Monday, April 19, 2010

Spring Organizing (& Giveaway!)

It's finally the time of year when the windows can be left open and the fresh air can flow through the house! In the front flowerbed our dogwood is blooming, the hostas are sprouting, the miniature hyacinth and tulips are blooming and believe it or not, I have some annuals from last year that are growing new leaves. I think they are snap dragons!

Spring time also reminds me to Spring clean. This year my main goal was to go through each room of our home and clear out everything that wasn't useful or beautiful. I ended up boxing it all up and taking it to a brand new consignment thrift store in our little town of Birch Bay... and I made $43! I couldn't believe it. I've never consigned before and I think I am hooked now.

Rubbermaid recently sent me a set of their Junk Drawer Organizers to review and I ended up putting them to good use and liking them quite a bit! I have to admit that I don't really have a junk drawer so I organized the top drawer of our computer desk instead. You can see the "before" picture below. It was organized with an old plastic storage container and some cardboard boxes that slid around a lot and looked messy.


The drawer organizers are interlocking as you can see in this photo. At first I didn't think that these would be sturdy when locked together, but I was very surprised when I put them to use. They stay in place very well because of the lip on the edge, and the grippy feet on the bottom.

Each tray is lined with grippy rubber. This is useful so that things within the containers don't slide around.

Grippy feet.

Six pieces in the set. You can find these here, on the Rubbermaid site, and you can also buy them as a set at Walmart because I've seen them there.

My "after" photo. This organizing set fit into the drawer perfectly and holds a lot. I really like the three small sections for holding all those little odds and ends that usually get lost in the drawer. If you have a junk drawer that needs some help, read this useful article. I also like this post over at Organizing Junkie about why containerizing is important.

Rubbermaid is giving away one 6 piece set of their No Slip Interlocking Drawer Organizers to one of my readers and all you have to do is comment. For a second entry, comment again with a Spring cleaning or organizing tip. This giveaway is open to anyone in the United States or Canada.

18 comments:

  1. Boy, I could use those!! They look great, and I have nothing like that. :-)

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  2. Hooray for Rubbermaid! Meanwhile, your drawer looks so pretty :-)

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  3. And another for a second entry: my favorite organizing tip with junk drawers: pull the drawer out of its base and carry it to the couch. Sort the junk while watching your favorite TV show. Give yourself 30 minutes (or however long the show is) to clear out what you can. At the end of 30 minutes, replace the drawer and feel proud of your accomplishment!

    I use this trick for a lot of organizing projects and they get done in smaller bites - hooray!

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  4. Those organizers look super! Every kitchen needs help with junk drawers. :)

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  5. I like the rubberized bits. I keep re-doing my 2 junk drawers with different things I've bought at dollar stores, but they slide around or fall over & spill. I think the interlocking component would really help with that too. I'll have to measure my drawers and start again with the right equipment.

    Isn't it true that if you buy the right equipment in the first place, even if it seems $$ you'll actually save money in the long run!!!

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  6. Housekeeping tip;
    Do one chore a day, and you'll conquer a mountain in a week.

    Spring cleaning tip:
    Do one extra chore per week, and your spring cleaning will be done without giving up your spring.

    We always hear "keep short accounts with God; repent & confess your sin quickly". The same principle applies to dirt!

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  7. Kate the Great- your blogger profile is private, so when you enter giveaways, you have to leave your email in order for me to contact you if you win. :)

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  8. I love organizing, but am currently using a mishmash of repurposed small cardboard boxes and baskets in my junk drawer. They like to slide around and rearrange themselves--very annoying!

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  9. My organizing tip - the zippered bags that come on blankets and pillow cases and the like are so handy to keep on hand. The smaller ones are great for storing toys (legos, farm animals, etc.) in the toy box, and the larger ones are great for storing yarn, fabric, etc. I like to reuse!

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  10. Wow, I can think of several drawers in my house that could use those!

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  11. Spring cleaning tip: always start at the top and work down.

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  12. Ooh, just spotted the second entry. :-) Since I'd rather light myself on fire than organize things, haha, I might not be the best person do give a spring cleaning tip. But, I try to work on one room at a time until it's done... that way I have a real sense of accomplishment instead of feeling like I've got little things done all over the house, but it's still not perfectly clean yet.

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  13. Hey, I want to win those organizers!

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  14. What if I don't spring clean? Eeek.

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  15. Those look great. I amazed you have no junk drawer, mine is twice that size my husband would love for it to be that organized, oh and for the pencils to be sharpened, ha

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  16. I love organized, though I can't say I've entirely achieved it! Those look fun!

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  17. brilliant!! this is just what i need for my drawer

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