Kitchen organization

My kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house. It's where I spend the majority of my time, and since I'm the primary cook/baker in the house, it's important to keep things organized and handy.  Here are some of my "good things" for the kitchen:

A calendar is a must.  Right now we're rocking with a free calendar from Dunkin' Donuts.  Bonus--it has coupons on it for each month.  I fight the temptation to buy one dozen donuts every day ($1 off coupon) thanks to this thing.

I use the calendar to keep track of birthdays, work schedules, menu plans and other appointments.  The TMI Family would be lost without it.

Take a look at the fridge: see the important organization tool there?  No? Gosh, I can't imagine why not.

The potholders are kept on the fridge with magnetic hooks.  This is a simple and cheap solution that keeps my oven mitts and potholders handy.  Get it?!? 

Finally, this last bit of organizational goodness comes from Aunt KB.  I saw this trick at her house years ago, and I don't think I've seen it anywhere else.

Tiny stick-up hooks are used for storing measuring spoons inside a cabinet door.  This way, those tiny things are never lost in some drawer, and I always know where to find them.  What a good thing!

Martha Monday--Getting organized

Did you know that 87% of all Americans vow to get their homes organized as their number one New Year's Resolution?
Did you know that of those 87%, only 45% get started on that resolution?
And of those 45%, only 7% form habits that last them into February?
And of those 7% who make it into February, 2% of them will decide that getting organized is just too difficult, give up all their possessions and become a nomad in Nepal? 

It's true!

Actually, no, it isn't.  I made all of that up. But it sounded good, didn't it?  I almost convinced myself.

Of course, many people vow to get their homes and lives organized every January 1st.  And again on February 21st, and on March 17th, and so on.  For many, getting, and staying, organized is a constant battle.  Fortunately, getting organized doesn't have to be a make or break resolution on January 1st.  February 1st is just as good a time to get started.  You can do it!

Martha can help you with this--she's the original organizational guru, after all.  Check out the section of Martha Stewart .com that focuses on household organization.  Martha has handy tips for what should stay, what should go, great tips for organizing small spaces, and how to store items for every room in the house. 

If you made the resolution to get organized in 2010, but haven't quite gotten started, now is a great time to get to it.  If you didn't even resolve to get organized because the task seems too daunting, don't be discouraged.  You can do this!  And if you made the resolution and stuck to it, then good for you.  How very Martha!

Repurposing furniture

The previous homeowners left quite a bit of crap stuff when they moved out.  This dresser, minus the drawers, was in that random assortment of stuff. 

We were going to throw it out, but my Big Little Brother Freddy had a better idea.  "Hey!" he said. "That would make a great bookshelf."

And by golly, he was right.  We bought some material for shelving and brackets, and Freddy went to town.   This was a fairly simple project, and a great way to reuse a somewhat useless piece of junk.

Now we have a lovely bookshelf for the nursery.  Thanks, Freddy!

A bit of blogkeeping

Hello, my dear readers!  As you may have noticed, my blogging has been rather sparse this month.  As of today, I'm officially four weeks away from my due date.  I've been trying to get the house ready for baby despite having the energy level of a hibernating bear, and it leaves me wiped out nearly every day.  I'm sorry for the slacking, but I hope you can understand. 

Anyways, I'll do my best to continue posting regularly over the next few weeks, but if I take a sudden leave of absence, you'll know why.  Thanks for sticking with me!

Handmade gifts

The Little Guy got two really awesome gifts recently that I wanted to share with you.  Both gifts were made by talented, creative ladies who come up with some really darling stuff.

First, the penguin mittens...

These were made by a friend of My Big Martha.  Aren't they adorable?  I think they've been used more as puppets than mittens this winter, but that's fine with me.  But when they are used as mittens, the strand of yarn that connects the two keeps them from getting lost.

Next, the bug bean bags....

These were made by my BFF Laura for the Little Guy's 2nd birthday.  She found this awesome fabric, made the bean bags, and included two fun books about bugs.  The Little Guy loves them.

We use these for playing catch and our own (smaller) version of Bozo buckets. 

BFF Laura made sure each bean bag was a different shape in case we want to work in a lesson there.  She thinks of everything!

These two gifts have inspired me to put my crafty talents to good use and give gifts that are homemade, rather than store bought.  Now, I just have to cultivate my crafty talents...until then, it's cookies for everyone, baby!