Adventures in Pinland {School Paper Organization}

 

Organization is one area that I struggle with. It seems like everywhere I look there are messes and piles and more messes. Don’t get me wrong, I love things to be neat and tidy and organized, I just struggle getting to that point. That’s why this pin was perfect for me! I actually saw it way back in May when I was doing a little organizing of our command central. I made room for the school boxes and even bought all the supplies, and then they sat and sat unfinished for months.

Not only am I glad to now have a spot for all of the kids important school papers that collect over the years, but I am glad to have a lingering project checked off the list. Love it when that happens!

 

 

Each folder is labeled (pre – 12 grade) so I can easily file papers and pictures accordingly. The cute labels on the front of each file are available to download over at Dandee. She printed hers onto sticky labels but I just printed them onto printer paper, cut them out and then glued them on. I’m thinking I may gussy them up with a little washi tape … wouldn’t that be cute?

 

 

All in all this pin was a win! I love that I now have a place to corral all the kids important papers and pictures through the years, and that it also controls the volume of what I can keep. But I think my favorite thing about it is that I can easily flip through the files and see how my kids have changed and grown from year to year. Then, once the kids are grown and finished with school, they too will be able to look back and remember their school days, how they looked, who their teachers were, and see all the great things that they accomplished along the way!

 

How do you organize your kids school papers? I need a good system for the everyday flow of stuff that comes home from school and clutters up my counters. Any ideas?

 

Kristin

 

Adventures in Pinland {Best Potato Soup}

 

This weeks Adventures in Pinland post is a day late but I’m glad I got it up at all! I went to post it and the original source of the pin was gone. I knew I had been to the sight before, but couldn’t find it for the life of me. Long story short the blog owners webpage had expired (unknown to her) and was swiped out from under her. How awful would that be!? Anyway I finally found it and repinned it from the new sight, so we should be good!

I was looking for a yummy warm soup when the temps started to drop and came across this one. It looked delicious, had basic ingredients, and how can you go wrong with a title like that?

 

 

I would give it two thumbs up! It’s pretty easy to make (there’s a bit of chopping involved, but there is in most recipes) and even my picky eaters ate it. Even as I’m typing now, my picky guy came up and said, “is that the one with bacon in it?” … “It’s so good!” Guess I best be making it again soon!

The only thing I would change is to either chop the potatoes a little smaller or cook them a little longer before adding in. They were cooked but still had a little bite to them. I guess I just like my potatoes a little softer and it all depends on personal preference.

For the recipe head to Tips From a Typical Mom and let me know what ya think!

 

Kristin

Adventures in Pinland {Fridge Coasters}

 

Have you guys seen this floating around on Pinterest? It’s been showing up as I browse for quite some time now and I love how a simple thing like a “fridge coaster” can amp up the look and clean-ability of your fridge in a matter of minutes! The folks over at It’s An Organized Chaos used a plastic place mat from Target to line their fridge shelves. (brilliant right!?!)

Source

 

My fridge was in desperate need of a little tlc. You know, a good thorough cleaning (as in take EVERYTHING out, throw half of it away because, yes, it had been that long and was THAT bad!), and then a good scrub down. I figured what better time than now to throw in a simple fridge coaster and I’m so glad I did!

 

I went to Target looking for some plastic placemats, and they had a few but nothing that I loved so … it was on to plan B. Shelf Liners. I bought two rolls (4.99 each) and for 10 bucks and a few minutes of my time I had a newly beautified fridge!

 

 

 

I have to say that after the liners were in and everything was put away I was pleasantly surprised every time I opened up the fridge! It’s funny how excited I get about things like this but I would literally open up the fridge just to take a peek and closed it every time with a smile on my face!

 

Here’s a side by side for comparisons sake. It’s so much better, right? And, honestly I can’t wait to clean it out again just to see if the coasters make it any easier. I’m thinking it will, but time will tell!

 

All in all this pin was an absolute win! It was an easy, cheap addition to the fridge that I only wish I had done sooner! It makes me want to attack the pantry … hopefully sooner than later!

Have a fun Halloween week! We are off to a Halloween party for D’s preschool and then I’m starting on another set of kitchen cabinets this week! It’s going to be super busy but I can’t wait!

 

Kristin

Adventures in Pinland {Unclog Your Drain}

 

I’m sitting here thinking about what an amazing fall weather weekend we had (the temps were wonderful) … and now they are dropping quickly and the rain is falling (hard!). I’m sooo not excited for the freezing cold, or the snow, but I am happy about layers, boots, and yummy fall soup!

Anyway, if you follow along with me on Facebook, you know that I spent my Friday cleaning (and unclogging) in order to enjoy the rest of the weekend fun! I have been noticing that our master shower has been gradually draining slower and slower, and I figured something needed to be done before it was completely clogged. That is when I remembered a pin that my friend told me about awhile back and I knew I had to try it.

Unclog your drain with just baking soda, vinegar, and water? Um, yes! Sign me up!

                       

    

                                                     Source: Real Simple (Antonis Achilleos)

 

Now, I’m about to be REAL. I am going to show you my horribly disgusting, hair filled shower drain. I’m just forewarning you here … it’s gross! I was actually pretty shocked myself when I got up close and personal with it. One thing you may not know about me is how blind I am without my glasses on. It’s bad people. So when I shower it’s all pretty much a blur … which in the drains case has turned out to be not such a good thing!

 

Here’s what the pin said: “To get your drain running again (without resorting to chemicals worthy of a hazmat suit) pour ½ cup soda, then ½ cup vinegar, down a clogged drain. Cover it with a wet cloth, wait 5 minutes, uncover, and flush with steaming-hot water.”

 

 

I followed the directions, and when I was finished it seemed a little better, but not a ton. That’s when I decided to unscrew the drain cover, pull out the gunk and hair, and then repeat the process without the cover on. This time it worked a million times better. The baking soda could actually get down the drain (duh!) rather than sit on the drain! I also boiled a large pot of water to pour down the drain instead of just using steaming water from the faucet.

 

Here you can tell that now you can actually see down the drain … no more black goo! I have used that shower since the unclogging and it’s drainability is night and day! I would say it worked great and it’s even better that I didn’t have to use any harsh chemicals. Just good ol’ fashioned baking soda and vinegar. I think this would work best if you did it on a more regular basis rather than letting the drain get so crazy gross. I learned my lesson and will now be doing the rest of my drains before they get to this point!

 

Have you found any great cleaning tips on Pinterest? It’s slowly becoming my go to for tips and help when I can’t find a solution or just don’t know what will work!

Adventures in Pinland {Applesauce Cookies}

 

I have been looking for a recipe like this one for awhile. The hubby’s Grandma Bonnie makes the most delicious cookie that the kids beg for and I thought it would be fun to find something similar to hers and see if it still passed the kid test. So when I saw these Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting on Pinterest, I knew they were the ones!

They were pretty simple, made a LOT, and made the house smell divine … just like it should smell in the fall! The true test came when the kids got home from school, and I have to say these cookies passed with flying colors! It actually surprised me a bit how much they liked them because they have cinnamon and clove in them, which usually aren’t the fav around here. My little G even said these were the best cookies he has ever had! (And he is my picky, I don’t like ANYTHING kid!)

 

 

Give them a try, I promise you won’t regret it! Since the recipe isn’t mine, I won’t post it here but jump over to Chef in Training for all the goods. I know I will be scouring it for more delicious recipes! Have a great Monday!

Kristin

“Pinteresting” News on the Lane

 

Happy Monday all! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty great considering I got to go check World Market out for the first time … EVER! I know, I know, I’m a little (or a lot ) late on the World Market bandwagon, but boy oh boy am I glad I jumped on! What a fun store! (And a whole other post in and of itself!)

Ok, now that I got that excitement out, let’s talk Pinterest. It’s awesome. It’s fun. All the cool kids are doing it (HA). It fills my mind with endless thoughts and ideas. It at times can make me a little depressed. It is oh so addicting. And I’ve been thinking to myself … self, you sure do pin a lot of fun,creative and downright delicious looking things with good intentions of trying them, but for one reason or another it just never seems to happen. And instead of trying out something that I have pinned, I find myself just pinning more and more until I have so many ideas floating around that I can’t focus on just one.

So with all of this came an idea to start what I am calling Adventures in Pinland. It’s basically motivation for me to get some crap done around here! Every Monday I will show you my newest adventure, how it turned out (you will get to see the good, the bad and the ugly), and whether or not I recommend it to you! It will be anything from cleaning tips to crafts to large projects to recipes that entice me or anything else I find pin worthy. I will add a board on pinterest to keep track of everything that I have tried out just for easy access. If you aren’t following me on pinterest and want to check it out just look over on my sidebar and you will find the pinterest button.

So for my first project, I decided on recovering an old cardboard box to turn it into a cute and usable storage bin for Little Miss’s closet. I get one of these boxes every week with my Winder Farms delivery and am so excited to have a use for at least a few of them now.

 

 

After about $5 in materials, a detailed set of instructions and 1.5 hours later, this is what our cardboard box now looks like! I love how it turned out and how simple it was to do. Amy at Positively Splendid gives a great tutorial on how to do it. She actually uses a diaper box and sews a fabric liner for the inside, but since these are going to be living in the top of N’s closet I decided a liner wasn’t necessary and attached a band of floral fabric around the top of the bin as a mock liner just for looks. You could totally go all out and sew the liner if it was going to be seen, this is just what worked for me!

 

 

 

All in all I thought this was an awesome pin. I now have a beautiful bin for $5 that I would have had to pay at least triple that (if I found a bargain!) for anywhere else! Now I’ve just got to finish three more to finish off the top of the closet!

I would love to hear about your adventures in pinland! Have you done anything that you love, or maybe something that you never want to think about again?!?

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