Labeling Frenzy – 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

It’s really a surprise that I didn’t start an organizing blog because I LOVE anything that has to do with organizing.

Recently, I purchased some labels and chalk markers from VersaChalk, mainly because I was looking for some labels for the set of baking containers I got at Goodwill. Let’s be real though, there is always a good reason to label the crap out of everything.

VersaChalk’s markers come in a set of classic colors which are more pastel, and neon colors. The classic colors come in a set of 10, and the neon colors come in a set of 8. Both colors have either fine tip or bold tip options. I decided on the neon set in fine tip.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

The labels come in round and vintage shapes, and I decided on the vintage shapes because they’re really cute. There are 7 different shapes, and each package comes with 6 sheets for a total of 42 labels. The best part is the labels are reusable, and according to the website – dishwasher safe (if only I had a dishwasher). Another cool thing is that the labels come with a white marker, so you don’t necessarily have to buy a whole pack of markers.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

1. Baking Containers

The first thing I labeled was the baking containers I mentioned. It takes a little bit to get the juices flowing from the marker, but once it’s going the markers write really well.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

I love having these jars because they definitely class up the open cabinets. The labels just add on to the class factor 😉 I think this is one of the most obvious uses for these labels since it’s a mystery what’s in each container without a label.

2. Plastic Drawers

Another area that can always use some labels are bathroom drawers. I labeled all the drawers except for the bottom because it’s kind of a mish-mosh drawer of stuff. I also realized that I need to practice cute cursive writing, and being able to center it. LOL. But I do really like how the blue marker looks with the blue bathroom decor.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

Right now my drawers are a disaster and I definitely have too much stuff, but I just read The Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. I’ve started the decluttering process and I’ll be getting to these drawers soon!

Along with my bathroom drawers, I also labeled the plastic drawers in my bedroom for socks, underwear, and bras. Not that these drawers need labels because I’m the only one that gets stuff out of them. But they do look cute! 🙂

3. Leftovers

These also come in handy to label leftover containers in the fridge. If we can’t tell what something is or how old it is, it doesn’t get eaten and sits in the fridge for months until it’s nasty and needs to be thrown out.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

Since the VersaChalk labels are easily removable, slap one on a Tupperware container when putting leftovers in the fridge. Then write what’s in the container, and the date it was prepared.

4. Kid’s Dresser or Toy Box

From what I’ve seen on Pinterest. labeling kids drawers is a great way to teach what items go where. These labels would be perfect for this because many of the labels are big enough to write or draw pictures if your child doesn’t read yet.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

The same idea also applies to toy boxes to help kids see where to put which toys to keep everything organized.

5. Linen Closet Bins

Lastly, I think these labels are really handy for labeling storage in the linen closet so it’s easier for yourself or guests to be able to locate extra items.

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

I haven’t organized in here quite yet, but I will soon! I love how much the green marker matches these bins I got at the dollar store.

And just so you have a comparison of what all the colors look like, here is a shot of some horrible doodles. As basically every single one of my teachers said through school (and still say), “I’m not an artist”

Labeling Frenzy - 5 Uses for VersaChalk Labels

What needs labeling around your house? Can you think of any other creative uses for these fun labels?

P.S. I was not compensated for writing this post in any way. I bought the markers and labels with my own money and I wanted to give a review for anyone who was interested.

See You Around!

Lauren <3

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

Over spring break I finally got around to cleaning our disgusting oven. It was disgusting when we inherited it, but I would be lying if I said we didn’t contribute to the mess. Thank goodness for spring cleaning to get me motivated to fix it.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

This is the horror I started with

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

I don’t understand how an oven gets to look like a murder scene, but this one sure does

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

I’m honestly kind of embarrassed by the fact that this oven has been this gross for so long. And by the fact that I actually cooked food in here.

Natural Method

To start I sprinkled baking soda over everything and tried my best to get it on the sides.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

I read on Pinterest that simply letting baking soda and vinegar sit for a while then scrubbing works pretty great, so that’s what I did. I already use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning several other things in the house, so I had confidence it would clean the oven.

I used a spray bottle to spritz the vinegar in the oven. Even though it’s completely natural, be careful not to breathe in the vinegar fumes/spray. Acid in your lungs is never a good idea.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

Before getting my sponge out I literally got a spatula to scrape out the gunk. Disgusting.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

This is what the door looked like after the baking soda and vinegar method. Still gross, but it got the majority of the mess off. The sides of the oven also look WAY better.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven Spring Cleaning: The Oven

Chemical Method

The bottom of the oven was still pretty nasty though, and I wanted to see if the rest of the oven could get quite a bit cleaner with only minimal effort, so I broke out the big guns. Mean Green Super Strength Cleaner & Degreaser. I’ve used this to degrease my cabinets, and it works pretty great.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

I sprayed it on the entire oven and let it sit for a couple of hours. It dried out by the time I got back to it, so I sprayed it on again before scrubbing with the sponge.

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

Spring Cleaning: The Oven

The oven looks way better than it did to start with, and I’m more at ease about cooking food in here now.

I’ll probably go back over it again when I’m out of school, and have more time.

What’s on your spring cleaning list?

Household Odds and Ends

Recently I’ve been working on a variety of small projects trying to cross things off the to-do list. However, I haven’t really had the motivation to attack items full force. Another reason I’m working on finishing things up is to get the house into normalcy before tearing it up again.

The biggest thing I’ve been focusing on is the kitchen. I put the window trim back on, caulked the back splash, painted underneath the upper cabinets, painted another shelf in the cabinets, and put up under cabinet lighting.

Household Odds and Ends Household Odds and Ends Household Odds and Ends

Above is the progression of under the cabinets from nasty to crisp and clean. I wanted to repaint before I put up the new lights.

Household Odds and Ends

Household Odds and Ends Household Odds and Ends

I’m proud I finally got these lights up, and with how clean the kitchen is. We haven’t done all the dishes in a LONG time. The lights make it so much easier to see when cooking in the kitchen at night. (Get my stupid Spongebob reference?)

Household Odds and Ends Household Odds and Ends

I also found this list I made a while ago with all the things I wanted to do to the house. The unit we currently live in anyway. The picture on the right is when I went through and checked off everything that I had done. It’s interesting to see how I removed some items from my thought process, and what new items I added. It just goes to show that as projects are completed the vision changes.

After finding this I went and remade the list adding on the tasks for the upstairs unit, and I have yet to make a list for the exterior. I have mentioned some of my ideas in a blog post though I think.

Last but not least I started another small project. One of our upstairs neighbors wanted me to update this little box he has, and make it look a little closer to what I think it was supposed to look like anyway. From what I could find online, these boxes are usually dark

Household Odds and Ends
The neighbor’s box is on the right, and Chris’s is on the left. The hardware on the right box is skeletons and pirate like, and the left box has lion’s heads.

I will make a separate post for that project when it’s all done.

Hopefully soon I’ll get an awesome grasp on my time management and go Gung ho on the house projects without getting behind on homework or sleep. That’d be the dream. Spring is coming up fast and I’m getting anxious that I won’t get very many of my winter projects done.

We still haven’t talked to the landlords about buying the property yet. Read: Chris is taking his sweet time setting up a meeting time. Which is holding me back on wanting to start any new house projects. I don’t want to get mid project, be let down, and not finish a project mid chaos. Worst case scenario people.

What have you been putting off? Are you still going full force on new years resolutions/goals? (I’m trying, I really am)

See You Around!

Lauren <3

Alternative Winter Break

On January 2nd I began my alternative winter break to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to work with Habitat for Humanity.

I went on this trip through a program called alternative breaks where college students choose to spend part of their vacation volunteering and serving others. A nonprofit organization called Break Away created alternative breaks and focuses on active citizenship and direct service.

There are several alternative break programs at colleges throughout the United States, but each campus runs their program a little different. At my school, alternative breaks are run through our volunteer center. How the program works is students can choose from at least 10 different social justice issues. At the time of sign up students don’t know where they will be going, only what topic they will focus on. There are 10 participant spots, and 2 site leader spots available for each topic.

Sign ups open at 7:30 A.M on a specified date, and the spots fill up UNDER 3 MINUTES. Some would even say they fill up within 30 seconds. For my break there were 18 topics x 12 spots for each topic = 216 people!

641 students participated, 55 trips went out, 24 states served 36 cites served, and two international trips.

I was lucky enough to get into my top pick – Affordable Housing. Before we went on our break we had weekly meetings for several weeks to learn about affordable housing, the area we would be serving, and our community partner.

Alternative Winter Break Alternative Winter Break Alternative Winter Break

HFH was working on creating a subdivision which will have approximately 13 houses. Currently the above three houses are the only buildings on the cul de sac. The green house is extremely close to being finished, and the yellow house is about halfway done.

Throughout the week I learned how to install bathroom mirrors and hardware, install window sills and aprons (which required learning how to use a nail gun and a jigsaw), use a paint sprayer to spray doors and trim, and use a table saw. I also learned how to properly stabilize an extension ladder in order to climb all the way up and do some caulking.

Alternative Winter Break

Whenever I look at that picture I never think I’m up that high. Then I go back to the picture of the yellow house above and realize how high off the ground the houses are.

Besides the things that I got to do, our group learned how to use a miter saw, install baseboards, install flooring, paint, caulk, put together scaffolding, and I’m sure even more.

During our lunch time we also got to talk to the site supervisor about the issue of affordable housing in the south. After hurricane Katrina real estate prices skyrocketed along with insurance prices. Flood zones also changed and therefore new houses being built had to be elevated even more.

Affordable housing and poverty were problems in Mississippi before Katrina, and 11 years later damage still exists in many places. From what I gathered, the damage left is more due to poverty than natural disaster.

This trip inspired me to come back and volunteer with my local Habitat for Humanity to further work on the issue of affordable housing. According to the U.S. Census between 2009 and 2013 31.5% of the people in my county were living below the poverty line compared to Michigan’s 16.8%. What’s even crazier is the county we worked in had 15.9% people below the poverty line compared to Mississippi’s 22.7%.

But besides all the knowledge and skillz I gained, we also had a hell of a good time!

This is the day “the (construction) boys” brought us crawfish to try.

Alternative Winter Break

Alternative Winter Break

On of the guys wearing the hat his squirrel friend (girlfriend) got him for Christmas

Alternative Winter Break

and of course a lovely fam pic in our matching shirts and coordinating flannels

Alternative Winter Break Alternative Winter Break

The back says “A house is made of walls and beams, a home is made of love and dreams”

We also got to make several pit stops on the way down to Mississippi including:

The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa

Alternative Winter Break

The Iron man statue in Birmingham

Alternative Winter Break

The Edmund Pettus bridge and Brown Chapel church in Selma

Alternative Winter Break Alternative Winter Break Alternative Winter Break

There was also this awesome mural on a building just down the road from the bridge

Alternative Winter Break

The world’s largest rocker in Gulf Port, Mississippi

Alternative Winter Break

Toured New Orleans on a gorgeous 70 degree day.

Alternative Winter Break Alternative Winter Break

And last but not least we stopped at a gas station on our way home and saw this.

Alternative Winter Break

I had such an incredible time giving back to the community while getting to know a great group of people and travel some new states. I couldn’t have asked for a better last week of winter break (okay minus the almost 24 hour van ride home because of stupid Indiana and it’s snow… sorry Indiana).

If you want to learn more about Break Away and the alternative breaks program as a whole, click here.

If you want to learn more about Central Michigan University’s alternative breaks and other volunteer programs click here.

Where is somewhere you have been wanting to travel? Have you had a cool volunteer experience too? Tell me about it!

This was a long post, but thanks for hanging in there and listening about my trip. As always…

See You Around!

Lauren <3