Whats In Your Purse

How many of us women get our daily workout by just carrying around our handbag? I know I do. We have so much stuff just thrown into these monstrosities, that we don`t even know what`s in them and we`re to afraid to find out. Here are some tips to help organize your purse and hopefully make them a little bit lighter. 

Only the Essentials 

Our wallets are one of the heaviest items in our purse, and for many not because they are full of money. To lighten the load try having two separate wallets. One for the pieces you use everyday such as your drivers license, health card and major credit card. Keep the other wallet at home with all the other non-essential cards. 

A slim key chain wallet is a great idea to help you only carry your essentials around, and provide a great place to keep the keys from getting lost. 

Adding Storage 

Most purses come with very few built-in pockets to store all the small things that you want to keep together, like cosmetics, or keep discreet, like feminine products. Because of this you often end up with stuff everywhere. Zipper pouches or small cosmetic bags are the answer. They help keep together all the products you have buried in your purse. 

That Beautiful Face Doesn`t Need That Many Cosmetics 

Toss the entire pharmacy supply of products you're carrying around back into your home cosmetics stash. There are so many travel size makeup products out there that will do the same job but take up much less room. Try one of the all in one compacts that incorporate all products into one case. 

Small Change = Big Money 

Empty spare coins weekly into a jar. After a few months take them to your local grocery store or bank and convert them into bills. You'll be surprised how much extra cash you had stashed and how much lighter your purse becomes. 

Remember the bigger the purse the more stuff you`ll keep in it and the more weight you`ll be lugging on your shoulders on a daily basis. 

Organizing for a Move

We`ve all done it at least once in our life. Whether it be away to school or upsizing the family home to suit the ever growing family. Myself, i`ve done it at least 5 times over the last few years. It`s the ever dreaded task of moving.

Do you really need that? 
Moving is the perfect time to evaluate your home and its contents to decide what is worth packing and hauling to the new location. If you have not used any items in the past year then chances are you’re not going to use them in the year ahead, so save yourself the hassle and get rid of it before the move. 

Be Realistic 
Know how much space your new living environment offers and decide how much you will be able to comfortably store. Make a list and sort your items by those that you absolutely must keep and start from there.


Get Your Sharpie Ready 
Labelling is the key to any move big or small.  Put only items from the same room in one box and label with the room and the specific contents. This makes it easier for those helping you in the move to put them in the exact location they need to be.


Sorting 
In order to try and function on a normal level during a move, group the most important items together / what your going to want to unpack first. For example in season clothes are going to be more of a priority to get to than out of season.

Happy Moving! 

Organizing On A Budget

Organizing and decorating doesn`t always have to be expensive. Here are some tips that will help keep the cost of organizing and decorating to a minimum.


The Dollar Store

Some of my favorite organizing solutions have come from the dollar store. Because it`s an everything store, you often come across other items that you can use in an organizing capacity such as baskets or vases that you may have never thought of for that purpose. They also have a great house ware section with everything from hooks to boxes that aid in every organizing conundrum, and all for a dollar!

Reuse and Repurpose 

Some of my previous posts discussed the reuse and repurposing of items such as frames, mason jars, glass bottles and many other items. Simple things that would otherwise be thrown in the rubbish can often be turned into organizational wonders and cost next to nothing!! 

Use What You Have 
Sometimes your best organizing solutions can already be found right in your home. Often moving furniture into another room gives it a brand new purpose. Here are some examples, but there are really endless possibilities.

Move a dresser into a living area to store books,  movies or other odds and ends in your living space. 

Simply add a narrow countertop onto of two dressers to create a desk or makeup area. 

Move an old dresser into a hallway as a storage unit.
Simply taking out the drawers and removing the inner hardware can turn it into a bookshelf to!

What`s On Sale 
Over the past few years I`ve seen the openings of stores that specifically sell storage solution items. Some items are unique but others are the exact same things sold in the big box stores for 50% more of the cost. I suggest going into the storage specific stores to have a look at what they suggest for your organizational inquiry, but then head to a big box store (or even the dollar store) to see if you can find the same item for cheaper; which often you can! 

You did what with that?

I thought I would keep on the recycling theme and speak of recycling items into things that you may have never thought of. It helps save some space in the landfill and creates a new wonder for your home!  

I drank that bottle for my art project 

For all you wine lovers in the audience, why not make a cork board out of all your old corks. Take an old frame and as you finish your bottles of wine glue the corks in a grid pattern against the back board. It makes for the perfect to hang photos, notes or other household paper clutter. 

Shoe Hangers for more then shoes

Between the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room cupboards who knows where all your cleaning products are when you need them. Why not use up the space behind the door to store all your cleaning products by purchasing an inexpensive shoe holder that hangs on the back of the door. A shoe hanger for more then shoes? Who would have thought! 

Put a little spice in your bathroom 

Inexpensive spice racks from Ikea or a home store are the perfect size for cosmetics to help clear off the bathroom countertop. 

A new use for an old chest 

An old chest can be the perfect place to keep all your files and other important information organized. Simply run a rail or piece of doweling down either side of the chest to provide a place for your hanging folders. Inserting some cork along the lid can provide another organizational option. 

A hanger & shower curtain rings 

A simple hanger and shower curtain rings can turn into the perfect place to hang and store your scarfs or belts. Try it! 

A palette table 

Simply adding some inexpensive legs and glass top to an old palette can give you a new artsy coffee table. Who would have thought! 

Peering through the glass 

An old window frame can become the perfect place to hang your previous memories. 

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose

Some of the best organizational tools may be right in front of you and you don`t even know it. Repurposing items can be the key to your next organizational job. With a little bit of elbow grease who knows what they could turn into!

(1) Glass Bottles or Jars 

Spray paint old mason jars in a funky design to store and hold all your beauty, makeup or bathroom supplies. 

Even attach them to a plank or wood that can then be hung on the wall. 

Just by adding some labels to old glass bottles, they can become the perfect storage for cooking or baking items.

With a little bit of paint, any old glass jar can be the perfect cute storage solution. 

(2) Aluminum Cans

Turn old aluminum cans on the side, which makes for the perfect storage solution in a home office or front hall. 

Attach the cans to a piece of plywood to create an art area for the little ones of the house.

Think about adding a piece of wallpaper or a coat of paint to the cans to tie them into any part of your home. 

(3) Baskets

Why not hang baskets on the wall for storage and free up some floor space! 

(4) Frames

Take the glass out of an old frame and string some twine or wire across, to make the perfect place to hang necklaces, earrings or other jewelry. 

Remove the glass and screw in some hooks to create  a place to hang your keys. 

Insert a sheet of lined paper in an old frame and use as a dry erase board for memos or shopping lists. 

(5) Pots

Decorating old pots big or small, can make for storage solution in a bathroom, bedroom, living room or home office. Even consider them in the kitchen by the sink to hold your  sponges or other washing items. 

What`s at the back of your closet?

Your closet can look like this! 

The changing of seasons brings about the perfect time for cleaning out and reorganizing that cramped overstuffed closet that we all have. A closet is probably one of the hardest organizing tasks to tackle, so i`ve summarized my top 5 tips for tackling your closet 


(1) Empty it! 
The first step to organizing your closet is to take everything out. With all this "stuff" create 3 separate piles; the first for the keepers of in season clothing; the second for the keepers but out of season clothing; the third the pieces that have outstayed there time in your closet that your ready to donate. The general rule of closet clearing is to get rid of anything you haven’t worn in a year or two along with any items that don’t fit you any more. 


(2) A wardrobe for all seasons 
The best way to make your closet more functional is to pack up seasonal items into storage bins that you can tuck away into less accessible places until they are needed. One of the most unused spaces in a bedroom is underneath the bed. This can be a great place to store these seasonable items in inexpensive plastic containers made for these unused spaces. 


(3) Group It 
Organize the clothes that you are keeping into categories: work wear, casual wear, formal wear, etc. Then, within each category, group all the tops, pants, skirts and dresses together. The final step to this is to group like colored items together. 


(4) To hang or to fold 
Strategically decide what to hang and what to fold. This is largely a personal decision but can be dependent upon how much space of each you have. If you find you don`t have enough of one or the other the hardware store has some inexpensive solutions to adding another bar or some stacking storage shelves. 


(5) Unify 
What you’re using to organize your closet can be just as important as what’s in it. Stocking up on the same style of hangers helps create a cohesive look and can save space. 


The best tip I can offer is not to get overwhelmed. Once you`ve hauled everything out sometimes it looks like the task maybe more then you can handle, but trust me once it`s finished you`ll be happy you did it! Take it one step at a time. 

Pass The Remote

It`s that little piece of electronic house ware that we all can`t live without. When it goes missing there is a housewide APB sent out for its. What else would get such a fuss then the television remote. If your anything like my house you probably have 2 or 3 for each television as well. I`ve been exploring some inventive ways to store your television remotes so the search has to be no more.

Side Couch Organizer

This option is great if you lack space around your living room. These can be purchased at any home outfitting score, or make one yourself for a more personal feel.

Baskets

Baskets, whether wicker or metal, make a great storage solution for remotes. There are so many different styles out there, so choose one that best fits with your other decor.

Decorative Plate

Not only do decorative plates make a great and convenient place for you to place your remotes, they also act as an art piece for the room.

Plant Pots

Plant pots are a great inexpensive way to store your remotes. You can paint and decorate them in different colors to fit into your room.

Vases

An old vase is a nice sleek way to store your remotes, just be sure the opening is large enough to easily access the remotes.








As i`ve said before the decision on what to use, largely depends on your decor and what works best for you and your family. Happy channel surfing!

Memories Are More Then The Things

The one downfall I have with the "stuff" in my life is that I seem to collect a lot of it; not unlike many people I know. I particularly noticed this from my recent travels abroad. I had saved every ticket, every brochure, every program of every event and once I got home I had no idea what to do with it all.

Thats when I started to realize that the memories are not in the things, and sometimes they`re not worth keeping and cluttering up your space with. Don`t get me wrong, I still have a shoebox full of the more important mementoes of my travels, but not everything is worth keeping. For example do I need every single t-shirt that I picked over my university career... probably not.

So I guess the point to this post is that i`ve learned that just because you let go of a few things doesn`t mean the memories are gone.

My organizational tips to getting rid of "momentous" pieces are as follows:

(1) Make them electronic. Scanning or photographing helps clear up space, but still gives you a smaller piece of something to look back on.

(2) Limit yourself. Maybe save 1 thing from each special occasion. Do you really need 3 programs, 5 tickets and your robe from your graduation day? Think about it...

(3) Think about what your kids or grandkids will want to see. Things are saved to help stimulate and bring back memories of a certain event. Think about it in the context of what your kids or grandkids will want to see in the future. Will they get the significance of a ratty old t-shirt with your sororities name on it? Probably not...

I hope some of these tips can help you clear some room in your closet to bring in new memories.

Jewellery Organization

Don`t you hate it when you reach into your jewellery box and pull out a tangled mess of necklaces, that take you longer to unscramble then is worth the time. 

As my necklace collection continued to grow I knew I needed somewhere better then the bottom of my jewellery box to display and organize these prized possessions. For the past few months they have been hanging on push pins inside my closet, but after some Pinterest 'researching' I came across a new idea. 

I took a trip to the hardware store and picked up 5 dresser knobs, a picture hanging hook and a discount 2 foot piece of crown moulding. Drill 5 equally spaced holes in the crown moulding and insert the knobs. Screw in the picture hanging hook into the back. I found it was better to place one on each side, so that when the weight changes with the placement of necklaces it still stays centred.  And with that you have an expensive looking display, that your necklaces will be proud to hang on, with no tangling! 

"Now where`s the other one"

Shoes! We all have them, and for us girls we have a lot of them. For years when standing at the front door in a hurry to get out I always found myself saying "now where`s the other one", searching through the ever growing pile to find the matching set. Clearly they weren`t organized.

I have tried a number of different types of shoe organization methods.

My first solution was baskets for each type of shoe. One for flats, one for flip flops, one for heels, etc. As much as it narrowed down the search, I still found myself digging to find the matching pair. I also found that smushing all my shoes together didn`t leave them in the best condition. 

My second attempt at shoe organization was an exposed shelving system. As much as it was easier to find the pairs of shoes, I found I would have needed 10+ more shelves to fit my entire collection and I just didn`t have the space for that.

My final and current attempt has brought me great success. In my closet I have individual plastic boxes for each set of shoes. The labels clearly tell me what is in each box, and the see through nature of the boxes also give me a glance when deciding what I want to pair with my outfit for that day.

So many shoes seem to be the achilles heal of every home, but don`t be afraid there are a ton of organized solutions, one that just may work for you!

It`s All About You

Organizing is largely about you and your needs. Not all systems work for all people, so you need to work out what`s best for you.

I can`t tell you how many times I have organized my Dad`s office, just for it to return to it`s original state a week later. That`s when I realized that my organizational style clearly wasn`t what worked for him. So after some observation & examination I came up with a more appropriate style that worked for him. I was more of a file away type, he was more of a toss it in a labelled basket type.

So do some observation to see what would work best for you and your family. It may take a bit of trial and error but in the end it will all be worth it, because your never going to stay organized if your system doesn`t work for you!

Maybe this is his style? 

Welcome to 'Keep It Organized'! 

When I was little I used to go over to my best friends house to play (as most kids do). Her mom ran a babysitting service out of their house, so there were always oodles and oodles of toys to play with. Every Saturday when I got dropped off and we marched down to the basement I would say "we have to organize the toys, before we can play". So there we would sit for hours making sure every toy was in the correct bin before we could get to the play. For any other kid cleaning up was the worst part, but for me it was the best... I think that`s when we all knew I was destined to be an organizer. And ever since then that`s just what i`ve been. From my notebooks in school to my kitchen cupboards I love to organize! Which has led me to this, sharing my love & passion for organizing with all of you!

In this blog I hope to share tips, tricks and some of my own organizational stories. If you have any questions of your own that your having trouble solving feel free to post them in the 'Your Organizational Obstacles' section of the blog and i`d be happy to give you my two cents.

Happy Organizing!