Organizational Tips: A More Efficient Work Week

I have been so busy at work these last few weeks that I haven't had much time to think let alone work on craft projects. Being busy translates into more stress and less time to eat healthy or eat at all. I know there are people out there who have it all together and can work 40 hours a week without losing time to eat healthy, but that is not me. I wrote this week's organizational tips with this in mind. So for all the busy individuals, moms, and families, these tips are for you. 

Tip #1: Plan a week's worth of meals. Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, whatever you need for your week. Make a list of everything you need, but don't forget to double check your pantry before you leave, don't assume. Once you've bought your groceries, start cooking. Everything you can make ahead is time saved during the week when tired. Freeze or refrigerate until needed. A crock pot is a busy person's best friend and I highly suggest all of my readers to own one. Even in college, as broke as I was, I had a crock pot. My crock pot wasn't fancy and it wasn't expensive. I bought the 2 qt crock pot for under $10 at Walmart. This crock pot served me well throughout my college years and kept me eating healthy. 

If  you don't like the idea of cooking a week's worth of meals in a day then I suggest at least prepping for all of your meals at the start of the week. If you have the containers then chop, dice, and prepare all of the ingredients for your meals. Depending on the preparation needed for each meal this will save you an hour at the end of your week. If you don't have the containers then use Ziploc sandwich bags to contain each ingredient and then put all of the ingredients in a Ziploc gallon size bag. The Ziploc bag is not a cost effective solution, but it will save you time this week. I recommend investing in a container set if you don't want to cook all your meals in a day. Preparing or cooking your meals ahead of time saves you time during your week. If you cook all of your meals on a single day then your meals only need to be reheated not cooked. This is perfect for busy families. If cooking all at once seems overwhelming then look ahead to your week and identify your busiest days and just cook ahead for those meals.

Tip #2: Use Ziploc bags to pre-bag all snacks. Ziploc snack bags are a great time saving solution for lunch preparation. Whether you make your own lunches or your children's lunches this solution is for you. Dry snacks like crackers or cookies can be stored in a clear box in your pantry. Fresh snacks like fruit and vegetables can be stored in a clear box in your refrigerator. This is personally one of my favorite time saving tips. During the week I can grab whatever snack(s) I want to take to work that day and head out the door. Even if I am in a rush in the morning I still have time to reach in the pantry or the fridge and grab a snack because the snacks are already bagged. I plan on implementing this tip when I have my own children and need to make their lunches.

Command Center

Home Hub

Tip #3: Make a launch station. I think Fly Lady first introduced the concept of a launch station, but the basic premise is a place to store keys, bags, lunches, coats, and calendars, etc. This can be a memo board with hooks underneath the board. Use the memo board to store a family calendar and important events while utilizing the hooks below to store keys, bags, and coats. There are many fancy tutorials on how to create memo board launch stations. 

These are some of my favorite versions of launch stations, command centers, or home hubs. The command center, shown left, is featured on OrgJunkie  and is perfect for single individuals or couples. The whiteboard is perfect for writing down important dates while the cubbies are great for storing mail, etc. and the hooks are perfect for keys and bags. The home hub shown right is featured on ivillage and is designed for families. This family's entry way features a magnetic board for invitations and flyers and a white board calendar for event planning. Underneath these boards is a cubby shelf with hooks underneath. I love the cubby idea because it can be personalized for each child and is great for teaching little ones how to organize their things. The hooks underneath are great for their coats and backpacks. Pick a design that fits in with your needs and install it in your entry way or wherever is most convenient for you.

These tips have drastically impacted my work week and dramatically decreased my stress while saving me time all week long for activities I actually want to spend my time doing. Hopefully these tips save you just as much time and allow you a more relaxed week at work, home, or wherever you spend your time. Comment below with areas in your life or home that need organization help.

Yarn Storage

"Don't wait for tomorrow what you can do today." Unfortunately, sometimes what you want or could do today often gets put off until tomorrow. This is exactly what happened with the current pattern inventory binder post I am writing. I started writing, with every intent of posting, and then I became busy with the work week. I wish I had the luxury of only working on craft projects and that I was able to support myself on those projects alone, but I am not yet able to do that and so I work. I actually enjoy my work quite a bit, except of course when I am too exhausted to work on my passion, crafting. Anyways, the binder post is coming, but it might take more time than I originally anticipated. However, I am typing it up as a tutorial so my readers can get more use of the post itself. 

I am working on a few other tutorials as well, including patterns for quick baby play mat blankets and basic crochet hats. As I work on these tutorials though I am caught by the massive amount of yarn and other crafting supplies I have, which of course makes me think about the maximum way to store all of my supplies. I am especially fascinated by yarn storage because I am boxes and boxes of yarn whether it is yarn I bought or yarn that was given to me. As I mentioned earlier, I am cleaning out a dresser to turn it into yarn and fabric storage, but this wouldn't be my first choice, largely because I like to be able to see my yarn.

I am addicted to storage and organization solutions, that are both functional and creative, and so I frequently search for craft storage ideas online. I usually use key phrases like "DIY Craft Storage Solutions", "Craft Room Storage Ideas", or "Yarn [specific supply] storage ideas" in a Google image search. Through these I have found some wonderful, creative, and functional storage solutions for my craft space or future craft room. I recommend saving any ideas you like to a folder on your computer for inspiration. You might not be able to implement them right now, but you might be able to at a future time. Through these searches I have saved hundreds of images. Most of these images are similar, but I save them because when I decide to implement these storage solutions I can then implement specific thing I like from each idea. 

Anyways, yarn storage is a particular favorite of mine because I like my yarn displayed, but most of the yarn storage is too small for my needs. However, through these searches I found a few unique storage solutions I just adore. The first is taking a shoe organizer and putting it in a bookcase or stacking it atop of Closetmaid organizers. Once your organizer is in place begin filling the cubbies with all of your balls of yarn. This is great if you have a small to medium amount of yarn. I think the biggest shoe cubbies I have seen hold 36 shoes. If you have seen a larger shoe cubby leave a comment below telling me how many shoes (or balls of yarn) it can hold and a link if you have it. :)

Another idea I love is using a peg board and nails. There was a picture of a lady in front of a wall, lined entirely with peg board. She then spaced nails evenly across the entire wall and inserted each nail in the middle of a ball of yarn. Now if your yarn is multi-fiber you might have to use something else in place of a nail to prevent fraying or snagging of your yarn. This idea is great for any size yarn collection because you can always add more peg board. However, you are limited by the wall space available and your budget because peg board can be expensive. If I were going to use this method I would look for refurbished or used peg board at thrift stores and Habitat for Humanity stores. Another option, if you don't mind poking holes in your walls, is to just put the nails directly in the wall.

If you or someone you know is good with their hands then you can always build your own custom yarn storage. I love this diamond patterned wall cubby to hang above your work desk. While I have not attempted to make this yarn storage, I think the storage would be fairly simple to make, but again, I haven't tried to make this myself. If I do make this storage I will be sure to offer a tutorial for my readers. This storage provides design and function, which in my opinion can't be beat.

The final yarn storage pictured I just stumbled upon today and am captioning it Budget DIY Yarn Storage. While I don't know how much this person spent making this particular yarn storage, I think it could easily be remade on a budget. From the picture it looks like the person made the storage out of milk crates. Depending on where you live, who you know, etc. these milk crates could be free or obtained for very cheap, but if you are unable to get them for free I believe the Dollar Store carries them too. If my calculations are correct, to make this storage would take 28 milk crates. The crates could easily be hung on the walls using nails. As you can see from the picture, this yarn storage would probably hold the most amount of yarn.

There are so many wonderful ideas for yarn storage. I encourage all of my readers to Google yarn storage. Please comment below with your own yarn storage ideas and if you want me to do a yarn storage tutorial on either the diamond wall cubby or the milk crate storage. And hopefully, the next post will be the tutorial for the current pattern inventory binder.