Inexpensive Organizing

This is Part 3 of my How I Organized My Entire House for $0.00 (Really!) series.
Part 1 (Intro) is here.
Part 2 (Simple Rules to Create Organization that Sustains Itself Plus Master Bath Organization) is here.

Some things I've learned for organizing on the cheap:

1. Organizing is about your life, not about how much money you spend (obvious, but it took me a little while to learn. I love pretty, fresh school supplies, um, I think I've mentioned my love of pretty containers, I love pretty interior design--all that generally costs money--even though I try to manage to spend as little money as possible). I used to want it to be pretty and perfect or not at all. It doesn't work that way. It can be pretty later. Right now, it just needs to be organized. In fact, it's better to see if what you come up with works, then buy whatever pretty things to put it in. That way you're not investing a money in a system that won't work for you in the long run anyway.
2. Don't get caught up trying to create the perfect system. Very related to #1. Trying to make the perfect system generally has the effect of making me want to spend $. No system is perfect, but there are systems that work. Like I've said before, if you see a problem, think about how to fix it. Sometimes it's as easy as providing a trash can in the right spot, grouping the right things together, or moving something so that you have easier access. And sometimes it's just accepting that you have to change your habits (hard!).
3. Get rid of stuff. Less to organize! I recently made a goal to get rid of 100 things. This is something I plan to do regularly. Along with that, don't buy new things. I recently read that if you are contemplating buying a (non-perishable) item, put it on a list and wait a designated period of time: two weeks, a month, whatever. If at the end of that time, you still want/need it, buy it.* I find delayed gratification so hard, but it does help a lot with clutter.
4. Use "trash" to organize.** Food comes in great containers. If all you have are oatmeal containers, cardboard boxes from cereal boxes, fruit snacks, peanut butter jars, strawberry baskets, mayonnaise jars, peanut containers, empty spice jars, even boxes of soda, then use those. There are lots of ways to dress them up, if you want.*** Baby wipe containers are also quite amazing--ask friends if you don't buy wipes yourself. I've seen great things done with paper towel rolls--and toilet paper rolls, but that grosses some people out.
5. Use what you have already.**** You've probably bought baskets or plastic containers already. As you organize, you'll find you get rid of things (see #3) or find new systems. A lot of shifting will occur and you can reuse those old containers.
6. To help with costs, go second-hand. Thrift stores and garage sales can be great for finding containers (the flower vase in the picture came from a garage sale). Canning jars are often easy to find and make pretty good storage containers; also, muffin tins. Sites like Craig's list can be great sources for free cardboard boxes people are looking to ditch after they move. This can work great for some things (the free section even has furniture if you are looking for bigger storage solutions--it doesn't have to be pretty--think basement or garage and hide it--and even if it's ugly for a while, if it's free, you won't feel like you wasted money by buying a cheap temporary option). Even cups or bowls you don't use much can make great storage containers.
7. Hit up your friends. Trade around. Find an organizing buddy and see if you might have things they can you use and vice versa. When I told my friend Natalie about my project, she said she might have some things I could use--funnily enough, I just realized she gave me those jars that appear in the picture above! 
8. Another cheap source is the dollar store or bargain stores (although I think this can add up quickly if you're not careful and sometimes you don't get much for your money. Caution.)
9. Make your own storage.***** There are great tutorials out there for sewing your own fabric boxes, and if you use fabric you already have on hand, it doesn't have to be too much out of pocket. Or use the $4 bed sheets from Walmart for the fabric to get a more uniform look. I've even seen sturdy baskets woven out of paper.
10. Make your own cleaning supplies. This isn't really about organization, but it will save you tons of money, and when things are clean, you want to keep them organized. There are a few products that I really love that I still buy, but for tons of things, I make my own. There are dozen of recipes out there, and I will probably do a post on my favorites at some point.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Let's Thrift!

I came across this iPhone wallpaper and fell in love!

Let's Thrift

Dang, so cute! One of those things that when I see it, I really, really wish I had designed it. I may not have designed it, but I certainly have been doing as it suggests lately. I've been picking up little treasures at garage sales, antique stores and thrift stores everywhere. (Saver's in a favorite.)

The other day I looked down at my outfit and realized my shoes, pants and shirt were from thrift stores, my bracelet was costume jewelry from an antique store and I'd made my scarf. Maybe I need to start taking photos of my outfits occasionally and sharing.

Because I have soooo much fashion sense (that was dripping with sarcasm). But, I have had some fun trying to be more playful and daring lately.

Anyway, this post is all about what I've bought lately. Some of these still need some major makeovers. Some of them are pretty as they are right now.

This green vase was $5 at the nearby antique mall. I adore its shape! It's now hanging out on my kitchen shelves.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Some Awesome Garage Sale Finds

In the past few weeks, I've lucked out and hit some amazing yard sales. Stars must have aligned or something. You know, if stars cared about yard sales. Which I don't think they do. Probably too busy with things that really matter, like crops and tides (just kidding, I know that's the moon) and stuff.

It's a nice thing that I've been finding some cool things at garage sales, because other things around me continue to break. I was just saying this on Facebook:

Count of things that have broken since we've moved: AC, dishwasher, laptop (luckily it's the hinges, so it works, just won't close anymore), David's car (it's the alternator, won't even turn on now), and all the tires on the van. It's like living in a farce. :D Maybe I'll get to meet Adam Sandler or Will Farrell.

Yeah, since then, our toaster oven is toast.

'S ok. It will all be ok. We're just going to go through and replace them one by one. Hopefully STUFF WILL STOP BREAKING. Do you hear me, stuff? Knock it off. It's not funny anymore. I can laugh it off for a while, but a little piece of my sense of humor died when my sourdough bread refused to toast at lunch yesterday! IT DIED.

Anyway, onto my cool, cool stuff. I guess if I didn't buy all this stuff, I could have afforded a new toaster oven. I must stop going to yard sales for a few weeks. Duly noted, self.

Ok, first off, we got some toys for the kids. We'd been looking for a Fisher Price garage for a while. It would have been fun to find a really old one, but for $3 this will do:

We did find this adorable washer/dryer set. Maybe it will stop Aubrey from going into the laundry room and hitting the cancel button on our real set?

When we were in Logan, my aunt and uncle were going to hold a yard sale in a few weeks, and they had this globe they gave to us when David said he liked it. I think it belonged to my step-grandpa and it's from the 60s, which is bad for accuracy, but fun to look at. It will match my living room really nicely.

Then, we found this shelf for $5. I'm so excited, because it will worked perfectly in my basement family room. It needs a little makeover if you ask me. The lightly silver spray painted uneven sheen isn't working, and neither is the yellow. So, big plans for this beauty. It's pretty big, probably 5' across.

Also, picked up with shelf for 75 cents. It needs a makeover bad too, but I think it will end up darling.

Also snatched up this little dish for $2 (it had a $10 tag on the bottom). It's a whole lot more French than I usually go, but I love the filigree on the top, and that's the beauty of eclectic. I can just buy what speaks to me.

A whole stack of frames for 25 cents each, and there are some 11X14" frames in there! Sweet!

I also grabbed a cute little farmhouse stool for $2 that needs a makeover and somehow escaped pictures, and the old insulators in this photo, both for $2.50.

And my very favorite find of the both days? This post-war fan.

It was probably manufactured in the late 40s/early 50s. It's got a definite art deco vibe going on. Also picked up for $5. Magic price lately.

I was delighted to get it home and plug it in and find out that it still works. It's super quiet and blows out a decent amount of air.

Of course, there is a serious lack of finger guards here, so I doubt we are going to be using it or even leaving it plugged in at all. It needs some cleaning too, but I looked on up on ebay and the starting price for a similar one was $60. Not too shabby.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Share-A-Craft: More Spoons in a Shadow Box

Share-A-Craft is just as much fun as a tilt-a-whirl, but with less stomach upset and possible vomiting. Every Thursday, I post a project of any type that I've recently or not so recently done.

I thought about doing a tutorial with this, but it's so similar to my other shadow box tutorial, that I decided to share it here. I'm going to tell you basically how I did it, but it's a lot less detailed than my regular tutorials.

I had some more spoons leftover from the first shadowbox, so of course, I wanted to display them too.

I found this great frame at Savers for $1. It looks like it's supposed to be for an embroidery project, but it suits my purposes just fine. No glass, but for a $1, I'll avoid being my usual picky self.

I wanted a longer, thinner frame, so I took a rubber mallet to it and knocked off one of the 10" pieces. Then I used my husband's miter saw (that was a good present, go me for getting it for him!), and trimmed down the 8" pieces to about 6" on both sides, based on my spoon measurements. I glued it back together, and it looked like this:

Then I primed and painted. I made a back for it using a piece of chipboard, covered in two sheets of scrapbooking paper. The green is My Mind's Eye, from the Penny Lane collection and the overlay is KI Memories. I love the combination together. I attached it to the back with a little hot glue (I love this stuff!). Then I adhered the spoons with a little hot glue, added the hanging hook the frame came with, and that's it! So simple to make, but I really find it beautiful and so cheerful. Hopefully it will be hanging in my kitchen before too long.

In other kitchen utensil themed prettiness, aren't these stencils divine? My brain is going like crazy, wanting to work them into my design. We shall see. . .

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Once Again, It's Time for Thrift Store Finds

My sister and I went last week to Savers again, for dollar Mondays. I'm starting to learn that you really need to be there right at 9:00 am when they open to get the best stuff. I got in there quick and politely grabbed up all dollar deals. I didn't pay more than 99 cents for any of this stuff.

Ok, first off, this oh so cute candle holder. It's right up my alley. It's not alive, so I can't kill it, but it still seems so pretty to me. It started off white and chipped and pretty dirty:

Now it's all shiny and understated.

Next up, this wire basket/bowl thingy. I love the shape of it and I've seen it there before, but this time it was on sale, so I snatched it up. It also desperately needed a coat of paint.

Before:

After:

I loved the shape of this bottle. A few weeks ago, I bought a charming planter and was teased mercilessly for purchasing a "spittoon," sooooo, if this ever held anything prohibited by the Mormon tradition (coffee, tea, tobacco or alcohol), please let me know so I can be prepared for the teasing. I'm feeling quite paranoid about it now, even though it's just silly.

I love it's shape and it just needed a little spruce on the lid, so I didn't take before pictures.

Love these little green cups (ok, I'm feeling paranoid again here).

This is another something that didn't need a thing done to it:

Did I betray that I have no clue what it's called? A candle holder of some sort? I like the slightly industrial feel of it and the shape of the glass is beautiful.

A pretty wooden platter. I may use this for a platter, or I might end up doing something else with it. Don't you think it would look so cool with some vinyl lettering in the middle and hanging on the wall?

This might be my favorite buy of the day. I have a thing for ceramic animals, even though I'm not a huge fan of real life animals.

He's such a vintage little thing and reminds me of my great-grandma. He's going in my kitchen, although I'm not sure if I'm going to do the traditional scrubber holder thing or not.

The After:

Speaking of my kitchen, we are moving this week, into our very first house, if all goes well! I canNOT wait to show you our new place. Things might be a little different on the blog for a bit, but I will be posting all sorts of fun and exciting things as we move in. Wait till you get a load of the kitchen table my husband built! I even helped a little. And pretty soon I'll be showing off my stuff in its natural habitat.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

I *heart* these things from my Grandma Jensen

Yesterday, Mom, Dad, Melissa and I drove up to Odgen. Cliff and Lois had started to sort of all Grandma Jensen's things and before they got rid of anything, they wanted the great-grandkids to come by and take anything they wanted. This was round one, but I am so happy with what I got. I got a nice selection of stuff that reminds me of my grandma (the plastic cereal bowls, for instance, that no one could believe I really wanted), things my grandma had crafted, including pot holders and crocheted lace, and very neat vintage stuff that I will love, use and display.

I was shocked at how many things she had that were still in the packages, like the teaspoons. I want to take them out and use them, but at the same time, they are so cool in their packaging! I also adore the old books with inscriptions on the inside, including the one pictured here from 1899. The wooden tray was made in 1944. I'm not sure how old that package of needles is, but it's only missing one. And the naked girl getting into the bathtub hung in my grandma's bathroom since I can remember and reminds me so much of her. That little wooden bowl I think was possibly made by my great-grandpa. I can't wait to get everything put away or displayed so I can really start using them.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.