Let's Get Organized

Today I'm hosting a linky party on my other blog: ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative! Let's Get Organized together! Come share let us know how you organize your:

• Learning Materials and Curriculum
• Toys, Puzzles, and Books
• Craft Materials
• Home and Holiday Decor
• Kitchen Pantry and Cabinets
• Linen Closet
• Schedules
• Shopping Lists
• Meal Plans
• Recipes
• and anything else you've come up with!

We'll keep the linky open for the rest of the month so you'll have plenty of time to share! Here are a few from me. One way I try to tame the clutter in our house is by having furniture that works extra hard and pulls double duty. My husband jokes that this antique secretary is the world's most expensive toy chest.
I love all the pretty details of the piece and the display room it gives me for things little hands shouldn't touch. The drawers are great for stashing things and keeping them close at hand, like ER's playdoh and tools.

I also have this great end table, it was a hand me down from my friend Alicia but perfect for us. She displayed pretty art books on the shelves.

I on the otherhand added baskets and now it's the perfect place to all those little toys that never seem to have a home, like Happy Meal toys! ER can quickly get to things and it's simple to pick up. Just throw everything back in. I try to purge often so they aren't overflowing, looks like it's time to do that again!

If you regularly read this blog, you already know I LOVE papercrafts. To help make crafting time fun and the limited time I have productive I needed a way to keep my vast paper collection organized. I have two 12X12 expanding files that I sort my patterned paper by color into.

To keep my scraps from overwhelming me, and so I can find them again and use them up, I also sort them by color. Since they are scraps most fit nicely into a pull out file drawer. I also keep my 8.5X11 solid colored cardstock in the same files.

My 12X12 cardstock I also organize by color and keep in paper holders by Cropper Hopper. I access these papers the most so I like the durable containers that withstand being taken out over and over. The paper pouches that came in the holders are great for keeping paper collections together.

Sometimes I buy several sheets by one company that coordinate or get paper by a specific theme like birthday or beach. They are also good for carting paper to scrapbooking crops. I used 40% off coupons to purchase mine and they were worth the money! If I had more shelf space I'd keep all my paper in them.

I just found this caddy at Target, for only $2.50 you need to run and get one NOW. I love it. I can set out all of ER's things for a variety of crafts and it's all within reach for her. Now I am not carting one supply after another out of the closet and over to her table. I set this out and then move the whole thing back when we're done.

Don't forget to join us at our Let's Get Organized Party! You probably already have a great post on your blog that's perfect to add!