DVD (or Bluray) Organization

Today I want to share a simple organization solution to store your DVDs or Bluray discs. It's super easy and has maximum space saving impact.

It turns those piles and piles (and piles) of movies from this...

...into this!

It's a fairly cheap project. All you need is a basket or two, and the sleeves.

We used 2 baskets because I wanted to divide the movies into children/family movies and more adult movies.

I got the baskets in the bathroom storage section of Target, but I couldn't find a link for them online. However, these are similar.

For the sleeves, we use these paper sleeves, but you can also use plastic ones if you prefer. I like the paper ones better because they are about a tenth of the price and work just as well.

All I did was transfer the DVDs from their plastic cases into the sleeves. It's kind of a slow, repetitive process, but extremely easy.

I did was create dividers to organize it alphabetically. I just used my laminator to laminate some scrapbook paper and used a wet erase marker to write the letters. I plan to purchase stickers to give it a cleaner look. I just haven't done it yet.

Another thing I did was to cut the paper cover to fit into the DVD sleeve.

That way if someone forgets to put the DVD back when they are done, they are all still accounted for.

That's it. done-zo. How easy was that? And it frees up SO much space! At first I was hesitant to get rid of the plastic DVD cases I had a lot of the normal hesitations:
"What if I want to sell the movies?" One, how likely is that, really? If I do decide to get rid of them, I will most likely donate them. Two, if I did want to sell them, someone would still buy them without the plastic case.
"Well what if I need the plastic cases?" For what? to take up valuable space in my home and make it look cluttered?
"What if I regret throwing them away?" See previous answers! You won't regret it!

Cash Envelope Tutorial

As I've mentioned before, my husband and I follow Dave Ramsey's cash envelope system. In my ever continuing search for the perfect system for my cash envelopes, I came across this printable from Kelleigh over at Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs and decided to try it.

It was pretty simple really. I started with some basic 12X12 scrapbook paper in a pattern I liked.

I cut it down so it was 8X12 so it would fit in my printer.

Then printed the template (found here) right on the back of the scrapbook paper.

I cut out the template and laminated it (with my Purple Cows Laminator).

Then I scored along the dotted lines to make it easier to fold.

Then all you have to do is fold it along the dotted lines and tape it up.

Super easy (and cute and functional)! Click HERE to get your own template.

Guest Post Monday: DIY Body Splash

Today I am so happy to bring you a spring-y post! Brandy from Wonderfully Messy Mom is going to share with us her recipe for a citrus body splash that will have you smelling like spring in no time!

Spring Has Sprung Body Splash

Make It Yourself

Hello Miranda Bee readers! Spring is right around the corner, I can feel the air changing and I hear the birds chirping, can't you!!??

When I think of spring, I think of freshness! So today I want to share a body splash that will help you think spring. But first I want to introduce myself.

My name is Brandy, I blog over at Wonderfully Messy Mom. 

~ I love to wear flip flops. I wear them until it snows, then I get practical and wear my cowboy boots. If there is not snow on the ground or below freezing, those flip flops are on!!
 ~ I love to cook. I just do not make very pretty dishes so I do not share them very often on my blog! No one wants to see all that!
 ~ I only put a clear coat on my nails, I never use color!! And I am OK with that, they look great that way. 

Ok, enough about my messy self! On to the good stuff! A body splash is a light fragrance spray, it will not last all day. But not very many that you buy retail last all day either! Now before I share this recipe, I will say I do not drink alcohol, the vodka used in this recipe can be replaced with rubbing alcohol if you so choose, but I prefer to use 100 proof vodka for these kind of recipes. The vodka or rubbing alcohol is used to break down the essential oils and acts as a carrier oil so to speak.

Here is the recipe:
1/3 cup vodka or rubbing alcohol
5 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops lime essential oil
5 drops lemon essential oil
5 drops lemongrass essential oil
2 cups distilled water or boiled water

If you boil your water, wait until it is at room temp before you do anything! The heat breaks down the essential oils and they will not be very fragrant.

1.) Get your bowls/jars and spray bottles ready.
2.) Put alcohol and essentials together in container and shake for several minutes. Then add your water.
3.) Shake again for several minutes.
4.) Place inside container of choice and store in a cool dark place, you can also place in fridge for a cool refreshing spray.

This will keep indefinitely (but remember light and heat destroy the essential oils, so keep in a cool, dark place).

Now I know not everyone has essential oils laying around, so I will include an essential oil free recipe:
1 Lime
3/4 cup rubbing alcohol
3 teaspoons lemon/orange extract

1.) Juice the lime, strain out any seeds and pulp.
2.) Combine all your ingredients into container of your choice. Shake well before each use.
3.) Dab onto pulse points.
4.) Store in the fridge.

This version is weaker than the first and will not keep forever. I would throw this out after a month or if it starts to look weird or not smell the same as when you made it.

I really enjoy spring time, it's my favorite season. I am longing for it right now after this long cold winter! Having something like this body splash around makes these harsh days more bearable, it reminds me spring is almost here! Just an FYI- you can play around with the essential oils and use whatever fragrance you prefer!! It's so much fun to try new things! Let me know if you tried it and what you think about it!

 If you liked what you just read you can find many more recipes like this at:

Wonderfully Messy Mom ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Bloglovin

Would you like to be featured as a guest blogger on Miranda Bee? Check this out for more info or email me at info@mirandabee.com

Office Pegboard Progress

I know... it seems like we a have a lot of projects going on right now. We already have the Entryway Closet and now the office, too? It's a lot to juggle, but it will be worth it when it's done.

The project that I'm about to show you is a pegboard for my office. This one is challenging because it will have to function as a place for sewing, office supplies, planner stuff, crafts, gift wrapping, kids crafts, and photography. A lot, I know. That's why it's such a big project! Let's look at the progress I've made so far...

This is what we started out with. Don't judge me. We just moved in. Just a blank wall with boxes stacked in front.

The first thing I had to do was put up the rails. If I were to put the pegboard right onto the wall, the pegs wouldn't be able to poke through and would make it, essentially, a regular wall. That's no good.

After the rails were hung, I started to hang my pegboard. Since it is going to cover my whole wall and they don't make pegboard that large, it had to be done in sections.

That's all I have so far, but I promise (just like with the entryway) I will show you the big reveal when it's all done!

Entryway Closet Progress

On my Fun Friday Link Party a few weeks ago, I shared this Entryway Makeover and talked about how I would love to do something similar to the closet in our entryway. Well, I've finally started! It's almost done... and when it is, I promise I'll do a big reveal! But, for now, let me show you where we're at so far with it.


First, I emptied out the closet. Then, I took the shelf and rod out.

I taped up the trim and laid down a drop cloth.

I painted with a layer of white primer first. I only did one coat, but it was enough to cover the tan that was on the wall.

Then, after the white primer dried, I painted with my chosen color. I used Sea Glass by Martha Stewart from Home Depot. I painted a total of 3 coats to get the exact color I wanted.

 The only hiccup I had was the fact that on the right side there is no door jam. It's just straight wall. So I had to decide how I was going to paint that. I think I like the way it turned out, though.

That's the closet, so far! Stay tuned to see the reveal in the coming weeks! I have a couple different projects going on right now, so be patient! ;)

Organize Your Move: Charitable Donation Tracker

Organize Your Move: Moving Checklist

In less than 30 days, we will be moving to a new town 600 miles away. I am SO excited! (Can it be today? Please?! I'll leave all of my wordly possessions behind if you just let me move today!) And, because of this move, I will be starting a new blog series!

Dave Ramsey's Cash System

My husband and I follow Dave Ramsey's Cash System. The basic concept is that you use cash for all (or most of) of your spending. It prevents you from over spending or going off budget.

Budgeting & Bill Binder

About 4 or 5 months ago, I was out of town for a few days. I happened to be gone on the 15th, meaning that my husband had to pay the bills. I will just say this right now: It was a disaster. I was so disorganized that I didn't know where any of the papers were! There was a lot of me saying "No, wait, look on my desk. Under the pile to the right. No, no. It wouldn't be there. Ok, check in the kitchen in the drawer by the coffee maker." I just have to say, kudos to my husband. He just patiently tracked everything down and all the bills were paid on time! ;)

After that, I decided it was time for me to get my act together! I wanted to create ONE location for all of our bills. Thus, the Bill Binder was born.

Home Organization 101: Week 10 - The Living Room

I have now completed Week 10 of my Home Organization 101 Challenge. That means I only have 4 more to go!! And I am planning those for next week. Wow! I think I may actually get this all done before the baby arrives (not to jinx myself...)

So on to this week. Our living room is fairly bare. So there wasn't too much to do. I always think about decorating and really doing it up... but with the possibility of moving in the next few months -- or maybe not. Who knows. Don't you love the military? -- Anyway... with that possibility I just can't being myself to do all of that work just to turn around and do it when  if we move.

But the important thing is that now it is at least organized. Even if it's not a living room you'd see in Better Homes and Gardens or anything... Ok. Onto the reveal. Here is my living room. :)

I only have one photo to show because  thought having it all in one picture gave a better view. But what I did for the living room was to first move the coffee table out. We mostly used it for a foot rest anyway, so I moved the ottoman from the sitting/play room into here instead.

The next thing I did was to make bins for the mantle. It was becoming more of a "catch all" so I just covered some plastic bins with fabric that matched our throw pillows and set them up there and gave them designated purposes. I also added some sheer curtains to the window and door on either side of the fireplace, just to give it some privacy from the sun porch.

Lastly, I moved the sectional couch so that it was in an "L" shape rather than 2 separate couches. I'm not sure if I am crazy about that part yet, but it was at least a nice change.

And that's it. Pretty straight forward. And, as I said, if we do end up moving, I plan to make the living room (and all of the rooms in the house) have a more "homey" feel. But it's hard to justify that right now until we find out where we will be come summer or even spring.

Also see:
Week 1 - The Kitchen
Week 2 - The Garage
Week 3 - The Pantry
Week 4 - The Office (Part 1)
Week 4 - The Office (Part 2)
Week 5 - The Laundry Room
Week 6 - The Master Bedroom
Week 7 - The Linen Closets
Week 8 - The Dining Room
Week 9 - Kids Closets
(And more still to come!!)

Home Organization 101: Week 9 - Kid's Closets

For the kid's closets I had my work cut out for me! S's closet is smaller, so it didn't take long, but I have been slacking on getting the Nursery ready. So it was pretty messy! And N's closet... well it had been sort of a small play room before. 

Let's take a look.

This is the closet in the nursery. Only about half of S's onsies and dresses were hung up and I had just been throwing the baby toys in the closet as I brought them out of storage. So I hung up the rest of her clothes and cleared off the shelf (what on earth should I put up there??) and I found a big tub to store all of her toys in. That way I can bring a few out at a time and keep the mess to a minimum.

N has a walk in closet, so there was more to do. Instead of having toys in the closet and the dresser out in the room, I decided to move the dresser into the closet.

Now... you'll notice that the books on the shelf are just as messy in the "after" picture as they are in the "before" picture... That is because I have plans to make a bookshelf for his room. You will see that project when I do the Playroom Challenge. :)

Also see:
Week 1 - The Kitchen
Week 2 - The Garage
Week 3 - The Pantry
Week 4 - The Office (Part 1)
Week 4 - The Office (Part 2)
Week 5 - The Laundry Room
Week 6 - The Master Bedroom
Week 7 - The Linen Closets
Week 8 - The Dining Room
Week 10 - The Living Room
(And more still to come!!)

Home Organization 101: Week 8 - The Dining Room

It will just be a quick post this week. There wasn't a whole lot to do for this challenge. We don't have a dining room. We use our eat in kitchen. We technically have a place for a more formal dining room, but because of it's placement and the fact that it has carpet we choose to use it as a sitting room/playing room and an extension of the living room.

For that reason, I decided to combine the two spots for this week's challenge. I did both the table area and this sitting room. What do ya think?

For the table area, all I did was move my son's little table and center the big table on the window. He preferred to eat at the big table with us and only used the little one for puzzles and legos and the like, so I moved it out.

In the after picture here you can see where I put his little table. All I really did in this room was to move the couch to take up less room and to make room for his table and chairs and his cozy coupe. I let him play with that inside, so it stays here in the play area.

And that's it. Pretty basic. There wasn't much in either of these rooms, which means there really wasn't much to organize. 

Also see:
Week 1 - The Kitchen
Week 2 - The Garage
Week 3 - The Pantry
Week 4 - The Office (Part 1)
Week 4 - The Office (Part 2)
Week 5 - The Laundry Room
Week 6 - The Master Bedroom
Week 7 - The Linen Closets
Week 9 - Kids Closets
Week 10 - The Living Room
(And more still to come!!)

Tutorial: No Grate Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now, give or take. In the beginning I went with a traditional recipe where you have to boil and grate and stir and babysit your detergent. And, honestly, it didn't take me long to decide that I would either have to find an easier way or go back to buying it.

I'm all for saving money, but not at the expense of an unreasonable amount of time. So I merged a few recipes and came up with this one.

Before I tell you how to make it, let me tell you how much it costs.
It includes three ingredients (four, if you count the water). It contains: Washing Soda (NOT Baking Soda), Borax, and Dish Soap. I paid $3.24 for the Washing Soda, $2.83 for the Dish Soap, and $3.38 for the Borax. That is a total of $9.45. I have made a total of 12 gallons so far and I am still on my first box! I also have enough left of each to last me about 3 more months. (Longer for the Borax). So, I have spent less than $10 and have been making it for almost a year.

At less than a dollar a month - and about 15 minutes to make each batch - I would consider this recipe a winner!!

Now, on to the fun part: Making it! :)

STEP 1: GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS

As I already said, you will need:

• Borax
• Washing Soda (NOT Baking Soda!)
• Dish Soap

You can find the Borax and Washing Soda in the aisle with the Laundry Detergents.

In addition, you will need:

• A container to hold it (The size will depend on how much you want to make. My recipe yields 1 gallon, but I always triple it.)
• A whisk to stir it
• Water

Don't mind the writing all over my soap. Those are just my notes.

STEP 2: ADD DRY INGREDIENTS TO WATER

• Fill a gallon container (I just use a pitcher) with hot water. Not boiling... just as hot as your tap will go.
• Add 3 Tbsp of Borax and 3 Tbsp of Washing Soda to 1 gallon hot water. 
• Stir until mostly dissolved.

Borax

Washing Soda

STEP 3: ADD DISH SOAP

• Add 2 Tbsp Dish Soap (I use Dawn New Zealand Springs Scent, just because I love it!)
• Stir until dissolved

STEP 4: ADD TO YOUR CONTAINER

• As I said, I make mine 3 gallons at a time - and I also add an extra Tbsp of Dish Soap per 3 gallons.
• Once it is in my container, I stir it again until it is completely dissolved. 

In the picture here it looks cloudy, but that is just from the bubbles created from pouring/stirring it. That will go away and it will be clear.

So there you have it. Simple, no grate Laundry Soap. I use about 1 cup per load and I have to make a new batch about once every 3-4 weeks. 

 

Do you have a recipe for your own laundry soap? Leave me a comment or link to yours! :) I'd love to see what you all do!

NOTE: For my Fabric Softener I use Vinegar. Yep... Just plain old vinegar! It works great and leaves no smell afterward. I just put about 1/2 a cup into the Fabric Softener Tray of my washing machine (or you could just add it to the rinse cycle) and that's all there is to it. If you are worried about the smell you could add some regular Fabric Softener if you wish. If that's the case, all you need is 1/4 cup softener to 1 cup vinegar when you are making a batch.

Home Organization 101: Week 7 - Linen Closets

Ok. My linen closets aren't so much "linen" closets as they are just my bathroom closets. See, I keep my extra linens under the bed in each room. So, when I saw this week, I knew that it would be the perfect opportunity to clean out the bathroom closets. They weren't too bad, but could definitely be better. So I set to work.

It only took me about an hour to get both done. But I just love seeing them organized! And I've found a bonus to this challenge (as if having a cleaner house weren't enough...) I've figured out that, if everything is labeled, my husband is more likely to put it back where it goes!! :)

Here is the closet in the bathroom that my husband and I mainly use. It's not too bad. The main problem was that I had a few big bins instead of a lot of smaller bins. Another problem was the pile on the floor!

So I got smaller bins and divided everything by category and got a large bin for the bulk items on the floor. I also moved the towels down to the lower shelves, since they are used most frequently.

This is the main bathroom and our son's bathroom. Again, not too much to do. I just got bins for everything on the shelves and moved the towels down a few shelves.

That's it! Not a super long post. Because, as I said, it only took me an hour total. There weren't many steps which means not many pictures either.

But I am proud never the less!



Also see:
Week 1 - The Kitchen
Week 2 - The Garage
Week 3 - The Pantry
Week 4 - The Office (Part 1)
Week 4 - The Office (Part 2)
Week 5 - The Laundry Room
Week 6 - The Master Bedroom
Week 8 - The Dining Room
Week 9 - Kids Closets
Week 10 - The Living Room
(And more still to come!!)