Day 155: Tension Rod to Hold Pot Lids (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I had to modify this pin a bit, as my pots and pans are not in a drawer, but in a large cabinet underneath the stove.  I already use a tension rod in the cabinet to keep cutting boards, placemats and cookie sheets upright, but the pots, pans and lids are a mess:

I took the pots, pans and lids out, installed a tension rod along the back of the cabinet and stuck 4 of the 6 lids along the back wall.

I was then able to more easily stack the pots and pans (and only 2 lids) in the front of the cabinet.

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 146: Organizing Lego Instruction Books (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My son is just getting into Legos, which means that although we only have a few sets, I'm stepping on tiny Legos everywhere in the house!  I will be looking into Lego storage solutions at some point, but for now, I wanted to try organizing the instruction booklets; the books are already getting torn and ripped from use, and are just thrown in the box with all the Lego pieces.

I took the staples out of the middle of the instruction books and put each page in a plastic page protector before placing in a binder.  My husband thought this was over-kill (he suggested putting the entire booklet in one page protector, as it took A TON of protectors to do the three little sets we have!), but I've already noticed my son is more willing to take apart and re-build his current Legos now that the instructions are easier for him to flip through and see.

For now, this is the system we're using -- I may have to adapt it when he gets more sets with longer instructions!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 140: Ribbon Storage (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

This was so easy to make using a swinging pant hanger.  I have a closest in my office, but no hanging clothing rack inside, so I just hang this over the closet doorknob and my ribbon is ready to go!  The only thing that is kind of annoying is that ribbon spools are oftentimes too big to stack the ribbon on top of each other (thus, the staggered ribbon placement).  As a bonus, I also included tape on here, so I always know where that is while wrapping presents.

Verdict:: SUCCESS!

Friday Favorite: Organizing Cookie Cutters on a Paper Towel Holder.

Pinterest pin and website link.

My kids and I seem to use the same handful of cookie cutters again and again, so I loved the idea of organizing one the select few cutters we use all the time away from the big box we have shoved deep in the pantry!  The one problem is that we now have nowhere to put our paper towels :)  Guess it's time to invest in another paper towel holder!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

40 Bags in 40 Days: Week 5 Update.

This project is finished, and it feels good to have gotten so many things out of my house!  I didn't keep track of how many bags total I cleaned out of the house -- and although I don't think it was close to 40 bags of items to trash, consign and donate -- it feels great to have cleaned out 40 areas!

31. Master closet organization (I didn't want to spend the money on a dresser, plus I already had these bins, so I just added labels and now I feel organized!):

32. Outside toys:

33. Painting supplies:

34. Pantry:

35. Master bathroom cabinets:

36. Bedside table:

37. Husband's white socks and t-shirts (I basically just threw away everything he had and bought new!):

38. Birthday party prep bin (these items were randomly stashed throughout the house):

39. Kids' bathroom cabinets:

40. Random kid gifts (purchased on sale, and now safely hidden for birthday party gifts or birthday / holiday presents for my kids)

Done!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Friday Favorite: Binder Clip as Beer Stacker.

Pinterest pin and website link.

I love this binder clip idea to stack beer in the fridge without a) the bottles falling over and b) taking over the entire fridge with just beer storage.  I'll be doing this for our next party!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

40 Bags in 40 Days: Week 4 Update.

Heading towards the home stretch of this "40 Bags in 40 Days" Project!

25: Toiletries (nail polish, unused medicines, extra hair dryer, etc.)

Messy.

Paired down and organized.

26: Daughter's clothing to save for her -- I was sentimental about giving away my kids' newborn to 4T clothing, but found that it was much easier to get it out of my house if a) it was going to someone I know and love and b) I saved a few of my favorite items and included a picture of the kids in each outfit.

Clothing and pictures to save.

Packed away in her "hope chest" (a.k.a. a Sterilite tub!).

27: Son's clothing to save for him.

Clothing and pictures to save.

Packed.

28: Son's room.

29. Entryway closet.

Before.

After.

30. Craft, picture, gifting storage closet.

Friday Favorite: Using Velcro to Organize Drawers.

Pinterest pin and website link.

My silverware compartment is always moving around in the drawer, and I typically have to move it down towards the front of the drawer to get all my silverware put away.

That little problem was solved by using this sticky-backed Velcro trick!  Simply stick Velcro dots onto both the bottom of the drawer and the bottom of whatever container you need to stay in place inside the drawer.  My only issue was that the bottom of our silverware compartment was raised, so I had to use sticky-backed furniture pads to level out the bottom, and then put Velcro glue dots on top of those.  It worked perfectly.

Done!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 84: How to Easily Remove Labels from Jars (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

This worked great to remove a label -- but as I'm typing this, I realize that I read the ingredients wrong and so I made up my own recipe!  Here is my empty glass jar with an adhered label:

I tried to remove the top of the label prior to completing the pin, but I didn't have much success... 

I then mixed equal parts baking soda and vinegar (she says to use vegetable oil) into a runny paste.  I was wondering why she didn't mention that there would be foaming reaction when you mix the baking soda and vinegar together -- but I now realize that it's because she didn't mix those two!  Apply a thick layer of the paste over the label portion, let sit for 10 minutes, and then simply wipe away the paper / adhesive stuck to the jar.  I'll try the baking soda and vegetable oil combination next time, but this recipe did the trick and didn't leave an oily residue!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 78: Pool Noodle as a Boot Shaper (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My boots are in a sorry state, as the way I've stored them in the past is to cram them into a basket that houses my other shoes.  I saw these pool noodles at the Dollar Tree, and thought trying this pin was worth it for $1.  These pool noodles look smaller (width-wise) and are a different shape (a flower versus a circle) than the others I saw featured on Pinterest, but they still did the trick of keeping the boot shape intact.

They didn't do as well, however, at keeping the boot upright (which is fine since I can just prop them against a wall).

Verdict: SUCCESS! 

Friday Favorite: Turning Clothing Hangers Around.

Pinterest pin and website link.

This site has great tips for completing the "40 Bags in 40 Days" project,  but my favorite was this -- after you wear an item, hang it backwards in your closet.  If you have items not turned around at the end of the year (or every few months?), donate them.  I've started doing this already for my clothes, and plan to start with the kids' clothes too!