A Place for Everything and Everything In Its Place

I won't claim that this is the most interesting post I've ever written, but if you've wondered what we've been up to lately, this pretty much sums it up! It's hard to believe that it has been two weeks since we moved into our new house. We've been tackling boxes and putting things away, and it's really starting to feel like home.

My mom was here for the whole first week and worked so hard to help us settle in! We were able to get rid of most of the boxes that week and we were so thankful for her help! You should have seen the gigantic pile of boxes and trash bag after trash bag of packing paper. We've already made a trip to the local recycling bin with a car full of packing paper, and we will be making several more trips, I'm sure, to clear out the rest of the moving remnants.

One of my goals with this move was to organize as I unpacked, rather than filling the cabinets and closets with things just to get them put away, knowing that I would have to go back later and rearrange and organize them. I hate that feeling of things being a mess, not ever being able to find what you need, and knowing there is a list of closets and cabinets that need an organizational overhaul.

My mom and I made several trips out to search for space specific organizing tools for each of the rooms as we unpacked and put away. I didn't want to spend a fortune on bins and organizers, so I spent a lot of time at Walmart, The Dollar Tree, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

I was thrilled to find these sturdy plastic bins at The Dollar Tree that were the perfect size to fit in the shelves in both our bathroom cabinet and our pantry! They were so useful to separate our toiletries in the bathroom, as well as to corral granola bars and snacks in our pantry, so I could get rid of the bulky packaging that just takes up space.

One compromise we made when buying this house was not having a master bathroom. Since friends will be using the main level bath when they come over, we needed storage solutions that minimized clutter and let us easily pull out what we needed when we were getting ready, but easily store it away when we were finished. These bins and a couple of plastic caddies have worked perfectly!

In my bedroom closet, I finally broke down and switched out my sad assortment of plastic hangers, misshapen wire hangers and clear store hangers that I've collected over my lifetime for fabulous new slim line hangers. They have a velvety feel that keeps clothes from sliding off the hanger and they are extremely thin which equals more room in the closet. Love them! We found the boxes of 50 for a great deal at Costco. You can get two boxes at Costco for the same price as one box (with a coupon!) at Bed Bath & Beyond. I also love my purse organizers (also from Bed Bath & Beyond) which strap onto a wall and provide vertical hanging storage for purses. They fit perfectly in each end of my closet.

One of the things that was a definite perk of this house was that it has tons of storage. I love that there is a place for everything so that everything can be in its place! It feels so good to open a cabinet and see a neat and organized space, rather than digging behind things trying to find the one thing you are looking for or catching falling objects whenever you open a door. It's the little things in life, right?

With the boxes gone, we have been busy hanging curtains & pictures and decorating, so I'll post photos of our new rooms soon!