First up, I grabbed these soft sided organizers for dishes and I cannot tell you how happy I am with this purchase. Not only did it help me clear bins of holiday dishes stored in boxes, it simplified the holiday dish situation. I’ve been collecting Spode Christmas Tree dinnerware for over 20 years and started with just wanting to do mugs and dessert plates, but a couple years ago I found a set of dinner plates on clearance after Christmas and completed the set. I have some serving pieces too – I love using this during December and Christmas Eve and Day.

If you have a good set of china in storage in boxes, this is a great way to get them out of boxes and into safe storage. The dish storage also comes with felt rounds to go in between each plate.

via Amazon

A couple years ago I grabbed one of these boxes for each of us. They have two layers and hold a lot of ornaments. The kids each have their own ornament box – this keeps their ornaments separate and some day they’ll be able to take their box to their own homes.

via Amazon

When I start undecorating I quickly go through the house and gather things up by type and put them on the kitchen and dining room tables. Then once I have everything taken down I take those items and put them in bins or boxes. Make it easy to find holiday decorations by sorting and storing like with like. Take it a step further by labeling the exterior of boxes and bins and by keeping your holiday decorations grouped together.

Sort like with like – soft items like stockings and the tree skirt go together in a bin. Garland and other greenery are stored together in another bin.

I use these white storage totes in the basement for holiday decor and storage of other items as well. They’re large, stack easily and keep the storage light and bright in the basement.

I put smaller ‘collections’ in 2 gallon zip top bags to keep the items together and easy to grab and decorate. Lights, smaller greens, and ornaments are great to keep sorted out this way.

Make sure you have a place for your decor and that it is easy to locate. This makes holiday decorating and undecorating easier and so much more enjoyable when you have less and can easily locate anything you’re looking for!

If there are decorations you haven’t put out for a while consider donating them instead of continuing to store them. It’s okay to not keep everything. Less is more when it comes to holiday decorations.

I use large divided storage bins for large items like village homes and snow globes. They keep these items together and eliminate the need for the large, bulky boxes that these items came in.

via Amazon

I linked up all my favorites for organizing holiday decor below and in my Amazon shop.

Wheeled Storage Bin – Great for keeping your holiday decor color-coded and organized. I love the wheels for easy access.

Wreath Storage – If you have nice wreaths that you’d like to keep separate from other items in a bin, these are great!

Tree Storage Bag– This is a great tree storage bag with plenty of height options to choose from so it fits your tree perfectly.

Latching Storage Box– These are great if you are tight on space, you can see what’s inside and slide it under a bed or stack them up in a basement or attic.

Light Organizer – If your lights are a tangled mess you’ll love these light organizers!

Green Storage Bin– Green makes it easy to separate from other storage bins – I love that these are see through too!

Ornament Organizer – I love these ornament organizers – everyone has one in our home. They’re sturdy and fit so many ornaments!

See-Through Storage Bin– Another bin, another option for storage!

China Storage – These were a game changer for our holiday dishes – such a great find!

White Storage Totes – My favorite storage totes!

Large Decorations Storage– Love these for storing larger items together – snow globes, Christmas villages, etc.

Gift Wrap Station – Perfect for keeping your wrapping paper contained and organized!

The post Favorites for Holiday Decor Storage appeared first on Clean Mama.

Years ago, I outgrew the one ‘Recipe Binder’ and split that one binder into three: Recipes, Desserts, Holidays. If you’re not interested in doing a recipe binder, might I suggest a Holiday Recipe Binder OR if you are already a recipe binder fan, maybe you’d like to add a Holiday Recipe Binder to your collection? I love menu planning and looking back through recipes and cookbooks and find the binders to be scrapbook-y and a visual history of sorts. It’s super simple and might just save your sanity next year when you’re looking for that awesome fudge recipe you made last year and can’t remember where you found it!

I used the Holidays & Celebrations Divider for the inside cover from the printable kit in my shop – Dinner Rotation & Menu Planning Guide Kit – it includes a full Recipe Binder Kit with tabs. I like keeping recipes I haven’t tried yet in the pocket – once it’s a keeper it gets a permanent spot in a plastic sleeve.

You can see in my Recipe Binder Kit below that I used the tabs included in the kit – I find it necessary in this binder because it’s so much larger and more extensive.

I love the simplicity of a Holiday Recipe Binder – make a decision on how you want to organize it and start to file away these special recipes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Make dividers for each holiday and put them in calendar order, for example: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Birthdays.
• Divide it into 2-3 sections: Holiday Main Dishes, Holiday Side Dishes, Holiday Desserts.
• Maybe you just want to do a Birthdays Binder or a Christmas Binder or a Thanksgiving Binder – you don’t have to combine all the holidays into one binder, you could do separate binders for each occasion!
• Just put it all in a binder as you get started and make a decision later on your sections.

When I first started this Holiday Recipe Binder I photocopied the recipes in a holiday color – you can see some red pages from those days. Now I just cut out a recipe from a magazine or print it on white paper from my printer.

Larger recipes are folded in half and occasionally if I have multiple different recipes of the same item I’ll pair them in the same sleeve so I can access them and cross reference the recipe.

Here are a couple supplies I’ve used to make my Recipe Binders:

• Dinner Rotation & Menu Planning Guide Kit
• a binder (or 2 or 3) – similar to what I used
• bookplates – not necessary but cute
• plastic sleeves to put the recipes in – this protects them, but you could omit them and three-hole punch the recipes if you’d prefer
• that stack of recipes that you have in your kitchen cupboard or drawer – put them to use!
• divider pages if you’d like

Do you have a Holiday Recipe Binder?

The post How to Make a Holiday Recipe Binder appeared first on Clean Mama.

1 White Handle Bins – Great for toiletry storage and tamale towels and cloths. Here’s a post where I shared my toiletry storage system and these bins.

2 Stackable Storage – Love these for containing small items like bandages, cotton swabs, makeup, etc.

3 Handle Storage Bins – Another handle storage bin, this one has some alternate sizes as well as clear and white. 

4 Clear Drawer Dividers – The perfect solution to keep bathroom drawers neat and tidy. I love th for makeup, contacts and glasses, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and hair products.

5 Bathroom Labels – These are cute and ready to use and organize your bathrooms cupboards and cabinets.

6 Lazy Susan Organizers – Love a turntable for accessible storage. Use it for bathroom cleaning supplies, hair products, under the bathroom sink or in a cupboard.

7 Tote Basket – I love these stainless steel handle baskets. I use it for keeping face cloths on the bathroom counter.

8 Handle Bins  – Another handled bin – my favorite – these have different sizes and white and clear options. These are great for cabinets that are a little longer and more awkward to figure out storage for.

9 Sink Side Tray – A simple tray to organize soap, makeup brushes, and lotions is a great solution to keep those items contained. When it’s time to clean the counter, just move the tray and clean under it and move it back.

The tray in the shop is currently out of stock but will be back soon – sign up for a notification as soon as it’s back in stock.

Do you have an organizing product that makes your bathroom work a little more smoothly? Share it in the comments!

The post Favorites for an Organized Bathroom appeared first on Clean Mama.

handle bins found at IKEA and similar on Amazon

This is how I organize the toiletries in the built-in wall cabinet in our master bathroom. Using simple toiletry categories to organize your toiletries is effective, regardless of if you have a closet, cupboard, or a drawer. Next week I’ll share all my favorite bathroom organizers too!

Quick Tip: Writing down the categories on a sticky note is a great way to work when labeling more than a couple items and when you’re determining which categories you’re going to narrow your items down to.

Start by dividing up your items into categories:

This will vary for everyone, but look through your items and put them into general categories and continue to narrow categories down until you have them solidified. Here are my categories:

• teeth and mouth – extra toothbrushes, electric toothbrush refills, floss
• sun and travel – sunscreen, aloe vera, travel size toiletries
• ear, nose, and throat – throat lozenges, cold medicine, allergy medicine, nasal spray
• mani and pedi – nail polish, tools, etc.
• first aid – bandages, elastic bandages, wound care
• kids remedies – medicine, thermometers
• heating pads
• cotton swabs and pads – I like decanting these in containers
• soap and bath products 
• backstock – I like to keep a bin for extras

Once you have your categories determined, start putting your items in designated containers:

If you have smaller items in the bins, you can use smaller containers to keep them from rolling around or to keep them separate from the other items. I keep mani/pedi items in a smaller box with a lid and keep my foot pedi and lotion in the larger space.

container with a lid

In the first aid box I put bandages in a smaller box with a lid  – this keeps them from ending up all over the place in the box which is what happens if they aren’t contained a little bit.

Here’s a glimpse of the whole cabinet, we also keep washcloths, hand towels, and bath towels on the bottom three shelves.

The best thing about this system? Everything is easily accessible and labeled for easy access. It’s easy to keep it organized because it just requires putting the items back in the appropriate bin. I have this label maker – I love it!  You can also buy pre-printed labels on Amazon – these are cute!

Looking for favorites for a clean bathroom?  Head to the favorites page or go to the shop where I have all the supplies you need for a clean bathroom.

The post How to Organize Toiletries appeared first on Clean Mama.

I love an undated planner – here’s why:

1. It’s never too late to start because you can start ANYTIME!
2. No wasted pages or unused planners. Out of town and didn’t bring your planner – no worries, just pick up where you left off. Things went sideways and you haven’t used the planner in a month – no biggie!
3. Feel accomplished, not defeated. You are always in forward motion, concentrating on what you CAN do, not what you didn’t get done

The Homekeeping Planner is and has always been undated – grab one now and start off fresh and with a new approach to planning. If you’re thinking that this is an add-on kind of planner, this is designed to be your ONLY planner – you can keep track of everything in it! Home stuff, work, kids, meals, cleaning, goals, planning ahead….it’s all there! If you want to go page by page through the planner, you can do that on shop page.

Here’s how I set up my undated Homekeeping Planner up – you can start any month:

1. Choose the pens/pencils you’re going to use – I like having a specific pen/pencil that I use throughout the planner for uniformity. You can go to this post for some of my favorites.
2. Set up the tabs for the months you’re going to start – I started mine in August, but since it’s almost October, you can start yours for October or November or maybe you want to start a planner now for the new year – that works too. The beauty of an undated planner, you can also label it as you go. Lots of options!
3. Label the months and add dates. I write in each month and then I label weeks for the month in front of me, or as needed. This is a personal preference – you could sit down and do the whole year, you could go quarterly, or month by month. The Homekeeping Planner has 2023 and 2024 year at a glance calendars at the front of the planner – I use that to refer to months as I’m filling in the months or I use the calendar on my phone.
4. Jot down important dates and goals. Putting dates and goals to paper makes them easier to remember and also impacts the effort we put forth.
5. Just start! Do your best and approach every day as a fresh start!

Embrace the flexibility and freedom that comes with an undated planner, I think you’ll love using one! The 2023 Homekeeping Planner is pre-filled with the Clean Mama Routine so you can rest easy knowing that those tasks are there and ready for checking off. Here’s to a fresh approach to home!

I’m a big believer in the power of writing things down and the impact of using undated planning products – come see my Homekeeping Planners, Calendars, and Paper Products.

I love sharing the Clean Mama Routine with you and helping you figure out the perfect system for you to use to keep track of your tasks. This post compares the Homekeeping Planner, the Quarterly Daily Planners, and Homekeeping Society.

The post The Magic of an Undated Planner – It’s Never Too Late to Start appeared first on Clean Mama.

What is a capsule wardrobe? A capsule wardrobe is a limited selection of clothing that is interchangeable. Multiple pieces that can be worn with different separates creating endless combinations. The capsule wardrobe isn’t a new concept, it’s been circulating for years and is especially popular in minimalist circles.

While a traditional capsule wardrobe might include an arbitrary number of items and very specific amounts of each item: 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 short sleeve shirts, 5 long sleeve shirts, 2 sweaters, etc., I am concentrating more on minimizing options and keeping what I love wearing.

How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe (with the clothes you already own):

I started by removing any quick edits – anything that I knew didn’t fit, was damaged, or wasn’t a favorite. I started with my fall and winter clothing, but you can do this with all your clothing or separate it out by season like I did. I keep a basket in my closet for donations and used that to put the clothes in while I edited the collection.

QUICK TIP: If you’re unsure of any items, turn the hanger around and if you don’t use it within a month or two, let it go.

Next, I pulled out all of the prints and separated them from the solids. This is helpful just to see what you have and assess the best and must keeps. This also helped me see how many striped shirts I have, how many florals, etc. I don’t wear all of these shirts and circulate through my favorites so seeing them grouped together was helpful.

I did the same thing with the solid colors and then refined it down further by grouping like colors together. Now I can see how many white shirts, blue shirts, black shirts, etc. I have when they’re all grouped together. Doing this also helps you see a color theme that you can use to formulate your capsule wardrobe.

Once I had everything separated out by prints and solids and grouped by color, I did another quick sort of those two categories and let go of a couple more shirts in each category.

At this point I paused on the shirts and went through my pants and jeans, put them in color order and tried each pair on. Anything that I didn’t love the cut or fit, I put in my donation basket.

The last big step: decide on a color theme for your capsule wardrobe. This can be super specific like white and black or it can be a little more general – neutrals,  cool colors, or warm colors. My theme is cool colors – whites, blues, greens, grays, blacks. Not everything will be interchangeable but there are plenty of combinations to choose from. Do I have a couple non-cool color options? Yes, but they are neutrals – like beige and cream – and will fit right in with my interchangeable capsule wardrobe.

Now that I have my color theme decided, I went back through AGAIN and removed a couple more items from the selection.

Now comes the fun part – putting the capsule wardrobe together. I put the prints and solids together in color order – whites, pinks, greens, blues, grays, blacks. You can decide how you want to arrange your capsule wardrobe but this makes the most sense for me.

I was motivated to go through my spring and summer clothes too – I followed the same method and process.

Here’s my completed capsule wardrobe for fall and winter – some basics, some fun prints, and everything fits and will be rotated through. The best part? This was free! I didn’t have to purchase any new items, I was able to simply sort through the best clothes in my own closet.

Have you tried a capsule wardrobe? Would you try this method? Let us know in the comments!

This capsule wardrobe post was inspired from my Whole Home Reset Course. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and the ladies in the group and I were chatting about clothes and simplifying our wardrobes and I said that I’d like to do this and they asked me to share. Join the course anytime if you want to be inspired to reset your home too!

The post How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe With the Clothes You Already Own appeared first on Clean Mama.

A clean and organized refrigerator is not only is nice to look at but it also helps make cooking, meal planning and prepping a little easier. Put this task on a weekly schedule (I do this on Fridays) with your menu planning and grocery shopping and your refrigerator will be clean and it’ll be easy to see what you have on hand.

cleaning cloth kit

When you’re ready to organize the refrigerator it’s going to be helpful to empty and clean it. Take everything out and check dates and decide if there is anything that you aren’t going to use.

Toss anything with expired expiration dates and anything that is past its prime. Bring your garbage can over to the fridge if you need to. Want to see how I deep clean our refrigerator? Head to this post. 

Once your refrigerator is clean and empty, think through the zones of your refrigerator. All refrigerators are different but it’s going to set up zones. These zones will use the drawers, shelves and compartments to keep your refrigerator neat and tidy. You can think about them or maybe you already have some in mind that need tweaking.

QUICK TIP: Don’t be afraid to adjust shelves to fit larger or smaller items – that’s the beauty of using zones in your refrigerator!

Start with what’s most likely in place in your refrigerator:

• condiments – I separate these out by savory (mayo, mustard, etc.) and sweet (syrup, jam, etc.)
• butter/spreads
• fruits – I use clear bins inside these drawers to divide up produce
• vegetables
• deli meats/cheeses

Next up, decide where you’re going to keep these items:

• beverages – these go on the top shelf for easy access
• meat – I use a quarter sheet pan that I can wash to store any raw meat packages
• eggs & dairy – yogurt, sour cream, etc.
• leftovers – this changes daily but we definitely utilize this space for daily leftovers
• flex & meal prep – creating space to accommodate for ever-changing food is SO helpful! I pair this with meal prep

Once you have your zones determined, it’s time to put everything back in its place. Remember that you can change these zones as often as is needed to make your refrigerator work for you and your home. When I took this picture I laughed because it looks pretty bare – within a day, it will all be filled up. Again, it’s an ebb and flow and so helpful to keep that in mind as you organize your refrigerator.

The post How to Organize a Refrigerator – So it Functions for your Home appeared first on Clean Mama.

Backpacks, shoes, coats

This is an area that can quickly become a dumping ground – wherever you store backpacks, shoes, and coats, take some time to assess the area and items and see what fits and what doesn’t and clear out the space. You can see more about our mudroom here.

We took out the kids’ shoe baskets, cleaned out the shelves with a vacuum cleaner and a soft cleaning cloth with a little multi-purpose cleaning spray. While I was cleaning, the kids went through their baskets and kept out just the shoes that they fit into and will wear. Simply eliminating the excess helps to keep the clutter away and it makes it easy for the kids to find what they need.

School & Homework Stations

The older kids have a desk in their room for studying and homework. They did a quick assessment of the spaces and got them ready for school. I find that a clear separation of schoolwork/homework is helpful for all of us. Think in terms of are these areas easy to keep clean as well as easy to clean up? Does everything have a place? Can the kids find what they need quickly?

I like having specific areas that work for each child but sometimes it’s at the kitchen table and counter with a homework caddy at the ready.

Closets & Clothing

Last but not least, I like to go through closets with each kid, sorting and assessing what they have and what they need, what fits and what doesn’t. Catch up on laundry and make sure that clothes are easy to find. If you have younger kids you can even lay out a couple back to school outfits to help them get ready.

What are your must-dos before school starts? Share them in the comments!

Need a little help with a routine and knowing what to clean and when to clean it?

Do you need a mindset shift? A little direction and routine? I have always argued that regardless of how busy you are, you need a cleaning routine. Routine, even if it’s loose, is everything when things get busy. 

If you haven’t tried the Clean Mama Routine or even if you have but need a little refresher, the Start Here page is designed to help you get started. When you do the Clean Mama Routine you are already keeping your home CLEAN on a daily basis. The Clean Mama Homekeeping Planners and the Homekeeping Society Subscription are designed to take the GUESSWORK out of cleaning – everything is laid out for you with Daily and Weekly Tasks. I love sharing the Clean Mama Routine with you during the busiest of times because I know that’s when it really shines.

The post Three Things to Organize Before Going Back to School appeared first on Clean Mama.

Come see some of my favorite organizing products for the kitchen – these items are all products that we love and use on a daily basis.

Hold Everything In-Drawer Flatware Organizer – Williams-Sonoma – these are a new purchase to replace bamboo inserts that fell apart. These are sturdy and definitely made to last – a favorite purchase!

Quinn Handcrafted Stoneware Crock Utensil Holder – Pottery Barn – I love the look of stoneware crocks, they make great organizers in the kitchen too.

What’s your favorite organizing product for the kitchen? Something that makes you smile when you open a drawer or cupboard? Tell us in the comments!  Want to know how I keep the kitchen clean and what I clean on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? Head to this post. Want to see more in my kitchen? Take the tour!

The post Favorite Organizing Products for the Kitchen appeared first on Clean Mama.

Set up a longer term filing system that works for you and will be easy to maintain going forward. This is where you’ll be keeping things like insurance information, tax returns, healthcare, etc. Use a filing cabinet or box and label your files as you set it up. Then set up a time weekly or monthly to quickly file paperwork.

MUSTS FOR A FILING SYSTEM

1. filing cabinet or box
2. hanging files – I love these file folders
3. label maker (optional)

Once you have your filing system in place, you’re ready to set up categories and then subcategories:

My suggestion for categories is pretty straightforward – use a different color or tab position for hanging files for each category. Use this as a guide for your own organization of important documents. You might have more or less categories and files, this is merely a recommendation and starting point to help you come up with possible categories and subcategories.

CATEGORIES

• MONEY/BILLS
• TAXES
• MEDICAL
• INSURANCE
• HOME
• AUTO
• BUSINESS

MONEY SUBCATEGORIES

• each month for the year
• banking accounts – separate file for each account
• credit card accounts – separate file for each account

TAXES SUBCATEGORIES

• paystubs person (separate file for each account)
• one for deductions, donations and expenses
• tax returns current year, separate folder for each year

MEDICAL SUBCATEGORIES

• one for each family member
• one for dental, prescriptions and vision
• paid medical bills

INSURANCE/HOME/AUTO SUBCATEGORIES

• insurance : one for accidents, auto, homeowners, life and personal articles
• home : one for address, improvements, landscaping, mortgage and warranties
• auto ; service and one for each car

BUSINESS SUBCATEGORIES

• contracts
• taxes
• other relevant info

Once you’ve decided what you want to file, take the time to think through what you will really need – can anything be consolidated?  Can you simplify any categories?

Create your file folders, label your tabs and put your important documents in your file folders. Adjust and rearrange if necessary and start using your filing system that works!

If you’re looking for a method to organize paper, you might like the Guide to Going Paper-Less.

The post Musts for a Filing System appeared first on Clean Mama.

I love an undated planner – here’s why:

1. You can start anytime.
2. No wasted pages or unused planners.
3. Feel accomplished, not defeated.

The Homekeeping Planner is and has always been undated – grab one now and start the new year off fresh and with a new approach to planning.

Here’s how I set up my undated Homekeeping Planner up for a new year – but you can start any month:

1. Choose the pens/pencils you’re going to use – I like having a specific pen/pencil that I use throughout the planner for uniformity. You can go to this post for my favorites.
2. Set up the tabs for the months you’re going to start – since it’s January, I’m going to start with January. If you start in March, start with March OR you can also label it as you go. Lots of options!
3. Label the months and add dates. I write in each month and then I label weeks for the month in front of me, or as needed. This is a personal preference – you could sit down and do the whole year, you could go quarterly, or month by month. The Homekeeping Planner has 2022 and 2023 year at a glance calendars at the front of the planner – I use that to refer to months as I’m filling in the months.
4. Jot down important dates and goals. Putting dates and goals to paper makes them easier to remember and also impacts the effort we put forth.
5. Just start! Do your best and approach every day as a fresh start!

Embrace the flexibility and freedom that comes with an undated planner, I think you’ll love using one! The Homekeeping Planner is pre-filled with the Clean Mama Routine so you can rest easy knowing that those tasks are there and ready for checking off. Here’s to the new year and a fresh approach to home!

I’m a big believer in the power of writing things down and the impact of using undated planning products – come see my Homekeeping Planners, Calendars, and Paper Products here.

The post How to Set Up an Undated Planner (and why you might want to try one!) appeared first on Clean Mama.

First up, I grabbed these soft sided organizers for dishes and I cannot tell you how happy I am with this purchase. Not only did it help me clear bins of holiday dishes stored in boxes, it simplified the holiday dish situation. I’ve been collecting Spode Christmas Tree dinnerware for over 20 years and started with just wanting to do mugs and dessert plates, but last year I found a set of dinner plates on clearance after Christmas and completed the set. I have some serving pieces too – I love using this during December and Christmas Eve and Day.

If you have a good set of china in storage in boxes, this is a great way to get them out of boxes and into safe storage. The dish storage also comes with felt round to go in between each plate.

via Amazon

A couple years ago I grabbed one of these boxes for each of us. They have two layers and hold a lot of ornaments. The kids each have their own ornament box – this keeps their ornaments separate and some day they’ll be able to take their box to their own homes.

via Amazon

When I start undecorating I quickly go through the house and gather things up by type and put them on the kitchen and dining room tables. Then once I have everything taken down I take those items and put them in bins or boxes. Make it easy to find holiday decorations by sorting and storing like with like. Take it a step further by labeling the exterior of boxes and bins and by keeping your holiday decorations grouped together.

Sort like with like – soft items like stockings and the tree skirt go together in a bin. Garland and other greenery are stored together in another bin.

I use these white storage totes in the basement for holiday decor and storage of other items as well. They’re large, stack easily and keep the storage light and bright in the basement.

I put smaller ‘collections’ in 2 gallon zip top bags to keep the items together and easy to grab and decorate. Lights, smaller greens, and ornaments are great to keep sorted out this way.

Make sure you have a place for your decor and that it is easy to locate. This makes holiday decorating and undecorating easier and so much more enjoyable when you have less and can easily locate anything you’re looking for!

If there are decorations you haven’t put out for a while consider donating them instead of continuing to store them. It’s okay to not keep everything. Less is more when it comes to holiday decorations.

I use large divided storage bins for large items like village homes and snow globes. They keep these items together and eliminate the need for the large, bulky boxes that these items came in.

via Amazon

I linked up all my favorites for organizing holiday decor in my Amazon shop – you can see them here along with my other Amazon favorites.

The post Favorite Products for Organizing Holiday Decor appeared first on Clean Mama.

Here’s a zoomed out picture of the office – it’s a great size with a window but no closet.  I added a corner desk to the small desk on the right and another chair to make it an area where the kids and I could work together but it’s mostly the Clean Mama work zone. On the right side is a large bookcase with cubbies for storage and a filing cabinet – we keep the shredder, computer printer, and docking/charging station for phones and tablets in here as well.

desks | desk chairs | wall organizer  | filing cabinet | docking station 

Here’s a little bit more of close-up of the desk area – my laptop is on the right with a large screen monitor, keyboard and mouse, and then I have a desktop computer on the left. Yes, usually I have the calendar filled out and the pinboard filled, but I wanted to start with a clean slate this week.

 Lazy Susan | file folders | paper organizer | filing boxes

I chatted about this organizational system in the office before, it’s super simple, but I love it.  I bought this file folder rack for my Homekeeping Planner – pre-order here – and Homekeeping Binder, notepads and notebooks. Instead of having these things propped up on my desk or in a drawer, this system keeps them where I use them and keeps them at the ready. You can find all of the pictured paper goods here in my shop. Do you see that sneak peek? The DIY Cleaning Recipes Pocket Notebook is coming to the shop in September!

Homekeeping Planner in Lace | acrylic file folder rack | paper goods | favorite pens + pencils

Have you seen these clear Post-It Notes? So fun and a great tool for using in a planner or in a notepad.

Post-Its

Here’s a peek in a couple desk drawers – I just used some dishes and containers that I had and fit them together to organize desk items. I love berry baskets and egg trays for organizing. I put the small cafe au lait bowls and the egg tray on an acrylic tray to hold them in place.

Here’s another drawer – similar concept and it keeps things organized and it fits well too!

I love the paint color in this room – it was one of the first rooms we painted when we moved in over 10 years ago and I haven’t changed it.

Benjamin Moore – Buxton Blue – here’s a post with all the paint colors in our home.

How about you? Ready to organize a drawer or space?  Maybe grab a new notepad?  Don’t forget to pre-order your Homekeeping Planner with the intro-pricing – keep reading….

The 2022 Homekeeping Planner is officially available for pre-order!  Get in on pre-order pricing (ENDS TOMORROW 8/22) and get a 15% off discount code on all the new products launching this fall.

Pre-order your 2022 Homekeeping Planner 

Here’s a peek at the interior – you can see more images here. I’m most excited about the added space for to-dos. Here’s a glimpse of the weekly page layout….

The post Favorites for an Organized Office appeared first on Clean Mama.

The criteria I used for my pen test: I like writing in black ink and using a finer tip. I tested a couple 0.7 pens but knew that I’d gravitate toward a finer tip – if you prefer a different color ink and/or a thicker tip, you might want to conduct your own pen test

I bought two sampler packs from Jet Pens (I’ve mentioned them before, love the variety and choices!). Uni Jetstream Ballpoint Pen Sampler and the Fine Tip Gel Pen Sampler.  I kept the pens in order of thickness (from thinnest to thickest) and wrote the same text: This is a pen test. This is a pen text (in cursive).

This helped me get a feel for how the pen dragged or glided across the paper and how it felt as I wrote in text or cursive. As I wrote the text, I also wrote the brand name of the pen and a quick note about my initial thoughts.

I narrowed down my 3 favorites on the left (the Pentel Energel 0.35, the Pilot Juice Up 0.4, and the Uni JetStream 0.5) and then tested them against each other and came up with my favorite: the Uni JetStream 0.5.

Once I decided on my favorite pen, I tested 3 of my favorite pencils and decided on a favorite. I used similar criteria and narrowed down my 3 favorites to my absolute favorite – the Uni Alpha-Gel 0.5. I love how smooth it is and how well it erases too.

Once I had my favorites I tested them in the new Homekeeping Planner – no bleeding through the paper, no smudges, and enjoyable to write with!

Here you can see my favorite pen and pencil. I like to use both in my planner. It was easier to narrow down the pens and pencils, I’m using the Cotton Blossom Homekeeping Planner for 2022.

Do you have a favorite pen or pencil? Tell me your favorites!

The post The Best Pens + Pencils for Planning appeared first on Clean Mama.

Do I have every week’s meals planned out perfectly? No. Do I still use cookbooks – absolutely! Do we ever order out unexpectedly because I couldn’t get my act together? Of course. But when it comes down to it, having favorite recipes in one place, printed out and ready to reference is just so great. The last time I overhauled our recipe binders was in 2015 and we’ve changed our eating habits quite a bit so going through them and weeding out recipes I won’t make any longer was freeing.

If you are reading this and thinking or saying, I have all my recipes saved on the computer or on Pinterest, or an online recipe account, and I don’t need that hassle or mess or clutter, keep reading because I am here to tell you that keeping your recipes sorted and organized in a binder is actually more of a time saver than hopping online. Why? Cue the distraction of the Internet – hopping online to grab that recipe will probably lead you to Facebook or Instagram which will lead you down a rabbit hole and you’ll forget what you were looking for anyway. Or maybe that’s just me? In this online centered world, I crave moments without that constant connectivity and love thumbing through cookbooks and recipe binders. Can you relate?

Curious enough to keep reading? Here’s what you’ll need:

• Clean Mama’s Recipe Binder Kit (recently updated and added to the Dinner Rotation Kit with a different look but the same features) – this is what I used but you could create your own dividers and pages and everything else, but it’s much easier to grab the kit
• a little time – I completely re-did my recipe binders to launch this new product and it took me a couple hours. My daughter helped me with the sorting and transferring – it was fun! So it will take you a little time, but I know it will pay off in meals on the table.
• a binder (or 2 or 3) – (I used these binders from Martha Stewart in blue and gray ) I have recipes split into 3 binders (every day recipes, desserts, and holidays)
• bookplates – not necessary but cute
• plastic sleeves to put the recipes in – this protects them, but you could omit them and three-hole punch the recipes if you’d prefer
• that stack of recipes that you have in your kitchen cupboard or drawer – put them to use!
• divider pages – I used these tabbed divider pages (the labels are included in the Recipe Binder Kit)

I linked all of these items up at the bottom of the post through Amazon plus some of my favorite cookbooks too!

Once you have your supplies, it’s time to get started – here’s what you need to do:

• gather your supplies
• print out dividers/categories
• gather your recipes
• put your recipes in plastic sleeves and sort them according to your categories

Making a Recipe Binder might seem like a daunting task, but with a little time and organization, you can make a recipe binder that will become your family cookbook and ultimately save you time and money. Clean Mama’s Recipe Binder Kit is simple and straightforward and done with beautiful images that you’ll be excited to display and use to make meal planning a little easier.

The Clean Mama Recipe Binder Kit includes (77 printable + fillable pages)

Meals Made Easy

If menu planning sounds daunting or difficult, it’s because you haven’t been carving out the time and space to get started. This guide will help you figure out what to eat and when to eat it! You’ll love the simple, easy-to-use format. Simply print off the pages and get ready to tackle meal time with ease!

• Cover + Table of Contents
• Quick Start Guide
• Part 1: The Dinner Rotation
• Family Favorites
• Family Favorites for Each Season
• Easy Dinners + Weeknight Dinners
• Dinners without a Recipe
• Meals to Try
• Part 2: Menu Plans for All
• Menu Plan for the Week, Sunday + Monday Starts
• Two-Week Menu Plan, Sunday + Monday Starts
• Month at a Glance Menu Plan, Sunday + Monday Starts
• Menu Plan Brainstorming
• Part 3: Let’s Take Inventory
• Freezer, Meals in the Freezer, Pantry, Kitchen + Refrigerator Inventory Trackers
• Pre-Filled Grocery Shopping List, Category Shopping List, Blank Shopping List
• Part 4: The Recipe Binder
• How to Make a Recipe Binder
• Helpful Tips
• Substitutions + Measurement Equivalents
• Blank Recipe Cards
• Divider Labels for Your Binder – fits standard Avery tab dividers; print, trim, and use in dividers
• 3 Title Pages to Choose From – “Family Recipes”, “Dessert Recipes”, “The Recipe Binder”
• 32 Recipe Category Divider Sheets including: Recipes to Try, Family Favorites, Menu Rotation, Breakfast, Appetizers, Salads + Dressings, Sandwiches, Soups + Stews, Side Dishes, Rice + Grains, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Seafood, Weeknight Meals, Pasta + Sauces, Vegetables, Slow Cooker + Instant Pot, Pizza, On the Grill, Make Ahead, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Yeast Breads + Rolls, Canning, Holidays + Celebrations, Desserts, Quick Breads, Cakes + Frostings, Cookies + Candies, Pies + Tarts
• Blank Recipe Category Divider Sheet – make your own!

This guide DOES NOT include the binder, recipes, plastic sleeves, etc. as this is a digital product – you can print the pages as many times as you’d like for your personal use.

Once you’ve printed out the sections that you want to use and have begun setting up your binder, keep moving quickly and you’ll be surprised how quickly the binder comes together. As you’re getting your binder set up take the time to toss/recycle any recipes that you’ve been holding onto and haven’t made and probably won’t make, or any recipes that you made that aren’t super great or worth making again.

Included in Clean Mama’s Recipe Binder Kit are labels that you can use for dividers – you can print and trim and place in dividers or make your own by simply printing them out on card stock, trimming down to size, and use packing tape to adhere to the divider pages.

Now that you have your Recipe Binder all set up it’s time to put it to use! What’s the perfect way to put it to use? Make a menu plan and utilize the binder for success.

My top 3 categories/pages are:

• Recipes to Try
• Family Favorites
• Meals for this Month

I found a plastic folder sleeve to put recipes to try in – this is where I keep the recipes I want to make. If they make the cut they get put into the binder.

Use these categories and pages to organize and plan as you’re getting started. Keeping a quick reference guide to favorites and recipes to make keeps it simple and eliminates time wasted while you’re figuring out ‘what’s for dinner’.

Keep your recipe binder where you’ll use it – I keep my recipe binders with my most-used cookbooks on a small shelf in the side of out kitchen island. I love cookbooks and recipes and menu planning – if you can’t tell by my little cookbook collection.

Here’s a link to the Dinner Rotation + Menu Planning Guide in my shop if you’re interested.

Need a little inspiration? Here are some blog posts with my favorite recipes and menu planning tips.

SHOP THE POST

The post How to Make a Recipe Binder appeared first on Clean Mama.

Holiday decorations should follow familiar organizational strategies. This makes it easier to keep track of these seldom used items and makes it easier to locate and find what we need when we need it.

When I start undecorating I quickly go through the house and gather things up by type and put them on the kitchen table. Then once I have everything taken down I take those items and put them in bins or boxes.

SEPARATE AND GROUP BY CATEGORY – Sort like with like – soft items like stockings and the tree skirt and go together in a bin. Garland and other greenery can be stored together.

I use these white storage totes in the basement for holiday decor and storage of other items as well. They’re large, stack easily and keep the storage light and bright in the basement.

I put smaller ‘collections’ in 2 gallon zip top bags to keep the items together and easy to grab and decorate. Lights, smaller greens, and ornaments are great to keep sorted out this way.

EVERYTHING HAS A PLACE – Make sure you have a place for your decor and that it is easy to locate. The kids each have their own ornament box – this keeps their ornaments separate and some day they’ll be able to take their box to their own homes.

ONLY KEEP WHAT IS USED – If there are decorations you haven’t put out for a while consider donating them instead of continuing to store them. It’s okay to not keep everything. I feel like less is more when it comes to holiday decorations.

I use large divided storage bins for large items like village homes. They keep these items together and eliminate the need for the large, bulky boxes that these items came in.

Here are some of my favorites for holiday decor storage:

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