Boxwood Clippings

I’ve always loved clothes pegs, maybe because I loved washing day when mum would hang the yummy smelling laundry out on the line, (ha, sometimes when I tell stories of my childhood Brock asks me what century I grew up in!). Anyhow, these are super versicle little tools, here’s how they I like to put them to use.

As a place setting:

Helping to organize my ribbon ends:

 As a label for my plants:

As a tag on a gift:

Plain old chip clip, or in this case marshmallow:

A pack of these run about $1…holler, I can’t think of any think more handy for that price.

How do you put yours to use?

And so it continues…another battle of ‘beat the clutter’!

A couple of weeks ago I finally decided to tackle my linen closet. Honestly, I didn’t think it was all that messy, (I swear in person it didn’t seem this bad) but for sure it was not functioning properly. I couldn’t find anything, and putting linens away became a mini nightmare.

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 But after just two hours of work, this was the reward:

1. The first step (as always) was to purge. I filled a massive garbage bag of sheets and blankets to donate.

2. Then I prioritized what needed to be in the closet. Items like everyday towels, sheets and even guest linens made the cut. Other items like blankets I haven’t used in 5 years, but still didn’t want to give away found their way to the basement.

3. Next, I neatly folded everything and grouped items in baskets. All king size sheets in one, and queen in another…and so on. Not only is this highly functional, but really helps unify the space and makes it look pretty!

4. Finally, I put these little label holders in place to add a bit of charm and remind me where things go. I’m debating labeling the baskets we’ll have to see.

Summary:

Project cost: About $3 for label holders

Project time: 2 hours

Project reward: Prettier as always, but way more funtional…even Mr Faubus praised this one!

I know we just did a post about 10 Things you Should be Buying at Crate and Barrel, but little did we know this new line was about to appear.

Crate and Barrel’s new line Clean Slate’s motto is “utility made beautiful”

Bravo, you did it!

Honestly, this new line has me in a giddy…yes I’m giddy about cleaning and organization products. I bet you’re thinking that’s nothing new; but it’s as if I’ve died and gone to heaven, cleaning heaven! I want, no NEED the whole collection!

Take a peek:

Wow, right?

To check out their whole line, click HERE.

It was about this time last year when we posted about Martha’s new line at Staples (see HERE). Since then we’ve been recommending them to everyone. They are just too cute, and finish any organization project off nicely.

Anyhow, many of her stickers are now on sale. I got all the packets below for only 50¢ each.

So far, I’ve been to Folsom CA and Sandy UT stores and found the deals. Be sure to check out your nearest location, and let us know what you find!

I’ve mentioned before how much I LOVE to wear scarfs. However they created quite a problem in my closet until last week when I finally tacked the issue, and I feel much better!

Before, I would hang my scarfs on hangers, which worked ok, but caused a few problems (like when you take a scarf off and the others become off-balanced and sometimes fall down). Plus, it’s not the best looking option.

Then on a recent trip to Ikea these hooks (see HERE) caught my eye, and they were on clearance from $3.99 to $1.99, not bad for 5 hooks!
And so I had the hubs hang two behind the closet door, and voila! I’m a happy lady.

Here’s one:

Summary:

Project cost: About $4

Project time: 15 minutes

Project reward: Prettier closet, and easier access to each scarf…whoot whoot!

Yikes, I’m really airing my dirty laundry on this one! This is my office closet. It holds an amazing amount stuff including: diaries, college work, craft supplies, important documents, camera’s and photography equipment just to name few. It’s literally the hub of everything, my Grand Central Station if you will!

This closet has been screaming at me for ages, but finally I tackled it head on, on a cold snowy day.

As you may or may not be able to see in this photo, there is good start on organization. The problem was there wasn’t enough of it, and clutter began to breed.

I’ve realized that I’m NOT a messy person, but I CAN create mess, when there’s no where for my stuff to go. So putting it simply, I just had to find a home for everything. And I did…

My first job was detoxing. Throwing away can feel SO great. My recycle bin was full by the end of the day, and I made a good pile of things to donate.

Next, I grouped things together and put them in their own container.

And finally, I labeled all my draws and containers. Not only does that make things easier for me, but anyone else (the hubby) who may need to find something in there. Plus it looks cute, and is my favorite part of this process. :)

Items I’d recommend:

1. File Crate: These stack beautifully and hold a ton. I bought these ages ago because they’re uber cheap (especially around back to school season) about $3 each. They work great for my craft items I like to transport, I just pick up and go!

2. Ikea Boxes: found HERE are great for holding lighter items like fabric and ribbons. 2 for $9.99 is not too shabby!

3. Hooks: found  HERE were my moment of genius! 2 for $2.50 helps me maximize vertical space, and create a home for my camera and laptop.

Summary:

Project cost: About $13

Project time: Between 4-5 Hours

Project reward: Perfect functionality….yipeeeee!

Morning friends! Today I’d like to share the first post from one of my big new year goals: to have a COMPLETELY organized home. This is a massive goal to keep on top of, so I’m starting little by little, and keeping you updated along the way.

My first task was my bathroom drawers. See here how I began organizing with little containers but they were too small and moved when I opened and closed the drawer…no good. :(

By adding more containers ($1 for 3 from the Dollar Tree) I packed them in so they no longer moved around, and although they’re not the perfect match colour wise, they function perfectly together so it’s ok. I tend to always buy white or clear incase this happens!

Project cost: $1

Project time: less than 10 minutes

Project reward: utter bliss! I’m a simple girl!

In my early 20′s I worked for Clinique in England. I LOVED that job, mostly because I LOVE the products and all the freebies I received. At the time I traveled quite a bit and often without much notice, and that’s when I came up with my ‘cosmetic grab bag’. It’s simply my soap bag ready to go at any moment.

Today it’s still one of my favorite packing tips. Just having it ready and handy has proved to be very useful and a real time saver. It’s especially nice to have all new products ready and waiting; and as you can see I like the travel sized items from Bath and Body Works which are often free with coupons. Sometimes I get really nerdy and try and colour coordinate all my products, but hey it’s fun and festive. :)

We just returned from our fabulous wedding weekend, and thought I’d share one of my favorite packing tips.

Sometimes when we’re going away with a big group it’s easier for the hostess and ourselves to pack our own bed, bedding and towels etc…But when you get it all together it can become quite bulky and look something like this:

This is when the Ikea big blue bag comes into play, you know the ones at the check out for only 59¢? Seriously it’s the best 59¢ I’ve ever spent, I use it again and again especially on large items like these.

See look how tidy:

It’s perfect to pack in the back of the car, as it’s a major space saver.

Of course you don’t have to just back bedding, it’d work for whatever to cart around; I’m thinking it’d be supper handy with kids. Do you guys have any packing tips? There’s always room for improvement!

A beautifully organized pantry is a sight to behold, but can sometimes seem overwhelming and unattainable.

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Today I’d like to share just few of our favorite pantry organization tricks to help your pantry become a little more efficient and organized.

#1 Group Complimentary Items Together

It makes no sense to be pulling all of your ingredients for your favorite lasagna recipe from all over the kitchen. Most people store grains with grains or canned food all together, but come dinner time it makes a lot more sense to keep pasta next to tomato sauce, rice next to stir fry mix, and baking supplies all together.

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This dreamy baking cupboard holds baking ingredients and supplies alike in one place. Below items are grouped for meal preparation.

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Grouping items like this helps me so much with mean planning, I can see exactly what I have and what I’m missing for any given dish.

#2 Store Bulk Items Somewhere Else

The number one problem we see when organizing is trying to cram too much into a space. When you have a cluttered pantry, food often gets lost and expires before use.

By storing bulk items in another location such as the garage or basement, and leaving just 2-3 of the particular item in the pantry, you free an incredible amount of space, allowing everyday food to be arranged so it can be clearly seen.

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#3 Baskets, Baskets, Baskets!

Baskets are a fantastic way to group identical items, such as those ten different kinds of rice or noodles you have.

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Another idea for baskets that I love comes from a family I used to babysit for. They had a snack basket, located on a lower shelf in the pantry, where the kids could help themselves to a snack everyday from the items in the basket (fruit leather/granola bars etc). I loved this idea so much, I do the same thing for Brad and me!

#4 Clear Containers

This is one example of how you can change just one thing and make a huge difference in your pantry. We love these plastic containers, especially for cereal.

clear plastic cereal container $3.99

These containers makes it easy for kids/husbands to pour cereal in a flash without having to hassle with clipping the plastic bag and closing the cereal box nicely. It’s also is easier to see when your stock is running low.

Most people keep cereal on one of the top shelves or cupboards in a kitchen. We suggest if you have children, to keep it on a lower shelf. In our experience, kids love to feel independant getting their cereal in the morning and when they’re big enough can pour it themselves.

Overall, with pantry organization you should keep on switching things up until you have a system you are happy with, don’t give up..you will get there!

Do you have any great pantry organizing tips? We’d love to hear…

Today I’d like to share a tip on helping to survive in a matchbox-sized kitchen.

Often, I find it hard to function in my small kitchen. Sometimes it feels like if I pull one thing out of a cupboard the whole kitchen will fall down on top of me. My cutting boards were no exception to this, it was a battle every time I wanted to cut up a tomato!

When I saw these mats in a shop one day they looked very enticing.

Their thin structure, non-stick backs, and labeled function found a way into my shopping cart very quickly.

I came home and weeded through my mountain of cutting boards (don’t ask me how I accumulated so many in three years) and replaced most of my boards with these mats.

Not only do these mats eliminate clutter and save space, but as we live without a dishwasher they help us stay nice and clean by avoiding cross-contamination.

They have held up really well and think they would make a helpful addition to any home.

Today I am going to share how they are one of my storage solutions for living in a small spaces. Remember my love of glass cabinets? They are my new favorite thing to help things keep orderly around here.

By using glass cabinets with containers inside to categorize different items it is easy to create a highly functional space. A glass door is ideal to close on the clutter, and being able to see what you need clearly is a number one priority in maintaining order.

My Mum found these nightstands on clearance at Target when we were engaged. They were pretty, insanely cheap and had a lot of storage..sold! I have absolutely loved them.

Everything I need for my bedtime routine is just an arm’s reach away plus their is plenty of extra storage for small things (secret stash of chocolate).

Surprisingly, this space stays way more organized than any other cupboard in the apartment. Having a glass door forces you to put things where they’re supposed to be. The sides of this cabinet are also glass, creating a light so nothing can get lost.

Most importantly, closing that cabinet door and having all that clutter contained helps me breathe a little easier in our tiny space. For those of you struggling with space..you need a few glass cabinets in your life!

Today we are happy to share a fantastic organization tip.

$1 storage boxes from Sterilite. We use them in almost every organization project we tackle and are pretty much obsessed with them…

In our opinion they are the greatest ‘Holler Dollar’, bang for your buck item you could ever buy to instantly bring order into your home. They are absolutely perfect to corral small items from batteries and hardware to bows and toys.

Hello organized craft cupboard!

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They are also fantastic to streamline a closet. Shoes, belts, jewelry, anything.

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We have zero storage space in our bathroom so I keep extra makeup, toothpaste etc in my closet. I just organized them into these boxes and am so happy with the result. They stack perfectly on my closet shelf and I glammed them up with gold brackets from the Martha Stewart Avery line at Staples.

My next project is going to be our electronic cords that are ALL over the house. I always think I will remember which cord goes to my brand new camera but I never do! I am hoping for a result like this:

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We find our $1 Sterilite’s at Walmart or Big Lots. Other stores carry similar boxes, but we are big advocates of the durability of Sterilite. We recommend you buy just a few boxes every time you are at the store and work on one space in your home at a time.

This way you don’t get overwhelmed, feel satisfied within a few minutes of organizing, and are eager to move on to a different space.

Do you have any place that needs organizing? Give these boxes a try and let us know if you need any help mail[at]boxwoodclippings[dot]com.

For those of you who live in a small space you probably understand when I say that the kitchen can be one of the most challenging areas. No pantry, no cupboards, no space! Forget about Costco’s bulk items or food storage, there is barely room for cereal!

I have used every square inch and have pretty much mastered our little kitchen over the last 2.5 years. I thought I’d share a few of my tips today…

Ask any professional organizer their number one tip in organization. Answer: De-clutter! It doesn’t matter how big your house is, if you have too much stuff the space will be cluttered and non-functional. I am a big fan of getting rid of things you don’t use.

However, I kind of have a thing for pretty kitchenware, and although I don’t need five cake stands, I like to mix it up and use a different stand every time I make a cake. It’s the same theory as wearing the same dress every Sunday…who wants to do that? The same rule that applies in my closet also goes in my kitchen. If I’m using it I’ll make room, if not then out it goes.

The only space available for cake stands and ‘occasional’ items was right on top of the upper cabinets. Ideally I would like this to be empty, but I guess my ‘need’ for cake stands meant our kitchen was going for more of a ‘country’ feel. At first I was reluctant, but I put up a strand of rope lights which creates a nice glow at night. I’ve actually quite enjoyed looking at my pretty dishes when they’re not in use.

The space next to the fridge is a dark, deep corner. It is impossible to use as a work area as the space is simply too tight. I decided to add this cube lamp to brighten the corner and line the countertop with my bulk baking supplies that were overcrowding cabinet space. I also placed the kitchenaid at the edge of the counter. This set up allows for perfect access for baking, as everything I need is within an arm’s reach (smaller baking supplies now have plenty of room in the cupboard directly above this corner).

I also hang my pans right above the sink, again freeing precious cupboard space. I love not having to struggle in a cupboard finding the right pan. Oh, and check out my famous Dualit, which of course deserves counter space.

I now at least have a few cupboards for cereal and a little food. It’s been pretty great set up. I might even be a little sad when we leave this little space someday, just not for too long!

Since I shop all year round for presents I need a place to keep them. My mother used the deep cupboard above our fridge, but for me my guest room closet seemed a nice reachable destination.

The problem I had though, was whenever I’d get back from a shopping trip I’d dump the bag in there, and after a while it became a closet of plastic bags. Which was fine, if we weren’t having guests or I didn’t need to find anything. But the reality is that we do have guests, and I’m constantly running late to birthday parties!

I’ve dedicated the beginning of this year to getting my house 100% organized. So last week, it was me vs. my guest closet.

I won!

First, I spent the morning going through things I wanted to keep or donate. Then I simply divided everything into six boxes: Ladies, Gents, Kiddies, Bows, Bags and Other.

The fun part was placing everything neatly into my favorite boxes from Ikea (see HERE) and labeling the fronts. Basically, that was that.

$30 later, I’m one happy gal and my guest room is ready for anyone at a moments notice:)

The new Martha Stewart line at Staples has been all the rage lately, we just had to go and see what all the fuss was about.

Finding 40% off coupons in our Martha Stewart publications quickly encouraged a visit. Stickers, labels, notebooks, dry erase boards, the woman thought of everything. Her team is pretty much amazeballs:)

I believe we spent at least 30 minutes in one aisle of Staples checking out all the goodies and narrowing down what we wanted to try first.

Our favorite items so far are the dishwasher/microwave safe labels. They are also incredibly smudge proof and dirt proof and we are giving them two enthusiastic thumbs up.

All these exciting new products have definitely inspired some spring organizing.

The other day I was making a new soup and reached in my cupboard for some dried basil and there was none there. What the heck?!

The next time I was at Target I remembered I needed some, but then after seeing the price was over $2 I thought I’d check the Doller Tree next door.

Low and behold they had some, and quite a lot of other herbs also. This is exactly the price I want to pay for herbs, but the packaging was not cute.

Yes sometimes I pay more for the nice packaging!

…………..

Herbs in general are always a bit tricky. When we first got married I tried to only buy the Archer Farms herbs so they’d all match, but it didn’t take long to realized they didn’t have every herb I needed.

Last year I decided to buy all new jars at Bed Bath and Beyond, they were 99 cents each, and I could buy them individually if and when my spice collection grew. Since then I’ve also noticed them at World Market for the same price.

It’s a little bit of happiness opening my spice cupboard to see this:

Simple pleasures people, simple pleasures!

Do you have projects around the house that you just don’t get to? I have many. These mostly small tasks seem to stare me in the face for quite sometime, before I actually get around to doing them; and the bigger the task the bigger the stare! The mental capacity of putting off a task can often be worse than actually doing the task itself. So I have to ask myself…why do I put things off?

Of course there are the usual reasons: time, energy, other responsibilities and distractions, but lets be honest, some of these projects would take five minutes tops.

Yesterday I cleaned my office, not just cleaned but organized to the point that I gave myself a headache. The result is amazeballs! Instead of a room full of clutter, everything is put in it’s place, and that creates a feeling of order and peace.

One of the small side tasks I did, was sharpen all my pencils that have been sitting on my desk for over a year, it’s been a little source of aggravation every time I grab one by accident when I go to write something, but now I am freed from that process! And it literally took five minutes from my day.

Anyhow, I thought I’d set you all a challenge this weekend…

Do one thing that has been bugging you. It can be as small as sharpening a few pencils, or as large as sorting out a whole room; whatever the size I promise it’ll make you feel great, and make your life just a little bit less hectic :) Let me know how you go on.

HAPPY WEEKEND

We’re happy to share a project today, that we’ve just completed! We had a such a wonderful experience working with client, Jaime, to help make her laundry room more functional.

The laundry room is located directly next to the garage, and needed to be used as a mud room too. Jaime desperately needed a reachable space where the kids could stash their own coats and belongings, (with some kind of order), as they came in from the garage.

The cabinets in the room are fantastically tall, allowing lots of storage, but low visibility. It’s next to impossible to keep a cupboard organized when it’s too high up to see in!

We also wanted to add a space for the kids calendars and chore charts etc, and came up with this design board:

Focusing on the troublesome spots of the room, we came up with these solutions:

Kiddie Storage: It’s official that the Expedit bookcase has done it again.  The lower three baskets of the tower hold the kids ski goggles, hats, and gloves.  The upper two will be used for swim towels and swimwear, and be rotated to the bottom in the warmer months.

We added the bench for extra shoe storage and so the kids could have a place to sit as they take off their shoes/coats etc.

Hooks: Jaime already had THESE beauties from Restoration Hardware. Seriously, they’re so beautiful.  We really needed to maximize hanging space so we decided to hang hooks low enough for the kids to hang up their own coats and then hung high ones above for adults.  We also added a row of sturdy hooks on another wall to house handbags, diaper bags etc.

Cupboards: We used small storage containers to group similar items such as batteries, cleaning supplies and laundry items. These are great to use to avoid small items from getting lost, to keep everything grouped together, and a great space saver. They easily stack up on top of each other.  Hopefully this will be helpful so Jaime can just pull out the whole tub and find what she needs.

Notice board: We made a custom notice board using particleboard, batting, 100% linen and heavy duty bolts. We hung it vertically behind the laundry room door to be at kiddie eye level.

Accessories: We added a rod with galvanized buckets and hooks for added storage for keys, thumbtacks, lint or dryer sheets.  We couldn’t resist a stripy rug, which brought everything together, and complimented Jaime’s fun, funky style.

(We wish we had more pictures of the finished room, but alas we were there till dark and image quality was not in our favor:)

Thanks Jaime for being a dream client and for letting us share! We loved this project!

Happy New Year! It didn’t dawn on me until Friday that I was in need of a new calendar!  Usually I fall in love with one in June and have to patiently wait until January, this really is a good indicator of how my life has been this year, ha!  I am totally old school when it comes to Diaries and Calendars. You can always find a pocket calendar in my purse full of post-its, lists and scribbled out dates, always guaranteed by the end of the year to be in an ugly state.  So, today is a happy day as the hunt begins…

Of course I had to glance at Smythson, (did anyone notice the famous stationers in the new Sherlock Holmes movie?)

Panama Diary: I would have to be very rich and also end world hunger before purchasing this baby, but a girl can dream)

Of all the pocket calendars I’ve seen and tried this one has been my fave so far:

Moleskine weekly notebook: It has the week on one side of the page and ruled lines on the other, perfect to make a list for the week.  It also has the elastic enclosure so it’s not all loose in my purse.  Only $7.50 at Amazon, but currently out of stock.  I called BYU Bookstore who has it for $10.50 and you can get it engraved with your initials for free! LOVE!

While browsing Amazon, I also saw these:

Moleskin Daily Planner: A new notebook for each month, ADORABLE!

Do any of you still use an old paper pocket calendar? Any recommendations?