Beautiful Organizing #3

How many times have you gone to the store to get something and then forgot what you needed when you got there? Note to self: Writing a to-do list saves time, energy and aggravation. 

I write everything down. I made a organizing to-do list for each room in my home. This allows me to write down what I want to organize, ideas I've had or maybe seen in blog land or Pinterest. This way when I get to that room I have everything I wanted to do written down. Easy peasy!!

If you are like me you have post-its EVERYWHERE!! Take all those notes and gather them in one place. Start jotting notes down in a notebook or planner that you can carry with you. Or if you are that addicted to sticky notes you can put them in your notebook. Then you will have access all the time to cross off your list.

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Or, if you are a really smarty pants you can use your smart phone. Me??? Not so much!!

Categorize your to-do lists. And, what I mean by that is. Keep errands to run together, any calls you need to make together. Other categories could be goals, projects, and shopping. If you keep everything together then you won't have to look in 20 different places for something. 

I keep a blog planner and it is categorized by all things, blog, organizing and decorating. 

A couple other things you can do is prioritize your planner. Or break it down by day, week, and/or month. But, keep up on it. Your life will be so much easier if you write effective to-do lists. Believe me!!

Whatever you do create your planner, note book or to-do list according to your life style. I've seen lots of planners that look amazing but there are things I would never utilize so it was easier for me to create my own.

Now, last week I said I had a big announcement......

If you been following my blog then you know how many time's I've moved and if you are new here, let me break it down real easy for you. 8 TIMES IN 8 YEARS!!! Was that easy enough??? I am not a happy camper. So for the next couple months I will try and blog as much as I can. And, I will take you on my journey. Are you ready??? Cause I'm not.

Now it's time to get...

Have a CRAZY BEAUTIFUL week!

Beautiful Organizing #2

My first tackle in getting organized was my home office. And, the best way to organize, is to pick an area and go with it. Don't try and organize a whole room you will get burned out and overwhelmed. The first area I choose is the desk.

When I tackle a desk or anything with drawers, I take everything out of them. This is the best way to clean out the clutter and put back just what you want to keep.

It's amazing the crap that accumulates in a drawer. Another thing I do is keep all "like" items together. My stapler, staple remover, and staples are all in one area. Believe me I learned this the hard way. Have you ever had to look in 20 different places for one thing and wonder why it wasn't with the rest of "it's group"? 

Ummm, Yeahhh! I have...Can you say frustrating!!!

I also use a lot of containers especially in areas that have a lot of wasted space. If you have space, then utilize it. And, another thing I do is make labels. Especially for containers or drawers. Then I can see what's in them. So much easier, especially for those of us getting older and can't remember where are glasses are. Oh! they are on our head!! (Yep! I've done that)

I don't keep a lot of files anymore. Just important things like taxes, insurance, owner's manuals, etc. All my bills and banking stuff is paperless. And, I toss receipts once they clear unless it was something expensive and paid with cash. Look how I shrunk this file drawer down. I'd say I have more room for bloggy notes ;-)

The most used drawer in my desk....

I took everything out and measured the drawer for dividers. These file boxes fit perfect.

Oh the feeling of opening something up and being able to see everything. 

Now that the desk was cleaned. I decided to hook up my new printer and clean the little space next to the desk. I knew it wouldn't take long and then I would be done with this whole side of the office.

If you don't know what to do with extra paper that won't fit in your printer. File holders are PERFECT.

Well, isn't that better.

I will blog about my desk accessories in another post. But, here's where I sit to hang with all my bloggy friends :-)

When you are organizing you need to set priorities.

• Set goals
• Establish balance in your life
• Don't be afraid to say "no"
• Prioritize
• Remember that 80% of the time is spent doing 20% of the work
• Schedule tasks ~ Resist surfing the Internet or constantly checking e-mail, Facebook  etc. I know believe me, easier said then done. 
• Make to-do lists. 
• Spend your time wisely

I will be tackling more of my office, and there may be a BIG announcement soon!!

Now it's time to get....

Have a CRAZY BEAUTIFUL week!

Beautiful Organizing - #1

One of the things I'm hoping to do this year is to get really organized. So, I think if I make a weekly post about organizing it will help me and hopefully you.

I've tried to do several challenges and all I did was....

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I have come to realize that it's OK to get rid of things that are no longer working for me. Especially since my style and color selections for my home are changing. 

Now to pick a room...The overflowing office or the crammed closet. Whatever room I start with it's best to start small to avoid getting overwhelmed. I don't like limits or restrictions because that's when I fail at my projects. 

One of the must haves for getting organized is to have some bins, boxes or baskets to manage your piles. Make sure you label them and DO NOT go back through them!! Here are some labeling suggestions.

Take the trash to the garbage can, put the sell or donate box in the car. Set aside items to fix with a 3 month deadline, then get rid of it!! 

If you are having trouble letting go, box it up for a year. If you haven't needed it, you'll be ready to toss it. And, if you are one of those people that saves empty boxes for a future move, LIKE ME. Because we all know I move every year. Break those boxes down and recycle them. I am, after I move in a couple months. (That's another blog post for another day...LOL)

A few things to keep in mind. Create an organizing system. Whatever you do, make it simple. Purchase containers that fit the task. Label containers, folders, and boxes, so you can quickly identify the contents. Or you can take a picture of the contents and tape it to the front of the box. 

Before you purchase something, make sure you have a place for it. Better yet, purchase something new only if you get rid of something old.

And, if you can't organize alone it's OK. Get help from relatives or friends. 

My first tackle is going to be the office...This is going to be embarrassing but it is what it is. 

I'm not scared!! I made a schedule. I will be organizing in this order: desk, printer stand, book shelves, window shelf, magazine basket and then the closet. I saved that closet pic for a later date, it will send someone to therapy for sure.

Now it's time to get.....

Have a Crazy Beautiful New Year!!

My Trashy lil Treasure...

A big downfall to downsizing to a tiny lil house (temporary move) is that there is no room for anything. One lil bag can clutter it in no time. And, the worse part is there is no garage. So, everything I do has to be done in the house or on the porch on a nice day and those days are far and few between this time of year. 

So my recent trip to Goodwill sent me into depression :-(

 I will not be re-doing any furniture anytime soon and this makes me sad because I really wanted to buy this beautiful piece of furniture and re-do it. 

Oh how the visions were dancing in my head.

I opted for something smaller...Now don't get too excited!

I spent a whopping 1.50. I have a plan for this little piece of trash treasure.

All I need is a piece of newspaper, tape, spray paint, etching cream and a sponge. 

I plan on using this little treasure in my office and I am going for a French Vintage decor and every thing is off white and black. I haven't figured out the "POP" of color I'm going to use yet. I'm willing to hear any suggestions on a third and maybe fourth color for this room. 

I wiped everything down and let it dry and taped off the flowers. I like the color that they are.

Thank goodness it was a beautiful day and I took full advantage of it by getting the spray painting done.

While I was letting that dry it was time to etch the glasses. I wanted to do a Fleur de lis design on the glasses to match the room. I made my own template. I just found a design online and printed it on a piece of paper and cut it out. 

It was the perfect size for the glasses. I just held it up and it was time to sponge on the etching creme.

I will have to come up with a better template idea the next time. Paper was a little flimsy and stuck to the class when it got wet but overall it did the trick.

It's really hard to take photos by yourself when you are working on a project. I had to do magic tricks to get action photos...LOL

I did have some smears of etching cream but nothing a razor blade didn't scrape off easily. The glasses turned out perfect...OK, maybe not perfect but it works!

Here's my lil trashy treasure...

Now I am able to incorporate my paint brushes into the decor in the room. It keeps them at arms reach and organizes them in a decorative kind of way.

Overall, this was a simple re-do that turned out to be a beautiful piece of my new room decor. 

Isn't it amazing what a lil spray paint and etching cream can do to a lil piece of trash treasure.

And, the total cost was around $7...even better yet!!

My room is getting done one piece at a time (Boy, could this take awhile). 

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON LATELY?

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"My Home" Journals

I am forever looking at decorating/organization magazines and not to mention my 53 boards on Pinterest. At least I'm organized on Pinterest because my magazines have taken over.

They are thrown in a basket, piled on a shelf, sitting on a table, and not to mention the stack I get in the mail I haven't even looked at yet. I'm sure I am not the only one that has magazines all over the place. I always keep them thinking I will need to comeback to the great idea I found. Now, that is funny because I wouldn't know where to begin to find that idea. 

I was thinking I really need to organize these magazines without keeping them. It took me a while to come up with an idea that would work for me and not create more clutter. I pulled out my craft tote and found some page protectors. This is a good start!

I have these really cute 7 x 9 binders. I just love them because they do not take up a lot of room, fit perfect on my shelves, and they are perfect for the photo journaling I do. (That will be another blog...hopefully soon)

I think I have everything. Let's get started!!

The first binder is for "My Home". It is filled with all kinds of neat ideas for the house. I not only cut out ideas in the magazines, I also cut out phrases and words. I use them through out many of my journals. This one I used "Your Home" from one of the magazines and cut out photos of different areas of the home and pasted them on a piece of scrap paper and made the cover of "My Home" journal. 

The different categories are: Living room, Kitchen, Bedroom, Office, Bath. And, in those categories I have some sub-categories such as Laundry, Bedroom 1, Bedroom 2, Foyer. 

In each category, I add any ideas that I find that I love about each room of the house. 

Some I slide down in page protectors.

And, some I glue on scrap paper and make notes about anything specific I like about each one. 

My second binder is full of decorating and organizing inspirations. 

My categories for this journal is: Color, Shelves, DIY, Organize, and Outdoors.

 

This is where I keep color combinations I like...

Shelf decor ideas, any good DIY projects...

Organizing ideas and dreamy outdoor projects. It's still a work in progress. But, at least I will have all my decorating and organizing "LIKES" in two places. Either on the shelf or on "Pinterest".

 I think I might be on my way to being organized. OK! not really but it's a start.

WHAT GREAT ORGANIZING PROJECT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON???