Tag: organized home

Now's the perfect time to decorate for next Christmas

I bought these bottle and mercury glass ornaments at Create and Barrel the day after Christmas. I have been waiting for these hearty ornaments to go on sale because they are prefect for decorating an outdoor tree and you need a lot of them to make a statement. I tied a red ribbon to the acacia tree in front and poked the hangers through the ribbon. The morning sun catches them and makes me happy.

This is the time of year I get ready for next Christmas. With everything on sale, I stock up and keep decorating for the next two weeks. Then, when December comes next year I know exactly what to do and decorating takes a fraction of the time. I even take a picture of my favorite ideas and store a print-out in the boxes of holiday decorations.

I hope you have been enjoying this special time of year. My family had a wonderful Christmas and we are looking forward to a great 2012. I hope you are too!

oxoSarah

DIY 351: Organize Hair Clips Into a Pretty Bouquet

The one accessory I am rarely without is a flower for my hair~especially these hot summer days when I have to wear my hair up to stay cool. The twenty-some flower clips I own were a little hard to sift through quickly until I attached them all to bamboo skewers and put them in a vase. Not only is it the prettiest thing in my bathroom, I can pick a flower and run~I love efficiency!

DIY 354: Organize Sewing Treads in a Printer's Tray

This printer’s tray has been knocking around in a closet for years now. Seriously, I am surprised I still have it. It was a gift from my mom when I was about 12. I kept all my miniature glass menagerie in it until I started high school. Well, let me tell you how happy I finally found a use for it. And a “pretty” use at that.

Keep your treads handy:

  1. Buy a printers tray (search “antique printers tray” on Ebay or Craig’s List in your area) or a shallow shelf. Honestly, even this Bamboo Flatware tray at Target would work great.
  2. Hang it on the wall near your sewing table. Not only is it handy, you can see all the colors better than when they are in a drawer and it’s pretty too!
  3. Fill it up! I find the more colors I have the more creative I get with my sewing. I use a lot of the special stitches on my Viking sewing machine now and everyone is amazed. Really, the secret is knowing what I have and what my machine can do…but I don’t tell them that. 😉

Until tomorrow~Sarah

DIY 356: Keep an Ideas Binder

Every time a magazine or website appeals to me, I clip out photos and ideas and pop them into a big binder. I keep it handy so it’s easy to file things and the clippings don’t pile up. It is, quite literally, my brain food. That, an a good cup of coffee, and I am ready to get creative.

Make your own Ideas Binder:

  1. Buy the largest binder (about 2″ will do) as well as clear pockets from your local office supply store.
  2. Use tabs to mark sections, like: Home, paper, embroidery, color combos, and others areas of interest.
  3. Start cutting images from all the magazines you receive in the mail, then move onto sites with good ideas.

In no time your biunder will be bulging with great references you can use!

Until tomorrow~Sarah

DIY 363: Organize and Hide Clutter

My husband plays guitar, and I love it. What I am not fond of is the messy-mess his this-and-thats make of the living room. Since I would never discourage his hobby by moving him into a back room (where~by the way~I couldn’t enjoy his renditions of AC/DC’s “Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”), I would rather contain his papers and small equipment in a neat package.

I literally measured the pile and went shopping. I found a box at a cute resale/antique shop in my neighborhood called Everything Goes. The box is so unassuming it sits right where the mess was before and looks great!

I hope you are having a wonderful Summer so far!

Until Tomorrow~Sarah

Organize and Hide a Mess in your Home:

  1. Limit to one subject per container. That way, picking up and keeping organized is quick and easy.
  2. Measure clutter to determine what size box. A flexible tape measure works best, but anything will do (even a piece of string!) And, be sure to tuck the measurements in your purse so you can refer to it at a moment’s notice while out and about.
  3. Find a box with handles. This helps when it’s time to move for dusting or to just get out of the way.
  4. Clutter contained. Ahhhh!