the shoe corral, also known as a morning time saver.

in an effort to stay sane, i like to keep things organized.

now, our bedroom apparently doesn't fall into this category, because i was just asked by caedmon the other day "why do we have to clean our room, but you and daddy don't clean your room?"

yah, you weren't supposed to notice that caedmon, mkay?

that's when i like to say things like "because we're grownups, okay?"

(i can say things like that now that i'm 30.)

which he then usually says "oh, so when i'm a grownup, i don't have to clean my room?  basically i can do anything i want?"

yes caedmon.  anything you want.

moving on.

this is what you see when you first walk into our house:

it's our shoe storage system, or the shoe corral.  whatever you'd like to call it is fine.

we used to have an old dresser here, and everybody threw their shoes into one drawer.  it made for a very stinky drawer, and also major cries and fits in the morning when you couldn't find the shoe you were looking for cause there were so many dang shoes in that drawer.

so, i went to IKEA one day and bought 2 of these.

6 bins?  perfect.

everybody puts their shoes in their OWN bin (glorious)...no more scrapping in the mornings when we're all trying to get our shoes on.  they each have their own space, and best of all, it's small enough for little people to sit on if they need help from mommy and daddy to put shoes on.

the top drawer houses their library books they check out (when they aren't using them) and also school folders, etc.

when the kids are home, their backpacks sit right on top of this thing, in their own space.

once it gets colder (oh you know, in like 4 months or so) i'd like to hang hooks up so they can hang their coats and winter garb on.  it's all about a system, people.

i also stamped each kids name in their color to label their bins.

so, no lie, this system has made my life easier.

i say that about every organization tip, but tis true.

organization = sane mama.

and just for fun, this is what's on the other side of the room:

this is our playroom--and yes, the first room you see when you walk into the house.

(our art walls are empty cause i take all the old crafts down at the beginning of the school year...in order to fill them right back up again!)

this room is used for a dining room in other homes, but we don't have a lot of space in our crib, so we need to utilize every room to the best of our ability.

plus, who needs 2 different rooms to eat in?  i don't get it.

our playroom used to be yellow...check it out here.

the yellow made me want to puke.  no lie.  i hated it.  one day i got mad at mr. anderson and i thought "what is one thing i could do that would really irritate him?"

paint. 

paint a room that's already painted?  even better.

he thinks painting is the worst thing ever invented, so i got my paint and went to work.

i like it better white anyways, so thanks for making me mad, mr. anderson.

this table i got for free at a garage sale---they were finishing up when i came by and told me to take whatever i'd like.  holla.

for now, it's a beat up and used table in the playroom.

one day it will be white and beautiful in my living room.

milo and elsa playing "dora matching":

i love to share little tidbits on how we make things work in this house.

and i also love to hear from y'all---how do you make things work with 1, 2, 10 kids?

do tell.

happy monday, y'all.