Our Small Organized Home

Little Collections

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:05:00 +0000

My three-year-old daughter loves to collect rocks. She is always finding them and bringing them home. We were storing them in a recycled wipe box on our front porch. The problem was she really couldn't see or play with them. They box was getting yucky, too. Sitting outside it picked up a lot of dirt.

I saw this idea (I cannot remember where - so sorry!) for putting collections into old jars. I had an old plastic container leftover from Parmesan cheese we had bought at Costco. It was the perfect size to store her collection. I washed it inside and out and removed the label. I had to use a little rubbing alcohol to remove the sticky residue from the label.

Then I hot glued one of the rocks on top of the lid. This would act as a little decorative handle.

I spray painted the lid pink (my daughter's favorite color) and loaded the container up with her rocks.

It turned out so cute. There is still room to add more rocks and I love that she can see her little collection. We ended up putting the rock jar in her room on her dresser. She just loves it!

How do you store little collections that your kids bring home?

PS I'm linking up over at Delightful Order and Organize and Decorate Everything!

Weekly Goal Setting - Finding Balance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:32:00 +0000

I told my husband last week that there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that I wanted and needed to do. He laughed and reassured me there is enough time - I just need to look at how I am prioritizing things. If you want to do something in particular, than you need to put it at the top of your to do list. It was a brief conversation, but it really got me thinking. I already make a list of things I plan on doing over the course of the week. What if I took it a step further and really thought about what I needed to do to gain a sense of accomplishment and set those things as top priorities?

I came up with a worksheet I intend to fill out each week (most likely on Sunday night when we are gearing up for the new work week). The worksheet helps me prioritize what I want to accomplish over the course of the week. I've included a skeleton of it here if you would like to use it too!

Basically, I plan on doing the following:

Identifying the 5 most important things I must do that week (they don't have to be big).
Briefly listing daily plans. This will include places I'm going and specific chores I want to accomplish.
Setting specific goals for business/hobbies. (I've got a lot of these...running a small business, blogging, taking care of my two kiddos, and teaching elementary school part time!)

The plan is to make more time in my day to spend quality time with my kids and to take some me time. Plus, I'm one of those ~~annoying~~ amazing list people - If I write it down it most likely get's done. And if I set it as a priority than it really will get done. Right? Wish me luck with this. I'll post an update in a few weeks to let you know how it's going!

In the meantime, what do you do to organize your time? How do you accomplish everything you want to in a given week?

Organizing Baking Supplies - Creating Storage with the Strangest Things

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:30:00 +0000

I love when I can find 5 to10 minutes in a day to reorganize a cabinet or create a new organizing system. On Monday I found a few minutes to grab all the loose cupcake tins in my pantry and store them in a cute Ball jar with a covered fabric lid (read about that here). Yesterday I was able to reorganize my baking supplies. It took about 10 minutes and my daughter got into the action, too! As I unloaded the contents of the shelf, she put them on the counter. After a quick wipe with a hot, soapy rag, the cupboard was ready to be refilled.

I had a lot of loose cupcake/cookie decorations that were constantly falling over and taking up too much space! I thought about picking up a storage container to stash them in, but remembered I was holding onto this plastic bag that contained a baking set my daughter had received for Christmas. (I didn't want to throw it out - I just felt it would be wasteful). I decided to store all the loose cupcake/cookie decorations in the bag and it worked out perfectly! They fit in nicely and I was able to stand it up in the cupboard. I can not tell you how much room it freed up!

One of the tough things about my kitchen pantry is the shelves are super deep. Since I don't use the baking supplies on a daily basis, I put them on the top shelf in the back. I put all of our breakfast goodies (oatmeal supplies, tea, and cereal) in the front of the cabinet for quick access.

And that was it. All done. It only took a few minutes to straighten the shelf up and best of all - I came up with a quick, FREE way to organize my cupcake/cookie decorations.

What have you organized lately? Have you found a way to repurpose something?

PS You can find this over at the Delightful Order Inspiring Thursday Link Party!

Organizing Cupcake Tin Liners

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:13:00 +0000

A few months ago I struggled with finding organization in my kitchen pantry (you can read about that here). I've since brainstormed a few ideas on how to re-organize my baking supplies and hopefully create more space on the top shelf of my pantry.

I found a little inspiration this week and decided to tackle storing my cupcake supplies - mainly the liners and decorations. I was able to whip out a handy storage container for the liners in between making dinner and baking cookies with my daughter. Sure I neglected the dishes in the process, but you can't beat time spent with the little one while multi-tasking and completing a small organization project!

First I organized the liners by color/theme. I then stacked them in a clear Ball canning jar that I already had. I cut a small piece of remnant fabric that I had left over from a different project (a doll house we built - more on that in the coming weeks) and secured it to the lid with spray adhesive. After it dried, I put the lid back on and voilà - a cute little storage container for all those liners that were floating around in the pantry.

Next up, organizing all those pesky cupcake decorations. What small organization projects have you recently tackled? I would love to hear about them!

DIY Wooden American Flag

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 03:34:00 +0000

My mother-in-law gave me a few back issues of BHG. I was drawn to this DIY wooden American Flag in the June 2012 issue.

Source: blogher.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Then one day on Pinterest, I saw this amazing flag made from reclaimed pallets. Hmm...I can definitely do this!

Source: oneartmama.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

My husband and I spent a few days trying to find pallets on Craigslist. They are apparently a pretty hot commodity in my town! After spending a fruitless Saturday morning driving around to different Craigslist listings, we realized we were out of luck. They were all gone! We rethought our design plan and decided to use scrap wood we already had on hand.

This is what we started with.

I spray painted the wood white with spray paint I already had on hand.

Then I painted a blue square in the upper left corner and taped off the stripes. I picked up a few paint samples from Home Depot in red and blue. (The only thing I had to buy for this project! So awesome!)

After painting the stripes red, I cut a template out of cardboard for the stars. I just held it over the blue and dabbed white paint over the cardboard. I didn't mind that it wasn't perfect. I kind of liked the homemade look.

After the paint dried, I attached hardware and wire to the back so that I could hang it on the wall. Don't mind the old contact paper. The scrap wood was actually an old shelf from my in-law's kitchen cabinet.

I love the final product. I probably could have made the blue a little longer - more rectangular - and the stars a little more uniform. My husband and I talked about possibly redoing the stars. A few people who have done similar projects used temporary stickers. I really don't want to spend anymore money on this project so the stickers are probably out.

I still love it though. It looks great on the blue siding and hanging over our vintage metal porch chairs. Plus, it a perfect decoration for the season!

Has Pinterest inspired you lately? I would love to hear about it!

Oh! I noticed that Young House Love is doing a Pinterest Challenge this week. I plan on sharing this project over on their AMAZING blog (and on Centsational Girl, Bower Power, and Ten June!

You can also find it over on Positively Splendid.

Pink Princess Party

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:03:00 +0000

My daughter requested a Pink Princess Party for her 3rd birthday. I had such a good time planning the party and searching for all things 'pink princess.' We had a special request that Belle and Ariel make an appearance, so I found a few decorations that were specific to these Disney princesses. Here are a few highlights....

1. Pink lemonade in a pink dispenser I found at Target for under $10. Target also had the Disney princess cups.

2. I made the cupcake toppers with scrapbook paper and cake pop sticks. The crowns were found on Etsy. I attached them with double-sided puffy tape to the white circle (also from Etsy). The scrapbook paper was at Michaels and I used a circle cutter to cut the circles out of the patterned paper. The white circle with the crown was glued to the scrapbook paper. I hot-glued this to the cake pop stick and added a white circle to the back to make the back look nice and clean. The pink cupcakes were made from a recipe I found in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I colored the frosting pink, too.

3. Pinterest was the inspiration for the goodie bags. Cupcake holders and a small circular name plate were attached to the bag with a clothespin. So simple and easy. The pinwheels were $1 each at Target. I also found princess duckies, princess stickers, and candy necklaces with a small crown on Amazon. We had a few boys at the party so I was sure to have a few pirate items for them.

Source: pnpflowersinc.com via Natalie on Pinterest

4. The table centerpiece was Disney princess. I found this on Amazon, too.

5. I love the clearance section at Target. These lanterns were less than $2 each. They made a nice addition to the table and helped hold the tablecloth down when the evening breeze kicked in.

6. A bouquet of pink flowers.

7. I found princess hats at Target but they were terribly expensive ($3 a hat!). I made these using a template I found online. I used glitter glue and ribbon to decorate the hats. They were simple to make and came in at under $1 a hat. The girls loved them! For the boys, I made a few hats in black and added pirate stickers.

8. I strung party lights across our patio and attached these DIY pom-poms. It really set the atmosphere.

9. We made princess cookies to hand out to the adults. The cookie cutters were from Michaels and we used a simple sugar cookie recipe.

To keep the cost down, we had the party at home. It was really hot (over 100 degrees) so we had kiddie pools for the kids and misters for the adults. We also barbecued hot dogs (super easy and cheap). To make it fun, we had a hot dog bar. I made little cards with suggested topping combinations I found on the Food Network website. It was a lot of fun to see what people put on their hot dogs. Some were very adventurous!

The party was a blast. My daughter had a great time and really enjoyed that everything really was pink!

Have you planned a party recently? I would love to hear what you did and what inspirations you found online!

P.S. I'm sharing this post at Positively Splendid! You can also find it over at Delightful Order, One Artsy Momma, and Happy Go Lucky!

Master Bedroom - Yea Progress!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 05:43:00 +0000

We have taken a break from the basement project we started (you can read about that here). The four boxes we still need to go through remain where we left them. A few things have come up, and to say we have been a little sidetracked is an understatement! (Do not fear - those four boxes are on our list to tackle this week!).

Instead, I painted the master bedroom (and potty trained a two-year old). I know! Why start a huge project(s) when you haven't finished the last huge project? Well - this past weekend we had an opportunity to visit my parents and pick up the matching dresser to our (borrowed) bedroom set. (I say borrowed because this is a temporary solution to our lack of bedroom furniture and storage. My brother will eventually use this furniture in his house.) Before we picked up the dresser, I really wanted to repaint the walls. A few months ago my husband mentioned he hated the blue paint and would love to change the colors. I thought it would make life so much easier to repaint before we brought the new dresser home. And there begins a new major project.

Here are a few before and after pictures (please forgive the horrible photography - I am taking classes to get better!)

View from the door. We moved the taller dresser and changed the direction of the bed.

Imagine a DIY headboard in a khaki color (maybe) with a DIY circular drift wood mirror above the headboard. Just imagine! Really...the vision is there.


View from the bed to the bedroom door. Ignore the blue lamp. It's a DIY project that is not yet completed. I still need to rewire the lamp (which will straighten the shade). Imagine a wall gallery with dark gray frames above the dresser.

The plan is to wall paper the inside of the closet (it's currently pink) and revamp the storage that is already there. We are going to also add a curtain over the door when we redo the window curtains.

So progress...I love it so far! The new colors are softer and more welcoming. Moving the bed actually added space. And I cannot tell you how nice it is to have nine (yes, nine!) extra drawers!

Here is what is left on our master bedroom list:

Master Bedroom Re-Do

~~Change the paint color.~~

Wallpaper the closet.

Add a tension rod and curtain over the closet.

Find a cute tie-back for the closet curtain and window curtains.

Change window curtains (dark blue or gray).

~~Move tall dresser.~~

~~Get the matching dresser from my parents.~~

~~Move coat hooks~~. Create a “coat” space for us + guests.

DIY headboard for our bed.

Build two shoe boxes for under the bed.

Find a bed skirt (debating on the color).

Update bed sheets and duvet cover.

Rearrange pictures.
Decorative pillows for bed.
Make one of the pillows from bird fabric (have).
~~Jewelry stand~~/photos wall over dresser.

DIY drift wood mirror.

Have you ever started a project only to get sidetracked by another? I would love to hear your story.

Basement Organization Part 1 - So Embarrased

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:50:00 +0000

Do you have a room where you "hide" all the things you don't have time to put away before guests arrive? You know - a spare room or closet where you can toss a few things and close the door. No one is the wiser. We have a room like that. It's called the basement. Don't have a place for something? Send it to the basement. Goodwill items? Send them to the basement. Guests coming over in 10 minutes? Send everything in plain sight to the basement!

Well, after almost seven years of sending things to the basement we decided maybe we should tidy up a bit. Umm, that's an understatement. When I almost slipped on hangers lying on the basement floor last week, I decided it was time. Not time to "organize." We've done that before. Not time for a yard sale. Done that, too. No, it was time to clean it out! Really. EVERYTHING was coming out.

It looked like an episode from hoarders. We are so embarrassed as we look back at the before pictures.

Looking in from the door.

Looking out. Oh my!!

How did it get this way? My husband and I talked about that. A lot. It really comes down to an ineffective organization system. The things we use the most were on shelves in the back of the basement. When we were done using things like suitcases or yard tools, we just dropped them inside the door. We didn't have the time or energy to walk them to the back of the basement to put them away.

So we came up with a plan of attack.

1. We would take EVERYTHING out of the basement and put it on the back lawn.
2. We would clean the basement (vacuum and dust). It's an unfinished space so there wasn't a whole lot we could do in this department.
3. We would put our heads together and draw a floor plan of how we would like things to be organized.
4. We would start putting things away (this was going to be the biggest job!). We wanted to go through things and thin them out. Keep what we wanted. Send the rest to Goodwill or the trash.
5. Once everything was put away, we wanted to go through everything one more time to see if we could thin it even more. Why this step? We knew that we would run out of time and that we would not be able to clean things out as thoroughly as we wanted.

A few other goals: Nothing would be stored on the floor (all would be on a shelf) and we would store as much as possible in labeled storage bins.

Well, last weekend we tackled this HUGE project. Here is a picture of our lawn. Oh my! You should have seen the neighbors faces. So embarrasing.

We made it through steps 1-3 (and partially 4). We went to Goodwill twice and the dump once. Over the next few weeks we plan on finishing step 4 (we still have four boxes to go) and we plan on tackling step 5. I'll talk more steps 4 and 5 in my next basement post. Plus, I plan to show after pictures and discuss our new organization system! Stay tuned. We will redeem ourselves!

Barrette Board - Pinterest Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:36:00 +0000

I saw this cute storage idea for organizing little girl barrettes on Pinterest (see the original at Attempting Aloha) . I thought it would be perfect for my daughter.

Source: attemptingaloha.com via Natalie on Pinterest

We currently are storing all of my daughter's hair ties and barrettes in this little box. The only problem was that when my daughter wanted to see (ie play with) her barrettes, she would take them out and lay them on the floor. Her curious little brother would then help himself. Eight month olds and barrettes don't go so well together.

I thought making this barrette board would be a perfect way for her to see all of her hair things, keep them up out of reach, and make a pretty display. I already had on hand all of the materials (minus the spray paint - $4.99 at our local hardware store). The picture frame was metal and took about 3 coats of pain to cover.

I used spray adhesive to attach a piece of remnant fabric to the original cardboard backing that came with the frame. I didn't worry too much about how the back looked because I knew I would cover it with a second piece of cardboard when I slid the fabric covered board back into the frame.

Using scrapbook ribbon I already had, I tied them into place. Those ribbons that were too short received an extra dose of hot glue to hold them in place. Then I slid the original cardboard back into the frame. To cover the unsightly back, I cut a clean piece of cardboard out of an old box and slid it in the frame to close the back off from view.

Then my daughter and I added all of her cute barrettes, rubber bands, and head bands to the board.

I absolutely LOVE the final product. It is cute and organized. A huge improvement!

What has Pinterest inspired you to do lately? I would love to hear and see what you have been working on!

PS I am so proud of this project! I have linked up at Organize & Decorate Everything (my first time doing this!!). So fun!

DIY Fabric Storage Boxes - Pinterest Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:01:00 +0000

My sweet husband installed new shelves in the nursery a few months ago. The idea was to create vertical storage in the room. We wanted to free up floor space so the kids would have more room to play and create a place to store toys, clothes, and office equipment. The shelves turned out great, but as we used them I realized we needed more storage containers to hold toys. I considered buying baskets (I had already purchased four for my son's clothes) but they are so expensive! Then I saw DIY fabric storage boxes on Pinterest. They looked easy enough. The inspiration and tutorials I used were from IHeartOrganizing and PostivelySplendid.

Using the tutorial on PostivelySplendid I was able to VERY EASILY cover the outside of three diaper boxes with fabric.

The inside proved to be more difficult. I did not want to sew liners so I used the tutorial on IHeartOrganizing to line the inside of the boxes. Unrolling the fabric as you slowly spray the glue section by section was the secret to getting the fabric to lay flat. (Sorry - I didn't take any pictures. I was up to my elbows in glue!)

To create the corner, I used a small piece of scrap material.

Creating the corner.

The biggest problem I ran into when making these storage boxes was getting an even edge around the outside of the box. I wanted the inside material to make a 1 inch border around the outside. I had a really difficult time getting the border even.

Oh, yucky uneven edges. What to do? What to do?

I ended up hot gluing a ribbon around the outside of the box where the two different fabrics met. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, so I selected a neutral color ribbon. A brighter color would work great, too. The ribbon really evened out the "hem" and cleaned up the box.

Ribbon did the trick! Goodbye uneven edges!

Overall, I am happy with the final product. The boxes were more difficult to make than I thought they would be (mainly because I couldn't handle an uneven edge), but I am happy now that they are completed. They work great and hide toys very well!

What DIY storage project have you been working on lately? I would love to hear about it!

Toy Organization: Puzzles

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:32:00 +0000

I broke down and bought an organizer for my daughter's puzzles. When I saw it, I knew it would be the perfect way to store her ever growing puzzle collection. We had been storing them in a basket in the family room. This system worked fine except you couldn't see the puzzles. Plus, the pieces often got tossed into the basket creating a huge, unorganized mess. I loved this particular Melissa & Doug organizer, because it held different sized puzzles. It is pretty amazing! Hello puzzle organization. Oh how I love you!

How do you organize your kids' puzzles? Do you have the perfect organization method?

DIY Pink Blinged Out Converse - Pinterest Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 May 2012 03:39:00 +0000

I saw these blinged out pink converse on Pinterest and fell in love. How cute would my two-year-old daughter look wearing these on her 1st trip to Disneyland? I checked them out on Etsy, but could not bring myself to spend so much money on a pair of shoes for a two-year-old. I also could not get the image of her wearing them with her pink princess dress out of my head. DIY here I come!

Source: etsy.com via Jade on Pinterest

The pink Converse are from Target. I found a small bag of rhinestones at Michaels and I used Gem-Tac to attach them. I replaced the white shoelaces with satin ribbon. The project probably took an hour max (plus drying time). I really couldn't believe how simple it was! They are not exactly like the Pinterest version but they are pretty close. Well worth it! And they worked great in Disneyland!

DIY Pink Blinged Out Converse

Gem-Tac - $8 at Michael's (I bought the big bottle but the little one would have been plenty)
Rhinestones - Around $4 at Michael's
Pink Converse - $19.99 at Target
Ribbon - Around $3 at Michael's

Have you recently tried a craft project you found on Pinterest? How did it turn out?

Cord Organization

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:39:00 +0000

All of our computer cords are centrally located in my son's room. Originally the office, it seemed like a good place to keep the modem, telephone, fax machine, and computer. Now that we have converted the room to a nursery, the cords and blinking lights are a bit unsightly.

I had an idea to hide the cords inside a storage box. I found this box at Cost Plus. There was a little damage on the lid so I was able to get the store manager to mark it down a few dollars.

I cut out two sides of the box and placed the lid on the bottom for added support.

Using these amazing labels by Martha Stewart, I bundled all the lose cords and labeled them for quick identification.

Then I tucked all of the cords, the telephone, and wireless router into the box. I couldn't completely hide the modem or power strip (I wanted to make sure there was still air flow), but I am very happy with the outcome. Everything is organized and nicely hidden. Here is the before and after.

How do you organize cords at your house? I would love to hear your ideas!

Re-Purposing A Soap Pump

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 05:56:00 +0000

I have wanted to buy a cute soap bottle for the kitchen. Something simple but pretty that I can store dish soap in on my kitchen counter. We don’t have a dishwasher so I find that I constantly use the dish soap in the kitchen for quick clean-up. That means the big, bulky soap bottle always finds its way onto my kitchen counter. It’s kind of an eye sore!

I have been looking for a bottle to put the soap in but just couldn’t bring myself to buy one. Then I had an idea to re-purpose a pre-filled hand soap pump that I had purchased a few months back for the bathroom. It was clear and much smaller than the bottle I was currently using. Over the last week, I have been washing/soaking it to get out any remnants of the hand soap. I had a few minutes today to finish cleaning it up – removing the old label – and fill it with dish soap. I put the bulky container back under the sink and my new sleek container on the counter. Much better! It’s discrete, cleaner, and re-purposed! I couldn’t be happier.

What have you re-purposed lately? What do you do to quell the urge to buy something new that you don't necessarily need? Please share!

Why My Pantry Will NEVER Look Like A Pantry on Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:58:00 +0000

I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest. I love that it inspires me to be creative and tackle new projects. I hate that it gives me this “stressed out, I have to do everything I see on Pinterest” feeling. I guess you can chalk it up to my type-A personality!

I wasn’t loving Pinterest so much on Saturday. We did our monthly grocery shopping and when I was putting the groceries away I decided to reorganize the pantry. In my mind, all I could visualize were these super organized pantries you see on Pinterest. As hard as I tried, I was finding myself getting frustrated that I couldn’t make my pantry look like those I have pinned. You know what I’m talking about – the beautifully organized, over-labeled pantries that people post with comments like “I wish my pantry looked like this” or “so inspiring.” As I was standing in my kitchen looking at this mess (see the picture below) and wondering how in the heck I was going to get it into the pantry, I realized that I was driving myself insane. And that’s when I realized that my pantry will never look like those you see on Pinterest.

This had to somehow find its organized way into my pantry.

Here are five reasons why my pantry will never be a Pinterest pantry:

I actually own food. Silly huh? But really, the pantries I see on Pinterest do not have a whole lot of food in them. They also lack in a variety of foods.
I have two kids. They like to eat and my daughter has taken to complaining when I don’t have the cabinet stocked with her favorite snacks.
I have a husband and he doesn’t always put things back in the “right” place.
I have only one place to store food. What you see is what you get. The pantry is the only place I have to store non-perishable food. And that means I have to get a lot in a little space!
My pantry is deep. I unfortunately have to stuff things in the back. Even with the simple white roller baskets I installed when I was in my "pregnant nesting phase" with my daughter, things still get hidden in the back of the cabinet. I have not figured out a way around this (yet!).

It's a work in progress.

Even though it doesn’t look like it, I am actually organized. Everything has a place and I reorganize and reevaluate the space every time I go grocery shopping. There is a shelf that is a constant work in progress (my oils/spices - see "hot mess" above) and I may have a solution, but that’s for another day (when my husband can watch the kids so I can tackle and finish it at the same time). Until then, my pantry is what it is and I think it looks pretty good.

After everything was put back in the pantry.

Do you have an organization project that is challenging or constantly evolving? I would love to hear about it!

Gardening: Summer Veggies are Planted

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:03:00 +0000

We planted our garden this weekend. We haven’t had a summer garden in a few years (we have been a bit distracted with babies and all). My daughter was super excited to help plant, and the new soil looks rich and ready to produce some yummy veggies. Tomatoes, zucchini, peas, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, an assortment of herbs, corn, and onions have been planted.

Ready to go in the ground!

Look at the dark, rich soil.

I found this awesome idea on Pinterest to create a teepee with climbing peas. We are going to give it a shot this year. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Our New Kitchen “Office”

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:09:00 +0000

When our second child was born, we converted our home office into a nursery. Mostly nursery with some office - we honestly have nowhere else in the house to store office supplies. My husband built some awesome vertical storage on a wall in the nursery for us to store a few minimal office supplies and equipment (plus toys). The space was working okay but not great. Whenever our son was asleep, we could not access any office supplies for fear of waking him up. The problem is our house is so small, we really have no place for a traditional office!

Then, a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a great home organizing blog called IHeart Organizing. They were highlighting a reader space where the reader created a home “office” in a kitchen cabinet. I was completely inspired. We had a cabinet that I was currently using to store cookbooks, a few pens, and miscellaneous kitchen items. It was a space that could definitely be used more efficiently. I couldn’t cram a printer into it, but I could store our highly used office supplies there.

Here is the kitchen cabinet before (yea...it was a mess).

I paired down our cookbooks to a few of my favorites and stored them in this cute chalkboard storage box I found on clearance at Target. Pens and paper are easily accessible next to the cookbooks.

I put checkbooks, staplers, tape, a few miscellaneous items into these storage boxes that I also found on clearance at Target. Coupons are stored on this shelf as well.

Envelopes, stamps, and bills are filed in a metal rack that I already had. These are stored alongside a box of cards that I use for birthdays and other occasions. I used old re-purposed Crystal Lite containers to store chargers that we use on a regular basis.

Our medicine is stored on the top shelf in our medicine safe along with new recipes that I would like to try but haven’t gotten around to yet.

As I have used the new {and can I say amazing} space, I realized that I did need to label the storage boxes. I also covered and labeled the Crystal Lite containers and added a few more items (umm…like my label maker and a few awesome Martha Stewart products!). When all was said and done, I spent about $20 on our new “office.”

Here is the completed space! I absolutely adore it. It is clean, neat, and practical.

Has something on the internet recently inspired you to reorganize a space in your home? I would love to hear your story.

Organizing Nirvana: Martha Stewart!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:09:00 +0000

I purchased two fabric storage boxes on clearance at Target for a new kitchen “office” space I have been creating in my kitchen. The only problem was I could not come up with a cute way to label the boxes without writing on or punching holes into them. Enter Martha Stewart! I ran across an add today for a new line of Martha Stewart products at Staples. I had a few minutes after dinner to run over to our local Staples to check out the new products. I was so excited to find small metal bookplates with adhesive on the back. They would just stick right onto the box. Super easy. I also found a few other great products that would add to the functionality of my new “office” space. The pantry pockets will work great to store my monthly meal plan, grocery list, and birthday invitations. I also discovered some great elastic ties that will help organize our loose power cords. The greatest thing was, Staples is offering a $3.00 coupon if you spend $10.

Have you recently stumbled upon a new organizing you can't live without? I'd love to hear about it!

Re-Purposed Storage: Crystal Light Containers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:06:00 +0000

I love storage containers – baskets, plastic tubs, boxes – it doesn’t matter. I like them all. A lot. My husband keeps telling me that buying a new storage container won’t make our house any bigger. I know. He’s right. They won’t. But seriously. It’s an addiction!

I am trying to make an effort to reuse the containers I already have on hand more efficiently or to create storage with materials I already have on hand. I recently repurposed Crystal Light containers. These are the best little “boxes” and I have used them before to store teaching materials and colored pencils.

I decided to cover a few with contact paper (which I already had on hand) and use them to store the chargers for our IPad and IPod. It took just a few minutes and I was really happy with the final product.

I added a small label with my label maker for easy reference.

Have you recently re-purposed something for storage purposes? How do you create storage in your small space?

In This Case, Less Really Is More

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:31:00 +0000

A friend of mine - who also lives in a small space - has a rule for small space living. Whenever you bring something new into your home, you should always take something out. For the last week, I have been moving furniture around trying to accommodate the new buffet PLUS all of our other furniture. I realized today (as I was trying to cram a chest into a corner of my room) that something had to go. I can’t possibly fit all of the existing furniture into our home with the addition of the buffet. So, I had to make some tough decisions regarding what I was going to place into storage. As much as I hate to do it, the chest had to go {sniff, sniff}. When thinking about what I should remove, I thought about what pieces maximize storage, can serve multiple purposes, and are the most widely used by our family. Although the chest has a lot of sentimental value, we only used it to store mementos from my childhood and it occasionally served as a time out bench for my daughter. For now, off it goes into storage until we can find a space and a use that will warrant it a place inside our home.

Trying to cram the chest into a corner of our room.

Do you live in a small space? What do you do when you bring a new piece of furniture into your house?

Creating A Gallery Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:30:00 +0000

I have wanted to create a wall gallery for quite some time. We had pictures taken of our daughter last summer (her two-year old pictures) and then family pictures taken in the fall. I’m sad to say that I have been storing the pictures under my bed ever since! A few weeks ago I found a Target coupon for picture frames – by two get one free. The coupon lit a little a little fire under me and I started looking for frames that I could use in our dining room. I did not want matching frames, but I did want complimentary frames and frames with matting. I ended up finding three frames at Target and another at Home Goods. I picked up the largest frame at Michaels and shopped the house for the remaining frames.

Here is the wall I decided to hang the pictures on:

I found a great idea on Pinterest {Picture Gallery Wall + Tutes & Tips} for cutting paper the size of the frames and repositioning these templates with painters’ tape. Here is what the template looked like on the wall:

To hang the pictures, I used another tip I found on Pinterest {Picture Frame Hanging Tip}. It worked like a charm and I was able to hang all of the pictures straight without making unnecessary holes in the walls.

Here is the after:

What I love about this project is we were able to bring warmth to the dining room by simply adding pictures to the wall behind our table. The room is more inviting and I find that I am excited to sit in the space.

Have you ever created a wall gallery? Where did you decide to hang the pictures and how did it change your home?

Craigslist Find - A Lovely Buffet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:57:00 +0000

I have wanted a buffet for years. We are currently storing all of our nicer dishes in the kitchen, and I feel like the cabinets are busting open at the seams. Last weekend we got lucky and found an amazing buffet on Craigslist! It fits with our dining room table perfectly. Now I just need to find the time to start reorganizing!

Have you every found something you totally love on Craigslist? I'd love to hear your story!

Organizing Our Bathroom Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:56:00 +0000

We have a few big house projects on our list that have been put on the back burner. Logistics, money, and time all play in to why we have yet to tackle them. One of these projects is our bathroom. It is in desperate need of a remodel. I mean really…DESPERATE… need. We are fairly sure the entire sub floor will have to be replaced due to water damage (the floor is really soft near the tub) and without a floor there is no way we will be able to use the bathroom during the remodel. Since this is our only bathroom, living in the house during construction will be really difficult.

In the meantime, we are making do with what we have. The only built in storage cabinet we have is very rough looking. The cabinet doors broke shortly after we moved in. They literally rusted off the hinge! So gross. I took the doors off and put in baskets to try to organize our toiletries. We also bought a free standing cabinet from Target to hold our towels. Over the last year or so, with the addition of my daughter’s things, the toiletries have become unmanageable. I thought it was time to reorganize! I was so excited to create a new system and to try to make the space a little prettier without investing too much money or time.

{Here is the before….}

I was wandering through Target last week and inspiration hit when I saw these cute baskets and matching containers. The blue was close to the existing bathroom trim and paint color that we currently have.

My plan was to store everyday items in the cute baskets. I bought four – one for each member of the family. The plastic containers with lids would be used to store like items that we don’t use as frequently. I also found a cute storage container with stripes that would work great for stowing away our extra inventory of soap and lotion. I also found some great labels that would easily label the tubs but still allow for flexibility if I want to change the tubs’ contents.

It took about an hour to reorganize and purge the cabinet.

{Here is the after….}

The only thing that was missing was a way to conceal the items. To give us a little more privacy, I hung a curtain over the front of the cabinet with a tension rod. I had an old curtain already on hand, so I cut it to size and hemmed it with iron on hem tape. Although it’s not brand new, it’s still much prettier and neater than what I started with.

{Happiness….}

Do you have a space that is in need of an organizing update? Are you like me – biding your time until a bathroom remodel project can be tackled? I would love to hear and see what you are doing!