Bosch Universal Mixer
I LOVE my Bosch. I use it for much more than just bread. In my opinion, it is the best mixer for the money. I use it almost daily. This morning I have found even more reasons to love it.
I LOVE to read…
When I was a kid, I hated reading. It is possible I was a little obstinate.
I I didn’t want to read what someone told me I had to read, so I just didn’t read anything unless forced.
After college, I developed a love of reading. I read what I want to read. I usually read for entertainment and as an anxiety coping tool. I enjoy many different genres, but I have my favorites. I especially love going into the children’s section and reading from the middle school level of books. As a general rule, I know I can pick up almost anything there and be assured there is nothing objectionable. I want my kids to be able to pick up any book on my shelf and read it themselves.
I can disappear inside a book and emerge hours later 
My Bookshelf
This is my bookshelf. It is in my favorite room of the house and I love it immensely. Not everything will fit on these shelves, but my favorites are there.
I wanted to inspire a love of reading in my children. It doesn’t have to be boring! So I have purchased books, new and used, for years. I love to re-read books, and I love to share them.
I am more than willing to loan out my books to friends and their kids, if I know they will take care of them AND return them. So I have a system…
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I have a dream….
One day it would be really nice to fit both cars in our 2 car garage. It has never happened in our 21 years of marriage.
Every couple of months my husband and sons clean out and organize the garage. It never stays that way for long. A few years ago we built wood shelves at the front of the garage to help with storage. They are very nice, but have not been used to their potential. We also took most of the camping equipment and seasonal decor down to the basement.
This is a picture of the garage after we had already started sorting and getting rid of things.
The bottom shelf is always a disaster. Every one of us is guilty of dumping things onto it. We can never find what we are looking for either. Also, it is just too convenient to walk out the door from the house and toss things onto that shelf.
This time we decided to spend the time needed to get it really organized. This process has taken my husband and I two weekends, but it is so worth it!
Here are the steps we took:
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Today you get a two for one post! I am going to show you my laundry room makeover and a laundry sink skirt tutorial. My laundry room is located on the main floor of my house and has an entrance from the redundant hall, and an entrance from the mudroom. I like the convenience of it’s location, but it is very visible from my dining area, which leads to our family room, and no one seems to be able to remember to close the door to it. So whenever friends come to visit, they see the mess. I decided to see what I could come up with to make it look better and stay clean and organized.
I’m afraid I did not get a before picture, but imagine sticky laundry soap residue on the top of the washer, dish towels and other misc. stacked on the dryer, wire shelves full of mismatched items and containers, and ugly rug on the floor and a very ugly laundry sink with paint stains inside it.
Take a look at how it looks now!
Laundry Room Makeover
Here is what I did:
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In our house there is a small area as you come in from the garage. We call it the mudroom. It has a nice big closet. However, it was ALWAYS a mess!
It’s feels like Fall around here. The kids are back in school and I am in a de-clutter and organize kind of mood.
I hereby declare ORGANIZING WEEK at Cooking up a Project!
I will be posting everyday this week with organizing projects I have going on at my house.
There are a lot of different ways to approach getting organized. I like the idea of simplifying. What makes my life easier and how can I organize areas that fit into my, and my families, already existing habits?
Sometimes this means I have a system that works really well for a while, but then needs changed because our schedules or needs have changed. For me that is what it is all about. Organizing to make my life simpler.
I will not use a “system” if it complicates my life or is difficult to keep up. Oh I will try for a while, but then feel like a failure because I can’t maintain it. Have you ever felt this way?
There are 4 basic rules I use when organizing. If I stick to them, I am happy with the results.
Tanya’s Organizing Rules
Have you ever read the book…If you give a mouse a cookie? The story goes from the mouse wanting a cookie, which will make him want a glass of milk, which will make him want something else, and on and on. That’s how I felt as I started the project to get my spices organized.
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