Organization tip: Holiday cards

I am a forgetful person, but for those who know me, a lot of the time I probably seem like I have it all together. The reason is because I set myself up for things so that when I do forget (because I know I will) I have a backup plan. If I need to run an errand or call someone on my way home from work, I put a reminder in my phone for the time I know I'll be leaving. I write myself notes and lists and leave them in conspicuous areas so as not to forget important things. If I have to bring something with me when I'm leaving the house, I'll put it right next to my purse so I won't forget it when I walk out the door. I find when I don't have things prepped, I waste time and money, and I don't like that.

One thing I've started doing recently is having birthday, wedding, and baby cards at the ready.

Hide-away Corkboard

This weekend I also completed a mini project: adding a little bulletin board inside of a kitchen cabinet door. I saw the idea on Young House Love a few weeks ago and have been wanting to try it. I thought it would be a nice place to store recipes I want to try and random pending things I don't want scattered on my counter. And it was so so simple!

First, I bought a pack of cork boards at Jo-Ann Fabrics, for about $5.

What my cabinet looked like before... 

I measured the space and cut the cork with scissors. A razor blade probably would have been more effective/neater, but I was lazy and it didn't come out very jagged so it worked well. I was planning on gluing the cork board to the inside of the door in some way, but the package came with these handy adhesive squares that worked just as well and were super easy!

Thanks to the measuring tape, they fit in there perfectly. 

Now I have a handy place to store recipes, coupons I need to use soon, and other things that clutter up my desk corner of the kitchen. This is the perfect project for a renter. I can't see the rental company ever having an issue with it, and even if they did, the cork could be easily removed. I might also add some decorative pushpins to jazz it up.

When the door's closed, you can't see a thing! I'd have to say this little project was a success!

[Did you spot my 2012 goals and resolutions list?? It's never too late to make some resolutions for the year! Click here to get yours!]

Musical desks

Well folks, we sold the secretary. We actually made $20 on it, which is kind of cool! Doesn't the nook look so sad and lonely now?

This weekend we went through the other desk and decided what to keep, what to throw away, and how to reorganize the drawers to work better. We also got rid of all the clutter in the corner next to the desk. This took a while but I'm so glad we did it. Here it is in the little nook now:

I know, it needs a lot of work. One being the chair. It's just not the place for an old office chair! The space is so cute and the chair just doesn't fit! I want to find something fun and simple. I also mentioned before that I want to paint the desk. So that will change the look, too. The office/guest room now looks a lot different, but I will share pictures of that later.

Isn't it cozy though? It's so nice for Michael to have a place to get work done. He also can pack all his stuff away in the drawers when he's not working so that it's out of sight :)

I hope you had a good weekend! Did you rearrange anything like we did?

Cabinet reorganization

So I had a problem with my glasses/mugs/cups cabinet. There were no shelves that fit the height of our water bottles and travel mugs, the top shelf was too hard to reach to even think about keeping it organized, and it all was just cluttered. A couple weeks ago I got fed up and started brainstorming.

I like having the glasses right next to the fridge and sink, and also having the coffee mugs above the coffee maker. So moving anything in this cabinet wasn't an option for the way this kitchen is set up. After living with this for over a year, trying to figure out a solution, I suddenly realized something. Renting does not mean customization is not allowed! I found out how the shelves were clipped in, and simply moved the clips down a few notches: 1 notch down for the middle shelf, and 2 notches down for the top shelf (I measured the height of the travel mugs to figure out how much space the top shelf would need first).

And, voila!

I got rid of the useless space above the glasses, and did away with stacking the mugs. It is so nice that I can actually reach the travel mugs and that we have some plastic cups that are easier to get to. It's pretty obvious that I got rid of a few mugs, too. The chipped ones and that free blood drive one had to go anyway, so this little project helped me get that accomplished as well! Hopefully on my trip to Goodwill I'll find something good to DIY. I'm in the mood for a project, and there is still a lot to do in the office.

I love my newly-organized cabinet. It's also inspiring me to find out what else in my kitchen could be organized better, like my tupperware cabinet or my pantry. Hmm, not sure if I'm ready to tackle those yet...

Using Kitchen Cabinet Dead Space

If you have a kitchen with that empty space above the cabinets, you know what I'm talking about. It really is "dead space," and it's hard to know what to do with it. It would be awesome if we could just throw our boxes of Christmas decorations up there, or use it for extra pantry space. But both of those options would be terrible because it is open and visible! And that dead space is one of the first things your eyes see when you walk into a kitchen! Renovating your kitchen may not always be an option if you're renting your home or even if you own it because a kitchen-reno is super expensive. Because I am renting and there's nothing I can really change about my kitchen, I have found some fun things to top my cabinets with, as well as make it useful.

My solution: I use this space to house my vases, pitchers, and decorative serveware.

It's hard to know how to store your vases anyway, since they can't be stacked in a precarious place and they are usually unique shapes and sizes. Different-sized glass and ceramic items are so pretty grouped together, so I arranged all of my pitchers and vases in a semi-spread-out cluster. They are not things I use everyday (like pots and pans, dishes, and baking bowls), so I don't mind climbing up there to get them down on the occasional days I need to use one. I added a couple inexpensive colorful vases that I got at HomeGoods (seriously, less than $10 each) to the other end to balance out the overall look and tie in my kitchen colors.

I also have placed some serving items, like that Wilton platter and the silver Pottery Barn Chancellor Bowl, both of which were wedding presents. It is fun to have those on display, rather than locked away in a cabinet or closet somewhere.

I placed my glass cake dome on the other side of the kitchen - another big, weirdly-shaped item that is awkward to store but looks pretty on display!

  

I have also seen people decorate their kitchen cabinets with collected wine bottles, baskets, or some type of garland or ivy. How do you fill the dead space above your kitchen cabinets? What are some other ways you store awkwardly shaped items?

Don't forget to like the new Facebook page! :)

Lists

I have a love/hate relationship with having a long list of things to do. On the one hand, it clutters my brain and all I can think about is how much I have to get done and when is the soonest I can fit some of those tasks in my schedule so I can check them off the list. On the other hand, if I had no to-do list, I would miss out on that sense of pride and accomplishment that I feel when I get things done and get to knock one more task off that list.

In a world where everything is digitized and in some type of online cloud, it seems smartest to digitize my lists as well. I have tried multiple "To do list" apps on my phone and while in my mind it makes sense to have it all in my phone (because let's be honest, everything else in my life is in that little machine), but I find it so cumbersome to have to select the app, type in my tasks, and later remember that I even put that list in there. I time and time again resort to the trusty ol' pen and paper method. I really do love writing out the lists. A cute little notepad doesn't hurt, either.

Reasons why I   w r i t e   it out:

• I see the list. It's not just in my phone but it floats around in my car, my purse, my kitchen counter and reminds to do the things I need to! Way better than a notification on my phone, which I can just whisk away into cyberspace. (I think I'm sounding more and more old-fashioned as I write this...)
• Crossing off a completed task is sooo much more satisfying than touching a little checkmark on a screen. Am I weird because of this?
• A reason to buy pretty pads of paper. I absolutely love writing on pretty paper!
• I like my handwriting and I'm not afraid to admit it. I rarely ever handwrite things and this is a chance to have fun with it!

And because I love pretty paper... here are some lovely notepads I would love to buy for all those lists! :)

Love this. via finchandhawk Etsy shop

via TheZestyDesk Etsy shop

via brittanylaurendesign Etsy shop

A cute little notepad holder via The Cottage Home

via Life's a Journal

And this is just awesome. via Pinterest

$2.50 Bathroom Fix

So, our bathroom sink was a mess. It has been this messy probably since the last time I cleaned it. And I kept putting off cleaning it because there is so much stuff to move and it takes forever.

I decided I needed some type of basket to contain all of my beauty products because it would A) make it look nicer, and B) it would be so much easier to clean thus giving me motivation to clean more often. After searching Goodwill and Homegoods, I didn't find what I was looking for in size or price. Then I went to Target. Why didn't I go there before?? I started browsing around in the $1 section, and then found this! It was selling as a "Halloween decoration," but it was exactly what I was looking for! And at $2.50 to boot!

Doesn't this look sooo much better? Everything slides in so nicely, and it all fits, which is amazing! It totally cleans up the counter. (I'll admit that I also cleaned the sinks before taking these pictures!)

And just in case you don't believe me on the price...

This would have cost me at least $10 anywhere else (Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, The Container Store). Even the baskets I was finding at Goodwill were around $1 or $2, and I would have had to spraypaint them.


Here is another trick I use for my makeup tools, eyeliner, and mascara. I bought this glass mug at Walmart awhile back for about $2. It works great because everything is easy to grab.

What kind of things do you use to organize your bathroom counter?

Happy things

Some things that are making me happy today...

1. Getting our TV back (we had let some friends borrow it). Now we have a den in our extra bedroom. AKA: Michael now plays his video games in here instead of in the main room. It is awesome!

2. New shelf in the laundry room. The one on the right came with the apartment, but this weekend Michael installed the extra one on the left. It is so nice to have a little more storage! It may not seem like a big deal, but it's the little things. :)

3. I am so thankful for my Lord. He is so gracious, and I totally don't deserve Him. Yet He has chosen me, and given me abundant love and blessings. I am truly amazed at how selfish and consumed I am with worldly things, yet He continues to desire me. It's really amazing when I stop and think about this, because it makes me realize how so many things I stress about really don't matter. God loves me, and that's all I need to know. It's so great when He yet again reveals something so simple and obvious to me.

What is making you happy this Monday?