If the shoe (or Scentsy bar, or Barbie doll, or hair product) fits ...

How many times have I given Caroline the instructions to go put her Barbie dolls away, only to walk in her bedroom 15 minutes later and find her sitting on the floor still surrounded by piles of them? More times than I care to count. Usually, I'm at least partially to blame, because I haven't given her specific instructions on where to put them, just as long as they are cleared from the middle of her bedroom floor.

In my disorganized house, cleaning up and putting stuff away usually means simply getting it out of sight and keeping the house halfway presentable for a short while. Most of our stuff doesn't have a spot where it gets put away. I wish I could be more like my grandma, who has a specific spot for each one of the items she owns. In her world, everything must be put back in the correct locations.

In my effort to become more organized, I think I'm on the right track by using over-the-door shoe organizers to create specific spots for items that tend to clutter up our house.  I had seen a few inspiring links on Pinterest so I picked a couple up at Wal-Mart.

Look what happened to C's piles of Barbies:

I might need to move some more of her favorites down to the lower compartments where she can reach them, but this is a great start. 

I didn't stop there! I also put one over the door to the inside of our bathroom closet:

Wal-Mart has this type of shoe organizer for a little less than six bucks.  They had an option that was a little more expensive and a little more attractive looking, but I don't think the compartments were see-through, so they really didn't fit with my goals. I can see spending a little more on a nicer one if it is going to be on a door that is in plain sight when folks visit your home.

I was able to fit five Scentsy bars in each compartment. I've decided to use exclusively Scentsy or other scented wax cubes and no more candles with an open flame. I've used Scentsy for long enough that if I burned a real candle I'd probably forget to blow it out and be a real fire hazard to my house. I've found that Scentsy cubes retain their scent the longest of any of the cubes. 

How cool is it that this organizing project cost about $12? I think this makes me a better mom and wife because we will all know exactly where to place certain items and toys when we are finished with them.  I think it will help us save money, especially with personal care and medical items. We can display the items we use most often, have the thermometers and diaper rash cream ready to go at a moment's notice and not have to run and purchase items we already had but just didn't know where to find.