‘more room’ is the name, organization’s the game

I took the opportunity to re-organize some things while unpacking at the new house. I at least took the chance to make a list of things that needed to be done. Since I’m not quite ready to share pictures of our new house in all its glory – I thought that I would share two little things that I’ve been working on in the mean time. Two bits of organization that make life in our home so, so much better.

This is our mud room. Okay. It isn’t really intented to be a mud room. But I’ve always wanted one, so that’s what we call it. This is the room adjacent to our kitchen – those fab shelves were existing. Our back door is here – the one that we use the most – and we have some shelves and baskets on the other side of the room where we keep shoes, strollers, outside toys and all our bags (diaper bag, camera bag, school bag, church bag, etc.). When we moved in, I had no idea what I would use these shelves for. It wasn’t until I realized how completely wacky the kitchen cabinets were, that inspiration struck. So … welcome to my makeshift pantry. My favorite things? My pasta jars, of course. Love those straight lines. I also use this extra shelving for all of our music (sheet music, music books, guitar tabs, etc.), Brian’s old school books, cook books, etc.. My coupon box is here, along with our ‘calendar slot box’ where we keep bills to be paid, etc.. On the other side of this built-in unit is my craft room – which, of course, is so not ready for sharing.

These are a portion of Brian and Ammon’s Transformers. Each Transformer has its own box – and there are at least four boxes in each of these bins. This is a hobby that the boys share ... sans me. I have learned the names of all of these ‘robots in disguise’ – and even learned to ‘fix’ a few of them after they have been stepped on. However, lots of them have multiple pieces once you figure in all the weapons, missiles, boosters, energon stars, etc.. I got tired of wasting limited time trying to figure out who went with whom ... after I unearth the bits from the bottom of my foot. So – for Happy Home Feeling (or Family Home Evening) a couple of weeks ago, Brian and I sat down and went through each of these babies – one by one – and I typed up their names, models (Generation 1, 1st movie, 2nd movie, etc.) and what extra somethings that they have. I added their ‘symbol’ – either Autobot or Decepticon – and printed them up on clear labels. I try to keep the boxes in some type of order in the bins – but that’s a little less realistic. We try to keep all the Autobot Aerialbots and Decepticon Constructicons together at least, because they are all part of a set. But, whatever order they're in – unsurprisingly – my boys are more than satisfied.

Voilà. Craziness managed. On to the next.