Closet PowWow with the Masked Mommy

If you haven't visited the Masked Mommy's website, you are missing out! I am so inspired by her as she pulls her house together room by room, closet by closet, cabinet by cabinet! And she's not afraid to show you her mess (of course, she's masked and I'm not). I've been wanting to join up with her Closet Pow Wow for a couple of weeks now but household illness prevailed -

Anyway, I did work on my hallway closet...please bear with me and know I worked on it while everyone was ill. Some really organized people will probably not realizde the After is really an After, but for me it's a huge improvement!

So, my goal was to organize the Hall closet. When we first moved into this house 6 years ago, my husband took the hanging rod out and put in shelves for me to store my Creative Memories business supplies and other miscellaneous household items - hats & gloves, cameras, etc.

BEFORE

Various Views: Miscellaneous Stuff just shoved into the closet over the past few months --- toys for my "gift" closet that I bought on clearance, Joey's new scrapbooking items and Ella's new sneakers (oops, if I had not cleaned out that closet last week I probably would have bought her another pair at the consignment sale last night - and then repeatedly kicked myself in the tush for being so disorganized!) - this all pretty much means most of my business supplies sit in their totes in the kitchen or hallway (Great when company comes over!). Or the other alternative - inventory shoved in with everything else and me over-ordering 'cuz I don't have the energy to dig through and see what I already have. It's a rather deep closet and you can see how much wasted space there is.

Okay, here are my AFTERS. I know, I know, they aren't completely organized but I have now made a home for all of my Creative Memories Inventory bins and fit them with easy access. I have grouped like items such as backpacks, electrical and of course, you have to have one "junk" bin full of stuff that you don't know what to do with but know you have to keep. I moved my "gift closet" toys and puzzles to the basement. And here is my BIGGEST SECRET REVEALED.....I MADE A HOME FOR MY VACCUUM CLEANER! Yes, for 6 years, my vaccuum has roamed from room to room, upstairs and downstairs and sometimes being hidden in the garage when company comes. I could never quite fit it anywhere permanent in my home as all the closets are relegated to other things.
How cleaning my closet will save me money:
1. I can more easily pull out my business inventory to see what I already have and what I need to order for my customers. There's nothing like ordering a $35 item that was buried in the closet already.
2. I removed my completely disorganized "gift closet" items and moved them down to the basement. I was able to inventory whose birthdays I already have gifts for (did lots of shopping at the Target Toy Clearance in January) and now I won't be spending extra money on a gift I don't need or spending too much money finding only over-priced gifts by shopping at the last minute.
3. Things are stacked and orderly, they fit better into the closet and will therefore have a longer "shelf" life (haha) as they are not being jammed in and crushed by other items.

I'm sure there are several more but that's all I can come up with at 11pm after taking some benadryl to try to deflate my incredibly stuffy head!

-Heather (the still sick chic but getting my mojo back!)

What works for you???

I have had something on my mind the last few days. I recently had a conversation with a friend about this blog, and methods I use to save money. She conveyed to me that she would not be able to cook for several hours on a Sunday, that would drive her crazy. Something must not have felt right to me about that, because it stuck with me for a few days. I think what stuck with me is that the message of this blog is to offer many ways to save money, and that you readers should not feel like you need to use every method, tip, or deal posted here. The object is to provide many methods, so you all can get fresh ideas, and learn new skills. You decide which ones you will use.

I think I speak for my Sister as well when I say we do not take advantage of every deal that we post for you. I don't request every free sample, and I do not always cook ahead every week. I shopped CVS once last week and that was the first time in about a month, and I had NO extra bucks!!!

If you are new to this Blog or any Money Saving Blog, I want to point to you a few different options to help you decide what is best for you. Here is a post my sister wrote on coupon organizing. She shows the two ways she does it, but you can choose one or the other or both. If you choose the second one, you might want to consider keeping the files in your trunk, go here for some more great organizing tips.

Also, here is a post I wrote about not having time. I wrote about how I layered couponing, rebates, online surveys, over time until it was manageable for me. Even now, it can be overwhelming. Nothing is more important than taking care of your family or yourself. When it is possible the posts written here, and by the Bloggers on our sidebar provide you with deals, samples, and opportunities to take advantage of.

Only you can decide what your family needs. Thanks to my friend for reminding me of that!!!