Friday, November 30, 2012

The Great Shredding Project of 2012

If you're a regular reader you know that I am an extreme organizer. I don't hold onto things that I don't need and am constantly trying to clear the clutter around my house (despite angry protests from my family to not touch and sort through their things).

I'm not entirely sure where I got this super organizing jean from- but it certainly wasn't my father. Recently, my mom and I decided to take on the bins in our attic that he has been storing up there for years. Want to know what was inside?

  • Every receipt he has ever held
  • Every paycheck stub he has ever gotten
  • Every bank statement he has ever gotten
  • Folders full of information, maps, receipts from every vacation we've ever been on
  • Envelopes for every Christmas full of receipts from the presents bought
  • Important papers that had gone "missing" such as birth certificates...
  • Information from when he coached a soccer team
  • Information from every business/ house he has owned
Want to guess how many BIG bins were up in the attic?

Go ahead take a guess...

Okay, anyone who guessed 30- you win! And that is in addition to the crates that were full of papers located behind them (probably at least 15 of those).

So we started bringing the bins down and shredding the insane amounts of paper, because really who needs bank statements from 1992? Yeah, no one.


He had so many binders full of THICK bank papers that needed to be shredded one at a time. Oh did I mention they are from a bank that no longer exists? Yeah, he really needed those...


See the bin in the background? FULL. All of those crates were full too. Insane amounts of paper!


Another picture of those bins in the background- all before it was shredded away!


Check out those empty bins! And one bag of shredding...Don't worry there were more bags then that!



This was at the end of the night when we finished the last few papers. Wait till you see what was already in the garage waiting to be recycled...





Can you believe how much shredding we came up with?! This is only from one 6-hr day worth of work. There is still plenty more to go in the attic and plenty that has already been sent out with the recycling during the last few weeks. I cannot believe that my dad has held onto so many papers for so long. The kicker however is that he not only collected these papers- but transported them during 2 different moves! It is crazy!!!

Do you have trouble keeping your papers organized? Wondering what to get rid of and what to keep? This might help you!


Document Storing Guide
Will
Until Updated
Credit Card Records
Until Paid 
(if paid can shred unless you need them for tax purposes)
Bank Statements
1 year (or can toss if you use online banking)
Birth Certificates
Forever
Real Estate Records
Until you sell the property
Receipts
Toss (unless returning item- or it is a BIG purchase)
Warranties
Until Expires/ Get rid of Item
Vehicle Titles
Until You sell car
Tax Returns
Seven Years
Pay Check Stubs
Until you get your W2


 Please keep in mind that I am NOT a financial expert of someone that you should take your ultimate advice from a financial professional. Please do what works for YOU and your family. You also might have documents that we don't have in our house due to your own financial plan. The best way to find out what to do with them is to do a google search and do your own research or contact a professional.

Now I challenge you to conquer your own paper clutter! I will keep you updated on our progress over here!














Thursday, November 29, 2012

Little Projects

Lots of little projects have been taking place this week- all things that either will help my life be more organized or something that simply makes me smile every time I look at it!

First off, I painted some floating shelves that hang up high on my wall. I have a pair of them and they hold things such as my Disney World snow globes that hold sentimental value to me- but I don't need to be touching and using on a daily basis. These shelves were unfinished wood and were just a light wood color.

Lately I've been obsessed with white furniture. None of my furniture in my bedroom is white- but I wish it was! I decided to start with these shelves and see what happened.

Disclaimer: Remember that I never once stated I was a great painter....

Here is one of the shelves before it was painted- boring and NOT white:


Then the following process has happened:






The finished product looks like this:






It's so nice to have the shelf look brand new with just a little coat of paint! Excuse the lights on the wall in the above picture they fell when I put up the shelf! =)

I also took an old candle jar and followed a pinterest idea. I wanted to clean out the wax so I simply boiled some water in our tea kettle and then poured it into the candle jar. Slowly but surely the wax began to rise in the jar until it was all removed. I waited for the water to cool down before removing the wax and then had a nice clean jar to work with. (I also wiped it down with a windex wipe just to make sure that it was completely clean and clear). 

Here's what I stuck inside:


So cute right?!



After the holidays I will be using this jar to hold nail polish! 

Another project I have completed over the past few days was shop-vaccing the garage! It was very dusty, full of cobwebs and dirt. It definitely needed a little bit of love!






So much cleaner!

I also lined my nightstand drawers....






I also took some time to type up my inventory lists-separating them by category because I'm a nutcase like that =)

Have you completed any little projects in the past week? Tell me about them!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Makeup Purging

I had never really thought about discarding old makeup until I started reading organization blogs and realized that there were expiration dates for more than just mascara. I had always discarded mascara but just held onto other items such as eyeshadow for years and years. This week, I went through the drawers where my not-everyday makeup lives. I had quite a bit of junk in there that I literally hadn't worn in years!

My first drawer was FULL of eyeshadow. I had a bunch of drug store palettes that I honestly couldn't remember buying. I know the majority of them were around when I was in high school...yeah time for those babies to go!



(I'm not entirely sure how I ended up with all these pictures sideways....sorry!)



That was what I purged from the first drawer. 5 different eyeshadows/palettes and 6 eyeliner pencils.



That drawer looks so much better! The few palettes I have bought recently, a new eyeliner, and a sharpenere.



The next drawer had a bunch of lip products and other random things...



And the purged items from that drawer were a lipstick, chapstick, blush, and a powder.



Overall not a bad purge for makeup in one day!

It just makes me feel so much better when I am able to get rid of some things that have expired or that I am no longer using. It's like having a weight lifted off your shoulders =)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Ebay and Coupons

Ebay

I have a newfound love for Ebay. I had never really put much stock in Ebay I didn't really care to check  it out. That was until my friend Kristin told me that she had been selling tons of childhood items on there for quite a bit of money so I decided why not give it a try!

I listed 20 items, just random things such as American Girl doll clothes, a pea coat, some boots, and other random things. I sold 6 of them for over  $40! I would have donated these items and received nothing for them! Although I firmly believe in donating items to people who need them but I also think that if you can get a return for the item you purchased that is great too!

The items I sold too were just simple things I had hanging around that I was no longer using!

  • an American Girl doll raincoat for $6
  • a Magic Attic Club doll gymnastics outfit for $7
  • a peacoat for $9.05
  • a mini American girl doll for $8
  • a sony memory stick for $2.05
  • an Iphone case for $10
plus the buyers paid for shipping! 

I have a bunch of items I'm hoping to sell on Ebay because it just makes it so easy to make a little money for my used items!


Coupon Time

  • If you have a Dunkin Donuts near you- you should definitely sign up for their rewards program. On their website you can find the link and you get free items from them very frequently. In the past month I have gotten FOUR free coffees. That is about $10 in coupon savings!
  • I also saved $5.50 in coupons at Walmart the other day. Just from printing coupons off coupons.com! It truly is a lifesaver and amazing how much you can save on little items that you might need. I would definitely like to get better at couponing so I will continue practicing!

Do you do Ebay sales? Have you made a lot off of your items? 
Do you coupon? How much have you saved doing couponing?

Monday, November 26, 2012

Oh Christmas Tree...

As promised...

Our family Christmas Tree!





Remember when I said I had too many ornaments for my mini pink Christmas tree? Well I upgraded...


Yes, I got my own 6.5 ft Christmas Tree for only $40! Not bad at all!


My ornaments definitely don't take up this entire tree, but it is definitely nice to have one in my room all lit up! It has absolutely put me in the Christmas spirit (as if I wasn't already).

What does your tree look like this year? Do you have more than one tree in your house? I would love for you to leave a comment with a link to a picture of your tree!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

I DID IT!!!!

Guess who successfully ran their first 5K yesterday morning?

THIS GIRL!

My time was 30.31 which meant I ran about 10 minute miles- I was very impressed by that time for my first 5K!!

I ran with two of my friends from work, one who had an issue with her foot which meant she was running a little bit behind us. But Kaitlin and I ran the entire race together which I found very motivating. It was nice because when I wanted to stop and walk she would tell me there was no chance I could stop and walk. I ran the entire time!

Since my main goal was to simply finish this race and check it off my bucket list- the experience was extremely positive- they even gave out super nice long sleeved shirts! =)
Unfortunately I had to stuff that super nice long sleeved shirt inside my fleece pocket which made me appear to weight approximately 1000 pounds in all the pictures taken!

Here's my race number:


Finishing the race..you can kind of see me behind that guys head....

Photo: Finishing the 5k behind that guys head (you can kind of see me...)

Kaitlin and I right after we finished the race

Photo: Just finished!


Making friends with a turkey =)


Rachael, Kaitlin and I after the race!


My parents came to watch too which I was so thankful for! It was so nice of them =) Kaitlin took a picture of them with me after the race so when she sends that to me I will have to share it!

Overall it was an amazing experience and I can't wait until my next race! Which will be....? To be decided =)


But guess who was waiting for me when I got home...


Have a great day everybody!!! =)


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Here comes Santa Clause....

Happy Saturday Everyone! As your reading this blog post it's very possible that I am at my first 5K! I will be updating as soon as possible with my recap of the race- patience!

Cross your fingers that I am running not walking right now!

Today I am sharing with you my Christmas Decor! I decided to decorate my room for Christmas earlier this week and took pictures of the process- it is not completed and I do need to fix a few things. I am also considering getting a larger artificial tree...

To preface this post I just want to tell you that I have  A LOT of Christmas decor for a girl who still lives at home. When my grandma passed away my papa basically had us over and split up all the ornaments. My mom didn't want anymore ornaments for her tree so I became the ornament scapegoat. I am thrilled to have so many precious ornaments that belonged to my grandma but I definitely need a bigger tree to display them all!

First of all, this is the bin that I store all my Christmas decorations...I had already started to unpack at this point...what a mess!


Last year I had made a simple paper chain which I placed on my door- I think it looks pretty nice! I also love my stocking which my friend Rachel gave me that hangs on my door.



I also pulled out the red and green candle holders. The candles I stuck in there are a little bit big!


The top of my bookshelf...


The middle of the bookshelf...


Lights around my mirror...they fell on the right hand side which has since been fixed!


More bookshelf...


Little bags hanging from hooks, and my scarf frog!


Some friends chillin by my movies!


Polar bear hanging out by the new IKEA lantern!!


Santa in the corner...


I usually fill him up with some hershey kisses!


Love having a holiday decoration to hold everyday items like nail polish!


This little elf is my favorite...I "stole" him from my grandma and papa's house when I was little and have kept him ever since. He's the cutest little thing.


A bunch of my ornaments that won't fit on my baby pink tree!


How did you decorate your room or house for Christmas???

I will be showing you our family spaces and our Christmas tree soon!