Getting organized 2016 - Organizing papers, office supplies, etc.

I'm still decluttering!   This week I am showing our office supplies and filing system.  We don't really have room for a desk or an office, so these things are tucked into a corner of our bedroom and in a drawer of the china cabinet.

Here are before and after pictures of this little corner of our bedroom where there were the leftovers of a past attempt at getting files and papers organized.  Not sure what happened there, but in the next picture, its much better.

I moved this wooden file cabinet out of my hubby's side of the bedroom closet and started going through several plastic totes and boxes that contain this type of thing.  I still need to work on the inside of that filing cabinet though!  The filing cabinet contains files such as birth certificates, homeowners and car insurance policies, car titles, etc.   The plastic file box on top contains past years' tax return information and more.  In the front is a file for putting the 1099s, W-2s and receipts needed to do our 2015 taxes.  I plan to put these things in that file as they come in the mail.

We had pens, pencils, notepads, paper clips, staples, envelopes and you name it, all over the place.  I gathered them from all the places they had accumulated and put them into this one drawer in the china cabinet.  It will be so nice to know where a pen and pad are the next time I want to make a grocery list.   Believe it or not, even though we have so many, I couldn't find one some times. 

Look how many rolls of tape I found!  I was always afraid I wouldn't have enough, so I would pick up a couple of rolls all along.  I didn't realize I had such a stash.  I can skip buying any tape for quite a while I think!

I took some before pictures of our bedroom closet and am shocked at how bad my side has gotten!  I'll post those along with the after pictures later, maybe next week.   Be prepared - those before pictures are bad!

The Polyester Dresses

In my New Years decluttering work, I came across these polyester dresses that my Mama made for me when I was about 12 to 14 years old.  They ended up at my house after I found them in the attic at her house after she died.  I only kept them this long because she made them.  To me, when something is handmade for you, that's special.

 These dresses were really cute at the time, which was the early 1970s! I remember helping her pick out the fabrics at a small fabric shop near where we lived.  Everything in the store was polyester!

But, in the end, I decided to keep only two of the ones I could remember wearing. 

Before and After Christmas Organization

Here are a few "before" and "after" pictures of my 2015 Christmas Organization/Declutter session.  As you can see in these "before" pictures, it was pretty messy.  Lots of cardboard boxes and lots of plastic totes that I wasn't even sure of the contents. 

In the "after" pictures, you will probably think it doesn't look much different!  But, I got rid of the cardboard boxes and lots of junk.  I now know what's in the boxes and only kept the "good" stuff.  I have to admit that after I put the boxes of stuff in the car that I was going to donate, I had second thoughts and went back and retrieved some of it.  Why does "stuff" have such a hold on me?  I don't know.  But I am proud of what I accomplished anyway.

I also organized my wrapping supplies that didn't include Christmas.  Now all the gift bags that I am reusing, ribbons and wrapping paper are all together in an easily accessible place.

Here's a list of some of the things I got rid of:

1.  Ugly, ragged gift bags
2.  Pieces of left over wrapping paper, some was wrinkled.
3.  Left over tissue paper that was VERY wrinkled and messy looking
4.  Mashed bows
5.  Several pairs of new with tags Christmas socks from the Dollar store.  I had planned to make some kind of craft with these, but it never happened.
6.  Broken, ugly ornaments that had no sentimental value
7.  Candles and plug in type fragrance things that I didn't use or like
8.  Boxes.  Had too many of those saved for future use.  I can only use so many!
9.  Christmas lights that don't work any more.
10.  Old, faded Christmas dish towels or some that I don't like. I bought some new ones this year.
11.  Polyester Cloth napkins that I didn't like and never used.

One thing I did that I am so happy to have done:  Instead of all the ornaments being pretty much thrown into one big plastic tote, I organized them into categories.  Each of my children's childhood ornaments are now in a smaller box by themselves.  The ornaments that go on a particular tree are in individual containers or zip lock bags.  Next year it will be so much easier to decorate for Christmas.

Its also nice to have things in smaller plastic containers by themselves.  For instance, if I want to make a Christmas wreath next year, I can just pull out the box with the ribbons, etc in it.  If I want to get out the Christmas dishtowels, pot holders, runners, napkins, mugs and coasters , they are in a plastic container by themselves.

I'm also glad that my wrapping supplies are not so messy!  

This closet is not a big one, but its perfect for storing our Christmas stuff.!

A Sunday Nugget

Year End Decluttering and Farmhouse Gardening Magic

Happy New Year! I've already started decluttering! I also have some miniature yellow roses that are blooming due to our unusually warm weather. So this post has some decluttering ideas, as well as some pictures of our Christmas roses.

I included a Christmas tree in the background for future proof that the roses were blooming on Christmas.

When we put away the holiday decorations this year and any new gifts, it seems like the perfect time to get started on getting organized and doing some decluttering for 2016.

HERE is a great article on doing just that.  This gives me some ideas for getting some things done and also some motivation.

For speed decluttering, HERE'S another great one.

Here's what I have in mind for my home:

1.  I'll be going through the Christmas closet where I store gift wrap, Christmas decorations, gift bags and boxes.  I'll be throwing away any unused, unloved items.  Some things stay in there year after year, never being used.  They need to go!

Is it a bad idea to donate Christmas decorations after Christmas is over since there is no demand at that time? I have heard that Goodwill has room to store them until next year, but I'm not sure about my small home town thrift store. 

2.  I have several boxes of all sizes that internet orders came in.  I always like to hold on to these a while in case I need to return something.  I could make a goal to fill all of them with items from all over the house to be donated before the end of the year.

3.  For every one new item that comes into the house, get rid of at least two.  That would include new gifts.  I received one new item of clothing, so two need to go out.  I received a new cookbook, so 2 need to go out. And so on.

4.  Set a timer for thirty minutes, or 15 minutes, and declutter as fast as I can, filling up the boxes mentiooned up above in number 2.

I hope your New Years Day and the entire year of 2016 is great!  I'll be back next week with some pictures of my Christmas decluttering.

Merry Christmas and Blog Plans for 2016!

Please join me in 2016 on my blog, where I plan lots of posts about getting organized, decluttering, and motivation for getting our homes under control.  I am tired of feeling overwhelmed by it all, how about you?

Also there will be more Trim Healthy Mama Posts, which I hope will be helpful to you, and will help me to stay motivated.  I do not want to gain the weight I have lost back in 2016.

I am planning on lots of POSITIVE THINKING.  So, lets make 2016 the best year ever! 

Meanwhile, I am wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!  Here are a  few pictures from around our home, past and present.

Thursday's Trim Healthy Mama Tidbit

I'm always on the look out for easy and healthy side dishes that aren't too fattening!  I really need to limit many of the normal "easy" ones, like baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese, other pastas and bread.

I've already done a post about one that we like and eat often: Cheesy California Blend Vegetables HERE.

Another one we like is Three Bean Salad.  I remember this as being really popular in the past and really the only change to make it Trim Healthy Mama approved is to substitute Stevia sweetener for the sugar.

Here's how I make it.:

Drain a can of green beans and a can of wax beans. 

Drain a can of Great Northern Beans and rinse in a colander.  I like white beans, but kidney beans would work great if you like them better.

Combine in a bowl that has a lid the following:  All three of the cans of beans, about 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, about three tablespoons of Stevia sweetener, about a tablespoon of finely diced onion, and a shake or two of celery seed.

Don't you love how all my ingredients are in estimates of "about" this or that?  The reason for that is that you can put the amount that suits your taste.  Also, look up other Three Bean Salad recipes and make it the way you like it.  Just use Stevia instead of sugar and you are good to go!

 
Stir the ingredients up and then cover and refrigerate. I like to put mine in this Tupperware bowl that has a tightly fitting seal, so I can turn it upside down and shake it to make sure everything is mixed up well.

The great thing about this dish, besides it being good for weight loss and being healthy, is that it keeps in the refrigerator all week and anyone who wants a little side dish can take out what they want.

As I've said in the past, the Walmart brand Stevia isn't strictly on the plan because it contains a couple of extra ingredients.  I didn't realize this until I'd been buying them for several months and since I successfully lost weight white using it, I'm not too worried about it!  We are currently well stocked up with it, but when this is gone, I will investigate other options.

The lasagna noodles behind the Stevia have been there for months!  I haven't eaten any lasagna for quite a while!

If you are interested in the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle,  HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

A Little Christmas Wreath DIY

Several years ago I made lots of grapevine wreaths.  Since then, I have used them year round, by just changing out the decorations and bows. 

This is the way I decorated one of them for Christmas last year.  I still like it, but it didn't show up too well on our front door, which is painted brown.

So I took off the decorations and using a cheap can of spray paint from Dollar General, I painted it white.

Then I used several rolls of Christmas ribbon that I also bought at Dollar General, along with some of the same decorations and some red shiny balls to decorate the wreath like this.

I'm a little rusty at making bows! I regret not buying nicer ribbon, but it is what it is.  In about three weeks, I'll be taking it down.  Maybe I can find some nicer ribbon on sale after Christmas for use next year!

This is a tutorial that I used for inspiration to make these bows:  SOUTHERN CHARMS WREATHS.

And I also LOVE this wreath HERE.

Maybe I can make a new wreath for Spring along those lines.

Thursday's Trim Healthy Mama Tidbit

One of the recipes that we have enjoyed from the original Trim Healthy Mama Book is the Pizza Casserole.  

Basically this recipe includes all the usual pizza ingredients, except the crust.  Not shown in the picture is the browned hamburger that I used.  Just layer what ever ingredients you like and bake!  I usually start with the hamburger, then the pizza sauce, mushrooms/onion/bell pepper/whatever you like, followed by the cheese and last would be the pepperoni.  There are usually two layers.

For those family members who want their crust, I would suggest serving some garlic bread or french bread with it.  A nice green salad would also be great with it.

Starting to do the layers in this picture.

I think I baked mine for about 30 minutes on 350 and then turned the oven up to 400 for the last 10 minutes to brown the top better.

Ready to go in the oven.

Brown and yummy!

Moments away from my mouth!

If you are interested in the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle,  HERE is a link to the original Trim Healthy Mama book and the two new books are HERE and HERE.

Our Pantry - Sweet Potatoes

These are some sweet potatoes that we picked up in the field behind our house after the harvesters had finished. 

This picture shows how large the field is.

Here is a picture of some of the sweet potatoes that were not deemed good enough and were left behind.  There's nothing wrong with them, except they aren't the perfect size and therefore would not sell well at the grocery store. 

The field is covered in piles of these imperfect sweet potatoes.  They will soon be disced up and will become part of the soil again.  I have noticed many fields in the area that have lots of potatoes left behind.

We probably should have picked up lots more for the pantry.  Sweet potatoes keep well, they are a healthy carb and are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan as an "E" meal.

Its that time of year when I feel the need to stock the pantry for winter.  Thank goodness we can go to the grocery store any time we want.  We are so blessed.