The Journey of a Thousands Things to Organize Begins With a Single Cabinet

I've mentioned I like to organize, and since I now have longer chunks of time to do this, I am on a mission.  I decided to tackle the most visible parts of my home first.  I live in a three bedroom ranch with no half bath/powder room.  The bathroom guests use is also the bathroom the girls and I use daily.  Needless to say we have a lot of stuff in this bathroom.  There is one cabinet on the wall, and the cabinet under the sink.  I was really tired of hiding/moving stuff from view every time we have people come over.  I finally did something about it and it only took about 30 minutes.

Here is the before of the under the sink cabinet.  Yikes!

As you can see, nothing is organized.  Things are tossed in the white crate or just laying on the bottom of the cabinet.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money either.  So I went to Walmart and bought plastic shoe containers and white labels.  The shoe containers were $.88 a piece and the labels were $1.88.

I grouped like things together.  I used four boxes.
My groups were:
Skin Care (cotton pads, extra moisturizer and toner)
Body Care (razors, lotion, shaving cream)
Tooth Care (extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss)
Nail Care (clippers, polish, polish remover)

I wrote the group names on the labels and stuck them on the boxes.  After wiping out the cabinet, I put the boxes, my basket of my hair stylers (curling iron, hair dryer, flat iron), white crate (it now holds my skin and make up routine which had been sitting on the counter), and a few other miscellaneous items back in.  I think it looks a better.  What do you think?

I now only have essential items sitting on the counter which can be quickly stored in a drawer.  

What to tackle next?  Keep checking for updates as my journey continues.

White Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies

There are days my family desperately craves cookies.  Not that I don't love them, but I get a little bored of plain old chocolate chip.  So, I start sorting through my stash of random baking supplies and I stumble upon a butter pecan cake mix.  Sounds good but I don't really have ingredients for frosting, and if I don't make something soon I'll have a riot on my hands. Then I stumble upon a box of white chocolate pudding. Ok, I can make this work.... I think.

White Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

1 box butter pecan cake mix

1 small box instant white chocolate pudding mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper.

2.  Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, and eggs in a bowl until dough forms.  Mix in pecans.

3.  Using a cookie scoop or spoon roll dough in to one inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

4.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are slightly golden in color.  Let cool 2 minutes then move to a wire rack.

Makes about 24 cookies

These were a BIG hit.  My husband says they are one of his favorite cookies.  Enjoy with a cup of coffee or glass of milk.

My first one!

This is my first post on my first blog! I'm really excited to be sharing the recipes, crafts, and kids' stuff I do at home.  A little about me, I am a midwest mommy of two little girls, I (mostly) am a stay at home mom, and I have a very sweet husband.  I love baking, so there will be a lot of cookie recipe posts.  I have epic fails at being crafty at times but I keep trying.  New posts coming soon!  :)