To-Do List Jars

Each year I can't help but get a little excited as Spring Cleaning approaches. While I admit that I don't love the actual cleaning process, I do love the great feeling of a spotless house! This year I'm getting started a little early since we have guests coming next month and I want everything to be spotless when they come!

A couple years ago, I was having a hard time finding the motivation to get started with my Spring Cleaning, so I came up with the "To-Do List Jars" to shake things up a bit. I've used them every year since then, and love them.

The idea is that whenever I have a minute I pop open the "To-Do" jar, pick out a task, complete it, and put it in the "Ta-Done" jar. It's a surprise every time and mixes up the fun and not-so-fun tasks. Plus, I get to watch the "To-Do" jar slowly empty while the "Ta-Done" jar fills up!

If you'd like to try some of your own, here's how I did it...

1. Pick out two small jars. I used baby food jars since there seems to be a plethora kicking around my kitchen at the moment, but you could use any size or shape you'd like. They don't need to be very big since the slips of paper don't take up very much room.

2. Paint the lids. This step is optional if your jars have plain lids, but I wanted mine to be a cute springy color. I used acrylic paint and two coats covered the lids nicely.

Tip: You'll need two small stands to put them on while they dry. Two thimbles would work great, or two soda pop tops. I used the lids from two bottles of body spray since that's what I had around and they worked well.

3. Make your list. I used a table in a word processor to type up my list in a format that could easily be printed out and cut into strips. You could simply write your list out and cut it into strips. I printed mine on some cute yellow paper to add some color to my jars. You could use card stock, fabric, little discs, etc. to personalize it.

4. Cut your list out. Make sure the slips are small enough to fit easily through the openings of your jars.

5. Make the labels. Be creative on this step. You can keep it simple with paper, markers, and glue like I did, or you could go crazy-crafty. Have fun and make sure to make it something you don't mind having out on your counter.

6. Attach the labels. I used some Tacky Glue for crafting and they adhered to the glass perfectly. I LOVE Tacky Glue and try to always have a bottle on hand when I'm crafting! It works for almost everything crafty and lasts FOREVER! Seriously, if you haven't tried it before, you should go pick some up... like right now... what are you waiting for?! Anyway...

7. Get to cleaning! Now that you have some extra motivation, pick out your first slip and get to work on your to-do list!

P.S. You could use these for any sort of To-Do List you have. Daily tasks? Ta-Done! Long-term tasks? Ta-Done! So many possibilities...