Organizing...

Spring must be on its way because this week I have been in a purging/organizing mood.  I am not sure I will be able to wait until May to have a garage sale...Goodwill may just be getting a visit this year instead!
This week my goal is to get our basement storage area organized.  I got started this past Saturday after purchasing a "chotty-botty" organizer at Costco. Chotty-botty you ask?  Yes, that is what I said.  It is a phrase that was made up by my mom and her brothers when they were little kids.  Anything that had neat little drawers or knick-knacky type features was referred to as chotty-botty.  There were two kinds of things in their world: chotty-botty and mishy-mashy (there is even a tune that goes along with it).  I will direct you to my mom for further explanation. :)  OH! There was another one, basilities, I am not even sure how to spell these made up words, and I am pretty sure you all have thought I have lost my marbles by now.

This is how my china dishes have looked since Thanksgiving. *blush*

Doesn't that look like a wonderful way to store fragile dishes?!?! On a concrete floor...I really don't think that one piece of tissue paper is doing a whole lot of good! :P It might protect it from a fly landing on it...outside of that I can only think of one word. Futile.

Insert China Story:
I think the tradition of buying china for newlyweds is near obsolete.  However, shortly after we were married I saw this set at a thrift store and couldn't believe that it was #1. So large.  There were 16 cups/saucers, 15 plates (I recently ordered four more from ebay for this past Thanksgiving), 20 soup bowls, platters, gravy boat/salt shaker and lots more.  #2. It was so cheap for china ($50...total)!  Well folks, I walked away from that thrift store empty handed.  I reasoned myself out of it because I  thought "what am I going to do with 20 soup bowls"...in my current state that was approximately eighteen too many!  Storing the set in an apartment was also probably not the most feasible task.  I hadn't been married that long, but long enough to know the look on my dear husband's face would have been like "you did whaaaat???"
Well, I must have been second-guessing this decision because I remember talking to my mom about it that week and was SURE someone had probably nabbed it.  Fall past and Christmas came...*sniff*...guess what was under the tree from my momma?!?!  Yup and a husband can't say "whaaaat..." to a gift! hehe  Although, those of you that know my hubby know if he can pull off pink dress shirts, he may just be excited with me about my china gift- and he was! Fun fact: He worked in a china replacement shop during high school and guess who knew the pattern? Shocker, huh?!   See, this is why God gave us all girls. :)
Exit Story.

This is the nifty container rack.  I like all the different sizes and options.  It was so fun separating napkins rings from candles from linens, etc. Yes, I do just believe I showed the world how much of a nerd I am..the fact that such things would be make me giddy.

This past Thanksgiving we were blessed to have a table filled with family and friends and put the obscene amount of china to work!

This is part one of a two part series. The rest of the "storage wars" will hopefully happen sometime this week.