organization Archives - Wait Til Your Father Gets Home

{Desk Re-Organization}

April 2, 2013 by meredith · 8 Comments

Since I’ve got about two months left until baby number two makes his or her debut, I’ve been in major nesting/cleaning mode lately. That’s probably a good thing considering once that second sweet baby comes into our lives, I’m guessing I won’t have much time for reorganizing the house let alone simply tidying up the place each day.

You might remember a while back when I organized my kitchen desk area, here. Well, for the most part, the top of the desk has stayed clear of clutter, which I think is a huge accomplishment, however the drawers were a wreck due to a certain almost 21 month old little guy.

It was utter chaos.

And don’t even get me started on this…

I will admit that I definitely have an obsession with buying pens & pencils {and well pretty much any fun school or office supply I come across}. It’s the teacher in me. I have gotten MUCH better though over the years, promise!

So, not only were the drawers a disaster, but the storage above the desk was looking pretty pitiful as well because it had turned into the area that I would stuff things into to get them out of Jackson’s reach.

YIKES! Look at that bottom shelf. What the heck?!

So, last week, I decided enough was enough. I spent an entire 2 1/2 hour nap time throwing stuff out, finding a new home for a lot of things, and organizing and labeling.

I got out my trusty label maker from my teaching days {one of the best gifts I ever got as a teacher}, and began to label EVERYTHING I could so that it was clear when looking into the cabinets where things were.

Oh, so much nicer, don’t you think? I love that I found a storage use for my Mod Podge Dyed Mason Jars too!

I still have some plans for all those old magazines {mostly Southern Living & Cooking Light} to put only the recipes I’ve used into a recipe binder. Hopefully that will get made before baby number two arrives as well!

Surprisingly, all of the drawers in the kitchen desk are now empty. I didn’t want to put those childproof things on them, and I also didn’t want to continue picking up pens and post it notes all day long anymore. So now, if Jackson has some toy cars that he wants to keep in the drawer, I don’t mind. He actually doesn’t go into them at all anymore. I think once he realized that mommy’s stuff was outta there, they immediately became uninteresting. Go figure!

About Meredith Hazel

Meredith is a stay at home mom and has been blogging since 2012. She started Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home as a creative outlet in between nap times for her little one. Wait 'Til Your Father gets home is a combination of crafting tutorials, DIY projects, recipes and, sharing some of life's journey along the way.

Filed Under: DIY, Organization Tagged With: desk, diy, drawers, kitchen, organization

{Personalized Mini Notepads}

January 3, 2013 by meredith · 42 Comments

I can’t believe it…I’m back! Thank you all for understanding that sometimes a gal just needs a bit of a blogging break now and then. I was so fortunate to be able to spend the past two weeks with my little family to enjoy Christmas and New Year’s. Being able to just spend time together was a fantastic and much needed break, but now I’m back and ready to start sharing with all of you again.

I love January for so many reasons. It’s a fresh start on the year, it’s my birthday month, and it’s the time of year when I absolutely love to get organized. One small way I always try to stay organized on a day to day basis is to carry a mini notepad with me anywhere I go. I know in this day of iPhones that a lot of people don’t do the whole “pencil & paper” thing anymore, but I know I always will be a sucker for jotting down a nice old fashioned list!

While I was organizing my craft supplies {because I’ll be honest, it looked like a bomb went off in my office closet}, I found these cute little notepads that I had purchased this past summer at the Target Dollar Spot and some black glittery letter stickers. Instant {and free–well kind of} project!

I simply added stickers to personalize the notepads so they felt a little more “me.”

On one, I just put the letter M for my first name…

I figured that I’d use this notepad to jot down quick lists for the grocery store or errands that I had to run that day.

And on the second, I added the word “ideas”…

This one will serve as my blog project idea notepad. I don’t know about you, but I always get inspired to create while I’m out during the day {at the grocery store, sitting at a red light, you name it really}. Having this little notepad will definitely help me to remember those great ideas that pop out at me!

How do you stay organized on the go?

Linking up here!

About Meredith Hazel

Filed Under: Crafting, Organization Tagged With: crafts, diy, notepads, organization

{what’s for dinner?}

September 10, 2012 by meredith · 24 Comments

Today I’m thrilled to share with you a huge part of my kitchen (even thought it’s really not big). I’ve definitely learned that small things can make a big difference, especially when you’re trying to save money and be as frugal as you can when it comes to grocery shopping!

I’m sure you’ve seen tons of different (and super cute) versions of this all over Pinterest. I was inspired by a few myself, but wanted to keep it super simple (in hopes that my hubby would totally be on board with having it displayed in our kitchen). I give you the,

{Menu Planner Board}

To make one (get those craft store coupons ready ladies) you’ll need:

frame (the size is up to you)

burlap

small wooden letters that spell out MENU

chip board stickers for the days of the week

black ric rac

black acrylic paint/foam brush

hot glue gun/glue

scissors

black velcro

black dry erase marker

I bet you already have most of these things ~~just laying around somewhere~~ tucked neatly in your super organized craft room.

As you can see, my frame was actually matted for 3 individual pictures. I simply removed the mat (and saved it…you never know when something like that might come in handy)!

The first thing I did was paint the wooden letters with some black acrylic paint. You can also use spray paint.

You may notice that there are enough letters there for three menu planner boards. I actually made this with some girlfriends during our first Craft Night! It was so fun We are hoping to get together like that at least once a month!

Back to the project…

While I waited for the paint to dry, I got to cutting the burlap to fit the hard cardboard back of the frame.

Tip of the CENTURY! (And I wish I had a picture of this for you). Do you know the best and easiest way to cut burlap? Simply pull one of the strands all the way out of the piece you are working with, along the line you want to cut. Once the strand is pulled all the way out, simply cut where it used to be (there will be a nice, wide, and most importantly, straight line to cut). Try it next time…it will totally change your life!

Once each piece was cut, slightly larger than the cardboard backing, I adhered it to the back of the frame with a couple dots of hot glue in each corner (so it wouldn’t slide all around once it was behind the glass).

This is where Craft Night got more entertaining (hello, we were watching Bachelor Pad) and I forgot to take pictures of each step.

The rest is super simple though and easy to explain. I didn’t really use a ruler for anything, I just spaced everything out ahead of time making sure I liked how things looked before gluing anything down.

Onto the burlap you’ll need to attach the ric rac with a couple more dots of hot glue. You’ll then need to attach your day of the week stickers down the left hand side. Pop the back of the frame back into the frame itself so everything you’ve done is safely behind the glass.

Hot glue the letters across the top, grab a velcro dot and stick it to the side of the frame and the side of your dry erase marker, and you’ve got yourself this beaut…

Now, why is this little thing such a big part of my kitchen?

Well, if you’re a stickler for menu planning, you will most definitely stick to your grocery list a whole lot better! Since becoming a stay at home mom I’ve made it a point to eat at home almost every night (we usually end up “eating out” or over at someone else’s house once a week or so).

In the beginning I would just open my fridge and see what I could make. Which felt like a huge burden to me and also led to wasted food and extra money spent at the grocery store. Now, I take the time to research recipes, check sales fliers, use coupons to my advantage, and shop for only the items that I really need to make the meals my family will eat.

Is it time consuming? That depends. If my week is packed with new recipes, it might take me a little longer to think about all the ingredients I need to buy. But, usually I can get coupons cut and organized, scan the sales ads, write out a weekly menu with needed ingredients, and pull the coupons I’ll be able to use during that shopping trip all within about an hour. To me, if that hour saves me up to 40% at the grocery store and reduces the “What’s for dinner?” question in my head everyday, then I think it’s totally worth it. PLUS, it’s super cute too!

Enjoy!

I’ll be linking up at these fantastic parties!

Tutes & Tips Not to Miss @ Home Stories A-Z

SNAP! Show and Tell Linky

Tutus and Tea Parties: A Pinteresting Party

Polkadot Pretties

About Meredith Hazel

Filed Under: Crafting, Decorating, Inexpensive, Organization, Recipes Tagged With: kitchen, menu planning, money saving, organization, recipes

{simple paper clip book marks}

September 6, 2012 by meredith · 10 Comments

I thought I’d share a super simple craft that is perfect for this time of year (back to school time, of course)! Today I’m going to show you how to make a simple paper clip book mark.

To make one (or two, or twelve) you’ll need:

large paperclips (don’t get the itty bitty ones)

different colored ribbons

scissors

lighter

hot glue

I bet you have all of these things somewhere around your home already! I’ll wait right here while you round them up

To get started…

….trim about three inches of ribbon and loop it through the top of a paperclip.

To knot the ribbon, stick the two free ends (at the top) through the loop at the bottom. Pull through until it’s snug. You may want to add a dot of hot glue in the knot so it cannot untie itself.

The ribbon ends are going to be a little bit too long…

…trim them at an angle and use a lighter to barely burn the edges. This will seal the ribbon and help to avoid fraying (I’m sure you knew that though)!

That’s it (really)! How simple (and cute) is that? Make a ton of them in different colors and share them! I like to leave some at the library near those white scraps of paper they put out for book marks. These would also make a really cute gift for a teacher or librarian!

Enjoy!

I’m linking up at these fabulous parties!

About Meredith Hazel

Filed Under: Crafting, Gifts, Guest Posts, Inexpensive, Organization Tagged With: book markers, guest posts, office supplies, organization, paperclips, ribbon

{backpack station by applestone drive}

August 21, 2012 by meredith · 8 Comments

In case you missed the HUGE giveaway that started on Sunday, click here to enter!

Hi! I’m Sara from applestone drive and I’m so excited to be a part of this Back to School series. Like Meredith, I am also a former teacher, and this is one of my favorite times of year.

Today I’m going to share how I created my kids’ backpack station. We desperately needed a zone for all the school stuff or it would get lost forever!

Since we live in a split level house so there is very little room by the front door for storage. Just a few hooks for jackets and that’s it.

Thankfully, at the top of the stairs there is a roomy hall closet.

To make it more accessible I removed the door and installed hooks for backpacks.

I painted the inside of the closet a light gray and then chalkboard paint above the hooks!

It’s great for those daily reminders!

On the floor I added a cubby shelf turned sideways for shoes. I got those fun blue bins on clearance at Target for $2.50 each!

It’s perfect since I have three kids.
Each one has their own bin for school appropriate shoes.

On the side of the closet, I put up these wall pockets to hold important papers like homework, invitations, permission slips, etc.

For example, in kindergarten through second grade, homework comes home on Monday and isn’t due til Friday. That’s a huge task to expect our family not to lose it in those 5 days so it certainly helps to have a designated spot!

I added scrapbook paper to the front along with each child’s initial so they can take ownership of their stuff!

Up on the shelf we have seasonal storage. Scarves, hats and mittens stay here in the winter months and goggles, floaties and swim toys fill it up during the summer.

So that is the official tour of our backpack station!
I hope you’ll come by and visit more of my home on applestone drive!

You can also follow along on Facebook or Pinterest!

Thanks, Meredith, for hosting me today!