It seems that since the holidays last year, I haven’t been spending any time on my cleaning and organizing projects. However, now that spring it here, it is time to get back to work! I thought I would go over the segments of Operation Clean and Organized that I have done so far and to see if I have been keeping up with the organization.
Vol 1: Cleaning Charts & Recipe Clip Board – My master project list is still being used and I am slowly crossing off the projects as I get to them. The daily cleaning chart is sometimes used (usually when my brain is so scattered I need to remind myself what to do first) and sometimes forgotten (usually when I am running around all day and haven’t been home more than a few minutes.) I still use my clipboard for that week’s recipes all the time. I love it. I’ll have to try and post my almost done recipe binder next week.

Last week, I also added this small fabric board from Target to the little wall on the other side of my fridge. I haven’t put anything on it yet but I love the bright pattern.

Vol 2 – Weekly Menu Board
I still love my menu board and use it every week! I did need to make more blank labels to write in the names of new meals I’ve tried since then.

Vol 3: Shopping Lists & The Outdated Pantry
My fridge shopping list has changed a little but the rest are still working.

Vol 4 – The Cupboards/Pantry (Part 1)
I don’t think I’ll ever be fully happy with this mini-pantry since it is so narrow but so far it is okay. The mini drawers work great. The stacked baskets are okay and I finally replaced the random black one with a white basket.

My only complaint is that when I want something from the bottom basket I have to lift all the others to get my hand in there. I would love to get bins like this from The Container Store but even their mini sized ones are 9 ½ inches wide and my shelf has a depth of 8″ so I wouldn’t be able to close the door. So for now, I will have to stick with what I have.

As for the master pantry lists and rubber band-hook to keep the little kiddos out, still works well.

Vol 6 – The Cupboards/Pantry (Part 2)
The pantry still looks good but I do have to stay on top of it. I did however update my spice rack. The last time I just used mini labels and wrote the names of the spices. When Martha Stewart came out with her Avery labels, I loved the round ones, especially since it had a red border. (In case you haven’t noticed, I love red!)
I think they look a lot better!

Vol 5 – My Desk AND Vol 7 – Book Shelves & Desk Area
My desk area still looks good but it is a CONSTANT job to daily sort out and put away the various things that pile up when I am not looking. However, it is a job I don’t mind doing since it is my little corner of the house and it makes me happy to see it neat and nice looking. Now I just have to work on taming the cords underneath the desk. (BTW, I have to keep the big throw pillow in front of my chair to block munchkin hands from putting cheerios into the CD drive of the computer.)

Earlier this week, I was at the craft store and bought some ribbon and card stock to make labels for the top four bins on my side bookshelf. I got a lot of great suggestions from a commenter (thanks, Kate) but as hard as I tried, I didn’t like the way it looked on these fabric bins. I wanted a plain, clean look. However, I still liked the idea of the ribbon and labels so I used it instead for the baskets I am using to redo our DVD shelf. It worked great for that. (I’ll post the results when I complete it.)
When I bought the Martha Stewart labels for my spice jars I also picked up a pack of oval red border labels. Yesterday I tried sticking one to the fabric bin and it stayed on perfectly (since they were out of reach of curious little hands.) I used some black letter stickers to label the bins and I like the clean look with a minimal amount of money spent.

Well, that’s it for now. Hopefully, I’ll have another complete project to post next week. Have a great day!