save those buttons!

Just something for you to think about... back to school shopping will be here before you know it! ARGH!

Big Tall Hubby got some new shirts for Father's Day, and a way cool new hat and some new dock shoes. Man, he is one lucky dude. And a well dressed one to boot. I'm a little jealous. Anyway.

I always save the extra buttons that come with a new shirt. Well, duh, you do too right? Well, I am so on it, I put the tag in the teeny baggie after I cut them off and voila, I know exactly what shirt that button goes to. See the little description "grey", it helps I tell ya. Now, for those stores that have plainish tags, I would just write, "grey Jos. Bank shirt". I know, I'm a genius. Hold your applause, please. If they don't have one of those teensy baggies, I have a stash that have used for crafts and treats. Or if I am feeling lazy, I just toss the button in the pile. But don't picture that, imagine my perfectly organized buttons why don't ya?

I keep all my buttons in a drawer in my sewing cabinet.  Someday on my "to do" list, you will see "clean out button" drawer, cos, man, do I have a lot of buttons!

Have a happy weekend all!

Sometimes your tried and true methods don't work

My last post, like a week or so ago (jeez, busy much?) I shared how a binder saved me. Well here was my coupon binder a while ago... based on the photo, Valentine's day perhaps? It was a disaster. I swear, this binder used to be so efficient. I modeled it after those crazy people on Extreme Couponing (I love that wacky show). It was glorious. I had pockets for my calculator, my rebates, my pens, scissors and baseball card holders for each coupon. Oh the organized loveliness. THEN, I had a baby. Hello, no time, no free hands, and no room on the shopping cart for a giant binder! So I had to regroup. Literally. 

I decided to go back to my old coupon organizing system, a plain accordion file folder with general categories based on my store's layout. 

First I wrote down the layout of the store (as I was shopping one time) I kind of knew it but I wanted it to be exact. (Always the perfectionist!) Then I made little tab labels. And then I resorted all my coupons. I kept my zippered pouches for "coupons to file" and "use next trip" because they are really handy.

 I put everything in this little Longaberger. (It is hard to see, but it is really shallow) I put the weekly sale flyers in here too along with the uncut coupons, until I can get to them, sometimes the night before my shopping trip. Argh! Darn kids. I keep the basket in my pantry and just pull it out as I can, usually while I am catching up on the Real Housewives of Orange County, love that show too!

 I hated to see my old zipper binder go. In fact, I just put it in my basement with my other organizers. I think I'll go back to it someday. It was so awesome to see all my coupons rather than flipping through them in a file but honestly, it just wasn't making sense right now. Isn't that what organizing in general is all about? Wow, I'm getting all philosophical today! 

I hope everyone has a great week. I am working on potty training, not me, Tanner, and so I am spending a lot of time in the bathroom. Oh joy. Hope to catch up with you all soon.

quick organizing project

A quick one for sure. I swear, this summer is keeping me so busy, or should I say my kids are keeping me so busy, I don't have time to do much of anything other than cook, do dishes, wash clothes, and give kids baths, lots of baths. So my projects (believe me there are a lot) are by necessity short and sweet. 

Oh, the papers that come in to this house are frightening. Like, massive boxes taken to the recycling bin on a regular basis (in addition to our weekly recycling pick up!) frightening. Some people in my family, I won't say names, (mostly tall people and small people-that pretty much includes them all) think every piece of paper is important and keep-worthy. And since I am the scrapbooker of the family, they give them to me and say, "we should keep this" so of course I do and then I get mad because I have a massive pile and then I have to find a place to put it all and then that person will say, "do you know where that ___ is?" Grr. It makes me grumpy. 

We have a designated drawer for phone books. I know, there are a million ways to find phone numbers besides those big books but we pull them out quite regularly, we are so old fashioned. Get over it. I also keep a real hanky in my purse that I use and wash regularly, I'm a granny in disguise. 

Any-who, we also kept our school directories in that drawer too. Big Tall Hubby gets one from school each year (staff and students) and I still have some from my teaching days and the kids have been getting class lists every year. 

OK, it sounds crazy to keep all those but I swear to you, no computer search engine is better at finding an old phone number than me rooting through our drawer of digits.** However, it was getting to be a big mess.

See the pile on the left? Those are our lists, etc. 

 I bought a cute turquoise (love all the turquoise everywhere now) notebook and some plastic pockets, who doesn't love the office supply aisle at Target? Oh, I'm the only nerd who does? Well, I also go to Hallmark just to read the funny cards for fun. I'm a true individual.

 I made a cover using old scrapbook paper and stickers.

 The small directories are in the pockets. 

 There are also notes I glued to notebook paper* and put in plastic sleeves from my scrapbook stash.

Class lists*** went in sleeves too. Then I took apart the bigger directories and hole punched them and put them in the back. All done. Easy peasy. Cute. Antiquated, but who cares?!  I'm granny-ish, so antiques and I get along just fine. 

*I kept the notes only because it is easy for me to find certain things because I remember it is on a yellow post it note (for example). I know I could make a master list but I am a visual person and my memory works better that way. Told you, I'm an individual.

** I know I could make some sort of master list on my computer and keep it there, thus avoiding the whole paper trail thing but I do not trust it. I lost three years of pictures a few years ago (including Tanner's infant pictures) when our old computer died so I do not keep everything on the computer. I still take film pictures sometimes. I know, so does your grandma. Maybe you could give me her number? We'd probably have lots in common. I can designate a page in my new book for my new granny friends.

***I tried to blur out all the readable phone numbers, don't be a weird computer stalker and zoom in on my pictures and call kids from my kids' classes, that would make you a total fruit loop. OK?

baby love

Don't you just love when 3 year olds play with baby dolls? I mean, it is the cutest thing in the world. Tanner is a great babysitter. He works really hard feeding them, trying to diaper them, and carrying them all over the place. I am so glad we haven't gotten rid of any baby dolls yet. I hope they get lots of love and attention in the years to come.

summer can finally begin

Summer is kicking our butts around here. Oh my goodness, we have been so busy. Crazy busy. We had dance recitals (three of them!), graduation, graduation parties, in law visits, end of the year cookouts, baseball starting, house showings, doctor check ups, big tall hubby's summer classes... I think there is more but honestly, I forget. Let's just say, I've been kind of swamped. 

Yesterday was the first day we stayed home and did nothing. Absolutely nothing. I loved it. I even closed my eyes for a minute on the couch. I did not nap. When I nap, things go awry (like chandeliers get pulled out of the ceiling- true story) but I did close my eyes during the commercial break of E.T. Thank you Hub channel for having long commercials!

I've only been surviving this summer so far because I have been making everyone work around here. I have been posting a chore list every day. They don't like it very much but I am being a dictator and they better just do it without complaining or no cookies! See how mean I am. 

 Everyone has to work. No one is exempt.

Don't call the feds or anything! I obviously do not make Asher work! He is just obsessed with the vacuum and Swiffer. Smart boy, I think I like him best of all. ;)

I hope to catch up on everyone's posts this week. I am missing my bloggy mommas!

Have a great week. Let the summer fun begin.