Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here! May has arrived… flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, it is warming up!! I love it!! So – to keep in touch with the Springtime fun stuff… Last month we tackled spring cleaning and garages… Well today we are going to take a look at our pantries. Why??? Well, it just so happens that May 14th is when the 30th Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive will be held.
What is that?? In 1991 a small food drive was conducted by the National Association of Letter Carriers. It did so well that they decided on making it a nationwide event. In 1993 they chose the Second Saturday in May to hold the Food Drive, with one goal in mind – for at least 1 of the NALC branches in each of the 50 states to join in. It was a big success and collected over 11 million pounds of food! You can visit the NALC website to learn more about the history! And- Food Donations are tax-deductible (The food is given to non-profits) (Read more here).
What does the food drive have to do with Organizing?? Well – if that isn’t a kick in the butt to clean out and organize your pantry, I don’t know what is!!!
So let’s do it!!!
Ok… so “Pantry” is a loose term here… Not everyone has a pantry… So we are cleaning out pantries and cabinets and any other space where you keep bagged, boxed, and canned food.
Perfecting your Pantry
Tackle one area at a time… be it a cabinet, a shelf or what have you. There is no reason to get ourselves overwhelmed (remember, baby steps!)!
Purging
We will start by removing the items from the space that they were stored in.
It is during this time that you will be reviewing the item.
Is it:
See – that wasn’t so hard!! Yes-you have a mess now, but you can’t organize your things without making a mess first – not if you are really diving in and doing a thorough job of purging and paying attention to what you have already.
Cleaning
Once we have emptied out our space we are going to clean the space out. Wipe it down. You do not want to put things back into a dirty/dusty/etc. Drawer, cabinet, closet, etc…
Categorizing
So-your space is cleared out and cleaned out. You have purged out the things that you do not want/are expired/etc and you are surrounded by piles of your food items – now we can start the process of organizing!!
Start categorizing your food and separating them into separate piles. Baking Goods, Canned goods, boxed goods, kids snacks…. You get the idea. You can’t start organizing until you can actually see what you have and how much of it. You can have as many categories as you want. Have fun with this – have categories that suit your style of cooking and kitchen use!!
Organizing
So now that you have the piles laid out before you – you can actually see what you have a lot of and what categories are small, this will:
Now you can start putting things away. Some simple rules:
Remember – you are organizing for YOU. Just because you saw something in a magazine/show/online/etc and fell in love with it-doesn’t always mean you need to do the same thing-as that may not work in your space, however-you can always use the concept and adapt it to your individual needs!!
Now that your pantry has been cleaned out and organized and you want to participate in the food drive….you have a box of donatable goods but are unsure what to do…simply place it near your mailbox and your mail carrier will pick it up and transport it! It’s really that easy!!
Till Next time!!
Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here!
In like a lion…out like a Lamb.. we’ll see!! It is the middle of March….The clocks have changed… and in just a few more days Spring will officially be here!
With Spring… comes Spring Cleaning!! Now I know that is not the same as “Organizing”… but the two really do go hand in hand with one another. Whether you are organizing or cleaning – start one room at a time… one task at a time… and don’t let it overwhelm you!
Now when it comes to cleaning there are a few different ways that you can attack it…. Start by room or by task….You could pick the Kitchen and just do all the cleaning for that room at one time, or you could choose the task – say Dusting. Go through the house and do all the dusting at one time.
Below is a room by room list of Spring Cleaning items to tackle!! Now open up those windows – let the cool breeze in and help air out your house… and don’t forget to have fun!!
Entry (Including hallways)
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware, and base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Linens-Wash linens (Curtains, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, Countertops, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop floor.
Kitchen
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware, and base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Linens-Wash linens (Towels, wash cloths, curtains, etc)
Appliances-Clean all Appliances (Microwave, Dishwasher, Stove/Oven, Refrigerator).
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, Countertops, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop floor.
Toss out any old or expired food items in cabinets and fridge/freezer
Living Spaces (Dining Room, Living Room, Family Room, Den, etc)
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware and Base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Soft Surfaces-Vacuum Seating arrangements and rugs
Linens-Wash Linens (blankets, throws, Curtains, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop flooring.
Bathroom
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, Grab bars, towel bars, cabinet trim, wipe down cabinets, cabinet doors, and cabinet hardware, and base trim, etc.
Glass-Clean all Mirrors, windows, Doors and Glass Cabinets.
Accessories-Clean toilet, sink, tub, etc.
Linens-Wash linens (Towels, wash cloths, shower curtain, curtains, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, Countertops, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum and mop floor.
Bedrooms
Dusting: wipe down crown molding, window trim, Base trim.
Glass-Clean all windows, mirrors, glass doors, etc.
Soft Surfaces-Vacuum Seating arrangements and rugs
Linens-Wash Linens (blankets, throws, Curtains, etc)
Clothes-Tidy up closets and drawers (fold/hang clothes, etc)
Surfaces-Wipe down all surfaces (Walls, Wall Switches, etc.).
Floors-Sweep/vacuum/mop flooring.
Keep in mind – this is a very broad list… It will get your house spick and span… but if you want to go a little deeper…try adding these items to your spring cleaning list:
Entry (Including hallways)
If you have an Entry Closet – go through it, empty it out and sort the items.
Apply specialty products to your flooring (if you have hard wood-polish, if you have porcelain or tile-check your grout, etc.)
Kitchen
Clean sink, faucet, garbage disposal
Set oven to “self clean”
Apply specialty products to your flooring (if you have hard wood-polish, if you have porcelain or tile-check your grout, etc.)
Living Spaces (Dining Room, Living Room, Family Room, Den, etc)
Clean window blinds/curtains
Shampoo rug/polish hardwood floors
Move heavy furniture and clean under it.
Bathroom
Check the expiration dates on items and toss what is expired.
Clean your showerhead
check your grout
Bedrooms
Go through your clothes- donate/purge items that no longer fit/you don’t like.
Flip your mattress.
Shampoo rug/polish hardwood floors
Move heavy furniture and clean under it.
You can get as tough and gritty as you need to – it’s all up to you!! Take it a day at a time and you’ll get it done!!
What are your favorite spring cleaning tasks?
Tell me about them!!
I’ll talk to you later!!
Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here.
Are you all ready for Christmas?? Are your presents all wrapped and ready to go? Ya – me neither!! This year I am a little less organized… a little less prepared… oh well…it happens!! No reason to stress! I will get everything wrapped… and everything will still turn out great!!
January is almost here – and with January comes “GO Month”!!!
Which is perfect for me since I am feeling a little un-organized and out of sorts!! What is GO Month you ask!?!? Why it’s Get Organized Month!! LOL. Yes, I am serious! NAPO (National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals) initiated this as a way to help inform and educate non organizing professionals on ways to help organize their homes and lives as well as increase their productivity. Seriously- think about it – I did a post earlier about the domino effects of organizing – and it really is legit. When you are organized you are often: Happier, Healthier, and Productive.
GO Month is celebrated all month long!! I use the term “celebrated” loosely 🙂
So I thought….I would create a monthly chart of small Projects/things for you to tackle during the month of January to keep up with GO Month!! We can call it the January Organizing Challenge! Who’s with me?!?!?!
8×11 January Go Month by Angela Caddy
Each day of the month you can do one small project to help get your home and mind organized. I plan to join along with Social Media posts as I tackle the daily projects and I hope you will join in! Tag me in your posts and add the hashtags!
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and a Healthy and Happy New year!!
Stay warm and I’ll talk to you later!!
Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here.
Today we are going to talk about cleaning out your fridge… Sounds like fun right?? Well… as it turns out-next month hosts a day… November 15th and that day happens to be National Clean out your Fridge day! I swear they have a day for everything!
But figure – it makes sense that they would host it right before the holidays! Now is the time to do a full clean out on that fridge!! Purge and clean!!! Don’t get me wrong – I clean out my fridge weekly (Clean it out Wednesday night as that is the night the garbage goes out!!), I toss any uneaten leftovers, I wipe down any spills that I see…but that is about it… I am not always the best at checking expiration dates (I swear this trait runs in my family!!!)… but if I see something not looking right I will toss it.
So let’s do this!!! Let’s open up our fridge and see what we have inside shall we?!?!?!! Just like my post about the 8 steps of Organizing…. What was step 1?? Pick a space and stick with it – That is what we are going to do…go shelf by shelf, one at a time…
We will begin with the Purge!!!
Start by throwing out any expired food you see. Toss out anything that you will not use before it is expired-better yet, if you know of a family or friend who would use it-ask them if they want it (some may think this sounds weird – but my friends and family are close and will share pretty much everything lol). If you have unopened items that you never got around to using – but most likely won’t ever use – look into donating it to a food bank.
Do this for EACH shelf, drawer, rack, etc in your refrigerator AND your freezer!! Then move on to the next phase….Cleaning! Ya – this part is not exactly super fun.. But once your fridge is cleaned and organized you will feel so much more happy!! Ok – wipe everything down… your drawers, your shelves, etc… scrape that gunk that is in the back corner that you didn’t know had spilled.. Clean it up good so we can move onto the fun stuff!!
We are spick and span clean and now its time to Organize!!! Hold up – don’t go putting things right back where they were.. Believe it or not, but some thought needs to go into the organizing order of operations!!
There are so many tiktok videos of beautifully organized and color organized refrigerators out there… but one thing I have noticed.. They don’t always take into consideration where they are putting items/vs how pretty it looks. Yes… where you put items really does matter!! And I am not just talking about veggies and fruit in the crisper drawers.
Think about it in Zones… your fridge has a few of them…
Zone 1 – The Door: this is obviously not the coldest place in the fridge as it gets blasts of warm air anytime the door opens. This is where you want to store condiments. Soda. Juice. Butter. Items with preservatives go here… things that will not spoil quickly. I know that there is an egg compartment in the door, but please… use it for your butter and DO NOT store your eggs here!! Your milk does not want to be stored in the drawer either. You may drink a lot of it and use it up fast – but tell me.. What sounds better to you… a glass of cold-ish milk or an ice cold glass of milk??? Exactly.
Zone 2 – The Top Shelf. This is also one of the warmer spots in your fridge (with the door as the warmest). This is where your leftovers should be kept. This is where foods that have already been, OR do not need to be, cooked should be placed. The temperature in this area tends to hold steady.
Zone 3 – Middle shelf. This shelf stays pretty cold (typically you will get colder as you go down each shelf). This is the area where you want to store your dairy. Your milk, cheeses, eggs can all be placed here!
Zone 4 – Bottom shelf. This is typically the coldest part of the fridge. This is where you want to store your raw meat and your fish. I have a designated bin in my fridge and in this bowl goes frozen meat that is being thawed. If for some reason there is a hole or puncture to the frozen packaging – any spills or leaks of thawed meat juice is contained in the bin and allows for easy clean up and no contamination!!
Zone 5 – The Crisper Drawer – Where you keep your Fruits and Veggies. Now you don’t want to put all fruit in one drawer and all veggies in another drawer. Your fruit and veggies can be combined – what you want to look out for is the amount of ethelyne each produces – that is what you want to combine by….keep high ethylene producing produce away from other produce that does not produce as much. This gas will promote faster ripening (and over ripening!!).
There we go – that wasn’t so bad was it?!?! Just think, now you have so much room to store leftover stuffing and pumpkin pie!!!!
What is your favorite Thanksgiving Leftover??
Who all uses Pinterest? I think almost everyone. You can find ANYTHING on that site!! I have been on pinterest for years… pining recipes, outfits, makeup tips and cleaning/organizing tips and tricks. It’s a great place to get ideas and inspiration….though, I won’t lie – most things I have pinned just sit in their folder. Granted – Pinterest upped their game and added the feature of folders within folders – and this made my heart happy (I am sure every person who loves to organize was jumping for joy when this option became available!!)!! I could organize all my recipes by meal type – I was in heaven, but after that they still just sat there… lol… anyone else?? Bueller?? Bueller?? (I know I am not the only person who pins and leaves them hanging….am I??) (Image found: http://sacraparental.com/2013/10/13/the-sacrament-of-housework-4-my-11-best-stolen-home-organisation-tips/)
Pinterest can be a bit intimidating no matter what your hobby or profession. You login.. enter your search word… and voila…. you have a world of ideas at your fingertips and you can scroll for hours (That’s not just me too is it?) looking at all the picture perfect cakes, closets and wardrobes – and you think I could do that!!
So what do you do? You grab your crafting supplies, your baking supplies or your make up and you go to town… and you end up with … A not so picture perfect product. You have to remember – these Pinterest Perfect Posts are done (mostly) by professionals or at least by someone who has been making the same thing over to the point of perfecting it, and often have the help of some great lighting and props…
(image found at: https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/epic-pinterest-food-fails-2013?sub=2849392_2193016 )
Like I said… Intimidating… But it doesn’t have to be. Those picture perfect cakes and closets – they are not everyone’s reality and that is ok!! Like I said – for me – it is all about INSPIRATION!! When it comes to Pinterest and Organizing – Yes, it can sometimes give us feelings of self doubt…feelings of being overwhelmed… or that we are just not capable of doing something… Well – I think you have to be positive and not focus on the negative… The site can really inspire. Look at it for its creativity and the ideas you can get from it. That is what your focus should be.
I think there are different levels of Organizing for different people. Each and everyone of us are different just like each and every one of our Organizing projects are going to be different. Some people – they have Pinterest expectations, but for most of us – we just want things to work for us. I could be wrong – but I have a feeling those Pinterest Perfect closets and cabinets do not stay perfect for long… maybe I am wrong…. but those people probably don’t have a spouse… or kids…. or company over…ever (I am teasing here – but not really).
So you tell me – What does “Organized” mean to you?? Is it everything matching – labels, soup cans facing the same way – do images of the organized kitchen cabinets from Sleeping with the Enemy pop in your head?!?!?! Or is it the ease of knowing where everything is? That everything has its “home”? You tell me!!
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