Game Night- Organized!

I'm baaaccckk!! We packed up and headed to Florida for a week of family, fun, and sun. We spent lots of time with family, hung out by the pool, and said "Hello" to Mickey too. How quickly those 9 days flew by and we were faced right back with reality. We have been back home for a week now- and I've become very unmotivated. Cleaning, organizing, and decorating were the last thing on this momma's mind. The sun finally came out yesterday and while it was still very chilly, that sun was all the motivation I needed to get my butt back into gear. So I spent my Sunday off from work doing what I do best- cleaning, and I even threw in an organization project too!

Our mudroom has been a blank canvas since we moved into our freshly built home. While it is a cozy little nook in the entry of our home- I'm blessed to have it. I've pinned so many mudroom ideas on Pinterest over the past year or so, and finally convinced the hubby to create my dream board and batten treatment on the wall. This happened about 6 months ago, and while the basework is complete....lots of finishing touches need to be made. My husband built an awesome bench with a large amount of storage space. This space has become our catchall- shoes, board games, items that need returned, pet items, etc. After cleaning our main floor I decided to tackle the bench. I started by emptying everything out to start with a clean slate.

I sure did create quite a mess.

Once I had the space all emptied, I vacuumed it out and then cleaned it with my homemade vinegar cleaning solution (recipe to be posted in an upcoming post). Once it was squeaky clean I decided to pretty the boring white wood up by adding a layer of contact paper to the base. This will make it much easier to wipe clean too.

Much prettier- isn't it? After looking at the pile of goodies that came out of the bench I decided that we had an overabundance of board games. The lightbulb came on and I decided to turn the bench into storage for all of our games. This works perfectly for our friday night game nights that take place a couple steps away at our kitchen table.

 

 So I went through and pulled out all of the games and puzzles that our kids have outgrown and added them to the garage sale pile. I then added all of the games back into the bench, puzzles on the left, games on the right. Aahhh....so much better!

 

 

Oodles and Oodles of board games keep the kids from getting bored. Bringing the family together around the table for fun is an added bonus.

 

Puzzles are perfect for quiet time and individual play.

 

 

 

When the fun and games are over, we simple flip the lid back down and carry on with our day. The game storage is a perfect solution to keeping our collection organized. You wouldn't believe how this freshly organized space brought the attention of our kids- you would have thought it was Christmas day.

 

Once the finishing touches are put on our mudroom I'll be back with a full breakdown of the exciting project. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek. How do you keep your board games organized?

 

P.S. Money Saving Monday will be back next week!

 

XOXO-

Kristi

 

 

 

 



 

 

Homework made easy

Having a busy family of 5, including 3 kiddos with big age gaps, means lots of different activities and tons of homework. Without some sort of organization homework would never get done, supplies would be spread throughout the house, and important paperwork would more than likely end up in the trash. To stop all the chaos I created a homework drawer right in the busiest part of our home- the kitchen. About a year ago, I picked one of the biggest kitchen drawers I had and then went to town creating the perfect space. Throughout the year this drawer has worked AMAZING- I've changed things up a little along the way and now it functions perfectly for this busy family. Take a peek.

Our daughter is a freshman in highschool, our middle son is in 1st grade, and youngest is in pre-school. They are learning everything from Alegbra to simple math, visual design to coloring with crayons. This drawer multi-tasks perfectly for each age group. I try to maintain an afterschool schedule for the kids, which includes incorporating quiet time. Quiet time = Homework time. Our quiet time happens right at the kitchen table, lasts about an hour, and usually falls right at the time of meal prep so this mama can be nearby to help with any homework questions.

I purchased two different size plastic cutlery organizers from Ikea. I paid roughly $5.00 for these guys. The larger organizer I used as is, the other I added some removable organizers to. I LOVE.LOVE.LOVE. school supplies, so during the back to school sales that take place July-August I stock up for the year. I went to my school supply stash and filled the organizer with everything needed to make completing homework a breeze. I then took out my handy labeler, which is also housed in the homework drawer, and labeled each bin. Everything has its own space, so everything stays organized.

 

 

I added colored pencils and crayons to the removable organizers, this way the kids can just grab the whole organizer and bring it to the kitchen table. Once quiet time is over, the organizers fit right back into the Ikea organizer, and life is good.

 

 

I created a blank paper binder, which holds extra loose leaf paper (wide and college ruled), handwriting practice paper for my little one, and a stack of blank printer paper for drawing and coloring. My little guy rarely has pre-school homework, so he spend quiet time coloring in the coloring books that are stashed in the front flap of the binder, working on worksheets I've printed online, or just creating artwork with crayons and stickers. I have found lots of printable worksheets on Pinterest. Check out my Learning board for some of my favorite websites, and make sure to follow me as well.

I added 4 folders to house all the paperwork that comes through the door. Each kid has their own folder, and mommy and daddy share one as well. This has worked perfectly to contain all of the paper clutter that comes in the house.

When quiet time is over, everything goes back into the drawer and the drawer is closed for the night. And our house stays perfectly cleaned and organized. A mom can dream, right?

XOXO-

Kristi

 

Batteries Organized- Yes Please!!

A couple nights ago as I cozied up on the couch, wrapped myself in a comfy blanket, plopped the laptop on my lap, and reached for my tv remote the worst thing happened. NO BATTERIES! No batteries= No Days of our Lives and No Days of our Lives means one unhappy momma! (I'm a Days lover- dont judge!) You see, my handsome little boys love to take the batteries out of evvveerrythinnnggg! Swapping them from remote to remote, losing a few here and there, and just plain driving their momma nutty! I had enough! We needed batteries and I needed an organization system. My brain went into overdrive and I came up with a plan. Couldn't wait to head to the store the following day to get everything I needed!

I first headed to our local craft store- Pat Catans. LOVE.THAT.PLACE. I could setup a tent and spend the rest of my life there...and live...HAPPILY...EVER...AFTER! After walking up and down the aisles that were filled with too many perfect solutions I settled on this:

 

A great buy at only $3.47.

 

I loved the different compartments, and slightly taller height than the other organizers had. I knew this would be perfect for the battery organization that was about to go down.

 

Afterwards I headed right next door to Dollar Tree. I picked up 8 packs of assorted batteries. I purchase this brand of batteries all the time and never have any issue. Perfectly inexpensive should any little fingers lose them.

 



 

I brought all of my goodies home and gathered my label maker. Let the battery organizing begin!



 

I seperated the different sizes of batteries in the dividers. Printed out the different labels and placed them directly onto the plastic above each bin. From start to finish this project took 10 minutes and about $12.00 to complete.

 

All done!! I've got the perfect space for this box of goodness...as soon as get the front closet organized ;)  Ahem...off to clean!

 

Stop back tomorrow to check out how I organize my coupon binder.

 

XOXO-

Kristi