Decluttering Your Jewelry

I somehow managed to accumulate quite a bit of jewelry. Everything from antique pieces, sentimental items, and tons of fashion jewelry. The later of the three has built up into a mess! I have found myself running out of room to store my pieces. I have a large floor standing jewelry box, several small boxes, and miscellaneous other places I have been storing my stuff. Our current home isn't the biggest, so storage space is fairly limited. I have also found that my big jewelry box and even the smaller ones take up quite a bit of space. I needed to eliminate them for the time being and come up with another option. The first step, of course, was getting rid of pieces I didn't need!

I used the KonMari method for decluttering again! I ended up with a bag full of trash and a medium size box that will be going to donations. It felt great to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff! I was also able to find a more convenient way of storage and don't need all the extra jewelry boxes!

If you haven't subscribed to my youtube channel you can do that by clicking HERE to catch my latest videos. Here is what I did to declutter my jewelry! Stay tuned for how I organized everything soon!

Love and Hugs as always!! 

Getting into Organizing: Starting with the KonMari Method

We have been working on our house over the last several months. Progress definitely took time due to life's circumstances, but we are back on track. While we did some updating most of our things went into boxes, and unpacking those boxes was definitely not something I was excited to do. You don't realize how much stuff you have until you try to box, pack, or move it!

We still have a ridiculous amount of boxes to move home and unpack. I don't even want to think about that task! I will say that things have gone much more smoothly than I expected. I mentioned before that I have never really had an issue throwing things away, but the KonMari method helped further the progress! Things that I may have saved thinking "maybe" or "I may use this one day" got donated or trashed, and it felt good! To be totally honest the less clutter I see the less anxiety I feel, and that is a good thing!

We have been working on an entire home overhaul. There will be several things that will still take time to update, but the main rooms are finished, thank goodness! I have plans to update both bathrooms (new counters, fixtures, showers, etc. but that takes time). We are also planning on converting the garage into two additional rooms which will include a living space/game room and a laundry room. We will also be adding a sun-room and deck plans in the backyard.

With this being said I am going to go step by step through the updates and do an entire organization series. I will be including the KonMari method of decluttering because, lets face it, it is much easier to organize when you don't have piles of unneeded stuff! I will also include storage items I used, pins I have come across, and tips and tricks I have found helpful.

First things first! If you are ready to get organized then lets get to it! As I mentioned, you need to go through items by category! Start with whatever seems easiest to you! If you are ready to tackle clothes then go for it! Just make sure you go through EVERYTHING in that category! So if you pick clothes then empty your closet, dresser, grab the laundry....all of it! Pick up each piece (yes, each single piece), hold the item, and ask yourself if it brings you joy. Do you feel happy about this item? Do you like how it fits? Do you wear it often? If you doubt that you will wear it, haven't worn it in a long time, the item has defects, etc., then toss it!

Some of your items are going to be stained, torn, or may have seen better days, so go ahead and trash them. Other items may be great for donating. To start just make a keep pile and a discard pile. If you are up for it after you decide what you are keeping then go through and decide what to donate. The goal is to declutter, not cause more stress for yourself! I managed to rid my closet of 102 pieces of clothes! I am estimating 90 went to donations and the remainder went in the trash. 

Again, if you don't want the stress of deciding to donate or junk it then just donate (or trash) all of your discard pile! I know for some people it causes more worry and you definitely don't want to have bags of "donations" sitting around your house for weeks. If you aren't planning to immediately take your items to donate them, then junk them all! The goal is to get them out of your living space as quickly as possible. 

I want to reccomend picking up a copy of Marie Kondos book! You can find it online or at most bookstores. I picked up my copy at Target for under $12.00. So grab your copy and get started. We will start the process soon! Stay posted for my latest videos and more posts to start our organizing series!

Love and Hugs!

Getting Organized Series

I told you in my last post about my love for organization and planning. If you missed it you can read that here. I have been working on several projects and decided that it may be fun (and hopefully beneficial) to start a series on organization! I love finding new ideas and options for organizing my home, work space, makeup, planners, and everything else!

Below are a few pins and ideas I found via Pinterest. Some of these I currently use and others are just fun options. I will be doing room by room posts for this series in addition to other fun tips and tricks. Check out my pinterest for more ideas!

Fun Ideas!

 

1) Makeup

I'm sure you could guess that I would start here! I love to have my makeup sorted and organized because its much easier to find what I am looking for! I currently use clear acrylic storage from muji and a few other brands I have found along the way. The Muji drawers are my favorite! You can find those on their website here! There are other options available, and you can also find acrylic style storage at your local  Marshalls and Ross!

 

In addition to regular makeup storage I keep my brushes stored in clear glass containers with colorfill (they are almost bead like) that I picked up at either Michaels or AC Moore. Mine are similar to the one pictured (I just have several containers lol). This will give you an idea!

 

(The brushes are not mine, the storage picture is mine. This is before I rearranged and finished everything. Stay posted for that tour!)

 

2) Closet

 

 

 

 

Ever since I was young I liked to keep my clothes organized by color. Not only does it look pretty and clean, but it is much easier to find what you are looking for! If you know you want to wear a specific pink top then you go to the area that is pink and there it is! I use the retail color method (roygbiv). You can do this for books displayed on shelves too. 

 

 

 

3) Drawers

Drawers sometimes tend to get cluttered. We all have that one junk drawer, but not all drawers need to look like the one containing every random and unused item . There are some great drawer organizers, or you can be crafty and use shoe boxes for storage! Here are a few ideas! I also like the idea of folding t-shirts like the picture below! This makes it easier to find what you are looking for compared to traditional folding and stacking.

 

4) Bathroom Storage

 

There are so many ways to organize a bathroom! I'm not going to go into full detail here because we are currently remodeling our bathroom, but here are a few ideas from pinterest! It is really all about the storage in my opinion! Stay updated for a full post.

 

 

5) Kitchen

This is another room we just recently renovated. The organization part is still not quite finished. There are several ideas we are still working on. I did do a "café" theme similar to the one pictured. I didn't display the coffee cups like this, but it is a great idea! Here are a few fun storage and organization ideas.

 

 

6) Laundry

The laundry room is another room we need to attack! This area in our house is the worst currently. We have been going room by room and this area will be last. We have an older house, so there isn't a specific room designated as a laundry room. Our laundry area is in the garage by the kitchen door. I am still debating doing a mud room style area, but shelves and storage are a must! Here are a few cute laundry room ideas. I love the use of several similar baskets for sorting. That makes laundry loads much easier!

 

 

The Rest of the House

Since I decided to start a series on organizing I will be going room by room. This will include bedrooms, closets, the kitchen, kitchen drawers, linen closets, etc. We have a lot of work to do! Stay tuned for these posts and all the other ones I have planned!

 

Love and Hugs!

 

 

How to Clean Your Purse Like A Pro for Less

From Coach and Michael Kors to Nine West and Guess we all have accidents with our handbags. Somehow ink stains or everyday use will cause us to loose our cool when we think we have ruined our bags. Today I'm going to tell you how to clean your bag like a pro for a tiny fraction of the cost!

Materials :
Shoe Cleaner and a cloth! Yep, that's it!  I like the shoe cleaner that has the bristles on the cap. These can be picked up at most shoe stores and Target. This is a much more affordable option than expensive handbag cleaners and professional cleaning! This will do the exact same thing and for a fraction of what you would spend elsewhere! Trust me, I've been there and done that! This also has a built in protector so it will help prevent new stains from setting in! Great, huh?

Step One:

Grab your bag and turn it inside out. Make sure the inside lining is now on the outside. This will make it much easier to clean. Make sure you have your cleaner and your washcloth. I use the washcloth to wipe away the excess after scrubbing!  This is a handbag I am cleaning for a friend and it definitely needed some work!

 

 

Step Two:

Once your bag is ready start spraying the cleaner on the fabric. Most will foam up like this one.

 

 

If you have tougher spots or ink stains you will want to let the foam sit for a few minutes. Then start scrubbing with the bristle top that is included with the cleaner. If you don't have one with this type of lid a regular scrub brush or toothbrush will work too!

 

The bottom of the liner looks pretty rough!

Step Three:

After you have scrubbed (didn't take pictures of that part unfortunately, but you know how to scrub!) wipe the remainder off and leave inside out to dry. The bag shouldn't take more than a few hours to dry out, and you should end up with a handbag that is good as new!

 

 

 

 

I didn't actually intend to post these pictures or write about cleaning a handbag, but after showing my friend decided it might be a good idea. If I would have thought about this sooner I would have taken more detailed pictures of an actual tutorial for you! No worries, I have several more handbags that need to be renewed! If you have any questions feel free to email me or comment below!

 

 

Have a fabulous day and let me know how well yours turns out!

 

 



 



Cleaning Out and Making Room...

closet pic via polyvore
 

I have too many clothes! What can I say, I love to shop! This is probably true for most of us! I am a huge fan of bargain shopping, so I won't sit here and tell you I paid a fortune for my massive wardrobe!

Since I've been working from home I haven't been getting all dolled up like I used to. I won't lie, sometimes I really miss it! I could still get really "dressed" if I wanted, but I don't really see the point. Why am I going to go all out with the clothes, accessories, makeup, and hair if I am working here at home? Half the time the only ones who see me are my family!

I do miss it...the feeling of looking your best I mean. I do get kind of bummed out sitting here in yoga shorts and a tank at times. I thought to myself today while I was organizing this massive mess I call my closet that I need to make a change! Who cares who sees me? I might not have to get completely fixed up, but looking good for myself is important! If being "put together" helps you feel good about yourself then do it. I still say there is no reason to be dressed to the nines, but a little effort can't hurt!

I am also one of those people who don't really have a problem getting rid of things. My mother, however, seems to be on the opposite side of this. She keeps everything. She has clothes that she hasn't worn in twenty plus years! I tend to get rid of things if I haven't worn them in about six months to a year at the most.

I will be doing a post on cleaning out your closet or the "Closet Cleanse" soon! There will be some great tips in the post along with great ways to get organized and possibly make some money while  you are at it!

I also just opened a Copious account that I will be adding listings to over the next week or as soon as time permits! You can follow me and check out my items up for sale HERE! Everything will be very reasonably priced and will range in a large variety of sizes! Remember, I still have tons of items leftover from my Consignment Boutique!

If you are looking for anything in particular let me know via comment, fb, twitter, or email.