New Year Home Organization Challenge!!

Heeeyyy!!!

If you have been here a while, you know that every year, I like to follow along with A Bowl Full of Lemons and their super awesome home organization challenge. It is a 14 week cleaning/purging/organizing challenge that always gets me excited for the new year. I secretly think I subconsciously refrain from throwing things out (old toys, clothes, etc) during the end of the year, just so I can feel more accomplished during the challenge!! Hahaha

The first week usually starts the second week in January, but you can catch up/join any time. She has everything posted on her blog.

Week one begins in the kitchen. This is where I spend 90% of my day, so I love this one so much. This past summer, we moved from Maryland to Virginia, so I have a new house to organize this year! I still sometimes find myself changing and rearranging things to find them the best home. 

Here is a before of what our counters looked like.  I had a bunch of fruit/vegetable bowls taking up space. (This really drove me crazy!) We still had some lingering holiday/snow items laying around that needed to be put away. 

I was able to give it a quick cleaning and put everything where it belongs, and find a new home for my oils. They fit perfect!! I also found a new basket to hold all the fruits and veggies and utilize some vertical space instead of all the bowls! (Except it's empty right now because I need to get to the grocery store! :D) 

I am so excited to finally have this area set up in a way that makes sense, and gives me a clean work space!! 

Part of this week's challenge also involves cleaning the appliances. When we moved into this house, the stove had SO.MUCH. baked on crud. I am still trying to get it all off, little by little, without damaging the surface. This week, I tried something new. I usually use baking soda and vinegar to gently scrub the surface, but this time I used baking soda and my Young Living Thieves cleaner. It worked SO great! You can see how it got to work picking up a lot of the grease and junk. I still have some work to do, but this mixture took off a lot more than I have been able to do so far!

I am ready for week 2!! It's the pantry! :D 

Are you participating in this challenge too? I would love to see your before and afters! Come share them on my Facebook Page! 

You can also see daily updates on my Instagram. If you follow me, leave me a comment and I'll follow you back! 

See you soon! 

XOXO

14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Week 8- Kids Closet

I know what you're thinking...Where are weeks 6 & 7??? The master bedroom and closet?? Well, it is all typed up and ready to go, but I realized I am missing some 'After' pictures. And it wouldn't be fair to share the before without the after. So, instead of putting it off completely, I am bringing you the kids bedroom.
Today, only the oldest got his bedroom and closet taken apart and put back together. While he may have moaned and groaned in the beginning, once he started to see progress, I think he actually enjoyed finishing. I only got pictures of the closet makeover, but that was the biggest adventure in his room. Here is the before...Lots of hangers. This closet used to be nice and organized...then a teenager happened! Haha He looks like he was even trying to hide from it all!

We got to work pulling everything out that didn't fit anymore, or that he just didn't like anymore. There was a lot of both!
Our church was (conveniently!) doing a clothing drive, so we were able to donate all of his castaways to a good home!

You'll see in my master bedroom closet makeover that I got us some grown up hangers. I saved all the white plastic ones and gave them to J. His hanging clothes are separated now for school/church/etc. and they all get to be on nice white hangers. It looks so much nicer! His closet is now super organized. All the board games have been rearranged and put back together. And look at all that space below!! This was definitely a win for today!

But wait...there's more...I also got A's closet cleaned out since she doesn't really need it right now. Hers is completely empty for a big adventure we are about to take on! I will be sharing more details about that soon!! :D

Want more organization ideas??
I will be sharing more updates over on my Facebook page!
I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to the subject!
Sometimes I also share on Instagram

And- You can follow along with more organization at A Bowl Full of Lemons

Stay tuned for the Master bedroom! :D

14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Weeks 4 & 5 - Launch Pad & Living Room

Okay...we're almost caught up now! I planned on posting these two weeks together since they are in the same space.
 I was not very excited about these weeks.  This is our 'grown-ups only' room. No toys allowed. The room that I loved so much, that used to be my favorite place in the house, had somehow turned into just a room in the house. How did that happen?? After some thought, I realized when it may have happened. It was a very slow process. First, the baby items came in. I expected this, and I know they won't be here long. But then the snow came, and with it all the hats, gloves, scarves, etc. They all piled up by the door. It just started to feel like stuff was cluttered everywhere. I got right to work clearing out all the extras. Once it was all done, I walked into the room so many times throughout the day just to soak it all it. My favorite room is back!
Let's get to it, shall we?
Here is our entry table. With Valentine decorations that were never properly displayed. And the basket of winter items. And the baby's car seat. Ugh.

And a close up in case you can't see all the crazy!

This is the view looking from the kitchen.

I decided it was time for the Valentine's Day things to go. Valentine's is over now, so we don't need to see it anymore. I took the car seat and moved it by the garage door for now so it can stay in the car. I also refreshed my flowers and updated our picture in the frame.

So much better!! I'm planning on getting a new candle for the candle holder!

Next was the living room area.
From the kitchen entry and around...

This crooked picture is what happens when I hold my phone above my head and try to get a wider shot! :D

I finished removing all the Valentine's related décor. Put the pillows back on the couch, and rearranged the items on the shelf.

I also pulled the rug closer to the couch and tucked it under a bit. Pinterest said that would help the room feel more grounded. Haha. We'll see!

I also dusted off the TV stand and rearranged our little bird family on there ♥

 This whole process, including shaking out the rug, and moving it, and vacuuming the room, took less than 30 minutes. It was definitely a much needed transformation. The room is so much more peaceful again!!

You can see the full challenge here: (I will update as I go!)
Week 1 - Kitchen
Week 2 - Pantry
Week 3 - Dining Room
THIS IS WEEKS 4 & 5 :)
Week 6 - Master Bedroom
7 - Master Closet
Week 8 - Kid's Closet
Week 9 - Linen Closet
Week 10 - Bathrooms
Week 11 - Office
Week 12 - Playroom
Week 13 - Laundry Room
Week 14 - Garage/Car

Do you have a favorite room in your house? Stop by and let me know!!
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest

You can follow along with A Bowl Full of Lemons to Organize your home in 14 weeks, too!! This week, I'm working on the Master Bedroom!!

14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Week 3 - Dining Room

So, I was sitting down to write up the post for weeks 4 & 5 and I realized that I never even shared week 3!! I can't believe it. First, that makes me a little farther behind than I thought. Second...oh my gosh! I was so excited about this week! I know exactly what happened, though. It fell on the snow week....everything has been messed up since then!!

But, have no fear...here is week 3...the dining room! I initially thought I wouldn't be doing much in here. A little dusting and rearranging maybe, but nothing too serious. Let me tell you, I was wrong!!
I was talking to Austin about a 'maybe' idea that I had. He sat and listened through the entire process. A few minutes later, I had to get up to go lay the little down for nap. When I cam back down stairs, he was already moving things!! Yay!!
Here is the photo I snapped at the end of week to as my 'peek' into my dining room

And one I took as I was heading upstairs (obviously on a different day where much more chaos was involved! :D

And my awesome husband moving the cabinet upstairs...

And the afters...
I have a real coffee/tea bar now! ♥ All in one spot!

 Updated this morning after I took down all the Valentine's...

Did you notice my sweet little creamer cow??? I was SO excited to finally find this over the weekend!!

Isn't she beautiful??

 I was even able to make a little 'bar' area on the counter where the coffee machine used to be! It's perfect!

 I don't know how I didn't get a full dining room shot after we finished, but I got my favorite parts. I will try and update with one later...
For now I am going to leave you with this 'peek' into our living room and launch pad area (week 4 & 5) I know it's not a true peek, but our dog was being a creeper and it made me laugh!!

I will have the Launch Pad week and Living room week posted together (probably tomorrow!!)
In the mean time, head over to Facebook and let me know if you have a pet that likes to be a creeper sometimes! :D

You can see the full challenge here: (I will update as I go!)
Week 1 - Kitchen
Week 2 - Pantry
THIS IS WEEK 3 :)
Week 4 & 5 - Launch Pad & Living Room
Week 6 - Master Bedroom
Week 7 - Master Closet
Week 8 - Kid's Closet
Week 9 - Linen Closet
Week 10 - Bathrooms
Week 11 - Office
Week 12 - Playroom
Week 13 - Laundry Room
Week 14 - Garage/Car

You can also find me on Instagram and Pinterest!!


I am following along with A Bowl Full of Lemons for this 14 week challenge!
They are on Facebook, too! :D

14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Week 2 - Pantry

Week 2 is done!
We have a small pantry, and I meal plan weekly, so I don't have a lot of 'extra' in our pantry. I thought this would be a super easy week for me. A little wiping down and rearranging, and I would be done. I was wrong. The layout of everything in my pantry was totally fine, and everything worked great where it was, but I think there is always room for improvement. So I improved.
I wiped all the shelves down. Let me tell you...they were dirty! I wipe them down occasionally, but they really collected a lot of dust, especially the bottom ones.  And the shelf where my spice basket is. Thankfully, it is all sparkling now! :)

Here is my before...

I started with re-labeling all my spices. I've had to replace a few recently, and didn't put labels on them yet. I also changed the pink ones to green so they all match :)
I know I've shared this before, but I think it is one of my favorite organized pantry items.
I forgot to get an after pic, but I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like!

Here are all my shelves after some cleaning and rearranging:

I even busted out the label maker!!

 I only made a *little* mess. What else is an empty island countertop for??? Thankfully it all got cleaned up right away, and the counter is back to new!

 Week 3 is all about the dining area. I snapped this real quick while I was typing up this post. I don't have a lot in this room, but I'm sure I will find a way to make it better.

You can see the full challenge here: (I will update as I go!)
Week 1 - Kitchen
THIS IS WEEK 2 :)
Week 3 - Dining Room
Week 4 & 5 - Launch Pad & Living Room
Week 6 - Master Bedroom
7 - Master Closet
Week 8 - Kid's Closet
Week 9 - Linen Closet
Week 10 - Bathrooms
Week 11 - Office
Week 12 - Playroom
Week 13 - Laundry Room
Week 14 - Garage/Car

Come visit me and let me know how your challenge is going!
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest

14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Week 1 - Kitchen

I am so happy to share this post today! For the last few years, I have been participating in the 14 Week Home Organization Challenge with A Bowl Full of Lemons. As soon as I see the posts coming up, I get so excited and ready to start! This year, the creator of A Bowl Full of Lemons released a book to accompany the challenge! My heart is happy. I got my copy in the mail just in time for Week 1 to begin!

The challenge starts with the kitchen - purging and organizing the cabinets. While I try to stay on top of this throughout the year, there is nothing like a good challenge to motivate me to do just a little more!
 Here are my  'Before' photos:

This is an after before...I got rid of about 8 cookbooks before I took this photo!

Our fridge has gotten a little crazy!

And the after!

SO much better!!

I even added some contact paper to the top to help with cleanup!

I got rid of about 10 sippy cups from this cabinet! It's so much nicer to open now!

 The next two photo are my two favorite cabintes now, I think. I was able to get rid of enough cookbooks, and make space to have all my Rachael Ray ones in the same place as the others. I always forgot about them in the other cabinet. And now, the baking/spice cabinet is able to be organized so much better. Aaahhhhh!!

 If you are participating in this challenge, I would love to see your Before/Afters!

Next week, the focus is on the pantry!! Here is a sneak peek of my before! :D

You can see the full challenge here: (I will update as I go!)
THIS IS WEEK 1 :)
Week 2 - Pantry
Week 3 - Dining Room
Week 4 & 5 - Launch Pad & Living Room
Week 6 - Master Bedroom
Week 7 - Master Closet
Week 8 - Kid's Closet
Week 9 - Linen Closet
Week 10 - Bathrooms
Week 11 - Office
Week 12 - Playroom
Week 13 - Laundry Room
Week 14 - Garage/Car


Come visit me and share your progress!
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest