The Labeled Home

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Our weekend was relatively quiet compared to the past few weekends!  The urge to start planning spring picnics and taking walks around old neighborhoods up by the zoo, more trips to the beach and to the waterfalls are just around the corner!

I really have no blogging today, but the house is ready for the girlies tonight, laundry is going, and the boys will be gone for the afternoon and evening...so I am going to blog about LABELS!

I was thinking this morning HOW blessed we are with our smaller home.  While there have been times I have wished for a larger HOME, I am grateful for the way God has provided for our family.  And while it can sometimes be a bit tricky to figure large get-togethers, parties, and entertaining...I have enjoyed the challenge of making it work with what we have.

You learn how to organize and keep only what is necessary {my hubby would disagree with this...but for those who enjoy crafting...you know what I am talking about!}.

One thing that has helped us out so much is labeling things.  It really does.  There is no question where things belong.  This helps eliminate piles of messes all over the home which can quickly make a small home feel even smaller and cluttered!

I snapped a few pics that might be fun for you to use somewhere in your HOME!  Even if the labels are not really needed...it can add a bit of whimsy to an otherwise boring space.  There is no need for a label maker either.  Scrap paper, pens and a hole punch will do the job just as well!

*I labeled my desk drawers and slots, so that my children could easily find what they were looking for...this included printer paper, tablet paper for notes, card stock paper, projects etc.

*All of the card stock, craft paper and scrapping paper was filed under color.  Can I tell you HOW great this is for little kids who like to "paw" through stacks and stacks of paper looking for the right color?  This saved me a lot of time and paper clean up.  It also eliminated paper that was ruined because it got squished in the bottom of the pile.

*When you are teaching your children to cook and all the flour looks the same...it may be a good thing to label.  It may save you a few dinners from being TOSSED or choked down!

*The wine rack was taken out of the hutch and replaced with a KID-FRIENDLY, less-dust collecting, picnicy-looking basket and a "fizzy drink" label...it has our very favorite fizzy, sparkling lemonade in it!

 *Labeled binders...AWESOME!!!

*There is no need to label everything, but I like how it adds a bit of charm as you walk in the front door!

 *The baker's twine has been on for a few years and I am replacing some of it with old-fashioned parcel twine for something new and fun!

*Everyday napkins and paper food trays are kept in the kitchen island.  This also is convenient for late night snacks and a quick lunch-on-the-go!

 *The linen closet was labeled so that when our children put the laundry away...there was no question as to where the towels, hand towels and other linens belonged.  Again, a small home can quickly fill cluttered or feel cramped if the space is not used wisely.  EVERY inch is PRIME REAL ESTATE {thank you, Paula!}

 *When our daughter moved home from college, we replaced her name with the letters HOME.  Since I could not for the life of me get them to hang straight, I decided to glue gun them to her headboard!  It looks so inviting and cozy!

 *These baskets are on both sides of our bed.  One on hubby's bedside stand and one on mine.  No need to know what is in the baskets...but since a master bedrooms can always use a bit of  ZIP, I thought it would be a fun addition to the book baskets!  NO computers, electric cords, or JUNK allowed!!  :}

 

 *Our master bathroom was all white and a bit sterile-looking.  Simple tags were added.  I love how they made our HOTEL-LOOKING bathroom now looks like it is in a HOME...along with the toothpaste stuck to the sink...the kid's toothbrushes {I have no idea why they like to brush their teeth in our bathroom???} saline solution, and eye drops!

 *Even though the containers are clear, it is much more convenient to see at a glance what is what.  These craft closets were once open bookshelves.  My hubby and fil decided to close them up.  They were able to double the space by knocking out the backs of the bookshelves to the actual outside of the house.  It was an inexpensive project...alot of bang for the buckaroo!

*We can't forget little fuzzy fur feet...our dog food is conveniently stored in a large glass container under the kitchen sink.

 *THIS is by far my favorite label...the kiddies used a ton of label tape one night labeling for fun...but every time I sit down to my desk it makes me SMILE!  It is old and dirty...but I have no plans of moving it or making a new one!  Their sneaky little smiles and pride of what they had made for me are forever embedded in my heart...

Enjoy your day, my sweet readers!


Shared with:  bowl of lemons, the inspired room