Organized Closets, Craft Rooms and Clean Bathrooms

I've been on Spring Break all this week and what have I been doing??? ORGANIZING!!! Most people find it a repulsive task but I think it is so fun...I know...I'm the weird one. Here are a few things I've done this week:

First was one of Matt's closets that's in the hallway. We don't have this problem with any of our other closets in the house, but for some reason this closet is really shallow. Regular clothes hangers don't hang right on the rack...they sit at an angle. This takes up so much valuable space...and more importantly, it doesn't look pretty. I spent some time looking around on the internet at hangers and had a great idea! Children's hangers!! They're much smaller than regular hangers and they'd probably fit in the closet nicely. I found these Nuby hangers on Amazon for $3.69 for 10 of them. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Nuby-Pack-Hangers-Colors-Vary/dp/B001IUTYXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331251165&sr=8-1

These hangers came in the mail 2 days later (I love Amazon prime...definitely a valuable investment if you buy alot of things online like we do). Free 2 day shipping on most items! Anyways, the hangers were just what I needed! Matt's man pants fit on them perfectly and they were shallow enough to fit in the little closet! Everything looks so much better! 

I also wanted to organize Matt's ties. He has so many.  We registered for a tie organizer when we got married and we got it and it has been great. It only holds 16 ties, however, and Matt has about 30 ties. I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get another one and they didn't have it anymore! They have it online, however (it's called a Walnut Tie Spinner).  I didn't want to spend $10 plus $7 shipping for a new one and then I had another great idea! Look on Amazon! I found the same exact thing there for $9 and free 2 day shipping. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Richards-Homewares-16-Hook-Spinning-Hanger/dp/B000VX176C/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1331251657&sr=1-1-catcorr

I just love Amazon. While I was at Bed Bath and Beyond I did decide to get a belt organizer. I found this one for about $6 (with my 20% off coupon) and it works wonderfully:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=134645

I got the shoe rack about a year ago at Ross for $10. Here is the final product!

The next thing I did was organize my belts. They've been kind shoved in the back of my closet and in different containers and they've been hard to get to. Most of my belts aren't like Matt's with a buckle so I couldn't use on of those organizers. I did find a solution though! We have the world's tiniest closet in our bedroom...seriously, it's miniature.  The door, however, has a hook on it. I hung a clothes hanger on the hook and it's a perfect solution to belt hanging.  It's now way easier for me to see my options!

Next was the closet in Matt's man room. I love storage containers. In my opinion, you can never have too many. I also love to label. It makes me feel good inside. I have this tall container with drawers in it to organize things like extra toiletires (ie soap, shampoo, etc), Matt's long-sleeved shirts, makeup that I don't use often that won't fit in my bathroom drawer, travel toiletries, and creams and lotions. 

I also organized my scarfs and hung them in this closet. Mrs. Paula (my mother-in-law) got this idea from Pinterest (of course) and bought me the supplies to do it! All you need is shower curtain rings (dollar tree), thick and hearty hangers (I used flimsy ones before and those were no good), and scarves! They found a nice home in Matt's closet (because my closets are just way too full). 

The other half of this closet I just organized with more storage bins, of course!!

Next is my closet! I got the shoe racks at Target about a year ago. I love them. The rest of the closet is just organized with more storage bins!!

Next I organized my cake supplies!! I have a whole cabinet in my craft room dedicated to cake stuff. Here is my cabinet!

Another thing I did was organize my cupcake cups! I previously organized them in the pink box in the picture above, but it started mushing them and they were losing their shape. I left my silicone cupcake cups in the box but I found a better idea on Pinterest for my paper cups! This took like 2 seconds. I got these containers at Hobby Lobby for less than $10 for both of them and voila! 

Another thing I actually did when I moved into my house about 3 years ago. I spent a long time looking for something to organize my necklaces with. I found my solution at the Home Depot!! I found this tie rack and it turns out that it's perfect for hanging necklaces. It'd be awesome in a walk-in-closet. I had to hang mine behind my door in my craft room because I don't have a walk-in-closet. I love how it turned out. 

The last thing I actually did when Matt moved in and I rearranged my rooms. I organized my craft room! I call it organized chaos. It might look crazy and overwhelming when you first walk in, but everything has a very specific place that is probably labeled. I just want to note that the large pink bookshelves I found on the side of the road...yes, I am sometimes one of those people. They were sitting on the curb a few houses down on my street and I couldn't help but confiscate them. They were black before but I painted them pink with a little yellow thrown it. They're just what I needed! I actually purchased the other things.  Here are some pics!

I think that's all for now. I also have organized a utility closet that wasn't worth showing and another of my closets and my attic...but I'm not going to bore you anymore with my organizing endeavors. I just get really excited about having a place for everything and everything being in its place!! I hope this has inspired you to get organized!!

Another thing I've been doing over the break is deep cleaning my bathrooms!! One night I spent 2.5 hours just cleaning a shower. It was pretty gross though, I'm not gunna lie. I clean every week, but I think it was just in need of some deep cleaning. I found some ideas on Pinterest (of course). I'm not going to upload pictures but these things really worked!!

First is the tub scrub! I used this to clean tile and the tub. It worked wonders!!

http://www.marthastewart.com/265635/tub-scrub

Next, I used a dry sheet to remove soap scum!! This is what I was most excited about. Our house is about 50 years old and the shower had SO much soap scum on the door. I couldn't for the life of me get it out! Then...I used a dryer sheet.  It didn't removed all of it but the glass door looks like a different door!! I was so excited!

http://www.realsimple.com/new-uses-for-old-things/new-uses-cleaning/dryer-sheet-as-scum-buster-00000000043218/index.html

Lastly, I used vinegar and a hard-bristle toothbrush to clean some hard to get places (tile grout, around the drain, etc). It was incredible!!

http://decorate.tipjunkie.com/how-to-whiten-tile-grout-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TipJunkieAllSites+%28Tip+Junkie+~+Creative+Inspiration%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

So that's been my Spring Break and I've actually enjoyed it! I feel like a new person being all clean and organized. Until next time!

Pepperoni Cheese Stick Rollups, Burlap Photo Mats & DIY Tile Coasters

I've been a bad blogger this month. I've actually been doing other things...like school work. It's been pretty busy around here lately so I haven't been able to do anything awesome and blog-worthy. HOWEVER, I did manage to create something delicious yesterday!! They're called Pepperoni Cheese Stick Rollups and they were DELICIOUS!! I read on Pinterest that these would be great for children...at that moment I knew that they'd be perfect for us. I don't have a very refined pallet.  I prefer to stick to the basics when it comes to food...the perfectly delicious basics.  Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2012/01/pepperoni-cheese-stick-roll-ups.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FofLCo+%28The+Girl+Who+Ate+Everything%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

I wish I would've kept them in the oven for about 2 more minutes. They were a tad bit under cooked but still so yummy. If there's pepperoni and cheese there's probably no way that I'm not going to like it. 

I also didn't put garlic powder in the buttery glaze. I don't really like the taste of it for some reason. 

Here are some pics!!

MMMMMMMMMM!!!!

February in my family is a time for birthdays.  My momma's birthday was on the 13th and my dad turned 50 on the 24th! For my mom's birthday I made her this craft. This is her favorite picture from our childhood and I framed it for her using a frame from Michaels, burlap, and scrapbook paper.

I used a 20% off your total photo frame purchase coupon and on top of that it was already on sale (always check Michaels.com before you go there...you can get some great deals that aren't available on the app...also, be sure to sign up for their emails because you can get some awesome coupons from that too). Anyways, the frame ended up costing me less than $4!!! Now THAT'S a bargain! I also sanded the sides of the frame down to give it a more rustic feel.

The burlap and green scrapbook paper both came from Hobby Lobby. I got the burlap in the fabric section and had it cut for me.

She loved it!!

Lastly, for her birthday I made her some drink coasters made out of 13 cent tiles from Lowes and scrapbook paper. Here's the link to my other blog post on how I did this in the past:

http://katiehedge.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-gifts.html

I put a "C" scrapbook letter sticker on 2 of them before I mod podged them. 

Of course I got her some other things too, but these were a few homemade things! 

Hope yall enjoyed!!

Broccoli Mac n Cheese, Chicken Ranch Lasagna, & Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello!! So...here are 2 things that I've made for dinner lately that turned out really yummy.  Then of course I might add a little somethin somethin that's sweet to the mix.

First I made mac n cheese from scratch with broccoli!! A perfect combination, right? Here's the link to the recipe:

http://cravingchronicles.com/2011/03/31/broccoli-and-white-cheddar-mac-cheese/

It was supposed to be white cheddar mac n cheese but they didn't have white cheddar at Kroger when I went so I used mild cheddar. I did in fact grate the cheese myself...it was quite a workout. It was really yummy and I'd  definitely recommend it...especially if you consider yourself a macaroni and cheese connoisseur like I do. 

Here are some pics!

The next thing I made was Cheesy, Chicken, Ranch Lasagna! Sounds incredible right? 3 of my favorite things all up in one delicious dish...and delicious it was! 

Here's the link:

http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.com/2011/10/cheesy-chicken-ranch-lasagna.html

Lasagna noodles are kind of a pain in my butt...no offense, lasagna noodles.

I used chicken thigh meat and I wish I had used chicken breast meat. Next time I'll definitely do that. It kinda takes a long time to make but it's definitely worth it in the end.

Aaaaannnnnddddd I saved the best for last!!! CUPCAKES!!!!

I made this cupcake a few month ago and it was SOOOO delicious. I even made a blog post about it. It was so good I made it again...but I did it a little differently. Last time I made a chocolate cupcake and topped it with a mint cream cheese frosting. This time I topped it with homemade chocolate buttercream because I know that some people don't like mint. Man were they good! I topped the cupcake with a little Andes mint (for old times sake) and some cute, colorful nonpareils.  I made them to take to a little Superbowl party we went to at my aunt's house and everyone seemed to really love them (who couldn't? It's CHOCOLATE)! 

Here's the link to the cake recipe:

http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2011/05/andes-mint-cupcakes.html

Here's the link to the chocolate buttercream icing:

http://foodcomablog.com/2012/01/chocolate-buttercream-frosting/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foodcomablog+%28Food+Coma%29

And here are some pics!!

I hope yall enjoy!!