A place for everything and everything in its place

I love organizing. It helps that I work as a cataloger so I get to organize books every day. But I really love organizing closets. It makes me happy.  So, my mom and I had found an idea on Pinterest that we just had to try in my new closet.  My dad was on board and he made it perfect!

 Here's my new empty closet. I brought some shoes with me to get an idea of whether our idea would work.

 And here it is in action! It's perfect!  My dad used two different types of crown molding and put them together. Then he hung them on the wall of the closet. My heels just slip over the molding perfectly. It gets them off the ground and makes use of an otherwise wasted space.

 

And here's a picture of the rest of the closet. I allowed Joe one shelf--I guess he deserves some closet space too.

 

On to another room to organize!
~Kc

I Heart Organizing

I really do heart organizing.  The Container Store is like my Disneyland.  If I had more time, money and resources, I'd start at the top of my house and work my way down organizing every nook and cranny.  When I got to the bottom, I'd start all over again.  Each spring, my husband rolls his eyes when I ask him if he is ready to re-organize our house.  He politely humors me with an hour of his time to re-evaluate, re-fold and re-organize his drawers and closet, and then lets me have free reign on the rest of the house.  My problem is that I'm not willing to invest the money necessary to accommodate and organize our "stuff" in a house that I hope to move out of somewhere in the not-so-distant future.  So, every spring, with as little money as necessary to satisfy my organizing needs, I re-arrange and re-work my shelves, bins, closets and trunks to try to tidy up my house so I can live another year in an un-cluttered and order-proned house.

Unfortunately, Goosey likes clutter, messes and disorder.  I hate that toys and blocks have taken over my living room (and kitchen and bedroom and basement), and I'm ready to put an end to it.

Evidence of the chaos.

The madness continues

This is actually my fault.  Years of work went into making these math binders for teaching.  It'll take me YEARS to part with them!

Imagine my complete delight when I came across this blog: IHeart Organizing.  I giddily read entry after entry, realized that Jen has an awesome sense of style and can totally transform a room into something magical (check out her home tour).  Just wait until you see how she turned a $15 thrift store table into an awesome activity table! Jen has inspired me to attempt to create a play space as awesome as the one she created for her sons (check out her Kid's Playroom).

I love that she uses affordable and clever techniques to make a space that is fun and appealing for her kids.  With a space for everything and everything in its space the kids can have an awesome time playing and creating knowing that clean-up will be a breeze.  And a clean play space = a happy mom!

I'll be sure to blog about my experience trying to turn the little "no man's land" in our basement into an appropriate play space for Goosey and Prince.

In the meantime, I need some MAJOR help organizing my pantry!

Hugs to our followers,
LC

My dream house...

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it a few times but my house is currently on the market.  Unfortunately, the market is dead.  One of these days, we'll eventually sell my cute little townhouse that we have rapidly outgrown and move into something bigger.  Until that point, I will keep dreaming of my future house.

I can't wait until we move so that Joe can have some Honey Do projects.  I have so many things that I'd LOVE for him to build.  I hope he's ready.

Have you ever been on Ana-White's website? She's brilliant.  The ideas and designs are so fun and the instructions appear to be so clear and easy to follow. I'm hopefully that we'll be able to replicate some of these ideas.

I am a big fan of Pottery Barn stuff...you know, champagne tastes on a beer budget. Yup, that's me.  Thank goodness there's an outlet by my parents house.  However, if Joe is able to make some of these then we'll come out ahead big time! 

1. Media Console Table.
I'm so used to having an armoire to hide my stuff that I'm not used to having my TV out in the open. But Joe would love to have a big screen some day. Here's my compromise.

Found here

 2. Modular desk units.
I love the idea of having the modular desk units so that I can make my desk fit my space.  I can use drawers, filing cabinets, etc. I love it. And this can easily be changed to different colors or wood stains.

Found here

 3. Another desk solution.
Depending on space, I love this idea. It seems like it would be great for a craft room.

Found here

 4. Bed with storage solutions.
I know how much storage comes at a priority. We already have two beds but if we needed more I'd love to do something like this.  It looks so put together.

Found here

 5. Laundry organization.
Love this idea! Instead of nesting baskets, this allows you to use them to sort out clothes before laundry is done and it gives you a place to store it after everything is folded.

Found here

 6. Laundry organization.
Here's another creative way of storing laundry baskets. I hate my front loader washer so I hope to get a new one but if we hang on to it longer then this would be wonderful.  It stops you from having to bend over but it remains functional.

Found here

Oh the wishlist I have going for this new house.  I can't wait.  Keep your fingers crossed that someone buys this house soon!
~Kc

Its a Good Thing



MarthaStewart.com

I have a house.  But, it's tiny.  And, we outgrew it two days after we moved in.  I'm always looking for ways to organize and consolidate.  About once a year, I get so fed up with all the "stuff" in my house, that I clean and purge (donate) everything that I'm sick of looking at (stepping over, moving, etc).

I was super excited to hear of this idea from my decorating inspiration: Martha Stewart.  (Side note: The title of LC's decorating inspriation is actually a three-way tie between Martha Stewart, KC, and her mom!)

When organizing your linen closet, group the matching fitted sheet, flat sheet, and pillowcases together. Then, store the fitted sheet, flat sheet and one pillowcase all in the second pillowcase.  When I'm ready to change my bed (which I recently discovered is much less often than recommended, but don't want to give the specifics and totally disguise our followers), I can just grab one "set" quickly and easily and be on my way.  Unfortunately, this method eliminates one of my excuses for NOT changing the bed ("I can't find a matching sheet set to save my life!). 

So, dear hubby (and house guests), here's to a great night sleep in clean sheets!

Hugs to all of our followers,
LC