Organization – Unlikely Martha

Dollar Tree Organization | How to Organize Small Items for Under $10

If left to their own vices, hairbows, makeup, earrings, and any other small pieces of our daily lives can, and will takeover our spaces if not corralled.

Any product that is small but mighty in number, I know from experience if I don’t create a dedicated space for them they have a tendency to take over and create a cluttered mess.

Please see exhibit Hair Accessory Drawer. It’s easy to just throw things into a drawer knowing that they won’t be seen. The issue comes when you need to quickly put your hands on something and find yourself sifting through a bunch of junk.

Taking a few minutes to organize your drawers will save you a lot of time in the long run. To be successful you really need to take inventory of what you need, and what you don’t. Once you are left with the necessities, you can better evaluate storage solutions that will work best for your home and your budget.

This was my daughter’s hair drawer. I had the extra space and it worked well until it didn’t. While I knew where everything was, untangling hairbows and ribbons was not the move every time I needed something.

I spent about $6 at Dollar Tree for a few bins to make some sense of the madness. The smaller baskets were 3 for $1

I corralled a few of the smaller baskets into the larger one. I did this so that on wash day if I need a variety of hair accessories to style her hair I can grab the large basket and have everything I need in one place. Here are my top 7 hair essentials that I grab from Dollar Tree, some of which are stored in these baskets.

The smaller circle bins house small black rubberbands, beads, bobby pins, knockers and ribbons.

I used the other larger square bins to hold hair clips and rollers.

Each basket is dedicated to a certain hair accessory to include, rubberbands for holding ponytails, clip blows, elastic hairbands and headbands. I use a variety of brushes and combs on her hair. The long skinny bins were perfect for holding those items.

There are so many things and areas you can organize with a similar setup. When organizing spaces that are not seen don’t be too concerned with making sure the containers are decorative. Save your money for areas that will be seen like your linen closet or pantry.

I hope this helps you see how you can use cost effective containers to create a little order in your home.

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Living• Organization• planning

Planning for 2020 | 10 Tips For Choosing the Right Planner

Feels like I was just talking to y’all yesterday about this, when indeed it was a whole year ago that I did a video outlining what planners I would be using in 2019. Well here we are staring 2020 down, and I’ll just say my planning style changed drastically over the past year, and some of those planners from that video were nothing more than paperweights by April.

In 2019, I learned a lot about not falling for the hype of the planner community, and really getting in tune with the type of planner that would work for MY life and not everyone else’s.

Choosing a planner can feel like choosing paint. It seems life-altering when in actuality, a few dollars can help you move on to the next best thing, yet you feel stuck and unsure about a choice of paper. Trust me, you can move on from a wrong planner.

Ask me how I know.

Choosing a planner can be overwhelming, I totally agree. However I think taking the time to consider a few things before you go on the hunt can minimize some of the anxiety about picking the wrong planner.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a new planner:

Be real with yourself, are you more of a digital planner or a paper planner? Sometimes we want to force ourselves into something that doesn’t come naturally. If you live by your Google calendar, it is likely a paper planner won’t really work for you. Consider exploring digital planning options.
If your day consists of doing things at a certain time, consider an hourly layout to keep you on track.
Will you need to carry your planner with you daily? If so make sure you pick something that is easy to transport.
Will you need the option to remove and enter papers? (think grocery lists, school schedules, etc.) If so you definitely want to go with a ring-bound planner. Make sure you don’t forget the hole punch.
Do you prefer a horizontal layout over a vertical one? Not sure what this is about, head to Instagram and peruse the #horizontallayout and #verticallayout hashtags. That may help you decide.
Don’t get sucked into the stickers, while they add a creative touch, they won’t help you be productive.
Keep in mind the weight of the paper. More cost effective planners often have thinner paper and you will experience ink bleed. If the thought of that drives you crazy, pay attention to the thickness of the paper.
Don’t spend a lot of money until you are sure the planner will work for you.
How much writing space will you need? Based on that pick a size that will give you enough writing space.
It is possible that based on your life you will need two planners. Before just grabbing anything, think of the purpose and how you will use each one. You may find that two different types of planners will work better.

Watch me talk about all the things related to how I planned in 2019, and my intentions for 2020 on this video! Make sure you are subscribed to my YouTube channel as well… I’ll love you forever. (just click on the picture and hit subscribe)

I was so against using a smaller planner, but thanks to a generous sale at Hobby Lobby I took the leap into an A5 ring-bound planner and I couldn’t be happier. I explained my love for it in the video below. I’m pretty sure I’ve found “planner peace” with it. I know I’ve said that before, but there is something special about this one!

If you are a working mom, Lashawn over at Everyday Eyecandy has a list of 20 planners that are great for working moms. Check them out here.

I hope this helps you think about a few things before choosing your planner for 2020.

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Home• Organization

How I Organize my Medicine Cabinet with Dollar General

This post has been sponsored by Dollar General. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have this magical way of being super prepared in some areas and completely unprepared in others. As much as I plan, it never fails that someone in the house will get sick. I’ll go look in the medicine cabinet only to find no Tylenol or any other cold medicine. Well, sometimes there is medicine there but it is expired, or the dosing cup is missing, or there is only a drop left.

This year, as cold and flu season is upon us, I figured it would be smart for me to get ahead of the madness by cleaning out our medicine cabinet and shopping ahead of time for cold and flu essentials.

I needed to start with a clean slate, so I cleaned out all of the expired and empty bottles and boxes to make way for the new medicine. I separated the medicines from the vitamins to hopefully keep things more organized. I decided since I’m stocking up,I needed to find the best prices for everything I needed. I went to Dollar General and Walgreens to do a price comparison. I noticed a great cost difference.I even used my savings to purchase a few things for myself.

When purchasing multiple medicines, it can get costly—especially at popular neighborhood drug stores. The beauty of planning ahead is I was able to really look at where I would get more value for my money. I was happy to use some of the savings to purchase a few beauty items for myself. While waiting for Addison to finish dance one afternoon, I ventured into Dollar General to pick up a few items.

If you didn’t know, Dollar General carries the same name-brand cold and flu items as Walgreens and other retailers with the same quality at a portion of the cost. And, you can save even more by downloading the Dollar General app using digital coupons, it’s so easy! Don’t skip on the home decor and storage options at Dollar General either! I ventured out of my favorite home-focused aisles into the medicine aisle to pick-up some Tylenol, BC Powder for my husband, Nyquil, and a pack of Halls.

For basic comparison, the price of a box of BC Powder and a bag of Halls differed by $4.63—with Dollar General being the most cost efficient. I was blown away!

Hall Cough Drops Walgreens: $5.49 Dollar General: $3.65
BC Headache Powder Walgreens: $8.79 Dollar General: $6.50
Tylenol Walgreens: $5.99 Dollar General: $4.00
NyQuil Walgreens: $11.99 Dollar General: $8.50

As you can see there was quite a price difference between Walgreens and Dollar General. I saved a total of $9.61.

Check out the before and after shots of my medicine cabinet below! The first photo is the before, and the second photo is the after, when I shopped at Dollar General to get ahead of the upcoming cold and flu season!

Before

After

Don’t wait until it’s too late; start thinking ahead and stock your medicine cabinet for cold and flu season. Shop at Dollar General, and save even more by downloading the Dollar General app with digital coupons!

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Living• Organization

Back to School | 10 Tips to Get Your Mind Right and House in Order

Growing up, I don’t ever remember going back to school prior to Labor day. While there are still school districts that abide by this trusty rule others are opting for earlier start times, to allow for more breaks during the school year.

July 30^th marks the end of 2 months of relaxation and no schedules and begins ten months of everything but. My children are heading back to the classroom and while a small part of me rejoices the other part of me is getting mentally prepared for all that going back to school entails and it includes more than shopping for school supplies and clothing.

Need some motivation? Here are 10 tips to help you get your mind right and your house in order for back to school:

PURGE

Throw ALL of the too little, no longer useful and unnecessary things away. From clothes, to broken crayons, to hair bows. If it’s broken, hasn’t been used or is no longer useful. Throw it away.

CREATE A STORAGE SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL WORK, CRAFTS, ETC.

Oh, the papers. I’m thankful for one in middle school that brings home minimal paperwork, but with one still in elementary, art work and a lot of ~~junk~~ stuff still manages to make its way home.

Setting aside a folder or a space to store these things make it easier to sort through later…. you know, the part where you decide on which art pieces get to stay and the ones you will toss when little eyes aren’t looking.

Here’s how I keep up with school work.

CREATE A SEPARATE EMAIL FOR SCHOOL CORRESPONDENCE

I can’t stress this one enough. It has been so helpful having one email address dedicated to my children and their teachers and extracurricular activities. It keeps me in the loop, and things like turning in field trip money doesn’t get mixed in with my Target emails.

I even made it cute with emojis.

ORGANIZE HAIRBOWS, ACCESSORIES AND OTHER SMALL ITEMS

Nothing creates stress like a bunch of little things just out and about. Corral those bows, hair pins, earrings etc. The Dollar Tree has exactly what you need to keep those things together so you know where to find them when you need them.

This $10 hair bow organization system has saved my sanity.

CREATE ROUTINES

Everybody needs a routine. What time will you get up, go to bed, cook and eat dinner, get ready for the next day? Not leaving these things to chance helps your day not get away from you. It also holds older kids accountable for doing what they need to do.

Post the routine up if necessary. Trina over at Babyshopaholic has a great morning chart printable for kids to use

SET TIMERS

When I’m moving, I’m just that. I tend to not pay attention to time so this method works for me. I set them for everything. I know when I should be starting dinner, walking out the door to get someone from practice, or when a meeting is set to start. Timers remove one more thing from the to-do list that lives in your head.

MEAL PLAN/COOK AHEAD

This part.

If I didn’t meal plan, we likely wouldn’t eat. I don’t like eating the same thing over and over again so meal planning is important to me.

If you are feeling ambitious, preparing foods ahead of time for a heat and eat option is great for busy mornings. My heat and eat breakfast sandwiches are perfect for having a good breakfast on the go. Make them at the beginning of the week and be on your way.

PUT THE SCHOOL SCHEDULE IN YOUR PLANNER OR PHONE FOR EASY ACCESS

Go to the school’s website and print out the entire schedule. Place it somewhere for easy access. Take a photo of it and save to your phone, put it in your planner, whatever works best for you. I’ve found this comes in handy when I’m trying to make appointments or schedule something and need to know the school schedule. Having it on hand versus having to look it up every time has been helpful.

CREATE A WEEKLY CHORE CHART

Cleaning the house needs to be a family affair. I tried doing the bulk of the work, and I’ll pass.

I’m still flushing out our new schedule and will share when I’m done. I’m certain the kids will be doing the dishes and folding their own laundry. Please, if your kids are older get them involved.

BULK SHOP FOR SNACKS, DETERGENT AND OTHER HOME ITEMS

Shopping for food and necessities can, and will eat up a lot of your time. Plan your store visits carefully, this not only saves time, it also saves money.

Think about getting a wholesale club membership for things like detergent, lunch snacks and cleaning products. They tend to be much cheaper in bulk and you aren’t shopping seemingly every week for home basics. In an average household paper products and detergent will likely last for three months. It is such a small relief to only have to worry about those things a few times a year versus every few weeks.

I hope these tips are helpful in getting your mind right and your home organized for the back to school rush. Have any you want to add, please do! Sharing is always caring.

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