Showing posts with label organizing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organizing. Show all posts

10/7/12

Project Round Up!

I thought it might be fun to do a round up and highlight a few of the projects and other bits of lovely here at Pearls Poppies Pinkies Up. Oh! And, happy six month old birthday to this little blog! Its growing and going, and I love all the support and connections made through the creativity and thoughts shared. Thanks to my biggest fans out there and the other blogs that have featured and highlighted projects. You are just so great. Here we go with the round up!Trio of Nautical Mirrors || Mint and Orange Sherbet.  2 "Others Make a place Beautiful" Pitcher || Sharpie Art || Darling Magazine feature.  3 Tray Chic || Framed art as collection displays.
4 Hand Painted Pumpkin || Russian Nesting Doll || And other fall pumpkin inspiration.  5 Do it yourself coat rack || Just in time for coat season.
6 Upcycled drawer organizers || Birchbox inspired.   7 Thrifted Chair find || For the love of a seat.
8 Fan Revamp || A $7 spray paint fix.   9 Ombre jean shorts || Bleach it and do it yourself!
10 Color blocked bauble necklace || Repurposed napkin rings!  11 Dalmatian hearts || Canvas shoe DIY.  12 Faux succulents || No mess, no maintenance. 13 Hand painted tea towels || Black floral tea towel || The perfect gift idea.  14 Hardware store jewelry hanger || Tangle free and lovely.  

Here are the links for the photos above:  1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14

I hope your weekend was refreshing! Matt was in Kansas celebrating grandpa Clarence's 80th birthday and time with his folks while I held down the fort. I volunteered with work, spent time with my cousins at a taco bistro (ooo la la), enjoyed a crisp walk in the 27 degree Sunday morning, ventured to REI where I FINALLY found my perfect sleeping bag (a necessity for future camping endeavors) , enjoyed some time catching up with a college friend, experienced some light snow fall (while you Californians blast the 90 degree heat, I hear), kicked out my crazies at Turbo Kick box, enjoyed a bit of down time, had a coffee date with a two of my favorites (one being a four legged friend), and started rearranging the spare bedroom a bit! 

8/28/12

Birchbox drawer organizers!

Have you ever heard of Birchbox? Well, the only thing you need to know for this little post is that the fun goodies that arrive each month come in these cute rectangle boxes. These boxes are the perfect size for drawer organization. And this is the photographic story of how I keep my organized drawer, thanks to Birchbox {and a handfull of other little cardbaord boxes}. I hope to organize my next drawer with a collection of tiny bowls and thrifted china dishes!
 
What simple ways do you keep your drawers organized? Anyone else out there find fun ways to repurpose boxes? (and...a funny parody on BIRCHBOX man -- over here)

8/1/12

(Part I) Over the toilet pretty!


There is a huge lack of storage space in our bathroom. When searching for storage options, too pricey yet my taste vs. rickety yet my price was the dilemma. When Matt came to me with his drafting paper in hand and a sketch up of the perfect over the toilet storage unit, I pretty much melted at the thought. Collaboration, a trip to buy wood, a free quart of paint from Ace, and some weekend hours of labor later, and we have the perfect little bathroom storage. You can see what our bathroom looked like before HERE, and stay tuned for Part II of this little project. (OH, and leave a comment if you want the plans/sketch/wood dimensions added in to the detailed post- a.k.a. you are just jumping at the thought that you could build this too, and get a free quart of paint at Ace (Aug. 4th!), and make this shelf for your very own commode. Because if this is the case, I will make sure they are included!).

7/18/12

Dreaming of {functional & affordable yet design-y} garage interiors.

Does anyone else get goosebumps when they walk into a garage that is neater than their house? It is the rarity, but an organized garage that meets Martha Stuart standards can be done. It may not always look pristine, because lets be honest, life is messy, but just some simple additions can really transform a space. One common thread is vertical storage, hooks, and labeled containers. For some people, their garage is a work space, so having an area that is charming and inviting, with things in their place, makes work and projects that much more efficient (and you can spend more time on the actual project rather than digging around for materials). Matt and I are lucky this time around, because not only does moving into a new place mean a new chance to purge and reorganize (done and done), but moving into a new place with a brand new garage means starting from scratch in the design department. The wood still smells freshly cut, its that new. Up until now, and most likely forever, the garage is Matt's space....but a girl can still dream about design elements, right? Honestly, having a handy man engineer for a husband is a dream, and one that is on the neat side of the spectrum to boot. I should really thank his mom again for that (Thanks, Jayne!) You should see our garage progress so far (You will see it eventually, its in the works. For now, see some early garage construction here and here). That man has a hidden talent for garage organization. Hallelujah. I may just enter in to add some labels and organize my own area of diy/paint/misc storage. So back to that dreaming about beautiful yet functional garage bit (even without built in cabinets).
Martha Stuart Living
Vertical and mint green
Tip Junkie
Peg wall gardening station
BHG
White bright and labeled. 
Martha Stuart Living
Tool tracing and mason jar storage
BHG
Potting space with cleaning storage
Goodhousekeeping.com
Traditional and functional (This could be my grandparents garage)

For specific photo credits and more ideas meander over here.
And here is a * gold star if you actually have a garage that looks like any of the above! You could teach a thing or two about donating the unneeded and organizing like a pro. Any tips out there for garage design from you readers? What has been super helpful and something you would suggest for a soon to be "use the garage as a catch all work space in the dead of winter" girl? 


7/6/12

Organizing a stacked washer & dryer closet.

I typically have not shared any of my ways of organizing. I usually leave that inspiration to bloggers like Amy over at 20minutemom and other neat and tidy Martha Stuart like women, who do it ever so gracefully. But with any styled home, all the clutter and household must haves need a place to be out of sight and out of mind, so that the rest of the fun decor can really pop. As you've taken some tours of my home via blogging, you may have wondered where the laundry room was. Or where the linen closet is. You must be asking yourself, "That girl lives in Denver, where do they keep winter coats, blankets, mountain gear, and hiking boots? She has a dog and a husband too, where does she hide all of their toys and hobby items, and the things she uses to clean up after them [and herself]?" 
To answer the first two questions, I will give you a simple response:  My once linen closet is in fact my laundry room.
Before: A seriously mundane laundry situation.
Before we moved in, this house was completely gutted. Part of the remodel moved walls, expanding the kitchen, but removing a hallway and laundry space. SO now, the washer and dryer along with the water heater are in what would have been the linen and coat closet. (Hence why we made over the door bathroom storage and a coat rack). I have not given the "laundry room" much attention and reached my point of no return when my Shout and Wrinkle Remover continually fell off the top during the spin cycle and I was always making trips into the back bedroom in times of paper towel necessity. I wanted all my laundry needs in one place, organized, and pretty to the eye with a "No more Tears!" stamp of approval from Johnson & Johnson. 

I had to get creative if I wanted to fit paper goods, cleaning supplies, stain removers, detergent, hand towels, ect. all in this little closet. I had the top of the dryer space as well as a potential small door hanging space to work with. First, to eliminate items falling off the top of the dryer, I utilized the inside of the door to hang a bin filled with all my stain removers, lint rollers, wrinkle release, and wash bags. The blue bin is from Target's dollar spot and I made a label using brown paper bag, sharpie, and yarn. With an over the door hanger, I was able to fit my ironing board and my organized bin. When I am doing laundry, I can easily lift the bin off the hook and get to my supplies.
Getting closer to no more tears when doing laundry.
{this one is for my mom, because I know she's reading}

Tag supplies.
Next, I put paper goods in a large basket and made a brown bag label. It fit just right on top of the dryer, wedged against the wall (perfectly snug and moving nowhere when the washer is in full spin).



Using a shelf insert from Ikea to create another level of space saving storage, I organized the rest of my laundry goods and cleaning items next to the paper goods basket. 

Getting giddy because I love 'neat' in cramed spaces.

There is just enough space on the top of the dryer, in front of the stored items, so that the bin hanging on the door has room to fit once the door is closed. 

After: A cheery little laundry closet.


Finally, a space I can work with and that looks good too! Now you no longer have to wonder about where I wash my clothing. I have more hidden storage (not much) in our home. If you like this post and want to see other ways I have organized, or will soon organize, I'd love a comment so I know whether I should continue sharing on the topic. Happy Friday!


6/4/12

My bedroom tour.


Before the boxes arrived our bedroom looked like this.
Still a work in progress (the walls still need significant help), our room is beginning to look like this.

Still needing some curtains. I'm waiting for a bargain.
Sale pillows: PB polkadot, West elm king shams in cacoon print
Ikea Euro sham.
Matt's nightstand: Table from UO, Ikea glass sea foam lamp
Bedframe: Living spaces
Makeshift dresser until I thrift find a tall one for this space.
Ikea Hamper.
  
My grandma's vintage dresser. 
This was a red tag lamp at HomeGoods. One of my favorite finds.
Comb plate, West elm, $2. My bridesmaids on our wedding day.
Framed: The boutonnière Matt wore on our wedding day.
The books on my dresser are shades of red and mint to aqua. I felt the color combo complimented the other accessories.
Baby me, with my dad, soaking up that California sunshine.
UO rug find:$10. Origianlly $$$$$. 
Instead of a side table I have a side dog bed. I plan to take an old quilt I have and make a duvet cover type thing to go over her bed. That way it is functional yet eye catching and pretty.


What makes your bedroom comfortable, functional, and uniquely you?