Remember when I mentioned a few plans / dreams for the blog this year? In that post I also shared a few hopes / dreams regarding my little business. No sooner did I write that post and send it off into the atmosphere…suddenly my e-mail was dinging away with new clients. It’s been a busy month, which is why I’ve been quiet around here…but I’m so grateful for my experiences with these fun moms! It’s been incredible and I’m excited to share my “simply done” spaces here with all of you throughout the year.

Tami (who happens to be a blog reader!) sent me an e-mail because she is feeling overwhelmed by the clutter in her home. She has 3 children under the age of 5, so it makes sense she’s dealing with clutter in many spaces around her home. This is true for any mother of young children – she’s not alone! It takes a while to get those systems in place and we are teaching little people good habits along the way. I’m grateful to be helping Tami each week to whip her spaces / rooms into order. This week we focused on one of the main hot spots in her home – the foyer / entry closet…as well as her little office nook, which is immediately off of the foyer in the living room.

Her issues in the foyer were that shoes were getting plopped down just inside the front door…

Her family comes and goes from the front door, which is why she was in desperate need of a better shoe solution. The entry closet is the best location for these shoes, but it was packed…

She was given a small table by a family member and it ended up finding a place to live here in the entry. Tami was hoping to find a new home for it because this table was a spot for clutter to accumulate…

She has a small office nook set up in a corner of her living room, which is to the left of her foyer…

Like most desks, it’s really easy for paper and clutter to accumulate…

The desk only has 2 drawers making it impossible to keep that desktop clutter-free. With the desk located this close to the entry, I knew it would great to utilize part of the closet for office supply overflow.

With just 2.5 hours, we buckled down (with coffee) and completely organized both spaces. She worked so hard right alongside me!

Check out these afters!…

We found the shoe organizer in her laundry room. I hung it from 3 command hooks so we aren’t seeing the unsightly over-the-door hooks from the outside. The show organizer now contains all 3 of her children’s shoes that are worn daily. The green bin you see inside on the floor holds the shoes worn daily by mom and dad. The 2 black itso bins tucked inside on the right were found somewhere else in the house and now holds her gift bags, tissue paper and small gift wrap items.

So, what’s on the shelves?…

Again, we used boxes found around her home to organize kids craft supplies (the kind that require adult supervision), her supply of notecards, office and printer supplies, and her gift wrap rolls are living here for now. As we work our way through the house, other spots may become available for gift wrap. But for now, she knows it’s all here and easy to get to.

Did I mention that we didn’t purchase anything? We shopped around her home for organization solutions.

No more tripping over shoes as you walk in the front door!…

The round entry table was moved to a new location around the corner (see below) and we found this little gem tucked away in her living room…

And check out her newly organized office nook…

No more piles because we removed the old sorter that was a dumping ground for paper piles. The top drawer holds small office supplies like a stapler, paper clips and their checkbook. The bottom drawer is her hardware drawer – extra house keys, apple products and charging cords, etc.

We even found an old dish rack tucked away in her living room that became a new book organizer for some of her children’s books…

Again, just 2.5 hours of dedicated time and these spaces were totally organized. 2 boxes + 1 bag of donations + 2 large bags of recycling = Tami is breathing easier in her foyer / office.

Don’t forget to shop your home first for items that can be repurposed as organization solutions!