Toy Bin Update

We have had a simple brown laundry basket that I purchased at Target acting as a toy bin in my son's room for all of his stuffed animals.  It was working out fine but there was one thing I didn't like about it, he never knew what was in there unless everything was taken out. 



I wanted something that would be more functional allowing for him to see just what stuffed animals were in there.  I found a wire laundry basket at Home Goods, took out the liner, and tossed all his stuffed animals in it.  Now he can see just what he has in there.  

 We have had it for about a week now and it is funny he is playing with stuffed animals that we haven't seen in months.  This is a win win for both of us!

Jar Labels

I have slowly been trying to clean out and reorganize my pantry.  I think whenever you can take food out of the boxes that they come in and put them in canisters or jars it is much more appealing to the eyes.  I always try and put cereal, baking goods, snacks, pasta, and rice in jars.  Recently I decided that labels would not only improve the look but will also help with keeping everything more organized.  

Supplies:

Chalkboard contact paper

Cricut Mini

Chalk Marker (new best friend)

    

Yes, have you heard of these things?  I like making labels with chalkboard contact paper because they are  easy to change and you can reuse them.  But my one MAJOR complaint was the chalk would always rub off and the label would be half gone.  That was until I heard of a chalk marker!  Once I write with the chalk marker it STAYS put until I wipe it off with water and a paper towel.  Anyone using chalkboard labels I highly recommend getting one.  I got mine at Joann's.

Using my Cricut Mini I cut out the shape and sizes I needed for my jars.

 

Cured it by rubbing chalk all over the label.

 

Wiped them clean with a paper towel.

Placed them on my jars and wrote what was in each one.

 

Simple, quick update!

Organizing Mail

I don't know about you but I love it when my counters are completely clean and there is no clutter on them.  Unfortunately this doesn't happen as often as I would like.  Mail is something that seems to always end up on the counter and lives there for a few days.  After looking around the blog world for inspiration I thought that a filing system would work best for our family. 

I already had this photo caddy from Pottery Barn that I wasn't using.   

Bought a pack of cute file folders from Target.

 

Came up with a list of what files I needed: In Mail, To Do, To File, To Pay, one for myself, one for my husband, and one to hold my coupons until I put them in my coupon file/ binder. 

Used my new Mini Cricut that I am loving to make the labels and glued them on with mod podge (first experience w/mod podge).

I knew the fabric that was in the 3 picture spots wasn't going to work but I wasn't sure what I should do.  I thought about putting some black and white pictures of the family in them. Or using the extra blue folder I have and cutting squares out of it (but wasn't sure if I wanted to keep the folder in case I needed to make another file).  I decided to play around with the Cricut some more and made a monogram with my husband and my initials. 

Since we have been using this new system for our mail the amount of clutter on the counters has gone down a lot.  Everything has a home now and I can quickly put things away in the correct folder until I have more time to complete the full task.

However, I am not 100% happy with how the monogram turned out.  I think I will maybe try to put some family pictures in it.  What do you think?  Any suggestions?