baskets

Spring Cleaning and Organization with Dollar Tree

Abby H.

Over Spring Break we had guests. While our house is clean, it was definitely disorganized. I had reorganized the pantry and kitchen drawers not long ago, so it was my mission to organize some of the other areas of our home including the kids’ rooms, the front bathroom, and the living room.

The wallpaper I chose.

I headed over to Dollar Tree to grab some organizational items. If you haven’t checked out Dollar Tree lately, they have a great selection of baskets, totes, and boxes with lids to help with organizing your space.

I also checked out their peel-and-stick wallpaper to do some DIY bathroom decor.

I picked up a few square frames, removed the artwork, covered it with the peel and stick, and placed it back into the frames. It took less than ten minutes and it was super easy. The best part: they look really cute.

To make our bathroom countertop look a little nicer, after scrubbing it, I put down an edged mirror (also from Dollar Tree) and placed 6 battery-powered faux candles in different sizes on the mirror. 

I also bought a small two-drawer container to corral all of my hair ties and for Qtips. I decorated the top with decals meant for a glass jar. I think it turned out great.

I placed a basket on top of the toilet tank and filled it with an extra roll of toilet paper, wipes, and new washcloths. I scrubbed out the shower, placed down a shower mat (from Ross), and restocked the front bathroom shower with shampoo, conditioner, 2 body washes, a new pouf, a new back scrub brush, exfoliating gloves, and my absolute favorite body scrub from Tree Hut: Moroccan Rose (which does not smell like roses). I also spent time organizing the HBA stockpile under the front bathroom sink, condensing boxes, and half-filled bottles, and removing unnecessary packaging to make storage easier. I also went through the first aid kit and discarded all of the old, expired meds, ointments, and bandages that are no longer adhesive.

The kids love to draw and there are pencils and pens all over the house. I picked up a three-pack of small baskets and placed 2 of them on the kitchen tables, filling one with pencils, and the second one with ballpoint pens. Hopefully that will solve the “MOOOOOOM, where are the pencils???” Quandary.

Heading into the kids’ rooms, I reorganized Margaret’s room with a few baskets and plastic boxes with lids. The headband/hairbow situation had gotten out of hand, but it was easily wrangled with a plastic box with a lid. Now everything is all in one place. Same with underwear and socks. Separated into two baskets and stored on top of her dresser, which has been upgraded and moved into her larger closet. Yes, her room has two closets- one is very small, and basically is only used to hold clothes that need to be hung up. 

Back in the living room, I needed better storage options for our fidget/stim basket and masks. I upgraded to black woven baskets. We still have masks at home (for use when we go to crowded places or when we are feeling under the weather and need to leave home- Target Drive up, anyone?). These weren’t from Dollar Tree, but Dollar Tree Plus and Family Dollar both sell them. And yes, that’s a plastic shoe box with a lid from Dollar Tree next to them- Full of crayons.

So that’s how I spent the 1st three days of my Spring Break. Getting my home organized- It has made finding things a lot easier.

Kitchen Reorganization on a Budget!

Abby H.

We’re at the point in kitchen renovation where we need to put the kitchen back together. I was tired of eating out of the myriad boxes in my living room.

Being on a budget, I looked for simple and easy ways to make our kitchen work better for us. Our pantry is long (about 1 meter) and narrow. It’s such a pain. So much of it is inaccessible.

I cleaned out a bunch of the clutter as I unpacked the boxes. My mom gifted me these cool white baskets (which you can find on Amazon here).  She previously used them to store fabric. I put my label maker to good use and labeled the white baskets with the following categories:

  • Soup
  • Sauces
  • Baking Goods
  • Rice and Noodles
  • Oils and Fats
  • Canned Tomatoes
  • Canned Goods
  • Soup
  • Snack Box
  • Snacks (I use this for the overflow of snacks)

I also reorganized the spice cabinet, and I’ll be moving some of the bulk spices to these glass jars from the plastic bags they came in probably later this week.

Moving on to all of the drawers in my kitchen. Yeah. Nine Drawers of various sizes. I lined them with Contact Paper from Dollar Tree– which BTW, is so much cheaper than Amazon or the big box hardware stores. I also lined the cabinets that hold our dishes. I did not line the pantry shelves- They are really long and narrow and I can’t reach all the way to the back.

To contain all of the STUFF in each drawer, I picked up some of these skinny drawer organizers, and the drawer organizers in the picture, which are wider and medium-sized.

The Silverware has a drawer caddy (not shown in the photo, but it goes in the empty drawer), but the rest of the drawers were just a disaster. Now the cooking utensils will be corraled, the batteries rolling around the junk drawer will be contained, and all of the yummy drink powders and drink concentrates (like Mio) are corraled.

So for less than $50, I was able to reorganize the kitchen and spruce it up a bit.

After the kitchen is done and the water heater is installed, we’re having a cleaning service coming to do a post-construction clean up. There is drywall dust all over my freaking kitchen and living room. It’s so gross.

Hop into Easter at Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

Easter is April 17th this year, but don’t wait until the last minute to get your basket goodies, Easter Dinner supplies, and goodies!

Dollar Tree has a ton of great ideas, and can help you stick to your budget!

Spring Cleaning on your Care Task List this Spring? Dollar Tree has your back with Cleaning & Storage Supplies. 

We recently re-organized our under the kitchen sink area with baskets and totes from Dollar Tree. And I use their totes to organize our HBA stockpile, hair coloring supplies, and even our first aid kit.