simplify your kitchen ~ organize kiddie drawers ... ♥

happy Monday!

we're off to a running start here this week at my house

with a super busy week behind us ... there's more hustle & bustle ahead!

i have been going through and organizing different spots in our kitchen, 

so if you're just poppin' in you can click on the links below 

to see the rest of last week's projects ...

♥ spice drawer project

♥ fridge organization

♥ decorating with what's on hand 

those first two things seemed to be most pressing for me ... 

the spices were buggin' me and the fridge really needed some help

a good cleaning and to have things in more of an order for breakfast & lunch packing 

these 2 big drawers in the middle of our kitchen are another area that sees a ton of use

so it tends to get messy very quickly .. 

the top drawer holds kid-friendly cups, paper plates, straws, vitamins 

and the other lunch packing items that don't need to be refrigerated

that whole packing individual snack bags when i get home from the grocery store thing?

still goin' strong :) and the girls really look forward to having some say in picking what they want to eat that day :)

the little white lids are containers that hold granola or chocolate chips, 

easy for grab n go when they're taking yogurt in their lunch.

i really do love mason jars, use them for anything guys! 

stick some granola bars in 'em and it looks all neat and tidy

the bottom drawer is the "snack drawer"

and if you ask my youngest ... the most important place in the house

if there was a fire ... she'd be runnin' to save the snacks 

:)

again, it's easy access for breakfast, and after school snacks

i try to find baskets at garage sales or thrift stores to use in drawers & cabinets

it keeps things contained so you see what you have, keeping you from over-buying 

or thinking you've run out of something when you really have a ton of it

...the larger square basket holds cereal boxes or any larger packaged items

and the little basket of clothespins provides easy access to snack bag closure

(i just made that up)

(ya know, so stuff doesn't go stale?)

well that's it ... short & sweet

thanks so much to everyone who left me such sweet comments 

& sent emails over the weekend

from last weeks projects to those who saw my craft room feature in their mailboxes ...

thank you!

the issue hits new-stands tomorrow!

so I hope to back to show you some pictures!

with much gladness in my ♥

Linking up to ...

simplify your kitchen ... decorate with sprinkles ♥

happy Wednesday! ♥

just poppin' in real quick with a cute idea while you're organizing your kitchen this week :)

if you're looking for an easy and affordable way to add color to your countertop

think sprinkles :)

where do we usually keep them??

far far away deep down in the pantry ... why?

they'e so cute! why leave them hidden away ....

i found these little jars at Hobby Lobby

at 50% off they were a steal for only .99 cents a piece

gave them a quick wash and gathered up my sprinkle stash

just a little idea to spruce up your kitchen with some pretty colors 

and it's functional :) 

if you like to bake :)

i do ... do you?

i found this little glass container at a garage sale

corralled all my food coloring bottles into it too

that though, is sitting in my pantry :)

be back soon ♥

happy organizing!

sharing here ♥

Live Laugh Rowe ♥ Live Laugh Linky

Tip Junkie ♥ Tip me Tuesday

the 36th Avenue ♥ Party Time!

Organizing Made Fun 

simplify ♥ your kitchen ...

i'm was so excited to see the spice jar project inspire you guys! 

thanks so much for all the sweet comments ♥

throughout the next few months (or maybe even the rest of the year :) i want to share some of the projects i'll be tackling, to whip a few problem areas in our home into shape! 

making them more organized and tidy, while helping us incorporate easier clean-up into our daily routine

i made a list ... it's really long ... ridiculously long :/

i went room by room and started in the kitchen

the spice-mess is done, now moving on to other parts of the kitchen which i would like to work on this week, while trying to squeeze a bit of crafting in here & there :)

inspired by one of my go-to blogs i {heart} organizing along with a few fun things i found at Target last week, (which were either in the dollar bins or on clearance) i decided to start operation-simplify-my-kitchen ... 

yay! right??!

♥ the place mats are for the shelves inside the fridge

♥ the glass containers have a pretty teal top (glass as well) that i want to use for an organizing project on another day

♥ the wrapping paper was used in the spice drawer and will get used in a few other drawers too

♥ i already had the gingham canning jars ... found them at Walmart a few summers ago ... 

but don't think they sell them anymore, i looked everywhere ... boo :(

those are for another space as well

♥ and my favorite find was the red wire basket in the dollar spot :)

i started my organizing frenzy in the fridge ... take a peek inside!

the place-mats make for an easy clean-up ... instead of taking the whole shelf out to wash, wiping down or washing the mats in hot water is much easier ... it's all about easy when it comes to cleaning for me :)

measure and cut straight lines, and they fit right in

this top shelf sees a lot of spill action from juice & coffee creamers 

(ahem ... my hubby has a little coffee problem ... he likes a little coffee with his creamer :)

(well no really, the coconut is mine)

these "pull out" fridge baskets are perfect for yogurt & lunch packing goodies

the girls can pull them out in the morning and choose snacks, fruit and veggies to put in their lunch ... it makes it fun for them, and less stressful for our morning when were in a hurry to get on the bus 

(which happens like never)

i'm hoping to make this habit one that sticks :) 

coming home with the groceries, washing and pre-portioning fruit, veggies and any other items for lunches and snacks that same day ... it makes everything easier when the 

"what should i have for snack" or "how many can i have" 

questions come up 

the mini muffins get put in the freezer to be pulled out and thawed the night before for a quick on the go breakfast before a busy school day or on our way to church :)

canning jars are my go to storage containers

they hold the smaller things in the fridge that you want to keep together ...

use a label maker or just some pretty paper with double sided tape to describe the contents of each basket

i like to pinch a few pennies and buy the large tub of yogurt

then just divide it up into small lunch size containers

i think the fruit is happy too :) ... with it's pretty new drawer liner

my favorite part of this whole thing? that wire basket from the $1 spot at Target that fit nicely on the door ... and now the eggs have a new home 

 a cute one to boot :)

next up! i'm moving on to my food & housewares drawers ...

and a cute little way to add some color to your kitchen with pretty things that are hiding in your pantry 

(and you don't even know it :)

much loves! ♥

Linking up to ...

my craft room ... Christmas style ♥

it's been a while since i've had any pictures of my craft room up on the blog ...

(you can see the whole room here) 

(and some more here)

mainly cause most of the time it's a mess with product for the store & packing supplies

oy

but i had to get it in order for last weekend when i hosted a cookie exchange that my close friends and i have every year ... this year we had so much fun ♥

i wanted to spruce up the room with a little bit of Christmas cheer

but didn't want to over-do it since there is already so much color & detail in the room and well...

i was just plain tired :)

so i went the simple route :)

ahhhh.... simple....

i feel like this little bloggy of mine has come a long way 

since i first posted about my craft room ... it's been neat to watch it grow ... 

when Better Homes & Gardens came last month, it was the final push i needed to get in gear and tie up all the loose end projects that i never finished 

if you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen a few of these updates ... but this bunting was made from my vintage sheet stash, just cut in strips and tied to some twine

with some nails & hot glue, i now have pretty things to hold up my garlands and pictures

i hammered the nails where i wanted the spools to go, 

then with a little hot glue on one end, slid the spool onto the nail

with some help from my two aunts :) finally got around to organizing my fabric stash

this shelf holds only vintage linens ... the other side has my non-vintage yardage

i love how pretty they all look together ♥

i filled some apothecary jars with a hodge podge of things 

that i thought we bright and Christmas-ish :)

the trees were made with styrofoam trees, again with strips of different fabrics

wound around from top to bottom ... made pompom's for the tops

i think Christmas can be found in the everyday of things

it doesn't always have to be in red & green

i love to be outside of the box :) don't you?

my cushions were upgraded too when BHG came, these were from Target

i love how they add simplicity to such a busy room

my sewing area hasn't changed much ...

the twine and large spools of thread that i mostly use for packaging, 

were put up out of the way on wooden dowels 

the sewing machine cover was made from a vintage pillowcase 

... thinking about selling a few in the store

remember my decoupaged trinket box?

it has definitely earned it's keep :)

it holds all my littles

my entry way get's no light at all, it's hard to snap a good picture here

but this is where my Joy to the World sign is with another wreath like the one on my craft shelves ... i got the wreath and wording around the chalkboard idea from Miss Mustard Seed

(even though her's is way more grand & gorgeous!)

so these are my besties :)

they are the friends that encourage me & laugh with me through everyday things

i love them so dearly ... they are the sisters i never had :)

we have craft night once a month ... we leave kiddos with daddies and we come together to eat and make stuff ...and eat stuff :)

and there's never a dull moment, at all....

every December we exchange cookies and handmade gifts

we even get a little carried away making stuff for each other's kids :)

it's hard to find good friends in life ... hard to find one, let alone five

and i can honestly say they are all a blessing to me ... love ya girls ♥

Merry Christmas bloggy friends ♥

you have put gladness in my heart ... psalm. four. seven

sweet parties here:

live laugh Rowe ♥ live laugh linky

i {heart} naptime ♥ Sundae Scoop

Tatertots & Jello ♥ Weekend Wrap up Party 

Funky Junk Interiors ♥ Saturday Nite Special

the 36th Avenue ♥ Party Time!