10 Minute Jewelry Holder

I love a quick craft project. Anything more than a couple of hours starts to loose my attention. Not that I am ADD or ADHD (I have never known the difference), I just have more things to do with my time since I have two little kids running around destroying my house. So I did a quick project to enjoy myself for a few minutes. A 10 minute jewelry holder. I actually prompted me to go through the jewelry I have a give away things I do not wear. Considering I really only wear jewelry on Sundays to church, I thought about having less. One step at a time...

Just a blank canvas I had lying around

A bottle of $.97 paint, foam brush and tape that comes off easily--I did not have painters tape

Hard to see, but tape of the shape you want, I did stripes

Paint freely because there is tape to save you, I did not do the sides

I love the look of canvas

In photo: My hats, a jar for coin change to Disneyland in 5 years, my jewelry holder from an outlet store called DownEast Basics that sells discontinued Pottery Barn, my purses

The closet is a soon to be project. We had this giant armoire from our move and did not know where to put it. So it went in the closet and became my dresser of sorts. All my clothes are to the left, in a 2 foot spot. Everything else to the right and above is Steve's. Someday I will explain. 

When the paint dried, a whole 15 minutes, I put in some push pins in the frame of the canvas and hung my necklaces from it. Everything else jewelery wise in in the silver tray, find similar idea HERE.

Versatile Blogger Awards

Happy Monday Morning to you!

I would like to start off by saying what great mood I am in this morning because Melissa over at Grin and Barrett has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Awards! And I am so honored that someone liked my blog that much. Thank you, Melissa. And I love reading your blog as well.

Here is how the Versatile Blogger Award works:

1. Nominate 15 Fellow Bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award

2. Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award

3. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link to their site.

4. Share 7 completely random facts about yourself.

5. Include this set of rules.

6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination.

 

My 15 blogs:

 

From My Grey Desk 

The Small Things Blog 

Hart to Heart 

IHeart Organizing 

Elle Apparel 

New York Fashion Designer, Taylor Morgan 

Nat the Fat Rat 

J. Bella Style 

Living in Yellow 

Running on Happiness 

The Daybook 

Mariannan 

Marci Coombs 

The Kinch Life 

Grin and Barrett 

 

 

Random Facts About Me:

 

1. I have never had a cavity. Or braces. Or anything wrong with my teeth

2. I was adopted at the age of 5 

3. I did not get my license until I was 18 and already graduated from high school

4. The reason the name of my blog says Goldylocks and I am a brunette is because when I started my blog I was highlighting blonde into my hair every 6 weeks

5. I dream of opening a cup-cakery someday (really just a dream)

6. One of my oldest sayings that always gets a look from the person I am talking to... "That is uglier than Sin"

7. I can eat 5 pancakes in a sitting and not blink an eye to it

Thank you again Melissa for nominating me! And please everyone, take a look at the blogs that inspire me!

Bethany

Bring it ON!

I have something big, scary, amazing and out of this world to tell all of you...

I REGISTERED FOR MY 5K THIS MORNING! 

For the first time in 10 years I will be running 3.1 miles. And I am so excited. 

This is the logo for The Heart and SOLE of Rigby 5k/10k in Rigby, Idaho. The proceeds are going to extended research to find an end to Polio, on its way back. 

The Facebook page (here) says to walk, skip, crawl, hop or run this race. My family keeps telling me I need to train for it, I am! I still believe I will be the last one over that finish line, but I will cross it without walking, I assure you. 

I encourage all of you to maybe think about doing a race. They always (from what I have seen) benefit something. How can you beat that?

Happy Monday -- and Running! BRING IT ON!

Bethany

Bring it ON Monday! : Emergency Car Kit

How many of you like to take trips/long drives during the Spring and Summer? Me too! But since having children I get a little paranoid about breaking down on the side of the road. Every time Steve and I pass someone on the side of the road (never stop, they could be serial killers...In my mind) I always tell him I hope that never happens to me. 

But if it did, you should be prepared to keep your kids as comfy as possible. So here is 3/4 of the Emergency Car Kit I have.

I have a case of mini water bottles, that from time to time if we are thirsty, we can just drink one. Awhile back my sister in law and mother in law broke down on the side of the freeway in the middle of August and the only thing that kept the 3 kids going was that they had a lot of water. Plus, Lilly is still on formula for a couple of months and I need water to make it. You can get a case like this at any grocery store for around $3.

This is our First Aid Kit. It is a "has it all" kind of thing. Even rubber gloves. You never know what can happen, and it hardly takes up any space. But we like to go camping in the summer, so this is a must. (Find something similar here)

And this is the Kit. I think it was intended for a survival kit, but some of the things work for in the car. And Steve wanted it it there. There is a flashlight --with batteries! (very important)-- some pliers for who knows what alcohol wipes, a plastic bag (for the forensic people I guess), a mini first aid kit, an floatie for your keys if you end up in water, a poncho and a whistle (Which is kind of important... sometimes). Find similar here.

I hope you all take this into consideration. The only part I am missing is some kind of food source. I will probably put in some granola bars and a little chocolate, which is good to keep up energy. 

If you really wanted to go all out, you could get a syfone kit, a mini chair, flares, gas can, triangles, hand crank radio and so on. Honestly, if I needed all that stuff, I just dial AAA, that's what they are for. 

Happy Monday!

Bethany

Handy Tax Tool

So here is a great piece of help I used to do my taxes this year. I found it at Organizing Your Way blog. They have some really great ideas for all kinds of organizing ideas. But what I like best about them is their printables! 

Yes, I started my own household binder here, and for some of the items in it I made custom myself because they just worked better for our house. But, Organizing Your Way has hundreds of them to just print for free! 

The one I am highlighting today is the Tax Checklist. It just has everything you can think of on it. All you do is download it, print and check things off as you put it together in a folder or such for you to take to your tax preparer. Or just to have ready and sitting when you have the countless time to put into it. 

Check out their other printables for your easy living. Or, if there is something you would like me to try and make for you, let me know. I love projects like that!

Happy Tax Season and

Happy Monday!

Bethany

I Hate the Corner Cabinet!

When we moved into our rental about 3 months ago I couldn't help but think about all the possibilities I could do with this large corner cabinet in our kitchen... And now I know so much better!

My husband had to buy me a stepping stool to be able to reach the back of it and the top. No joke. So I started just throwing things in it. And it turned into the below disaster.

And at first glance the top is not too bad, but there are only three items on it. Try finding something important on the bottom before the dinner burnt.

After half an hour it now looks like this:

Not amazing, but I can see everything. I can't have more than 3 cans back or I need the step latter and that is just annoying sometimes. And it has a odd shape on the sides so it is actually kind of tight. But I know what is there for the first time in 3 months. 

Have a great weekend!

Bethany

Bring it ON Monday! : Laundry Day...

So you know when you are home for a while and you keep your house pretty clean and organized and you have a little spare time to read and all that relaxing stuff?

Today is not it. I was crazy busy the last 5 days and now have hardly any clothes. So today is Laundry Day in the old time sense. 50 years ago-ish there was a set day every week to just do laundry. Now with the modern washing and drying machines I gratefully have access to I can do my laundry all the time as needed. But today that is all I am doing, maybe I will have it all done by midnight. Cross your fingers. 

Good Monday and Laundry day to you all. I hope it is successful. Otherwise, my children and I may be naked tomorrow.

Bethany

Pantry Labels

I know, I know, it has been a little while. Been busy and then kept forgetting to schedule my blog time. 

But here is a 4 day late, Monday project. Pantry Labels!

Designate sections in your pantry or food storage area with labels so you, and most importantly everyone else in your household, know where to find and put things. This is really helpful when you don't look at the food everyday and get a little lost... at least I do sometimes. 

My friend Megan was so gracious and used her Cricket to make these for me. Then we glued them to card stock. I will be cutting them into strips and laminating them sooner or later, but they are going up tonight in my food storage area! (And was a way to bring out my new color combo favorite! Grey and Yellow)

The categories are:

PB & J
Mexican

Paper

Veggies

Fruit

Beans

Meat

Baking

Fish

Soup

Sauce

Breakfast

Juice

Italian/Past

Enjoy the so-so photos and get to work on your pantries!

Happy Very Late Monday!

Bring it ON Monday! : Handy Counter Top Organization

Hello! After a week of being sick, my children being sick and then my husband being sick, I am finally back!

So today I am highlighting a Christmas gift from my totally awesome friend Shayna. She keeps hers on her counter top, so it has been named the Handy Counter Top Organization.

She saw the origional idea on Pinterest, and then modified it for my family. She took a simple file box to store everything in and then added a monthly outlook calendar to the front of it so you can see your schedule. But the inside is the cool part!

The files are: To File, Bills to Pay, Receipts, Coupons, J. Bella, Steve, Bethany, Kiddos, Magazines and Recipes. How easy is that to put stuff in as it comes into the house!!!!

Plus, you doesn't have a hundred magazines lying around their house? This way you can limit yourself to a certain quantity. When you hit that amount, you have to throw some away, recycle or give it to someone else to use. And I know I have a handful of recipes I want to try but can never find them. This was everything that needs immediate attention can all be in one place.

And stay tuned tomorrow for a J. BELLA GIVEAWAY!

Happy Monday!

Bethany

Bring it ON Monday! : End of Year Organization

I have had the last week off due to being out of state seeing family for Christmas. And can I just say that it was amazing! I love Christmas. 

But now it it time to get ready for 2012! And every year between the day after Christmas and New Year's I do a purge of crap and make one last donation for a tax write off, and it just feels good. And I also start putting together ALL the information needed for Steve and I's taxes. This way, when his W2 comes in January we can just take everything in and get it done. 

So today I urge all of you to do the same this week! Be ready before the last minute and you will have that much more chance to file your taxes on time, and even EARLY. Which means your return comes early as well. How could that hurt?

Happy Monday!

Bet

And later today I will be posting a J. Bella sale to die for!

Bring it ON Monday! : Family Household Binder Part 2

Hello! It is the last few moments of Monday, I have been preparing for a J. Bella party at my home! First time hosting myself so it should be a blast! I am doing it with Wall Candy Decor! Check them out here on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wall-Candy-Decor/219599111383906, They have the coolest stuff! I will be posting my personal purchase TOMORROW!

But, onto what we are all here for, my newest Monday project. But, it is actually part 2 of the Family Household Binder. I decided to start my own since, besides the cost of paper and ink, I could do it myself for free. I have found them on Etsy for $50. So here is some of my work! (My computer would not save it right side up on most, sorry, I look so amateur... wait, I am)

 This is the page having everything to do with the important numbers and such with your home. It says landlord since we are renters right now. (Pardon my hands in the midnight hour!)

 This is the financial page with bank information on it and account numbers.

 This is the medical page for insurance, doctors and all that. You could enter prescription info too.

 This is kids' schedule. Mostly for if something happens to Steve and I and someone who does not know it well watches them. Or if I want to leave for a couple hours my husband can look at it in a panic, and then not tell me he used it.

 Here is our weekly meal plan.... probably should actually try to use it.

And here is our financial checklist where we just mark whether something has been paid or not for each month.

Here in a couple of weeks I hope to have a budget sheet made, a car care sheet, babysitter sheet and more! Anyone have any ideas on a sheet to put together to better organize your family? I would love to hear from you.

Happy Almost Tuesday!

Bet

Bring it ON MOnday! : Laundry Room/Pantry Organization

Hello and hope the start of your week is great! Today I bring you a giant, scary and crazy long project. Mostly to let all of you know, your not alone in that "one room". You know what I am talking about...

That room that hardly sees the light of day. Where all the things without a home, find one. Where the creepy crawlies live and you know that one shoe is in there somewhere! For most of you it is in your basement, others it is the room down the hall. But fear NOT! You can change this evil with a little hard work, sweat and nagging your husband to help.

We have a room in our basement that we use as storage for food and well, everything. It is also the laundry room. We are renters and I would love to make it cute if it is possible, but it's not ours. I have before and after photos for you. And feel free to judge me, I judged myself for this heap honestly. 

But an organization idea for you which can totally be used in your pantry is to sort your food by typical meals you eat. Like Italian or Mexican and so on. A lot of people just put stuff in where it can fit. Bad idea. This is just one simple, and free idea, to make dinner time a little easier. (I will have photos of that another day!) 

Enjoy a good laugh and oh my goodness and feel free to ask if I am a hoader. I am not. These are the before:

And it probably did not help that the owner of the house had stuff down there to from re-doing the house to try and sell. So we had to organized that first. The room is really large actually and the goal is to get a table down there to fold clothes on.

Middle:

And the end! Sort of... I had two sick kids this weekend so we will get to work on the finishing touches this week.

Happy Monday!

Bet

Bring it ON Monday! : $1 Organization Ideas

For those of you that know me, I LOVE the dollar store! Here I am highlighting a $1 container that has endless possibilities!

This is a basic container, labeled for leftovers mostly. It has three compartments that stay divided when the lid is on it. My almost two year old can not get into it!

 The first idea is for game storage. My husband is a big card game player (and uses them for target practice before hunting season) so we have a lot of cards. A lot of the games need dice, so everything is perfectly organized. The unopened cards, extra cards and the dice.

 Bow and hair tie storage for your little princess and even yourself.

Tool storage for the need on hand stuff.

More ideas: Toy storage, Scrapbooking storage, Office supplies, Labels of all kinds storage, Utensil storage for when you go camping. And anything you can think of! And each container is only $1!

Happy Monday

Bet

Bring it ON Monday! : Family Household Binder

For this week's Bring it ON Monday, we are looking at doing a Family Household Binder. I got the origional idea from here: http://www.iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/ , but I did not feel like paying $50 for it when I can do it for free (besides the cost of ink and paper). 

DO YOU HAVE ALL OF YOUR IMPORTANT INFORMATION AVAILABLE AND IN ONE PLACE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY? DO YOU HAVE YOUR KIDS' INFORMATION ORGANIZED IN CASE YOU SOMEONE HAS TO WATCH YOUR THEM WITHOUT NOTICE?

So, this binder will be a home for all information for your home, finances, auto care, children's schedules, to do charts, budgeting, meal planning and even a babysitter's list. 

I have started it, but because we have had so much going on I realized the color I put it in will not print, so I need to change them. I have them through excel. It took a bit of time to make all the charts but I think it will be very helpful in the case of an emergency. I have Isaiah and Lilly's schedule written down in case someone needs to watch them last minute and I can not tell them the basics of their day. I have a list of who our water, garbage, sewer, gas and power are through. Insurance info for life, health and auto/home. Bank information and so on.

So I will have this all done by the end of the week to show all of you! If anyone is wanting one, just let me know. I can put the whole thing together with your family names for $20.

Happy Monday!

Bring it ON Monday!

This is the first of weekly posts on, you guessed it, Mondays!

My goal to encourage myself to post more regularly is to make a weekly post. And since I am a stay at home mom and there is not always a ton going on that is different from day to day, I will make something different from day to day.

These posts will be about me organizing and preparing my family/household on weekly projects. Where applicable there will be photos. I have several plans in mind and I will limit myself to $20 a week for these projects. Amongst the things to come: household binder, emergency car kit and organizing projects for our new home office and family room (where the battle ground of 10 million toys if fought daily). If you have ideas on ways to make a family more prepared for the future events that could happen, please tell me and I will get to it! This will be like my job and I shall enjoy my "work time".

The first post: HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR SMOKE ALARMS/CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS FOR THE WINTER?

Steve and I just moved into our new house in Blackfoot, ID in the last couple of weeks and we are loving it! It has been updated and such and we thought it was great. Then I started inspecting the ceilings and realized that there are NO smoke alarms, none, na-da, nothing. With two ankle bitters you can imagine my flip out. So we went to Costco and picked up a 2 pack of smoke detectors for $23. (Already over my $20 limit)

We also have a gas fire place downstairs that provides the majority of the heat for the house. I have never been in a home with a gas fireplace before. Steve said we needed a carbon monoxide monitor as well in case there is ever a gas leak. Call me dumb, but if you have never had to deal with one are you really going to know??? So we got this carbon monoxide monitor at Costco as well for $30. (The next couple of posts will need to be near free!)

So my first question I would love for you to ask yourselves and feel free to comment on:

Have you tested your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide monitors for the winter? Our usage of heating sources will add to the chances of potential fires for the few months. Those of you with gas fireplaces, do you even have a carbon monoxide monitor?? Enjoy preparing you detectors and such and we will see you next week!

Happy Monday!