Anyway all that got me thinking that I haven’t done an Ask the Freak episode in awhile so why not today.  This means I go through the stack of emails I’ve got going on and pick one of your questions to finally answer.

Since I’m just about four years into this blog I’ve got a bit of blog material to refer to now and often it gets buried and is hard to find.  So you’ll see that sometimes I’ll elaborate on the answer here and other times I’ll just point you in the right direction to where I previously posted about the topic.

Today’s question is this:

Question:

I have recently started following your site.  I LOVE IT!  Thanks for sharing all the great ideas.  I was wondering if you have an idea on how to organize recipes I have printed out, clipped out of magazines, etc.  I have a ton of recipes in paper that I would love to organize to make them better and easier to find.  I was wondering before I start to come up with ideas if you have any ideas already in hand that you could share with me.  I would greatly appreciate the help.

Answer:

This one I can definitely point to because this was a huge unresolved issue in my life last year and many of you will remember the journey I took to finally get my piles and clippings of recipes under control.  I’m still using the same system today which says a lot :)

My Recipe Organization ~ Part One and Part Two

You might also find helpful Organizing Recipes to Suit YOUR Needs

and another post I did called Organizing Recipes (I’m nothing if not original in my titles :)) where I discuss a variety of different recipe organization options.

There really are so many great ways to organize recipes, perhaps you can help my reader out by sharing your method?

Ask the Freak is back! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

I received this email in response to my Command Center post:

I have the same dilemma that you recently posted about. My house opens right into my kitchen. I always have shoes and my purse and my work bag laying on the floor in the kitchen when I get home. We also have a dishwasher in the entrance corner that has a counter space which I think would be a great place for a starting place but… I can’t figure out what/how to deal with it.

My husband tells me that I like to organize but don’t use the organization… I told him it is because I haven’t found the right way to organize it yet.

I’m at a loss. Excuse the mess but we just ate breakfast and haven’t cleaned for the day!!!

The plastic bag hanging on the door is stuff to return to the store.

There is a small set of hooks to hang the jackets as you can see. I would leave the jacket on the porch if it wasn’t 20 degrees out side right now… I’m in Maine.

Mail gets thrown on the counter above the dishwasher, I have been pretty good about throwing out the junk stuff right away but I can’t seem to do something with the rest. I have a binder to organize stuff but haven’t figured out how to use it yet!!!

I’m a high school math teacher and I am extremely organized there but just can’t seem to get it together at home.

I need HELP…. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.!!!!!!

Here are the pictures of her entryway:

Instantly when I look at these pictures I can see a few changes this reader, I’m going to call her Elle, can make to allow her front door entry space to function a little more efficiently. The problem here is none of the things on her dishwasher or on her floor have homes (designated spaces) so we definitely need solutions here that create homes for all of these things.

First I definitely think she has room for a bench by the door there, something with some storage underneath to help her get her stuff up and off the floor so no one is tripping over shoes and bags. Ideally it would be big enough to house not only the shoes but also an I’m Outta Here Shelf for her returns and things. Elle didn’t say what her budget was but I tried to keep all my suggestions reasonable.

So let’s get started with one of my favorite bench options (click on the pictures for source information):

The bench lifts up for shoe storage and the little cupboard would be perfect for things that need to be returned or even her purse/bag. The drawer could be used for sunglasses, cellphones, wallets, etc.

I would love to see this shelf below hanging above the bench for the coats. I would then add some nice baskets in the cubbies to hold things like hats, suntan lotion and other things that are handy to keep by the door for easy access.

Here are some other bench options that are also very nice and a little less expensive:

Two of these (below) side by side might also work and then they could also be wheeled over for additional seating around the table if needed.

Now as for over Elle’s dishwasher, she has some valuable space there on the walls not being utilized. I would definitely suggest implementing some of the ideas I mentioned in my Command Center post to try and corral the mail a little bit and get it off the counter. I think it’s important to try and keep our counters as clutter free as possible in order to avoid paper getting buried in piles, not to mention the visual distraction those piles provide.

Here are some additional options to the ones I posted about in my Command Center post:

My friend Amber uses an inexpensive pot lid holder as a mail sorter which works great. I blogged about it here. Below is also another very inexpensive option:

For a clever do it yourself project I found this oh so adorable organizer on the Martha Stewart site. If you are handy (which I’m totally not) instructions on how to make it are here.

I hope you find that helpful Elle. Happy Organizing!

Ask the Freak ~ Organizing the Entryway is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Gosh it seems like forever since I used my cute little guy above. I’ve missed him :)

Today’s question comes from Melissa of Seven Matters. Melissa’s question is such a common one that I knew I had to try and answer it.

I have a question about mail and other papers that come into my house. I have tried for so long to find a system that my husband can get on board with, but he still comes home and puts his papers and keys and briefcase etc. on my kitchen counter! I only have a small amount of counter space and what I do have is a catch-all for junk, and important papers alike. It drives me crazy! As you can see in my pictures, there is some wall space to the left of the counter. Can you recommend a wall hanging organizer that might help de-clutter my counters, but is budget friendly?

As with many families, the kitchen seems to be the hot spot for accumulated paper such as incoming mail, school papers, receipts, newspapers, etc. Finding a system that works for the whole family is a must in order to relieve some of moms frustration and free up valuable counter space.

What we need to establish here is a Command Center and Melissa has a great space in the corner that is ideal for this purpose. It’s ideal because it is centrally located in a room that is frequented by all and can be utilized by all. I think Melissa’s suggestion of a wall hanging organizer is a terrific suggestion and I was able to find a few that might work for her.

A Command Center is a beautiful thing. It’s somewhere to capture the bits and pieces of life that are happening right now and can’t be filed away just yet. It is not a solution to the permanent filing. No, no, no. Instead it is a revolving display of miscellaneous documentation, a communication center for the goings on of life. Perfect for things like important telephone numbers, birthday party invitations, receipts for items needing to be returned, school papers with specific information on an upcoming event, bills to be paid, and so on.

In Melissa’s case I think she has room to incorporate either a bulletin or magnetic board as well as a wall organizer. I personally like the idea of giving each member of the family their own space (or at least a section for mom/dad/kids) so some of my selections below will allow for that if she so wishes.

First let me show you a picture of one of my favorite Command Centers from Organize Magazine. Isn’t this something! The links to the products they used can be found here. The green bins are my absolute favorite and were purchased from Staples. Unfortunately I can’t find them online but further on you’ll see I found a pretty good replacement.

I have so many ideas and in my research discovered all sorts of wonderful products out there, it really was hard to narrow it down. Keeping in mind Melissa’s desire for it to be budget friendly, this is what I came up with.

Clicking on the pictures will take you to where I found them online.

1. I LOVE this one from Amazon for $34.95:

2. NiftyTin HoldIt Organizer Bin for $8.99 each:

3. Fabric Organizer from the Container Store for $14.99 each:

4. The Fridge File for $13.00 each.  Read my review here, I love this one!

5. Wall mounted mesh basket ladder for $31.46:

6. Charging Station Memo Board for $19.95.  Also be sure to check out Etsy for cute memo boards.

7. Desktop sorter for $19.99 ~ even with a wall organizer something like this might still be nice for the counter:

8. Magnetic Magazine Pockets from Organize-It for $19.99 each:

9. Bulletin & Magnetic Strips from the Container Store for $14.99 each.  I’ve also seen these at the Dollar Store.

10. Make your own wall organizer with Momready, this is fantastic!! Instructions here.

The thing to remember is that no matter which organizer you select it will take some discipline and consistency to establish the new routine of putting the papers where they belong and not on the counter. It CAN be done though and you CAN succeed!

Happy Organizing!

Related posts:

Organizing your entryway

Create a Kitchen Command Center with Real Simple

Awhile ago I posted about using an inexpensive plate holder to organize papers

Creating a Mail Center with Declutter It!

Create a Command Center and get your paper piles off the counter! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Question #1 ~ Barb wanted to know how I became so determined to organize every single aspect of my life. Was I like this when I was young?

I got quite a few questions like this actually. I definitely don’t think I was a born organized type. When I was a teenager I can clearly remember not being able to find my dresser top as it was so cluttered with products! I truly believe that organizing is a skill anyone can learn though. I think it finally dawned on me how beneficial organizing was when we moved into our first home. It was small at 900 square feet and I quickly realized that I needed to get pretty creative if I wanted to keep us (four of us at the time) from living in constant chaos and tripping over one another and all our stuff. It started with us converting a closet in our dining room into a “computer room”. My hubbie thought I’d lost my marbles when I suggested it too. Now he fondly looks back on it as a “stroke of genius”. I wouldn’t go that far but it’s sweet he thinks so. I loved having our office in the dining room and I loved that I could close the doors when I was done and no one was the wiser. I had all our office supplies in there and all of our files. I miss it still even though we no longer live there. Anyway creating that closet unleashed a passion in me that to this day hasn’t grown old. Before I knew it I was adding extra shelves in the top of all our closets and my container buying frenzy slowly started taking over my life!

Question #2 ~ Janeen asked what the hardest room in my house is to keep organized and how I do it?

Well the hardest rooms hands down are my kids rooms and only because I let them have a say in how it is going to be done. It would be so easy for me just to go in and do it for them and make the decisions myself about what stays or what goes. Unfortunately it wouldn’t teach them anything so over time I’ve been slowly trying trying to introduce them to the PROCESS steps and empower them to make some of these decisions on their own. This is NOT easy for me to do and some days I just want to haul a big ole garbage bag in there so fast because I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE (okay maybe I have done this once or twice)! Other days I see them carry out one of the steps on their own and I rejoice.

Question #3 ~ How can I get through the Container Store without leaving a trail of drool behind me?

Definitely can’t be done, bring tissues :)

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I hope you have enjoyed this first installment and will join me again next week for Edition #2 of Ask the Freak!

Ask the Freak – Edition #1 is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie