Office Make-Over Progress

I have been so excited to share this post with you all! We have finally made some decent progress with our office! Remember when I posted back in the Winter about how Frank and I were going to fix up our horrid looking office area? Well...

Before, it looked pretty much like a hot mess! We had attempted to use four square bulletin board pieces to make an interesting bulletin board, but it failed miserably. The pieces continued to fall all over the place and looked extremely dull. 

Black floating shelf {Target}

Black frames {Michael's}

1 Week Calendar white board {Target}

Bulletin Board {DIY see here}

Lamp {Ikea}

Green ceramic flower pot {Michael's}

Filing bins {Target}

Clear jar {Michael's}

We would still like to paint the filing drawers underneath the desk, possibly paint the desk, and definitely paint the chair and make a cushion to bring in more color to the space. But, for now, I think we've made pretty good progress!

Do you have a small space for an office? What did you do to make it work for you?

Organization 101- week 7 The Linen Closet

How we organized our Linen Closet!

So, remember back in January, February and March when I had been working on big organization projects from A Bowl Full of Lemons blog? {catch up here to see our kitchen} {catch up here to see our pantry}

Well, while I was on our little "Spring Break" we worked on A Bowl Full of Lemon's week 7 The Linen Closet. {See her post here}

A Bowl Full of Lemons

So, in order to completely clean our linen closet, we followed some rules from the Home Organization 101 series {see her complete list here}. 

1. First, we took pictures and completely emptied our linen closet. I'm pretty sure Frank's facial expression was priceless when he came home and saw the entire bathroom on the bathroom floor.

I sat there with a trash bag and made piles of things that did not belong in the bathroom, things that were alike, and things that need to be thrown out. And those things went straight into the trash bag!

2. Second we cleaned out the space, wiped down, dusted, and swept until it was nice and clean. If you're going to put back everything nice and neat, it only makes sense to make sure everything is freshly wiped down. Besides, how often do you completely empty your closets?

3. Then, we had to figure out where everything would go using containers for alike items to neatly fit them back into the closet. That's the best way to keep things clean--when everything has its own place. 

Now isn't that so much better!? Everything has a neat little place. 

All the towels are neatly folded and fit on one shelf. Our sheets fit nicely on another shelf. And the top shelf holds extra blankets and extra towels we rarely use. 

The bottom shelves hold laundry supplies, cleaning supplies, and a basket of extra toiletries that I pick up for when we run out of things. 

I'm using a clementine bin for our cleaning cloths, dryer sheets, and dry cleaning sheets. I am planning to paint the bin someday to make it look nicer, but  for now it's the perfect size to hold all those smaller things.

I had this shower caddy from Target and used it to store all of our cleaning bottles and sponges. That way they're in one place and I can carry the bucket to wherever I'm cleaning. 

The brown bin is from Target as well and is perfect for storing extra rolls of toilet paper without it looking like a mess. 

The Before & After photos are my favorite!

What have you organized lately?

I'm Back...

Well hello everyone! I am so, so happy to be back and a part of blog-world again! And if you haven't already noticed, I worked on some changes over here with the layout and some updates. I will be continuing to update my pages and will let you know as soon as I do!

For now...I suppose I should show you a little of what we've been working on while I've been on "Spring Break" {catch up here}.

For one, I've been studying hard to finish school--the biggest reason I took a break this past month. I officially have 1 more week of classes and 2 more assignments before I am completely 100% done!

Okay...so here's a bit of what we've been up to...

1. We cleaned out our porch area that mainly stored Frank's hockey equipment, our bikes and dirty shoes and boots (ew, I know).

First, we had to empty the porch of all of our crap valuables.

We picked up this great outdoor storage cabinet from Lowe's with a gift card we had to store all of Frank's hockey equipment and tool boxes. Unfortunately Frank's hockey stuff takes up a TON of space so we needed to use that blue bin for additional storage until we think of a better solution.

Frank installed a hook into the ceiling of our porch to hang his bike...and then we attempted to fit everything back onto the porch (for now). It's clearly still a work in progress, but at least we're starting to get things put someplace.

The plan is to find a better place for the bikes & get a shoe rack for work shoes and boots. Then, we plan to make a small sitting area so we can enjoy our backyard view.

2. We painted our bedroom! It was sort of an impulsive project (on a weekend I had a paper due...) and I'm so glad we did it! (please excuse the horrible iphone pictures...)

Here's a sneak peek...I'll be sharing the room reveal in a future post.

3. We got curtains! We got these great curtains from Ikea. One set for our living room and one for our bedroom. I purposely chose neutral colors since I am planning on a DIY project involving both sets of curtains in the near future.

You can find these at Ikea

We are so excited to start working on a whole list of projects around our apartment, especially now that it's so nice out {read...perfect DIY and yard-sale season}.

I hope you have had a wonderful Spring. What projects have you been working on lately?

Home Organization 101: The Office, an Update

A few weeks ago I showed you our before pictures of the office space in our living room and showed you how much work we have ahead of us! (here) I also wrote a Wednesday Wish List post on some ideas I have for transforming our pretty dull work space into a place we would want to spend time working. (here)

Since it's been a while since I've talked about it, I just wanted to give you all an update. Since I last shared we have installed a shelf.

We wanted to bring some height and depth to the area which the shelf definitely accomplishes. Also, we wanted to bring some black items to the space. Since our office is just in a corner of our living room, we wanted to make the space stand out apart from the rest of the room by using a color, black, that we did not use elsewhere. At the same time, we also wanted to use colors that still flowed with the rest of the room which is why we will continue to incorporate white and green into the space.

Obviously there is still a good deal of work to be done as far as filling up the other wall space, working on adding interest to the actual desk and chair, as well as doing a better job organizing the drawers. But, it's a work in progress and we have a few projects planned for the near future that will bring us closer to a completed office area.

Do you have an office space that is within another room? How have you designed the space to make it either separate or integrated into that room?

Home Organization 101: Week 4, The Office

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend filled relaxation and your favorite things. Unfortunately, I am home a little under the weather today. But, it's pretty chilly outside and super gloomy, so I've decided I picked a good day to have to be home from work in my pjs. 

I decided since I'm sitting in  bed wishing I had the energy to be doing something more productive, it's a good time to do a short little post introducing our next project for the  Home Organization 101 challenge from the Bowl Full of Lemons blog! 

A Bowl Full of Lemons

It probably seems like it's been a while since the week in between The Pantry (week 2) and The Office (week 4)...because I skipped number 3...because I don't have a garage. And it actually worked out well since the hubby and I had a crazy, busy week. 

So without further ado...here is the assignment straight from A Bowl Full of Lemons. You can read the full post (here) and see her pictures (here). 

THE PROCESS:

1.  Take a picture of your space before you start.

2.  Make sure you have 6 large bins or boxes, one for each of the following… 1 for papers that need shredded, 1 for things that need donated, 1 for paperwork that needs to be filed, 1 for items that belong in other rooms, 1 for items that stay in the office, and 1 for trash.

3.  Give yourself at least 2 hours to go through your paperwork… all of it!  Each paper will be placed in one of the following bins (shred, file, trash).  You are not organizing at this time. Just separating.

4.  Go through everything else.  If it doesnt belong, place it in the “other room” bin.

5.  After you have gone through everything, it should all be in bins or boxes.

6. At this time, wipe down your desk, shelves, and sweep/vacuum/mop the area. Clean it up really well.

7. Now you can organize all paperwork into a filing system.  I share the categories I use below.  Approximately 50% of the papers you have now should be tossed.

8.  Create a mail station (below).  You will need one to get control of the incoming paper clutter.

9.  Organize your books & everything else to look pleasing to the eye.

Thats it!  Now take a picture and share with us.

WHEN GOING THROUGH YOUR PAPERS, ASK YOURSELF:

 Is this paper necessary to keep? (Taxes, etc)

Is it needed in the future?

Do I have a place for it?

If you answered no, toss it! (Shred if it has personal information on it).

Since Frank and I have already gone through all of our papers a while ago, this job will be a bit easier than it looks. However, if you recall one of my more recent posts about our little office nook (here), I have many ideas on how to make this space even more organized and even more interesting.

If you would like to join in on this challenge--it's not too late! A Bowl Full of Lemons posts weekly challenges, but you can complete them at your own pace and link back to this blog and her blog (here). 

Here is the before picture of our neat, but sad little office space. I can't wait to tackle this project!

If you just yawned I will not be surprised or insulted. Trust me. I know this space needs a LOT of work. This week or so Frank and I will tackle the following:

1. Those two filing bins to the right of the desk. They need to be re-organized and better labeled. 

2. The filing bin to the left under the desk. That needs to be organized as well as that tiny little drawer to the left corner of the desk.

3. Come up with some type of solution to make the cork board look nicer. 

4. Add some little personal touches to the area to bring in some color and some personality. 

(See here for my idea post on this)

Have you organized your desk space lately? How would you bring some color to our tired little office?

Home Organization 101: The Pantry

Well, here we are! The end of the long weekend and the end of week #3 of the Home Organization 101 Challenge. The Pantry. To be honest, I think it still needs some work, just like the kitchen, but this week has been a great start! I just love how I feel after everything is organized and has a place of its own. And trust me, this was not an easy one. Ask my husband. I am pretty sure I reorganized, just this week, three different times before I was satisfied.

But, here it is! Our newly organized pantry where we can actually find what we're looking for! What a concept...

 The Pantry

 To start, I took everything out of those boxes we had laying on the floor of our pantry for 2 months just taking up space. The appliances were not getting used since they were hard to get to and still in their boxes instead of easy to reach and accessible. We put them on the top shelf (and the coffee maker on the bottom) so that when we need them they are visible and reachable, but also out of the way making room for the green drawer chest we found at Target you will see below.

Next, to keep the shelves more organized, I kept canned goods on one shelf with beans, soups, jarred sauce and our oils and vinegar at eye-level. I grouped them together in rows so they are easy to locate and easy to see what we have to stock up on.

One of the reasons for all the clutter was lack of room for everything. So, eventually things became piled on top of other things resulting in us digging for things we needed. In the drawers I put baking items which I don't use that often. The flours and sugars, baking soda and baking powder are all on the bottom drawer. I keep them on the counter in white canisters, but the extra supply stays out of sight and out of the way.

The top drawer holds snack foods. Pretzels, tortilla chips, nuts and dried fruit. 

Two shelves above the green drawer chest I have 4 green baskets I found at the Dollar Tree for $1 each! They hold items that are easily get cluttered. To the left I have our oatmeal, next a basket with to-go breakfast things--our granola bars and apple sauce cups. Then, I have a basket with condiments and seasonings we don't use often. Then, a box with instant meals like Frank's beloved mac n'cheese and boxed soups. 

Then, on the last shelf I have all of our grains and starches. We have pasta in a neat stack with quinoa, brown rice, and barley in great air-tight containers from Dollar Tree for $1 each. And cereal in containers from Shoprite for $2.50 each. (clearly we need to stock up on cereal). I set extra bags of grain behind the containers so that when we run out, we can pour more right into the container. I love these containers. They keep everything nice and fresh and super easy to see what needs stocking up. 

We used an old trash can I had when I was in college that is bright pink and doesn't go anywhere else in the apartment to hold all of our grocery bags. When that basket is full, that's it--the rest goes in the garbage. No more having trash bags taking up our entire pantry floor! We have our garbage bags in boxes in front of the grocery bags and the coffee maker (in case we need it for when we have guests) to the right of the drawers. 

On top of the drawers is a mesh basket I got from Dollar Tree...you guessed it-- $1. It's the perfect size for holding potatoes. We don't eat them often, but when we do, we now have a clean accessible location to keep them so they don't get forgotten or squished. 

What a change! It is so nice to open the pantry and not instantly feel anxious! I can see everything, reach everything, and I know where everything is--it's lovely. If you haven't given your pantry a make-over--do it. It seriously has made making meals so much easier. And I'm sure it was have a positive effect on my grocery trip planning as well!

I still have some ideas I did not have time to complete this week. I'd like to make labels for the green bins and the drawers as well as labels on the grain containers with simple directions on how to cook them. For example, 1 cup water for every 2 cups quinoa (or something like that). 

I'd also love to get either an over-the-door contraption or broom hooks to go on the pantry door to hold our broom, mop and dust pan. I may also try to find a way to put up a small cork board to hold a grocery list I can update when I am running out of something. But  all of those things can wait for another week!

Next, I must think about the next challenge! Week #4 is coming up!

A Bowl Full of Lemons

A special thanks to A Bowl Full of Lemons for such a great challenge! We are really enjoying the inspiration and motivation to get our apartment in order. Once we complete the challenge we can focus less on the mess and more on decorating projects!

Visit A Bowl Full of Lemons to join the challenge or to see what other bloggers are doing for the Home Organization 101 14 Week series (here).

Thank you for reading! I'll be posting before photos of our home office in a few days, so stay tuned!

How have you organized your pantry? Any tricks or tips?

Have a great week everyone!

Home Organization 101: Week 3, The Pantry

So, according to A Bowl Full of Lemons blog it is week #2 The Garage, but since I don't have a garage, we are skipping over to week 3: The Pantry.

A Bowl Full of Lemons

This week I will be organizing our pantry. Our pantry is not in the kitchen, and since it's a fairly big job in itself, it's separate. Like last time, I will be emptying my pantry COMPLETELY. And putting everything back once I have found solutions to the lack of organization that is my pantry...I'm not joking.

Here are the embarrassing before pictures...seriously it's absolutely awful. I think both the pantry and the coat closet (that challenge is right around the corner) have become places to throw things that don't fit anywhere else.

There are four shelves that cannot be adjusted. There is also a significant amount of space underneath the shelving where Frank and I have been storing some of our large appliances that don't have a place anywhere else...and we don't use that often.

As you can see we have WAY too many plastic bags and they have begun to take over the left corner of the closet. We also have no real place for potatoes and for now I just set them in the closet since it's a cool, dark place.

Baking items and condiments are just shoved onto the shelf.

Our crock-pot lives on the top shelf with the cereal we rarely eat. Canned goods, pastas, and grains are strewn all over the place. It's extremely difficult to find anything I need as you can see.

Step 1: Take everything out and wipe down shelves and sweep floor. Check.

Step 2: Lay items out and categorize them. Put aside items that do not  belong. Check.

This week I will be working on Step 3: putting items into bins and containers and labeling them accordingly. 

I have quite the project ahead of me! I took the time today when I emptied the pantry to make a list of items I need and plan to head to the dollar store, Walmart & Target for affordable organizing items. I will be working on this project for the rest of the week. You can look at what A Bowl Full of Lemons did with her pantry (here). 

Stay posted for our results this weekend!