by respaced on April 22, 2014
My nightstand has been a clutter magnet for years, probably because it is tucked into the back corner of my bedroom, and I only see it for a couple of hours every morning and night. The rest of the day, it’s out-of-sight, out-of-mind. But then I came across a cute organizing solution and decided to try it out on my nightstand. Here is my nightstand before:
And here is my nightstand after I came across some adorable tins for $4 each at a neighborhood sidewalk sale:
I love how tidy my nightstand looks, and the tins add such a touch of colorful interest to my room! Here is how the clutter all fits neatly into my tin (below). The taller tin just holds my box of earplugs and my reading glasses:
I highly recommend using tins to organize the little piles of clutter that pop up in your house. A few colorful tins clustered together look great. But be warned that if you go tin-crazy and start putting them everywhere, it’s going to look like you live in a thrift store. Fewer tins make a bigger design impact.
I found this AMAZING source of adorable tins here in Portland, Oregon. The candy store Candy Babel on NE Alberta Street offers the mother-lode of vintage tins, presumably to put candy in. But you can also snap them up to use as clutter-catchers! They range in price from under $10 to over $100. Here are some pictures I took in their store:
Feeling inspired yet? Go get yourself a few coordinating tins and see what a difference they can make on your nightstand, end table or desktop. And check out Candy Babel at 1219 NE Alberta Street, Portland, OR 97211. Happy Organizing!
by respaced on April 8, 2014
See how cute these Easter plush animals are, just staring out at you from the store shelf with their big, sad eyes? Wouldn’t your children just love a cute, cuddly, brand-new stuffed Easter bunny for Easter this year? Here is a bit of Easter-related organization advice:
If your kid is like so many other kids, who have a small army of stuffed animals collecting dust in their bedroom AND who refuse to get rid of any of them, then do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy your child a stuffed Easter bunny or any other Easter plush this year.
The reason is, all children seem to believe that their stuffed animals — and really, any of their toys that have eyes — are secretly alive.
Thus, the stuffed animals’ feelings would be hurt if your children gave them away.
Thus, your children will refuse to part with any of their stuffed animals.
Thus, you have to deal with stuffed animal clutter that takes up a lot of space, harbors a lot of dust, and causes battles between you and your children until they are about 18.
So be mindful this year to avoid adding to the stuffed animal chaos in your child’s bedroom. And get the word out to the grandparents and anybody else who buys your children goodies for Easter: NO MORE STUFFED ANIMALS!
Happy Stuffed Animal-Free Easter, everyone!
by respaced on March 31, 2014
Do you have this problem: All of your cups and glasses look identical, so your family can never remember whose glass is whose on the kitchen counter? And as a result, everyone grabs a new glass whenever they are thirsty, so you end up with a dozen dirty glasses on the counter by the end of the day?
I figured out how to solve this! Nathan and I painted plain ceramic coasters with fun designs (no two the same!) and then wrote our names in the middle of each coaster. So now, the coasters live on the kitchen counter and whenever we drink out of a glass, we put the glass on our coaster when we are done with it! No more of the Dirty Dozen on the counter each evening!
You can make these coasters too. (Coasters, acrylic paint and cheap-o paint brushes can be found at Michael’s.) And wouldn’t it be a cute Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift?
