starting to organize

As I mentioned this morning, errands took up a large part of my Monday.  I thought I would show you what I picked up.  The theme of the trip was organization. 

Thankfully, I had a 20% off your entire purchase at BBB.  Gotta’ love their coupons!  I had a list of items that I was looking for and tried my best not to stray.  There were about 5 items I really wanted, but refrained and put back on the shelf.  Not easy!!  I did however buy super cool things like an ironing board, linens, storage containers, vinegar [for my cleaning products], etc.

Here we have a blurry pan organizer, that will be placed in one of the base cabinets.  We decided when we moved, that we would invest in these sort of silly purchases.  I say silly, because a pan organizer seems kind of dumb.  As do draw organizers.  But they really help keep both of us sane!  We lived in rentals for so many years, that we kept fairly disorganized.  We didn’t want to spend money to make things work temporarily.  Now that we own a house, we really want to organize the best we can.  And sometimes these little purchases are the answer!

clutter + disorganization = annoyance

silly organizational purchases = calmness [winner!]

We wanted to maximize the space above our closet shelves, so we got these stackers to help.  We’ll probably use them for sweater storage.  I also picked up a few under bed storage containers for things like winter gloves/scarves etc.  I see buying more of both in the near future.

1 small house + 3 closets = not enough storage room = must get creative!

A non-storage purchase was our master bedroom duvet set.  Can you believe I actually made the decision myself?  Well, Chris approved of course, but I just loved this set.  The colors are warm and inviting.  I love the simplicity of the design, which keeps with the modern theme I have going throughout the house.

Here’s a better look at it.  [bought from Bed Bath + Beyond]  This is a gift from my parents, who bought us our down comforter to go in the duvet, nearly 3 years ago for our wedding.  I cannot wait to actually use it!!

For the spare bed, I bought a bed skirt from BBB + a sheet set from Target.  This organic sheet set was only $30 and felt so comfy and soft.  It’s 100% cotton and has a 325 thread count.  I almost bought a set at BBB for $60.  I’m so glad I held off!

One thing I hate are puddles of water on the counter from dish wands + sponges.  I have a little stand right now that we used to keep on the counter.  We’ve been keeping it in the actual sink now, but I don’t like that either.  Food gets trapped underneath and turns into a mess.  This will solve that problem!  Bed Bath had all sorts of suction sponge holders, but I liked this one because it suctions and has a hanging device.

To the left is a bathmat.  I’m not excited about this purchase, because the only type I could find was 100% PVC [vinyl].  I try to stay away from PVC as much as possible for a multitude of reasons.  One reason is it’s nasty off-gassing of toxins.  I always buy cloth shower curtain liners for this very reason.  I’ve never had to buy one of these before, but our tub is really slippery!

I also snagged a few towel bars at Target, a robe/clothes hook, and a new toilet brush.  Sometimes you just need to replace the toilet brush!  This has a little button that pops the bottom tray off so you can clean it.  The towel rods were a steal in my opinion, at about $17/piece.  I bought some from BBB before the Target trip, that were almost exactly the same, but cost $40!!  I promptly returned them.

Pan storage before:

Pan storage after:

Overflowing laundry basket:

I’m so excited about this next find!!  I was getting really sick of the laundry basket.  It fills up with 1 loads worth of clothes and turns into a big mess.  Now, we can separate, darks – whites – towels.  Woop!

3 compartment laundry sorter, on wheels:

One last thing…Chris built our chair this past weekend!  It’s a solid charcoal grey color, that will match the black/gray/white tweed material of the couch.  It’s also part of the Karlstad line at Ikea.  Can’t wait to make room for it in the living room!

Better get back to it!

Ashley