March Madness...and thus it begins.

So, every year, we celebrate random things in March, like 311 day, the NCAA tournament, track and field meets start, little league baseball opening day and spring break.  March truly is madness around here with so much going on, but while Ben is watching his favorite teams (boo hoo BYU), I have been busy celebrating March madness in my own way.  I found an awesome blog on organizing, and Joy is just my speed.  http://www.justorganizeyourself.com/

She is practical and efficient.  Our first project was the plastics cupboard.  Here is my before picture:

The kids can never find a lid for the container, so we end up with plastic wrap over plastic in the fridge and we all know that never stays, it is so frustrating.  I'm sure this never happens to anyone else, she says in her most sarcastic voice.  So, after I had everything cleaned out and matched to their lids (I even had to clean out the leftovers in the fridge to get all the containers together, so bonus point for me), I sorted through it and made a pile of stuff for the garage sale (I made a few bucks on my plastic stuff alone), made a pile of give-away containers (you know, the dishes you take to your friend and don't care if they come back), and the rest were put back in the cupboard.

Here is the middle of the process:

I was so proud that I got rid of so many things.  With such a large family, I rarely use the small containers, so I only kept a handful of those, and made sure I had lids to go with all the larger sizes that I use so often.  I did this on a Thursday morning, and on Friday afternoon Ben went looking for a dish to put some leftovers in.  Boy was he surprised.  He even came looking for me to tell me how wonderfully easy it was to find a container and that I had done a good job.  That is like a three point swish in my book.

Love it!!!

My next project was to tackle my desk.  Being the mother of 8, and taking 9 hours of classes at ASU, this is my home away from home.  I practically live in here, so it is always a mess.  If I stay on top of it and keep things put where they belong, it is no problem.  Unfortunately, I am like most of the population and cannot always stay on top.  I need some sort of motivation to clean.  Thanks again Joy!  Here is before:

If the kids don't know where to put something when they are doing their own chores, it usually ends up here, but I'm guilty of the same thing.  All my bags, folders, binders, and even the walls serve a purpose for me.  Notice my huge 3 ring binder on the desk?  That would be my MOM binder, waiting for me to organize.  Well, check that off my list because I DID IT!!  I keep it with my family calendar in the other room, so you won't see it here.  Did you notice my cute little assistant there?  She is my constant companion.  I don't know what I'd do without her.

And After:

A place for everything and everything in its place -

Blue bag - football binders and information so I can grab it and run

White and navy bag - Family History class paperwork (there is tons, it needs its own bag so I can grab it and take everything with me when I go do research)

Black CD case on bottom shelf is for my pictures when I take them off the computer

White CD box is for all my lesser used CD's that I already burned to the computer

Textbooks on the top shelf where they are easily accessible

Wicker basket for all my miscellaneous things - like my free day at Disney tickets!!

Black and white folders for things like my other classes, pop warner quick access info, info on running, writer's group notes, etc.

Shredder under the desk for immediately shredding my mail (it's only junk mail anyway).

The t.v. shelf next to my desk has love notes (most important - they remind me why I go to school), and a pedigree chart to keep family history stuff straight in my head.

So, maybe it is only interesting to me, but I feel like I've made it to the sweet 16 already. 

Stay tuned, more madness to come...now that I have a nice clean place to work.