Organization....

 Let's be honest here...... I am so unbelievably unorganized I should have my own support group.... Something like "Disorganized Anonymous".  Seriously.  It's ridiculous.  I'm not a hoarder or a pack rat.  As a matter of fact, I'm a firm believer in File 13 (the TRASH!).  But I just can't ever get my stuff together.  ANY of it! I won't even tell you what the inside of my van looked like a month ago.  Or what the inside of my purse looks like now.  However, with all that being said..... I am slowly trying to turn over a new leaf.  That was my New Year's Resolution.  Organization.  Come to think of it..... that's been my resolution for the past 3 years.  This time, however, I decided to take it a tiny step at a time instead of jumping in full force and being overwhelmed.  I'm sort of getting my toes wet, per se.  My goal is to organize one room a month this year.  Ever since I had kid #3 it seems like things have gotten out of control.  I don't know what it is about that magic #3.  So anyway, little by little as I try to get my life house organized and in check, I figured I would share it on my blog.  For any other mom who feels overwhelmed, helpless, unorganized. 

For instance.... the picture above, of the black shelf.... this, my friends, has become my lifesaver of sorts.  We have one in our garage (with more eventually to follow), one in the laundry room (it's so spacious it holds extra snacks, diaper bags and purses, as well as laundry baskets), and we have one in each of the kids closets.  We have 4 bedrooms in our house.  The children's bedrooms are very small.  We have to get creative with how we store things and manage their junk toys.  I swear, these shelves are simply awesome.  Affordable and spacious.  And. Just. Plain. Awesome. You can store baskets of toys, books, clothes, ect.  The possibilities  are ENDLESS! They also come in different heights and the shelves are adjustable.

I'm telling you.... from one mother to the next.... if you are looking for organization of any kind in a closet or room, or garage, run, don't walk to your nearest Wal-Mart or Home Depot.

 Next we have my bathroom.  Sigh.  I have a tiny little tornado toddler who is into EVERYTHING.  Holy cow.  I had two boys and then a girl for #3.  She  makes up for everything her brothers never did.  Needless to say, I try to keep a lot of things out of her reach.  (A very daunting task!)  I don't know why, but I feel so much better when things are contained.  As in a basket or plastic bin or container.  Not only does it look nicer, but you can easily put it away when company comes over.  For instance, above ^^^^^^ I have all of my hair products, deodorant, and jewelry holders in one basket.  It just doesn't make the counter look as cluttered.  And I can hide it easily if I know a guest will be seeing my bathroom.  (Which rarely happens, but hey, it makes me feel better!)

 This was my greatest idea EVER!  I stole this from my pack rat child who was not using this.  My mom bought it for him to store art supplies or Legos or something.  Needless to say, it sat empty.  So I stole it.  It is the most amazing form of storage for makeup.  Everything fits so nicely into it.  And I store it away in my bottom cabinet in the bathroom under my sink. (That was a redundant sentence, wasn't it?!)

Blogger (as ALWAYS) mixed up my pictures as I loaded them.... but below you can see the individual drawers. 

This is my husband's side of the sink ^^^^^^  Things we try to keep our of reach of our tornado toddler.  It just makes me feel better seeing it all in a container. 

 One makeup drawer^^^^^^ my eye bling

 This is our pantry.  Go figure.... Blogger skips from bathroom to kitchen, back to bathroom.... whatever, I digress.....

I don't know if you have boys, but BOY can they eat.  So I decided to tackle a new tactic.  Doling out snacks a few days at a time. (With the reserves being conveniently kept in our laundry room on our industrial shelf!)  If they consume all this within a few days, that's it.  Cry me a river.  You don't get anymore until I decide it's close enough to payday again time to dole out some more. 

 This here ^^^^^^ is my top bathroom drawer.  I know it doesn't LOOK very organized, but believe me..... you didn't see it 2 months ago.  Holy cow.  I was throwing stuff away from 2005.  But this silverware drawer sure does come in handy.  Just keep in mind, my entire family congregates to our bathroom to brush teeth, comb hair, shower, ect.  Why?  Because they like to keep my life chaotic.  Nevermind my kids have their own VERY spacious bathroom.  But I'm digressing again.  I'm just sayin', that's not all MY junk.  However, the lipstick is.  I am a lipstick QUEEN.  And don't forget it!

 Another random picture of one of my makeup drawers. 

And lastly, another random pic of my pantry.

I'm taking my organization goal a little at a time.  Baby steps.  But, there's more where this came from.  Just thought I'd share my few organization "tips" with anyone in need of help or ideas!