{Day 3} ~ Plates, Platters & Cabinets

Its not really day 3.. because I'm at work, but I wanted to show off these awesome plate display stands that I found for my serve-ware...

I had to look online because I couldn't find sturdy ones anywhere. I went to Display Cases and found some very affordable, nice quality display stands for my serveware pieces. I've got some heavy ones so I wanted something that was more sturdy than a file folder stand at Office Depot.

Hopefully they will come in soon so that I can finish up this project.

{Day 2} Counters, Candles & the Freezer

I finally got all of the crap off of my counters (a heck of a lot of candles mostly) and put away and was able to open up my box of kitchen utensils. I don't have a utensil crock, but I found this large canister works pretty well. I had a lot of utensils!

So today was a little easier. I went over to Target and bought these big containers originally for keeping my candles in (I have a LOT of candles) up above my sink. Well, they were a little big for the cabinets so I switched them to my freezer.

In the freezer I put two large containers that have frozen veggies, frozen soups, fruits, etc.

This is above my sink area -- three boxes of candles!

{Day 1} of 31 Day Organize Challenge

Well. Day 1 was more like Day 1 & 2 but I think I've got the top of my pantry finished. I pulled everything out and went through it all to throw away/give away stuff I don't want or need anymore which now has my kitchen looking like a small hurricane blew through.

I'm short so I wanted to keep my plates and bowls and stuff where I could reach them easily. So I loaded up one of my lazy susan's I got for the wedding (seen here) with my Fiesta plates, bowls & salad plates. On a separate tiered lazy susan, I put two cereal bowls on the top tier, 2 cups and 2 saucers on the bottom tier, all from my Fiesta ware.

Then on the next shelf I constructed 2 drawers from Bed Bath & Beyond (click here to see them). These were very easy to put together and since I used both on one shelf, I'm glad I got more than I registered for. I put my pyrex & 9x13 baking dishes inside the drawers. On top went my Fiesta ware 9x13 baker & 9x9 baker.

On the top & highest shelf is another drawer from BB&B that has my corning ware round baking dishes & some of my smaller mixing bowls. I think this will annoy me though because I use my mixing bowls very frequently. There just wasn't room to put them anywhere else.

So here's what it looks like:

31 days to an organized.... what??

As a newly married woman - YIKES! - I'm trying to get my... I mean, our... home organized because, if you know me at all, organization and cleanliness isn't my... *thing*. However, the man I married is very OCD and clean so it seems that I must concede my former ways & try harder.

So I've stalked a bunch of pins on pintrest and found *lots* of organizational tips to help me organize my home. My problem areas are: clutter, the kitchen, laundry room (nonexistent), pantry, and master bathroom. Oh and the linen closet and 3rd bedroom...

Clutter: I like pretty things that have no real meaning or purpose. Charlie doesn't. This might be a problem. :/

Kitchen: while I have a lot of counter space, I don't have a lot of drawer space. Added to this, I'm short, so anything on the top shelf I can't reach without the help of a step stool, which I keep in my kitchen. I have a lot of appliances and new dishes coming in (registry's are so cool!), so I've got to find a place for those that is easily accessible to me, (read: easy for a short one to get to).

Laundry Room: my laundry room is basically a closet with a standing washer & dryer combo... there is little space on either side for drawers or anything that can be used for storage. I have a teeny tiny shelf that holds detergent & fabric softener, but its not big enough to hold all of it.

Pantry: My pantry is a 3 shelf cabinet in the kitchen (oh how I long for a walk-in pantry...) that is crowded with junk & crap. I tried to organize it this summer but I need containers to keep things... well... contained.

Master Bathroom: also small with very little storage space.. I've got to figure out how to maximize the small space to the best of my ability. And keep things organized and neat so Charlie doesn't have a small heart attack every time he goes in there.

Linen Closet: This one is fairly okay, but needs some containers and structure.

3rd bedroom: yikes. That's all that I can say. This one needs a tremendous amount of work & complete restructure. I want to turn it into my 3rd bedroom/craft room because I have a lot of crafts (fabrics, scrapbook supplies, etc.), so that will be a project eventually.

So I am embarking on a 31 day journey, which should take me through February and into March. However, I suspect that I won't be able to do an organizational restructure each day, so it may take a little bit longer than 31 days...

I've borrowed alot of my ideas from Delightful Order and Imperfect Homemaking.

This was my first attempt - my medicine cabinet. Previously, I had all of my medicine tossed in a box and shoved in the cabinet. So I bought some containers, made some labels and... I'm pretty pleased with it...

I like the green. On the left, there is a box for my allergy medicine, headache medicine, cough meds etc. On the bottom is prescriptions. In the 3 tiered drawer is bandaids, my thermometer, and creams and such (like hydrocortisone).

So... here we go!

Monday, Monday... can't help that day...

Mondays exhaust me. I suppose its because its the first day back after the weekend, or if its because Mondays are my "long" days - Monday, Wednesday & Friday actually are my long days. Teaching 7 different classes back to back takes its toll on my brain and in addition to being physically exhausted, I'm more mentally exhausted than anything else. I'm a bear on Mondays. Don't poke me.

All things wedding...

Our wedding is less than a month away... about 3 1/2 weeks to be more precise. I've learned alot about this business... like... invitations. There are a ton of websites and companies and people who put a lot of time and effort (and lets be honest), money, into designing websites that are so mainstream, so common that they are found on design sites where you can customize them by plugging in your own information and it spits out a digitized copy. This works for some people. I've never been a conventional sort of person, so I wasn't happy with anything I found online. I decided to give my design skills a shot. I found a design I liked and unfortunately, I can't link to it because I don't remember the site... However, I changed it enough to make it more "Brooke & Charlie." There were alot I tried and didn't use - some fun ones, like this: (please do not stalk me. This is not my real wedding date nor location).

I'll post my real invitation, response card & program after the wedding... I did most of the design work myself on all of them, and I have to give a shout out to my amazing printers - Xpress Printing & Design. They were amazing to work with and very affordable! I recommend using them for ALL of your printing needs!

Oh.. goodbye 20s... and hello... 30s??

This is it... the end of my 20s. It sure has been a fun ride!

The passage of time is a weird thing, decade to decade. The last time I turned and made this transition it was from 19 to 20... teens to "not"... now its twenties to thirties...

In my 20s, I moved four times (to Auburn, back to Phenix City, to Arizona, back to Phenix City), changed homes five times (Auburn, PC, Arizona, PC and my own home). I graduated from college, twice. I fell in love, fell out of love, met the love of my life and got engaged.

I've been a "mom" to three furry children - Hunter, Murphy & Dodger, a "mom" to my students, too many to count or name, but each precious in their own right. I've experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. My last two years of undergrad, all four years of graduate school. Starting my career teaching at Veritas... leaving Veritas and starting Trinity. Figuring out "me"... walking in step with Christ...

I've met some amazing people in my 20s... people who have become family to me... I wish I could name them but I would wind up forgetting someone and then I would feel guilty because I forgot them. I've traveled all over the United States - from New York to California, Florida, South Carolina, Montana, Arizona, and driving across the US - Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama... I've gone to Mexico, to England and Ireland and spent time walking where the great writers of Britain walked.

I've lost people that I cared deeply about, not to death but to the passage of time and distance and figuring out about toxic people and me. I think I learned how to really pray. To *not* pray for patience because God gives you trials to make you patient. To accept that things didn't happen in my time, but in God's time. I figured out it was okay to be angry with God, and to yell at him when I didn't understand. He's the big guy... He can handle it.

I watched a student come to know Christ. I danced, and laughed, and loved, and prayed. I stopped attending my "home" church, and finally after 8 years, found a new church home. I found my courage, my strength and my backbone.

I've been on two mission trips; one for a summer and one for a week. I learned how to stand up for me, to voice my opinion when its necessary and right. I learned that the right person or people won't leave. I know how to run a cash register, and write a short story. I can't remember everything I've done or said or been through.

I know I've hurt people. Sometimes I meant to... sometimes not. Sometimes it was the result of immaturity and a complete lack of understanding of what or how to do this thing called life. I regret that. I've made some really bad decisions about who to allow in my life. I was stolen from. I still don't like confrontation and I get really irritated easily. I became allergic to everything it seems like -- dust, dog hair, cat hair, birch trees, grass, and my skin cells. I had asthma. I went to the ER a few times.

So many memories. So much... life. How can you cram 10 years into a single blog post? You can't. But I know its been a fun ride. I'm having trouble embracing this whole "30" thing... I can't even say it without grimacing a little. But, I'm sure that the next 10 years will be just as much fun - and probably more - than my 20s were...