papers.

What are your creative ways to organize papers?....

Owner's Manuals? Documents that you need to keep?

Receipts? Bills? Or any other kind of paper?

meals & what to buy...kitchen helpers!

Organization is becoming my new best friend. I have always kept things organized & straight...but this is the next step of organization for me. I know the thought "I don't have time to do all of this" has probably ran through your mind. I am realizing, I don't have time NOT to do this. By organizing, it is making my weekly duties easier and faster. So I have more time with Mason man :) I usually keep a list of items we need to buy, or if I forget to keep an ongoing list last minute I try to write down items before running to the grocery store (which causes me to spend more!) I also spend time trying to figure out what I have or don't have before cooking dinner. Here is my new set up on the inside of my pantry door!

-two clear sheet protectors

-note pad (I know you probably have a couple free

ones laying around like we do)

-extra removable wall hooks

-pen or marker

-The first one contains meals I want to cook for the week. I know that I have all ingredients for each meal before it goes on the list. This helps me avoid starting a meal then realizing I am out of something or staring in the pantry or freezer for thirty minutes trying to figure out what to cook that night.

-The second one contains items I am out of. I put a star by the ones I need to buy on my next shopping trip. The items without stars are ones I am out of or even items we are running low on (like dish detergent), so I need to start looking for coupons or specials. This also helps me know what I can cook. For example, I am out of stuffing mix and cream of celery so I know I can't cook recipes that need these ingredients.

I really like this because it is in the kitchen. The notepad is not laying on the counter where something can spill all over it. Being organized in the kitchen makes me enjoy cooking even more. It is stressful trying to figure out what to cook when you are already hungry OR starting a meal to realize you don't have any milk!

recipe book.

I have tons of recipe magazines. I would just find myself making the same meals because I didn't want to spend the time going through every magazine. I kept trying to figure out something to do with all the magazines....a basket? a rack? just pile them on a shelf? but nothing was really organized. I saw on the Internet some lady made a recipe book with a 3 ring binder and clear sleeves. It was a cute idea, but I didn't want to spend the time gluing or taping all the recipes on paper. As I am cleaning out the basement, I am finding more stuff to use for other projects. It is exciting, making a lot of stuff without spending any money! :)

Here is my new recipe book! Ah, the little things in life that make me happy!!

One pile of my magazines. Who wants to go through all those every time you cook??

I found picture albums that I wasn't using...I have two of these picture albums. So my idea was to make two recipe books...one with all dinner recipes (meats, pasta, soups, casserole) and the other recipe book for bread, breakfast, side dishes, desserts, and anything else!

I like using the picture albums because...

-I am a visual person..I don't have to dig through

papers for a recipe.

-The recipes slide in the pockets so they can be easily removed. I'm sure I will find new recipes and then get rid of some old recipes.

-Index cards fit great in the pockets.

This is very organized which makes my life soo much easier. I already used two recipes last night for dinner!

I went through all the magazines...which really didn't take much time...I cut out all the recipes I wanted. Then Heath went through and picked out a couple more recipes that he wanted. So I am cooking things he likes too.

This picture keeps uploading upside down...but you get the idea.

I did keep three magazines that are a 'collection of best recipes.'

Instead of having like 20 magazines, I now have two recipe books all organized. If I need a recipe for chicken, I can just flip to the chicken section...and pick out one.

Mason's room & toys.

A friend of mine brought up a good question...how to organize toys. Even at Mason's age there is too much stuff just sitting around. I was looking for something that I could use to put Mason's toys on....but it couldn't be too tall (I didn't want him to pull the toys off on his head)...has to be sturdy so he can pull up on it....the shelves have to be wide and tall enough for the toys (I looked at several shelves but the toys would hang off).
I don't know if you have looked at baby or kids furniture...but a lot of it is expensive. I thought of getting baskets at first....but baskets can get expensive too.

Here's what I came up with....Heath had a media/book shelf that he used before we got married. It was one of those items that came to Kansas with us, but we really didn't know what we would use it for. One night, it just hit me that I could use that for Mason's toys....it was perfect. It is not too tall...it was sturdy with metal sides...the top shelf is not as wide as the others which is good for soft animals/toys.

For all the small teething, rattles, squishy books, etc. - We have a Nebraska Furniture Mart next to our house...One day I was in there and found a huge basket (almost as tall as Mason) for $14.99! At Target the small, very small baskets start at 9.99. So I thought this was a good deal. Plus, I am not stepping on rattles in the middle of the night!

Another neat piece of furniture in Mason's room is the filing cabinet. Yes, a filling cabinet. My in-laws purchased the crib for us. Heath and I were planning on buying the chester drawers to match, but it could not be delivered to a JCPenney store...so the shipping for this one piece was almost $400. I just thought that was crazy...for $400 we could by another piece of furniture or take a trip! Mason's crib is a very dark, cherry...very pretty...but it is hard to find anything to match. After Mason was born, my dad and Heath went everywhere trying to find something to come close to matching...we even thought about staining. In Nebraska Furniture Mart there is a clearance room. I thought we should just check the clearance room in case there was an odd piece that would match. I found this filing cabinet that almost matched perfectly. The more I thought about it, it was perfect. A lot of the bedroom furniture is tall...so if you have clothes in the drawers the kids can't reach them. I want Mason to be able to get his own socks or underwear out without climbing on something to reach it. This piece is one that will be great for Mason until he is a lot older. You would not know it was a filing cabinet...the only way you can tell is if you hear the "click" when you pull the drawer out. So instead of paying almost $800 for the chester drawers and shipping....my parents purchased the "filing cabinet" for $129.99!

So be creative, shop around. Set a budget. Check out Craigslist. Your newborn is not going to be mad at you if you do not purchase the whole bedroom suit from a name brand company. I promise.