Nesting or Spring Cleaning?

I am not an organized person.... but I am married to a very neat and tidy person. And in order to make my life easier, I am learning how to become neat, tidy and ORGANIZED. This past week I have tackled a couple major organizing projects and I have to say that it feels good to toss out some junk and get everything in order.


Maybe I am going through a delayed nesting period? Or maybe it is just major spring cleaning. I never really went through a big nesting phase when I was pregnant with Miss A, so maybe this is just a delayed thing. And NO, I am not pregnant.


My saving grave when it comes to getting organized - baskets. Baskets make it easy for an unorganized person to get rid of clutter, plus cleaning up is easy.... just toss it in the basket.


I have mentioned these built in shelves before.... Having these 8 baskets on the bottom 2 shelves has been wonderful. We are able to keep burp cloths, baby blankets, photo albums, baby books, baby toys, and lots of other baby stuff out in our main living area, yet it is out of sight so it does not look like a Babies R Us explosion. Miss A knows which baskets have her toys and books in them and those are the only 2 that she gets into. Smart little puppy.

Her bathroom has lots of shelves, which would be great for storage - except it is all out in the open. Ugh. Why there is not a door covering up these shelves is a mystery. But the problem is solved with more baskets! Here I can store sheets, towels, wash cloths, baby toiletries, pacifiers and bottles that we don't use anymore.

This is the first project that I tackled this week. We have a pretty big closet under our stairs and it had been a huge cluttered mess -- until last week! I cleared everything out, made sure everything found a home in a basket and then labeled those baskets. Now we can open this closet and not wonder if anything is going to fall out. I now have storage baskets for party supplies, light bulbs, flash lights, small gifts, winter accessories, craft supplies, candles and seasonal decor, and lots of other stuff.

And since I was on a roll, I tackled the pantry. This was the one that led Mr. to think I was in nesting mode. More baskets! And they are labeled!

I still think we do not have enough storage space in our house, but what house ever does? What are some tricks or hints that you have for staying organized?

(All of the baskets / bins were purchased at Wal Mart. The fabric bins are about 2 years old, but all of the plastic ones are from their seasonal section this spring.)

**New pictures over on Baby M**