Time to Organize

 tape dispenser // pencil cup // pens // shoe box // sweater box // 

nordic basket with optional lid // hampton bins // mercado baskets // la jolla basket 

So, the Christmas has all been packed away neatly in the attic {I splurged on tons of new ornament storage containers last year!} and it got me thinking about the rest of the house. This is definitely the time of year that I like to start fresh and begin my Spring cleaning of sorts. In order to make our room transitioning work {read a little about the rundown here}, then we absolutely have to purge and organize everything from our closets and cabinets, to the common areas like the counters and desk tops. 

I dream of one of those beautiful closets like every other woman, but until that happens, I have to work with what I have. One thing I already ordered is a set of these shoe boxes to store my off season shoes. Heck, if I really like them, I might get them for my in season shoes too. They also come i in bigger boxes for taller heels and boots as well. I grabbed a few sweater boxes that I might start out with some summer things, but they will hold my large collection of scarves come summer time.

Getting new office supplies to keep organized is sort of like getting new workout gear for being inspired to workout! I always enjoy new pens, clean and cute ways to store them, and anything acrylic fits the bill. These would be a great start!

Last but not least, I love having ample storage bins for behind the scenes and not. Keeping things tidy in the cabinets makes for finding things easier and looking neat. We can't seem to have enough baskets and bins around, we probably have them in each room. Not pictured above, but I love this basket line as well, which Weeks has in his room: one for laundry and one for toys.

Any tried and true organization favorites of yours?

Organization Pretties + Organizing Christmas

To get us off to a fresh start, here is what is inspiring me right now:

BHG

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BHG

I don't know about you, but this is one of my favorite times of the year to get organized. As soon as Christmas is over, I am pretty much ready to clean up the house, banish clutter and soak up that fresh feeling of a tidy home. I know many people leave their decorations up a week or so past Christmas which I totally understand. I knew ours were coming down the Sunday after Christmas because I wanted the house cleaned for the New Year! I totally got into the groove of organizing that day and splurged on buying an entire cart full of new Christmas storage containers. I only wish I had done this sooner because it made taking the tree down a breeze!

This container had the rounded holder for ball ornaments, I ended up getting several of those. Especially nice to see my stash of gold and silver balls, I have a ton but they don't all necessarily go on the tree.

This container had adjustable plastic dividers. I fit a ton of ornaments in these containers, mixing the more delicate ornaments with some softer ones, but still keeping them secure. 

When I was done, I had fit almost all of my ornaments into the new containers. I think I had one more tub full of some that wouldn't fit. I am so thrilled, it's funny!

And I went ahead and got a wreath storage container for the ornament ball wreath I made this year. So excited about this one! I usually end up putting those kinds of things in a trash bag and then the following year I am scared to open it ;)

I guess I didn't snap a photo, but I use washi tape each year to relabel my Christmas storage boxes. Inevitably, the contents in the boxes change, so it is an easy way to peel off the old label and add a new one. 

I bought all of my containers from Wal-Mart so if you happen to be in the market- I would definitely check them out! I think most of my containers were about $7 and so worth it! 

November Planning

My friend Pam from Simple Details posted on this last week and I thought it was the perfect way to kick start my holiday planning. Sometimes you just need to see a list to realize what you have waiting to be done! Check it out and see if you want to play along! I've mentioned where I'm at on the list in bold italic.
Twelve Things to do this November in preparation for Christmas: 

from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking

1. A really deep clean. Prepare your home for Christmas decorating by getting things spiffy clean. During the busyness of December you will be able to get by with just some maintenance cleaning. 

Yes, we do have a cleaning lady that visits our home every three weeks. Let me tell you how much that is worth: a lot. The price is very low for the sanity I gain. However, I do touch ups the weeks she is not here. It's a must.

2. Get a Christmas photo taken. Whether it's for your Christmas cards, gifts for the grand parents or just for your own records, now is the time to get a family photo taken. If you want to get them done professionally and haven't booked your photographer yet, you may want to do that right now!

I'm not sure what route we will go this year: I need to decide quick if we are going to do a Christmas photo though- before my cheeks are chubby! ;)

3. Go to the Salon. Dye your hair, get your eyebrows waxed, do whatever cosmetic things you like to do but won't have a lot of time for during the Christmas rush.

Appointment is booked for the first week of December. Done and done.

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4. Finish up any home decor projects that are hanging over your head.

That's probably not going to happen! We always have something going on, especially this year with a nursery in the works!

5. Buy Christmas outfits for the whole family. Get this out of the way before the malls fill with frantic shoppers. Don't forget that you need something elegant to wear to your Christmas festivities too!

We probably won't need any particular outfits- but I might be buying some new shoes mentioned earlier this week!

6. Set the date for any holiday parties you would like to host and try to send out invites one month prior to the date of the party.

Besides an engagement party, we aren't hosting any this year. Done! 

7. Stock the pantry with Christmas baking essentials

This sounds like fun! I love not having to run to the store when I'm in the mood to bake.

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8. Double a couple weeknight dinners and freeze half for busy December days

A must. I will work on planning some menus this weekend.

9. Hang outdoor Christmas lights while the weather is still a little less frigid. If you are a scrooge patient person who likes to wait until December to turn on the festive lights, you could put them up now and not actually turn them on until December 1st.

Honey do list :)

10. Plan your Holiday Gift Giving. Make a list of everyone you need a gift for and brainstorm some gift ideas. Set a budget or extend the limit on your credit card. I was just kidding about that last part!

This is usually the most time consuming part of my holiday planning. I'm starting soon. See the printable link below!

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11. Make a Christmas Bucket List. List things you'd really like to do as a family this holiday season and then find time for them on the calendar before it starts to fill up with other events.

I love a fun list of things to do! Sounds like a chalkboard list to me.

12. Watch a Christmas movie in your PJ's.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas! Do I need to tell you what my favorite movie is? Cousin Eddie ring a bell?

Who is with me? I will update where I am on the list in a few weeks to see where I'm at. Join in on the fun with me and let's celebrate organization for December! 

xo.

Laundry Room Update 2

I realized when I was playing in the laundry room this weekend that I was ready for a change of scenery. {To see my original laundry room post way long ago, see here.} Did you notice yesterday the little peak of art behind the laundry soap?

I switched a few things around and added the dual coral artwork I did a few weeks ago into matted white frames. It was the touch of liveliness the room needed. The vibe in our laundry room is fresh and beach-ish, which go hand in hand in my opinion.

This little sweetie likes to accompany me on my little projects, especially in the laundry room since her treats are in one of those sisal baskets! 

The pink and white striped container {seen above} had been sitting on this shelf, but I moved the mercury glass container over here and added some faux hydrangeas. Faux is not usually my thing, but these are about as nice as you can find. 

I still wasn't quite satisfied so I added some hydrangeas in shades of blue and green that I just finished drying from the yard this year. So much better! {By the way, my method of drying hydrangeas is really complex- I let them sit in a vase for weeks and they slowly dry out. These turned out perfect.}

This time of year, this shelf holds our straw hats for days on the boat, but in the winter you can find it overtaken by jackets and coats.

*Also* my DIY striped cork board seen above and in this post is being featured on Craftbaby for Cork Board inspiration! If you have one to add, enter the contest! :)

So what do you think? Do you like the updates? 

Hope y'all have a great Tuesday! xoxo.

Easy Pinterest Pretty

We've all seen these images circulating around pinterest {follow me here} and loved the chic and simple organized way to store your polish. 

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I also shared a photo last week of this fun way to display those pretty colors...

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 I figured, why not do this? Easiest pinspiration ever. I bought a footed candle jar for about $5 at Michaels, and boom, done.

To keep things looking clean, I just put my Essie polishes in this container, along with some Chanel lipsticks for fun. It sits on my bathroom counter and I love it!

A lightbulb went off in my head and I realized I had plenty of those small square flower vases, leftover from arrangements that I don't ever use but can't bear to throw away. You probably have some of these sitting under your kitchen sink as well! I downsized the amount of products I have sitting on the counter and put the few that I use every single day into one of these old vases.

 

While at Target this weekend, I picked up some new hand soap in a clean white container. Love. It. Reminds me of being at a spa...don't mind if I do. 

 

For the rest of the polishes, I used another square vase that I will store underneath the counter. See that Insta-Dri top coat? The ONLY reason I am patient enough to paint my own nails, thanks for introducing me Steph! And thank you, Sally Hansen.

Cotton balls have a new home as well.

And just a few of my other favorite products I had to narrow down onto this little snakeskin tray.

Shall I show the the scary before picture? This is legit what the counter looks like after the morning Katie tornado sweeps through the bathroom in a rush. Clutter, clutter, clutter.

And after...I actually can see and enjoy my bathroom counter!

One more pretty polish shot, just for fun.

Have a great Monday y'all! xoxo.

Making Things Happen

This week I have been major productive and crossed lots of things off of my to do list. I'm the queen of running out and buying my next project before I have finished the other ten things lying around my house. I'm feeling good that I made the decision to get some of these things done! Hopefully, next week I will have some fun things to show you! Until then, here are some pretties to keep me {and you} going strong on the motivation train. 

{I'm actually not doing a ton of organizing, but these get my creativeness flowing!}

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XOXO.

Spring Cleaning

Today's post will be short and sweet, as I am tearing through our house cleaning out clutter and mentally preparing myself for our first ever...wait for it...yard sale! Thats right ladies, I have officially passed into that stage of my life where I can actually have a yard sale in our own yard and that we actually have enough junk to have one!

{yard sale tips}

Being the avid pinner that I am I searched for "yard sale" on pinterest just to see what would I would find and found this amazing link. So cracked me up, I think we will be making some signs for this weekend!

And this is the beginning of our newly organized life..hubs using the space saver bags...gotta love it!

{Meanwhile he asked why we needed to save 6 extra pillows and why were they not in the yard sale?}

This week has been a lot of work getting organized and cleaned up but I am so beyond excited to see the floors of our extra closets and tackle clutter. Any tips for a yard sale rookie?

Have an awesome Thursday! xo.

Martha Stewart Office Supplies and DIY

I don't know about you, but every fall I remember getting giddy with excitement over new school supplies for the year to come. Getting the list from the teacher and heading straight to the store(s) to ensure we had a nice new colored pencil set, only the best mechanical pencils, and the coolest book covers we could find. I guess you can call me a nerd, I love office supplies! 

Since college, those supplies haven't been as fun to come by...I rarely get interested just for the simple fact that I probably don't need to be spending money on the most glamorous pens and pencils there are. I had to meet my husband at Staples last week because he was putting together a really important set of brochures. I got there a little early and the first thing I see is "Martha Stewart Office Supplies". Oh geez y'all, she did it again! I am in love with this stuff and there are tons of things that come in everyones favorite color...MINT! Insert happy face!

 I loved these wall mount folders, so chic for organizing.

Organize everything vertically like this...

There are also a few pieces of office furniture with nice clean lines.

And tons of labels...chalkboard labels, tags, shipping labels and even permanent clothing tags.

 Load them in the printer and you are good to go! 

There were so many cute labels it was hard to know where to start, so I will be making a trip back. At the time, it was too many decisions to make with a looming sinus infection!

As for what I picked up: I liked the idea of the white office organizers to go on or in my desk at home. I haven't yet decided how to decorate in this room, so the white is a safe choice. I also couldn't resist the mint accessories for my desk at work. Pictures to come!

I also grabbed a small accordian file organizer {in mint} that I have started putting restaurant gift certificates and coupons. I think keeping these organized will make me more likely to use them :) No I'm not a couponer and I wish I could be. How nice would it be to walk out of the store with hundreds of dollars of groceries for like $5? But then, knowing me I would add four magazines in the cart...Anyway!

This is one little project I have done so far with these gold bookplates I found by Martha. I'm loving gold/brass anything and they reminded me of the campaign dresser look that I love.

I spraypainted an old frame that wasn't anything spectacular to a new glossy off white, and added the bookplate to the bottom with a handwritten saying. This picture is the night we got engaged! We have several copies of it floating around here and there.

Another view from the side

The bookplates come with an insert, which I cut down just a tad to fit it in easily. This would be fun to change up seasonally or for different occasions.

 {ps..the dark spots are a sticky residue from the package that I need to scrape off, it's not permanent though}

I am thinking about doing several more for a grouping, which will make more of an impact!

Have you seen this line yet? There is something for everyone so head to Staples or check it out here!

Happy organizing:)