Organization Tips - 4/12

Establishing Back-to-School Routines

Hey guys…It’s Amy…still taking a little break and spending some time with my kids before school starts next week for us. Becky from Clean Mama is back to share some great tips for getting back into a routine when the kids head back to school! Thanks Becky!

Hi there Idea Room readers! I’m Becky from the Clean Mama blog and I’m back today to share a little checklist with some ideas for a smooth transition from summer fun to back to school routines. Even if your kids have already started back to school, the tips today are easy to implement any time.

I have five areas that I think will help organize your home, your child, and your school year.

1. Set up a snack and lunch making center or spot in the kitchen-

image via

*put lunch items in a container in the fridge and pantry

*make healthy snacks easily accessible to hungry kids – fruit, veggies, nuts, pretzels, cheese….

*put lunch making supplies (bags, lunch boxes, reusable containers) all in one place to alleviate searching

2. Create an art work and school work collection spot – decide how you’ll save special artwork and schoolwork (binder with sleeves, boxes, scan to computer)

I’m using these boxes from The Container Store.

3. Start or update a family binder or notebook-

*determine important sections: home-keeping, contacts, school info, contacts, bills, emergency info, etc.

(Shameless plug: my Etsy shop, Clean Mama Printables-is full of great documents to quickly create a Home-keeping binder – I even have a School Days Kit that’ll help get your year off to a great start)

4. Create and/or Stock a Homework Station-

*stock up on supplies (now that everything is on sale)

*designate a quiet spot for homework – this can be as simple as the kitchen table and a basket with school supplies

This is a cute little station from The Container Store.

5. Sort Through Clothes, Shoes, Outerwear-

*place outgrown clothing in boxes/bins

*donate clothing to friends, family, your favorite charity

*make a list of what your child/children need and watch for sales and coupons

Any ideas you’d like to share that help you get ready for the next school year? We’d love to hear them in the comments section!

You can go here to grab a little School Days Checklist to make your transition a little easier this year!

Hey, In other news, I would love for you to come and join me, Amy Anderson (Mod Podge Rocks) and Jen (Tatertots and Jell-O) for a live chat tonight over in the Blog Frog’s International Delight Coffee Talk Community. What are you favorite beauty secrets? How do you stay looking young? And what products or recipes that you love and want to share? We’re talking all about beauty and how to maintain it TONIGHT, Thursday, August 18th at 9pm EST. Come join us!!!

To join us simply follow this link!

August 18, 2011 · Filed under: Back To School, Clean Mama--Organizational Tip Series, Moms, Organization Tips, Organizational Tips--Clean Mama, Parenting Help Tagged with back to school, homework helps, homework station, organization tips for back to school, routines

Fridge Pocket for Small Storage Items

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Hi Idea Room readers – it’s Becky from the Clean Mama blog and Clean Mama Printables. Today’s Organizational Tip is to make a Fridge Pocket to hold pens, a small notepad, and anything else you need to keep handy in the kitchen. I needed a little something to store pens and such on the side of the fridge. I looked through my fabric stash and found some leftover oilcloth – perfect!

You could easily use regular fabric that was heavily starched or with some fusible webbing with similar results.

I simply started with two pieces of oilcloth – one cut to about 16 inches x 6 inches and one cut to 10 inches x 4 inches (these dimensions can be changed to accommodate your own pocket and how much or how little you want to store in them).

Then I folded the smaller piece of oilcloth in half (with the wrong side out) and stitched along the bottom of each piece of oilcloth – like this. Word to the wise – oilcloth is MUCH thicker than regular fabric, so tread slowly and carefully with your sewing machine.

Then I stitched all the way up one side and a little over half way up the other side – like a pillow.

Carefully turn it right side out and fold in the side that didn’t get stitched up – you should hand stitch this closed, but I opted for pinning and holding it together until I sewed it on the larger piece.

Position the pocket onto the larger piece of fabric and sew down the bottom and sides, leaving the the top open for your pens and such. (This picture is before I sewed it down.)

Turn the larger piece inside out and stitch along the bottom edge like this.

I then turned the piece right-side out, folded the seams in and stitched up both sides – probably not proper stitchery, but it worked for me.

Once the sides were stitched up, I attached a 4 x 6 inch magnet sticker to the back.

And now I have this handy little fridge friend/pocket to keep these little tools close by.

Need a step-by-step tutorial? Go here to get this printable. Enjoy!

April 28, 2011 · Filed under: Clean Mama--Organizational Tip Series, Free Downloads, Organization Tips, Organizational Tips--Clean Mama, Sewing Tagged with

DIY Labeled Bathroom Jars

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Today I would love to share with you how I made these labeled bath jars.

I like to have pretty matching sets rather than big, bulky bottles cluttering my spaces…don’t you? But all the sets I have seen were really expensive. Then I saw this picture from Country Living. I had my next project!

[vintage-bottles-make-over-+Country+Living.jpg]

I looked around online for various bottles and in my local thrift store but couldn’t find anything that was pretty or in my budget. Then one day while I was shopping I had the idea to look at the various glass food jars. I was surprised at just how many styles there were but none of them were just right. I had almost given up until I turned down the last aisle and lo and behold I spied these beauties!!!

It was the perfect size and shape and there were exactly 4 bottles. The labels looked easy to remove and there were no upraised markings in the bottle…PERFECT! Now only if I drank coffee ;). No worries…I gave the coffee to my friend and saved the bottles for myself!

I removed the labels and took off the residual glue with this Goo Gone. I already had this on hand and originally bought it from Home Depot. It works like a charm. Then I thoroughly washed the bottles and then let them dry.

Then I created some labels on my Silhouette machine and cut them out in black vinyl. I also cut them out in white vinyl as well.

I took the inside of the white label and put it on the jars first. Then I took the black label and put it on top of the white label, kind of like a little puzzle. The reason I did this is that I wanted the labels to stand out really well on the bottle. I thought about just cutting out a white square of vinyl but the borders of each frame were really different and this just seemed easier. Of course you can just place the black vinyl on and not use the white vinyl.

I wanted to cover up the writing on each of the lids so I simply spray painted them white and let them dry thoroughly. Then I simply filled each jar with my favorite bath products.

I love how fresh and clean it looks. Isn’t that so much better than a bunch of big and bulky bottles?

I have made my label file available for you to download for those of you who would like to make your own labels.

*Click to download bath jar labels {in GSD format}

**If you don’t have a Silhouette Machine, you can still make these. Simply download the PSD labels and print them out. Then simply cover the tops of the label with a few layers of Mod Podge (let dry between each coat) and then cut the labels out. To apply to the bottles add a small amount of glue like E 6000 or other water proof glues.

***Click to download bath jar labels {in PSD format}