Feb 22, 2012

Help Me with 40 BAGS IN 40 DAYS this Wednesday

posted on: February 22, 2012 | by Ann Marie | 4 Comments

haha, you like that? I thought I’d spin today’s “Help Me!” Wednesday to be a little more 40 bags oriented so you get that little mash-up. I don’t know about this picture though, it looks a little creepy. Reminds me of The Ring. AHHH!!!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, and the start of our 40 bags in 40 days challenge. I’ve had a few people ask if it’s okay that they participate if they don’t celebrate Lent. ABSOLUTELY!!! To me, Lent is a time of reflection, sacrifice, and prayer. A time when I strive to change my behaviors and become a better person. In my opinion, we should strive to work on those goals regardless of the religion practiced! It happens to coincide with spring, a time of rebirth and a crap-ton of cleaning, so it works out well!

Did you get your printable game plan?

One of the projects I have on my game plan for next week is the roll top desk sitting in our living room.

Sure it’s nice to have a desk, ya know, for your bills and important documents and such.

And maybe I have issues or just suck at owning a desk, but if I have a desk at my disposal, it’s going to look like this. Deep breath. Okay. I’ll post a pic.

I’d like to sell this desk or bring it to a consignment shop and utilize this space more effectively, rather than owning what is essentially just a giant wooden paper tray. I have two days set aside for the desk and will probably get at least two garbage bags for all of the shredding that needs to be done. Once it’s sold, I’m going to reward myself!

Last summer I bought a file cabinet at a garage sale, I put it at the bottom of Doug’s closet, and we transferred our important documents to that spot. But what about the rest of the office type supplies you’d need in a desk or office space?

I love The Office.

image found here

I also am fond of Office Space.

image source is kinda questionable so I’ll link you to google

So today’s Help Me Wednesday question is concerns offices and office spaces:

have any suggestions for creating office space when you don’t have an office?

You know, like a mail center, place to hold your stapler, printer, that kind of stuff? I’m looking to get creative! Feel free to post any links you have to your blog posts, pins that you like, or whole pinterest boards devoted to storage or offices.

Thanks in advance, and happy 40 bagging! Don’t forget to come back for our link party this Friday where you can share your thoughts, goals, and progress.

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Filed Under: 40 bags, 40 bags in 40 days 2012, cleaning, closets, help me wednesday, office, organization

Feb 21, 2012

40 BAGS IN 40 DAYS – game plan and starting out

posted on: February 21, 2012 | by Ann Marie | 22 Comments

last year we did a little thing here called 40 bags in 40 days during Lent, and what do ya know, it’s that time again!

It all started with this post. I have a tendency (don’t we all? or is that just me?) to hang onto things. Whether it’s old binders from when I was in college, something I got for a steal on clearance and had to buy five, crap from the dollar store, crafting stuff for all of the projects I haven’t started, baby clothes and toys, that “awesome find” at Goodwill, paper, or whatever! We all collect stuff, we hang on to it, and we let it consume us.

Jan 24, 2012

Basement Laundry Room Clean-up

posted on: January 24, 2012 | by Ann Marie | 9 Comments

Two weekends ago on our facebook page, I mentioned that we had a little mishap with our septic system.

Not little, kinda big. As in it needed to be emptied and we had septic poo water back up into our washing machine and into our basement. Gross.

In our defense, there was an issue with the pipe leading to the septic field, but it’s fixed now! And the area was ready for cleaning, decluttering, and a tiny makeover.

We started with quite a few “tub clean” and “sanitary” cycles in the washer, and a whole lot of cleaning and scrubbing and mopping (thanks, Doug). Trust me when I say that you don’t want me to confirm what those little tiny bits of white paper are on the floor…

Scrubbed the floor, let it dry, moved the washer and dryer, swept it, and scrubbed again. It was a pain, but was good to get clean anyway. I mean, have you ever scrubbed your basement floor? I know we hadn’t.

I took a lamp that I couldn’t sell in our garage sale (lamp = Goodwill find, shade = Target clearance find), a little bit of greenery and added it to our glass jars filled with detergent.

Kinda makes our pipes a little less… pipey? Hey, the industrial look is big right now…

That room and floor look cleaner than some other rooms upstairs! ;)

I cleaned off the clutter on the old drafting table (Goodwill find – $10!), so we could, you know, actually FOLD LAUNDRY ON IT.

I’ve been meaning to get in a laundry routine once we moved out of our apartment and had our own washer and dryer. One load a day. Not overwhelming myself with more than one, not making excuses on why I can’t throw one in. Wash it, dry it, fold it, put it away. Our couch doesn’t need to be used as a laundry holding spot! ;)

Although I’ve been trying to get in this routine for 2.5 years now, I’m proud (could say embarrassed, but won’t) to say that I’m finally getting there. It’s been a full week now, I’m all caught up, and I’ve done a load a day! It feels almost like a routine and I do it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.

Here’s the system that’s been working so far:

I have a basket of whites and a basket of delicates (Doug’s work shirts and pants, my delicates) in kinda of a holding station underneath the table. The wicker basket is the hamper we keep upstairs, and we use it for everyone’s clothes. The tiny white garbage can is for lint, dryer sheets, tags, or garbage.

From failed “laundry system” attempts, I’ve found that with more than one hamper or larger ones, the clothes pile up. This keeps me from doing it often. With our small family and tiny kid clothes, it works!

I’ve been bringing the basket down every morning and either empty it into a basket down there, or into the washer. If one of the white baskets is getting full, I’ll throw that in for the day. If we don’t have enough of the whites, delicates, or regular clothes, I’ll do towels and bathroom rugs. I want to do those once a week when I do a deep clean of the bathroom!

When folding down here, I like to bring my computer down to listen to Pandora. It makes things go by so much faster! The kids will also play in their play area, and I like that I can easily peek in on them,

or they can come peek in on me. That’s another thing that’s kept me from doing daily laundry down here! It’s hard to sneak down to fold laundry when you have two busy toddlers.

and can I just say real quick that if you don’t have a carrier of some sort – get a carrier of some sort. Mine is a mei tei, it makes life so much easier! I can hold Adam while doing laundry, heck I’ll say it, I can even nurse him while doing it. :)

Here’s a before and after!

I got rid of the rugs down here since we get a bit of seepage and I was tired of the soggy wet sock surprise when I stepped on it. The lamp was updated, the detergent is all pretty now, and hey look! We’ve got a new dryer since then. It was a Craigslist find, it’s a Fisher and Paykel and was $40.

Overall, a little less cluttered.

Here’s the really old before, a pic we took while originally looking at the house. Wow!! I’d never do laundry if I had to do it there – ha!

Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to laundry?
Do you rock a basement laundry room?

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Filed Under: basement, before and after, cleaning, laundry room, organization

Jan 20, 2012

Kids’ Playroom in an Unfinished Basement

posted on: January 20, 2012 | by Ann Marie | 13 Comments

Recently, Doug showed you how to make a basement storage shelf and today, I’m showing you what we’ve done with it. Filled it with toys! Not taking over my house, in the closets, in the baskets, in their room, but in the basement!

*happy dance*

The cost of the shelf was only $60 – I know we would have paid double that if we were to buy it and the shelf wouldn’t have nearly been as sturdy. It only took one night to make, which is great, because I can use all the help I can once he gets home from work.

While I was hesitant at first and felt kinda bad about sending the toys down to the basement, I love it.

The kids get excited when we head down there, and it’s nice to have a change of scenery!

The top shelf is all of the smaller bins with toys, some puzzles and Melissa & Doug toys that didn’t fit, as well as our bigger baby items that don’t fit anywhere else.
bins – Walmart for $3 something for the small, $4 something for the big

The middle shelf are the larger bins: little people, Lincoln Logs, play food and kitchen stuff, and toys that don’t have a bin yet.
Big bin – Target (from years ago), white lid bins – Target, Sterilite brand, $6.99 each on sale.

Bottom shelf: bigger toys like the house, doll house, doll bunk beds and other toys.

My mom found three packs of this floor mat on clearance at Walmart for $3 EACH!!! The kids like moving around the tiles, making new rugs, and building stuff. It’s also the perfect rug for this area to protect them from the hard concrete.

I’ve been trying to figure out a laundry system and get it under control, but it’s hard for me to leave them all upstairs to head down here. Now I can easily peek over and see what they’re doing. And maybe blog a bit, enjoy some coffee while they’re playing… ;)

aaaand they can help me! Child labor, woo hoo ;)

We took a basement corner that was once a dark, gross, and kinda creepy spot and turned it into a clean, organized, happy playroom! This before and after is crazy… (the before was from the previous owners)