One of my favorite posts to write every week is my Weekend Giveaway post.

I just LOVE finding all sort of cool products that help you to simplify and organize your life {of course, I also enjoy trying these products myself!} I try to have a good mix of items — from kitchen gadgets and books to natural cleaners, helpful services… and of course, organizing products!

Recently, I came across KMN Home, a local company (from Traverse City, MI) that just so happens to make some of the coolest drawer organizers I’ve ever seen!

Their organizers are called DrawerDecor — and honestly, they really do look like decorative accents for your drawers!

In case you can’t tell by the picture above, the DrawerDecor consists of a silicon basemat and then multiple different Divitz that you can position around each of your utensils for a fully customizable and super organized drawer!

Looks pretty nice doesn’t it! 

If you’d like to see the DrawerDecor in action, you can watch this quick video.

Oh, and did I mention that the DrawerDecor had a HUGE feature article in the current June issue of Real Simple? Yup, they’re THAT cool!  {you can click on the photo below to enlarge it}

The DrawerDecor has SO many cool features:

• The basemat is made out of silicone which helps to prevent your items from slipping around
• The basemat can be cut to fit any size drawer (hello, why did it take someone so long to figure that one out!)
• You can purchase extra Divitz and accessories as needed… so you really CAN customize it to fit your exact needs.
• It’s really reasonably priced
• It comes in 5 fabulously bright colors — and you can even mix-and-match one color basemat with different color Divitz for a really fun look!

So unless every drawer in your kitchen/bathroom/pantry is totally and completely organized, I would encourage you to enter my giveaway below… and then check out all the fabulous products on the KMN Home website!

The Giveaway:

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Today, FOUR lucky Simple Organized Living readers will win a 16 piece DrawerDecor Starter Kit from KMN Home.

How to Enter:

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1. {required} Leave a comment on this post. What is the messiest drawer in your kitchen?

2. {optional} Like Simple Organized Living and/or KMN Home on Facebook, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prizes:

(4) DrawerDecor Starter Kits as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Monday, 5/21/2012 and is open to US residents, 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

A few weeks ago, I shared how I keep our car clean and organized. And then last week, I showed you our “new-to-us” vehicle that we recently purchased after we totaled our other car in an accident.

I had lots of fun cleaning and organizing our new car — and packing it with necessary items like jumper cables, snow brush, blankets, sunglasses, car chargers for our phones… and a first aid kit.

After I shared my tips for keeping our car clean and organized, I received several comments and emails suggesting that I add a first aid kit to our vehicles… especially now that we have a baby.

I figured this was probably a good idea, so as I was getting our new car ready to go, I grabbed an empty diaper wipes container and filled it with a bunch of the sample size products I’ve gotten for free over the last few months.

I was surprised how many sample-size items I found in our bathroom cabinet — everything from pain medication, Band Aids, and individual cough syrup packets to cotton balls, tissues, and toothpaste.

Everything was the perfect size to fit in a small diaper wipes container!

I did have to use a few non-sample-size items, but I was still able to clear out some of the clutter from our box of sample-size products and create a fully stocked first aid kit for each of our vehicles!

Hopefully we won’t need to use it very often, but if we do, I have plenty more sample-size products to refill it with!

How do you use your sample size products?

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I write anywhere from 7-14 posts each week — both for my own blog and as a contributor for several other blogs… so I definitely need to have a “plan” in place to assure that I don’t duplicate topics, miss deadlines, or run out of things to say {although, I think Dave would tell you that’s impossible!}

And since a few of you have recently asked how I set up, organize, and manage all the posts I write on a weekly and monthly basis, I figured maybe I should share “my plan” with you!

As with most things in my life, I try to keep it as simple as possible… mainly because I have way too many things to do each week and I can’t afford to spend lots of time “planning” as opposed to “doing”

Here are the few basic steps I follow on a weekly and monthly basis:

1. I write down ANY new ideas.

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This is probably the most important thing I do… and I do it constantly. I always have a note pad and pen with me — I even keep one by my bed because I seem to get really good ideas in the middle of the night! Then ANY time I think of an idea that could possibly work with my blog, I write it down immediately. Once I’m back at my desk, I have a “master list” of blog post ideas for the different categories I write about.

I find that with most bloggers, the biggest challenge can sometimes be coming up with an idea to write about. I used to have bad writers-block and would sometimes be up at 11:30 the night before, trying to pull a clever idea out of my brain and then write a post about it before the next morning. Now that I have a baby… I most definitely have better things to do at 11:30pm (like sleep!)

By having my list of ideas available all the time, I rarely ever waste time wondering what to write about.

2. I take pictures of everything.

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Now that I have an iPhone (that I take with me everywhere), I have no excuse NOT to take photos of every aspect of my life. I do end up deleting many of the photos, but I like to have as many pictures as I possibly can because that makes my blogging life SO much easier.

I can almost always find a picture that relates to any post I’m writing, and I can quickly document my recipes and craft projects because the pictures are always available.

I’m definitely not a fantastic photographer — but that’s what my favorite photo editing programs are for… right!

3. I draft one week of posts in one morning.

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Every Tuesday morning, I take about 1 hour to draft any posts I need to write for the following week. I look over my “master list” of ideas and pull topics and ideas that are relevant to the season, date, and my current life situation.

When I draft my posts, I basically just type in a title and then “brain dump” any information about that topic or idea without worrying about formatting, spelling, grammar… or even making sense. I just type anything and everything that comes to mind.

I also make notes about any photos I will need to take or any other actions that might be necessary before I can finish writing the post {like make a recipe, finish a craft project, etc.}

Not only does this “draft” process help initiate my writing process (see below) it also reminds me to think about these topics and ideas throughout the week.

4. I write a full weeks worth of posts in one day.

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I find that I’m most productive if I can get in a groove and do the same thing over and over again. So taking one morning and afternoon to write out all of my posts for the following week has always worked really, really well for me.

After Nora was born, she wreaked havoc on this system {and my productivity} so I’ve started paying a college girl to come in on Fridays to watch  Nora while I go head out to our outbuilding and write. {She also cleans my house so it’s really a fantastic situation for me!}

I basically write, roughly edit, add all the images, links, tags, categories, etc. My goal by the dinner on Friday is to have all my posts scheduled for the entire week ahead… and then I close up shop for the rest of the day.

I do use templates to quickly draft posts like my recipes and Weekend Giveaways. The templates allow me to recreate a new post in about 5 seconds… and then all I have to do is input the new content and a few new images. SO much faster than writing those posts from scratch every week.

And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how good it feels to walk into a clean house and know that I’ve literally accomplished a weeks worth of work in one day. Yup, it’s worth every penny  I pay Nora’s buddy

5. I get Dave to proof-read my posts.

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Before Nora was born, I had much more time to proof read and edit my posts. And I know I didn’t catch everything (by nature, I’m a very poor speller) but it was good enough.

However, after Nora joined our family, my blogging time was limited, and I found that I was making more mistakes and wasn’t paying close enough attention to the details.

So Dave graciously offered to start proof reading my posts every Saturday afternoon {even though he has a million other things he could be doing}. And while I know there have still been times when he misses something, this system is better than nothing, and I really appreciate having another set of eyes read over my posts before they go live.

Plus, knowing that he’s ready and waiting to proof-read on Saturday makes it even more important for me to finish writing my posts on Friday.

This system has been working for me for quite some time now… so I’m sticking to it!

I can’t even remember the last time I was up late writing a post for the very next day, and I certainly never sit around trying to think of ideas anymore. Not only do I save so much time by drafting and writing all my posts in one big batch, I also save loads of last-minute stress.

If you’re a blogger, I’d love to know how you set up your writing schedule.

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I love pasta, I love pizza, I love quick meals that I can put together in short notice, and I love meals that I can make ahead of time and put in the freezer.

If you share any of these “loves” with me — you will definitely want to add my Pizza Pasta recipe to your weekly meal planning rotation.

I can whip-up a double or triple batch of Pizza Pasta in less than 30 minutes, and I only have to wash one large pot and a few spoons when my cooking session is over. This is also my go-to meal when it comes to bringing meals to friends or relatives.

Oh, and if you have any picky eaters in your family, I can almost guarantee they’ll at least try this recipe!

Recipe for Pizza Pasta:

{print this recipe}

Ingredients for one 9″x13″ pan {I usually put it in smaller containers though}

• 1 16 oz. box dried pasta
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 26 oz. jar sauce (or you can make my favorite simple sauce recipe)
• Favorite pizza toppings (meat, veggies, seasonings, etc.)
• 1-2 c. Italian or Mozzarella cheese
• Additional meat/veggies for the top (optional)

Directions

• In a large stock pot, boil pasta according to the directions on the box
• Once the pasta is finished boiling, drain… but do NOT rinse
• Add egg and milk to the pasta (in the stock pot), stir until combined
• Mix in pasta sauce and any pizza toppings (sautéed peppers/onions, veggies, meats, spices, etc.)
• Dump pasta mixture into several GREASED baking dishes
• Top with Mozzarella cheese and then with additional meat (peperoni, ham, sausage, bacon)
• Cover and freeze — or bake at 350*F for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Eat and enjoy! 

I always make a double batch of this recipe — sometimes a triple batch — and then after I assemble it, I put the extra pans in the freezer (before I bake them).

When I’m running short on time or want to bring a meal to a friend, I just grab one pan out of the freezer, defrost, and bake as directed above (it might take a bit longer than 20 minutes if your dish is still very cold or a little frozen).

Plus, as with almost ALL my recipes, you can easily customize it with different ingredients to fit your family’s taste buds — use your favorite type of pasta, make a special homemade sauce, mix in your favorite pizza toppings, etc. etc. You could even make this with gluten-free pasta, egg substitute, soy milk, fat-free cheese, or almost any other ingredients that fit with your diet.

You really can’t mess this one up! 

Do you have a favorite go-to weeknight meal?

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Make sure to visit the Simple Organized Living Recipe Box for lots more simple, delicious, family friendly, budget conscious recipe ideas!

In case you haven’t noticed, I talk about saving… a lot!

I LOVE saving money on everything from groceries and gas to our vehicles and house. Saving is just in my blood… if you knew my parents, you would agree!

I love saving our money, partially because it’s a game for me (not that I’m competitive or anything), but also because we pay for everything we purchase in full (besides our house) so in order to do home renovations, go on vacation, or buy a new vehicle, we need to save.

And even though I love saving just because, I also realize that it’s a lot easier to save if I have a specific purpose in mind — something to work towards and use as an incentive.

Here are a few specific savings goals we have/had:

• To pay for our many house renovations

• To buy a new lawn tractor (we just purchased this 3 weeks ago)

• To pay off student loans and pay for Dave’s Master’s degree (we’re finished with this… hallelujah!)

• To fully-fund our retirement accounts (we try to do this every year)

• To pay down our mortgage (we’re hoping to have it paid off before Nora is in school)

• To send our kids to a Christian school (hence the reason we want to have our mortgage paid off!)

• To have several months of living expenses on hand in case of an emergency

• To go on vacation (we’ll be gone for a week this summer for Dave’s brother’s wedding)

• To expand and improve my website (there are a few new updates coming out soon!)

• To give more to church/school/charity/etc.

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How we save:

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We don’t have an elaborate or fancy way of saving for our different savings goals… but our curent methods have worked for us since we were married (almost 6 years ago).

So while I expect that many of you do things MUCH differently than we do, here are a few of the concepts that have helped to simplify the saving process… and have helped us to save more.

We use direct deposit.

Whenever possible, we have our paychecks directly deposited into specific bank accounts. Direct deposit not only saves us a bunch of time by running to the bank every few days, it also reduces the risk that we might not deposit all of the money into the account (and pull some out as spending money instead).

We use the direct deposit features to split up our pay checks and put 50% into our checking account and 50% into our savings account… which obviously makes it really easy to continue growing our savings account.

We don’t use ATM or Debit cards.

Yes, I realize this contradicts the advice from many other money-saving gurus, but it works for us. We use one credit card to pay for EVERYTHING we buy each month (gas, groceries, utilities, car insurance, home insurance, baby items, etc.) We are both extremely disciplined and I’m confident that we don’t spend any more money than if we paid with cash.

Not only does using a credit card save us time and the hassle of always carrying cash, it also allows us to accumulate points that transfer into cash back AND 20% off our entire grocery bill at Meijer (where I do all my grocery shopping). I usually get one 20% off coupon each month — which transfers to a significant savings in our grocery budget!

However, the MAIN reason we don’t use ATM cards is because that forces us to actually go into the bank and physically withdraw cash if we need it for something (garage sales, craigslist, small purchase, etc.) I absolutely hate withdrawing money from our bank account… and as weird as it might sound, not using an ATM card has prevented me from withdrawing money on more than one occasion.

And just for the record, we do have an ATM card in case we ever needed it, but it’s in our fireproof safe and neither one of us has ever used it! 

We automate our savings.

Saving isn’t necessarily the most glamorous or fun thing to to do with our hard-earned income… but in order to pay for the things we’re saving up for, it’s kind of necessary! To make saving a little less “painful”, Dave and I decided to automate as much as we possibly could.

For example, we decided that we wanted to fully-fund each of our retirements accounts every year ($5000 per person, per year). So we divided $10,000 by 12 months ($833 — or about $416 per person) and we have that amount automatically withdrawn from our checking account on the first of every month. That money is invested into different funds (by a professional) and we don’t need to think or worry about it.

We also decided that we wanted to pay off our mortgage by the time our first child started school, so we roughly figured out how much we would need to pay on a monthly basis and we have that amount automatically transfered to our mortgage account every month. Again, we don’t even need to think about it… and we also don’t have the opportunity to “change our minds” or make a smaller payment. Of course, we can call the bank at any time and have them change the amount, but that’s a lot more work!

We question every purchase.

Obviously, when it comes to big purchase like a home, a vehicle, furniture, appliances, etc. we do our research ahead of time and shop around until we find the item we want for a price we’re willing to pay. Sometimes, we find that item in a few days, other time it takes months and months of searching… but we’ve saved SO much money by just being patient.

Also, whenever we do find the thing we’re looking to buy, we always give the other person a chance to “say no”.

For example, when we purchased our “new-to-us” vehicle two weeks ago, I looked at it before Dave got home and I told him how much I liked it. I explained that it was in our price range and that after shopping Craigslist and many local dealerships, I felt like this was pretty much the best deal we could find for the car we wanted. However, I also told him that if he didn’t think it was “the car”, that he could say no. Both of us had to be in agreement before we were willing to part with our money!

Now, obviously, we don’t get each other’s opinions on small purchases like groceries or gas, but we’ve definitely saved money by questioning our purchases and waiting until we both agree.

We constantly revisit our savings goals.

I know I talk a lot about setting goals (and writing them down) — but that’s because I’ve seen the power of written goals in my own life time and time again.

When it comes to saving, Dave and I have all sorts of goals (many of them are listed above). However, if we don’t constantly keep those goals in front of us, it’s really easy to lose sight of them and start spending our money on anything we please.

And because spending money is so easy to do, we’ve tried very hard to consistently talk about our savings goals (the new kitchen, our lawn tractor, paying off our mortgage, etc). Not only does this make it easier to continue saving, it also assures that we are both on the same page with our savings goals.

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Things you might save for:

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• Birthday / anniversary party
• College tuition
• An upcoming wedding
• A new baby
• A car/boat/SUV/truck/or other vehicle
• A house/condo
• Home renovations / updates
• To fund your retirement account
• For an upcoming vacation
• A new computer/phone/or other piece of technology
• New appliances / furnace /air conditioner
• Christmas presents
• Funeral expenses
• To give to needy organizations

So to make it really simple, you’ll first want to decide WHAT you want to save for; then come up with a plan for HOW you will save the money you need; and finally, make sure you consistently REVISIT your savings goals and any progress you’ve made.

Saving money might not be the most fun thing you could do with your money, but I guarantee your efforts will pay off in the end (literally!)

What are YOU saving for?

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I’m sure you can imagine the number of emails I receive asking for advice on the best ways to design a closet.

Yeah… it’s a lot!

And while I don’t mind the questions, I decided that it would be much easier (and save me a bunch of time) if I could simply direct these people to a blog post with my best closet design tips and tricks.

So, if you’re planning a closet renovation, or if you’d just like a few tips to better utilize the closet you already have, keep reading…

Step 1: Measure Your Closet

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Whether you have a huge walk-in closet or a tiny reach-in closet, the first step in designing your space is to know the measurements of what you’re working with — especially if you need to order any supplies.

Our reach-in closet is 8 ft. wide.

Step 2: Measure Your Clothes

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Yes, you read that right — before you design or install any type of closet systen, you’ll want to measure the amount of clothing you plan to store in your closet.

Obviously, if you’re planning to get rid of anything, now would be the time to do that as well. Then, when you’re finished purging, go through and measure the number of folded piles you have, the number of inches of “short hang” and “long hang” you have, the number of accessories you want to store in your closet, etc.

These measurements will determine the eventual design of your closet, so they are important.

Out of the 8 feet of space we had, we used 3.5′ for short hang, 2′ for shelves, and 2.5′ for long hang.

For example, you can see in this picture that I have 7 piles of folded clothing and Dave and I each have about the name number of “short hang” items (on the left).

By knowing exactly how much space we’d need for folded items, short hang items, and long hang items, I was able to design our small closet to meet all our storage needs.

Step 3: Develop a Design

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Now that you know how much space you have to work with and how much stuff you need to put into that space, you can start to develop an initial design. You can read more about how I decided on our closet design – as well as the company we used to implement our design.

We really wanted to incorporate a small TV into our closet design (and since we were starting from studs, we could easily run electrical and cable outlet wires to our closet.

We also wanted to have a place to hang a shoe organizer for our accessories and hooks for our robes — which is why we went with French doors instead of the traditional (and much cheaper) bi-fold doors.

I wanted a basket for my shoes; Dave wanted shelves for his shoes. Dave also wanted somewhere to hang his ties.

Step 4: Choose your materials:

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Personally, I prefer solid materials to the wire stuff sold in most home stores. Not only is it much sturdier, but it also looks so much nicer! Plus, in my opinion, if you’re going to invest in a new closet design, it’s worth it just to spend a bit more and have it look and function so much better.

You’ll also need to purchase the correct amount of shelving, rods, and other accessories to complete your design. I absolutely love the custom features we added to our closet design.

Step 5: Install your closet system:

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In our old house, my dad built our closet system exactly to my specifications (yes, it’s really nice to have a handy dad). However, our current closet was installed by ORG West Michigan — a company that specializes in custom closet design.

Even though I had my design ready for them, they will come out and measure/design your closet for you (based on your needs) and then install the finished product. Our closet was installed in about 2 hours.

 And of course, once your closet system is in place, then the real fun begins! 

I suppose I get a little more “geeked” than most people when it comes to closet organization, but if you have a brand new, completely empty closet, I guarantee you’ll have at least a little bit of fun filling it back up again!

A Few More Tips:

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• When planning for shelves, consider that a folded stack of clothes (sweaters, jeans, etc) takes up about 12″ of space (width wise). So, if you want your shelf to fit 3 stacks, you’ll want it to be 36″ wide.

• We use these shelf dividers so our stacks don’t fall over.

• When planning for hanging bars, you probably don’t want to go much longer than 3.5′ – 4′, especially if you jam your closets full. The bars just can’t hold that much weight with out a divider (which is why we put our shelves in the center of our closet design.)

• We use these slim velvet hangers to save space when hanging clothes.

• Use as much vertical space as you can. We put another shelf across the top of our closet (about 10″ from the ceiling) to store items we don’t use that often (beach bags, out of season clothing, etc) We also installed hooks and organizers on the back of our doors — which would otherwise be lots of wasted vertical space.

• Use baskets to corral cluttery-looking items liks shoes, large belts, purses, scarves, etc. This will automatically make your closet LOOK neater. I found the baskets in our closet from World Market.

And of coures if you really want a clean, decluttered, fantastic looking closet, my BEST tip of all is to purge anything and everything you don’t need, use, want, love, wear, or feel great in! 

What are your best closet design tips?

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As some of you might already know, my most-favorite photo editing program (Picnik) closed it’s doors a couple weeks ago… which means I can no longer use it’s wonderful services to make fun collages and add cute numbers to Nora’s monthly onesie pictures.

I was dreading the day Picnik “died” and refused to switch over until the very last second. I was editing pictures like crazy until I went to bed on April 19 — yes, that’s how much I loved Picnik!

Unfortunately, since I’m trying to take lots of pictures these day, there are always more pictures to edit…

So for the past couple months, I’ve been trying out different photo editing programs… and I’ve decided on my TWO favorites. 

Ideally, I’d love to just use one, but you’ll see why I “need” two as you keep reading.

#1 PicMonkey:

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PicMonkey is extremely similar to Picnik and offers many of the same features… BUT you can only upload and save one picture at a time, and you can only upload a picture from your computer and then save it back to your computer. You can’t upload the photos to Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, or any other website… so that creates an extra step.

However, PicMonkey is completely free, and it’s SO quick and easy to use. It literally takes me less than 30 seconds to upload, edit, and save a picture.

PicMonkey is a great photo editing service, I just wish it had a few more features — and yes, I’d be willing to pay for them!

#2. FotoFlexer:

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A friend told me about FotoFlexer – because it’s also free and she knows how cheap I am!  It’s set up like PhotoBucket (I personally don’t love PhotoBucket but that’s beside the point!); it allows you to upload multiple pictures from all different social media sites… and then save them back to those same sites (or to your computer).

FotoFlexer also has the ability to create collage photos… which is a Picnik feature I used ALL the time.  It does take a bit longer to upload, edit, and save — which is why I’m still using PicMonkey for my quick editing needs.

So thanks to these two programs, I’ll be able to continue editing all my super cute Nora pictures! 

What photo editing programs do you use?

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How to Organize Children’s Clothing

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Over the past several years, I’ve helped many moms (and dads) get and stay more organized… and one of the most common clutter issues I’ve helped them with is dealing with all their baby and kid’s clothes.

Baby and kid’s clothes fall under the “sentimental and emotional” clutter realm because they are just SO cute and every outfit has a story! Plus, they out-grow their clothes so quickly that they usually still look brand new.

I have a pretty good organizing system in place for Nora’s closet… but if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed with all your kid’s clothes and accessories, here are a few tips to help you sort, store, and organize all those baby and kid’s clothes.

The Power of a Physical Inbox

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I’m a very visual person — I like making lists, I still use a paper planner, I love writing out my to-do’s each day, and I’ve almost always had a physical inbox sitting on my desk.

Yes, I have an email Inbox too — but I need my wicker basket sitting on my desk to SHOW me what I still have left to do in any given day or week.

If you’ve ever struggled with staying on top of everything you have to do, check out my tips for creating and using a physical inbox!

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Simple Tips to “Green Up” your Office Space

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I often feel overwhelmed with whole idea of “going green” — mainly because I don’t know where to start, and it always seems to take SO much extra effort. However, over that past few months, I have taken several very simple steps to reduce my waste and start my “green” journey in our home… and in my office.

If you’re interested in a few really simple ways to “green up” your office space, here are a few ideas to get you thinking…

Congrats to:

Jen (vestrands@…)

Kristin (kristin.hamernik@…)

Look for an email from me soon!

I would NEVER consider myself a gourmet chef by any means — I make simple meals with simple ingredients… but everything usually tastes good (at least that’s what Dave tells me!) However, even though I don’t cook gourmet meals, it’s still nice to work with gourmet cooking tools — especially if they are designed specifically with the home chef in mind.

Today’s Weekend Giveaway features a gorgeous 6″ Wüsthof Classic Chopper Knife… and let me tell you, I feel like a gourmet chef when I’m using it!

Unlike standard utility knives, Wüsthof’s new Classic 6″ Utility Chopper features a wide blade and reversed scalloped edge that cuts easily without shredding or tearing. The scalloped blade reduce blade “stickiness” when slicing though starchy vegetables and the wide blade design makes it easy to scoop up chopped ingredients from the cutting board and dump them into pans or bowls.

The Chopper is ideal for everyday food prep, in everyday homes, for everyday chefs like us! 

That is the theme of Wüsthof’s new microsite. They are “defining the Edgë” and revolutionizing the tools available for home chefs.

If you’re looking for a great knife to add to your collection, you’ll definitely want to enter my giveaway below. And if you’re looking for an entire new set of knives, head on over to WusthofEdge.com to see their selection of beautiful knives… you’ll probably start drooling!

The Giveaway:

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Today, TWO lucky Simple Organized Living readers will win a Wüsthof Classic 6″ Chopper Knife.

How to Enter:

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1. {required} Leave a comment on this post. What would you use the Chopper for?

2. {optional} Like Simple Organized Living and/or Wüsthof on Facebook, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prizes:

(2) Wüsthof Knives as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Monday, 5/14/2012 and is open to US residents, 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

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It’s already the second week of May — which means your children’s school will probably end in less than a month!

Seriously, it seems like the school year JUST started! 

I know Dave is looking forward to a break. I’m looking forward to it too because then he’ll be home to give ME a break! However, before you officially swap your backpacks and shoes for beach bags and sandals, there are a few simple things you can do NOW to avoid dealing with school clutter all summer long.

1. Corral ALL that paper.

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Schools are really good at sending your children home with lots and lots of paper… so before you close up shop for the summer, take an hour to sit down with your child and go through all their paperwork from the past school year.

Toss anything you/they don’t need, use, or want; and encourage them to weed out some (or most) of their school art projects and crafts. They only need to keep the ones they love — and if they insist that they love all of them (which they probably will) explain that there is not room to keep everything. Believe me, this is a good lesson to teach them, even at an early age!

2. Stock up on summertime activities.

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It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but now is the time to stock up on some fun activities to keep your kids busy during those long summer days.

Look for deals on board games, DVD’s, craft supplies, water ballons, sprinklers, etc. Search the internet for creative activities to do as a family. Scour garage sales for dress-up clothes, scavenger hunt items, and “prizes” for whatever reward system you might implement.

Now is also the time to finalize the plans for any family vacations or day-trips you would like to take.

3. Look over your calendar.

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Speaking of travel plans… lazy summer days have a way of suddenly becoming jam-packed with all sorts of sporting events, vacations, trips, play dates, BBQ’s, pool parties, weddings, summer camp, and much, MUCH more.

Take a few moments to glance over your calendars for June, July, and August — do you need to make any last-minute plans? Do you need to request time off from work? Do you need purchase gifts or prepare anything in advance? Once the kids are home, you might not have as much time… so do it now!

4. Size up their clothing.

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If you haven’t taken the time to weed through your kid’s clothing since last summer, chances are it’s ALL too small! Take an afternoon to go through their clothing and figure out what you can pass down to the next child, what you should donate, and what you’ll need to buy for the upcoming season (remember to write down what you need).

Then, if you’re like me and refuse to pay full price for anything, hit up a few church/school second hand sales and stock up. Those sales usually have a wide variety of styles and sizes so you should be able to find most of what you need.

5. Get your house in shape.

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The best time for deep cleaning and organizing is probably NOT once the kids are home full-time. If there are any major (or even minor) cleaning and organizing projects you want to tackle… do them now!

Unless of course, your husband is a teacher and you’re waiting for him to be done for the summer so you can start renovating your kitchen

 I know it sounds like a lot — but you still have an entire month. 

And while I’m sure none of these things sound particularly thrilling right now, think about how much more you’ll be able to enjoy those precious summer months if you take a little time to plan ahead!

How are you preparing for summer?

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