The Year of Organized Living- Costume Jewelry

I'm not much of a jewelry person. I rarely wear more than the stud earrings that I leave in all of the time. However, like most women, I have accumulated a collection over the years and figuring out the best way to organize it, has been a challenge.

When I first started at my most recent stint in retail, I had to dress up for work. This was uncharted territory for me. All of my past jobs have been blue jean appropriate. In the four and half months that I spent working for Nordstrom, I not only purchased new clothes, but had to get creative with skirts and tops that had previously been labeled my "church/funeral" attire. In addition, completing the outfit with jewelry was not merely recommended, but mandatory.

This wasn't such a bad thing. Dressing up can be fun and I rediscovered a lot of pieces lurking in both my closet and jewelry box.

I own two very pretty cherry wood jewelry boxes from the Bombay Company.

On a side note, I believe all of the Bombay Company Stores have closed in the US, but was happy to see one alive and well on our trip to Vancouver. That was always one of the best stores for browsing. I've always wanted one of their full length mirrors!

So, I have these two jewelry boxes, one belonged to my mom, but the problem is, they don't hold a lot. They are more beautiful than functional. The only part that is truly functional are the velvet rows to hold rings. My problem was all of my necklaces and bracelets turned into a tangle of knots and were getting ruined. I needed a solution.

Cue Ikea ( You probably thought this was going to be another Bed, Bath and Beyond rave, didn't you?)

Dan and I were walking in the kitchen department when inspiration struck.

The bars and hooks were shown in Ikea to hold kitchen utensils, but Dan had the idea to repurpose them to hold my necklaces and bracelets. It worked perfectly and was less than fifteen dollars for the whole set up. Nothing gets tangled, everything is easy to find and it's mounted to the wall, so it doesn't take up additional space. We picked the red hooks to match the red theme in our bedroom.

This was one of my favorite organization projects. Since I can easily see my jewelry and access it, I wear it much more often, even though am no longer working for Nordstrom.

Unfortunately, I still have messy jewelry boxes, as not everything could fit on the wall. I picked the pieces that I wear most often for the wall. The remainder of the jewelry is another project waiting for an inspiring solution.

The Year of Organized Living- Martha Stewart Edition

A few weeks ago, Dan and I acquired a few organization tools from Staples. We had a coupon and browsed the Martha Stewart collection of office supplies. She has some great stuff that is not only cute, but very functional. I made a mental check-list for more things that I would like to purchase in the future.

Sadly, we are on a limited budget, so we walked out with two items.

The first resolved a big problem. We didn't have a good place for incoming mail. The mail sat in little piles all over the living room and we only dealt with it when the situation got out of control. This created unacceptable clutter. Our solution was this Martha Stewart Letter Pocket that now hangs on our wall, beneath our key holder. It's a visual reminder of the mail and so far, we have been much better with properly filing documents, paying bills and throwing out junk. It has been an indispensable organizational tool.

Our second problem is dinner time. We often fail to plan dinner and this means of course, that we have created a plan to fail. It has led to loads of eating out and unhealthy choices. Admittedly, right now we have a lot going on and most nights, one of us is out of town. However, I'm hopeful that things will calm down in the near future and we can use this board to plan meals for the week, helping us stick to a grocery budget and a healthy eating plan, together as a team.

Our Martha Stewart week board. Unfortunately, it's not magnetic, so we used our magnet collection to hold it up. Please don't judge the meal choices or messy writing!

The week board has a sticky back, but we didn't want to make anything gummy, so we used our magnet collection to hold it up. It made a cute frame of all of our vacation memories. We also had to buy the dry erase markers separately.

I'm trying to figure out a use for the Martha Stewart labels and tags, because I think that they are so adorable. If I can justify their use, they will be purchased the next time we are at Staples. I'm thinking maybe for closet and kitchen organization. There is still so much to be done in the house!

Super cute Martha Stewart Labels. I covet them!!!!

The Year of Organized Living- Family Edition

My organization in 2013 kick has now extended beyond our home and into my aunt's house. My aunt and uncle have lived in their home for thirty-five years and the junk has accumulated. My uncle is a complete pack-rat who used to love to hit garage sales and their house is a reflection of years of mild hoarding (lots and lots of books).

My uncle's health has declined and my aunt is getting older, so in the last year, she has been slowly donating and trashing unnecessary stuff. Really, my uncle's poor health is the only way that she has been able to get any of this done, as she secrets it out during his naps. If he realized how much she has cleared out of their house, he would not be pleased. Of course, the house is greatly improved by her actions.

On Tuesday, my aunt and I tackled the top half of her hall linen closet. The top three shelves have been a catch-all for junk. It's one of those that you don't open, unless you are prepared to catch everything that it about to tumble out. We had a rouge lightbulb fall and smash on the wood floor. Not a good situation.

As with all organization tasks, we started by removing everything and sorting it into appropriate piles. My aunt had tons of expired medicine, dating back to 2002, tons. There were loose light bulbs everywhere and a lifetime supply of hair spray. As we went through the cupboard, she lamented on all of the wasted money with unused prescriptions and items that she bought not realizing that she already had a ton. Organization is good for your wallet!

This had been in the cupboard for decades!

Sorting piles in the hall. We also used the guest bedroom (my room) and the office for piles.

I do have a bit of an ulterior motive, that my aunt was quick to point out. One day, I will either inherit the house or have to help my family move out of it. One way or the other, I will have to clean it and it's just easier to chip away at it a little each time I visit. Plus, it makes it easier for them living in it now. I would urge anyone in a similar situation to do the same.

Having lost my mom, I can assure you that cleaning out a relatives house is far more difficult when under stress. Do it while they are alive and can help. Plus, it's a great idea if they can tell you about important mementos, it's a bonding experience. My mom went through her jewelry box with me and then took it a step further and labeled all of the important pieces. I would never have known which ones were my Grandparent's Wedding rings or sentimental pieces that my father gave to her. It means a lot now.

I went to the adult toy store (Bed, Bath and Beyond) with my coupon and spent twelve dollars on three plastic storage containers. One container has all of the floating light bulbs, safe where they won't break. Another has travel sized items and the third contains first aid items. The boxes are labeled and clear for easy access. I may go back and get a few more to further organize the space, but at this point it's a million times better than it was before.

Please don't tell my uncle that we got rid of about 80% of the stuff! I really scored with a find that was hidden deep back in the cupboard.

I have used this style Bobbi Brown make-up case for years and my current one wore out last summer. I wanted to ask for a new one for Christmas, but found out that it had be discontinued, which is crazy, since it's so perfect. My aunt had this and it had never been used, so she gave it to me. A huge score. Cleaning can lead to hidden treasures.