It's A Matter of Organizing Your Garage Cabinets....

I have a very handy husband....I believe he can fix or build anything....and probably has.  I am fortunate that Rooster Senior will quickly repair, build, or address anything I ask for in a short period of time.  Because of this, I try not to ask for too  many things because I want him to enjoy being home and not having got 'work' too much at home. 

With all of his talents, he struggles with organization.  He is the king stuffing bags, re-purposed bottles/cans, and boxes into any crevice he can find. He reminds me of the game of Tetris....with the purpose to just find anyplace where the part/piece can fit.  

How To Organize Garage Cabinets:

See the bags, boxes and items placed in the cabinet without rhyme or reason (to me anyway).  So, because of Rooster Senior's generosity, I decided (at my own peril) to try to be helpful by organizing some of the Garage cabinets.  

I looked at what I saw as chaos.  I got online and ordered milk crates and clear shoe boxes.  (It is important to Rooster Senior that he can see everything.  This is why I chose these containers.  You can see what is inside for the most part).  I set up a 'sorting station'.  I used an 8 foot table and utilized the space on top of the table as well as under it.  As I took out a bag/box/can, I sorted the items into an appropriate container.  I am a Speech-Language Pathologist by training. One of the things that we teach folks with Executive Functioning issues to learn categorization and to use it to problem solve...along with other things.  Organizing requires categorization....so I used Categorization to sort the many items I was pulling from these cabinets.

While sorting, I found many duplicate items.  This is ultimately costly and takes up precious space. 

It's amazing how many things you can fit into a milk crate! They are sturdy as well.

I also used my handy-dandy label maker to identify the contents of the containers.  All of these labels are essentially at the same eye level to make scanning for needed items easier to find.

For smaller containers, I used the label maker to identify large categories and some with a sorted but similar items.  "Lighting" items in the top box, and other items associated in the lower box. Each type of item is listed on the outside of the box.

To help categorize and assist in visual sorting, I also put labels on the inside of the doors. These cabinets are deep, and some items were placed in the back of the cabinet because they are not used as frequently as others. This again helps Rooster Senior to see and find things.

See the end result?  All items are labeled and sorted by category.  Whole cabinets were also classified.  We have a 'camping/recreation' cabinet, wood-working, etc.  

I would like to say that he was 'thrilled' and even 'excited'.  However, he was polite.  Overall the cabinets have essentially remained mainly the same.  I have to go in and reorganize on occasion.  I chose not to do all the cabinets at once.  I need to let my Tetris husband decide if he was ready or even wanted more of this throughout the garage.

For me, this is a welcome change!  I can find things!  I know right where they are!  I am hoping that with time we can continue this method to help reduce duplicates, and have a space for everything. This was a safety issue at times as the stacking and sliding items as you open the cabinet doors with items randomly falling out.  Also, the piles of these items on the floor can also pose a safety risk. Time will tell to see how this experiment will work over time for him. For me, it is a big success.  Now, I need to respect the rest of his space....he is worthy of such respect both in time and space.

Memory Quilt continued, Embroidering Names on Photo Quilt Blocks

A few posts ago, I introduced you to a Memory Quilt that I recently made for a family member who was celebrating a landmark birthday.  Just as it is important to identify the photos that you take, I felt it was important to machine embroider family names the quilt blocks.  People change over time, and it is helpful to identify who these beloved family members are now.

Those who are familiar with Machine Embroidery, you know that Stabilizer is a required element to embroider anything.  There are many types to choose from, but I find that I am using this type more often with many of my projects :  World Weidner Self-Adhesive Sticky Peel N Stick Tear Away Embroidery Stabilizer Backing 8"x10 Yard Roll.  What I like about this project is that you can readjust your fabric without taking the hoop apart. this is a very important convenience that saves me time and I feel helps me to quickly get my projects ready to start.

You may be wondering why I am being so specific about the type (not the brand) stabilizer.  Well, it is because I tried to use it efficiently when embroidering on my blocks.  Stabilizer can be costly, so being efficient with its use is just smart.  I tried to embroider on the photos before I made the blocks and it was just too difficult for this quilt. I found that it was easier to embroider on the finished blocks. They were easier to position and center using self-adhesive stabilizer.

I started positioning the first block near the top of the hoop. After your embroidery is finished, I folded the bottom of the block upward.

Slide you next block just under the first block.

Your machine most likely came with a grid tool to help you center your project. I used this tool to center and place my next block on the hoop.  Then I used the settings on my machine to show me the size of the name I wanted to embroider. Sometimes I had to adjust the name up or down using the settings on my machine.

Firmly press your blocks on to the self-adhesive stabilizer.  Embroider your names until you have used the full length of your stabilizer contained within your hoop.

After you remove your hoop from you machine, start removing the bottom block from your stabilizer.  

When you have finished removing all the blocks, your stabilizer should look like this.

Soooo, what is the finished project like?  Here it a section of the quilt in all of it's glory!  My family member states that she has shown this to many friends and neighbors. Reportedly they enjoy it as much as my beloved family member does.

It's a Matter of Spiritual Preparedness.....General Conference Quotes 2016 continued!

Hi everyone:

As stated in my previous post, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a Semi-Annual Conference for it's members....worldwide.  This is where we have the opportunity to listen to the Prophet and Apostles as well as other leaders of the Church. Spiritual messages and teaching are richly shared. Below are quotes that I personally found to be powerful. I am sharing them with you today. To read or watch the messages yourself, you can!  These are available for you to read, view, or to listen to. 

It's a Matter of Spiritual Preparedness...October General Conference 2016

Hello everyone:

Every October, I look forward to an event.  In my religion, we have a Conference for all members of our Church worldwide twice a year.  It is referred to as "General Conference".  This gives members around the world to hear from our Prophet, Thomas S Monson, the Apostles and Leaders of the Auxiliaries.  If you are fortunate, you can attend in person, however a majority of us listen or watch through many mediums.

General Conference feeds my soul.  I learn and have such Gratitude for the opportunity to feed at the feed of the Lord's anointed. I have been touched by many of the messages.  I have chosen to share some of my favorite quotes from Saturday's sessions with you. They are below: