another great martha idea

love this! here's the how-to.

clean sweep

are you on stuff overload? i'm really trying these few weeks to purge as much as i can. mail? go through it every day. or something like that. i'm also trying to really scrutinize the stuff we have laying around and be ruthless about getting rid of it. i don't want to be one of those people whose home looks like a model home with no personal affects (well maybe a little i do...) but i do want something a little closer to that than i currently have. 

it was definitely time for another closet sweep which is always gratifying...i've been feeling the thrill of that purge since i've starting losing weight and it really doesn't lose its charm - the combined victory of being smaller than you were, making more room in your closet and helping others. it's a perfect cocktail, really.

and another thing i've been doing, and it's so small really, but so powerful, is getting rid of anything i see that doesn't serve a purpose or doesn't work properly. like these umbrellas for example. they're pretty and i've been so sad to see them break. but i've been stuck in stupid, still trying to use them despite their less than functional functionality. i've lamented their broken frames for long enough and it's time to say goodbye. it has felt oddly satisfying and renewing to trash them.

the scented letter

i spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning out closets and drawers with so much more to add to my seemingly endless clothing donations. i sorted sunglasses and found a new, larger home for all my beloved bracelets, since the collection has grown like it has. 

as i went through drawers and cleared out garbage and things i'd been clinging to just because, my spirits were lifted by the lovely scent of my lavender drawer sachets, which is all the more reason i know i'd love a beautifully scented sachet with my initial on it like this one. in the category of little extras, who wouldn't want one or a few? would also be a lovely hostess gift for a beach visit to come or a darling token for a bride-to-be with the initial of her new last name.

need more ideas for hostess gifts or bridal shower gifts?

keeping our heads on straight...sunday best

do you have any sunday rituals? mitchell and i always try to get home early, if we go out at all, and we each prep our work bags for the week and do whatever else we can to get centered and organized to start the week.

all those routines are good, and they make a huge difference, but i love discovering little things that take a minute or two each that also have a big impact. for example, i have two baskets in my bathroom - one on the back of the toilet and one on the floor, and like any basket does, they can easily become catchalls on busy days. in our bathroom, a weekend that involves a few showers, makeup applications, shaves and hair dryings means catchall, and that just becomes stressful to look at.


last night, i thought to take a couple quick pictures right before i straightened them out because i knew it would be visually satisfying what a big difference a few minutes can make. i timed it - 3 minutes flat for both baskets, and i can't tell you what a big difference it made to see them both looking good and neat. then i lit a candle and turned off the light behind me.


they're not perfect - i'm really not much into perfection - but they're good, and that everything- in-its-place feeling is better than good.

i'd love to hear about the rituals that keep your head on straight.

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keeping our heads on straight...good ideas

well, today seems like as good a day as any to talk about getting and staying organized. this morning, i left half my breakfast on my vanity, my blackberry in the bathroom, my glasses on the counter of the coffee shop, the ring guard that keeps my rings on securely somewhere in the house...and that was all before 7:30. needless to say, my day is a little off kilter.

so it's ironic, and quite useful, that i have these tips to share with you - don't worry, they're not from me (clearly), they're from the contributors to this month's better homes and gardens feature on getting organized for the new year, which i strangely can't find a link to on their website. anyway, it's part of their highly useful series of 25 ways you can do ___, or 25 ideas for ___...and the magazine is so cheap that it's a great one to pick up sometimes.

the best tips i picked up, and they are REALLY good ones, were these which i'm paraphrasing:

• clean out your bag each night , making you ready to start each day fresh. it's so simple, but so good. sometimes i do this on the train, even in the morning, and it serves the same purpose. there's something just so good about knowing you're not carrying around any extra garbage, and everything is in its place.
• limit your to-do list to a few items you can get accomplished TODAY. this one, to me is genius. i have a running to-do list, some of which is from the summer. clearly, many of those items aren't time sensitive, they just need to be done at some point. but it's true that when i flip to that section of my filo (yes, i'm still all about paper in this regard), i see an endless list and i'm sort of desensitized to it. i've taken this piece of advice to heart and implemented a post-it strategy. each morning (also on the train), i extract three items from the longesttodolistever and write them on the post-it - those are my goals for TODAY. so rather than a TO DO list, it's a TODAY list. i have already found i get more done that way, and enjoy a feeling of accomplishment and control which, really, is the whole point of a to do list in the first place. as i complete each day's tasks, i mark them as done on the bigger list, and choose the next three for tomorrow.
  

then, a segment on my new favorite the nate berkus show also comes to mind...he had a woman on who is a procrastinator and is, naturally, totally overwhelmed by the monumental tasks before her like going through her mail, checking her voicemail and decorating her daughter's bedroom. although those are sort of pedestrian tasks, it's easy to understand how they could become very daunting when left undone and how you could develop a lot of anxiety about having to do them.

the main suggestion of nate's expert was to break down each task into smaller tasks so they'd be more achievable and less overwhelming. this sounds so obvious, and it is in a way, but it's really quite perfect. rather than stressing about decoratingherdaughtersroom, today's task would be to go to a paint store and pick up some swatches and decide on a color. then tomorrow, look at furniture options online. suddenly, it's not only manageable, but could actually be pleasant! this dovetails nicely with the to do list suggestion from BHG and really has the potential to turn into a way of life.

i love getting good advice, and i love passing it on.

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pulling our thoughts together

i love this idea for right next to my front door, don't you? especially in such a busy season, i feel like every home could probably benefit from a center of organization...as close to the outside world as possible - where you enter and exit the house!

do you have any good strategies for keeping your head on straight so you don't drown in lists and receipts and ideas and packages? i'd love to hear them!

image credit

how many cooks in your kitchen?

since thanksgiving is such a kitchen holiday, i thought it best we kick it off with some inspiring and calm kitchen pictures, courtesy of martha herself. here, we can see how everything is in order and everything has a place. though most real life kitchens aren't this organized, clean or color-coordinated, i like to think we can all take cues from martha and the other experts and implement them where they work for us in our own very real, very not TV ready lives.





i know in my family, a few key things help (though by no means eliminate rushing)...we try to always start with an empty dishwasher, ready to be filled as we go. we pre-decide and label all the serving pieces we'll use so they're clean and available, and we don't have to run around improvising. i find it also helps having that list to work from - it's methodical, it's orderly and it gives you a sense of control and purpose as you work. of course, trying to do as much as you can in advance helps to, which would explain why my mom has been chopping vegetables since last thanksgiving.



and speaking of vegetable chopping, i've personally found rachael ray's garbage bowl idea life-changing, as it eliminates counter mess and walking back and forth to the garbage leaving onion peels and wrappers in your wake.





if anyone has wisdom on cutting onions, i'd love to hear it...we tried the candle the other day. NOPE.

what time-savers or nerve-calmers are you using in the kitchen this year?

read the comments on this post for honey living readers' best kitchen tips!

and for other great martha tips for living, read on.

all images courtesy of martha stewart

outside in

one of the best things about my marriage is the way that mitchell and i see eye to eye on most of the big stuff, but we have such different approaches to things small and large, which makes each of us better. he often comes up with solutions that i would never think of, and vice versa. when consulting each other on challenges we're facing, we often stare incredulously at one another's suggestions, as if to say "i never would have thought of that." it makes for good teamwork and the occasional "spirited debate."

so this weekend, i plan to employ one of mitchell's strategies for cleaning and organizing...my closet is more or less verbally asking to be organized so i must oblige. i think some of the items you see above literally threw themselves onto the floor our of frustration. it's a multi-part process, for sure, and i've been inspired by these great closet photos (minus the atrocious one directly above) from nicole of making it lovely, so i'm using them as my driving force. i'm thinking if she can do this all with a freestanding ikea wardrobe, i can make sense out of my small walk-in closet.


mitchell's smart idea is to remove everything and then organize and purge as you bring things back in and place them neatly where you want them. here's what i mean kids - i never would have thought of that. i would have been crammed in the closet with barely a foot to move around, sweating, cursing, wishing i had never started this damn project.

mitchell's plan makes a bit of a mess of the room temporarily, but overall is a much more effective strategy, i've found. it also forces you to assess the ways you're storing things and all the tools bought over the years - special hangers, boxes and bags and forces you to consider a new formula. to start, i've stocked up on hot pink bins and baskets on heavy sale at bed, bath and beyond and i'm ready to strike.

and now that i've seen nicole's lovely little chestnut of a plan (above), i'm cooking up my own. i love me a good plan.

what are your weekend plans?

images from making it lovely

nighty night

nightstands are kind of like a little apartment within your home, right? they're self-contained, just a lovely little tableau of whatever happens your first and last moments awake each day.

here's what's on mine:

-an alarm clock i've had since high school
-a small crystal bowl my grandpa gave me which holds rubber bands and odds and ends
-a glittery silver box for my rings
-a bottle of lavender and vanilla pillow mist
-a box i painted in mexico to hold my inner child - story for another day
-a face-shaped box from my grandma which holds q-tips
-a book or two and my blackberry
-anywhere between one and four water bottles at varying levels of fullness

i'm curious to know...what's on your nightstand?

image from house beautiful

woodn't you rather?

in our technologically advanced world, things can be so cold, you know? not only in the spiritual sense, but in the very real tactile sense, especially as the weather cools...everything is metal and glass and cold and hard-edged, so i was instantly charmed when i came upon these real wood skins for apple products from karvt (unfortunately these are not available to the PC world, but there is a basic version available through schtickers).






i just love that these are sustainable and responsible, totally unique as no two pieces of wood are alike, and also totally affordable (nothing over $35!). i think my favorite colors are the chocolate walnut and the natural cedar. the iPhone covers are $15 for the 3G (note: front cover only) and $25 for the iPhone 4...holiday gifts, anyone?
and i love the idea of warming up and office space with these enzo star boxes made of sustainable sheesham wood, don't you? something like these on a desk or work surface would just warm it up instantly, as opposed to the cold, utilitarian black and metal versions we're used to, and they're so much more whimsical than the buttoned-up wood options out there.

i love that beautiful wood can be enjoyed in so many ways...we don't have to be in the market for a big piece of furniture to enjoy it.

images from linked sites

my cup of tea, part 2

remember a while ago, i told you i wanted to do a little jewelry project inspired by martha (what project isn't, right?). i had my teacup collection (all of english provenance, all with gold detail) collecting dust - literally - in a drawer so this seemed meant to be.

see the dust? okay moving right along...so i decided to use my dresser for this since it has a very deep drawer at exactly the right height for jewelry exploration and choosing. i cut a pretty towel i bought at old navy for just a couple dollars so it fit the drawer well and laid it down. i haven't tacked it in place though i think i might do that to secure it and keep it flat.


i also think i might line the walls of the drawer with something...i'd love to do it in a dark velvety fabric - maybe contact paper? in fact, i could see doing the whole thing in that...like a jewel box, literally. now all i need is a little chandelier in there.


i told you i'm into bracelets right now.

in suspense

i love ideas that create spaces without a footprint. by far, the best example is this martha creation. it's a totally functional, suspended shelf that even creates a wall vignette, but takes up no precious walking room in a space of any size.

another idea i think is pretty smart in theory is this interesting foldout desk from world market, although it's sort of astonishingly ugly when closed. i would have to do something to the outside, otherwise i would end up just leaving it unfolded all the time, which would sort of defeat the purpose. but maybe painting it with a high-gloss paint so it looks laquered would help, and then maybe adding a lightweight framed picture or piece of art would help even more.

although it does take up some floor space, i love the incognito compact office from crate and barrel.

it comes in white, ebony or mocha and looks great as a simple console when closed and extremely efficient and neat when open and functioning as an office. this would look just perfect under the window in my little office area.

incognito image from bumble ink; all other images from linked sites