The Great Organize and Purge: Games

You guys. Getting rid of stuff is addicting. Like honestly, don't start if you actually want to stop. Sure, there are times where I get to a complete stand still and feel unmotivated, but then once that motivation comes back. Oh boy, watch out. I become a complete mad woman once I get into purging mode. The other night, Eden went down extraordinarily early (never happens) and the wise thing to do would have been for me to follow her lead. Ask Josh if that happens (answer: never). So, in one of my crazy rampages I decided the board games must be dealt with.

Our board game collection is not very large by most standards. The sadder part to that is...we haven't even used them more than once in over five years of marriage. They have all been stacked up in closets where pulling one out meant having the rest topple out onto your head. Not ideal and definitely not something I looked forward to. So, they sat. And sat. And sat some more. Since moving into my parent's house, they have been housed in an Ikea bag way up high to where no one could reach them. I had known I was over the whole cardboard box thing since most were falling apart or just large and annoying, but hadn't done anything about it. I knew changing our current system could only result in good things so I went for it. This isn't magazine worthy by any means, but I'm posting it in hopes that it will help someone out there get motivated to look at a system in their house that isn't working, and change it. 

I started off by pulling each game out of its box, which resulted in a giant stack of cardboard. 

Excuse the phone photos. I've turned lazy and no longer use my big girl camera for projects. 

I thought taking the games out of their boxes would be painful. I am so weird about stuff like that. But nope, it felt great. One box literally was so huge and all it held was a small game board and a handful of marbles...the rest of the box was filled with a filler piece of cardboard. Seriously?! What a waste of space. 

Once I had the games out, I put all the small pieces into snack sized baggies. I then put all of the small bags of parts with the game rules and any larger items from the game into a gallon size baggie. I used a permanent marker to indicate what the game was and moved on to the next game. 

Can you believe that the giant stack of cardboard boxes resulted in such a small pile of game materials? It felt so relieving. At this point I was left with a few large game boards and a stack of plastic bags filled with games. I knew we had an extra basket that we had from Ikea in our living room and I knew it would be a great spot to store the games for now. The game boards that didn't fit into the basket are living in our ottoman so we can grab them out as needed. 

Sweet relief. The games are now easily accessible and hardly take up any room. I love knowing that when we move the amount of space the games will take up in a box is so minimal. I'm all for an easier move. So, I know it's not the prettiest sight. I do have plans to add cute labels to the bags and the game boards, but for now, it works. The goal was to only use what I had on hand to make this work, and I am proud to say I didn't spend a penny. It was such a quick project and I am so happy with the results.

Here's to more family game nights! 

Cleaning Out The Junk

Bringing a baby in the home makes a whole lot more junk in the trunk. No, I don't mean the kind you get from carrying a little person inside of you for 9 whole months, although that extra poundage sure does get heavy from time to time. I am actually referring to the "stuff" you acquire when bringing the little person into the world. It seems like every month there is something new we need for Eden. We don't mind, but living in 834 sq. ft. means we have to get creative when finding places to put all of the additional necessities. 

When Eden started eating solid food a couple of months ago I ran into a problem. Every little nook and cranny of our kitchen was already stuffed full and I had absolutely nowhere to put her bowls, spoons, bibs, washcloths...well, you get the idea. Then I had a bit of an "ah ha!" moment. I had a drawer full of JUNK (well, at the time I didn't really think of it as junk) that really didn't need to be there. So, I cleaned it out.

Yeah, not pretty. I then pulled out each item and laid them out all over the counter. It just emphasizes the ridiculous amount of items that were just stuffed into the drawer.

All items found in the drawer were relocated to our kitchen storage in the basement, or elsewhere in the house. I mean honestly, I don't use most of those items on a daily basis. For fun, here is a list of what was found.

• cheese slicer from Norway
• pie server
• salad servers
• apple slicer
• sippy cup instruction sheet
• plastic bag with Tums
• another cheese slicer
• meat thermometer
• sharpie
• pen
• a Christmas notepad
• extra filters for the breastpump
• coupon for string cheese
• pizza slicer
• spatula
• spoons
• basting brush (no idea what the technical term is)
• handmixer whisks paddles (seriously the name escapes me) 

Typing this all out embarrasses me so I hope you appreciate it. Actually I am doing this solely to motivate you to find a "junk drawer" and do a quick clean up. It honestly took me maybe ten minutes to sort it all out. I have to be honest, this isn't the most stunning "after" photo you will ever see, but it definitely gave me a sigh of relief once it was cleaned out. So, the after...

See what I mean? Now, things have changed a bit since this photo was taken because I think everything in your home should be flexible and ready for changes as they are needed. The bowls still reside in the drawer, as do the bibs, but I needed to make room for a couple more things that are needed most often. I combined the bibs and added in washcloths (seriously this girl loves to make a mess) and spoons. I originally had both items in separate locations but quickly realized that I needed them right at my fingertips instead of having to walk to multiple places in order to get the things I needed. Yes, even saving three steps is worth it...honestly, I will do anything for a spare second in my day.

So, there you have it. A quick organization project that may not be the most life changing thing you have ever seen, but it does the trick.

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Yes, I do believe this post is a bit trivial considering all the lives that have been lost in Missouri and the homes that have been destroyed. Definitely praying for everyone over there. Natural disasters are so devastating and it makes me so sad to see so much hurt. I am going to be certain to hold Eden a bit tighter tonight and be thankful for what I do have. Praying for you all!

Operation: SIMPLIFY

As if we didn't already know that I was crazy about living a minimalist life, I will now make it more evident by telling you about my latest project. I have kind of gone on an organizing rampage. I dislike clutter and mess and living in 830 square feet means it is vital that I find ways to organize each and every item in this house. If I even think it is okay to leave something out, it looks like a tornado actually ripped through our house...and that's with only ONE thing sitting out. Dramatic much? Seriously though, living in tight quarters is something I love because I am all about living on less, but it means I have to be proactive in controlling messes. So, my mission is simple. Go around to each area of each room in the house and figure out a) my problem areas and b) what I can do to fix it. If there are items that we don't need, they get tossed. I really have no mercy so you may want to stay out of our house for the next couple of weeks....I may just toss you out. Alright, not really, my guests can stay!

My first mission was the ridiculous amount of clutter that resided in a basket that lives on top of my little storage cabinet next to my desk. I originally placed it there to hold the mail before we had a chance to walk it down to Josh's office in the basement. This quickly turned into my own dumping ground for anything that I was too lazy to put away didn't have a home. This meant that I needed a solution...and to find a home for a large assortment of items. I was also presented with another challenge. All of my projects must cost me ZERO in moolah because I think we are permanently in a spending freeze (more on that another time). I love me a good challenge.


Right about now, if I were a good blogger, I would have taken photos of the giant mess of items that were residing in the basket. The truth is, I wasn't comfortable with it. I know that's not being very honest when I tell you I strive to be very open on this blog, but well...I just am not comfortable with my messes. I promise I'll do better at showing my big giant piles of you know what during this operation of sorts, but you are just straight out of luck this time. So, instead, here are some pictures of the supplies I gathered.

I grabbed some coordinating scrapbook paper, a few purple folders that Josh had on hand, my paper cutter, and some glue. It was quite simple really.




I cut out a piece of the scrapbook paper because although the folders were already a fun color, we all know without that extra dose of "pizazz" I might as well just scrap the project altogether because I need everything to look pretty in order to motivate me to actually keep the system working. Maybe I'm just crazy.




Once I had the pretty rectangles attached to the folders, I just printed out some labels. I chose to make folders for our "problem areas" as well as one for mail for Josh and I.

We have already started using the folders and it is making a world of difference. See, my handsome hubby LOVES to drop the mail right on the t.v. console. Let's just say this leads to a very annoyed wife on a daily basis. Without the mail there, the only thing we have sitting on the t.v. unit is a Netflix dvd that needs to be returned, Josh's wallet, and Josh's keys. Don't worry, I already have a place for his wallet and keys in his nightstand....guess we just have to pick our battles (love you babe!).


The best thing about this system is I get to throw all the boring mail (i.e. bills) in Josh's folder and throw all the fun mail (i.e. magazines and catalogs) into mine. I bet you can imagine which one of us gets excited to get the mail and who doesn't.

So, nothing too exciting about this one. It was a super simple and completely free update that will hopefully keep our house just a little more clutter free.

I can't end this post without mentioning a fantastic blog that I just ran across. IHeart Organizing is the most amazing thing I have ever found. It takes my favorite subject and breaks it down into all these great projects that just make me so happy. Honestly whenever I go through all of Jen's archives my heart races a bit more. This is what I believe Heaven will be like...binders and boxes and all sorts of organizing bliss. Anyway, my plan is to follow her monthly projects to ensure I don't lose track of my goal of a fully organized home. I feel myself breathing easier already....

Hiding The Junk In The Trunk

With the addition of another member into the Crain household there was also an even bigger addition to the stuff we have in our house. We did our best to limit the amount of baby gadgets that we brought into our home, but of course the pile is always growing as Eden grows. 


One of our goals when choosing baby items was to find things that would fit "seamlessly" into our house. Obviously a bouncer is going to scream "A BABY LIVES HERE!" but we also believed that we could find a bouncer (or any baby item for that matter) that would blend in a bit better than its bright colored counterparts. Now, of course, if you happen to live in a home with bright colors, maybe the bright colored toys would be perfectly suited to your style...however, we have chosen muted colors so a toy that is bright red may stick out like a sore thumb. There were definitely some items that we brought in that were brightly colored since we wanted to make sure that Eden had toys that were visually stimulating as well. We liked the challenge of making those toys blend in as well. Let's just say, we have learned how to get a bit creative in finding storage. 


Since we do all of our living in (can you guess it?) our LIVING room...seriously folks, I know that is surprising...we had to get extra creative in terms of storage. While we do keep a good amount of stuff in Eden's room, there are a lot of items that would be inconvenient in there so we choose to keep it out in the living room.


So, I mentioned the bouncer earlier on. This wasn't necessarily intentional, but it really is a good starting point since it was the first item that we put on our registry. We chose to only register for a bouncer and not a swing...I had my reasons, but one of them was because I didn't want to have an extra item to take up our precious square footage (we are only working with 830). We LOVE our bouncer and hopefully I will finish up the post where I proclaim my love for certain baby items that have really been essential in our household so I can give you a summary of why I adore this bouncer. Anyway, our bouncer was essentially a two-in-one item since it was a stand-in for a swing and it was easy on the eyes. We even have had friends come over and not notice it sitting in the corner. Here it is in all its glory.

See how cute he is all tucked up next to the fireplace? Although Eden has pretty much grown out of using the bouncer (and in its place is a GIGANTIC but cute jumperoo) we still have it lying around because it just makes us happy to look at. 


Oh, yes. That bright colored object in the right hand corner of the photo has caught your attention hasn't it? Well, let me tell you more about it.

Eden's play mat is the only true "girly" object that we own in terms of large baby items. It was on sale and we figured, hey, why not. So how does this girl stomach having such a brightly colored object in her otherwise neutral house? Oh, that's simple. It is because we store it here:

Yep, if you were to come over to our house and feel the need to sneak a peak behind our sofa (hey it happens) you would see just a hint of pink behind there. The thing we love about this play mat is that it just folds flat and fits right behind our sofa and no one is the wiser....well, besides those peeping toms curious folks who happen to take a look back there. It is so easy to just hide it away when we need the house to be clean, or pull it right back out again when Eden is in her playful mood.


Our #1 favorite place to hide objects is our storage ottoman from here. 

We used to have a rectangular coffee table right in its place, but since we knew a baby was on the way, and that babies learning to walk seem to find the sharpest corners, we figured it was best to just replace it. The ottoman has been great! It stores objects that we don't want to be seen (and we always are on the lookout for extra storage in our teeny tiny abode), but it also makes a great place to rest weary feet and set drinks down on occasion. In short, if you need a place to hide things, run to the store and get yourself an ottoman...we currently own three and I am sure we will be adding more to the family. Inside our ottoman is a basket full of toys as well as some nursing supplies and a giant heap of blankets to keep our toes warm in the winter. Want to take a peak inside our ottoman? You know you do. 

Now, the point of this post wasn't "how to hide the fact that you have a baby that has taken over your lives and your house," it was more just to show you that just because you have a baby doesn't mean you can't still have a beautiful home. Besides, we think the baby toys just add to the beauty. I love seeing one of the many pink rattles scattered across the floor. I am proud of our baby girl and I have no problem showing her off. I just like to also believe that I can know where to stuff items so that visiting guests are none the wiser have a clean house if I want to. We know Eden will only continue to accumulate "stuff," but this just gives us even more of a reason to expand our creativity which is always a fun challenge. 


So, to all of you out there bringing in a new member of the family (pets included) we encourage you to get creative and see if there is a way to seamlessly add in more "stuff" without having it overtake your home. Trust me, it's kind of fun. Or maybe I just have a sickness for organizing? Nah, couldn't be.