preserving a memory

After travelling with my kids I can't help but wonder, will they remember anything about this trip?  Will they remember how significant it was for our family?  Will they remember little snapshots in their mind?

I usually make some type of photobook to remember our trips but I also wanted something they could directly remember...something more tangible.  

We collected sand at each of the beaches we visited while we were away.  When we got home we funneled the sand from the different places into little glass bottles.  We wrote on a little slip of paper the date we were there and location of the beach and inserted it into the bottles.   My big girl has her little sand bottles on the dresser in her room and loves to look at the differences in the sand and talk about her memories of the places we visited.  Maybe, just maybe, she will recall this trip in her mind longer with something to jog her memory. 

Monthly Organization: sweet memories project UPDATE!

If you remember this post about the Memory Keepers from this fun place, you'll be delighted to know that they are offering $40 off your order with no minimum.  Can you believe that?  

Just use the code: BEGINANYWHERE at checkout and they will deduct $40 off your order.

At $38 bucks a pop, with $40 off, you can have great fun 

making some Memory Keepers of your own!

Enjoy!

Paper Coterie

Monthly Organization: sweet memories project

A good friend recently wrote a little post on keeping her son's artwork and special little things in a box.  I thought it was a great way to keep all those sweet memories organized without all the hassle of scrap-booking.

I began thinking and realized that I have a whole drawer full of papers of my daughter's.  Aside from her school work and art (which I keep in a three-ring binder), we have birthday invitations, birth announcements, holiday cards, special programs, and all the stuff she came home from the hospital with when she was born.   All of this stuff is important to me and I think it will be important to her someday.

I have been on the look out for a good box to put some of these important things in but never seem to find just the right thing.  I recently ran across this website and fell in love with their "Memory Keepers."  They are high-quality boxes that can be personalized and used for all those papers you want to keep.

 

I made a few for my kids and some for gifts too.  Wouldn't one of these be a perfect baby gift?

Anyway, I just fell in love with the idea and thought I would share in case anyone else has an entire drawer full of paper for their kid that needs to be kept and somehow organized.

P.S. They have a sale going on right now on these fun boxes - 40% off and free shipping - use "MEMORY BOX" at checkout

Monthly Organization Project 4: "Preschool Papers"

Project Time:  10 minutes
Project Supplies: 1-inch 3 ring binder, sheet protectors, sticky back paper, computer, printer, scissors

My big girl began preschool last week.  Already, many little projects and precious pieces of "art" have come home (my favorite are actually the little notes).  We always display what comes home on the fridge.  When new work comes home, it replaces the old work on the fridge and stack of  precious work begins to develop.  What to do with these sweet little pieces has quickly become important as I don't want to throw some of the little things that come home.

While I was at Target yesterday, I noticed that all their school supplies are 50-75% off.  I found some nice 3-ring binders and thought they'd make the perfect Preschool Work organizer.  This 1-inch binder was only .98 cents!

I got some sticky back paper (mine are actually shipping labels that I use when I ship) and printed a fun little label to go on the front.  I used "Giddy Up" font and found a cute image of a schoolhouse.

I trimmed up the label and stuck it to the front of the binder.

Viola!  Now we have a place for all the work of a budding and excited preschooler.  Now, I won't keep everything, just the things that mean the most to us.  

I also plan to use this binder to put class pictures in and any other preschool-related items we want to save.  A year of preschool in 1 binder!

On a side note, I use plastic sheet protectors inside to keep all the work in.  That way you don't have to ruin a masterpiece by punching holes in the sides.

Monthly Organization: Project 3 "Laundry Hamper/Laundry Room"

Ok, so I have completely slacked off on my Monthly Organization projects.  This summer has been a busy one.

One area that does not run so smoothly in my house is the laundry room.  The washer is constantly running because I hate the stacks of clothes that pile up on the floor.  I don't have a hamper in our laundry room to collect dirty clothes that get thrown in after a messy supper with 2 kids.  This was never a problem with 1 kid because I could easily keep up with the small stack that mounted on top of  the washer.  But now with 2 little ones and my husband, I desperately need a place to collect dirty clothes.

I have always longed for a neat, tidy and stylish laundry room.  I spend so much time in there.  It should be lovely!

I love the vintage and industrial look of a rolling laundry hamper with heavy duty stainless steel casters.  I have found a couple I like but many are pretty pricey (especially for a dirty clothes collector!).  I am still on the hunt for that perfect  hamper that marries bright shiny stainless, quality and a canvas collection liner. These are the latest contenders:

From Pottery Barn:

This one has all the right pieces but might be a little too vintage for me.

This one is from BedBathStore.com:

This one has the modern stainless but doesn't have the nice stainless caster wheels.  I know, too picky!

From KitchenSource.com:

This one is nice but lacks the wheels!

And from The Container Store:

So far, this one is the best yet.  I like the heavier duty look of the wheels.  I am not a fan of the black plastic casters.

I will keep you posted when I get this project done.  

How do you organize your laundry room?  Are you a once-a-week washer or is you machine constantly running like mine?  I am going to find a way out of all the laundry woes!

Monthly Organization: Project 1 -- Paint Storage

I am constantly reading about ways to organize my life, home, children, schedules, papers, etc.  I love organization and find it extremely useful now that I have children to keep up with.  Often, I get overwhelmed with all the organizing propaganda that I get hung up on all the stuff and never accomplish anything.

I am going to try to finish one organization project a month.  This is a realistic goal and an affordable one.  Organizing with all the fun accessories I love can get quite pricey so I am going to focus on one project a month.

This month, I organized and sorted through all our paint.  Our garage is full of old paint cans that are unlabeled, old, rusted and many of which are unusable.

 

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I recently read an article in Martha Stewart Living that suggested storing touch-up paint in glass jars inside.  This can prolong the life of the paint up to 10 years!  Especially in my neck of the woods, the hot summers can destroy paint left in the garage.

I love touch-up paint!  It is extremely useful to keep on hand.  Every couple of months, I get out our touch-up paint and touch up nicks and scuffs on the walls.  It is amazing what clean walls can do for a room.

To accomplish the paint project, I first ordered WECK glass storage jars from here.

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They are actually canning/food storage jars but they worked wonderfully for this project.

I filled each jar with paint and labeled it with the corresponding room and paint information on a tag.

It was so neat to see all the colors together.

I realized that I really am drawn to green, khaki and blue hues.  When we go to paint other rooms of our house, I can choose a color that will blend nicely with the existing colors...this is now incredibly easy to do because of the glass jars!!

I am incredibly pleased with this month's organization project.  Plus, it has freed up a lot of room  in our garage.  Now all I need is one shelf in my utility room cabinet to store paint.  Aahhh, the joys of a successful project!