Tips on Tuesday

Ever feel like papers have taken over your household? Mail all over the desk, coupons scattered on the counter tops  bills, homework, and worst of all: missing important documents!

Every household should have a filing cabinet. I know, this idea seems so boring and better suited for an office, but trust me, a personal filing cabinet is a must.

We use the following dividers for our filing cabinet: Banking, Kevin- Work, Automotive, Taxes, Coupons, and Personal Documents.

It is so nice to know where an important document is every time we need it, and to know exactly what to do with a piece of paper when we are done with it.

I'm a huge fan of the filing boxes at Target right now.

The Greenroom Recycled Filebox with Hanging Files
$13.39 at Target

Try it out! See what a huge difference one little box can make!

:)

tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

Things on Thursday

You may remember this product from last week's post about my mom's spice cabinet.

The Gravity-Feed Can Rack on the top shelf.

Gravity-Feed Can Rack $14.99 at The Container Store

First, the positives. This product was fairly easy to assemble, and I really like that the shelf that the can sits on is slanted forward so each can in the front slides to the very front of the rack. I also like that it came with dividers to put in between cans so you can store cans of the same size together.

Now the not-so-good. This product would be much better if there was more room between the shelves. Even the average sized cans that my mom had were too big to fit in the rack without disassembling and lifting up the rack above it. This product is really made for very small cans.

Luckily my mom doesn't keep too many canned goods in stock, so I was able to come up with a quick fix.

After removing the middle shelf, we were pleased to see that all the cans still fit on the rack and there was room to remove the cans.

Overall, I would recommend this item if you have many cans that are small in size. If your canned items are medium or large, you can always modify this item!

Tips on Tuesday

Think trashcans are only for kitchens and bathrooms? Think again!

If you find that trash accumulates in your living room, dining room, bedroom, or play room, put a waste basket that matches your decor in each room to make discarding of unwanted items easier!

Things on Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all having a relaxing day with your families and taking time to count your blessings! We all know this time of year can get a little hectic with shopping, parties, decorating and hosting house guests. Keeping track of everything can be a real chore!

That's when a good calendar comes in handy. While I am a total technology junkie, there are a few things I prefer to have in hard copy form. My calendar is one of them. I need to see my schedule physically sprawled out on a wall rather than hidden in an app on my phone.

I chose the Brewster Wall Pop White Board Monthly Calendar.

I love that it is a dry erase board, so I can change the calendar each month. Plus this calendar is peel & stick, so I can move it from wall to wall without leaving a sticky residue or losing the ability to stick to the wall. I've already moved it from one wall to another with absolutely no problem. At 24" by 36", I'm able to write in several appointments each day.

I just love being able to clearly see my entire month laid out so I always know where I need to be and what I need to get done!

Be sure to check out other Wall Pops Products to see different wall decor, white boards, and decorative calendars!

Spice Cabinet Before and After

Last week I spent a day in my mom's kitchen taking baby steps to get her space ready for the holidays. She always does a ton of delicious baking, and having an organized kitchen can make a big difference!

With just one day in town to work, we decided to not bite off more than we could chew and begin with a few cabinets that my mom identified as the areas that, if organized, would improve her peace in the kitchen greatly.

First, we began with the spice cabinet.

As you can can't see, there are spices and cans that are hidden by the front row of items. This makes it difficult to keep an inventory of exactly what is in your kitchen, and duplicates ensue.

I laid out the spices in alphabetical order and placed multiples of each spice behind each other. Then we were able to combine multiples into one jar and reduce wasted space.

Then we sorted like items with like items and created the following categories: Spices, Dessert Decorating, and Canned Goods.

We brainstormed about what would function best for her lifestyle and then....we hit The Container Store!

It was my mother's very first trip to The Container Store, and she handled it beautifully. It can be a really overwhelming store, but we stayed focused and ended up with some great products. Here's what we bought for the spice cabinet:

3-Tier Silver Mesh Cabinet Organizer $7.99 at The Container Store

Gravity-Feed Can Rack $14.99 at The Container Store
(To be reviewed in an upcoming "Things on Thursday"!)

Then, using these new products we assigned a home for each item and put them back in the cabinet. So just to refresh your memory, here's the before photo again:

Before

After!

Notice how the mesh cabinet organizer gives the spices "stadium seating" so you can see even the back row of spices. Anything that makes baking easier for my mom is a good thing!

Stay tuned for the rest of my mom's kitchen redo. Next up- dinnerware cabinet!

As always, email me at anytime to talk about how I can help you prepare for the holidays!

tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

-Tiffany Pope

Tips on Tuesday

One of the hardest things about organizing is throwing and giving away your belongings. We form emotional attachments to our things. This is why it is really beneficial to have an unattached third party who can help us sort through our emotions to decide what is essential to keep.

But until I come help you make decisions about your items, here's a trick that can show you what you need and what you don't.

First, turn all of your hangers "backwards" like this:

Then, as you use an item, put it back in your closet the "normal" way you usually hang your clothes.

After 6 months to 1 year, donate or discard the clothes that are still on "backward" hangers. You can exclude seasonal and special event items from this rule, however. This is a clear cut way to see visually what clothes you have stopped wearing so you can create more space in your closet!

Another new series: Things on Thursday

This is the week for starting a new series! I am really excited to start "Things on Thursday" and share with you new and old organizing items that I love!

This week I'm reviewing the Dial Diamond Drawer Organizer.

While you can find this product here on Amazon for $14.99, I lucked out and found this item at Ross for $4.99 and was so excited to take it home to use it.

This product is made up of plastic zig-zag pieces that snap together to create 32 compartments that are 4 1/4" x 4 1'2. I was really happy that each piece was separate because I was able to customize the shape of the organizer.

For example, in the picture above, I saved two of the "zig-zags" for Kevin's drawer and only used four in my own. Assembly was very easy- no tools required. (That's almost a negative for me...I really enjoy power tools).

This product has been working out really well. The pieces are sturdy and each compartment can fit one pair of socks and about 4 pairs of (ladies) underwear. The diamond shapes make the drawer look really clean and tidy, and my small items are separated nicely instead of all jumbled up in a drawer.

The only thing I would do to improve this item would be to make it a little deeper. You can see along the side of the drawer in the picture above that there is unused vertical space (my BIGGEST organizing pet peeve). If the compartments were deeper, I could store more in each one and have extra space. 

Overall, I am very happy with this item. It has hugely improved the look and function of my drawers. I would definitely recommend this item!

Holiday Special

Things start to get a little crazy this time of year. Being organized this Holiday Season is not optional!

 

Leave a comment or email me at Tiffany@GraceInteriorOrganizing.com for more info!

Introducing: Tips on Tuesday

I am so excited to announce the new weekly series: Tips on Tuesday!

My goal is to post quick and easy tips that you can start to incorporate into your routine immediately with few or no purchases. If you are my Fan on Facebook these first two may be familiar to you, but tune in next week for an all new tip!

One of my absolute favorite tips produced results immediately. I just love when that happens! To keep organized on a daily basis, My husband Kevin and I set a timer for 10 minutes every night before going to bed and walk through each room of the house putting everything back in the place where it belongs. You can adjust the amount of time for your space. For example, we only needed 5 minutes when we lived in an apartment.

View organizing as an investment in your time. 10 minutes a day could end up saving you hours later.

Another tip I've shared on my Facebook page is to designate a spot for hangers in your closet. Leaving empty hangers among clothes makes them hard to find when hanging up clean clothes.

Here is the system I use in my closet:

Stay tuned for more Tips on Tuesdays!

Imaginary Office Redo

Redesign longing. I'm convinced I'm not the only one who experiences this. Whenever I'm acquiring decor for a blank canvas of a room, I'm always in a rush to get it done- to see the picture in my head translate out to the room before me.

But then when I'm happy with my work, I'm longing to find a reason to visit garage sales and thrift stores looking for that next, unique piece that completes a space. Only my space is already completed and I don't want to (or am not allowed) to spend anymore money.

That's where I find myself today with my office. I have everything I need to function within it, but so desire to start over with new file boxes, desk organizers and magazine racks. Just for the thrill of the hunt.

 So here are the picks for my imaginary office redo. If I was starting all over with my office, these are the products that I would have bought in a heartbeat.

First, baskets I love. I like to use square baskets to store binders, books and folders and rounded baskets to store craft supplies and larger items.

I love how both warm and yet industrial these baskets are.
($14.99 at Marshall's)

I love the chalkboard label on the side! This would be a great basket for binders.
(This item didn't have a price tag, but based on similar items, I'd price it at around 13.99 at Marshall's)

I am loving wire baskets! More than that I love that they are lined so you don't have to stare at the contents all the time. ($10.00 at TJ Maxx)

Now for filing. I really prefer wall files as opposed to file boxes or file cabinets because folders are so much more accessible on a wall rather than all shut up in a box. You can even separate folders by category. For example, "Client Info" can by all by itself in one section and "Financial Records" can be in another.

More wire!
($12.00 at Marshall's)

While I really love the "Shabby Chic" look of this, I think it could be cute spray painted a fun color, too.
($15.00 at Marshall's)

.On to desk organizers. A well-placed desk organizer can dramatically reduce clutter on your desk.

I love the labels on the pulls.
($24.99 at Marshall's)

This is a great center for notes, memos, lists, and sticky notes.
($24.99 at Marshall's)

Some things are just not good for me in digital form. My monthly schedule is one of them. I love being able to see my upcoming events in hard copy.

This calendar is so cute!
($14.99 at Marshall's)

I wish I had unlimited rooms in my house to work on, but luckily I can always come to your house and help you with your rooms!

Happy Thursday!

-Tiffany

949.735.8811
tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

Bookshelf Redo

So yesterday I wrote about my 30 minute mini project organizing the computer desk that I have been using while my office gets in order (Have I mentioned i'm excited to show you pictures of my new office soon?). After feeling my spirits lifted by what can be accomplished in just 30 minutes, I decided to see how I could improve our bookshelf that stands next to the desk.

Not awful, but a little cluttered and scattered.

 Again, the key to shaping up this bookshelf was to get rid of stuff. This is usually the hardest part of organizing. The connection we have to our stuff. But it feels so good to only keep what you need and what works to improve the look of a space.

After- feels so much more focused to me!

I encourage you to find just a few things you are willing to part with today! And I can help!

GraceInteriorOrganizing.com

Happy Organizing!

-Tiffany
tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

Grace-Full-Time

Well, I am back. Or more accurately: Finally Here. After working my last day of my job as a nanny and taking on Grace as my new full-time work I am finally able to make organizing my focus 40 hours a week. There have been so many tasks that I wanted and needed to tackle to get this business rolling, but found it to be nearly impossible while working another full-time job, cooking, cleaning, laundering, and finding precious time with my husband.

In just these two days as a full-time business owner, I've been able to check so many things off my list! The most exciting being the new business cards that are on their way as we speak!

The Front

The Back

I spent my whole day yesterday on the design and am pretty happy with how they came out, considering I know nothing about graphic design and I was using Microsoft Word to design them. I can't wait to hand one out for the first time!

I've also been working hard with Kevin to get my home office in order. We spent the weekend painting it white and green. (Pictures to come!) While that room is still under construction I have been using the computer desk in our den and realized today while scanning organizing blogs that our house is in serious need. After recently (Um..July was recent, right?) moving while both working full-time, we haven't seemed to figure out a system for our new space.

I began feeling the typical self-loathing that most women feel when browsing pinterest or blogs of women who seem to have it all together, plus four kids and a parakeet. Ugh, I wish I was Super Woman! Instead of allowing myself to harbor those feelings, I decided to make myself a client!

The computer desk I've been using became my first project.



Oh my goodness...how does anything ever get this bad?!

I started the project by removing everything from the top and insides of the desk and categorizing like with like. Then I found a place for everything. The main reason our desk is now organized? I threw away a lot of unnecessary stuff!

After!


I know it's not the prettiest desk, but now it's clean!

I know, I know...the REAL test is, "How clean are the insides of the drawers?" Keep in mind I still need to get some containers to make the drawers look beautiful, but this is at least a before and after of eliminating unneeded stuff!

Before: what a mess!

After: so much less junk!

Before: Crowded

After: Room to spare!

 

 

Before: just so unnecessary!

After: almost empty!

Before: sloppy

After: Clean

Before: cluttered

After: Clear!

 Again, this is by no means a beautiful redo, but I spent absolutely no money on materials, and it took about 30 minutes from start to finish! Just an easy, midday organizing project! And you don't have to be Super Woman to make these small improvements!

I am free now to help with your home, so fill out a request form on our website!

graceinteriororganizing.com

Happy organizing!

-Tiffany
tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

We Like to Move It

Sorry for the lack of a post this week! We have 5 more days to move in to our new house, so we are working hard after work!

Sneak Peak!!

Happy Monday!

-Tiffany Pope
tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

Visit Our Website

Shelf Life

Hi all!

It's time for another edition of "Kevin and Tiffany love to save money". This weekend while waiting for some friends to arrive at dinner, we found ourselves wandering through a nearby TJ Max. We headed straight for the home organization section in search of good deals on products we love, and there it was...

The Expand-a-Shelf

Once again, remember in this post when Kevin and I listed our favorite Container Store kitchen items? The expanding shelf made the top of the list for its ability to give your cabinet items stadium seating. And there it was, marked down to $6.99 (Regularly $14.99 at The Container Store).

I could not wait to try this in our spice cabinet. Here was the before...

What's that behind the ground tumeric? No one knows..

This is the view I typically see of our spices from my meager height.

And look what a difference the Expand-a-Shelf made!

Ah, spices living in peace with one another.

This product is great because I actually feel like it's easier to put things away and keep them with like items. Before I would just place whatever item I recently used in the front of the cabinet and slide farther back whatever was already there. Now everything has its own home within the cabinet. Another feature I love is that the product expands and contracts to fill your entire space. For this project, I decided not to expand it the full length of our cabinet because some of my spices are HUGE (Yay Smart and Final) and wouldn't fit on the top tier, but would block the spices behind them if placed on a lower tier. Instead I chose to leave part of the cabinet uncovered by the Expand-a-Shelf to accommodate for those taller items.

We are amazed what a difference an inexpensive item has made!

New update: Our website is looking fancier these days thanks to Kevin's hard work. Turns out he's a great husband and a wonderful business partner! Be sure to check it out:

graceinteriororganizing.com

Contact us to get started on your space!

-Tiffany Pope
Tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com

Finish your plate

This weekend, Kevin and I were able to squeeze in about 20 minutes of garage saling. It was more than worth that little time. We found the following items for a total of $7.

A chalkboard with hooks- perfect for writing notes and keeping your keys in one spot!

Three small white shelves. (Not sure where to put these...We'll probably decide after we move- more about that later).

Two cupboard shelves.

Remember how I talked about these cupboard shelves as one of our favorite kitchen products in a previous post? I am so excited we stumbled upon some while we were out. It's an inexpensive, easy to install item that can make a huge difference.

When we came home I got right to work using them to increase the space in our kitchen cabinet where we keep our plates.

This is what it looked like before...

Notice all the wasted space below! And to fit it all in the upper cabinet, our fine china had to be stacked, which is not only precarious, but makes getting to the bottom plates or bowls a major pain!

After!!

Now no grouping of items has to be stacked on top of another type of bowl or plate. Everything has its own spot, so getting to everything (and more importantly, putting everything AWAY) is so much easier. Because so much was able to be moved down, another set of cupboard shelves could enable us to store another shelf-worth of kitchen items!

As always, visit our website and click on the Request a Consultation button to get started!

-Tiffany Pope
Graceinteriororganizing.com

949-735-8811
Tiffany@graceinteriororganizing.com