Time Management

I have just purchased a book called: 

"Simplify your Time: Stop Running and Start Living!"

by Marcia Ramsland.  

Here are the 3 books she has written. 

I want all 3 of them!

 I haven't even finished reading her book, but have already put into practice some things that I've read.

Here is a tip Marcia gives:

Try and see what you can accomplish in 2 minutes!

Seriously!  So, I put on a pot of water to boil for supper.

...and decided to tackle my utensil holder.

 

There are a LOT of items that are never used in here.  It may not look bad to you, but it's overflowing!

After dumping everything out, here is what I saw:



All I can say is..."yuck"!  And, no...they're not bugs!  LOL!  Looked like Ramen Noodles to me.

Here is what I have kept, and now everything is handy and easy to get at.  Looks much nicer!

 And, all this before the water boiled!!

So, I decided to keep going and see what else I could accomplish in just a few minutes, or more than a few.

This small area is between our pantry and refrigerator. 

BEFORE:



AFTER:

We moved our toaster to this area...it was cluttering up another counter top (but I forgot to take pics of where it had been).  We put the peanut butter containers and cinnamon/sugar mixture in the cupboard above.  The small crock on top of the sugar container is where we keep the butter.

This is the counter where the toaster was kept...between the small crocks.  It always looked so cluttered (for 9 years!).  Oh, and did you see the crockpot?  Yep!  Supper is ready!  (I'm working on better menu planning)

This had been hanging above the sink...what in the world was I thinking?  I have no idea what I was going to do with these things.  So, I took them down.

I thought I had taken a 'before' pic of my island, but couldn't find it.  This is the first pic I took of it cleared off.  Then, I decided I didn't like it.

AFTER

Anybody ready for SPRING!!
I changed switched out the candy to this green Longaberger crock.  Who doesn't like candy?  Just wish it was chocolate!  The toothpicks had been in a gingerbread votive candleholder.  It was time to change that!  And, I love this little pitcher!

My next areas to tackle this weekend are:

How do you think we eat at this table?  We don't.  And, that is something else I am working at changing!  Bad habits are hard to break.

Oooohh...do you see the countertop on the left side of the picture?  I knew I had taken a BEFORE picture!  At least you can get a glimpse of it.

Here is the area I had decluttered a few weeks ago.  It so easily becomes a "hot spot".  I just need to add this area to my daily routine.

So, the next time I feel that I don't have 'time' to clean/organize/declutter, I will remind myself: 

I can do ANYTHING in 2 minutes, or any small amount of time!    

• Swish and swipe toilet
• wipe down toilet, sink and bathroom countertop
• put dishes in dishwasher
• throw a load of wash in washer
• change clothes from washer to dryer
• make bed (this takes LESS than 2 minutes!)
• spot wash the kitchen floor
• fill ice cube trays
• read my Bible
• Pray
• so many more things!

So, what can YOU accomplish in just a few minutes?  Feel free to share your pictures and ideas.

Organizing bit-by-bit,

Shari

Living Room clean-up

Well, with all the crazy-ness that's going on in our house and with family, it seems that all my work de-cluttering and organzing is falling by the way-side.  So...I decided not to focus on the kitchen (dirty dishes piling up, etc.) and tackle the leftover mess from working in the Master Bedroom.

Most of the 'stuff' around this room is what came out of our bedroom as I was painting and de-cluttering it.  The biggest challenge is knowing what to do with it all! 

I went to work and this is how it all looked about an hour later:

This is also our 'music' room!  Jordan plays drums, piano, guitar(s), and harmonica.  Kayli is taking violin lessons.  Our home is filled with music throughout the day! 



This sectional is huge and has a hide-a-bed that gets used when we have a houseful of cousins overnight!



There you have it!  It's amazing what a person can get done in an hour!  Of course, there's a pile of 'thrift store' stuff you can't see, but that's going out soon!  Yeah!

Organizing bit-by-bit,

Shari



P.S.  Guess what!  I was ready to publish this post when I heard...wait for it...RUNNING WATER!!!  We really don't know how blessed we are until something is taken away from us!  Thank you, Jesus!

Special Dishes cupboard

Well, here is another project completed!  Yes!  I cringed every time I opened this cupboard...can you see why?

I just knew something was going to fall out when I opened the doors!  This is the cupboard that is between a wall and the refrigerator.  It started out being for my glass serving dishes...boy, do things sure change!  This took about 5-6 years!  LOL!

Well, I did it!  Here is what my cupboard now looks like:

All my special serving dishes are on the top shelf.  I know the paper towels are ugly, but they're protecting the dishes from each other.  I don't know what else to do. 

On the bottom shelf, I found a basket that I had around the house, and placed all my seasonal salt and pepper shakers in there.  The kids occassionally use straws, so they are in a plastic cup on the right side.  I like to use a small glass pitcher for pancake syrup and a couple of other misc. glass pitchers.

There you have it!  Yet another quick and easy organizing project completed...and it's done...bit-by-bit!

Shari

Declaring WAR on Clutter!

Okay, so I've never linked up on another blog before, so if you've found this through goodmorninggirls.org, I do apologize for the 3 different link-ups!  I'm very new to blogging and couldn't remember my web address!  (I'm so embarrassed!)  I'm so sorry!  And, to make matters worse, I can't figure out how to delete my first 2 link-ups...

We are going through the book of James, reading a few verses each day for 12 weeks.  And writing the verses out! 

Here is what God is speaking to me about James 1:1-6:  My faith!  My doubting, my lack of wisdom...just ask, and He'll give it to me!  I am to have JOY during my trials!  Oh, boy...that's a hard one to follow through on!  Right now, I am in the midst of the trial of Clutter...but today, I have 'declared WAR on clutter'!! 

I'm also reading a book called "From Clutter to Clarity", by Nancy Twigg.  Through her book, I am realizing that my struggle is because of some internal problem.  I am trying to look at why I have clutter...not just physical clutter, but the emotional and spiritual clutter, too.  If you haven't read this book, yet, I would highly recommend it.  Awesome!  I may share more later...right now, I'm declaring WAR...on CLUTTER!!

Organizing bit-by-bit,

Shari

Spice Cupboard

So...here is my spice cupboard...a little itty-bitty cupboard squeezed between a wall and the microwave above the stove.

Not very nice to look at, is it?  Not to mention, hard to find what I'm looking for!

Picture above:  all the spices, etc. that were on the lower shelf.  Now...time for sorting!

These are the spices I had to THROW AWAY!!  I found a few websites where I can figure out the expiration dates.  McCormick and Toner's are the same company and they have a great site!  Did you know that salt has an expiration date?  I learned alot while de-cluttering my spices!  But, again...what a waste of what God has given me!

Can you believe the picture below is my Spice Cupboard?

The top shelf always held our over-the-counter meds, thermometer and bandaids.  Many of those items had to be tossed, too...

Here's a tip I want to pass on:

Use a permanent black marker and write the month/year expiration date on the lid of each spice container.  This will help keep the spices fresh, because the exp. date will be more easily to find and read!

Let me know what you think!

Bringing order...Bit-by-bit,

Shari