Hey guys!! I know it’s been a while since my last post (more on that another day), but I wanted to stop by to let you know that I’ve been posting over at the amazing A Bowl Full of Lemons blog.
Here’s a link to my post for today — it’s all about meal planning for lazy people:
Y’all ready for this??
Head on over to A Bowl Full of Lemons to check it out & share your shortcuts!
Today is my first contributor post at A Bowl Full of Lemons, and I’m sharing some quick tips for organizing the fridge:
Head on over to Toni’s blog to check ‘em out, and please make sure you leave her some love in the comments section!
Oh, and here are a few of the links for the products I used to organize all of my goodies!
Similar Storage Drawer
See ya there!
Annie from Annie Hearts is popping in today with her favorite time-saving holiday shortcuts. Take it away, Annie!
Thanks for having me back again Casey! Today, I have some tips to make life easier around the holidays. Let’s start with these two cute Christmas snowflakes.
The first is a Christmas Tree Touch Switch that lights a tree with just a touch. I used to have to reach behind the prickly tree to get to the extension cord. With this little snowflake, I place it at the front of my tree and all I have to do is touch the snowflake to light the tree. So much more convenient! It has four settings, increasing in brightness with every touch.
The snowflake switch is available at Home Hardware in Canada, and the tree switch is available on Amazon.
The second snowflake is a Christmas tree water sensor called the Thirsty Light Snowflake. We always get a real tree and it soaks up water like nobody’s business. When the tree stand is empty of water, the needles drop a lot faster, and sometimes the ornaments—with no needles supporting them—drop right after them. No one wants to see Frosty lying on the living room floor without his head. Not to mention—and even more important (sorry Frosty!)—a dry tree can also become a fire hazard. This sensor, which can go on the tree skirt or right in the tree, flashes red if the stand needs more water.
My last tip involves Christmas baking. I’m a mad baker for most of the year, and during the holidays, I really let loose in the kitchen. Plus, my husband loves chefing it up all year round, so our kitchen sees a lot of traffic. Our utensil holder used to be a jumbled mess of cooking utensils mixed with the spatulas and wooden spoons I use for baking.
One day, after I finally found my smallest spatula buried under all the bigger utensils (it had “gone missing” for what seemed like a year), I went downstairs to my vase stash and dug out this white ceramic one I found for a buck at the thrift store.
I put all the spatulas and wooden spoons into it. Now no spatula is getting lost. AND the wooden spoons are right there. Ain’t nobody misbehaving in my house!
My husband is quaking in his flannel Christmas jammies! 
Happy holidays everyone!
Having a spare bathroom or two in your home is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it means you’ve got a large, opulent home that you’ve probably worked extremely hard for – congratulations. On the other hand, it means you’ve got not just one, but two (or maybe even three) bathrooms to design…
Designing a guest bathroom is one of the hardest interior design tasks that a homeowner will have to undertake. That’s because, unlike, other rooms, the guest bathroom has to please both homeowner and guest. It needs to suit you AND anyone who might potentially visit your home or stay overnight.
In this post, I’m going to outline some simple ideas that can help you toward designing the ideal bathroom for both you and your guests.
Most bathrooms fall into the middle ground of design, straddling the fine line between boring and opulent. It’s a shame that more people don’t express themselves fully with their bathrooms, but that’s a story for another post.
For a guest bathroom, that compromise between boring and crazy is exactly what you want to achieve. The bathroom should be lively but not over-the-top; opt for neutral colour schemes (whites, creams and light blues are particularly effective) with matching fixtures. Try and avoid any extravagant fixtures and choose simple steel taps.
On the opposite side of spectrum, avoid being too boring. Accessorise the bathroom in a classy manner; a few flowers, an unusual lighting fixture; anything that can add a bit of life to the room without becoming an eyesore!
Guest bathrooms are usually quite a bit smaller than the master bathroom, making the way you use space extremely important. For maximum comfort, you need to focus on making the room spacious and, if needs be, sparse rather than packed full of objects but cramped.
A good layout can make all the difference with a guest bathroom, so play around with various configurations and see if you can find a way to lay out the room to maximise floor space. If needs be, scrap some of the less essential items in the room – does a guest really need a bathtub when a smaller shower would suffice?
Lighting will also play a big part in the size perception of the bathroom. Make sure any natural sources of light aren’t obstructed and that any lightbulbs used provide sufficient coverage of the room.
A good rule to follow when decorating a guest bathroom is to have one eye-catching feature. A single eye-catching feature, such as an illuminated mirror or an elaborate lighting fixture, can draw attention away from an otherwise dull bathroom.
The various bathroom requirements of your many guests’ means that you need to be adaptive with your storage space; too little and you face annoying your guests, too much and you risk wasting valuable space.
The best way to get around this is to create some unique and interchangeable storage solutions. Wicker baskets make for excellent storage and can be moved around as you wish. A large bathroom cabinet can also provide a good option, provided it’s decorative and can serve some kind of purpose regardless of whether your guest is storing anything in there or not.
In short, a guest bathroom can be difficult to get right. With the right planning and a bit of your own imagination, however, achieving guest bathroom perfection isn’t impossible.
Christopher Smith is writing on behalf of illuminated-mirrors.uk.com, specialist LED bathroom mirror suppliers
My friend Sandra from Simple is Pretty is stopping by today to share a few of her favorite laundry tips, and guess what?? She brought presents!!! One lucky winner will get to choose their favorite lavendar bags & wool laundry balls from her brand new Etsy shop, and ALL of us get a discount! Get ready for some awesome DIY tips to help make your laundry routine feel like second-nature!
In our house, laundry is ongoing, but I’ve learned a few tricks along my way. When Casey asked me to share some tips with her readers, I was honored! Here is how I do laundry in my house…
I try to do at least one load of laundry a day to keep up. We are only a house of four, but I find if I leave the laundry to one day a week it is a very dreaded day that drags on forever.
I have two young boys and they each have a laundry hamper in their rooms. When it is time to do their laundry, I just dump the hamper into a laundry basket and remove any whites to wash separately (since we don’t have a lot of white clothes in our family, I wash everyone’s whites altogether). The laundry basket with one son’s clothes goes downstairs to be washed. I usually do my other son’s laundry the next day using the same process. This way, I don’t have to worry about sorting, since only one son’s laundry is in the basket. I just fold it and take it straight to their room to put it away.
I like to start a load of laundry before breakfast and then the load is usually ready to dry shortly after breakfast. I’m not super fond of doing laundry (I imagine many people feel the same), I try to get my least favourite tasks done as soon as possible in the day so I don’t have to worry about them anymore. Laundry is no exception!
I use cold water to wash most of our clothes. Cold water helps prevent the dyes from different color clothes from fading and also transferring to other clothes in the same load. If I have new blue jeans, I usually wash them separately or in a jean only load for at least the first 3 washes and I also use 1-2 cups of vinegar in the washing machine (or in the detergent dispenser) to help set the color. This method also works well for red or pink colors to help prevent dye transfer. The only time I use hot water is to wash my white towels. I find the hot water just works better to get them super white.
I use my own homemade laundry detergent to wash our laundry. I originally got into making my own laundry detergent because my oldest son has sensitive skin and is easily irritated by detergents and fabric softeners. But I really love how it works for my family and I like knowing what is in our laundry detergent.
I also don’t use fabric softener. Instead, I use vinegar with a few drops of lavender essential oil in the softener dispenser. The vinegar smell washes out in the rinse cycle. Clothes are still soft and smell good and the towels will be more absorbent.
In my dryer, I use wool dryer balls. They save time and electricity by drying your clothes faster. The dryer balls absorb moisture and provide better air circulation by rotating the clothes. I usually use 4 to 6 dryer balls depending on the size of the load of laundry.
Thanks for the tips, Sandra!! If you’re interested in trying some of these laundry products at home, then you are in for a big treat!
My friend Erin from Managing the Manor is stopping by today to share a few of her favorite tips to help you get organized in preparation for the crazy holiday season. Take it away, Erin!
This special time of year is filled with many traditions, parties, shopping, decorating, and of course eating…lots and lots of eating! But as joyous as this season can be, staying organized during it all can be a chore and possibly quite overwhelming. The good news is that there are simple things you can do now to be prepared for the holidays—things cost little or no money. In fact, there are some things to help you save or even make money. That’s always good news, right?!
The list below is based on 3 things we started doing this year to help make our holidays run more smoothly.
List all the guests you plan to invite, menu concepts, a grocery list, and any other items needed such as paper products, decorations, favors, etc.
My events are kept inside my planner on a notes page beside each week. I also utilize the Notes feature in my iPhone to jot down any items I think of when my planner isn’t with me.
Bonus TIp: If you’re feeling extra motivated, buy an item or two (non-perishable) from your lists every week leading up to each event. This will give you time to look for good sales and help spread out the expense a bit. Your checking account will thank you!
List all recipients, along with gift ideas, and enter a budgeted amount for each. This will help you stay on track for spending. If you’ve already started shopping (yay you!), then list what you have bought for each person. This will help you stay organized when wrapping.
My gift list is also kept inside my planner. Because it usually stays in my purse, I have it with me when shopping and can refer to it if I find something from my gift list. I’m already way ahead on my shopping than I have been in years before because of doing this very thing! #winning
Because several people on my gift list may read this, I won’t share a picture of it. You get the gist, though!
This may not sound like a holiday-ish tip, but it absolutely makes sense for this time of year. While you may not have time to do a full reorg of each room, you can at least pull out unwanted or unused items and take action on them. It’s especially helpful for kids’ spaces, to make room from goodies from Santa.
For example, these are some of the bulkier toys in our bonus room that were seriously outgrown by our 3 year old son.
I gathered them, along with other smaller toys, and put them into storage in our attic over the weekend. He hasn’t even missed them!
Our toys were put into storage (for a future little one to use), but another thing to consider is to sell them. Sites like eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook could be used to sell any gently-used toys and electronics. People may be looking for good deals on items from their shopping list, so you’ll just be helping each other!
And it doesn’t have to stop with kids’ stuff—you could possibly sell your own clothes, electronics, and appliances to make a few bucks. I plan on listing a gaming system, gym equipment, an iPod, and some clothing items on Craigslist and/or a Facebook page. The money from that can be used to fund other gifts on our list this year.
One final thing to consider is to donate items to charity. Yes, you will get a tax deduction; but more importantly, you will be helping out other families in need this holiday season. That could be the greatest gift you give this year!
Thanks to Casey for letting me drop in again to share these simple tips. This type of effort on the front-end is completely worth it, especially when it helps you to stress less this holiday season. I can already feel a huge benefit from being more organized this year, and I hope you all feel inspired to do the same!
Happy holidays!
I am a huge fan of collaboration & great teamwork, and my girls here at Pretty Organized are definitely worthy of some appreciation & recognition! You’ve probably seen them pop in with little gems of goodness from time to time, and in case you’d like to know a little bit more about the girls behind this blog, here’s a fun little “getting to know you” post all about my lovely contributors!
Annie: The Notebook (I know, corny, but it reminds me of my love and I finding each other again after over a decade of being apart), Million Dollar Decorators (I’m obsessed), True Blood, Game of Thrones.
Beth: TV- Modern Family, Arrested Development, Sherlock; Movies- Anchorman, The Holiday, Elf.
Erin: Dirty Dancing is my old school fave, but newer ones include ones w/Adam Sandler and ones done by Judd Apatow (Casey, holla!). TV shows mostly include network sitcoms (Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, etc.). I also still enjoy catching Friends and Sex and the City whenever I can!
Erin: I have 6 toes on each foot and…only kidding. I actually do have flexible toes. As in, I can bend most of my them back to my foot. Gross, huh? On a more serious note, I recently changed careers from being an accountant (for 6 years) to being in marketing (account management). I did it within my same company, so it was an easier transition, but it’s been crazy/scary/exciting learning all about the world of marketing!
Beth: Although it was for varying lengths of time, I have lived in the same number of states as I have countries. (Georgia , Alabama, Colorado; U.S.A., Germany, United Kingdom).
Annie: I’m allergic to gluten and so I can’t have wheat. I’m a baking fiend and I have really delicious cookie, muffin, pancake, pizza crust and pie crust recipes I plan to share on annie hearts. I’m a sunset junkie, which is why I bought the house on the river.
Last but certainly not least, I can see my toilet from my bed because my second floor has NO WALLS. Yet.
Annie: TRAVELING. Australia and New Zealand. Aruba. Spain. The California coast. And returning to visit the city I was born—Lahr, Germany. I haven’t been there since I left to come to Canada when I was two. So yeah, TRAVELING.
Beth: Run a ½ marathon (or maybe a full marathon….let’s not get too ambitious here).
Erin: Sky diving. Now that I know so many people that have done it, it makes it seem less bucket list-ish, but it still would be awesome.
Annie: To become instantly zen, no matter how crazy things around me get. I would be Yogannie. Or Zennie. I think the second one because I like the thought of my supercape having a “Z” on it.
Erin: Being able to clone myself. Work full time, go on a date with the hubs, play with my son, AND come home to a clean house? Sign me up!!
Beth: Time travel. So that I could have time for naps when needed. Plus, how great would it be to re-live important milestones in life?
Beth: Our laundry room, and my new coffee bar!
Erin: Our son’s “big boy” room. We created a room that our son just loves, and because of so many DIY projects, we saved boatloads of cash!
Annie: the powder room because it’s pretty much done! Except that I want to change the light fixture…and I’ll probably want to paint it again after that…ahh the life of a DIYer!
Annie: Mrs. Meyer lemon cleaner, my hairdryer/flat iron/curling iron holder, and my scarf organizer.
Beth: I love using clear storage jars for organizing. I like the “Flash” cleaning products you get in the U.K., because they smell so good! There is also a product called Oven Pride you can use for cleaning your oven. It is completely unnatural and probably a carcinogen….but I’ll tell you what, my oven SPARKLES after I use that stuff.
Erin: Vinegar and baking soda for cleaning (all-natural baby!). Baskets and caddies for organizing.
Annie: Using a timer to force myself to do something I don’t like doing, like cleaning or tidying up paperwork. Does that qualify as a life hack??
Erin: Using baking soda to cure the sting and severity of sunburns. I discovered this one earlier this summer (via Pinterest), and it works like a charm! I had been out in the sun way more than I should have been one day, and could see my skin getting really pink within a few hours. I mixed the baking soda with water to make a paste, and dabbed it all over my shoulder, arms, and back for about 10 minutes. I hopped in the shower to rinse it off, and the next morning, my skin wasn’t pink anymore and I had zero pain! I didn’t even peel! I know, I still have damage to my skin—but it was nice to not have that burning reminder the next day.
Beth: Don’t iron…….ever.
Thanks so much for sharing, ladies!! (And thanks for the shout-outs, too!) If you want to read more about them, you can see their profiles on my About page, and make sure you visit their blogs to see more of their creative projects! Erin is at Managing the Manor, Annie is at Annie Hearts, and Beth is at Incomplete Guide to Living.
First of all, I’d like to send a HUGE hug to the first blogger who gave me a chance — the amazing Jennifer Jones of IHeart Organizing. Her blog has been such an inspiration for me, and she’s a big part of why I decided to start writing Pretty Organized. I could not believe my luck when she invited me to join her team this year, and I will be forever grateful for all of the opportunities that have come my way since I started contributing for her! I have met so many new bloggy friends & connected with so many wonderful readers thanks to Jen. Her generosity and kindness are absolutely amazing, and she is so down-to-earth about everything that it almost seems like she doesn’t realize what a huge celebrity she really is!
I’m not kidding when I say I’m pretty sure that Toni Hammersley is Superwoman. I have been reading her blog for a while now, and she is everything I have always wanted to be — naturally organized, ridiculously on top of things, and full of smart solutions. Oh, and her planning skills! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS ORDERLY!!! She’s basically a planning ninja.
Seriously, this woman’s level of preparedness in any given situation could put the Girl Scouts to shame, and I am SO excited to start working with her & the rest of the amazing bloggers on her team!! Head over to her blog to check out the amazing line-up, and please leave her some love!!
I still feel very new to the blogging game, and these girls have been so patient while I’ve figured out how to manage contributor schedules and brainstorm ideas together. They are creative, hilarious, and just downright fantastic!
Blog: http://incompleteguidetoliving.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IncompleteGuideToLiving
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncompleteGuide
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/beth_wightman/
Blog: http://managingthemanor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Managing-the-Manor/610068179007825
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lolasc08/
Blog: http://anniehearts.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annieheartshome
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annieheartshome
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/annieheartshome/
Are you addicted to adorable accessories? If so, my girl Annie from Annie Hearts has some stellar storage solutions!
I don’t know when it started, exactly, but one day I looked in my closet at the mountain of scarves and realized I needed an intervention. And I’m not talking about a get-rid-of-scarves intervention. That’s crazy talk! said I to myself. I don’t need to purge my scarves! I just need a better storage solution.
I found this guy at Solutions here in Ottawa, also available on Amazon.
I organized my scarves according to color.
That’s not that many scarves, you say? Annie, your scarf-oholism is totally under control, you sweetly tell me. You are so kind.
And I, on the other hand, have no shame. Wools and cashmeres and silks, oh my! (It’s actually more like mostly cotton with a handful of the above, but let’s just have fun pretending.)
These don’t include our winter scarves. They’re too thick to fit into the slots in the wood hangers, so they need their own special hanger.
These include my husband’s scarves, so it’s not that bad. Or is it “my husband’s scarf” in the singular? Whatever, moving on…
This hanger is from Ikea, the Komplement multi-use hanger for $7.99.
And did you notice the umbrella hanging behind the scarf hanger on the far right?
Who needs an umbrella stand? The umbrella kept slipping down on the floor from where it was propped in the corner of the closet. I would just kick it to the back of the closet and one day, my husband picked up the umbrella and put it on the rod. Clearly, he’s the brains of this operation.
Thanks so much, Annie girl!!
“Do what you love because how you spend your days becomes how you spend your life.”
I’ve been writing annie hearts in my head for years. Growing up, I was a wanna-be interior designer with grandiose schemes for my parents’ home, much to their dismay. I’ve been doing sewing, painting and refurbishing projects ever since my mom first sat me in front of a sewing machine and my dad taught me to use a paintbrush and a hammer.I got hooked on DIY blogs right around the time I bought the little house on the river. Seeing the before and afters, the transformations on a dime, I thought, I’d love to do that. DIY blogging had my name—and my house—written all over it.
I’m posting over at IHeart Organizing today with a few super simple slacker-friendly tips for making your evening routine as quick & easy as possible!
Oh, and here’s a little sneak peek at what you’ll see when you get there:
Oh yeah! Head over to IHeart Organizing to check it out & share your favorite shortcuts, too!
