Getting your home organized!!!

First off let me say that the best way to not have a storage problem would be to stop buying things..  I am guilty of it toooo my friends, if I see a kitchen gadget at la tab I am on that shit like white on rice..  My kitchen drawers are filled to maximum capacity!!!  But I have also found a happy ground where I actually don't buy much anymore and I also have a rule that I donate or get rid of 10 things a day!!  It could be paperwork from an old oil change to a pair of shoes I have not put on my fat feet since having 2 children in a 2 1/2 year window of time ;)..... Whatever it is I get rid of 10 things..  This is a habit I have been happily applying in my life for a couple years now..  But if you just are one of those guys or gals like to keep your first high school homecoming dress or your baby's first bib worn when they ate sweet potatoes and peas and bananas ;)  I have some cute little things you can do to get those things organized and out of the way or displayed cutely in your house..

Second I would say that buying less will cut out a whole lot of waste..  If you know that your three year old is going to play with something once and either break or loose it why buy that junk in the first place.  The item and packaging I am sure are not worth the waste or the time it took to make..  If people got back to the old school way of life as in your kid gets a few things for special occasions then we would have fewer spoiled entitled children as well as less pollutants in the air...  And for us adults, do we really need the latest and greatest?  Buy the best you can afford, or save for things!   Does anyone even do that anymore?  Nope they probably don't, except for a house. ;)  How many gold junk Forever 21 necklaces or pairs of overpriced shoes do you really need... I am just saying..  Turn over a new leaf and stop buying!!!  K sorry; stepping down from my soap box.. 


Now for the fun stuff, I have recently moved into a home that is a lot smaller than my last and I have come up with some cool ways to make it still look cute and not look cluttered..  Here are some ideas for what to do with all that stuff!!

When you walk in the door!!
Having a cool place for shoes and purse, as well as keys and dog leash is a must..  In a small space you can use a few regular hooks and you are good to go..  That is what I do and it works great..  I usually have my babies in hand, - so being able to just stick things on hooks when I walk in the door is great..  Not having to put them on couches, beds or table making your house look messy!!  If you have a bigger home and can fit a little entrance table I am jealous..  A cool thing to do for cell phones, keys, wallets and mail  is to get each person their own little cubby 
http://www.spacesavers.com/Storage/Desktop-Organizers/Wicker-Desktop-Organizer
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/kellan-wire-storage-row-of-hooks/?pkey=ckitchen-entryway

We are a shoes off when you walk in home..  It is just cleaner and feels more comfy, i think, to have guests stick on some cute slippers and just dive on in.  Here are some cool ideas for household shoes, only the ones that are in rotation mind you..  The rest need to be in their designated closets ;) .  I have the IKEA cheaper one but the other one looks like a way better gig if you've got the funds ;) 


http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80099790/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10152658/


Kitchen time, we moved out of our last house that had all the storage in the world..  I had crazy amounts of it in the kitchen and then a hall way to my laundry room full of pantries and more storage..  Now I literally have barely any.. So I have to put my gadgets, ice cream maker, food processor and what not on top of the fridge and on the shelves under my little bakers block..  It was a nightmare at first, but here are some things I did that gave me more storage...  Above my stove I stuck a vintage shelf from a thrift store for my oils and some of my in rotation frequently used spices.  Another cool thing to do is for actual cabinets to get some risers or little shelves that you can put things under or on top of.  These shelves make stacking pretty easy and they look nice toooo ;).  I also hung 2 shelves on the free wall above my eating area in the kitchen where I can store my flours and teas as well as my nicer dinner plates...  I hung my pots and pans..  If you can get things up out of the way as opposed to sitting on your counters the feel of your kitchen is just cleaner and more organized...  Here are a couple cutie finds for that!!


 http://www.potrackshack.com/IVG2/Y/ProductID-77684-.htm

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/cabinetOrganizers/upperCabinets?productId=10028616&N=185&Nao=20

http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10029085&N=&Ntt=bamboo+shelves

Dining room

We have an antique armoire that we used to only use for books..  Nobody needs that many books people ;)  I don't care who you are you don't need that many books..  I donated about half freeing up two shelves in that armoire that are now used for my party glasses dinner party serving goodies, table cloths, cloth napkins, place mats you name it!!!  Such a good use of the space.. If you don't have an armoire getting and re finishing a second hand hutch of any kind is a fabulous way to get all that stuff out of your kitchen and where it will be used!!


The boudoir
There are a couple things I have done for my personal belongings..  I decided to hang a little twiggy tree and drape my necklaces over it.  It looks cute and helps not to deal with tangled necklaces in my jewelry box..  Another jewelry idea using vintage old frames and literally staple gunning screen to them for hanging your earrings..  You can use it as a standing frame on a dressing table or hang it up on the wall..  Another cutie thing is to use pretty vintage teacups for your nightstand drawers for earrings, ear plugs, Chapstick, whatever ;)  There are a few pictures above of what I ended up doing...



This will be an updated post when I have tackled a new room I will for sure kick down a few ideas..  I am a month into living here and I still have half of a garage full of stuff..  So needless to say I am sure I will run into a few more storage snags ;)  Tread lightly ;)