This post almost didn't happen. I ended up with a sinus infection (again!) that crippled me...do you get those? So horrible and they feel never-ending...the moment relief came was AMAZING!!! So onto today's post, how to DIY free drawer organizers! The idea came about when I was getting ready one morning and I opened up my make-up drawer. I don't have a "before" picture to show you but suffice it to say I dumped most of it out and promptly trashed all of my old makeup, brushes and whatever other random things made it in there. Here's my emptied drawer! You'll need the following things that, after Christmas, you'll most likely have on hand: A cardboard box Wrapping paper Scissors Glue stick Clear tape The next step is the hardest: measuring! I re-did this ... [ Read More ]
Well that failed! How to Organize your Junk, Take Two!
Remember that very proud post I wrote about how I set out to organize my junky cabinet? Here's what it looks like now: What I did was clearly NOT working for us. Things were in the wrong spot, some of the bins were too shallow and they kept falling everywhere, my daughter surely learned more swear words....etc. In short, it needed a new plan. The major failing of this system I think was that there were too many bins, some of which weren't accessible unless you moved other bins out of the way. Plus, like I mentioned, some were way too shallow for the what that bin's purpose was. What I decided to do was try and categorize everything into 6 equal sized bins (2 per shelf) that would (hopefully) perfectly fit each side of the kitchen cabinet. After some measuring, I ... [ Read More ]
Storage Solutions for Small Spaces!
Some people have asked me why my design blog features storage/organizational solutions and crafty things. It's a good question! Here's my take on good design - it goes hand-in-hand with having good organizational solutions for the space that you're designing. And sometimes you have to get creative with how to organize all the things which brings out the crafty side of me! So there you have it - that's why my motto is: Design, Organize, Create! Take these plywood boxes I found at the dollar store: In our guest room/office, I needed some space to house the little things: paper clips, post-it notes etc. When I found these plain plywood boxes, I thought they'd look really great stacked and mounted in an area right by the desk that's out of the way - but they needed a little ... [ Read More ]
Quick Organizing Tip if you have Stairs!
Do you live in a home with multiple levels? We have three in ours and while it provides a great exercise routine (ha!), I don't enjoy having to lug an armful of stuff up three flights only to have dropped something in between. Enter this organizing beauty: It's a bin I found at Michaels for 80% off - 80% OFF!!! Here are the tags in case you're interested in finding the same ones: I bought the two that they had and placed them on the stools at our front entrance (which happens to be at the bottom of staircase #1). While helping me keep my main level organized (every time I think of something that needs to go upstairs, I drop them in one of these bins), I found that they hold quite a bit! And they have greatly helped me tote the important things: Well, important ... [ Read More ]
Monthly Feature: Design Finds at H&M!
H&M. You probably know them as the German-born well-priced trendy clothing store that finally made its way to Canada but they now sell home goods that you can order online! (My credit card was excited by that news). While I titled this post as "design finds" I'll be focusing on something I'm currently in need of lately and this place has a lot of lovely ideas for it: STORAGE! Here are a few that caught my eye: All photos courtesy of H&M This straw basket will corral your kids' toys, books, whatever needs storing in a chic and natural-looking way. I think H&M actually shows it being used as a plant holder! I have a 3 year old so some cute items are bound to pop up. And this little bunny covered dish is no exception. I can see it being used to house my ... [ Read More ]
There for the Making – The Zero Dollar DIY Challenge – February Edition!
Sarah from 'Flourish & Knot' gathered a great group of bloggers together for a few challenges in 2017, all revolving around DIY solutions that only use materials you have on hand (i.e., you're not allowed to spend any $$$!) February marks our first challenge and I had some work to do to figure out what I already had to solve a few problem areas in our home. I decided to tackle a small area of our pantry that is overrun with plastic bags. Anyone else have this issue?? I thought a reusable fabric bag could hold them all in but this is what it looks like: And more often than not, this is what happens: The solution I used came from a former co-worker of mine (Marc, if you're reading this, I first thought you were nuts but now I think you're a genius!). It ... [ Read More ]
A tale of two cabinets…
Well, one really that's split into two. And when I went in to reach for something recently in said cabinet, twelve things fell out and smacked my head in the process. So here I am with another organizing post! This cabinet is in the kitchen right by the back door and it serves as a multi-purpose storage space for things like tape, change, sewing kits, scissors, etc. I was so frustrated that I don't have many before pictures (believe me, this space was JAMMED!) but here are a couple to give you an idea of the mess that was inside: To put it all back together required a purge and an assessment of what we need/use in this jack-of-all-trades cabinet and then something to categorize all the stuff going back in. Say hello to these little wonders: I had measured the space ... [ Read More ]
Organize your Christmas-y Things and More!
I'm telling you, January brings out the organizing in all of us! Ok, in some of us. Maybe just in me then. So here I am with another organizing tip that I hope will save you (and me!) some head-banging when Christmas 2017 approaches. Years ago I had cleaned up our basement (*don't look at it now*) and I had beautifully labelled every box. Then we needed more storage space so I became ruthless when going through those boxes and I didn't update the labels. So when Christmas came around and I was looking for my decorations, in one box marked 'Christmas Lights' I ended up with photo albums (*cue a few choice curse words - and then a few more*) This year I'm changing that! Enter these beautiful $6 bins from Walmart: And the colours!!! There was more selection in ... [ Read More ]
Organize with yogurt cups!
Happy New Year!!! Did you have a great holiday? My heart (and stomach!) are absolutely full - I hope yours are too! Now that we're in January, thoughts turn to getting our lives back into gear and, like most stores are telling us to do, organize! My next project will make you think that I've lost my mind but one morning, as my daughter was finishing up some of her yogurt, I stared at the empty cups and a lightbulb went off! (Literally and figuratively as John just turned on the living room light that was above my head). I thought about organizing small do-dads into yogurt cups! These are the ones I'm talking about: They are tiny but oh so useful! I have cleaned up and saved all of her yogurt cups since and set out to use them for a myriad of tiny things I wanted to ... [ Read More ]
No more rummaging! (Organize your purse!)
This is my purse. A vision, oui? All those receipts, spilled make-up, earrings, random stuff... Every time I had to find something, I had to wade through waves of stuff to find whatever it was. And it always took me FOR-EV-ER to find anything despite it not being a very big purse! Enter this new beauty: She is my new fall/winter bag and I love her. Her beauty inspired me to buy these lovely organizing helpers: They're from Chapters and the sayings ("Like a Boss", "I can and I will" and "World Domination") are an adorable bonus. I then dumped out all of my stuff out of my bag and divided everything into these 4 pouches. The first holds my receipts for the month (which makes me feel like I'm being accountable - "like a boss"): Next up is my make-up pouch. ... [ Read More ]
