September Acres

I am not a huge list maker.  I make a grocery list - which often gets let at home (anyone else?) - other than that I am hit or miss. I like post-it notes and use them in my Home Management Notebook for my "to-do's". I use  index cards  for making lists sometimes.  I have never quite gotten into using my phone or computer for my lists.  No matter where you keep your lists, they are a key to keeping organized.   Try making lists to keep yourself (and your family) on track for some of these tasks: Groceries - Saves money & time.  If you don't lose it! Errands  -Saves money & time.  And driving around in circles. Cleaning/Chores  -  Clean Mama  has some wonderful printables (some free) to help keep you on track. Gifts  - Saves money & time. Holiday Greeting Cards  - Keep track of who you send cards to each year and who you receive cards from if you'd like. I do keep this kind of list e...

Source It's that time again.  The time when we turn to Spring Cleaning.  I know, some of you still have inches, even feet, of snow on the ground so it's hard to think that Spring is about 2 weeks away.  But it is and Spring Cleaning is a big deal for many people.  It's a chance to get your house and garden spic and span.  Time to open the windows, move furniture, turn mattresses, wash windows and comforters and mattress pads.  Fun stuff, right?  Maybe not, but doesn't it feel good to do that deep yearly cleaning? I have a weekly schedule - a flexible one, but this is what it looks like on the 'normal' week: Sunday  - Clean the fridge (trash gets picked up on Mondays so I pitch what I need to on Sundays), empty trash cans, clean dog doo (LM does the last two), mop kitchen floor. Monday  - Laundry Tuesday  - Dust, clean bathrooms (2), mop floors Wednesday  - Laundry Thursday  - Change sheets, wash towels,Vacuum, dus...

This is a re-post from my 31 Days of Organization series. As you're going through your home trying to make it more 'you', you will likely find that getting rid of some of your belongings is the only thing that will give you the space or serenity you desire.  Don't keep anything just because:  It was a gift from someone you care about.   We all have objects that we don't like but keep because they are from our grandma/best friend/sister and we don't have the heart to part with them.  If a gift is hidden in your closet because you hate it, what good is it doing anyone?  Donate it to the Goodwill and let someone love it. It represents what you used to be.   The mauve dinnerware you got for your wedding in 1992 may not work for you in 2013.  It's okay.  Let it go. You think you may fit into or need it one day . The size 4 jeans from high school?  Toss them - trust me, styles have changed since 1988 and you'll want to buy a ne...

This is a re-post from my 31 Days of Organization Series. Keys, phones and more.  Seems we're always looking for them.  How about this easy way to keep them from being misplaced? This is a cutlery tray with spots for keys, phones, wallets & sunglasses.  This is a brilliant idea I got from  Better Homes & Gardens. I think I'll be looking for a cutlery tray this weekend.  How do you keep these things from getting lost? The rest of my 31 Days of Making your House your Home posts can be found here. 

This is a re-post from last years' 31 Days of Organization series.   I created a notebook for our family that I call our Home Management Notebook and it's filled with all kinds of useful information we need at home.  It started out as a notebook to keep owner's manuals & warranty information after my Keurig broke and I couldn't find the info on it and hadn't registered it.  I kept most of my manuals in a plastic bin in the garage but not everything made it in there (like the Keurig info).  My husband suggested the binder - really, he did.  I put the manual for my new Keurig in a binder and  I thought it would be nice to have phone numbers of the A/C guy, the pool guy, the yard man, the insurance agent, doctors, vet, etc.  And I went from there - adding information I often needed to access for school, bank, etc. There are many resources out in blog land for how to put together your notebook.  One blog I particularly liked was  ...

Gone are the days when keeping up meant the kids were fed and the house was clean.  These days most of us are pulled in many different directions.  There's cleaning and washing and cooking and car-pooling and working and teaching and listening and.... the list goes on, right? I remember thinking that when LM went to kindergarten I'd be all caught up. HA.  Once those little people head off to school it just gets busier with sports, dance, music lessons, volunteering.  I have considered homeschooling on occasion only if to try to keep things a little slower around here.  I'm sure that's all an illusion I have created in my head... My husband say he always knows when I'm home because things run more smoothly: the house is cleaner, dinner is on time & everything in general is more in order. It's hard to take a day just to stay home and tend to things when you're being pulled in all those directions.  While that's usually not possible for most of u...

Source I would venture to say that most of us struggle at some time with our stuff.  Mostly thinking that maybe we have too much of it.  Do we really need the last 10 years of Country Living Magazine?  Or those size 4 pants that we haven't fit into for the past 5 years? Or those baby clothes, when we know we're done having babies?  That kind of stuff takes up space.  Lots of it. We had new floors installed in three of our bedrooms recently.  We emptied out the bedrooms before the installers came and put everything in the garage.  The master bedroom was completed in one day and the installers realized that they didn't have enough flooring to finish the other two rooms.  So we lived without our stuff in the rooms for about a week.  We kind of got to the point that we didn't really miss any of the stuff after that week. Some of it needs to come back in the rooms - the desk in the office, for example.  But do we need two bookcases in ...

Displaying and storing kids' artwork can be a daunting task.  As a mom, we want to keep everything . As a homemaker, we know it's not possible to keep even half of what they do.  Between the stuff they do at school and the things they make at home on their own it's just too much to consider keeping it all.  And multiply that by 2, 3, or more and we'd need a room devoted to displaying and storing all those great masterpieces! That's where things like blogs & Pinterest come in handy - there are millions of ideas for displaying and storing your kids' artwork.  Some are pricey, some are DIY.  Some permanent, some temporary. One of my favorite articles on this subject comes from Houzz.com   It gives 20 great ways to display kids' artwork.  They are all items that you can purchase for displaying artwork but most of them you could DIY in some sort of fashion.  It got my wheels turning for sure.  This cute lavender display is one of those th...

I was excited to see a Cleaning Tips post over at  Kelly's Korner  last week.  Sometimes I just wonder what has happened to my house.  It's clean as in we aren't going to get ill from eating at our table.  It's clean as in the sheets get changed every week and the bathrooms get cleaned weekly.  It's clean as in we will not be on 'Hoarders' anytime soon. But it's not clean to my liking and for the life of me I cannot keep my tile floors clean.  They are white which is issue one and I feel like we drag every little piece of dirt in from the outside.  And the dust that accumulates on the (dark) furniture drives me crazy.  Dust everyday?  Sure, that's what I want to do. I have a schedule - a flexible one, but this is what it looks like on the 'normal' week: Sunday - Clean the fridge (trash gets picked up on Mondays so I pitch what I need to on Sundays), empty trash cans, clean dog doo (LM does the last two), mop kitchen floor. Mon...

As the year comes to an end, I always like to look back to see what I worked on over the year and what themes or ideas were popular here at September Acres.  I love reading year in review type posts and there are a ton of them out there right now.  I hope you will enjoy reading (or re-reading) my most popular posts from this past year. 31 Days of Organization-Day 1 - This is where the series starts.  It has links to all of the posts for the month (a few of them are also on the top 12 list). Home Management Notebook - Also part of the 31 Days series.  The notebook has been such a useful tool for me. DVD/CD Storage - Even with MP3 players and the like DVD & CD storage can be a bear.  This solution really helped keep our home looking a bit neater.  This was also part of the 31 Days Series. Organizing Basics - Yet another in the organizing series.   Key Lime Bar Recipe - We spent a week organizing our kitchens and I loved taking a break t...

Well, we've made it through another 31 Days challenge.  I'm not sure if it's because I've done this before or if it's the subject matter, but I think this year was a bit less challenging and I've got organization ideas that I haven't even touched. Looking back, the three most popular posts based on page views were: Day One  - The first post in the series.  It has a list of all the other posts so you can quickly find the topics I wrote about this month. (This day also garnered the most comments). Day Four - was all about the basics.  As hard as certain parts of our home can be to organize, it just comes down to basic concepts. Day Two - is when I unveiled my Home Management Notebook.  If you don't have one, you really should consider putting one together.  The notebook makes life easier for everyone in the family. My two favorite posts to write were: Day 25 - was about my favorite organizing resources - books & blogs.  I get s...

Once you get your home organized, a good rule to follow is the 'one in, one out' rule. When you buy one item you should toss (or donate) a like item.  Following this rule will keep our homes (especially our closets) from becoming too full. Today is Day 30 of The Nester's 31 Day Challenge .  Can you believe I've made it this far?  If you've missed any of my posts you can find them here. ONE MORE DAY...

No matter the size of our homes or the rooms in it, most of us feel like we could use more space.  Going vertical is a good way to find some extra room. Use space over the door for storing special occasion serve ware. Source We can take bookshelves to the ceiling. Source Vertical space on the back of cupboard doors is perfect for storing items that you frequently use and want quick access to. Where have you been able to find extra space in your home? I'm joining The Nester & 1200 others in the 31 Days Challenge. All of my posts can be found here .

The Farm Chicks Gift wrap supplies can really take up quite a bit of space and get spread out through the house if you don't have a plan to keep it organized.  These five ideas can help, even if you don't have room for a dedicated gift wrap room (wouldn't that be fun?) Stand it  - Store rolls of gift wrap in a five gallon wastebasket, an umbrella stand or a laundry hamper.  Hang it  - A shower caddy  mounted to the wall makes the perfect place for your gift wrap supplies. A shoe organizer hanging on the back of a door is also a good way to keep your supplies in one place.  All those pockets are perfect for ribbon and tape and small gift bags. Stow it - Use a dresser in your guest room for gift wrap supplies.  Even if you can only borrow a drawer or two it makes a great place for anything that can lay flat. Frame it - Turn a large, open back frame and cafe rods into a pretty place for gift wrap and ribbon. Hook it - Everywhere you loo...

I had planned to really delve into closet organization this month but I'm not sure that will happen with all the Halloween festivities this weekend. I go through my closet about a couple of times a year but it always seems a mess.  I chalk that up to the fact that it is super small (no walk-ins here).  The first place I start is by taking all the hanging clothing out of the closet and do a quick purge of anything I am really sure I don't need/want anymore.  I then place everything back in the closet with hangers hanging backwards ( the open part of the hook of the hanger should be facing you). Source When you wear something, put the hanger back the other way and hang the item on that hanger when you hang it back up.  After a year (or even 6 months) you will have a clear picture of what you wear and what you don't making a closet purge really easy. I got this idea from the great Peter Walsh . This is day 27 of The Nester's 31 Day Challenge ....

Better Homes and Gardens Keys, phones and more.  Seems we're always looking for them.  How about this easy way to keep them from being misplaced? This is a cutlery tray with spots for keys, phones, wallets & sunglasses.  This is a brilliant idea I got from Better Homes & Gardens. I think I'll be looking for a cutlery tray this weekend.  How do you keep these things from getting lost? I'm taking part in The Nester's 31 Days Challenge . Find all of my posts here .

You don't have to look hard to find references & resources to help with your organization tasks.  It seems like every week someone is coming out with a new book to help us achieve harmony in our homes through organization.  Three books that I especially like and reference are: Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern - I have had this book for years and refer to it often.  It's been around for years but still has really good information in it. She takes you room by room to help you organize your home & office. Feeling at Home by Alexandra Stoddard - I'm not sure this is technically an organization book but more of a finding out who you are and how you want to live book.  It delves into the emotional part of how our homes are an extension of who we are.  This book helps you live in your home.  It helps you know how you want to feel at home apart from decorating, and partnered with organization it helps make that happen.  O...

Source I am not a huge list maker.  I make a grocery list - which often gets let at home (anyone else?) - other than that I am hit or miss. I like post-it notes and use them in my Home Management Notebook  for my "to-do's". I use index cards for making lists sometimes.  I have never quite gotten into using my phone or computer for my lists.  No matter where you keep your lists, they are a key to keeping organized.   Try making lists to keep yourself (and your family) on track for some of these tasks: Groceries - Saves money & time.  If you don't lose it! Errands Cleaning/Chores  - Clean Mama has some wonderful printables (some free) to help keep you on track. Gifts  - Saves money & time. Holiday Greeting Cards Party Planning Meal Planning Packing for a Trip Make your lists, use them and feel more organized each day. What kinds of lists do you make?  I'm joining The Nester for her 31 Days Challenge....

A wire, hanging rack is a quick and easy way to organize crayons, markers, pencils & more. This three tiered rack fits little metal buckets (most found at the $ spot in Target) which hold lots of writing tools for the little ones.  We have ours on the wall in the playroom but it would also work nicely on the back of a door. I'm joining The Nester for her 31 Days Challenge.  Find my other posts here .

Who doesn't love a beautifully decorated home at the holidays?  Along with all that decor comes the challenge of storing it when it's not in use.  Enter the storage bins.  I often wonder what our grandmothers did without Rubbermaid or Sterilite . Plastic storage totes are my number one way to store decorations.  Think about the following when choosing your storage bins: Size -Yes, it matters.  Storage totes come in all sizes, from a small five gallon to a 45 gallon wheeled model (by Sterilite).  I like the larger sizes for big, light weight decor (like wreaths).  Smaller sizes are perfect for decorations that are smaller, but heavier (like door stops, metal figurines).  Bigger isn't always better so you need to keep in mind what you're storing and make sure you can actually pick up and carry the totes. Material  - It might be less expensive to toss your decorations in a cardboard box and be done with it but plastic seems to be a bet...