Organize Your Life // Emergency Food Supply

via martha stewart

This topic has been on my mind lately. It's something that I know my family needs but doesn't have. We insure our homes, cars and lives...but how many of us have food insurance?! There is so much information out there on how to organize your home to be prepared for an emergency. There is so much to learn about food storage (year supply, 72 hour kits, 3 month supply, water drums vs. bottled water, etc)!

What a great feeling it is to be prepared! So if you have a sudden loss of income or a natural disaster occurs you can feed your family!!

It seems like an overwhelming task for both storage space and finances. So I googled around to find someone who has done it so they can tell me where to start!

Here is what Provident Living Today suggested:

When I set out to put together my three-month supply of meals ready to eat, it seemed overwhelming. I needed a plan. My friend, Claudia also wanted to put together a plan that broke this project down into steps. Here's what we came up with:

1. Pick out 2 weeks of recipes. Use easy meals your family eats now.



2. Convert each meal to “non-perishable” foods. If you use fresh chicken, use canned. Fresh or frozen corn, use canned. You get the idea.



3. Write each converted recipe on a 3 X 5 card. Run each card off 6 times.



4. Times each ingredient by 6 and write how much or how many you need on a shopping list. There you have it a 12 week supply of food.



5. Go shopping!!! Remember to take some help! You can do this in one big trip if you have the money, or gather the supplies over the next few months.
   
   
   Note: Use name brand labels.
   The metal is heavier and stores longer.
   
   
6. Take each recipe and all the ingredients and put them in a gallon freezer bag - right down to the spices and cup of rice.
7. 
   Use Ziploc freezer bags, they hold up better. You can also buy the Jumbo size bags for a large family. Put the spices in a snack size bag. The ingredients like rice or a cup of biscuit mix can go into a sandwich size bag.
   Now put the recipe in and ZIP . . . It’s “ in the bag!” Store them in boxes under the bed or bins in the closet. You want them to be easily accessible.

Keep a few meals ready to eat in the pantry and use them on busy hectic days. Keep the recipe cards. When you have a few stacked up, go to the store and replace the ingredients. This is a great way to rotate your three-month supply of food. Start eating your food storage now and save money.

I like this concept because it's food storage that your family will actually use and be accustomed to. You can use the items before they expire in your every day life, as opposed to canned wheat you need to grind to use. I am so on it! And don't forget water and medications too!

Organize Your Life // Library gone stylish

Books. They can add up! And they are not always pretty. Turns out that if you have enough of them that may not matter so much in the big picture. Here is a compilation of how and where to store your personal library in your home and make it look amazing!

via habitually chic

via room galleries

via the design file

via lushee

via flourish design and style

via skona hem

via masika wa

via little green notebook

via daffodil design

Add caption

via tudo junto e mistrurado

via apartment therapy

Organize Your Life // Mail

 How to fix mail as an eye sore? Here are a few fine examples. I love making ugly things pretty.

via bhg

via bhg

via gilt

via bhg

via noodlehead

via bright and blithe

Organize Your Life // Sew Organized

If you love to sew odds are you have a storage problem. Truth be told, I had a fabric storage problem before I took on sewing. I love fabric. Guilty. Sometimes we need to see some inspiration and good ideas to motivate us to get organized! Here are some keepers.

I am in love with this. I currently have all my fabric in a closet hanging up with clothes hangers. However, if I really have a fabric in bulk then those little hangers can't hold the weight. Perfect solution! And pretty!

via danielle thompson

Follow the link below the picture to get her downloadable labels shown here! Perfect for remnants.

via just something i made

Hanging fabric is genious.

via grosgrain

Love the color organization.

via little green notebook

Just right for small spaces! Love this.

via whipstitch sewing

Keep fabric for a project together using clasp hangers and chalkboard paint for labeling!

via craftzine

This sewing space is amazing. Love the crates turned into sewing shelves.

via ucreate

Pull out drawers! Yes, please.

via bhg

What a fun way to store your laces and trims!

via funky junk interiors

Darling! I really need to do this. Follow the link for a tutorial!

via grey luster girl

Fabric on mini-bolts! Great way to recycle old boxes and makes storing fabric so easy.

via smashed peas and carrots

Organize! Make it pretty! You can do it!!

Organize Your Life // Book Page Pockets for Storage

I have fallen in love with this project. Store your monthly receipts in a decorative book! Genius. And you don't have to stop at boring old receipts either. I think this idea would make an amazing journal. Write little notes throughout the month, develop your favorite picture and put anything that makes you smile in the book. Love it. Go ahead and view the tutorial here.

And if you need to know where to get inexpensive books check out your local thrift store. Readers Digests from the 1970's are usually filling the shelves at as low as .25 a book. Not to mention they come in pretty colors and patterns.

Organize Your Life // Make-Up

I recently returned to using fancy make-up. It's so worth the money to me. When I returned home to put away my newly purchased make-up I was horrified at how gross my old make-up and case was looking. There was no way I was going to subject my precious new make-up to that environment!

via a beautiful mess

My new make-up needed a new home where it was easy to clean (which means no cloth!), portable (I hate moving my make-up to a new bag when I travel), and functional (compartments). My sis-in-law has kept her magenta, purple and teal caboodle from her youth and still uses it to this day. I have to admit that I was a little jealous that she held on to that gem. Why didn't I? Too late.

Don't stress. I happened to find Caboodles in two styles at Target (yes, they still make them!). Purple with sparkles with some sassy saying on the clasp or hot pink. I went with pink. And yes, I did feel like a 13 year old checking out with my hot pink caboodle. Why can't they make a line of these for adults? Too much to ask?

But my make-up and I are oh so happy.

Here are some ground rules for keeping your make-up happy too:

Organize Your Life // Spring Cleaning Labels

Remember the list of home-made cleaners we made, and the weekly cleaning schedule we shared with you all? Well, we're here today with another free printable- some Cleaning Labels! If you're like me, you went out and bought all the ingredients for the cleaners, played mad scientist for a week, then never labeled your spray bottles so you could possibly be cleaning your toilets with oven cleaner {and vice versa}. Not good. Let's rectify that, shall we?

Here are some handy dandy labels to stick on your spray bottles to avoid any cleaning confusion. Download the printables here!

Organize Your Life // The Daily Grind

This year I am really trying to implement balance into my life. As a self-employed mother I can tell you it's not easy. I have used several different styles of documents to help me plan out my days, which were good and worked for a while, but I am needing something new.

Everyone is different, but I tend to find more success in my day when it's planned. If it's not planned then I tend to get my priorities wrong (you know, I end up checking my emails...and facebook...instead of doing the dishes) which leads to a day often times ending in stress and disappointment. Not good. So I have created a daily schedule for myself where I literally have a task every hour to do. They are small and easily done in an hour. And the added bonus is I am not overwhelming myself with all the things I have to get done in one day. I am taking it an hour at a time with simple tasks which I predetermined the night before. And guess what?! My priorities are straight! Which means my days are ending with pride, joy and spare time. Thank you very much!

I made it simple so when you look at it you see cleanliness which helps you get straight to the task at hand. Each schedule takes up a quarter of a standard US size paper which means they are small enough to stick in your back pocket. You can download the file here.