’s sturdy enough to hold heavy pans, and the slots are wide enough to hold multiple cookie sheets or cutting boards.

My first step was to take everything out of our pots & pans cabinet and sort through which ones I really like and use a lot. Items like the salad spinner, cake pan and large casserole dish I don’t use very often but still want to keep went into the storage closet. Other pots and pans I don’t use were put in a box to donate to Goodwill this weekend.

Next, I wiped down the cabinet and put the organizer into place. Then all I had to do was group cutting boards and pans together in the slots of the organizer and neatly place the remaining pots, strainers, pans, etc. around it. Here is the final result:

I am SO pleased! It is amazingly easy to find exactly what I need, and makes me a whole lot more inspired to cook at home rather than go for take-out. All it took was a little time and one $7.89 investment to make this cabinet go from stressful mess to happy space.

What are some of your favorite inexpensive organizing products?

Till soon,
Dallas
——————————————-
Cost: less than $8.00
Time: 15-20 mins

Organize-It-Link-Party-button2

This post is linked up with the Organize It! Monthly Organizing Link Party!

toiletry organization

Posted on by

1

My bathroom is a space that gets cluttered quickly. I have tried storing toiletries in the cabinet under the counter — lotions, soaps, hair products, band-aids, cough syrup — but it inevitably becomes jumbled, things get knocked over, and it’s cumbersome to stoop down on my knees below my bathroom sink, looking for my hair mousse. So gradually products will migrate to my bathroom countertop, which makes it cluttered and hard to keep clean. Not to mention I’ll end up buying new bottles and boxes of products that I already have because they get lost in the back of the cabinet and I forget I have them. {Hello, three half-empty bottles of Pepto Bismol} Not good for my mental space OR for my wallet.

But recently I was over at my friend Katie’s for girls night and, while using her bathroom, I discovered she had hung a shoe organizer over the back of the door. However, instead of shoes, she used it to store toiletries. Brilliant! As soon as I got home, I decided to shamelessly copy her idea.

On Amazon I found an inexpensive shoe organizer with clear pockets, making it easy to see what is inside.

It arrived earlier this week, and last night I unpacked it from its packaging, slipped the included hooks into place, and hung it over the back of the door. Then all I had to do was take out my toiletries from their various storage places around the bathroom and slide them into their own respective pockets.

Hooray! Everything is neatly organized, and I even have some extra pockets to spare for any new toiletries I find/buy!

Do you have any special organizing tricks for bathroom supplies/toiletries?

Happy Friday!
-Dallas

—————————

Cost: $12.00
Time spent: 15 minutes