Decently and in Order Pt. 1 The Kitchen

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a strong believer in doing everything decently and in order. I love organization! I love staying home with the kids and being a keeper at home. I take my job very seriously and know that my home is a reflection of my family and my savior.
Marrying a military man also helped hone in on my organizing skills and taking ideas from other great keepers at home. We all know that God says things should be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40).

When people walk into our home, they almost always say something like "wow you are so organized". God gives me ideas, strength and help to keep everything together =) I know alot of ladies who are even more organized than me, but I know alot more who would like to be more organized. The truth is we all could be more organized. God is the God of Order and not of confusion, and our soul should never be at complete rest until everything is in order. I know there are times when the wife is very sick, just had a baby, is disabled or just had a week of entertaining. Those are times when we should take a rest and not be so uptight about cleanliness and order for our own good. That is not to say to quit completely and wait for your mom to come clean your house! I hope this series will give you some ideas of how to organize your own home. My home is in no way perfect and there are storms of mess from time to time but I make a conscious effort to clean up! My husband might tell you otherwise...but don't listen to him....just kidding!

Anyway here are some of the highlights from my kitchen =)

My awesome pantry organizer from Target it was $39.99!

I love love love baskets! They are usually a little more expensive than plastic but I think it adds character and more concealedness...if that is a word.

Under the sink not as pretty...I know but it keeps things organized and I know where everything is. I like the plastic show off box because it will keep water out, if there happens to be a leak, I store things like gloves and sponges in here.

No organizing materials needed here. Just put like things next to each other.

Tiered spice rack and airtight clear containers make a world of a difference!

Ebay Not as Cool as Craigslist

A few weeks ago I decided I would try my hand at ebay. The craigslist responders were just a little on the slow side here in Springfield Missouri; not quite what I was used to in Springfield, VA or Las Vegas, NV. I had put some nice things on Craigslist and nobody had responded in two weeks of having it posted! A Childrens Place peacoat was among other nice things listed I had to offer bargain seekers.
I looked into ebay and thought I had it all figured out: Small flat rate shipping $5, starting your auction at $.99 is free, ebay only charges if your item sells, auctions last a week etc, etc,....So I went on and posted 5 things: 2 old camera battery chargers with batteries, 2 old modems and routers, and the Childrens Place pea coat.
Well the first item to sell was the peacoat .....for $2.25! Crazy I know somebody just got a steal of a deal. Not too excited about letting the coat go for that little but hey it is $2.25 I didn't have before right? ...Wrong we tried to get some small flat rate boxes at the post office but they were out. I notified all of my buyers via email that I would get the boxes asap and even ordered them through the USPS website (however this took a week to get them so I went back to the Post office)
Next time there are boxes at the post office and guess what... the coat does not fit in there! I already had printed out the shipping label through ebay for the small flat rate box....so I thought I could go home and cancel the first label and make a new one...Nope....more than 20 hours had passed since I originally printed it and could not cancel. Again I notify the buyer on the status of the coat. Then I go out again to the post office and of course I forget my clear packing tape at home to affix the label on the box that cost $10.95 to ship! No way am I buying the Post office tape for $4 more since I already am losing $4 to ship the coat in the first place. I take the initiative and notify the buyer again on the status of the coat. I went out to the post office again that same day and had it shipped.
The next day I get this mean email from the buyer accusing me of lying and stating that this is "absurd" and I need to "overnight" the coat and I am going to be "reported to ebay" .....and there are "freezing temperatures" ...Okay lady calm down, it has only been 9 days from the time of purchase to the time of shipment,I kept you informed the whole time and was not avoiding you at all. I wouldn't be complaining either you just got a coat for 98% off of retail value and If your baby is freezing because you are waiting for the peacoat that is not something reporting to ebay can fix.....maybe child protective services can help... I don't know?
In the meantime Craigslisters were calling and texting me nonstop and I made about $80 on craigslist! Then I found this super awesome store called Other Mothers. I took in some baby stuff there and got $46 store credit! The store credit will never expire and their kids clothes go up to size 16. Also Way better than ebay! I will say the old camera batteries most likely will not have sold on craigslist and brought in $18 of profit after shipping charges for me so that was good =) I did put gospel tracts in all my packages and pray that my delayed shipping was not a bad testimony and that God would be glorified in all that I do =)