and naturally, as a blogger, I thought I would share! 

So, here are my Top 5 Lessons of a Closet Overhaul:

1. PURGE YOUR CRAP!  Most people simply have too much stuff!  When going through my closet, I quickly realized that much of what I had was old, faded, not the right fit, or just plain “not me!”  I am a total deal shopper, and while I don’t shop a lot, I will buy stuff for a good deal, and as that happens, the closet fills up over time with “cute stuff.”  In reality, what is more important is having a variety of versatile pieces.
2. BUY FOR VERSATILITY AND LOOKS!  Wardrobe items (clothes, shoes, accessories) should be versatile!  This doesn’t mean that you can’t buy a really unique item, it simply means that the key to an efficient, well-developed closet is a base of “versatile” items that can be worn several different ways or for a variety of occasions.  For example, I have a favorite black T-shirt that can be dressed up or dressed down.  Because of it’s simplicity and classic styling, I can think of more than ten ways to wear this shirt!
3. HANG PANTS HIGH AND SHIRTS LOW!  The uniformity of the length of the pants offers a cleaner look at eyelevel, while the shirt heights can be staggered below.
4. UNIFORM HANGERS HELP, BUT AREN’T NECESSARY!  If you’re trying to do an overhaul for free, then don’t worry about buying a bunch of new hangers.  Sure, by all means, if you have the money to spend, buy a bunch of matching hangers.  But, for those of you who can’t I’m here to assure you that you can still have amazing results.  To ease the “mismatched” look, and to get the uniform hanging appearance, I grouped hangers.  I used plastic white hangers for all of my pants, grey plastic-coated wire hangers for the majority of stuff, blue plastic hangers for my sweatshirts, and whatever plastic hangers I had for the rest.  Eventually, I will keep the grey plastic-coated ones because I love them and they are super durable, but I will replace all of the non-white plastic hangers for white ones to get a better look.
5. SET THE MOOD!  You’re likely going to be there a while, so you might as well make it enjoyable!  Turn on some tunes, grab your favorite drink and snacks, and get workin’!  You’ll be glad you did.  Oh, and if you have a particularly helpful (and brutally honest) person in your life, see if they’re willing to help you out!  Sometimes having that extra person there helps you get rid of stuff that you may be hanging on to for completely irrational reasons- like it’s your favorite T-shirt from band camp… or, if I only lose 5 more pounds, they’ll fit… or, my personal favorite, but these are my “fat day pants.”  C’mon ladies, you know you can relate!!!
6. BE BRUTALLY HONEST!  If you aren’t going to be real about this, then don’t do it.  Getting rid of stuff is hard, and brutal honesty is sometimes required.  There were some things that I’d had forever and still like, but really never wear.  Reality check… I don’t wear these things because guess what… they don’t really look that great on me or they are a style I think is cute on others, but it’s just not my style!  It’s not easy, but it’s gotta be done!
7. IF YOU CAN’T SEE IT, YOU WON’T WEAR IT!  It’s basically that whole “outta sight, outta mind” concept, and boy oh boy is it ever true here.  If your closet is stuffed to the max and is hard to navigate, chances are, you will simply have your “go-to” items that you’ll always wear, because, frankly, digging through the closet to find something different is simply too much work! 
8. YOU WOULDN’T PICK IT OFF A SHELF NOW!  One of my favorite ways to analyze either a wardrobe piece or some type of home décor is, “Would I purchase now if I saw it for sale at a store?”  Most of the time, the answer is no… and sometimes, it’s hell no!!!  If the answer is every “no,” then whatever it is, it’s a goner!  There’s no room in your life to have something that you don’t completely love.
9. YOUR WARDROBE SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL AMAZING EVERY DAY!  Hell yes it should!  Isn’t it the worst feeling in the world when you set out for your day and then later realize that you absolutely feel like crap in what you’re wearing.  Or how about the “I’m just going to throw something on and run to the store” and you inevitably run into like fifteen people you haven’t seen in forever, looking like crap.  Yuck.  And lastly, how about this… you are having a funky day, for some reason you are just “off.”  Then, you get dressed and somehow everything changes.  Yup!  Ladies (and gents), that is the feeling you want every day!  It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing sweats or a formal get-up, you can look amazing in either one!  So, if something doesn’t leave you with happy thoughts… say goodbye!

HAVE YOU HAD A MAJOR “LEARNING” MOMENT WHILE CLEANING OUT A SPACE?  WHAT’S THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU LEARNED CLEANING OUT OR PURGING A SPACE?

Yup, you guessed it!  The heels fall right through the wired shelves, leaving you with a bunch of wonky-placed shoes and making the shelf below difficult to access!  With my closet makeover, I was not about to spend a bunch of money on a new shoe rack, when this one seems to do the job spatially.  My solution… cardboard gift boxes! 

Basically, I just took cardboard gift boxes and cut them to the depth and width of the shelf.  Then, I placed them on the shelves with the laminated white side up for a cleaner look.  Now, all of my shoes line up perfectly, look nice, and best of all, are easily accessible!!!

I honestly can’t believe I lived with that shoe mess for over two years, when the solution was soooo simple!  The closet is really taking shape!!!  I can’t wait to make a few more changes in that space!

HOW DO YOU STORE YOUR SHOES?  LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE SOME FUN TIPS TO SHARE!

As soon as I had the chance, I dove right in.  While I didn’t actually wake up with a plan to tackle this project that day, I suddenly got a wild hair that “today is the day!”  No matter how and when you approach the project, just make sure that you are realistic about the amount of time it will take!  I happened to have a half of day to dedicate to this project, so I set aside four hours to git r’ done!

The process should be relatively stress free, if done right.  To easily and properly purge your closet, do the following:

STEP 1- Establish a process before you start your purging!  My process involved four key parts: Keep, Maybe, Donate, Needs Repair.  This is what I was faced with when I began this process…

STEP 2- Hang signs to sort all of your belongings into each section. 

STEP 3- Remove and divide up all belongings from your closet.  Some people remove 100% of the everything all at once, but I chose to remove items section by section.  This is completely up to you, what works best.  The most important thing to remember is that you need to remove and sort ALL of the clothes before anything goes back into the closet!

STEP 4- Group all of your belongings.  Once all clothes, shoes, etc. are removed from the closet and sorted into their respective sections, divide the “Keep” section into groups.  Groups can be established by type (pants/shirts/sweaters/shoes/purses), color, season, occasion (work/casual/formal), etc.  These groups really depend on you, but are essential to making a closet usable and efficient.

STEP 5- Decide how each group of items should be displayed: folded or hung, and on a shelf, rod, or in a drawer. 

STEP 6- Fill your closet from top to bottom.

STEP 7- Pat yourself on the back and enjoy what you’ve just accomplished!  Because, let me tell you people, purging your closet takes time and effort- four hours of time and effort to be exact! 

Once completed, you should have a pleasantly usable and efficient closet!  I’m completely stoked to have reclaimed my closet!!!  Honestly, it feels like I have a completely new wardrobe!  In the last few days, I’ve found myself creating completely new outfits, and standing and daydreaming in my closet for no real reason.  Sounds ridiculous, but once you do this too, you’ll understand!

EXTRA BONUS:  If you think you might have some items in the closet that you could still get rid of, try this.  For all hanging items, place hangers backwards,  Then, as each item is worn, the hanger gets turned around to the normal position.  After one year, any items on hangers that have not been turned around gets automatically purged!  Fun, right?!?!?

HAVE YOU PURGED YOUR CLOSETS LATELY?  WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TIP?

So… Life Cleanup Week Continues…

While I was crazy busy studying for exams, Eric needed to find something to occupy his time after-work hours and to move our continuing projects forward.  Once we knew that we could steal our friends self-dumping trailer, Eric settled on cleaning up our side yard.  You see, last year, after we did all of our crazy landscaping, our side yard was left with mounds and mounds of “fill” dirt overrunning the area.  It was not a pretty side, and while it was mostly out of the way, we now had a need to get to that area.  This year, we’re planning on putting together some kind of vegetable garden (yes, we know we’re late) in this area, and we also need this are for a through-access to the rest of the yard for some hardscaping plans we have.  Needless to say, this was a necessary project to keep things moving forward!

Apparently, I didn’t realized exactly how much debris there was to move.  Eric did.  Sad.  And, he still chose to take this project on solo.  He must really love me, because not only was it back-breaking work, but it also took two trips to the dump!  Load 1 was a mix of yard debris, tree debris from our fallen 45-ft. Gargantuan, and looked a little like this…

Load 2 was mostly dirt and looked a little like this…

In the end, we Eric did all her could do!  At our local dump, when you are disposing of dirt, it’s free, but they make you weigh on the way in and on the way out.  It was a bit of a shocker, but apparently Eric moved 3,000 pounds of dirt!  All. By. Himself.  With just a shovel.  Totally nuts!  And keep in mind, that this 3,000 pound total does not include the first load which was full of crazy stuff that may not have been as heavy, but was back-breaking none-the-less.

Thank goodness for our amazing friend, Doug Tolson, who lets us borrow his self-dumping trailer any time we need and it’s available!  Forever. Indebted.  You should have seen the looks of hate and jealousy at the dump!  People… we KNOW how lucky we are!!!

WHAT OUTDOOR PROJECTS HAVE Y’ALL BEEN WORKING ON?  ANYONE ELSE SUPER LATE ON GETTING A VEGGIE GARDEN GOING?

I have big plans for restoration and makeover! Right now, I’m just trying to decide what color it should be!

THOUGHTS? SUGGESTIONS? WOULD YOU GAVE TAKEN A CHANCE ON THIS FREE CHAIR?

So, the other day while I was picking up the house, I got a wild hair to rearrange some things!  I know, I know… totally never happens to me!   Truth be told, the rearrangement came about while I was in the process of concocting a Craigslist/Yardsale plan to purge our house of things that we don’t love.  (Eric has yet to fully come on board with this idea, but I’m hoping to convince him with numbers… yes, I am halfway through drafting a “this is what I’ll sell and how much I’ll get… and this is what I’ll buy and how much it will cost” list!  Once composed, I’m going to plan my attack and convince him!) Teeheehee… ok, back to the issue at hand.

After a quick move of the basket, I realized that it looked a ton more balanced!  Then, I decided to make the best of the DVD shelf and dress it more like a formal shelf with pictures and knick-knacks.  After putting a little lipstick on the pig, I felt a bit better! 

Now… if I can just get that Craigslist/Yardsale plan done and approved!!!  Until then, at least I know the area looks a bit more presentable!

HAVE ANY TIPS TO CONVINCE THE HUBBY TO PURGE THE HOUSE?  WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO LOVE WHAT YOU HAVE OR CHANGE THINGS UP?

Since this is the first week back on the blog and the first full week back to a “normal” life without school craziness, I think it’s proper to name this week: LIFE CLEAN-UP WEEK!

Anywho, to kick of the week of clean-up and since allergies are really no joke in this family, I thought I would share an important tip for this time of the year!  If you are stuck inside because of your allergies, don’t think that you are necessarily escaping them!  Allergies have this nasty way of haunting you just about everywhere.  So remember one REALLY IMPORTANT THING…

CHANGE YOUR AIR FILTER

That may sound simple enough, but the air filter in your home is responsible for cleaning the air you breathe, and if you are anything like us (i.e.- too busy or crazy to remember routine things), then you may have forgotten too!  Our air filter was no-joke nasty!

It’s probably safe to say that it lived in our ceiling for at least 6+ months.  Not. Good.  Air filters should be replaced every three months, and if you have crazy allergies like us, maybe a little more often.  And, for as simple as they are to change, there is really no excuse.  All that replacement requires is:

1. Purchase of a new, properly sized air filter (sold everywhere, including Target, Walmart, and any home improvement store)
2. Removal of old air filter (most vents have two simple latches that require pulling and the vent’s grate will drop down on hinges.  Just pull out the old filter and removal is complete)
3. Place new filter
4. Close grate and lock the latches

Like I said… it’s that simple! And in case you’re wondering, costs of air filters can run from $8 upwards of $20.  The costs usually depend upon the density of the filter and the material that it’s made from.  For our particular needs, we spent a bit extra to get a high performance Allergen air filter.  At about $20, this filter is super dense and made with allergen-blocking material.  Like I said… our allergies are BAD, so we figured it was worth the investment, particularly for this time of year!

I’ve officially been putting together a cleaning schedule for a little over a month, and now that exams are done, cleaning schedule drafting is going into full swing!  Our goal: TO. NOT. LET. THIS. HAPPEN. AGAIN!

Sidenote: We LOVE California, but Northern California has this amazing way of hitting your with allergies year-round, and then full-on attacking you in the spring!  If you’re from California, give me a shout out here and let me know your allergy fighting secrets!!!  And if you’re not from California, are allergies bad where you live?

WHAT ALLERGY OR CLEANING ADVENTURES HAVE YOU BEEN EMBARKING ON LATELY?

Sometimes in life, you have to remember balance.  Well, right now I’m balancing a lot, and it’s important to remember that sometimes, something’s gotta give.  I am officially in the process of completing my most difficult year of law school- for me, it’s the third year of my four year evening program.  Yes, this means that I still have one more year.  That being said, trying to tackle all of the information for my exams so that I have it memorized and can actually regurgitate it on an exam and use it to properly analyze the legal issues meant, that I needed to put everything into these exams and these exams only.

I’ve never actually taken a break like this from my blog or the blogging world since this baby began more than a year ago.  It’s a really strange feeling, and to an extent, I feel like a part of me is missing.  But, with the stress leading up to these exams, the blog was already starting to suffer.  So, despite my many completed projects that are needing to be written about, and the super exciting things that have happened lately, I decided to take a blogging hiatus for a bit.

BUT, in the words of Arnold… I’LL BE BACK!  Officially, I’ll be back no later than May 14th!  I know that seems far, but I’ve got a huge exam left to conquer, and then I need to handle some miscellaneous stuff that’s going on!  So bear with me!  I miss you guys and can’t wait to share all of our completed projects, our upcoming projects, and some awesome things that have been happening lately!

LOVE you all and talk to you soon!

~Ashley

All installed, this handle set is the perfect contrast to our ultra-modern front door.  I think it perfectly mixed our personalities… a little modern, a little old-school!

In addition to the new handle set, we took the time to add a new door stop to the bottom of the door… after all, we don’t want this door banging into anything!  Also see… no more gap underneath the door!  That seriously makes me happy beyond words!

Nothing gives me more pleasure than walking up to our lovely, amazing modern door, now adorned with a shapely, vintage-inspired handle set!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW HANDLE SET?  IS IT TOTALLY WRONG OR PERFECTLY RIGHT?  DO YOU MIX STYLES IN YOUR HOMES?

*** I was not compensated for writing about our Kwikset handles.  We simply love them, love the product, and thought you guys might too… and purchased them ourselves at Lowes.

That being said, when my mom called me and asked if I wanted the bench back, I really couldn’t stand the idea of a perfectly good bench going to waste.  Needless to say, the hubby got a surprise when we were leaving my parents’ house one night, and I said…

“Babe, can you help me load this up?”  His reply… “What are we going to do with that?”

Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it at first, I’ve finally decided that I’m at least going to make it over and use it as a porch bench, for now.  So, here it sits until I get a chance to make it over, or until I find something that I must have!

I’m thinking the bench may need a coat of paint, some Dremel work, and probably even some “bulking up.”

Aww… the happy marriage of a DIY couple.  Fun stuff, and always full of surprises!!!

To get the creative juices flowing, I thought I’d share a few inspiration photos:

ANY FAVORITES?  HOW WOULD YOU REMAKE THIS BENCH IF YOU OWNED IT?