Organizing for zero dollars

I've been trying hard to use what I have on hand and not buy a bunch of stuff... it's working out pretty well but mainly because it is so hard to get out with two kids to look at stuff... Winning : ) 

A friend was mentioning that she wanted chalkboard labels for her pantry and I had a duh! moment-- as in I had been wanting to label my pantry too, I also like chalkboard labels and had already made some for Micah's room... so why not my pantry?! 

Sometimes I am very slow. I still had a large roll of chalkboard vinyl from my stairs project so I put my sorely underused silhouette to work. I really need to use it more often!

 So my pantry went from this

 To this

 and Mom's went from this

 To this

Yes we use a LOT of pasta- which reminds me we still haven't told you about our new favorite recipe....  

Also while I am remembering I think I also forgot to tell you guys that I came up with the best pantry organization solution ever! And it's cheap! I once had my entire craft room organized with the plastic shoe tubs and as my supplies grew the boxes no longer organized everything well so I had a ton of them and no where to use them... until it hit me, they fit my pantry shelves PERFECTLY, seriously people! and they use up almost every bit of space on the shelf and are super easy to stack. So I organized Mum's pantry too... of course she didn't know where anything was because she was at work so I am not altogether sure it was appreciated- but I then labeled it for her ( a year later and also while she was at work... haha) Is it mean that I am waiting for her to notice to see what else she wants labeled? She's seen my pantry but I am pretty sure she hasn't looked up in hers! Does the meanness outweigh the help?!
Mum here - The help totally outweighs the meanness. If you hadn't posted this and I hadn't decided to read it before it went live, I'd have found out you labeled my pantry while I was at work. This way was more fun. I seriously looked at the picture and thought you'd photo shopped the labels on. Yes, I'm short. No, I never look up (except when Micah and I are looking at birds and planes). Yes, I love my labels.

Micah is allergic to Peanuts... so we now have our own snack jars (or I just don't want to share!)

 This next project was free because mom had the supplies laying around and she was nice enough to give them to me.

This is the window in our bedroom it lets in lots of lovely afternoon light. The parking lot actually does not bother me (it's ridiculously quiet in this community) and my absolute number one requirement for our house searching was lots of afternoon light. The only unfortunate thing to this window being SO huge is that I don't really like to open it since there is a sidewalk just one story below and you have to constantly remember that people could look up and see in... the master bathroom with large double doors is directly across from it... ahem... 

 So I used scrap 'adhesive' frosting on the bottom 18" of the window. I chose 18" because that is what I had supplies for. 

 So now I can comfortable leave my window open. Though most of the time the blinds still stay shut. It allows in so much light and it also cuts down on the how much the room heats up compared to when I opened the window and it wasn't there. 

 Isabella's room got the same treatment. The beautiful flower kept me from being able to fully shut the blinds at night... which is not so great since I am in there at night feeding her. 

 Much better!

 Micah likes to snack while I am fixing dinner. I decided yesterday to sit him in the corner with a peach. That is the longest he has remained happy and still while I've cooked! 

Now before I forget- the new pasta recipe! 

It's Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce as the base. But then in addition add in a small (4oz) package of goat cheese and a whole rotisserie chicken shredded up. Also we use Rotini Pasta. IT IS AMAZING we eat it at least once every two weeks... and then we always make sure there are leftovers!

Mum again - The recipe is easy, but we make it even easier by having our pesto already made up. I freeze it in small containers that end up being the perfect size for this dish. By the way, this bowl is huge and we usually have just enough leftovers to fight over...... 

oh she just had to go and add a picture of it... now I WANT SOME!!!!! 

+ 

Mum

My Dirty Secret Revealed

AKA- The closet makeover

For the first time ever, in our long married life, You Know Who and I have a lovely amount of closet space. In fact, we each have our own closet space. Each closet came with a basic wire shelf around two walls.

 It was inefficient. 

We meant to change them right away but life has a way of changing your plans sometimes. I've tried to be flexible but it had come down to this......

The storage boxes were a recent addition. The sweaters had been stacked on the shelf and were daily threatening to fall and suffocate me.

Even though I have purged, I am still unable to let go of the nice winter clothes I have from our years in Germany.

Jessica made a plan for each of the closets. She helped her dad do his a couple of months ago. I didn't get any before pictures, so the after would have no impact now...

On Wednesday I emptied the closet.

On Thursday You Know Who painted.

On Friday Jess and I went shopping at a store that I know far more intimately than I am comfortable with. I have no desire to add up all of the receipts I have from Lowe's, it would make me cry. In fact, they should know me by name and roll out a red carpet when I arrive. It's one of the sad parts about buying from such a large place, you're just one of many....

These guys were helpful and cut our shelving perfectly  per Jessica's instructions. 

They were funny too. The big guy did say he recognized us. That's nice since between Jess and I we have bought 4 major appliances from him personally! 

I didn't take a picture of all of the supplies because I am forgetful and we were in the moment. About three hours later thanks to Jess and You Know Who, I had this loveliness to look at.

 One of the weird things about this house is they didn't plan closets for linens so I needed space in my closet for things like that. I am still needing to put up some hooks for my extra purses, belts and such. If I come up with something cute and clever, I'll post it.

Don't hold your breath.

Before - unbearable mess

After- bliss.