the Realistic Organizer

Pantone Color of the Year: Greenery

2017-03-03T08:47:00.001-05:00

Each year Pantone announces a color of the year, and this year, well rather in December 2016, they announced that the color of 2017 is Greenery. I was asked to put together some inspiration using Greenery in the home and I jumped at the opportunity.

Ok, at first glance it's kind of pea soup green, right? And although green is one of my favorite colors I was still a little turned off by this shade of green. However, with Spring approaching, this green color may just be what every home needs to get us through these last few weeks of winter.

If you recall, our office is a very, very, every-inch-and-windowpane green. It is a little too much in my opinion {still on our To-Do list to paint} but there are ways to incorporate beautiful shades of green in your home.

Check out these gorgeous rooms with hints and pops of green filtered throughout

Photo by Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders - Discover transitional living room design ideas

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Photo by My Interior by Karin Lowney-Seed - Discover traditional living room design ideas

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Photo by 株式会社モコハウス - Look for Scandinavian living room pictures

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I mean, who wouldn't want a green pool overlooking the ocean with gorgeous green palms swaying in the breeze? Ok, so just in case getting that exact scene is a bit out of reach for you, here are a few pieces that are sure to bring that pop of green into your home {without needing to paint the windowpanes green}.

Plant Cart / Decorative Bowl / Pineapple / Arm Chair / Crab Pillow / Anchor Pillow / Braided Basket / Picture Frame / Dinner Plate

How will you incorporate green into your home this Spring? Fresh flowers or a fresh coat of paint?

Thanks for visiting!

The Best Hangers for an Organized Closet

2017-02-24T10:13:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, the hangers you use play a huge role in how organized your closet is. There are some great hangers out there that can completely transform your space, and there are also hangers that take up so much room it can make it difficult for your clothes to even have space.

Over the past several years, I've experimented with numerous different hangers in our closets. Mainly because I'm a glutton for a good sale and hangers always look so lovely when they're packaged with perfect images on the box.

However, through this experimentation, I have also found many hanger failures and disappointments. So here are the top hangers I have found that work best to keep your closet organized, spacious, and stress-free, depending on budget and closet space.

Best Bang for your Buck

Velvet hangers {or flocked hangers} are a personal favorite of mine and basically all I use for the majority of my garments.

Reasons why they're the best:

They're no slip - even the softest silk blouses stay in place. Also, they are great for sleeveless or tank shirts, or even spaghetti straps, but I can't tell you the last time I owned a spaghetti strap that wasn't a nursing shirt #momlife
They save space - I mean, who couldn't use more space in their closet? The sleek design prevents them from taking up a ton of space in your closet, thus leaving more room for your actual clothing.
No hanger marks - I have yet to see hanger marks on any of my sweaters or silk shirts with these hangers. I have read reviews with complaints about this, so I don't want to promise it won't happen, but in my experience there have not been any.
They come in black and nude - weird list item, I know, but hear me out. There are several negative reviews about the hangers leaving black residue on clothing. Now I have never had this problem, but I also walk around with some sort of child bodily fluid wiped on my clothing on any given day so I may not be the best judge. However, there are nude options available as well. I use nude hangers for lighter colored clothing and black hangers for the darker items. There have been plenty of times I've used dark hangers on light clothes though and haven't had any issues though.

The not so great

Less durable - I don't recommend using these for coats, pants, or suits. I use them for all shirts and most of my dresses and have had no problems.
Be gentle - Because they're no-slip, you have to be a bit more mindful when pulling clothing off the hanger. Clothing won't just slide off as it does with plastic and wooden. It takes a little getting used to, but overall it's better for your clothing to not be ripped off the hanger anyway.

For those willing to spend a tiny bit more

These are apparently the Rolls Royce of hangers, which obviously means you have to spend a bit more for them. I have an equivalent, can be purchased here, but based on reviews these are far better.

Reasons why they're the best

No slip
Save space - these are actually .03 inches smaller than the velvet hangers, not a significant difference but it adds up.
Durable - these hangers are more durable than the velvet hangers
More hanging options - they have thin strap hooks as well as space to hang scarves or belts.

The not so great:

Narrow pant space - reviews suggest the space to hang pants is not very significant, however you can buy these little clips that simply slide on. These are great for skirts or strapless dresses/tops as well!
Pricey - the pack only comes with 10 hangers so if you were wanting to do a complete closet overhaul, that could cost you upwards of $150.

Hanger clips - these can also be used with the velvet hangers!

For the Spacious Closet
If you have a closet with space to spare, the LOHAS Wooden Suit Hangers are not only beautiful but also incredibly functional.

In our closet, these are mainly for Brit as I own one suit {which is probably horribly outdated and too embarrassing to wear to any possible interview. note-to-self: donate/trash suit}. However, I did use these frequently to hang my work pants back in my business casual days.

Reasons why they're the best:

Pants stay in place - the pants bar rotates out then slides into place to prevent pants from sliding out.
Rounded edges help keep suits in good condition
Shoulder notches for blouses or camisoles that could be hung with suits or pants
Beautiful hanger - I know this sounds a bit silly but the hangers really are beautiful. They really can make the difference in your closet.

The not so great:

Space hog - they do take up a lot of space, especially compared to the flocked hangers {i.e.: flocked hangers = .2 in, wooden hangers = .5, not a significant difference however when you add say, 50-60 hangers into a space it's a difference of over a foot of space}.

What to do with Wire Hangers
To quote Mommy Dearest, "No wire hangers, ever!!"

That is unless you're like Brit and get all of your work shirts dry cleaned each week, just to wear it then send it off to the cleaners again. In this case, I see absolutely no reason to use a hanger other than the wire hanger. It's absurd to take the time to remove the shirt from a wire hanger just to rehang it on another hanger for only a few days. Keep it on the wire hanger, recycle the hanger when you drop off your next batch of clothing, and repeat {most dry cleaners will happily take back undamaged wire hangers, just FYI.}

I have a very small handful of clothing that goes to the dry cleaners and when it is returned, I typically have at least 2 weeks before I wear the item again. Thus, keeping the item on the wire hanger is not beneficial at all. The hanger is likely to leave creases on the shoulder so I remove it promptly, or at least within a couple days when I finally get around to it. In this case, I suppose I really am "mommy dearest" and wire hangers are not welcome on my side of the closet.

Those are the best of the best when it comes to keeping the closet looking clean and organized, in my humble opinion. And they help keep my clothing looking its best. Win-win.

Thanks for visiting!

CEO Mommy: DIY Personalized Child's Growth Chart for under $20!

2017-02-10T14:27:00.003-05:00

I grew up in the Midwest, Middletown, Ohio to be exact. In the Midwest it is understood that weather is a mystery. I've been through snow storms on Halloween and Easter, and Christmases that hit near 70. But I truly believed living in the Northeast we would see a little more consistent weather. Winters would be cold and brutal, full of nor-easters {real word, look it up} frigid winds and snow for months. Yet, here are some photos of the past two days.

Wednesday, near 65, sunny, warm, beautiful

Thursday, near 25, snowy, like over a foot of snow, cold, yet still beautiful. So I really can't complain.

Anyway, I'm always looking for excuses to share photos of this little man. Kinda makes me feel like the near 100 I take during the week isn't for nothing.

In January's CEO Mommy class, these mommas rocked DIY Growth Charts for their little ones. I mean, I know I say this every time but I am always SO impressed with how they make each project their own.

Here's how to make one yourself!
Supplies:

Wood {1x6x6} / Paint / Paint pen / Paint brush / Stencil {different sizes} / Ruler / Hook

Step 1: Sand/Stain/Paint
This step completely depends on the type of wood you purchase. The wood I bought for my project needed to be sanded and definitely either painted or stained. It was about as cheap as it comes and needed a lot of love.

To sand it I used a round sander. Then I painted it with a sample of off white paint.

The wood we used for the class, however, was a little bit more expensive but was ready to go right from the store, no sanding needed. It could still be painted or stained if desired but it wasn't required.

Step 2: Measure
First you will want to figure out where you want to hang your chart, if at all. If it's going to be flush with the ground, or leaned against a wall, your chart will start at zero. If you want to hang it up on the wall, you should measure at least how high your baseboards go, then begin your chart from that point.

For example, our baseboards are 5 inches high. So in order to make the chart accurate, the measurements need to begin at 5 inches. I decided I'd hang mine about half an inch above our baseboards so my measurements actually begin at 5.5 inches.

Step 3: Draw Ruler Lines
It's best to do this process in pencil first, then follow up with paint pens or a paint brush. Simply use your ruler to tick off the inches and foot lines. I marked off every inch and made every six-inch and foot line slightly longer. Here's how I broke it down, but each momma did something different so it's really up to you and your personal preference!

1 inch lines: approximately 0.5' long
6 inch lines: approximately 1' long
foot lines: approximately 2' long

Step 4: Stencil
Using pencil, stencil in the foot-numbers first, that way you can ensure there is space for your child's personalization. You can stencil them in however you'd like. I chose to put mine about halfway down the foot line, horizontally. But you can also stack in on the foot line vertically. This allows more space for personalization as well.

Next, stencil your child's personalization. I chose to include name, DOB, height and weight. Some mommas included time, or chose to only have their child's name.

This one includes her adopted nephew's date of birth and adoption date, love, love, love!

Once your stencil is traced on the board, go over it with either a paint pen or paint brush. If you're using a lighter color and don't want the pencil marks to show through, you can lightly erase the pencil before painting. I find this Staedtler eraser to be magical and it doesn't leave any smudge marks!

Step 5: Add Hook
Seriously, the most difficult part of the entire project. I don't know what kind of fingers the manufacturers expect humans to have but oh my gosh this took me forever. The little nails that were included with these hooks are impossible to hold and hammer. It took using tweezers for me get them in. However one momma nailed hers in without any issue at all whatsoever so it's possible there was a lot of user error involved.

I'm pretty sure picture hanging command strips would work perfectly fine, I just got nervous about how they would adhere to the wood I purchased. Anyone wanna try it and let me know? I'm certain that is a much easier alternative than tweezers and nails.

Now simply hang up your growth chart! You can add previous years of height to any children who are over one year old and you aren't measuring for the first time. If you haven't documented their height each year on your own, your pediatrician will have that information on file. Just call up and say that you are a rock star momma and just DIY'd your child a growth chart {allow time for oohs and ahhs} and ask for the height information from previous years.

Full disclosure, mine isn't completed!! I got so far one night then just stopped before I filled in James' birth year. I was just to tired to keep going. We decided to hang it up so we could measure him on his birthday and well, there it has stayed. I do plan to get to it one day. Someday.

Did any of you have a growth chart when you were young? Many of the moms shared that they were always measured on a door jam, but when their family moved, all was lost. The great thing about these charts is when your family needs more, or less, space they can easily go with you without losing years of family memories.

Thanks for visiting!