Catch It All Trays

The current item that I am searching thrift stores, craigslist, Target, Ross, and everywhere else for? A mirrored tray. All of my lotions and perfumes are currently sitting in a basket on the vanity in my bathroom, but as I'm slowly redoing the master bedroom/bath, I'd like something a little nicer looking. To me, trays just bring everything together...you can take a bunch of different items, sit them neatly together in a gorgeous tray...and voila! Perfection.

Here are some beautiful examples...

Love this snake skin tray from Lonny. Funky but still very sleek and chic.

Images via country living, decor home, domino magazine, and lonny magazine.

I Have A Confession...

 I am home from my week long hiatus/vacation and I have a confession. I love rooms like these...

IMAGES FROM: lonny mag, decor pad, and flickr.

What do all of these rooms have in common? There are different colors, different prints, different lines, and just overall different styles. But these rooms all share one central theme to me...zero clutter, total organization. But here comes the confession...my house looks nothing like these rooms. Sure, the colors and styles may be similar to my own home, but I tend to gather stuff and create lots of clutter. I hope it isn't genetic for my future children's sake.

This past week as I was on vacation, spending time at the lake with my family, I realized how big this problem has become. So I have decided to finally do something about it! I've made a list that I call my "Declutter List." This list (obviously) details what I plan to declutter and organize in a specific order. The first things being what need the most work, to the things that need a little bit less. 

First on the list for this week is the office closet. I think we all have those closets; you know, the ones where you shove all your random things and just close the door. Yep, you got it, this is one of those closets. It's not that I mind this closet holding random things; from my out-of-season clothes to all of my non-framed photos to all of my extra decor accessories, but I'd like it to have some organization.

Now, it hurts and embarrasses me to show these pictures, but I hope that all of you will still love me the same. Here is that closet...

View of the closet from the doorway.

The left side.

& the right side.

Goals for the week and the closet:
      1) Sort through clutter; decide what to keep & what to get rid of.
      2) Organize what will stay in the closet.
      3) Move filing cabinet from office into the closet.
      4) Move out-of-season clothes from bedroom closet to office/storage closet.

So there you go. You know that I will keep you updated on the progress! Encouragement and advice is always welcome! x

It's Time To Plan!

Well the first day back to school was definitely a doozie...I've been up since 5:45 this morning and was out the door before 7 and finally got back home after a constant day of go-go-go around 2:30. When I got home I let my poor, precious Molly out of her crate...my hubby, Cody, is a firefighter and is on shift today so Molly girl was stuck in her crate all day. After I let her out we went out to the field behind our house...she ran around and I just sat down and tried to relax and just breathe. Now we are both crashed and exhausted on the couch.

After looking at all of my different class assignment schedules all I can think about is how badly I need to whip out my personal planner that has been hibernating since Christmas break and fill it out with all of the due dates. Planners are definitely a must for me, without mine I am completely lost. Speaking of planners...don't you just wish they made some that look a little cuter and a little bit more, I don't know...original? Well I know I do, and so I began a search for one or a way to make one...yes, I chose to do this instead of actually writing my dates down. But my procrastination and searching paid off and I found this lovely little DIY personal planner on flickr!

Images found here from here.

Be sure to check out the actual blog post to see more and get the details on how to start a project like this. The actual blog post does not have many details but if you check out the readers comments and questions, you can see Katja's response and some helpful advice.

So do you guys carry around a personal planner? Is it a must for you or are you good enough to keep all of your different dates in your head?

Day 3 Picture

I know that my picture for day 3 is technically two pictures, but I had to combine the two just to be sure I really showed you what was going on...maybe that's breaking the rules a bit but that's okay.

I know this isn't the most profound or artsy picture either but this picture shows that I have begun to follow through on my other resolution this year...to get and STAY organized! So I began that process with my Christmas decorations. It is all in boxes that are labeled and split by decorations that go in each room. I'm rather proud of myself, thus the reason for the picture. :)

Cheers to a New Year

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's eve. 

Middle age is when you're forced to. -Bill Vaughn

People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. -Unknown

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, 

and let each new year find you a better man. -Benjamin Franklin

Happy New Year's y'all! I know it's a little early, but I am heading out of town for the next few days to spend the New Year's holiday with my family at my parent's lake house.  It's a wonderful tradition that involves family, friends, fireworks, and fondue. Oh..and the dreaded, obligatory New Year's resolution. Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic but I think most of us don't always love making them. But this year I decided to have a different attitude about it and to make a resolution that I can actually achieve!

My New Year's resolution this year is to become and stay more organized. Yes, I admit it..I can be quite the pack-rat/slob at times and I know this annoys my extremely clean, OCD husband..if only he knew that I wish I could be more like him in that way. Anyways, the goal this year is to keep my house cleaner and more organized and find attractive and simple ways to keep my house that way. 

What about you guys..what are your New Year's resolutions? And do you have any good advice on helping me stay organized and finding an attractive/simple way to do it?

I look forward to coming back and reading more about y'alls New Year's celebrations and about your resolutions for 2010. I hope you each have an exciting and blessed start to the new year!