As school activities were wrapping up I looked around the mess I live in and was filled with shame. Shame of all the things I have been meaning to get to for the past 6 months and just haven’t had the time. The cabinets you can’t find anything in or the shower that may have a fuzzy monster living in it are just 2 such projects in my life. But I will be ashamed no more! Not just because I am cleaning up some of this projects but because I am putting in systems that will mean that I never have to block out intense cleaning time for them! 

With 4 kids in the family, we have a lot of people and therefore a lot of mess. If I decided to fix everything I have abandoned, well that is a mistake. I get overwhelmed, don’t know where to start, and end up never doing anything. Instead I have found that making a list of 3 at a time is the perfect approached. Don’t do 2 of the 3 and refill your list! Do all 3, breathe for a moment when you are done, give yourself a pat on the back, and then 3 more. Why 3 instead of 1? If you are like me you have different projects in different spots in the house. While 1 job might take you an hour, it might be broken up well so while you are in a specific area of the house you can work on it for just a few minutes.

You projects should start with a cabinet you use everyday or a room or a drawer. Don’t say your room or your garage, keep it bite sized! Let me show you my current 3 projects. 

 

Tackling the Showers!

We have multiple showers and frankly, mine is the grossest. I had a great system in our last house but is was blown when we moved. I could blame the state of my shower on moving but since that was 2 years ago, that excuse is a little thin. 

In all seriousness, we have more showers here and 2 of them are the children’s (yes, 1st world problem). I need a system that not only I can keep but my kids can as well. So I visited the Dollar Tree and bought multiple spray bottles and those scrubby sponges with a reservoir. I was even able to pick up scrubby sponges refills. What goes into them is a mixture of  half Dawn and half white Vinegar. The sponge is to tackle any trouble areas that has grossness already. But the spray bottles are my insurance. After showers you shake the bottle and spray your shower. Then get out. It keeps anything from growing so you never have to scrub it again! Success. (I in progress. The materials are on my kitchen counter and got filled when I was waiting for the kids to do something in the kitchen.)

 
The Medicine Cabinet

“Hey we finished a bottle of B Vitamins, I put them on the Costco List!” No one realizes that we have an extra bottle in the back of the medicine cabinet. It was put on the second shelf so you didn’t accidentally use it before the open one. Did I mention that I can’t reach the back of that kitchen shelf, much less the kids? So things were a hot mess in there. First thing I did was pull everything out and threw out everything that was expired. Then I went and had dinner. I came back the next day;). The next thing I did was take out everything that doesn’t belong there. Kids are great for this job. Hand them 1 destinations items at a time or else you are asking for misdelivery;).

Then I containerize! Next time things seem a little wonky it all has a home to belong in. Remember, you don’t need to go buy fancy containers. I have a spot that we keep empty plastic containers. So most of the containers for this project were Dollar Tree purchases but I have an awesome Lego container;). That holds all our current vitamins and we can take it to the table in the mornings. Containers also solve the reach issue. I can reach the basket and don’t have to reach to the back of the shelf. I have a container now on the second shelf that holds all our extra vitamins and medicines!

My Jewelry

I, like many women, have gobs of costume/fake jewelry. So much that it won’t fit in a jewelry box… I actually don’t know that I could ever get my necklaces into a jewelry box and keep them untangled. I have spent so much time over this last year looking through my jewelry. So I have decided to rectify this situation. This is my project of the 3 that I am not even close to finishing yet.  It is such a large job (because I keep a lot of broken or tarnished junk) so I am not doing it in a completely traditional method. 

Normally I say sort then figure out how much of a system you need. Well, this time I have a bit of a system then I am sorting and then I will figure out the whole system. So my first step was hanging chains on my wall in my bedroom horizontally and I bought S hooks. I then took my current (and therefore favorite) necklaces and french loop earrings and hung them up on the chain. Now I am slowly going through the drawer in my nightstand and sorting! I have my “Is it ok to throw this away pile” (What can I say, I have guilt issues. Who cares if it turns my finger green?). Then I have the earrings that I am waiting to find a match on and then I have the stuff I am keeping that can’t go on the chains, like stud earrings. It is a slow process. I am doing an initial sort of brokens but I know that my day of reckoning is coming. When I have to be honest with myself. I will have to get rid of the stuff I will never actually wear again. I will post pictures when I am done!

Imagine all the time you would save if you didn’t have to scrub out your shower? How about if you didn’t have to dig through 5 shirts you hate in order to find something to wear? Imagine how much smoother your school year would go!

So what are your first 3 mini-projects to tackle? Share so we can support each other! 

 

 

This is part of my 10 Days to a Better School Year Series! Pop over and check out the rest of my series (and enter the Amazon giveaway!).