Organize in Style

On The Radio... Melissa Michaels of The Inspired Room

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be beautiful or be useful. -William Morris 

That my dear was the O-myth Brandie + chatted about with Melissa Michaels, The Style Coach, and fab blogger of The Inspired Room.  Didn't get to listen live... check it out: www.BlogTalkRadio.com/theOmyth  You can have a little listen-listen after the fact!

Brandie + I shared our tips for keeping your inspirational mag tear sheets organized.  Here is the file tote I think will be quite handy to keep those catalog + martha pages in line.  Brandie recommended the Audrey Tote from Russell Hazel... how functional + fabulous can you get sister?!!!

 

 

I'm also into just dumping them into a cute labeled box... something like this from The Organized Parent:

Oh... I mentioned an upcoming barn sale/flea market where you can just get your style on without doing any painting or sanding or fussin' about... Visit the BARNHOUSEbh blog... these boys are throwing a bash and I'm SO there... In fact I convinced them to let me judge the sweet contest bake-off...  more on this later!

For More Info on the Interview with Melissa... check out Brandie's post~

Next MONTH on the O myth... Wendy Piersall of www.sparkplugging.com  We'll be debating: Technology Makes your Life Easier... now really... let's debate this one!

Scrapbook Organizing with "The Aby Garvey" !

"FISH OUT OF WATER!"  Remember playing Marco Polo?  I'm the fish out of water when it comes to scrapooking... Aby Garvey however is both the Marco and the Polo... this girlfriend's seriously got it going on! 

 

I met Aby last Spring at our NAPO conference Bloggers Meet up & just had to have my photo taken with her to prove to my neighbor I got to meet "Aby Garvey".  And well, you know me... I just mosied on up and made a new friend!  Now mind you I didn't know at the time just how cool Aby was... now I do!  

 

Not a scrapbooker?  Me neither, in fact many of you know, I fondly refer to scrapbooking as crapbooking (only because of all the "crap" you need to create one 12x12 page and I've got so little patience ;))  BUT even though the title has Scrapbook in it... the subtitles + copy are truly some great basics.  So, read on and relate because whether you scrap or just have crap ;) - Aby knows how to get it together!   don't forget to visit her site + see why i'm so smitten~

 

THANK YOU Aby for this great addition to my Summer Guest Blog Series...

 

Scrapbook Organizing: Aby’s Top Five Things to Know

 

When you think about all the stuff that goes into creating a scrapbook—photos, adhesives, scissors, photo trimmers, cardstock, embellishments (galore!), letter stickers, the scrapbook itself, your memorabilia—the prospect of organizing for scrapbooking can seem a bit daunting. But, with just five key principles under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to orderly scrapbooking bliss.

 

1. Know Your Motivation for Scrapbooking.

Is it to organize your family photos? Is scrapbooking a creative outlet for you? Do you want to tell your family’s stories? When you understand your true reasons for scrapbooking, you will more easily make sense of which products to keep in your stash—those that will help you accomplish your scrapbooking goals. Without this filter in place, it’s hard to make decisions about what supplies to keep, which to let go of, and which new ones to bring into your space.

 

2. Know Your Approach to Scrapbooking.

How do you look for things when you’re scrapbooking? Do you look to add a little something pink, or do you think of things in terms of themes or seasons? Understanding your approach to scrapbooking, and how you look for things in the midst of creating a scrapbook page, will help you figure out the best ways to organize your supplies so you can find what you need in the heat of the scrapping moment.

 

3. Know the Difference Between Storage and Organization.

In a nutshell, storage is the container you put things in; organization is how you divide your things amongst your containers. Why is this important? Because you can’t solve an organization problem with storage container and you can’t solve a storage problem by re-categorizing your stuff. Understanding the difference between these two concepts, and approaching storage and organization as two separate decisions, will help you create an effective and organized scrapbook space. 

 

4. Understand Your Storage Needs and Preferences.

Do you need to see your scrapbook supplies to remember what you have? Do you need portable storage solutions so you can scrapbook at the kitchen table or go to classes and crops? Do you need closed containers to protect you supplies from dust (or the curious fingers of your kiddos?) Understanding your storage needs and preferences before investing in containers will save you loads of frustration (and a few dollars, too!)

 

5. Understand the Importance of Filling Your Space with Inspiration.

Let’s face it, when we scrapbook we’re capturing our life and memories on paper. We’re telling our family’s story…and that’s pretty inspiring stuff. Let your space remind you of the importance of what you’re doing by filling it with items that inspire you to create. Whether you scrapbook at the kitchen table or have a dedicated craft space, look for ways to bring your scrapbooking inspiration into your space. Hang photos. Display completed scrapbook pages. Or, alter storage items using your favorite scrapbook supplies.

 

With these five key principles under your belt, you’re five steps closer to the scrapbook space of your dreams!

 

Happy organizing!

Aby

 

Aby Garvey is the co-author of The Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker, and the author of The Happy Scrapper. Visit her website at www.simplify101.com for more creative organizing ideas.

Road Tripping- part 3 Travel Games

 

Clipboards!
Check out this adorable clipboard my neighbor Andrea made!  Andrea has a clipboard for each child that she has personalized with their names.  Each is adorned with blank paper so that they can draw to their little hearts desire.  She also shared with me this website www.puzzlemaker.com where I was able to make a word search puzzle using words of my choosing... now how cool is that?!  I opted for words related to our Lake Tahoe trip.  I added a couple of educational handouts leftover from the school year- wishful thinking... maybe.

What about this super cute Lap Desk... I got the pink striped one for my daughter!  Place a small plastic cup w/ coloring pencils or a few choice crayons in it.  I suggest using a little earthquake goo on the bottom of the cup so that it won't be able to tip over!  Place a couple of coloring books in the pocket in front of them and voila- the kids are good to create up a storm.

Games Galore old school + new school

Old School
Love the old stand-bys...  fyi: The clipboards would come in handy to keep track of your scores.

• Slug Bug
• Alpha order license plates
• Add up license plate numbers
• How many states can you find
• I spy

 

New School
Kid Chat + Travel Bingo are two fun ideas I discovered from www.TheOrganizedParent.com!  The Travel Bingo has pictures and words to make it easy for little ones to play along.  The Kid Chat would be great to keep in your glove box and whip out every so often when your traveling around town.  The book is little but full of questions to get your kids imagination flowin'.  I liked: "If you could know one thing about your future, what would you want to know?"

I also picked up a Brain Quest game from Target about 1100 things about America... haven't unwrapped it yet though... anyone have it /use it?

Any games you want to add....

Road Tripping- part 2... The Basics when Traveling with Kids

"Mom, I'm hungry!"  Enough already with the growling tummies and the eating to eat for goodness sake.  Oops, those would be my issues with food....  Inevitably the kids will need a snack to hold them over until you stop for lunch. That's right, we opt to stop for lunch instead of packing it... probably because my parent's never would.

Here are a couple of tips for your SNACK BAG.

• Keep napkins nearby +/or wipes
• Juice boxes or Water
• Some fruit.. bananas are easy + filling
• Bags of nuts... a little protein goes a long way
• Several plastic grocery bags for all the trash
• Note the cereal bars are stored standing up in the plastic cup... that's to save space in the larger bin.

  
 

Electronics...LOVE 'em or LOATHE 'em here is how you can keep them organized while traveling in the car.

Chargers
Keep chargers and extra batteries together.  Mine are shown in an inexpensive container from GLIS from IKEA. Also notice the iGo package from Radio Shack.  That's a charging system that has one plug-in charger and then you purchase the specialty tips to fit your specific phone or in my case the kid's Nintendo DS.  Love the idea of not hauling around and untangling a plethora of cords!

Games
The smaller plastic container is from Office Max, an Eldon Shelf Savers Divided Cube and is typically used to store office supplies on your desk or in the cupboard.  I'm using it turned on it's back to house the Nintendo DS and a handful of my daughter's reader book's they made in kindergarten this year.  Can you see the games for the leapster sitting udder the DS... easy for the kids to view and keep organized.

The Container
The dark leather bin on the left is mine + is a magazine holder that I picked up at TJ Maxx or Ross.  It's a perfect fit between the two seats in my mini van.  If you place the charger box in first then the DS + book container on top of it- you are saving space and making it easier for those little arms to reach down and grab their stuff!

Note the ever important headphones because my kids don't always like to hear my music and begin to complain: "trying to play my game mom".  There is enough room in the container for another set of books + games for a second child.  You may need to scale back or do a little more in-car sharing if you've got more than two traveling.

The organizer on the right is from The Organized Parent and would be perfect to use in place of mine.. but measure your space because my van is a bit tricky and yours may be as well. 

The Rules
Do you have rules about watching the DVD player or playing electronic games?  I'd love to hear how you handle it.  Also wondering if you are FOR or AGAINST using them in the car....

fyi:  Stephanie, owner of The Organized Parent wrote a great piece on how to be DVD free in the car... check it out!

Organizing Blueberries!

As part of my SUMMER GUEST BLOG SERIES.. I bring you the spectacular Allison Carter. Allison and I were roomies at the NAPO conference in Reno last spring.  It was fun to room w/her... she lives in Atlanta and we met through a group we are both involved in- Ladies Who Launch... we clicked right away.  Can you tell... check out the fabulous necklace of hers!

Allison Carter of The Professional Organizer and co-host of radio show The Organizing Playground shares her blueberry experience with us.. .and I'm thrilled at it's timeliness as those little gems are about to be ripe and good for pickin' in my neck of the woods. CLICK here for a farm fresh guide in SW Washington... google for farms in your area.

Thank you Allison!

Just goes to show you - anything can be organized!

I took my family and another family out blueberry picking (always the first week of July in Georgia) and we hit a great day. The little secret farm I go to (in some guy's backyard there are about 100 bushes) was in great bloom. We picked 2 GALLONS - yes I said GALLONS!  That is more than even this berry-luvin' family can eat in a month. But I'm not giving them away - they're just too delish.  See the photo of the 1/2 eaten extra yummy blueberry pie with just enough lemon juice and 1/2 the sugar (so it's nice and tart the way we like it - recipe below)

So had to organize them to save them. It takes several steps (like doing laundry)

1. Wash and take out lame berries. Take off any stems.
2. Take out almost ripe berries and lay them out overnight to ripen
3. Put berries on cookie sheets in  single layer to freeze for 2 hours or more.
4. Transfer frozen berries to really good zip-lock bags so they don't get frost-bite and lose a finger. Measure the cups if you plan to cook with them. I like to do bags of 3 cups and 2 cups for making pies.
5. Label the bags with the amount of cups inside and store in freezer for a few months. They won't last forever so don't push them to the back to get lost. (See photo of 4 bags on my kitchen table - I got 8 bags total)

Pie Recipe courtesy of:
http://www.pickyourown.org/blueberrypie.php
(I modify with 1/2 sugar to make it tart)

Ingredients and Equipment
(per 9 inch deep dish pie)
 3 to 4 cups Blueberries - fresh or frozen (without syrup)
 One 9 inch deep-dish Pie Plate
 7 Tablespoons corn starch (for those of you in the British Isles, you know it as "corn flour").
 3 Tablespoons water (or grape juice)
 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
 One 9-inch Gram cracker pie crust - or make using 1 cup gram cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup butter melted, 2 TB sugar.
Mix and press into pie plate. Bake 10 minutes on 350 degrees. - It will take 30 minutes to cool. You can speed it up by putting it in the freezer.
 Sweetener:
o 2/3 cup granulated (ordinary table) Sugar OR
o 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup Splenda (Splenda works in pie recipes, but not by itself.  The pie turns out heavy and with much less flavor).
 
 Crumb topping (optional):
o 1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)
o 1/2 cup flour
o 1/4 cup butter or margarine melted
Mix all together

Preheat oven to 375 degrees for pie.
 Mix the dry filling ingredients.
Combine the 2/3 cup sugar (or sugar/Splenda blend), 7 Tablespoons of corn starch, and spices in a bowl and mix well!

 Mix in the liquids
Add the 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, and 3 Tablespoons of water (or grape juice) and stir it up. If you use Splenda, it will be pretty gloppy, rather than drier crumbs, but it still works the same.

Add the blueberries to the pie crust. Just pour them in! There's lots of air space and it will cook down, so don't worry if they mound up about an inch (2.5 cm) above the edge of the plate.

Just pour the mixture of sugar, juice, etc. into the pie all over the blueberries. If it is a gloppy liquid, don’t worry, just pour it somewhat evenly over the top. But it doesn’t take perfection; it will smooth itself out in the oven.

If you want the crumb topping, just mix
 1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)
 1/2 cup flour
 1/4 butter or margarine
together in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the pie.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 Celsius) for 1 hour.
If you piled it high, put something under the pan to catch any drips.
It takes about an hour to cool.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Allison Carter, The Professional Organizer, CPO®
http://www.theprofessionalorganizer.com
Co-host of The Organizing Playground
on RadioSandySprings.com
Tuesdays at Noon

Road Tripping? Survival Tips for Moms

Road Tripping with kids... WATCH my segment here!  So MUCH TO SHARE... and not nearly enough time.  So I took a few photos and will be sharing my Road Tripping Survival Tips with you this week but right now the kids are about to walk in the door and it will be back to my mom-job..... 

Coming later this week...
Part 2- Basics of Traveling with Kids: organizing tips for snacks + electronics
Part 3- Travel Games: old school + new school

Here's some quick tips for creating your own in-car "mom bag". 

First I use a simple tote that has a small box-bottom so that it won't tip over all the time and not too large so that it becomes a catch-all.

• Add some magazines that you've been wanting to peruse.
• A clipboard w/paper to catch all those ideas + random thoughts you'll find yourself having.
• Sunglasses
• Your own secret stash of water + treats!
• Favorite CD's
• A book you've been wanting to read.
• A couple of cards + stamps.
• Tylenol... just in case you can't take it any longer!

The "mom-bag" isn't just for road trippin'....  it's great to keep in the car for when you find yourself waiting for the kids to finish practice or take into your dental appt. w/you... just add a good book and you're good to enjoy those spare moments.

Tape Dispensers Don't Have to Boring

Jeri Dansky is my favorite organizing product blogger.  This woman has a knack for finding function meet fabulous and that is SO my thing!  Check out this post she did on jewelry organizers... I love the mirror one~ I also appreciate her philosphy about products as we both agree products don't solve your organizing challenges.  But you and I both know that function is a lot more fun when it's fabulous!

As part of my Summer Guest Blogging Series Jeri wrote up this special post for you!  She had no idea I had such a thing for tape.... Scotch Tape that is!  My dad worked for 3M, and well, I appreciate the dividend that Scotch Tape has contributed to my life ;). A big thank you to the fabulous Jeri Dansky for bringing us this didy!

Tape Dispensers Don't Have to Be Boring

Are you an office supply addict? Tired of that boring tape dispenser sitting on your desk? Then maybe one of the following tape dispensers will appeal to you.

1. Remember cassette tapes? You can now have a cassette tape tape dispenser! [via Popgadget]

2. For an elegant look, there's this lovely stainless steel tape dispenser.

3. And here's another attractive stainless steel dispenser.

4. Are these too serious-looking for you? Want something more colorful? Then consider the parrot tape dispenser.

5. Or staying on the animal theme, here's a snail tape dispenser.

6. And here's another snail (also available here).

7. Let's go from the slow (the snails) to the fast with this racing tire and wheel tape dispenser.

 8. Did you know that you could get an electronic tape dispenser? (Can you figure out why you would even want one, other than it looks cool?)

9. Returning to the classy look, this tape dispenser is made of three different woods. [via Apartment Therapy]

 10. And Levenger provides a leather dispenser.

11. Finally, if you want to be decadent, there's the tape dispenser (and other desk accessories) with Swarovski crystals. [via ThisNext]

The Organizing Playground Radio Show

The Organizing Playground

They put the FUN in FUNctional

I'm joining Allison + Sara in their sandbox this week!  Their show brings you a chatty fun way to think about organizing and motivate you to get going on your organizing projects.

hosts Allison Carter (above), Sara Fisher (below)

 

 

 

Yeah!!!!  Allison Carter invited me to be a guest on The Organizing Playground!  Did you read the description above... definitely up my alley!

Allison + Sara will be interviewing me about The Shebang, the smart woman's guide to doing it all! as well as chatting w/ Lorie Marrero of The Clutter Diet about her unique organizing program!  Listen in on Tuesday 1-2 est and 9-10 am for my west coast readers.  If you can't join us live you can download it later to you iTunes~

 

 

Free + Fun- get your summer on!

I'm treating myself to a little Summer and what's Summer without a good read or a fabulous mojito or both?  You know exactly what I'm talkin' about don't you!  So in order to make that happen in my life I'm cutting back my hours a bit.  I mean someone's got to watch the kids before the sitter shows up and I can join my girlfriends for an evening cocktail on the patio.  (ok... that doesn't happen everynight but it doesn't hurt to dream now does it;) ) 

MY SOLUTION:
I've called upon my favorite organizing and lifestyle bloggers and asked them to share a favorite didy of their own.  Each week I'll introduce + share their chosen words with you.  I'm excited to have you meet them and discover that we aren't a tribe of stepford wives infultrating the nooks and crannies of people's lives.  So cheers to my guests for aiding and abetting ( i have no idea if that one's spelt correctly;) ) my pursuit of Summer bliss!

First up meet my gal Megan Spears!  This mama got it going on... and will help you get it together this summer as well!  Thanks Megan!

Free and Fun... two of my favorite words!
 
What a privilege it is for me to guest blog here at Organize in Style! Basically, I am embarrassed to admit that I really have no style. I do love to read about those who do have style, and clearly, Krista is all about style. Well, let me introduce myself…. My name is Megan Spears (aka an organizing consultant) and my company isDisorder2Order, I help busy families create functional household management systems. Krista and I both belong to NAPO Oregon, and as the crow flies… we live pretty close to each other. If it wasn’t for that big river, we would be a short 20 minute drive from each other…
                                                                                                                                                         
Krista and I are both moms of two children. Hers are a bit older than mine, but I could relate to her post last week about what to do when the kids are bored! It is funny how as a mom, you really have to get creative with ideas when mother nature is working against you! I have spent hours preparing and planning out our summer just to keep my boys busy. Which to be honest with you was really exhausting, but now is really paying off for me! They are happier people when they are on the go-go-go and for some reason I am happier too. With two active kids summer can get really expensive, so I am always looking for fun and free (two of my favorite words by the way) activities to keep them busy. The problem with finding fun and free activities is time… it takes some concentrated time to search out various activities. Lucky for me, I love to do research. Most of the time it’s just getting that little trigger to spur an idea for something to do. I thought it might be nice to share some of my ideas for keeping the kids busy through the summer months… maybe something might trigger an idea for you! Enjoy!
 
Most of these activities revolve around the Portland/Vancouver, but I have no doubt that if you do a little Google searching, you might find something similar in your area!
 
·         Check out Around the Sun a blog for Portlanders, listing various activities, events and gatherings for families… and most everything is either free or at a very low cost.

·         Make sure to check into your local parks and recreation calendars most often there are free family related activities for summer, not to mention the local pool schedule might be handy to have available. Regal Cinema has a summer family fun movie festival from now until the end of summer with free morning movies.

·         Finally, my personal favorite is the summer reading program at the local library. Most libraries have a summer program and really all ages can participate and some level. Not only does it get you to the library, but you can’t beat encouraging reading through the summer in  a fun way!

·         Some other blogs I like to check out every now and then that feature fun activities for kids either at home or on the go are Fun Activities for Kids, Little Elephants and Activity Village Blog.
 
Now that the sun is out and we are looking towards eighty degrees, tank tops and flip flops things seem to be a bit easier… happy summer!
 
guest post by:
Megan M. Spears click here for her blog!
w: www.disorder2order.com 
  

A Stay at Home Vacation- I Double Dog Dare You.

LOVE this Pottery Barn piece... wish it were in my garden!

Do you get

REAL SIMPLE?  I loved this article circa August '05 written by Maria Shollenbarger.  Yes, you noticed that I have a 3 year old magazine in my home!  I'll share tips + let you in my personal stash of mags later, this post is about a fabulous little diddy they had on "Put the World on Hold".  Here are their fabulous suggestions for a stay at home vacation.  With gas prices over the top I thought I'd treat myself to these tips!

Turn off the ringers on your phones and mute the answering machine.  Check messages only when you want to, keeping in mind that "not at all" is always an option.

Send an "out of the office" e-mail" to everyone you know (even if your office is a corner of the playroom).  Say you won't be checking your e-mail till you're back from vacation.  Then power down the computer and throw a towel over it.

Stop the newspaper-maybe even the mail- for a week.  When you banish the source of stress, the stress itself may follow.  The earth will continue to turn even if you're not reading all about it every morning at 7:30 sharp, and sadly, the bills will still be there when your vacation is over.

My 2-cents....

the phone: So you're worried about turning off the ringer because the kids may call from camp with some emergency.  How about turning off the land line and adding a special ring tone to your phone for the kids.  I also need to figure out how to have the phone only ring twice so that the other incoming calls don't drive me batty- anyone know how?

e-mail: Put it on auto-reply.  oooh and power off- that's going to be a bit tough but i think i can do it at least on the home computer!  Love the towel over the computer trick~

the mail: Definately!  I enjoy reading the paper so I'd opt to keep it coming and read it outside after the kids have left for camp.  But the mail- love the idea!!!! 

Are you up for the challenge?