Browsing "Organization"
Today I am sharing one of my favorite and most useful products. I was at a Parade of Homes show about 6 years ago when I saw it. It was an under the sink storage solution for curling irons, flat irons, and blow driers.
As we were leaving there was the inventor/salesman in the garage. I was sold and bought one on the spot. In my master bath, under my sink was wasted space. There was a dummy drawer front that was easily removed. After a few screws were installed (by me, thank you very much) the storage shelves were installed.
The product comes with all of the hardware necessary including hinges, and detailed instructions.
There are two spots for curling irons or flat irons (I actually shove two curling and one flat in mine).
The other side holds a large blow drier.
I love how these simple aftermarket Read more [...]
I love taking the family trek to Disneyland. But when you are a planner like me, it is best to know as much as you can before you get to the parks. The following are 25 of my top Disneyland tips for making the most of your Disneyland vacation.
1. Go for the Park Hopper ticket. If you are trying to decide whether to do one day at one park and another at the other park, I suggest the Park Hopper ticket. On our latest trip we found this to be the best way to get on the most rides. Plus, depending on the ages of your kids, California Adventure probably won't take you a full day to do all of the rides you want to ride. I usually buy my tickets before we leave for our vacation. I have bought them from GetAwayToday.com and Disney's Travel Agency. Once you have traveled with Disney's agency, they Read more [...]
This is our backyard deck. It is hard working with a large 12' x 14' waterproof surface up top and a 10' x 14' storage area below. It has about 4'6" clearance, not enough to walk around under, but tall enough to store a lot of stuff. To keep things nice and tidy I made curtains from drop cloths to hang below and cover all the junk.
This was a very simple project, in fact, this is the second time I have done this. The first set lasted about 5 years and worked great, they just started to disintegrate so it was time for a fresh pair. After measuring my deck, I determined that I needed two canvas drop cloths with the following dimensions. I prefered the ones from Lowe's because of their color and texture. I purchased a grommet set from Harbor Freight for $3.99 It was a super deal, BUT you get what you pay Read more [...]
As you all know by now, I LOVE an organized space. For my master closet, I have designed it to be like a chic boutique that I alone get to shop in several times a day. Here are my tips to turn any blah, average closet into a great organized space you'll want to spend time in. Oh, and by the way, this is not some huge, expensive, fabulocity space like the ones you usually find when you google closet organization. My space is average size for a walk in closet, my clothes are mostly from TJMaxx, Ross, Target and the like. I don't own any Louboutin's, Prada or any couture. This is my REAL closet and most of the time it looks JUST LIKE THIS:
In order starting from the easiest/cheapest:
Treat your clothes with respect. This may sound silly, especially if you have cheap clothes, but believe you me...it Read more [...]
Tips for a Great Day at the Beach With Kids & Super V Sweepstakes!
I remember spending long days at the beach in sunny San Diego when my sister and I were kids. I always remember our light blue, styrofoam cooler with rope handles packed with snacks for the day. My mom would lug it to the beach, and we would tag along with the rest of the gear.
Once I started surfing in high school, I didn't spend much time on the beach, just in the water. I pared my supply list down to a towel skirt I found at a thrift shop. No shoes, no snacks, just a towel and car keys.
Well times have changed once again now that I have my own family. Being the crazy organizer I am, combined with my love of the beach, I have come up with a system that works perfectly for our family with a few tips along the way! (BTW we use the same system for local Read more [...]
Erin Gappmayer, a Burlap & Denim reader, contacted me and wanted to share her BRILLIANT meal planning techniques. She calls it her Menu Board. I am honored that she has written the following tutorial for all of us to admire and recreate! Take it away Erin:
I love this menu board. It has been a work in progress for a long time and I absolutely would not do my meal planning any other way now. To create it in Microsoft Word, I first typed in any meal my family might eat during the month. I also typed in some things, like pizza, twice because we have a tendency to eat them more than once a month and “Out” to identify when we would be eating out that month. Then I changed the font color to reflect my own coding system – green for Mexican, purple for Italian, orange for sandwich-type meals, etc.
I printed off Read more [...]
I am a list person. Lists keep me organized and on top of things. You may have seen my Grocery Shopping List where I have everything I ever buy, almost, on a one page printable. My Road Trip Pack List works the same way. I have included anything I could imagine we would take on our family road trips. These road trips might include staying in a hotel or rental property, camping, and staying with friends or family.
Here's how it works:
Print off the list.
Highlight the items you need for a particular trip.
Write in any thing I might have missed.
Gather the highlighted items.
Cross them off with a pen.
Hit the road, knowing you didn't forget anything!
(Note: you could also print off a duplicate list, highlight it as well then when it is time to pack up and head home, you are sure you didn't leave Read more [...]
I'm not clinically OCD, but I do exhibit many obsessive compulsive disorders, especially in my kitchen. I disclosed this in my pantry post (My Corner Market: Tips for an Organized Pantry) and since it has been pinned over 47,000 times on Pinterest as of today, I figured there was something about my crazy organization skills my followers liked. Today I am sharing a few of my favorite organization tricks from the rest of my kitchen (to see the open house of my Midnight Beach Kitchen, click HERE).
To start off, I like to keep everything in a handy place for where I might use it. For example, my KitchenAid mixer sits in a corner with the flour close by. In the drawer just below I have all of my measuring cups, spoons etc. In the cupboard above are my baking supplies like salt, nuts, baking powder etc. For my "wrap" Read more [...]
I was recently asked to do a cubicle makeover for Brooke Walker of Studio5 for just $50. This may seem like an impossible task, but with a little thought and a lot of effort I think it turned out awesome! I was on Studio5 today, here is the video of Brooke, Darin and me talking all about it:
Here is what the cubicle looked like Before we started.
Pretty typical. Middle of the building, no windows, basic gray and maple.
Here is the After.
Let me show you how we did it.
Feeling
First, it is important to start with the feeling you want the space to have when it is finished. After communicating with Brooke, we understood that what she was really looking for was a fresh, feminine, and simple look for her space. We started with the background and found a clean and funky damask fabric with a small Read more [...]
One more project from the cubicle project, and then the big reveal!
In a small work space, desk top space is at a premium. I decided that two hanging bags would serve as great In/Out boxes. I found these great brown bags, perfect for the cubicle on clearance at TJ Maxx. Unfortunately the design on the the front was hideous, hence the $3 price tag. I bought two of them anyway and made over the back side.
I found two craft paints that matched the design and started taping off the edges. A border of blush and a home made monogram stencil filled in with a soft aqua freshen up the dark brown.
Because I knew I was going to have bird accents in other parts of the space, I couldn't pass up these earings from Forever 21. I just fished the ring through the fabric and attached the earring back on the inside.
Here Read more [...]
Can you guess what is hiding behind these cabinet doors? Would you believe me if I told you that this small block of cabinets is the hub of our home?
They hold office supplies, my crafting arsenal, and all four of my kids papers and art supplies (oh, and a paper junk drawer)!
This has been a dumping ground for years. The counter space is the spot where the rest of the kitchen gets cleaned up to. You know, the place where when people come over all the mess gets "hidden" to. But not any more.
Here are the Before and After photos. You can see that the cupboard on the left is under utilized and the counter is overflowing with unorganized junk. Let me show you how I optimized the space, and organized it for good.
When we built our house, we had the builder install an outlet in the cupboard for our cordless phone. Read more [...]
Favorite Things, Home Improvement, Organization 
8 Comments