Domestic

The neutral palate of our house makes it super easy to switch out accessories depending on the type of season, holiday, etc.  Valentine’s Day is no exception – except I tried to not bring J’s attention to the changes (boys aren’t super receptive of anything to “lovey dovey” I’ve found out). 

J and I want to work on our gift giving habits and what better way to start than making a few “Welcome to the Neighborhood” gift baskets for our friends moving to our neck of the woods?!

Thank goodness for Cost Plus because most of this stuff can all be snagged up from there for an affordable price.  You can add/mix and match whatever you’re feeling… Happy gifting! 

Colander – $9.99

Wooden Spoon – $0.99

Pasta Sauce –  $5.99

Salami – $4.99

Wine – $8-25

Olive Oil – $6.99

Pasta – $2.79

Other Ideas: balsamic vinegar, cheese, fun cocktail napkins, the options are endless!

PS. Erin and Craig – one is coming your way!!!

So by now my obsession with order and organization is probably relatively obvious. Figuring out the best equation to having a happy, healthy and clean home has been my mission since I’ve became a Mrs. and I think I’ve made some leeway.

I’ve taken the best of everything, from Martha to top organization blogs to Good Housekeeping articles and have put together my own binder of tips and schedules.

1. I’m a magazine addict and I started feeling a little claustrophobic of each monthly edition so I devised a new plan.  When I’m looking at a magazine I rip out a page if I love anything in it – an article, recipe, picture, etc. and after reading through it I file everything into an appropriate file (“read later,” “inspiration,” assorted recipe genre tabs, etc.).  It sounds very un-sexy, but it really has helped not only my organization, but my implementation of all these great ideas we read about every month!

I then created a master “House Binder” where I keep all these great ideas.  My tabs are as follows: Checklists, Menu Planning, Party Planning, Cleaning, Laundry, Holidays, Home, Hair & Beauty, and Fitness.

2. I also created a Master Cleaning Schedule and a Master Cleaning Chart for cleaning each week.  I used to spend all-day Saturday, deep cleaning our house from top to bottom and it really kills your social life when half of your 48 hours off is spent Windexing and vacuuming.  So I made a master chart that gives me “my chores” for the week and I try to do a couple of them in the morning before work, some when I get home and then a little touch-up on the weekends if necessary.  I write in the date once it’s completed and I guess the whole “gold star” thing really worked for me because I feel much better seeing everything I accomplish on paper.

Hopefully these work for you as they did for me 🙂

Being it is January 1st, what better a time to think about things we’d like to work on for 2013.

The last weekend of December I got my house ready for the new year – I emptied and organized every drawer, closet, shelf, and cabinet.  

I was most proud of my closets and wanted to share some of my thoughts:

1. Your closet should be a place that has you excited to get dressed every morning – beautiful things come in all shapes and sizes.  Put them on display! 

2. Your belongings should be easily accessible and visible – clear containers, shoe racks, jewelry displays… anything to help enhance the beauty of your belongings

3. Don’t keep something if you don’t feel or look good in it – so many times I’ve held onto something because I paid a lot for it, or it was my favorite shirt for a summer, but bodies change, styles change and sometimes you gotta let things go

Other tips: 

– Group clothes by “type” (I have my closet divided into work dresses, cocktail dresses, work tops, day tops, skirts, pants and jeans) then group them by color 

– Rotate your closet depending on the season (I keep a large Tupperware to hold either winter or summer clothes depending on the season)

– Display your scarves on belt racks, hold jewelry in clear divided containers, etc. Bed Bath and Beyond sells some great closet additions – check out: Handbag Organizer, Velvet Hangers, Shoe Racks, etc.

– Purge when the mood strikes.  I recommend starting small (sorting your sweaters or bathing suits) instead of going through your whole closet on a Saturday afternoon – it’s less intimidating and can make purging fun!

Hope that helps… Happy Organizing!