Day 45: My Organized Hubby?

Wow! I'm not sure how this happened -- perhaps the neatness is finally rubbing off?!?! -- but my husband has done something pretty clever to straighten up his work truck!

Now, I've tried in the past to help him out by purchasing several neat items for his vehicle (like a small trash can, a window visor organizer, etc., etc.), but nothing seemed to work for him. The organizational items would be there... no doubt. But they would not be in use. See... that's kind of a necessity. If you want your organizational helpers to help you out, you have to actually USE them! ;)

ANYWAY, he kind of surprised me the other day when I peeked in his truck and spotted a very neat tool sitting by the driver's seat.


It's a handy dandy, sturdy car organizer with LOTS of compartments and pockets. So he can now store his work invoices, checks, pens, business cards, phone and various safety items, like glasses, hats, earplugs, etc., etc. He's already mentioned how nice it is to not have to tear around through the front seat in a mad frenzy, trying to locate needed items.... Go figure!



It's FABULOUS! I am so proud!!!


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 44: Haphazard Coupons, NO More!

If y'all did not already know, I am a BIG fan of Etsy (the website with TONS of handmade goods and products). I look through this site practically everyday, and I am never disappointed! I am ALWAYS finding such neat and clever things!

One of the items I stumbled across the other day was a coupon organizer. Now, when I was a kid, I was constantly cutting out and organizing coupons for my mom. I thought it was fun! She had a coupon organizer, but it was a boring, tan-colored, velcro-close thing. It was handy for holding coupons, but that was about it.

And I had not really thought about coupon organizers until I saw this item on Etsy in a "store" called "Grandma's Little Lilly."


At first, I just put this little cutie in my "favorites." But then, as I looked at the growing mess of coupons, savings cards, restaurant freebies and other items, I figured I should go ahead and invest in a handy little item to tidy up my purse... and to organize all my coupons (so I could actually use them!)!

So.... here is the organizer I bought. It's such a cute fabric, and it came with little tabs and labels for just about anything you could imagine!


And here it is with my coupons, all in alphabetical order!

Now my purse is clutter free, and I can find what I'm looking for when I'm at my favorite grocery store or restaurant!

Oh, and as an added bonus, the organizer has a button-closure, so you can actually attach it to your shopping cart for extra ease of use! Here is a photo I "borrowed" from Rhonda's Etsy shop to show you its usefulness!



Now, THAT's neat!


BTW: To get to Grandma's Little Lilly and check out the coupon organizers and other neat stuff in this Etsy store, just click here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/grandmaslittlelilly
(These are great for YOU and make super gifts, too!)

Day 43: The Copycat Strikes Again!

My loyal "Neat Get Neater" blog follower (and sister-in-law... and perhaps soon-to-be-self-proclaimed "neat freak"?!?!) has done it again! Inspired by a post on organizing bathroom drawers, she went straight to work on her OWN!

She states: "...after I saw your blog I thought MAN I REALLY need to tidy [the bathroom drawers] up...so last night I did just that. I found all these great drawer organizers at Target and I went to town."

So, for a little inspiration for the rest of y'all out there in bloggy world who have yet to organize your untidy bathroom drawers, here are her BEFORE and AFTER shots!


Great use of all those containers! Amazing how neat and tidy everything gets! :) (Neat freaks everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief!)



No more rummaging for stuff! LOVE it! :) (More collective sighs from the neat freaks!)


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 42: Forget About the TOP of The Fridge...

...have you seen what's underneath and behind the refrigerator!? EEEwwwww!

I was recently inspired to clean behind -- and under -- our refrigerator after seeing a little tip in the May edition of Real Simple magazine on this dirty (but necessary) job (see pg. 209)! So, if you have at least an extra 15 minutes, then this might be a nice thing to tackle (it not only helps keep things clean and dust-free, it can help keep your refrigerator in shape, too!).

*BTW -- it's recommended to do this at least twice a year! OOOPS! How about once every 3 years.... since that's how long we've been in this house!

So.... here is what I discovered when I gently wiggled my fridge back and forth out of its little spot in our kitchen. YUCK!

(NOTE: Real Simple warns you to unplug the appliance and be very cautious not to disturb the water hose, if you have an ice maker!)

Then I grabbed my Swiffer and mopped up all the loose dirt and grime. I then used a damp cloth to finish cleaning the floor and the back, sides and top of the fridge. You can use a brush attachment on your vacuum to get a really good clean (or to help clean a really big mess). I did not take this extra step today since the Swiffer caught just about everything! Also, I did not unscrew the back plate to get to the refrigerator coils. I did, however, clean out the plate and wipe off all the debris. (Apparently there is a special tool called a "refrigerator-coil brush" just for cleaning the coils on your fridge. But I don't happen to have one of these.... do you!?!?!)


The hardwood floor looked pretty good when I was done, so I did not have to take any extra steps to de-gum it! But if your floor looks bad, Real Simple suggests a solution of 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1/2 gallon warm water for most surfaces (but NOT for tile or stone).

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 41: The Even NEATER Pantry

My kitchen pantry was already pretty neat from the get-go... I mean, I already keep all the "like items" together, and I sort things by size and/or by shape.

NO, I do NOT alphabetize, but that would be cool! But I do keep things in order. For instance, cereals on the top shelf; pasta, rice, noodles and side items on the next shelf (along with baby formula); chips, crackers and snacks on shelf 3; cookies, fruits snacks and sweets on shelf 4; and canned goods (stacked and sorted, of course) and baking goods on the bottom. More or less, anyway! :) There are always a few odds and ends that either won't fit on the proper shelf or don't really have a home that makes sense.


AT ANY RATE, I wanted to get my pantry even more organized and get the food items out of those boxes that never stay fresh. Too, I was tired of using up all my ziplock bags to store food, SO that's where the rest of my recent Tupperware order comes in!


I purchased 2 cereal storage containers (Super Cereal Storer)and a pantry set (Modular Mates Super Set) and put cookies, chips, baby formula, PopTarts, cereal... and more in nice, neat containers! Now the food items are even more easy to spot, they stack neatly, AND they will stay fresher... longer!

Ta-Da!



* And YES, just so you know, I probably WOULD buy a container for everything... if I could! And, NO, Tupperware did NOT ask me to write this post, pay me to do anything or send me free product. But I would welcome it. Tupperware is GREAT! :)


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 40: And Speaking of Plastic Containers....

Neat freak cheat sheet alert!!!!

Here's a little tip I learned for keeping your nice plastic food containers from getting stained (ah, tomato sauce....):

Spray a little non-stick cooking spray inside and on the lid each time BEFORE you put the food in the container!

(OR... use glass or ceramic containers for ALL your tomato-based foods...)


And if you have some containers that are already stained, you have 4 options:

1. Throw them away and buy some new ones.
2. Get used to the new color.
3. Fill the container with hot water and drop in a couple of denture tablets. Leave it for a few hours, and when you come back, the stains will hopefully be removed.
4. Try soaking the container in 1 part bleach to 2 parts of water. (Just be sure to thoroughly rinse the containers afterward and run it through in the microwave before using again!)
   

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 39: The Plastic Container That Broke The Husband's Back

You know, I was thinking: as neat as I am, you may have thought that I would've had the whole plastic storage container thing in perfect working order by now. After all, I am -- uh.... over 30 and have been using my own storage units for many, many years.

Alas, the plastic containers in my house were about to drive us all crazy. Granted, I did take the time to reorganize the lids. That worked out great. The ongoing problem was the containers themselves. Some were warped. Some were permanently stained. Some were missing their lids altogether, but they would creep back into the storage-container rotation somehow, and my husband and I would sigh in frustration after searching high and low for a lid that fit, finally giving up and ripping off a piece of aluminum foil to finish the job.

Here is a picture of the leaning tower of plastic containers (mostly the "throw-away" kind) in my cabinet. (I'll admit: it's not that messy. But it was definitely not worth the effort to dig through!)


And here is the chaos spread all over the kitchen counter.

For a neat freak (and even for the not-so-neat husband), this was simply unacceptable.

My solution? Tupperware.

That's right: Tupperware, the world-renowned, tried-and-true storage containers of the gods! :) Ha-ha!

When I discovered that my sister-in-law's boyfriend's grandmother (did you follow that?) was a Tupperware consultant, I knew my salvation was near! Even my hubby agreed. And he set the budget pretty high for us to get an ENTIRE new cabinet FULL of brand new, non-warped, color-coded, matching containers, bowls, cups... and more!

Here is the empty cabinet (lined with rubbery lining stuff, of course)... a blank slate!



Here are just some of the great things I got....




And here is the newly filled "Tupperware cabinet!"


I also purchased a set of containers that will help me reorganize my pantry. But that's a post for another day. Be looking for it soon! :)


Now, THAT's neat!