Organize with a Tray

 

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What is it about trays that makes everything look good? What could be seen as a cluttered table top with multiple items scattered around...suddenly becomes organized with a tray.

They are perfect for adding to a fabric covered coffee table, and stretch the use of the upholstered furniture.

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Or on a nightstand to keep everything including the lamp together in one place. Added bonus is it protects the wood from being scratched.

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The kitchen is a great space to use a tiered tray. By going vertical you add more space to organize with a tray.

Beyond being just decorative, they are perfect for giving your children a space to create, but still keep the mess to a minimum.

Isn't this lego tray the best idea?

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Here are few trays that I could see using in my house.  The best part is they are all under $50.

 

 

 

  Malachite Tray ~ Metal Tray ~ Lattice Tray ~ Wood Tray ~ Chevron Tray

Where have you used a tray in your home?


  For more under Fifty Finds check out Copy Cat Chic.

Make Preppy Storage Boxes for the Mud Room

I needed boxes to put in the storage cubby unit that is in my mudroom. I looked at the typical cloth bins that are normally used. While they were okay, but  I wanted to keep the costs as low as possible. Plus I needed to add a little more style that the plain colored bins just weren't giving me.

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 I just could not find what I was looking for, so I decided to make them instead.

First, I got some boxes from my work that were going to be thrown away.

Next, up was gathering my supplies: Wrapping paper, Duct tape, and scissors.  What more do you need?



I covered each box with the wrapping paper and then I eyeballed the placement of  the Duct tape.

To make them all look similar, I did the totally unscientific method of putting a completed box beside the one I was working on, and lining up the tape.

 A couple hours, and 9 boxes later, I ended up with this.

Just the kind of preppy look I was going for. Plus there was now the addition of a lot of needed storage. Overall, it was a great improvement to the space.

Check out other high end inspiration recreated on a budget over at I Heart Organized High Low Monthly Organizing Challenge

And stop back next Thursday when I reveal the finished mudroom for the One Room Challenge.

Linking Up:
Remodelaholic



Not Just a Housewife

Organize the Christmas Decorations and Prepare for Next Year

I spent this weekend taking down all of the Christmas décor. Some reason it took me the span of two days to pack it all away, yet a month ago I was able to get everything up and in place within 4 hours. I think it might of been just because it was way more fun to decorate!

Every year, when I spruce up our house for  the holidays, I seem to leave more and more items in the boxes. And every year I say I am going to get rid of those things I no longer use. Then that time in early January comes around, and I want to hurry up and finish with the task, so I just throw it all back in the boxes just to be done with it. Well this year it was time to break the cycle.

The big reason for my motivation was my current storage system was not working. Ok, actually, I'll be honest, it had started to smell like old newspaper, because well it was old newspaper. After our first Christmas as a married couple, I wrapped all of the ornaments into newspaper and put them into cardboard boxes, and that same newspaper was still being used to this day.

On one hand it was a bit of a time capsule to see what was in the news on that day. Do you notice that I must of packed all of the Christmas things away while it was still December?! And look at me this year, all proud of myself that the house is back to normal by mid-January. Of course that was before the kids, when I was well rested and had oodles of time.

My first trip was to the Container Store for an ornament organizer.

I then transferred all of the things we no longer use into a pile to donate. Everything left over like the lights, stockings, garland, etc. went into plastic bins.

Last, I turned my attention to the Christmas cards we received from family and friends.

Now first let me say, I love getting these cards in the mail every year. We have moved a few times over the years, so this is one of the ways we keep in touch with those we no longer live near. It is just great to see how kids have grown or find out what people are up to.  But we have enjoyed looking at the Christmas cards for over a month now, and it was time to take them down. I knew just what to do with them. When my mother sent us her gifts, I commented on the beautiful gift tags on the presents. She told me that they were all made from Christmas cards she had received the year before.

After a few snips on our cards, I have my own tags for our future holiday gifts. I am already brain storming creative ways to use them.

When did you pack away your Christmas decorations? Do you have a way to keep everything organized?

Check Out Other People's Books

Anne over at the wonderful and very thought provoking blog Modern Mrs Darcy is doing a great link up today.

You get to check out other people's bookshelves...and there are no worries that you will look nosey when doing it!

I'll be honest. I always like to see what other people liked reading enough that they put it on their bookshelf. I often get some great suggestions on what I should pick up as my next book. Plus you learn a lot about the other person!

Be sure to check out the other participants by clicking here.

I am sharing this post...an oldy but goody.


I needed to organize my bookshelves.

I do not have a before picture to show you, but let's just say it looked something like this...

 

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And here is the after...

These bookshelves have been around through four moves and three paint jobs. A couple of the shelves have footprints in the paint from where my then toddler son ran across them, while they were drying on the floor, during one of the repaints. Needless to say these bookshelves and I have been through a lot together, and I love that now the shelves are cleared and organized. It really shows my books off to their best advantages. I also now have the room to add a few extra decorative items to the shelves.

First thing I did was pare down the books to only the ones I truly could not part with. This was so hard to do! It was a bit like having to say good bye to old, dear friends. I kept stopping to read them.

I looked something like this....

The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg

 

Finally, I had two boxes full of books, and I carted them off to donate to the local Friends of the Library Book Sale.

 

I decided to organize the books roughly by subject. This has really helped me be able to quickly find what I am looking for.

 

 

 

I placed some of the books at different angles to add interest to the shelves.

 

 

My mother gave me this pillow, and it is one of my favorite things.  The glass vase was hand blown at a glass factory near my hometown.

 

 

The organized bookshelves were such an improvement to my living room, that I went to work on the bookshelf in my children's room. 

 

 

 

We mainly group the books here by subject, author or reading level.

 

 

 

Now that our bookshelves look so great, I declared a ban in our house...no more buying books just to be buying books. As a result, I have to really like the book for me to purchase it and put it on my bookshelf. We almost exclusively get all of our books from the public library now. I would love to see the data of which family checks out the most books at our library. I think we would win.

How do you organize your books, and how do you decide which make the cut to put on the shelves?

Pin Picks III

My pinterest boards are filling up, and I have some great pins to share this week.

Decorate

 

 

 

I was literally swooning over this gorgeous wallpaper. Be sure to check out The Glam Pad as she makes over her powder room. If this is the start, I am sure the finished room will look amazing.

 

 

 

 

Organize

 

 

Since I am currently decorating my laundry room, cleaning is on my mind. How excited was I when I found this free printable from Mary Organizes. It's a list that you check off, and then wipe off to use for the next week. How great is that!

 

 

 

Try Something New

 

 

 

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I've done a little decorating. But when I saw this, I realized I need to step it up a notch, and try something cool like this. So easy to do, and makes such an impact in the room. Check out the how-to at Life and Home at 2102.

 

 

Be sure to check out the rest of my pinterest boards here. And if you want, follow me. I've found some amazing boards that way.

One Room Challenge with Calling it Home: Week One

 

For the next several weeks, I am a participating in the One Room Challenged hosted by Linda on her great blog Calling It Home. Be sure to stop by each Thursday to see how my room progresses.

 

We moved into are smallish (great charm, great location) 1920's house almost 2 years ago. In the rush to get everyone settled in, I just put things into rooms where they would fit. Now that we have lived in the house for awhile, and I have a better feel for how we are using the space, I am slowly organizing and decorating one room at a time. For this One Room Challenge, I wanted to work on the room that currently bothers me the most. I figure this would keep me accountable, and I would get the job done without letting that little thing called life get in the way.

 

I chose the Laundry Room.

 

I HATE doing laundry. And yes, if you really think about it, washing clothes in this modern day and age is not really that hard. But it is just so tedious to me, and there are so many other things I would rather be doing. I decided if I had a pretty room. It might inspire me to not dread it so much.

 

I also wanted a really bold space. Our laundry room is in our basement, so for the most part only the family I see it. I thought this would be the perfect spot to step out of my normal decorating style and really have fun with it. Plus, I live in a boy filled world...2 sons and a husband...even the dog is a boy. I needed at least one room in the house to have a touch of pink!

 

So it was off to find inspiration....

 

Growing up, we would visit the Greenbrier Resort, and I was inspired there by the decorating style of Dorothy Draper (I talk more about her here.) I decided the laundry room would greatly benefit from her bold style.

 

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Here is another room by her protégé Carleton Varney. I love the pattern and color combination in this room.

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These stripes are the best! This room was designed by Mary McDonald. I always admire her use of color in any room she decorates.

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I am in love with this trellis wallpaper. I have to have it for my room.

 

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Are you seeing a theme yet?

 

So I put together an inspiration board of my ideas for what the room will look like.

 

And I wrote out a list to plan my room redo...

 

-Tile floor

-Decorate walls (wallpaper or stencil?)

-Get great fabric to make curtains.

-Organize cleaning supplies.

-Add decoration.

 

Here is the before. The room can only go up from here!

 

 

Be sure to click here to check out the other linking participants.







Pin Picks I

Pinterest is so right up my alley. I find inspiration everywhere, and I love that I can keep it organized all in one place. Plus, when I finally get around to doing something, it is easy to find my ideas again.

To share my love of Pinterest I am starting a series, that I am calling Pin Picks.  I plan on posting every Friday.

Here are my recent pins that I picked up from around the web.

Decorate

 

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I couldn't find the original source, but the room was designed by David Jimenez

 

Organize

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Try Something New

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Please check out the rest of my pins by clicking on the Pinterest link on the sidebar.

What is your favorite pin that you found this week?

Improve the House List

I mentioned here about the current state of my house. It's a mess. So I made a plan to improve the house. I hope to spend about 1-2 weeks on each room, but we will see...life has a nasty habit of getting in the way sometimes.

So this is the plan...

Boy's Room
-Clean up closet
-Tidy desk
-Identify out-grown clothing

Master Bedroom
-Get rid of piles of papers
-Order new TV stand
-Get accessories to decorate the room
-De-clutter the closets
-Find art for the room

Living Room
-Make slip covers for the couch and chairs

Mudroom
-Get rid of the clutter
-Designate space for everything
-Tidy up the kid's cubbies
-Organize toys/bags/sports equipment

Kitchen
-Make curtains
-Clean out cabinets
-Organize pantry
-Find designated place for mail and other paperwork
-Edit pencils and pens
-Clean out bins of paper

Dining Area
-Add new light fixture and buffet table

Family room
-De-clutter all toys
-Organize desk area
-Decide what board games are really played with
-Add any needed decorations
-Put pictures back up


Wow that is a long list! But I need to do it. I am keeping my focus on how great my house will look once I am done.  It will be so organize that I will know where everything is at all times! A girl can dream. I will keep everyone updated as I progress.

I can't wait to start checking off these boxes.

What rooms need improvement in your house?

Check out the link up at Not Just a Housewife, and I Heart Organizing.

Fill Up the Calender

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The lazy days of summer are over.

I am already starting to miss my favorite day on the calendar...

 

See how it is blissfully empty. Not one thing planned. It was a day for us just to do whatever we wanted.

Now that school has started, this is what a day on the calendar looks like.

Sigh.....

The craziness has begun.

For years I used a paper calendar that was small enough to fit in my purse. I still prefer this method. But as the kids got older, and the schedules got more jammed packed, I needed other people (namely my husband and possibly a babysitter) to also have access to the calendar.

So I switch to an online version. Currently, I use the free version of www.keepandshare.com. It works very well for me. I can easily add events that repeat on the calendar, and I can color code each person to keep it all organized. I also like that when my husband is making his own plans, he can easily look up the calendar on the website and see if it works into the family schedule. It was a great improvement  in our household to at least attempt to tame some of the craziness.

And confession...I do still print it out on paper monthly and hang it on the refrigerator. Old habits are hard to break.

What form of calendar do you use?

Check up the link up on Serenity Now

Find New Uses for Binder Clips

 

A friend of mine recently gave me several binder clips as a small gift. I was definitely intrigued when I first saw them. Before I always thought of these as utilitarian things that held stacks of paper together. But these were really pretty! I quickly set to work thinking up all the ways I could use them.

I started using them to hold close opened bags of food.

Then I got the idea to clip them to the sides of the trash can to keep the bag from slipping down whenever I put something inside.

Next up was using them to clip together envelopes that I needed to remember to put in the mail.

The best use was clipping together the various items for my children's outfits...one binder clip per child. This made it so easy to find the dry change of clothes in my normally chaotic pool bag after a day spent swimming.

It was amazing how a few colorful binder clips made such an improvement.

What are the ways you would you use these clips?

Check out the link up on Serenity Now, The Dedicated House, My Love for Words, The Pink Pagoda and I Heart Organizing