Organization | Like a Saturday - DIY, Crafts, Recipes, Shenanigans

May 13, 2013
by likeasaturday 11 Comments

Craft Caddy : Fun with Washi Tape

Did everyone have a great weekend and a happy Mother’s Day? May always seems to be a month full of celebrating! Graduations, birthdays, weddings, Mother’s Day….so many festivities!

Are there any other washi tape addicts out there? It makes me a little nostalgic of my Lisa Frank days. It’s just so much fun.

{side note : I still have my trapper keeper with this dog and cat wedding on it. It does not get anymore 90′s than that. Lisa Frank? Check. Trapper Keeper? Check. Full of my elementary school drawings and hopes and dreams? Double check.}

{source}

I tried washi out for the first time this past Christmas and added a some red and green tape to our Christmas card envelopes. It was really cute and added a little something special to the plain white envelopes. I hadn’t ever really thought much about washi beyond stationary and gift wrapping, but there is so much you can do with it! I bought a pack from Pick Your Plum a while back, and now I’m trying to washi everything. It’s a disease.

I snatched a metal utensil caddy from Target a few weeks back, thinking it would be a perfect caddy for craft supplies {They have them with the summer picnic supplies in the kitchen section. They had a few other colors as well.}. I’m a mobile crafter. Sometimes you’ll actually find me working in our office/craft space, but more often than not you’ll find me on the couch, on the floor, at the kitchen table…whatever works, yunno? I’m also a messy crafter. It’s pretty much incredible how quickly one spot can explode with hot glue and felt and paper scraps and buttons. And then, suddenly, it’s midnight and my eyes will.not.stay.open and the mess stays while I slip off to dream.

I needed some kind of caddy that I could keep items that are often needed, and also my work in progress. This utensil holder fit the bill perfectly! It is a really good size – it has 3 smaller spots to keep scissors, pens, etc. and then a larger area to keep my masterpiece in progress. I could easily throw my things in here when calling it a night or moving to a new spot.

It just needed a little pizazz! Enter : washi tape. I wanted to add a few stripes of washi around the middle to give it a little color. I started by taping of the top section with masking tape. I did this to help me keep the washi tape straight.

I decided on colors and a pattern and went to town taping, using the masking tape as my guide.

Once I was done taping, I removed the masking tape to reveal my final product.

The entire thing took me no more than 7 minutes, and that was only because I had a dog in my face the entire time. Washi taping is a really quick way to add some quirk and color.

A caddy like this would also work really well for kids’ art supplies or for a homework station. It could easily be stocked with what each child needs and moved out of the way when needed. Colors could be personalized to each child’s preference, and would even be a fun project for them to work on!

Are you a mobile crafter, too? Or do you stick to your desk or kitchen table?

April 25, 2013
by likeasaturday 7 Comments

How to Organize a Small Pantry

In our little kitchen, we have a tiny little pantry closet. I mean tiny. I won’t complain, because I have friends who have even smaller pantries or none at all {!!!}. Ours also has nice, wooden shelves instead of those annoying wire ones. Since it is so small, it is important to keep it neat and organized.

I made over the pantry in my pre-blogging days, so I don’t have a before picture…but I do have lots of afters!

1) Do a deep clean and paint it a fun color!

After I dumped everything out of the pantry and onto my kitchen table, I gave it a good scrub and then a few coats of red paint. I like having a darker color on the walls inside the pantry since it hides scuff marks. It seems like the previous white walls were always marked up. Also, it’s fun to have a splash of color greet you upon opening the door! I’m always more inclined to keep things straight and organized if I have a pretty space to work with.

2) Categorize and Prioritize

Divide up all of your goods into categories and think about which items get the most use in your kitchen. I like to keep those items on the easiest to reach shelves. The items that don’t get as much use go to the higher or lower shelves. It’s not so bad to have to climb a stool or squat down to get something if you’re only having to do so occasionally.

3) Contain!

Baskets and containers are my best friend when it comes to organizing in a small space! I keep almost everything in a container of some sort in my pantry. It helps to wrangle each group of items into categorized bins to minimize clutter. It is also so easy just to grab whichever basket I need, and then throw everything back in the basket before returning it to the pantry when I’m finished.

4) Take advantage of unused space.

Stacking baskets have proven to be invaluable in my quest for organization. I bought my baskets at Target, but have been sad to see they are no longer selling them. I hope they’ll change their minds and bring them back! I have seen other kinds of stacking bins and baskets at other stores, even the Dollar Tree. Using stacking bins allows me to use the unused vertical space. I always stack the basket of the most used items on top. I also love my stairstep shelf for canned goods. It’s helps me see what I have available to use and again uses some of that vertical space.

I also LOVE these hanging baskets that I bought from Amazon to store saran wrap, foil, baggies, etc. I was able to free up an entire drawer in the kitchen {a big one, too!} just by taking advantage of some unused space.

5) Label, label, label!

I’m an obsessive labeler when it comes to organizing. You know exactly what is in which container without having to think too had about it. This is especially important if you’re not using see through bins. I borrowed a trick from Julie at Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss and made chalkboard labels out of wall plates and chalkboard spray paint. {Is that a genius idea, or what??}. I used bakers twine to attach, and a chalk pen to label with.

Keeping pretty much everything in baskets and labeled has helped me to keep the pantry neat and organized. Of course, life happens and things tend to get shoved in there from time to time, so I just do a quick clean out every couple of weeks or so to keep it all looking nice.

I also have several hooks on the inside of the door to hang lunch boxes, aprons, and my bag o’ bags.

What is your favorite way to stay organized in the kitchen?

February 18, 2013
by likeasaturday 6 Comments

A Stocked Guest Bathroom

Happy Monday! {I’m so glad I don’t have a job I hate anymore and can say things like “Happy Monday!” and really mean it!}. How was your weekend? Ours was awesome. And packed. And fun. And full. And exhausting. And wonderful. Love those kinda weekends.

I have a really simple project to share with y’all today. It’s not expensive or time consuming, but can really make an impact on your guest bathroom {or whichever bathroom in your home guests use}.

We actually get a decent amount of use out of our guest room. We have a lot of out of town friends, and a lot of friends who live on the other side of our huge city. We get the occasional weekend visitors, and the {more common} friends who would rather crash than drive an hour or so late at night back to their side of town.

To make our guests’ stay a little more pleasant, I decided to set aside a drawer for back up toiletries. This is great for people who forget items, or for the ones who unexpectedly end up staying over.

If you don’t have a spare drawer, that’s okay! Find a small bin or basket that you can tuck away somewhere in your bathroom for your guests.

Fill your designated space with travel sized toiletries and extra toothbrushes. Whenever we stay at a hotel, I always grab the tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner. You can also find items to stock your drawer with at the dollar store or check out the clearance section at the grocery store. You can stock this drawer over time for next to nothing. We also have a flashlight in here in case of any power outages {we get a lot of thunder storms}.

I lined the drawer with a piece of wrapping paper {from the Dollar Spot at Target} to make it a little prettier, and used dollar store baskets and bins to organize toiletries.

This is such an easy way to up your hospitality factor and make your guests feel more at home. Make sure you also have plenty of towels and wash cloths ready for your guests, and easily accessible so they don’t feel weird digging around in your cabinets…or have to drip dry.

What do you do to make your house guests’ stay extra special?

I hope you have a great start to your week!

{i party here}

February 6, 2013
by likeasaturday 12 Comments

Chalkboard Menu

While I love to organize and be organized, it is not something that comes naturally to me. It is definitely something I have to work at. One of the main areas where I try to stay consistently organized is in my meal planning. It’s so important to do so, because it helps me be sure that we’re eating the right kind of foods while staying on budget. I cannot walk into a grocery store without a good list, and I can’t have that list without a meal plan.

I’ve got the menu planning and list making pretty much taken care of. {Pinterest has been AWESOME helping me come up with new meal ideas!}. My problem has been…I lose the slip of paper where I wrote said plan and I forget what I’m supposed to be making for dinner. I go from the fridge to the pantry…staring at ingredients…trying to piece them together to remind myself “What’s for dinner?”. {My long term memory is awesome! Short term memory? Not so much.}.

My solution : I needed a menu board in the kitchen. I found a beautiful gold frame on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $10 and decided on a chalkboard for my menu. {‘m like 5 minutes from going overboard with gold in the house.} I picked up a package of canvas boards {with my 40% off coupon!} while I was there, and painted one with leftover chalkboard paint.

Once the canvas was dry, I popped it into the frame and then secured the finished product onto my pantry door with my beloved command strips. I swung the door back and forth and slammed it a few times to make sure it was stuck on their good. It didn’t budge and it is still hanging on for dear life! I love that it is easy for everyone to see without taking up and more space on the counter tops.

My menu board has been a life saver over the last couple of weeks! I’ve had too many other things swimming around in my brain to worry about remembering my menu plan. I think all mom’s across America need a menu board….if only to avoid hearing “What’s for dinner???” 100 times every night!

Happy Wednesday!

February 4, 2013
by likeasaturday 1 Comment

Super Bowl Party!

Is anyone else moving slow today? I’m much later than usual in getting my post up today.

I’m may be moving like a sloth, but my heart is very full today! There is something about squeezing 23 people into a {less than} 1600 sq. ft. home; and filling what empty space is left with food, laughter, squeals, and cheers that just does the heart good. It has been a long time since we’ve really been able to spend time with friends, so we were excited to jump on the opportunity to host a Super Bowl party.

Parties don’t have to be fancy or incredibly detailed to be fun or meaningful. Sometimes all you need are the people you do life with to bring the party! A smorgasbord of food and a few handmade and dollar store decorations can add to the fun, too. {Mostly because I can’t leave well enough alone and not decorate a little!}.

We ended up with more food than anyone could ever imagine!

One of the biggest hits with the kiddos was the photo booth. I’ll have a tutorial up tomorrow for how you can make your own cheap and easy photo booth back drop!