Everything Has Its Place

Organization time!  It's spring cleaning and organizing time here.  I figured I'd show you a few of my favorite organizational tricks!  The first one I did about 2 years ago, thanks to Pinterest.  It's one of those things that sounds really easy, but for some reason, took some fiddling with.  I painted the inside of my 2 cabinet doors with magnetic paint.  Sounds easy, right?  Well, in order for the magnets to stick, you need about 6 coats of the sticky gooey stuff.  Thankfully, it dries quickly, so this can all be done in one day.  I use the paint on kind, which was a bit pricey, but I didn't want to risk the over-spray if I used the spray on kind.  I still have about 90% of a can left, so I must come up with more projects for it!

But, I do love how organized my spices look!  I was even really nerdy and bought a label machine so everything is consistently labeled.  I'm nerdy like that!  I found the little tins online, though for the life of me, I can't remember where.  Magnets I found at the local craft store.  I did have to Gorilla Glue those suckers on though, otherwise, they quickly popped right off.  Yes, I do have that many spices, and I wish I had more door space for some of the blends I've made too!  Most of my spices come from Atlantic Spice Company, based in North Truro, Cape Cod.  They do mail-order but we usually take a long weekend there and I stock up for the year!  If you get a chance to go, it's a wonderful smelling place!  Lots of fun goodies to poke through!  I've already started my list, since we're headed there next week--I can't wait!

My other favorite organizational trick...

It's one of those over-the-door show holder thingies.  I was sick and tired of all the random hats, gloves, scarves, etc. that were tossed into a basket and no one could find the mate or know whose was whose.  So, one of these things does the job amazingly well.  Each item has its place and we all know where to find things.  The kids can easily spot their things so I don't have to help them get stuff each morning.  This is what it looks like right now, after I managed to wash all the winter stuff.  It didn't not look this neat all winter, but we tried!

I will stick in one recipe, because I did make a cake for my friend's fiance, who is a huge carrot cake fan.  His birthday was last week, so this is what he got...

I use Ina Garten's Carrot and Pineapple Cake recipe.  It's always a hit!  Dan basically hugged the cake as he walked out the door, so I'd say he liked it!  The last picture is of some super cute cupcakes that my day care provider's husband made for their youngest.  I had to post them, they're so adorable!  Starburst for the tongue, M&M's for the nose, Werther's Originals for the ears and peanut butter frosting.  So fun!

The weather looks fabulous for Mother's Day weekend.  Enjoy it!  I can't wait to see what my kiddos made!  Stay tuned!  Happy Mother's Day!