Scarf Organization

My nesting is taking over and everything must be organized, and re-organized...and possibly organized a third time.

I had previously been using the nursery as a guest room and the closet as a linen closet. All that has changed, which when they re-organization is finished I will share, but I was left with a hanging organizer that previously held my towels that was just too much of an organizers dream not to repurpose.

I found the hanging closet organizer at Wal-Mart, I think it was around $20.

 

Photo from walmart.com

Now two things about me, one I live in Western PA and two I love scarves, hence I wear them pretty much year round due to our temperamental weather. As far as the rest of our winter accessories it's safe to say you WON'T need them in June, July and August...I actually don't feel very safe saying that. Anyways, the idea of packing everything away and pulling it back out doesn't really make too much sense. So the above became our winter accessory/scarf organization.

There are six small compartments and three large compartments, which fit everything perfectly, and I even have a little room to grow my collection!

Starting in the top left and going clockwise I have: Winter Pittsburgh sport team hate (Garrett has just a couple), all other hats, ear warmers and small crocheted scarves and gloves.

Bottom right: crocheted scarves. Bottom left:  light weight "fashion" scarves. Top:  Pittsburgh sports team scarves and other miscellaneous winter scarves.

Bottom: fleece scarves. Top: Pashminas.

It's so nice having everything in one place and not certain scarves looped around a closet rod and others stashes away in a container somewhere. I think this may be the last organization of these...for now.

Cookies for One, or Two...or Three

Last week at work we had a potluck lunch and I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. These cupcakes are filled with an egg-less dough ball that is frozen so when they bake you get a cookie dough filling. The cookie batch makes about 3 dozen and my cupcake batter only made 2 dozen. What's a girl to do?

Throw them in the freezer for the next time one of those pregnancy cravings kicks in of course!

The beauty is you can eat these just like this, yummy cookie dough that's safe to eat because there aren't raw eggs in the mix! If you want an actual cookie though just pop however many you want into the oven, 350* for 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Important Paperwork Organization and Storage

Even though we live in a digital world, I like keeping paper copies of things. Unfortunately, paperwork can get unruly and often gets neglected. I've set up a filing system for our most used paperwork to help control the situation before it gets out of control.

First, I bought these from Staples. They can withstand a lot more than a regular hanging file, and some components of my system contain some thicker documents.

Photo from Staples.com

My main categories right now are pay stubs, car information, Crosby and Keisel (our dogs), benefits, owner manuals, bills, taxes and Riley. I have this in an easily accessible area so I don't have to go too far out of my way to file something as soon as it's received.

I've had the crate for a long time and can't recall where I purchased it. I see them in Wal Mart, Target and Staples though.

Behind my heavy duty files I have regular hanging files, which are where I store my coupons. I was previously using the binder and baseball card system to organize my coupons, but I found myself getting discouraged from coupons because I was spending so much time clipping, filing and purging on many coupons that were never used. Since I most frequently find my deals by using blogs such as Sisters Shopping on a Shoestring and The Krazy Coupon Lady who tell you which insert you can find the coupon in I decided to change my organization. I now put a small post it with the date of the inserts on the folder and put the entire insert in the file. When it comes time to make my list I pull out my bin and grab the inserts the bloggers tell me to use. It is so much easier, and I find myself being more motivated to coupon again. If I'm making a big trip to Target I'll quickly browse through my inserts and see if I have any coupons for any of the items on my list. Even though this takes some time, it's a lot quicker and more efficient than the time I was wasting on coupons I never used.

Organization for me is very much a personal preference. What works well for others may not fit with my needs. Through trial and error I've killed two birds with one stone (paperwork and coupons). This system has been working for me for a little over a month now so I decided to share it. Hopefully it helps someone else out there. Let me know your preferred method to filing important paperwork and managing coupons, I love organization ideas!

Big News!

We're having a baby! July 9, 2013 our first bundle of joy is tentatively scheduled to join our family!

This past weekend we went home for a little gender reveal party to share if baby Riley is a he or she!

I made cake pops that were either pink or blue on the inside so everyone could find out at the same time and put them on my new cake pop tree that I salvaged from a toy store who was going to pitch it.

Each pop had a tag on it...

And baby Riley is.........

 

A GIRL!!!

We're so happy and excited, and so is big cousin Liam!

We can't wait to meet you little miss Riley Jean!

Small Bathroom Organization and Storage

Our bathroom is small, and it has very limited storage. My husband and I may use one too many products, but that's something we probably won't change. I was thinking of ways to use space I wouldn't normally think of, I previously wrote about Re-Purposing Bath and Body Works Candles, which freed up some space on our shelf above the toilet, but that wasn't enough.

So low and behold while wasting time in Wal-Mart one day I saw a shoe organizer in a whole new way.

It's simple, inexpensive and holds a lot of our products!

Do you have any tips for small bathroom storage?

Re-Purposing Bath and Body Works Candles

The three wick candles from Bath and Body Works are to die for! They have the best scents and have so much throw, I can't believe it. They're a little pricy, normally $19.50, but I always buy them during one of their 2/$20 sales and pair it with a coupon. Bath and Body Works always seems to have some sort of coupon floating around out there. The containers are also multipurpose so I don't feel so bad about this little splurge. Here's how my bathroom medicine cupboard now looks with these containers.

 

They're really easy to get to this point too!

Once your candle has completely burned down and the wax is dry put it into the freezer for two hours. When you take it out push a butter knife down into the wax to break it apart. The small metal pieces that held the wick should come up too, but if they don't just wiggle your butter knife under them to loosen them up.

Once you get all the wax out run HOT water into the containers, clean them out with soap and a sponge. After a minute or so of the hot water running the labels on the bottom and front will peel right off.

Fill them up with small trinkets and take a step closer to getting a room organized!

What re-purposing projects have you completed lately?

Pinner Dinner -- Balsamic Chicken, Asparagus and Fresh Mozzarella

Pinterest, I don't think I could ever describe my love for it enough. One of my favorite things to do is find new ideas for dinner. This recipe included some of my favorite things and I couldn't wait to try it out.

The original pin for Balsamic Chicken and Asparagus came from Maggie's Bites, which has lots of great recipes!

Marinating goodness!

I made a few minor adjustments, like baking my chicken at 375* for 45 minutes instead of grilling, because it's basically winter in PA.

Neither Garrett nor I are tomato eaters, so we left those out.

Also, I drizzled my asparagus with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and some Parmesan cheese.

Do you have any variations that would tasty?

Enjoy!

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