Day 134: Hedgehogs in the Dryer?

My husband knows me too well....  I am quite a sucker for cute gadgets and cute animals.  So, when I spotted dryer balls that looked like little, white hedgehogs, I was hooked.  I pointed them out to my husband, who kind of shrugged it off.  SO, I was completely surprised - and delighted - when I received said hedgehogs as a Valentine's Day gift!  (Aren't they CUTE?!?!)

I have been using dryer balls for about 3 years now, and I really can tell a difference.  Our clothes dry much faster with dryer balls tumbling around, separating the damp items with their little "fingers."  They seem to reduce static and soften the fabrics, as well.  (I have gone through two sets of dryer balls.  The little nubs wear down after a while, so be sure to replace them to get the full effect!)
I've been quite happy with cutting down on drying time (and expense to run the dryer!)... and NOW, I am even happier when I get our clean, dry clothes, and little hedgehogs come tumbling out or little hedgehog eyes are peeping out at me through the clothing.
OK, you can say, "simple minds, simple pleasures," if you'd like.  I won't take offense.  I think my new hedgehog dryer balls are very useful... and so darn cute!


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 133: Clever containers for the pantry

Like many households, we have lots of little, random things floating around in our pantry.  Actually, they don't float at all, but they do fall down between the wire shelves, get stuck behind (or under) other stored food items or get completely lost and forgotten somewhere in the spaces we can never see - or reach.  For those pesky little things, little things like seasoning mixes, soup packets, drink mixes and other pouches, snacks or small bags of things, I have found that Clever Container's containers are quite a clever solution!

I recently purchased 2 of these little cabinet organizers and put them to immediate use.  Now my pesky pouches and packets are well behaved... and easy to find.  AND... since they are all rounded up and in clear view, it makes it easier for me to see what I have... and what quick meal or snack I can whip up for kids or company!

 

  

Now, THAT's neat!

 

Day 132: The Dreaded Kitchen Drop-Off

You know that little space in your kitchen... the one that gets trashed by everything as soon as anyone comes home?!?!  Yes, THAT one.  No matter what you do to keep it clean, neat and orderly, somehow, candy wrappers, school papers, junk mail, bills, magazines, socks, jackets, toys and other odds and ends end up here.  Well... one solution is to just trash everything!  And believe me, I have been tempted to do this, MANY times! :)

The other option is to create a little "command center."  If you have time (and energy... and gumption), you can purchase a nice, organizational wall hanger or box... hey, even a file holder works to sort through papers, and they have some decorative ones or fun ones to fit your decor!

Another simple, quick method to get those papers to cooperate is to get some clothespins, write some helpful labels on them, and just pinch all that stuff together until you have a moment to look through and sort everything!

AND... of course, y'all know I love baskets and bins.  But a few, and throw things in there so they are out of site but still easily accessible!

Finally, purchase some fun, useful dry erase or chalk panels so you can keep track of menus, phone numbers, to-do lists, appointments and events and still have room to write down a motivational quote or an "I love you because..."  Uppercase Living offers so many wonderful options.  Click HERE to see them, and order anytime, online!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 131: Oh yes... I did

I am somewhat of a sucker when it comes to fun, new cleaning/organizing products.... and as I was tootling around the other day on an online shopping website, I stumbled across something neat: the "Slipper Genie." 
These soft, colorful, fuzzy slippers are a neat freak's dream come true!  Whenever my feet are cold, or whenever the floor has that not-been-mopped-lately look, I can slip these on (with a pair of socks if it's REALLY cold) and zip across the hardwood floors (or tile) in my home (and get a little exercise, too)!  As you can see, the bottoms of these clever foot covers are fluffy cleaning "fingers" that can grab dog fur and swipe up dirt and dust bunnies... while I am busy cleaning or organizing other things.  Talk about multi-tasking! 

My daughter thinks these slippers are pretty fun, so I might have to buy her a pair, too.  (YES - dual cleaning action... or is that quadruple, since there are four feet involved?!?!!)  AND... since my little boy likes to copy just about everything his big sister does, I may end up with 3 of us, slip-sliding our way around the house.... all while banishing crumbs, hair and particles!  YES - there are kid versions... adn they are super cute! (Oh, and the good thing is, the bottoms of these "mop flops" can velcro off, so you can toss them in the wash when you've been too busy cleaning floors!)
















Now, THAT's neat!

Day 130: Bread ties - who knew??!

Plastic things.  You know, the ones you find on bread bags?  Some people call them "bread ties;" most people call them annoying!  Every time you take one off to get a slice of bread, it disappears, and you end up just twisting the end of the bread bag and tucking it in on itself instead!  I'm sure we have all misplaced many of these plastic bread ties or have just thrown them in the trash without a second thought.  Until now....

Anyone else ever get mad at the tape roll (and at whoever used it last without folding a piece down)?  Sometimes you turn that sticky roll over and over and over again for who knows how long, not able to locate that darn end.  And when you finally do find the end, you can't get the tape to unstick from itself, or the tape rips off into little shreds, and you end up wasting about 2 feet in the struggle!

Well... think back to the aforementioned bread ties.  Yep; those little plastic annoyances can become useful tools... in a whole new way!  Ready for this little tip from the neat freak cheat sheet? Just stick one of these bread ties (or two, if the tape is wide) on the end of the tape roll, and you have an automatic saver... and an instant starter for next time!

BRILLIANT!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 129: Jewelry Jumble... no more!

You may remember a while back when I posted about a truly unusual - and VERY neat - little black dress.... a little black dress that's actually an organizer for jewelry! Well... I couldn't resist this adorable doo-dad.  I put it on my "wish list," and my wonderful hubby bought it for my birthday!

Following is the saga of getting all my jewelry - and the jumbled, annoying heap of boxes and bags it had become - into tip-top shape and ready for my new, little black dress!

First and foremost, here is the jewelry holder I was using.  I was on the right track, with a convenient, hanging organizer on the back of my closet door... BUT this two-sided, pocket-loaded item did not have specific places for bracelets or necklaces.  So, most of those bulkier items stayed in their boxes... and ended up in my sweater organizer!

I don't have a jewelry box, so the sweater organizer was the next best place.  Everything was together... but everything was a mess.  Any time I got any new jewelry, I just piled it on top of the other stuff!  So, it looked like THIS!. :(

The next step was to take everything out of the sweater organizer and spread it out on the bed.  Here is the mass of boxes and bags.  Goodness!  What a disaster!  (And quite an embarrassment for a neat freak!) There was stuff in there that I hadn't seen in years... it was just too buried underneath all the other jewelry boxes!

I sorted through everything and tried to put items in places where they would be convenient and neat and where they would make sense to me... with "popular" earrings and necklaces near the top and less-often-used or larger items near the bottom. 

I worked this method the same way on the flip side of the dress for all my necklaces and bracelets, and I tried to keep sets close together, as well!  Everything looks super cute and super organized now!  I just need to put it in my closet.  (BTW: I did keep the other organizer with some other jewelry items in it; I just placed the organizer behind my clothes instead of on the door!)


I only had a few boxes and random items left over from the massive clean-up, and those went back into the sweater organizer.  And one important item I kept here, mostly for convenience, is my watch.  You can see it there on the bottom left.  I wear it every day, and it was just easier to have it here!  I can slip it on while I gaze at my lovely, little black dress of bobbles and bangles! ;)



Now, THAT's neat!

Day 128: Beautiful, neat fridge

Ok... so I have talked about cleaning BEHIND and UNDER the refrigerator before, but beyond throwing away anything green or growing, I have not addressed cleaning INSIDE it.  Of course, as a neat freak, I am always cleaning up crumbs and spills with cleaning wipes.  But, this time around, I decided to remove EVERYTHING... and get this darn ice box in order!

You can see in this photo that the spills and stains weren't terrible... but they were still there!  Gross!  And these goops and blobs, of course, can cause your fridge to smell a little funky.  (I'm just glad I decided to do this before grocery shopping!  The fridge was already a bit packed, and there was food spread out all over my kitchen counters!)  Once all the food items were out, I removed all the trays and drawers, washed them and wiped them down with cleaning wipes.  Ah, fresh, lemony clean!

OK.... I'll admit it.  I sort of had ulterior motives with this whole fridge clean-out thing! About a month ago, I spotted yet another neat product that I knew I had to try: Fridge Coasters.   What the heck is a fridge coaster, you may ask?  Well, simply put, it's a decorative, absorbent cardboard-thick liner that goes in your refrigerator!  There are super-cute patterns and colors (gray, blue, pink and yellow) and different sizes for different needs, but I knew I wanted gray and a mix of patterns.  (Hey all these patterns are so IN right now!) I was extremely fortunate to receive a "fridge pack" from Fridge Coasters.... BUT, my hubby knew I had been talking about these handy things, and he gave me a "fridge pack" as a birthday present!  YAY!  TWO whole fridge packs were just enough for me to cover every space!  All I did was line up the coaster with my shelves and drawers and figure out how to size them.  I removed some perforated pieces, and I cut down some others.  It's super easy.  No real thinking involved! :)

These photos show how incredibly cute -and neat - my super-clean refrigerator door turned out, with my gray fridge coasters dressing up a once all-white, dull bunch of bins, and how dapper and tidy the drawers and shelves look!  I love it... almost enough to NOT return the food....  Hmmmmmm.

Since a refrigerator with no food makes no sense, I went ahead and reloaded my food items (sans a few expired or unneeded things), and now we can enjoy a clean, organized fridge that stores food... in style!

Now, THAT's neat!

NOTE: Fridge Coasters supplied me with one pack of "fridge coasters," but they did not pay me to say any of the above.  Those are all my thoughts!