Organizing Our Home: The Junk Drawer

Something about the change in the season encourages me to change other things too. And lately I've been feeling the need to be more organized. Everyday I get asked, "Where are the scissors?' "Where is the phone charger?" "Have you seen the measuring tape?" "Do we have any tape?" "Are we out of batteries?" Most of these items usually reside in THE JUNK DRAWER. Do you have one? If not you are already way ahead of my family, to us this is the drawer in the kitchen set aside for things that are used often, but need to be stashed away quickly or a place for odds and ends that don't have an obvious home.

Lately, it has been driving me CRAZY! So, I decided to change. This was such a simple and quick change, but I absolutely LOVE how it is working out. The first thing I did was get an over the door organizer with clear vinyl pockets. I picked this one up at Walmart and there is a variety of sizes and styles, this one is more narrow to fit a narrow door in a hallway closet.

Then sort everything into the pockets. Some items got there own pocket, others I grouped into things that are used together; like measuring tape & stud-finder, highlighters, hole punch & white out, small hand tools, etc.

Then I used these adorable printable tags from eighteen25, labeled everything, and taped them into the inside of each pocket. So easy, but very effective. Now everything has a place and I can use the old junk drawer for something really useful. What tips do you have for keeping your family organized?

Gourdy Faces

Hooray it is fall! Probably the best time of the year because it is the beginning of all the great stuff: leaves changing colors, oranges and reds, candles burning, fireplaces lit, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and family.

Of course I can't neglect the part where we buy pumpkins and gourds and put them all over the house, and this year I decided to add a little to the gourds. It is fun for your desk at work, or just to have around the house. I hope that it is cold enough today that I need to make some hot cocoa tonight with some fresh ground cinnamon. Yep it is.

Table centerpiece

For this project you will need a 4x6 picture frame, a coordinating color of paper to fill the frame, a candle globe, a candle, and any color or shape of rocks (I chose black river rocks and small white chips.)

It is very simple, I just replaced the picture frame with the color of paper, in this case I went with red. After that I placed the candle globe on the frame and then spread the river rocks around the globe. Finally I placed the candle inside the globe. As an after thought I put large pieces of cloves inside the globe to give it a fall smell when the candle is lit. In the future I would have also chosen larger candles, maybe a votive red. The neat thing about this centerpiece is it is very interchangeable with the seasons. The paper in the frame can be a darker color to coordinate with the coming fall or even a festive orange or a pastel for spring. The rocks can also be changed out for another kind giving you another look also. I struggle with commitment so this works very well for me!! I also chose to go with three and arrange them together. They aren't glued together so they can be placed alone in a room or together. I really liked how it can be changed around when I am feeling the need for something new.

Grilled Pizza

Summer is starting to fade and I am trying to get outdoor meals completely out of my system before it does! I have seen grilled pizzas on several food websites and decided to try it myself. It is now my new favorite thing to make. It takes far less time than oven baked pizza and tastes sooo yummy. You have to try it ASAP.

First get all your ingredients ready to go. You will need quick access to them because you have to work fast when getting them on the pizza. You need to have your meats cooked and ready to go. My favorite dough recipe is from Pioneer Woman... find that HERE.

I prefer to make mini pizzas rather than one large one, it's harder to flip a giant one.

Get them all ready to go and generously spread oil onto one side of each one.

Throw them on. Close the cover. Your grill needs to be at medium to medium high. Let them sit for about 5 minutes. Check them. If they are starting to bubble up and are sufficiently brown on bottom, spread some oil on the top and flip them over.

Now you have to work fast to get all the ingredients on. I just throw stuff... it makes for a great surprise when I'm eating. :) Close the grill cover when you have all your ingredients assembled.

Let them cook for another 3-5 minutes until browned on bottom. Pull them off and enjoy! Seriously so yummy, fast, and easy. I'm making this tomorrow! Just looking at the picture is making me hungry. I apologize for my crazy instructions... that's how I cook. If you want more detailed ones, go HERE to Our Best Bites. They have good instructions for grilling pizza as well.

Stay tuned because next week I am posting my all time favorite pizza recipe!