After Christmas and the winter birthdays, I tend to do a toy purge. There are so many broken toys, various pieces of junk, etc, etc everywhere and it just about drives me bananas. While I’m tossing and donating toys, I keep the momentum going and start going through all of my dressers. …and I’m not talking clothes. You see, our house is full of dressers — a dresser for this, and a dresser for that and a dresser for just about anything you could think of. They are wonderful storage pieces, they are often found for free on the side of the road and they can be painted and accessorized to fit into the room in which they are placed.

Example #1 The Sidebar Dresser

This dresser was found for free on the road and given a thorough cleaning, a coat of white paint and some sanding and planing to keep the drawers from sticking (Thank you Alex!). This “sidebar” is placed under a mirror ($5 at a yard sale) and adjacent to our dining room table. Contrary to the traditional china and flatware, our sidebar is filled with food styling and accessorizing pieces, along with a bit of decor and candles. It holds things that I will use throughout the year, and anything that has NOT been used gets tossed or sent to the basement for long term storage. These drawers are high priced real estate in this house and I want them to be beautiful and organized inside.

Curious about how to create a vignette that makes your dresser read more sidebar than dresser?  You can check out my recipe for a  Sidebar Vignette right HERE!

Example #2  The Tools, Art and Games Dresser

A calendar, organizer pockets and bins and buckets make turn this dresser into a full organization station!!

This dresser was also a freebie on the side of the road and it is one of my favorites – check out that detailing!  The bottom 2 drawers hold board games that we actually play (if they don’t get played, they don’t maintain their spot in the dresser!)  The 3rd drawer up (2nd drawer down) is chock full of art supplies.  This drawer is an easy one to wheedle down after the holidays.  Simply pile a bunch of the supplies on the art table and let the kids go at it for a few hours!

Finally, the top drawer is perhaps the most opened drawer in the house.  It is a tool drawer, but not a junk drawer, full of batteries, hammers, nails, screwdrivers, hot glue gun and more!  Everything we use on a weekly basis goes in this drawer.  Anything superflous is given a new home quickly!

Example #3  The Sidebar Entertainment Center

This dresser is an actual sidebar, but we use it for storing vases and plastic bags (left) a cd player and cds (right), along with art supplies (more of them!) and tools (more of them too!).  The dresser was painted with a strie technique and when worked into a gallery wall, it completes a pretty pictures, don’t you think?

Example #4  The Shoe Dresser

Our house has too many shoes.  Period.  We can’t help it though.  We need three little pairs of school shoes, three little pairs of rain boots and three little muddy junk shoes, not to mention a variety of work and home shoes for Dad and a larger variety of muddy garden boots, cute equestrian wannabe boots and workable flats for Mama.  We just have a lot of shoes.  The solution?  A shoe dresser.  Another freebie from the side of the road, this dresser holds a plethora of shoes and even devotes one drawer to winter hats and gloves.  It makes getting out the door slightly easier!

A dresser for this and a dresser for that makes our life function a bit better, not to mention being a free organizational tool!  Next time you see a dresser in the trash, at an auction for 10 bucks or at half price night at the thrift store, consider how YOU might turn it into a tool to help Organize Your Life!

Amy Renea is a freelance design writer, blogger and commercial photographer based out of Hershey PA. When she isn’t chasing three little boys around the house, she is chasing three chickens around the yard. You can find her award winning blog at A Nest for All Seasons and her photography portfolio at ALLENAIM.com.

Dressers Make Excellent Storage Containers is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

It’s finally here!  It’s time for Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge!!  Our official challenge page can be found here where you’ll find all the specifics of the challenge.

Today is all about introducing yourself and letting us know which room you’ll be organizing this month.  And for those that are bravest of all I’ve put up a linky below if you’d like to link up your “before” pictures however please know that this isn’t a requirement of the challenge (although you will have to show them at the end of the month).  I want this to be a positive and productive experience for you, that’s what it’s all about.  Leaving a comment is okay too :)

(you do need a blog for this challenge as you will be required at the end of the month to link up your post showing off your before and after pictures.  Don’t have a blog?  Consider starting one, it’s easy to do!)

Where to start?

Select one room in need of some clutter control and chaos taming this month.  Then the first step of the PROCESS is to plan your space.  You can find a list of questions to help you with that here.  Like Peter Walsh always says, what is your vision for your space?  This is important because you’ll need to remind yourself over and over again of this vision you want to achieve as you go through the tough de-clutter step.

Calendar:

Also don’t forget to print off the calendar to help you stay on track.  Pencil in a rough guideline of how much time you can dedicate each day to the project.

Download calendar here

Sponsors:

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to tell you about the amazing sponsors that have come on board to provide our winners with such FANTASTIC prizes.  Prizes are listed below for each of the three winners:

First place winner will receive 7 prizes
Second place winner will receive 4 prizes
Third place winner will receive 3 prizes
PLUS there is a bonus prize for a random winner

Are you ready for this?

$50 Gift Card from Organized Living

Organized Living offers high quality organizational items. From the closet to the kitchen to the garage, we help make life easier!

One Year Subscription to Getting Organized Magazine

Getting Organize Magazine is the go-to resource for those looking to organize their homes or their work. This comprehensive, easy to read magazine makes organizing fun, easy and how-to as possible. You’ll get previews of the latest products, tips on how to conquer your paper piles, advice on issues like attention deficit disorder (ADD) and much more. Getting Organized Magazine was created by a Professional Organizer with several years of client experience and is the only one on the market solely dedicated to the top of organization.

52 Home Organizing Missions + Ultimate To-Do List Pack: Home & Family from Get Organized Wizard

Both of these programs were created by Michele Connolly of Get Organized Wizard to help you move from procrastination to action. Tens of thousands of people around the globe use their materials to set goals and get organized in business life, personal life, and home & family life. Get Organized Wizard programs help busy men and women take action toward a life of greater happiness, productivity and personal organization.

Big Mesh Sports Basket from freedomRail

freedomRail offers the perfect combination of strength, ease and versatility to save you time, money and stress. freedomRail puts you in control!

Six Stackable Organizing Bins from SpaceSavers

SpaceSavers offers products that increase household efficiency and functional storage space for DIY home organizers and small businesses. Find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

$50 Gift Card from Clever Container

Clever Container is all about organizing, functionality, ideas and fun! The only DSA approved company marketing exclusively organizing products, we undoubtedly fill a niche! We have fabulous products to help you organize your life. We’ll provide clever & helpful tips whether you are just getting started on your organizational journey or are already an organizing “junkie”. We offer excellent incentives and free products whether you host a party or join our team. So, fulfill your curiosity and contact Colleen – Consultant #10 for more information!

A Collection of Glow Baby Products

(menu planner, weekly undated grid pad, chore chart pad, to-do list notepad and shopping list notepad)

Glow Baby is dedicated to providing unique and user-friendly scheduling tools for today’s busy parents. Glow Baby products are all about helping parents save time and stay organized. Glow Baby Journals, Planners, Calendars and Lists help parents keep track of daily activities such as; feeding, sleeping, diapering, bathing, first foods by type, meal planning, family activities, general to do lists for daily tasks, groceries etc. Also find Glow Baby on Facebook.

Large Lay-n-Go Storage and Activity Mat (blue)

Lay-n-Go™ is a patent pending activity mat, cleanup, storage and carryall solution in one that offers kids and parents a great way to easily manage their toy collections at home or wherever your travels may take you!

Download Membership from ListPlanIt.com

ListPlanIt.com is home to hundreds of lists, checklists, worksheets, schedules, inventories, and to dos, all geared toward helping its members live a more organized life. A Download Membership allows you to print or download the lists you want, type into them with your own information, and save them to your computer for future reference.

 $50 Ikea Gift Card from Simply Savvy

The Simply Savvy blog is all about sharing organization and design solutions which are affordable, flexible, interesting, and inspiring. Our goals for both our readers and our clients is to help simplify your daily life in a way that is manageable and orderly–creating solutions which fit your needs, style, and personality–and are just Simply Savvy!

Three Sweater Bins (Ivory/Red) from G.U.S – Great Useful Stuff

Great Useful Stuff is a boutique online retailer based in San Francisco that designs and sells a highly edited selection of products that meet our simple criteria: If it’s Great + it’s Useful = then it’s got to be GUS! From stylish gear to organize your high-tech personal electronic gadgets to specialized totes, boxes and bags to conceal your clutter, we have it all! For more information, please visit http://www.greatusefulstuff.com.

$50.00 Gift Card from Thirty-One Gifts

Thirty-One Gifts is a company that sells organizing products with style, convenience and quality at an amazingly affordable price. Thirty-One offers fashionable solutions for our busy go-here, go-there lifestyles, and has many options to fit every personality type and every situation. New products are continually being developed building on the idea that they must be stylish, functional, affordable and easy to give as gifts to encourage someone special. For more information on Thirty-One products including specials and organizing ideas visit consultant, Kristie Jo on Facebook.

3 ePlanners (Meals, Home, Planner) from ListPlanIt.com

ListPlanIt.com is home to hundreds of lists, checklists, worksheets, schedules, inventories, and to dos, all geared toward helping its members live a more organized life. ListPlanIt has 17 ePlanners available as a convenient, downloadable packet. Each ePlanner is filled with lists that can be typed into, printed, and/or saved to your computer for future reference.

 One Year Subscription to Getting Organized Magazine

Getting Organize Magazine is the go-to resource for those looking to organize their homes or their work. This comprehensive, easy to read magazine makes organizing fun, easy and how-to as possible. You’ll get previews of the latest products, tips on how to conquer your paper piles, advice on issues like attention deficit disorder (ADD) and much more. Getting Organized Magazine was created by a Professional Organizer with several years of client experience and is the only one on the market solely dedicated to the top of organization.

BONUS

I’ll also be giving away one prize to one random participant selected from those that link up their finished room at the end of the month. That prize is a:

$50 Amazon Gift Card from HATCHEDit.com

HATCHEDit.com wants to help you organize the chaos and more efficiently communicate and collaborate with those closest to you. HATCHEDit.com is the creation of two women, Megan Brown & Kirsten Bischoff. As both busy women and busy moms, they sought to create a free, organization tool that would streamline and improve the way families communicate with each other and with those closest to them. At the core of HATCHEDit.com is a family calendar that provides the ability to fluidly communicate important information to the people that assist you (grandparents, babysitters, au pairs, spouses, and children). Other key features include the ability to create personal groups to get rid of email streams, updating news & blog feeds, and a place to curate all that is important in your life.

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How’s that for motivation?  I told you it was exciting!!

So what do you say?  Are you ready to join us this month and turn a cluttered room into an organized one where everything has a home and you can find what you need when you need it? 

Pin It

Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge Begins + Sponsors! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

So I got my craft on this past weekend. Say what?  As you know I’m so not crafty, in fact I use to be a scrapbooker person just so I could organize all the supplies. So not kidding.  Anyway once I realized that all those supplies took up way more space than the time I ever spent with them I needed to rethink things and said bye bye to most of those supplies.

So when the makers of the MyMemories Scrapbook software asked me to review their product, I was like um no thank you.  Well actually I wasn’t even that polite, I may or may not have just deleted the email “by accident”.  Then one night I was blog surfing and stumbled across one site where the blog master was offering up a pretty free printable to her readers.  She’d made this printable using, you guessed it, the MyMemories software.  Well who knew you could do that?  Anybody that knows me knows I have a HUGE fascination with printables.  Love them!

Lucky for me, the owners of MyMemories emailed me again and I decided I would be brave enough to try it despite the fact that technology likes to mock me consistently and stick it’s tongue out at me for being so stupid for not understanding how it works.  This totally happens to me….time and time again.

So after downloading the software to my computer I started playing around.  I never read manuals or instructions, which could so be why I never understand what I’m doing but whatever.  Anyway after a few hiccups that might have involved a few grunts and groans, I did indeed figured it out and made a very awesome printable (if I do say so myself!) for anyone planning on participating in Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge starting tomorrow.  Check out this calendar I created, hola!

Download Feb Calendar here

So here is what I know.  Playing around creating this calendar was fun.  I really enjoyed myself and am pretty happy with the result.  The software itself only comes with basic backgrounds and embellishments but you have MANY options to purchase various kits and templates on their website.  In other words it could get as addictive and expensive as traditional scrapbooking (however no clutter which makes me very happy!).  Just something to keep in mind.  The embellishments I used to create my calendar I did purchase separately.  Will I make more printables?  Yes I definitely will!

If you are interested in checking out the MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking software for yourself, the company has given me a special code that will give you a $10 discount off the purchase of the MyMemories Suite software plus you also get a $10.00 coupon to use at the MyMemories.com store – a $20.00 value!  The code is STMMMS32191 (copy and paste it to make it easier)

Giveaway:

I also have a copy of the software to giveaway as well.  If you would like the chance to win the MyMemories Suite software simply leave a comment on this post, prior to Monday, February 6th at 6:00 pm PST, telling me whether or not you’ve ever ventured into digital scrapbooking before.

For more info on MyMemories and to be informed of future giveaways you can also follow them here:

Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Good luck everyone!

MyMemories Software Giveaway + free calendar printable! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

It’s that time again where I give a huge shout out to my FANTASTIC sponsors.  Please read below to find out how each of them can assist you on your organizational journey.  I’ve also highlighted any specials, giveaways, promotions, posts, discounts and/or any workshops that may be available to you at this time. Keep reading and you’ll see what I’m talking about, there is something for everyone!!

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I’m happy to welcome back Profitable Organizer to my site. I get many inquiries from people wondering how to go about setting up their own organizing business. Professional Organizer, Cynthia and her helpful husband Adam have designed their business and membership site to help walk you through this process step by step. To find out if this is a path that might be right for you, you can download their free 38 page 2-Week Guide To Generating $50/hr as a Professional Organizer that walks you through what is required and how Profitable Organizer can assist you with setting up your business. Find out more about their membership options, which include videos, forums, sample documents and much much more, here.

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New this month is i Dream of Clean, a blog providing organizing and cleaning tips for the busy mom. Christine is also the author of the ebook, How to Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule available for instant download for $5.99.  For a limited time though you can get a $2 discount at checkout using the code 2offOrgJunkie. How to Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule is a step-by-step guide to create a plan tailor made for you. It includes a master list of every possible cleaning task that came to mind and many of them link back to “how to” posts so you can complete them better and faster. You’ll also get calendar templates available for you to use when creating your schedule.  I also highly recommend Christine’s series titled The Great Paper Purge where she offers terrific information on how to go from piles to *almost* paperless.  You can also find i Dream of Clean on Facebook.

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Get Organized Wizard is a company designed to help you move from procrastination to action. Their programs help busy men and women take action toward a life of greater happiness, productivity and personal organization. Their Organize-In-5 2012 Diary gives you a 5-minute organization task for every day of the year – except Saturdays, when you get a 5-minute relaxation task. They even provide a timer! You’ll tackle home, work, closet, computer, health, finances, time management, relationships, family. The Organize-In-5 2012 Diary is the time-poor, busy person’s solution to an organized life.  One of Michele’s latest programs is called 52 Weight Loss Missions and it has been designed to help you take action and do the things that bring weight-loss success. Forget struggle, perfectionism and willpower. This is a better, saner way.  You can get TWO free sample missions here. You can also find Get Organized Wizard on Twitter and Facebook.

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Start 2012 out right – get access to hundreds of lists & planning pages to help you organize your family, home, time, business, – & life! As a Print Member, View pages you want & Print as often as you like. As a Download Member, Type into a page & Save to your computer. Organize the New Year with these pages: resolution map and planner, goals for this year, exercise and calorie tracker, daily, weekly and monthly planners and to-do lists, meal planning pages, project planning pages and lots more! See for yourself with some examples in their FREE Trial. Also you can find ListPlanIt on Facebook and Twitter.

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In addition to her professional organizing business, Aby Garvey also offers terrific online workshops at simplify 101. For a complete list of all upcoming online classes please visit their workshop catalog. Unsure if an online workshop is right for you? Take a tour of their online workshop system in advance. Their next workshop, Organize Your Paper Clutter begins February 16th.  In this online workshop, you’ll learn how to create effective organizing systems for every kind of paper in your home. Plus, you’ll learn how to apply these same concepts to your papers at work. You’ll eliminate your paper clutter and the stress that comes along with it!  Tackle your paper organizing projects on your time schedule, with the support of a professional organizer and a friendly online community.  You can also find Simplify 101 on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Also new this month is Carmen from Clutterbugs.  Carmen is a Professional Organizer as well as a Virtual Organizer.  She has helped thousands of people from around the world improve their home and life through organization and she can help you too no matter where you reside.  To find out how Carmen can help you de-clutter your space visit here and for help de-cluttering your schedule visit here.  Carmen also offers a FREE video series that reveals how to purify your space and your life, be your most productive self, and find the serenity you seek.  Also find Carmen on Facebook and Twitter.

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I’m also happy to welcome Naked Binder to the blog this month.  Naked Binder makes the highest quality recycled and recyclable eco-friendly office and school supplies on the planet. They have designed their binders to be safer and healthier to make, use and recycle.  Their binders, folders and tabs are all made in the US and don’t include any plastics, vinyls or toxins.  Thumb through their online catalog to see all they have to offer.  Everything about these binders works. Because they last, you have no worries about your papers, or having to get another in a month, or a year, or even 5 years.  Read more on their blog here as well as on Twitter.

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If you would like to consider joining these awesome sponsors and advertising with me, please send an email to orgjunkie (at) hotmail (dot) com and I’d be happy to discuss my rates with you. Please also check out my advertise page for my site statistics. Thanks so much!!

January 2012 Sponsor Spotlight is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Hello friends!  I hope you are all doing well.  I’m a hobbling mess and experiencing shooting pains with a sciatica problem that is acting up big time (one of those things that never went away after pregnancy).  I even had to break the cane out this week as I figured that was less embarrassing than falling down flat on my face.  Anyone have any suggestions for me?  I did go for massage but even that didn’t seem to work this time like it has in the past.  So frustrating.

So how about we get into our menu plan stumbling block right away.  Many people think menu planning is way to rigid an activity for them.  They don’t understand how menu planning can be flexible if necessary.

Stumbling Block: 

Menu planning when things don’t go as planned

First of all it’s totally going to happen, let’s just get that out of the way.  I don’t think anyone who menu plans sticks to it precisely ever single week.  So please don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself veering of course every once and awhile.  After all, that’s the beauty of menu planning!  Menu plans are not meant to make your life more complicated, menu plans are designed to help you simplify life and give you one less thing to think about each day.  If some days you don’t stick to your menu plan exactly, it’s really not the end of the world.

Some of the things that can happen:

• you forgot to thaw the meat
• you end up being busier than expected with less time to cook
• you just didn’t feel like eating what was planned that day
• your husband surprised everyone by taking you out to eat (who’s going to pass that up!)
• friends invited you over for dinner at the last minute
• you decided to let your kids eat potato chips for dinner (and for five minutes I was the best mom in the whole wide world!)

Menu planning allows you to go with the flow, it provides so much more flexibility than people give it credit.

What you can to do to compensate:

• on really busy days switch one day with another simpler day.  You already have the ingredients in the house so flip flopping is easy to do.
• scrap the meal altogether and remind yourself why the next time you create a menu plan….recipe was too complicated, took too much time, etc.  Learn from this experience.
• Move a missed meal to leftover day (to use up ingredients that might spoil) and put any leftovers away in the freezer for the following week.
• Quickly plug the list of ingredients you’d originally planned to use into the advanced search field of your favorite recipe site (mine is Taste of Home) to come up with an alternative meal you think you might enjoy more.
• If ingredients will keep, simply move that recipe to the following week

Don’t sweat it!

So this is the week my 29 Day Organizing Challenge starts.  If you haven’t read about it and think this might be a challenge you are up for, be sure to check out my challenge page by clicking the button below.

Last week I made this Apple Dumplings recipe and I have to tell you that they were absolutely delicious!  I even cut the sugar mixture in half and used the reduced fat croissants (shhh, nobody tell Janelle!) and they were still to die for.  It would make an awesome potluck or company dessert.  Wish I’d remembered to take a picture for you but we ate them too fast :)

Have a great week everyone!

My Menu Plan:

Monday:  Sausage & Peppers with Rotini Pasta

Tuesday:  Skillet Tacos

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken served with rice and broccoli

Thursday:  Leftover buffet

Friday:  Quick Homemade Pizza

Saturday:  Double Chocolate Waffles with Berry Sauce

Sunday:  YOYO (you’re on your own!)

WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?

Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.

More family favorite recipes here.

Menu Plan Monday ~ Jan 30/12 is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

From now on though I’m one cut Laura, dorkiness and all!

So I’d love it if you’d chime in below with any video topics you’d like to see in the future.  I’m going to try to post videos more frequently, maybe.  If you tell me to stick with blogging and forget the videos well then I might do that too.  Want to see more, let me know!  Then let me know what to talk about :)  Gosh I’m bossy aren’t I?  Don’t answer that.

Bye.

PS:  If you can’t see the video in this post, click here.

PPS:  Here’s the link to the Teaching Your Kids to Organize post I referred to.

It’s Time for Another Org Junkie Video is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Last week I wrote a post about my love of purging.  Afterwards I got a sweet email from a reader that I’d like to share with you.

When I was a child (now I’m 58), we didn’t have many toys but my mom was always giving away what we did have to my cousins who had way less than we had.  Clothing, furniture, and toys.  She gave away my Mickey Mouse Farris Wheel.  If you price those today on antique toy sites, they go extremely high prices.  But that’s not really why I wrote.  Both my sister and I have had, over the years, very hard times giving away or getting rid of things as a result of Mom’s wanting to purge our things.  I would caution you or anyone else who makes their children get rid of things.  Sometimes, it causes the opposite result, as those children become adults.  I’m not a hoarder, but I do think I struggle letting go more than if I had been allowed to make more decisions on my own as a child.

It is because of letters like these that I’m such a huge advocate for teaching your children how to organize rather than wait until they are out of the house to do it for them.  Sure you satisfy your need for a cleaner tidier house doing it that way but unfortunately your children are missing out on a very valuable lesson in the process.  I honestly believe that organizing isn’t some magical gene that only a few of us get but rather it’s a skill that anyone can learn.  There are specific steps to the organizing PROCESS that when learned make all the difference to how you view clutter and the power it holds over your life.  Guess what?  The process works for kids too!  Someone just needs to teach them.

Now I get a lot of resistance when I talk crazy like this.  Things like “are you nutso lady my kid won’t part with anything, she’ll want to keep everything” and “I couldn’t possibly let her decide what to keep and what to get rid of because she doesn’t know what’s special and what’s not”.

And so on and son. But the truth is sometimes WE can be our child’s biggest hang up.  Sometimes the roadblock is US.  Oy.

Tell me, are you ready to just grab a garbage bag and head on in to their rooms while their at school to go a little purge crazy?. Not quite so fast. My experience has taught me that the only thing that teaches your children is not to trust you. Let me assure you that the more you involve your children in the process of organizing (and purging!) the more they’ll acquire the necessary skills to make it an ongoing habit that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

I’m currently writing an ebook on this topic because it’s something I’m so passionate about, but in the meantime set aside a couple of hours one day to work with your children armed with the following tips in hand and watch what happens.

First thing you need to do is collect all toys along with all the bits and pieces that belong to the those toys from around the house into one area. Sort everything into piles so that all like toys are together in one pile. Kids love sorting so this step in the process typically goes pretty quickly. The next step which involves letting some of those prize possessions go is a little trickier especially when you are first starting out.

Organizing is about making decisions and the younger children learn to flex this “decision making muscle” the easier it will be for them to execute it on a regular basis. Presenting them with choices is an excellent way to do this.

Here are a few questions to help them decide:

When did you play with this last?

Why is this so important to you?

Rather than this toy sitting here neglected do you think another child might like to play with it now?

Give them a choice between two things and ask them which one is their most favorite? I see you have two stuffed horses, would you like to keep this one or this one?

Or

Your Lego container is full and you don’t have any room to add more. We need to make room in case you get some more for Christmas. Let’s go through the box and decide which ones we can part with so the box isn’t so full.

When you first start out with this process and having them make their own tough choices, you will more than likely be met with resistance. Expect it but stay firm. I promise you this step gets easier and easier with practice. You might not always agree with what they want to keep but remember your favorites don’t need to be their favorites.

You empower them to make these decisions themselves alleviating potential power struggles. It’s your boundaries and limits but their choice what stays and what goes within those boundaries.

Do you struggle with getting your kids to part with their toys? How have you handled it in your house?

PS:  Are you up for a challenge?  Join Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge starting Feb 2012!!!

Teaching Your Kids to Organize is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

For those that aren’t following me on Facebook, you might have missed my exciting announcement about my upcoming 29 Day Organizing Challenge taking place in February!!  It’s going to be awesome and I’m super excited about all the awesome sponsors that are coming on board to provide AMAZING prizes for the winners (to be announced soon!).  Time to start thinking about which room you’d like to work on.  More in depth details can be found on the Challenge tab at the top of my site.  Check it out!!

You don’t want to miss this!!

29 Day Organizing Challenge Coming Soon! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Last year I did a giveaway for an awesome fridge menu planner made out of vinyl.  It was really popular and I knew that I had to find a way to bring it into my shop.  I’m so excited to tell you that today is the day!!  You put the planner on your fridge and use a dry-erase marker to write your menu right on your fridge.  It’s available in two sizes for you:

• Small Vinyl Menu Planner (12″ x 17″)
• Large Vinyl Menu Planner ( 24″ x 35″)

There are only a limited number of quantities available so don’t wait if you are interested.  To check it out please visit my shop here.  You’ll need to log in/sign up to view this weekly deal.  Please note that Opensky at this time only ships to US addresses.

Also did you know you can earn Opensky credits by inviting your friends to join Opensky?  These credits can be applied towards future purchases.  Once you log in you’ll find more information about it and get your special referral link at the top of your Opensky page.

My friend Toni from A Bowl Full of Lemons is a big fan of Opensky and has purchased a number of things from my shop.  She then tells her friends about it and earns shop credit when someone buys using her link.  In fact the other day she was so happy with the over the door organizer she bought from me that she even blogged about it.  I got so excited when I saw it because it’s also one of my favorite products too!  She even said it would be okay if I shared one of her pictures to show how she’s using it for organizing school supplies in her home.

Love that!  Go check out her site to see many more pictures of her set up and how she organized everything so beautifully!

Vinyl Fridge Menu Planner On Sale Now! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Happy Monday everyone!  Glad to see you are back for another organized week!  I’m so sorry if you are experiencing errors when you visit on Mondays.  Sometimes with everyone trying to get on the site at once it acts up.  I’m going to be upgrading servers as soon as I figure it all out.  Thanks for your patience!

If you are looking for a yummy dessert sometime soon, I highly recommend this Cinnamon Roll Cake.  I made it for church potluck yesterday and it was so good!

Another recipe I tried last week was this one for Classic Orange Julius, I couldn’t resist.  Go check it out and I dare ya not to want to make it right away :)

Stumbling Block:

Menu planning when you have picky eaters:

I’ve heard this one many times from readers.  They spend time making dinner that everyone then complains about eating.  That is frustrating for sure.  The last thing we want to do though is operate a restaurant style kitchen.  It’s hard enough to get one meal on the table never mind four or five.  The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten to this regard was from a book by Ellyn Satter called How to Get Your Kid to Eat: But Not Too Much.  Her golden rule is this: parents are responsible for what is presented to eat and the manner in which it is presented. Children are responsible for how much or even whether they eat.  Of course this sounds easier said than done I know but following her advice worked really well for us.  My youngest (6) is my pickiest but he finally understands that their will be no substitutions.  I think this is why leftover night is so important to him.  He calls it “picking night” and he loves to be able to pick and choose for himself his favorites from the leftovers.  He really looks forward to this night and makes the other nights he doesn’t get to choose a little more bearable.  In the latest issue of Today’s Parent they also suggest, in addition to the above golden rule, the following tips:

• offer two choices: one familiar, one new, in small portions
• play with presentation (although I’m not a big fan of this one)
• don’t worry your child won’t starve.  Even one bite (or a lick) of a new food is a start and maybe the next day it will be two or even more

The one other thing I want to recommend to you, especially in the case of a picky husband, is to get your family involved in the weekly menu planning as much as possible.  Sit down as a family and let them be a part of selecting menus and recipes.  I do this with my husband each week myself and sometimes he has no suggestions and other times he really has a craving for something that he’d like me to make for him (like this week and beef stew!).  Another tip that might help is to simply select 5 recipes for the week but don’t assign them to a particular night until the morning of any given day.  That way your family can decide based on what they feel like eating that day rather than it be pre-determined.  Also get your kids involved in the prepping of meals.  It helps reduce your workload and also gets them more excited about what they are eating.

Additional Resources:

The Science of Picky Eating and a podcast ~ @ Meal Makeover Moms

Picky Eating Series ~ @ Raise Healthy Eaters

Anyway hope that helps a little.  Feel free to add what works for you in the comments!

My Menu Plan:

Monday:  All-in-One Pork Chop Bake served with broccoli

Tuesday:  Thai Chicken Pasta served with spinach salad

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Beef Stew served with bread machine Buttermilk Wheat Bread

Thursday:  Leftover buffet

Friday:  Bacon Cheddar Quesadillas

Saturday:  Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

Simple Supper Sunday

WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?

Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.

More family favorite recipes here.

Have a great week everyone!

Menu Plan Monday ~ Jan 23/12 – menu planning with picky eaters is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie