I'm an Organizing Junkie » Org Junkie

Toy storage I’m NOT a fan of……

Org Junkie — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:10:00 +0000

My son had this toy storage container in his room. I actually didn’t mind it when he was a baby because well his toys were smaller then. Now that he is a toddler you can maybe fit one of his trucks, trains or balls into one of those teeny tiny buckets. It just doesn’t justify the space it takes up for the amount of storage it will contain. So I’ve got it sitting in my basement right now just sitting there empty. I don’t want to get rid of it yet because my son is still using the matching bookcase and eventually when I sell them I’d like to sell them as a set.

So here are my questions of the day for you:

1. What is your opinion on these type of toy storage bins?

2. Do you use them for anything other than toys?

3. Do you think I should just get rid of it now and forget selling the pair as a set?

Toy storage I’m NOT a fan of…… is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Storage Star #2 – Dish Rack!

Org Junkie — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:05:00 +0000

I just realized it’s been a couple of weeks since I passed along another Storage Star. My next Storage Star goes to Mrs. Jones and her very clever storage idea for coloring books and crayons! I found Mrs. Jones through WFMW and I just loved the creativeness of this simple storage solution. Such a terrific example of using something for a purpose other than what it was intended. The next time you go to throw something out, take a second and think how about else you could put it to good use.

Believe it or not I actually have one of these dish racks in my basement and would never have guessed to use it this way. I love it!! Head on over to Mrs. Jones to read about another great idea she shares for using paint cans. What a lovely blog she has!

Storage Star #2 – Dish Rack! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Around the Blogosphere and my life!

Org Junkie — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:01:00 +0000

Let’s start with the good news! Remember the ticket I mentioned getting the other day? It was the motivation I needed to finally get my stuff put up on Ebay in hopes of covering that bill. Well guess what? My ticket was $226.00 and my Ebay stuff sold for a grand total of $229.00!! Praise God!!

In other exciting news I have another great giveaway from around the Blogosphere to share with you. Anyone who has read my blog for ~~a week~~ awhile knows how I LOVE the Taste of Home Company. I love all their magazines and can frequently be found “reading” them from cover to cover. The pictures are magnificent! Anyhoo, Molly from Molly-Coddled.com is giving away The Taste of Home Cookbook plus a one year subscription to one of their magazines of your choosing. Sweet!! Head on over and enter yourself if you want!

Also thanks to Kailani who featured my 30 Day Organizational Challenge in her “5 Minutes Around The Blogosphere” column over at the 5 minutes for mom site. Click here to check it out along with all the other great things going on around the Blogosphere this week. I love the 5 Minutes for Mom site, I mean how cool is it that twin sisters gave birth to twin girls only two weeks apart. Amazing! Susan and Janice also run two other websites, A Rocking Horse To Love and Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles. I really don’t know how they do it all!

Considering I’m no longer blessed to have a house cleaner come into my home every other week, I’ve been taking Katherine’s lead and am working on my weekly work schedule. I know with great certainty that if I don’t structure my days a little more than I’m currently doing I will get completely distracted with organizing one area after another and the toilets and dusting may never get down! No matter how you look at it, organized toilet paper is nice but a clean toilet is even nicer….it’s just not as much fun to do. So I’m pulling something together and after reading Katherine’s schedule I’m thanking my lucky stars that laundry isn’t a daily occurrence around here. Whew!!

So my new site is pulling together nicely. Many of you will be happy to know that there will be significantly less neon in the new design. You soon will no longer need to wear your sunglasses to visit me!

Around the Blogosphere and my life! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Menu Plan Monday – October 22nd

Org Junkie — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:01:00 +0000

Hello all you lovely menu planning gals! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and is ready to get their menus organized and posted.

I’m still working on getting my weekly grocery bill down, I’m feeling inspired by Crystal’s $35.00 menu plan. I enjoy reading Crystal’s two blogs (Biblical Womanhood and Money Saving Mom), she is quite an inspiration and I just can’t get over the fact that she is only 24 years old! Her Homemade Pizza in less than 30 minutes recipe from last week was terrific by the way.

I don’t think I’ll ever get my bill down to $35.00 (due to my son’s food allergies) BUT anything below $150.00 for our family of 5 would be nice. I live in a small community where coupons are pretty scarce unfortunately so I’m going to have to concentrate on $$ conscious recipes. If you feel like sharing I’d love to hear how much everyone else spends on groceries each week and your best tips for how you stretch your grocery $$.

So here is what I’ve figured out for this week:

Monday: Meatloaf, potatoes and squash
Tuesday: Slow Cooked Thai Chicken served with rice and broccoli
Wednesday: Three Cheese Kielbasa Bake (Simple & Delicious Sept/Oct 07)
Thursday: Leftover Buffet
Friday: Fajitas

WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU?

*Important – Please link to your individual MPM post instead of your home page. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: right click on the time at the bottom of the post you want to link to, click “copy shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky. Welcome to all new participants. Please let us know you are new to MPM (so we can be sure to visit and welcome you) by putting “I’m new” or “First one” in brackets after your name in Mr. Linky. Banners can be found here.

Menu Plan Monday – October 22nd is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Let’s hope my passion will speak for itself…..

Org Junkie — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 07:04:00 +0000

I’m completely pre-occupied with procrastination. In a moment of weakness I somehow agreed to give my first organizing workshop next Friday. How that happened I’ll never know. The very fact that I’ve not prepared at all for this event is leaving me to think that maybe I just imagined the whole thing. But oh no, it’s happening and I’d better get my act together because somehow thinking my passion is going to take over and be extremely articulate all by itself might be a tad naive. It might be best if I have something more than “Hi, I’m a Freak, nice to meet you” written down don’t you think? No, I’m sure it’ll all be fine….really….because nothing says “junkie” like a person shaking and twitching in the corner curled up in a fetal position!

In other news, many of you have emailed me about how slow my site is loading. Hang tight with me my friends, I’m working on a brand new WordPress site that will be unveiled soon. I’m very excited about it and can’t wait to share it with you.

Have a great weekend everyone! Don’t forget to come back on Monday, October 29th to see what I’ll be giving away in the Fall Y’all Bloggy Giveaway going on over at Rocks In My Dryer. You won’t want to miss it!!!

Let’s hope my passion will speak for itself….. is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Slow Cooking Thursday ~ Sausage Pasta Stew

Org Junkie — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:02:00 +0000

It’s been awhile since I shared a delicious slow cooker recipe with you and this one is soooo good! I will admit that it does require a little more work than a recipe I would normally recommend does but it is worth it and I’ll even share my shortcut tips (in red).

Sausage Pasta Stew

1 pound turkey Italian sausage links, casings removed (did this the night before to save time in the am)
4 cups water
1 jar (26 oz) meatless spaghetti sauce
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces (I asked hubby really really nicely and he did this for me the night before)
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used baby carrots and didn’t bother to cut them up)
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
1/3 cup chopped onion (I just cut into big chunks and then picked them out later)
1 1/2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 cup frozen peas (didn’t have any so just skipped but it sure would have looked even prettier with them)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and place in a 5 quart slow cooker. Add water, spaghetti sauce, beans, summer squash, carrots, red pepper and onion; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until vegetables are tender.
Stir in the pasta, peas, sugar, salt and pepper; mix well. Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Yield: 8 servings
Source: Taste of Home Slow Cooker Recipes 2007

Doesn’t that look pretty and colorful and so perfect for fall! Served with delicious homemade bread from the breadmachine, so yummy!Don’t forget to visit Sandra’s place for many more slow cooker recipes.

Enjoy!!

Slow Cooking Thursday ~ Sausage Pasta Stew is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Fall 2007 ~ 30 Day Organizational Challenge coming soon!

Org Junkie — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:02:00 +0000

Okay ladies, I’ve reviewed all your lovely comments, took them all into consideration and then promptly decided that I didn’t want to alleinate anyone from participating. In fact I want this to be an opportunity for everyone to get a space or room organized in your home without having too many limitations or parameters. So look for this challenge to be run very similar to the last one that took place in the spring with two categories, a small space AND a whole room. In other words no excuses! This is it! I’ve been a busy little bee behind the scenes over the last month securing sponsorship once again so that you will also have a little motivation to keep you going, besides the tiny little factor of having your before pictures documented for all the world to see!

The competition will begin on November 1st and run for the entire month of November. On November 1st I’ll put up a Mr. Linky for you to link up your “before” photos and before you go getting all panicky about that, remember this….the worse the before picture, the greater chance for improvement, the better the chance of winning. That’s how it works, so display those before pictures proudly I say!!

Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to an organized space this Christmas. You are worth it!!

Organizing is a PROCESS not a destination.

I would love it if you could help me spread the word. Thanks!

Fall 2007 ~ 30 Day Organizational Challenge coming soon! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Do you like fun AND functional?

Org Junkie — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:44:00 +0000

Then you must check out my new review over at my product review blog!!

Do you like fun AND functional? is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Talk About Tuesday ~ Ebay Pile

Org Junkie — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:02:00 +0000

So apparently I’m having this thing with piles. Last week I talked about my purge pile, this week I’m talking about my Ebay pile! This is what I’ve been busy doing:

On Sunday I spent many hours putting all this stuff up on Ebay. I’ve been procrastinating doing it forever but I suddenly found myself with plenty of motivation. What’s that you ask? Oh only my first ticket ever….uggg…but not for speeding…I went right through a stop sign in front of a cop. Definitely not one of my finest moments. Now I’ve got to make some money so I can pay up!

I’ll be honest, I don’t particularly enjoy selling through Ebay. It’s so much work but the payoff can be nice with the right products so I occassionally make the effort. The types of things I sell are mostly name brand products (5 pairs of Robeez for instance) or things that can’t be consigned here like books or baby gear. You always know when I’m Ebaying because food items in my cupboard start losing their boxes so I can package items up :)

I’ll be so happy when this stuff is out of my house….I’ll have some much needed space in my gift collection closet again in preparation for Christmas presents and of course so I can pay off my ticket!

Wish me luck!

If you’ve got something to talk about visit Lara’s site!

Talk About Tuesday ~ Ebay Pile is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Menu Plan Monday – Oct 15th

Org Junkie — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:02:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I am feeling better now, whew, being sick is never fun. Thank goodness I had crockpots meals on the menu for two of the days last week. Since they are so quick and easy to prepare I was still able to have supper ready for hubby when he came home from work, despite being sick. Thank you to everyone who left me well wishes. I really appreciate it!

I’m so so sorry for all those (myself included) that got spammed through their MPM post last week. It disgusts me and if anyone knows what to do about it please let me know!

Yesterday I got my freezer re-organized and I’m hopefully going to share pictures of that later on this week. What’s more exciting than that…lol!

So here is what is on our menu:

Monday: Fresh Asian Chicken Salad with homemade bread (breadmachine!). I like to keep it pretty simple since Monday is my busiest day of the week.

Tuesday: Crockpot Sausage Pasta Stew (I’ll post the recipe on Thursday if it turns out)

Wednesday: Crockpot Tarragon Mushroom Chicken served with rice

Thursday: Leftover buffet

Friday: Crystal’s homemade pizza in less than 30 minutes!

Have a great week everyone!!

WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU?

Menu Plan Monday – Oct 15th is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie