Book of lists

I love to create lists and here lately I have been slacking. The only lists I have been creating of late are grocery lists for Roe. I guess between my camera, my laptop, my Iphone, and my Kindle  (digital overload) I have fallen off with my traditional habit of hand writing out lists as a way to organize my thoughts. Lists are ways for me to not only to remember little things like "Hey we need more deodorant" but  a way for me to map out and structure my dreams, aspirations, and desires.  So to get back on track  I created for myself a pretty little "Book of Lists".

Taking a plain kraft paper covered mole skin notebook, a piece of 12"x12" Amy Butler Scrapbook paper, and a glue stick I covered the  notebook old school style like we used to do in elementary school.

I took an additional piece of scrapbook paper to create a decorative inside cover to hide the edges from where I folded the paper over from the front.

I then used my much neglected Xyron to create a label for the cover from a simple print out made in Mac Pages.

This project was extremely easy and took 10 minutes top. If you ever covered your text books in school then you can do this.

Now I have a cute little notebook to tote around for all my lists.

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What is in your purse?

I love to carry big bags, however, the only drawback to them is that I tend to carry a lot of stuff and if they don't have a lot of compartments or pockets then things can get lost inside. Constantly digging and hunting in your bag is not cool. So when I saw the Grid-It organizer on the Real Simple blog  and the Levenger's catalog  I thought this was the perfect solution to my big bag dilemma.  

I have my Kindle charger, Iphone, Iphone ear piece, hair clip, and Mac lip gloss all where I can find them. Not hiding out in dark recess in the bottom of my bag.

The Grid-It is an organization system made up of rubberized bands which allows you to place your items in a variety of configurations. And because of the patent pending technology your items do not move around and yes those puppies really do stay in place. It is flexible and versatile since you design the placement of your items to fit your needs. Plus the Grid-It comes in a variety of sizes. I purchased one of their smaller versions which is roughly 10" by 5". I think I may purchase another one because I can see this really coming in handy when we travel and will be a great way to organize our electronic gadgets and cords. 

Plus don't you think this is a lot sexier than using ziploc bags (which I have done on occasion) in order to organize items in your purse.

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The Horror that lived under the stairs

I have organized my books in the basement by color, which was much harder than I expected and I am still not completely satisfied with the results. I think I may need to accessorize the shelves better which means a trip to Marshall's or Home Goods (the problem is finding the time to do it). And there is an orphan shelf on the bottom right for those books I couldn't fit in anywhere. What to do????

But this post is not about our bookcase but the horror that lurks behind this door. The door to the storage closet under our basement stairs.

What I am about to show you is shameful and horrifying. I wish I could say that its only been in this stage for a short but that would be a bold face lie. Its been this bad for a loooooong time and we have only added to the pile over the past year till it was as out of control as you see here.

This is what bodly greeted you upon opening the door. Hey look at me I'm the Peterson's debris from home projects and somewhere is this heap are our home, gardening, and paint tools as well as seasonal decorations.

And it didn't get any better the further you went in the closet.

At first I played with the idea of putting in some type of closet organization system but when I really thought about it I came to the conclusion that the closet was too narrow for us to get large bulk items on and off shelves and what we really needed was just a good old fashion purge.

The closet below the stairs had become our dumping ground for anything we didn't want to go through and divide into keep or toss, so by default we just kept everything. It was also where we threw any of our tools or left overs from home projects without any thought to organizing them.

A couple of weeks ago I rolled up my sleeves and just decided to jump in and tackle it. It's not the sexiest or most glamorous before and after but it sure as heck a 100% improvement.

Now when I open the door I am greeted by nicely stacked bins that hold all our tools and seasonal decor. What a couple of Ikea bins can do to cutting out the dread of going into the closet. I just need to add labels now to each of the bins.

And now I can actually walk all the way to back of the closet and everything is neatly stacked and clear and out in the open. No more searching through bins and basket. No more reject furniture. No more junk!

No More Horror Beneath the Stairs!

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Got the Organizing Bug: Bookcases

Some of our basement bookcases. They are Ikea Billy bookcases that we built dry wall around, fastened together and secured,  and then finished with simple trim moulding to save on having custom built ins done.

I think its partly a symptom of the time of the year but all week I have been going around the house and taking stock of all the things I want to reorganize or redecorate in the house. And I must tell you that I have a long punch list right now. Most of the items are projects that will not require much money but could make a big difference in the look of a room. One of the projects that I started 5 am Friday morning was reorganizing our bookcases.

I am a book hoarder and there are books in practically every room in the house.  I have always been a voracious reader and it was a hobby that my mother developed in me. Every Saturday she would take me to the bookstore and buy me one book. She also bought books for me on my birthday, for Christmas, and as rewards for good behavior.  When I became old enough I went to the library every day after school and would spend hours upon hours reading my weekly selections. Even now I find it a special treat to be able to spend the whole day in Barnes & Noble. To accommodate all the books we have 5 bookcases in the basement and 4 bookcases in the office. However, I want the bookcases to be a little more stylish looking and not look so packed.

(I am also seriously contemplating thinning out our collection. Just writing that causes a pain in my chest. I love my books. But I reluctantly admit that every book is not worth keeping after being read. Some books are purely light reading, a distraction for the moment, a form of escape from the daily stress of reality, and after they are done should be passed on. While others are great books that I digest in small pieces and come back to again and again.)

Yesterday I put together an inspiration board of ideas I would like to put to use in our bookcases throughout the house.

All photos except for the bottom right are from HGTV, I can't remember where I found that one.

Some of the tips I want to use are

• Arrange books by color. I think this will be somewhat time intensive trying to categorize them by color and also insuring there are enough books in one color grouping to make an impact. I mean who actually considers the color of the book cover when making their purchase decision of a book. But arranging them by color just looks so cool. I think we have enough books throughout the house to be able to do it.
• Vary how you display the books - lay some on their side and others up and down.
• Be asymmetrical - vary shelf heights, use dd number of display objects, place display items off center.
• Vary the height of your accessories - mix large, medium, and small.
• Be creative with your display objects and use a variety. You can use photos, vases, bowls, cake stands, statues, large rocks, plants, flowers, etc
• Create layers with display objects - overlap photos, place objects in front of others, etc

I am going to see what items we have around the house to integrate into the bookshelves but it may require a trip to Ikea or Home Goods.

I will post pictures after my revamp. But I think this may be an ongoing process of edits but I know there is definitely room for improvement now.

Next up my closet!

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Got the Organizing Bug: Magazines

I caught the organizing bug this morning. Every so often I get an itch to organize some little item around the house and today it was the magazine collection in our office. We keep them neatly organized in magazine files and baskets from Ikea, however, I think our collection had just got to be too much. We had catalogs that I had stowed away with the intention of buying some bookmarked item that has long been forgotten. We had issues of magazines as far back as 2005 which have not been touched since their initial reading. Some of the magazines were hard to part with because of that nagging feeling that there just might be some useful tidbit of information in them that I will need at some future point in time.

To cut down on the magazine clutter here are the new magazine rules:

• Only store 1 year's worth of issues of any one magazine 
• All issues older than a year will be purged and recycled. 
• Before magazines are purged articles of interest will be clipped and put into a clear plastic protectors in a binder.

I also had to seriously think about what magazines were worth having a subscription to because I am prone to being a magazine junkie. Here is what made the list and all other magazines will be read in the grocery checkout line, online, or when I am relaxing in Barnes and Noble (which probably doesn't make any magazine editors too happy - sorry!).

• Martha Stewart Living
• Better Homes and Gardens
• Food Network Cooking Magazine
• Martha Stewart Everyday Food

How do you organize and catalog your magazines at home? How long do you generally keep them? What magazines d you read religiously?

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