Monday, May 23, 2011

chalkboard labels, an old crate, and thrifty organizing finds

I decided that with summer just 4 days away I needed to get a little more organized around the house--yep my kids are out of school on Thursday--yikes!


Here are some things we're doing around here to keep the mess to a minimum:


chalkboard labels:
can you tell I'm in love with chalkboard paint yet?

here's a shot of my mud room/laundry room.
I have 4 laundry baskets to organize the dirty clothes

and these 4 baskets are for each of my kids. *Hint* This is the best organizing thing I have ever done--got the idea from a neighbor one day. Each of my kids have their own baskets (as marked by their chalkboard initial tag).

When the kids sort the laundry they put the clothes in that person's basket. Also, as I go around the house, if I see something of theirs lying around I will pick it up and put it in their basket. Once a week (or sometimes more) their job will be to empty their entire basket and put away whatever is in there.

I love organizing bins and totes, and never pass up a cute basket or bin from the thrift store--I know I can always find something to put in them.



I found these cute old crates for $5 each, and love the additional character the signage makes.

In one, i've thrown in all kinds of stuff (egg cartons, paper plates, random scrap papers) for the kids to go to town on any art projects they want.
I found this cool vintage coal bucket to coral shoes.


more buckets: this small one is from the dollar spot at Target--I just spray painted it with chalkboard paint--it works great to hold my gardening supplies and random balls and baseball mitts, etc.
This really large metal bucket was found at the thrift store--it sits in the garage to hold larger items like bouncy balls and bats.


thrifted paper organizer:

summer school: In the summer I try to be the good mom and have my kids keep up on their school work. They do one math page and read for 20 minutes, then do one job, per day. I have 3 kids in school so I have prepared math pages on their level for each of my 3 kids.




Remember my chalkboard door I recently finished?


This is where I put the jobs my kids need to do each day.



I think these ideas will help keep my house from looking like a total disaster this summer. What ideas do you have for me?

7 comments:

  1. Wow what great projects! I love them and I love those chalkboard basket tags. So adorable. I have chalkboard paint somewhere...I'm off to go find it! Hahahaha....
    You have such a nice blog I always enjoy seeing what you are upto!
    Blessings,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  2. You always have the best organizational tips...I could have used them when my kids were little!! I really like the idea of using the chalkboard paint for tags. That I can try! Thanks so much!

    XO,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  3. love the chalkboard idea and jobs listed for the kids...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great job on the baskets and labels. And such a good idea having a basket for each child, and you're teaching them valuable lessons along the way. I have two coal buckets sitting in my garage still waiting for me to do something with them. You put yours to great use, tami

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great job. Baskets are the best for organizing but look much better with your labels. Loreen

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am obsessed with chalkboard paint right now too! I love the tags, are they made of wood?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I too would love to learn more about the chalkboard tags. What are they made out of?

    ReplyDelete