Finally Organized: picture edition.

Ive just gotta add this last post to finish up our week of organizing. This was probably one of the hardest things I had to tackle while re-organizing my closet. You can see part 1 here and part 2 here.

Ok, you guys. Seriously my room is plastered with pictures. They are everywhere and I love it! Im not a big photographer or anything I just like having fun/lame pictures everywhere on display. I do scrapbook a little but Ill be honest, Im not that good at it and Im too lazy to do that too haha. So what happens to my pictures when I take them down? ....
...Yup, they get thrown in a box or a basket. I HATE THAT! I can never find the important ones I like and its just annoying. Totally NOT organized.

So heres my solution...

I found some of the cute file folders that I thought were gonna work perfect! So I got these and a few envelopes.

Then I gathered all my fav pictures that I wanted to keep and put them into different piles/groups.

 (I have a big box full of old pics which is another option because theyre all in one place). These are pictures I wanted to keep together and seperated from the others. 

 Once I seperated those I decided how to put them in the folders. So I just got some sticky notes and labeled them accordingly and taped em on the folders. I couldve wrote on the folders with marker or pen but decided against it in case I decide to change things later on.

I had one for all of my graduate cards I recieved and then the others labeled  as 'chapters' of my life.

 Lastly I put the pics in envelopes and labeled those as well.

For example there are envelopes for soccer, softball, graduation etc all in the chapter of highschool folder. Make sense? In there is also some of my awards Ive recieved while in highschool. In the chapter of college of folder is pics from my trip to new york and some scholarship award certificates. Its nice cause its all in one spot together.

Once those were all put together I put them in a basket with a few other important things that I store in the top of my closet.

(I really threw alot of baskets away by the way and now only have TWO!)

Anyways, theres just one solution to a few loose papers or pictures that worked for me and hopefully will work for you. Just get creative and do whatever works. I hope our week of organizing has helped you find different ways to utilize space and be a little bit more ready for school this fall haha.

Good luck.

Small Spaces, Cheap Ideas

So, I live in a basic college apartment.
Small, minimal storage, and the occasional tupperware avalanche from the top cabinet.
One thing about small spaces is that you have to get creative with how you store your junk.
This is my bed:
And this is underneath:
That's right, my bed is on cinder blocks.
While this idea may seem strange, and partially unstable (it's only unstable if this happens, which is rare)it is in fact, pure genius. With having my bed raised, I can fit more under my bed like school supplies, my laundry things, my backpack, and anything extra that's laying around my room. The key to keeping a small space organized is to make sure everything has it's proper place.
Sure you can go buy those fancy bed risers but these work just as well. It's a cheap, quick, and easy fix to any dorm, apartment, or at home for any needed extra storage!

Tackling this beast part 2

Organzing my closet space was quite the job. It took two days! But sooo well worth it because now I have so much space! Okay, to pick up where we left off last time (see tackling the beast part 1).
My closet is just so full of JUNK. Things that I put in baskets and piles and said 'Ill go through this later to see what I need to keep', Ive been saying that for the past year now. Well its about time I chucked all that lame garbage. Nobody likes garbage mess.

So before I go on youve gotta picture this. You need to realize that in highschool my closet was full of pictures and random things and I havent changed anything since then, so thats almost two years ago that I havent done any deep cleaning (ouch). Well on one of my shelves I put all of my highschool dance photos that I had ever gone to (ya know, like homecoming and prom etc.) I had even kept all my corsages and had them there haha, I know just picture how cheesy this looks.

Heres where it gets awkward:

So my little brothers friends all come over and they are pretty good at making themselves at home, no biggie. So they come in to my room asking what in the world I am doing. Well one boy walks over to my closet and looks at this shelf and says something along the lines of...

'What are you going to do with your shrine?'

Oh gosh! How embarrasing, I wasnt sure how to reacte so I just played it  as cool as I could but on the inside I was thinking 'This has to come down!'

So after the mature adults left I went back to work, and yes, all the pictures went into my scrapbook box so someday I hopefully either get the sense to hide them forever or find a different hiding place haha, who knows but theyre out of sight for now. As for the corsages....







Theyre toast

As I thought about it, its the memories that matter anyways, not the actual object. So those are going in the trash. I still have the pictures so maybe one day I can pull them out with my kids and laugh at how weird the style was back then, whatever.

Anways, Tips on being organized and clutter free from the experts (I love the Nate Berkus show)

• Take this fun clutter quiz to see if your a clutter bug
• This is perfect for roomies or couples!
• Do you have a weekend to makeover your closet? Geralin Thompson has some Amazing tips Here

Good luck, toodles

• 

Tackling this beast part 1

Just go ahead and take a look at my closet. Its kinda hard to tell from the picture but its a disaster. Sure its picked up and put away but not organized. See for yourself...

I have baskets and baskets full of things I said 'I need to go through this, Ill put it here until I get a chance' and it keeps piling and piling and soon I need more baskets and aaaahhhhh!
So I took the time (roughly two days) to completely redo my closet and re-organized everything!

One key to being a successful student, or a success at anything really is to be organized. Im no expert but Ive noticed that when things are clean, well-kept, and in their own place Im happier and much more efficient at things. So heres how I did it, and Ill show you some tips that I used and more.  

To Start:
I got two big boxes- one for garbage and one for D.I. (Idaho/Utahs version of goodwill). And I just started tearing things apart. I started with clothes.When going through your clothes you can approach this a couple different ways.

If you have a hard time throwing things out (it doesnt mean your a hoarder, we all get seperation anxiety with some stuff) then you can ask yourself (in no paticular order):

• Does this still fit me?...No-toss
• Have I worn this in the last 8-9 months?...No- toss it, Yes- how often do you wear it?
• Is it worn out?...If something is getting worn out its best to just toss it
• If it is gone, will I miss it?...No- definetly get rid of it.

If you are like me and dont get too sentimental with things and you finally have reached that point of 'Just throw it all away!' then its gonna be alot easier. You can ask some of the same questions as before like:

• Does it fit me?
• Have I worn it in the last 4-5 months
• Will I ever wear it again?
• Am I going to search for this later on?
• Do I really need it?

Seriously I went nuts and basically donated half of my closet, and the truth is it feels so good! I now know exactly what I have and that its all things that I love to wear. Plus the bright side is theres some extra hangers and room to make way for some new school clothes! Yay shopping!

Look at how full the box on the left is! Thats all going to the D.I. Yay!
So what are you waiting for! Go get organized!

and stay tuned for the rest of the week to see how this beast turned out

Week of Clean

Stay tuned because all this week we are going to show you how you can get ready and organized for school!