Spring Cleaning Challenge- Day 4

Yesterday I started work on the hall closet, but wasn't able to get done.  I wanted to get packing tape to tape boxes together to use instead of buying all new containers to put things into.  I was able to get out today and buy tape, plus I did end up buy two containers fore $3.67 each.  I really like the containers that Walmart has where the top latches to the container.  I also picked up packs of bins that were on clearance for $1 each.  They would be good for organizing desk drawers or for my kitchen drawers.  I also looked at bins to store toys inside, but they were $3.50/2, and seems smaller and more flimsy than the ones I already have.  I also put up the peg board in the toy room, but I want to move 1/2 of it to another space because I don't like how it looks.

I worked by pulling things out and placing them on a table in the living room.  My hallway it too tight to have the table in there so there was more leg work, but I didn't want to put things on the floor since the kids were home running around.

At the top I have my cleaning supplies, sorted by air & fabric refresher; spray cleaners, scrub brushes, and carpet cleaners.  The second 1: medicine, sunblock, hair care, and lotions.  Shelf 2:  lady's time of the month supplies, vaseline, wash cloths, cotton balls, and bars of soap.  Shelf 3:  hair accessories and brushes (3 ball jars for bands and clips, brushes, headbands and other in boxes), box for nail care, box for face care, box for body space and etc.  Shelf 4: bag of cologne sample and lotions, hair cutting, extra shower curtain.  The bottom I am keeping open for buckets for cleaning (right now they are helping me clean fish tanks).

In the end I had a box partially full of things that have other places to go, a cardboard box that has been following me around full of bathroom supplies since I got home from college in '03, and lots of garbage.

I also organized the cabinets in the bathrooms.  I put all the tooth care items in the half bath because this is where we all brush our teeth most of the time.  In the fake wood cabinet in the full bath, I kept the top shelf for my husbands shaving, the middle is for me which has my face cleaning cloth from Norwex, and the bottom is my daughter's with her hair brush and earrings.  In the metal medicine cabinet: tooth care on bottom, medicine and maintenance kit on top with my multivitamin and tweezers.  The wooden cabinet in the half bath: my women's needs (makeup, deodorant, perfume) and first aid and medicine on top, middle shelf has extra mouth wash and cups, my husbands deodorant and Q-tips, the bottom shelf is all tooth care.

I dream at night to be rich and be able to have a remodeled bathroom, with matching baskets to hold items.  I also wish to go through my hair care and lotion stash to get that down to a few and open up more space.  I think the latter is more likely to happen in the future, but I am super happy to know where things are and how much I have.  I am constantly buying things over and over because I don't know if I have them or not.  It is getting easier and easier for my to organize these days.  Before I would clean an area and get frustrated when I couldn't find something I had just seen while I was cleaning.  Now with the help of this blog as motivation and picture proof, it is helping me to find lost items and keep my sanity.

Next up: cleaning the bedrooms.

See more who linked up at the Spring Cleaning Challenge:

Spring Clean : The Why :: Home-EC 101 

Spring Clean: Floors and Windows :: Amy’s Finer Things
Spring Clean: The Kitchen :: Tidy Mom  
Spring Clean: Home Office :: Untrained Housewife
Spring Clean: Declutter Around the House ::  Live Renewed
Spring Clean : Main Living Area :: Biblical Homemaking
Spring Clean: Conquering the Kids’ Room :: Living Well Spending Less
Spring Clean: Outdoor Living Spaces :: The Greenbacks Gal
Spring Clean: Garage and Cars ::  Organize365

I'm also linking this up to Project Simplify '12.