Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for April 30th, 2009

In our previous dwelling I had a mail and key organizer on the wall. We donated it to the local Goodwill (where we got it in the first place) and I’ve been on the hunt for just the right organizer ever since.

At first I was looking for something for our entry way that I would mount on the wall. I did find a few that were… okay. And then I spotted one that I really like which is this cute Vintage deal over at Etsy . I really like this one but I backed off of mounting something on the wall. So if you are in the market for a vintage chic mail / key holder this is really cute and a great price.

Now I’m looking for something that will sit on top of my Mommy Desk which has 7 inch wide shelf on the top. After much shopping I have decided that I’m not looking for an expensive wood piece or bamboo. A decorative box with just the right slots will work for me.

There is this truly functional mail sorter at See Jane Work. Which while it will work in theory it’s just not cute enough. I’m sorry but you have to get the right item or you won’t be happy and right now I’m looking for cute, chic, or pretty, or all of the above.

Then there is this great kitchen counter organizer from Lillian Vernon. It might be a tad bit too big and too expensive though. I’ve got it bookmarked just in case.

I do have a cute decorative box from Michael’s that I thought of altering but because I want the thing to angle a bit and also because I’m really not that good with crafts like this I’m afraid I will end up destroying my cute box and be really mad. So back to the all out search.

So back to the drawing board.

If you think you might have a tip of where I can find this cute, stylish, 7 inch deep, mail, desktop organizer please leave a comment.

I’m not that big on Spring Cleaning. Yes I have a few articles and printables over at Homemaking Organized but that’s because in addition to loving the history of it you have to admit that come spring time you seem to have more energy and a drive to do a bit of homekeeping.

I tend to get more of a re-organizing bug than a cleaning bug when it comes to spring cleaning.

This Spring I’ve had the urge to tackle these areas.

1. My daughter’s room. Her room is much as it was when we first moved in except for the fact that she moved from a toddler bed to a big girl bed (and I mean big! This thing is humongous).  So I’ve been moving stuff around every so often until I think it feels right. I’ve also been going through her clothes big time because she had a major growing spurt. And I’ve been purging her toys. She has a tendency to turn anything into a toy there is a lot of little ‘stuff‘ around that she’s decided makes a good toy. Do I ask her first? Sometimes…

2. The office. How this room got so out of hand I’ll never know. Oh yeah, regular use and very little upkeep. Anyway my husband and I have different ideas of how an office should be outfitted. He likes lots of clear desk workspace but we have so many books and supplies that shelves and places to put things are lacking. Since I have my own area now carved out where I normally work I’m retooling the office by setting up clear spaces for homeschooling (we start kindergarten in the fall) and my husband’s work.

3. Shampoo rugs. I’ve been doing this in various rooms in the home. The dining room, Peanut’s bedroom and the front hall so far. I invested in a carpet cleaner last year and it was a good choice. If you have pets and/or kids and a carpeted home it really does make sense. My sister bought one shortly after I did. We were having our rugs shampood several times a year and it just made more sense. Sometimes spot cleaning doesn’t cut it.

4. I have my eye on the pantry. Which I havent’ tackled yet. It’s a small pantry…very small. And I went through early on and reorganized where things should go. I even labeled each shelf. But now I think it could use a cleaning. I’m also toying with lining the shelves. I didn’t do that when we moved in and I’m thinking about doing all the shelving and drawers in the home. That’s a long project so it will be ongoing.

Do you spring clean?