Project Clean Up 2020...Week 4: Organize Gift Bins

This week was fairly easy as I just had to go back over my notebook since Christmas. Let me let you in on what my gift bins are:

I buy all year long. I begin the day after Christmas and watch out all year for just the right gifts. You never know when you will find that "ultimate" item (and at a great price too)

So, here is my system. Each member of my family has an 18 gallon Rubbermaid type bin that I keep in my garage (younger ones have 2 due to sizes of toys)

Each bin has their initials added to the end. Simple black marker written on an index card and attached with packing tape or get your own self stick labels...you know your storage space, have at it!

I am lucky. My kids do not go near them. In their defense though, they are stacked 4 bins up!

I keep a notebook of all items bought. Just a 70 sheet spiral notebook written in pen. Example of my pages:

Pg 1: Mom
Pg 2: Dad
Etc...

I love to get it written down immediately and put away, but sometimes I have to do a quick run to the garage and items do end up out of place sometimes so this week is an imperative week of organizing.

If you would like to have a gift system (and save money in the long run) here are your instructions:

**1 Bin per Immediate Family Member

-Label each end with their initials (index card with marker, tape on with clear packing tape)
-Store all gifts per person in their designated bin (includes gifts and clothing)
-Keep a large Ziploc bag in each bin for smaller items so they don't get overlooked (stocking and basket stuffers, jewelry)

I also have one bin for my extended family (all go in this one together...Mom, Dad, Sisters, etc...) and my husband has 1 bin that covers his extended family.

Keep a Notebook

One page per person.
List all gifts on the front of one page.
List all Clothing on the top part of the back side of that page.
List all small stocking/basket stuffers on the lower part of the back side of that page.

Keep notebook and pen in a place in the same area as your bins so you will remember to immediately write down and stay on track.

My notebook seems to go on forever so gifts can get moved around a bit to other people or even knocked completely off if not used in a reasonable amount of time. If that happens, I determine whether to keep in extra bins (*read about these a few paragraphs down) or it goes into a yard sale box.

If you already have this system, simply go through and make sure all items are written down and placed into their designated bins. Be sure to check what you currently have and make sure it still falls under that designated person. Example...are they still within range for a board game waiting in their bin to be gifted, etc...

Be sure to shop all year for Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and any other holidays!

I also keep extra bins; Women, Men, Girl's, Boys. When I come across nice items for a great price, they are roaring and ready to go for a last minute birthday party, host gift, etc...Also, a place I put items that I choose to keep on hand that were originally purchased for a family member and then never gifted.

Happy Organizing!

I am now in week 5...Great Room cleaning and organization. See you next week!

Project Clean Up 2020...Week 3: Organize Personal Items

Into Week 3, time to organize all of those bills, papers...you know, personal stuff. This one was more up my hubby's alley as he is the one who files it all away. Remember, you do not need to junk up your house by keeping years and years and years of old bills.


Organize Personal Items


The bills are my husband's territory so I sent him into the cave....


-Decide on a place to keep the next year of paid paper bills and receipts; file cabinet or storage bin. Label file folders with each month. File per month. Keep in a place where you can get to it once a month so bills do not build up and become clutter.

-Shred old bills and papers.

We don't do a shredder as it takes way too much time for us...we prefer it burn (he even pulled out his chair for the event)

Could you easily locate your family's birth certificates if you had to? Personal info is something you would automatically keep stored away in your brain, but could you access this info in case of an emergency?

Organize Your Personal Information

Decide where you would like to store this information. Store on computer or write it down on index cards and keep them in a small box. If on your computer, be sure to save a backup copy to a disk or jump drive (store this in your fireproof box) Make sure to completely remove from hard drive if you ever get rid of the computer. 

Label each category so it can be easily referenced. Here are some examples of what to record in each category:

A. Finances

__Your credit score

__Your credit card number(s) and the phone number to call if your card is lost or stolen (do the same for debit/check cards)

__Your bank account numbers and the phone number to call if your checkbooks lost or stolen.

__A budget for your income, expenses, savings and personal goals. 

B. Health

__Allergies (to food, medicine, animals, etc..)

__Your blood pressure

__Health issues that run in your family

__Your cholesterol level

__Your blood type and those of your family members

C. Safety

__Emergency Contact Numbers

__License plate number and VIN

__Current photos of every member of your family labeled with their heights and weights.

__Photocopies of your passport and the passports of your spouse and children.

D. Just in Case:

__Your measurements and clothing sizes.

__Your partner's measurements and clothing sizes.

__Your children's measurements and clothing sizes.

Purchase a Fireproof safety box if you don't already own one. Important documents that should be stored in here may include:

__Marriage certificate                                  __Wills

__Birth certificates                                       __Death certificates

__Adoption papers                                       __Household inventory list

__Automobile titles                                      __Valuable contracts

__Stocks and bonds certificates                   __Passports

We all have different items when it comes to personal things. I may change up this list next year based off of this year, but for now, this is what I have come up with for this year.

Onto week 4: Organize Gift Bins. Do you buy gifts ahead of time when you find a good deal? Keep them organized! See you in a week! 

Project Clean Up 2020...Week 2: Organize All Occasion Wrap/Bags/Boxes/Stickers/Cards

Week 2 is down and wow! What a job!!! This job could easily take longer than one week and as of last night, I had run out of containers so I still have to grab those to technically say I am finished. Items not in correct containers are in makeshift containers until then.

This week's organization consisted of go through All Occasion Wrap items. These items are stored in my 2 car garage and I have a large counter where I am able to do wrapping, but through the year, if I am doing a quick clean up after a party, the bags, boxes, etc...tend to get piled up waiting to be put away. In this area, I have a hanging shelf that holds my gift bags and box bins. Also, a bin of all occasion greeting cards. Then, there is a cabinet that holds various sizes of jewelry boxes, buckets, netted bags, gift card holders, wine bottle boxes and tissue paper. The counter has a bin of rolls of paper and containers of individual ribbons/fabric ribbon strands and toppers/tags. I also have a container of stickers...and there are a ton!!! 

Here is what I accomplished;

Converting boxes to plastic bins where needed.

On the Counter;  

-Rolls of Wrapping Paper: Wrapped tightly and taped down. Added new rolls that were on the counter to the bin, labeled the bin.

-Bows, Ribbons, Tags, Toppers: Tossed smashed bows, rolled ribbon spools and secured, rolled fabric ribbon and secured, placed into makeshift containers until bins bought. After bins are purchased, will label those and line up on the counter. Spools of paper ribbon will be in one bin, fabric ribbon/toppers/tags will all go in another. 

-Stickers: Threw out any that were no longer sticky or bent. Sorted through and separated into sandwich baggies by style and then into a manila envelope with the season it belongs to written on the outside. For example; Back-to-School, Fall, Halloween all were individually bagged and then placed in a Fall Manila envelope. Envelopes are then placed into the container. 

This is only a small portion of the amount of stickers I have!!! 

After cutting, I placed them into envelopes such as these...

In the cabinet: 

-Jewelry Boxes in various sizes: Removed from metal box they were stored in and arranged neatly into a plastic bin. Removed any that wouldn't fit and placed in yard sale bin, labeled bin. 

I had to be able to snap the lid shut on this and amazingly, only got rid of 4 little boxes.

-Gift Buckets: Were stored in cabinet on their own, added to their own plastic bin, labeled bin. 

-Gift Card Holders: Removed from box they were once held in, added to their own plastic bin, removed any that had marks and tossed, labeled bin. 

-Tissue Paper: Separated tissue paper by color, folded neatly and stacked in cabinet.

-Netted Bags: Sorted through and kept only so many of each color and size, excess went into the yard sale bin, labeled container.

Here is the end product of this cabinet (sorry about the lighting, it was evening in the garage)

Hanging Shelf: 

-Gift Boxes: Tossed any boxes with tears or heavy tape marks and any extra pieces without matches, labeled the bin, lined up neatly on hanging shelf.

-Gift Bags: Paired down to those more currently bought. Removed any former tags, added ones won't be using to the yard sale bin, separated by colors/occasion, moved from cardboard box to a plastic bin, discarded box, labeled bin, lined up neatly on hanging shelf.

Lined up neatly on the shelf....

-All Occasion Cards: Made sure all cards were sorted into corrected file folder. Examples; Birthday Children, Birthday Adults, Note cards, Congrats, Get Well, Individual Holidays, etc...

Now, granted this year, I put more work into the stickers than I ever have and that may have taken more time than I originally had planned which is how I was right up to the wire. I definitely did not think this week would take the entire week which is why I only gave it one week, but you just never know based off of your schedule of everyday life. I am happy to say that with the exception of needing to purchase the 3 bins for the counter to transfer the makeshift containers to, it was done and done well. This job was so satisfying!!! 

Week 3 began today!!! Organize your finances/personal. See you next Monday with the results! 

Project Clean Up 2020...Week 1: Organize Holiday Wraps/Stockings/Christmas Cards

Week 1 is down and I got a lot cleaned out! This week's organization consisted of hitting my Holiday Wrap items and that is a huge job! I do all of my wrapping in the Master Bedroom which needless to say, is a mess for a few weeks throughout December. I'm talking wrapping paper, boxes, gift bags, bows, tags, ornament gift hangers, etc...

For this week's mission, it was all about knocking some of it down and changing up some of the storage bins. 

-Rolls of Wrapping Paper: Paired down to only those in color coordination with current decor. New and used rolls put into the yard sale bin.

-Gift Boxes: Tossed any boxes with tears or heavy tape marks and any extra pieces without matches.

-Gift Bags: Paired down to those in color coordination with my current decor. Removed any former tags, folded tissue paper, through out scrap paper. Some bright ones put into the yard sale bin.

-Bows and Ribbons: Tossed smashed bows, rolled ribbons and secured, organize into a box, place into odds/ends bin.

-Tags: Organize into a box, place into odds/ends bin.

-Ornament Gift Hangers: Sorted through and kept newer, took ones that have been around for a while and put into the yard sale bin.

-Christmas Cards: Cut into tags for next year, cut any photo cards down and place into photo album, check orphan cards, toss any that have been damaged.

Switched out odds and ends wrap cardboard box into a nice storage bin. Moved gift bags from cracked bin to a new bin.

All of this is ready to put up for my Christmas in July sale! 

Stockings/Santa Hats: Gone through. Threw out a hat and a stocking that the felt was getting bad on. Sealed up box. 

All bins moved back to the 4 car garage until next year :)

Week 2 Begins today! Organize All Occasion Wrap/Tissue Paper/Boxes/Bags/Stickers and Greeting Cards. See you next week! 

Project Clean Up 2020

I was so excited for my 2020 to begin and I am going in with a vengeance! Each year, I try to come up with the best organization/cleaning process that I can. In our home you have myself, my husband, 8 children and 4 cats (outdoor). My children range from 3 years old to 21 years old. I have 5 boys and 3 girls (not in that order) and boy, do we manage to get ourselves into a cluttered mess sometimes! Most would look at my house and think, "What clutter?" and you may be right! Clutter to many is strictly shelves and shelves of just too much. To others, it may be cabinets full of too many Tupperware lids or coffee mugs. Maybe it is even just a garage jam packed full of boxes. Well, I have ideas on my mind of what I feel our clutter is and it is time to get a hold of things!

While browsing Half Price Books way back in November 2016, I specifically went with the intention of trying to find the "highest of high" Organization Book....and I found it! However, I began my Clean Up last year (2019) and only went as far as 5 weeks and then got off track and the rest is a "messy" history, so to speak. 

As I opened this book again this year and saw each week covering something different in the house, I knew this was the book for me and I was going to do it this time around!!!  Now, I do have 14 rooms in my house plus 4 bathrooms, 2 car garage, 4 car garage, carport, pool area and very large yard...throw in a few vacations/holidays and you wonder how in the world it can all get down in 52 weeks thoroughly, but I am going to do it! I spent the last 2 months of 2019 going through this book and organizing it with our life and schedules. I had to bundle up a few here in there to fit in all of the extra rooms I have that this book may not cover week-to-week. I also had to figure in a week long vacation, Halloween costume making, 3 weeks of just enjoying Christmas, but I got it all figured out! The schedule I created has everything that this book offers, but in a different order than is written in order to correctly fit it into our busy schedule. For those who would just like to listen to our crazy days of what we do to clean and organize, feel free to listen in! For those needing a cleaning method themselves, you are welcome to follow along with me (don't worry, you have time to catch up).

With all that said, I give you...Project Clean Up!