Hi Friends over at The Grocery Shrink!
First, I want to offer my Congratulations to the Coffman family on their new addition! That’s so exciting… which brings me to why I’m over here at Angela’s blog today. This month Angela has asked several bloggers to tackle the topic of organization while she’s on maternity leave. I first discovered Angela’s ol’ blog when she wrote this guest post for Layla and Kevin Palmer.  You see, when I’m not blogging over at The Cozy Cape, I produce the television program The 700 Club. I had Kevin and Layla on the show more than a year ago (see their segment here). Then when I read Angela’s frugal food tips, I knew she’d make a perfect guest for the show. So, we flew her out and she did a great job (See her two segments here & here).  

During Angela’s time in Virginia Beach, I learned that she needed guest posts during her maternity leave, so here I am.
Angela asked that I write about organization. Let’s get one thing straight—I do not claim to be an organizer extraordinaire. In fact, I’m quite the opposite by nature. (Angela’s Note:  That’s exactly why we want to hear from you–grin.  If you can do it; we can too.) However, living in an older home (1950’s Cape Cod) has forced me to get creative. Things are still crazy and disorganized at the Boyd casa at times, but I do my best to find ways to know where things are and to minimize stress. So today, I thought I’d share simple tips that I’ve learned along the way that will help in the organization department.
Tip #1: Our Pantry.
Our pantry looked like this at one time…

I knew I had to get it under control. I had great shelving space but it was a jumbled mess. So I headed to The Dollar Store where I picked out these fabulous and colorful baskets.

15 baskets equaled 15 bucks. Score! These baskets caught my eye because the plastic makes for easy clean-up. Plus, their holes make it simple to spot what’s hiding in those baskets. I whipped up some cute labels using chalkboard sticker tags from Leen the Graphics Queen and some spare scrapbook paper that I had on hand.

Now everything has a spot.

And if I ever need to change the contents of the baskets, the chalkboard tags allow me to change the labels with one wipe of a paper towel (shh, don’t tell Angela that I haven’t given up my paper towel obsession. I’m still working on that!)
Tip #2: Speaking of Chalkboard tags
I had two tags leftover from my pantry makeover… so I slapped those babies onto two glass containers and filled them up with sugar and flour.

A simple and clean look in a matter of seconds! And we’ll say it’s a bonus that my flour and sugar now stay fresh and it freed up some room in the cabinet above. Oh, and if anyone is wondering, those glass jars were purchased at Walmart on the cheap.
Tip #3: Decorating Doubles
About a year I began redecorating our home on a budget… and I haven’t stopped since (see our living room makeover here.) As I planned out the new look for our home, I always looked for furniture that had more than one use. Here are some examples:
Storage ottomans purchased from Target:

They live by our front door. When they are pushed together, they act as a bench where we can put on our shoes. Then, when we are entertaining we can pull them out for extra seating. And when we want to sit back and relax, we pull them in front of our sofa so we can curl up and watch a movie.

What’s that, did you say it was cold in here? Well, no problem. The tops open right up so we can house (and hide) blankets for those cold winter nights.

Tip #4: Dishwasher Despair?
This tip revolutionized my life. Okay, well maybe that’s an overstatement… but it certainly cut down my kitchen cleaning time. As you load your silverware, put all the silverware’s mates in the same compartment. Knives go together; forks go together; spoons go together. You get the idea.

Then, when it’s time to empty the dishwasher, you can put away all of the forks in one fell swoop. Rinse and repeat with the rest of the silverware.
Tip #5: Closet Claustrophobia
Yep, that’s right. I have closet claustrophobia! We have small closets and I’ve wracked my brain in an attempt to find a solution. I thought I’d leave you with a project that I’d like to do to in an attempt to remedy my small closet issues. I came across this post from Ana White of “Knock off Wood.” Ana expanded her daughter’s storage space with a few 2×4’s.
Here’s the finished project. (The next 3 photos are from ana-white.com)

If you’d like the 4-1-1 on the full project, head on over to Ana’s blog. You can get the full how-to right here.

I look forward to seeing some of you at The Cozy Cape. Angela, thanks for having me. I enjoyed my stay!

Heather