Get organized... a collaboration with twinny!

Getting Organized!!

** I'm so excited to introduce my twin sister, Vicky, who is going to be a guest poster on "A Baby Changes Everything". Vicky lives in Los Angeles with her husband of three years, Matt. She is in PA school and Matt is in seminary. Vicky will be guest posting for a while as we test out a potential combined twin blog...stay tuned! In the mean time, enjoy reading her little nuggets of wisdom about organizing, life as  PA student, and what its like to live as a "newlywed" in Cali! **

Vicky, Maddie, and Me in Florida, July '11.

 ---------------------------------------------

One of my goals for this year is to get organized. I’m not one of those people who needs the house to cleaning-lady spotless (although a cleaning lady would be nice at times...), but I do like my little one bed-room apartment to be tidy. My husband and I live in Los Angeles and have learned to live in some tight quarters. I have never been one for clutter but living in 900 square feet makes me extra anti-clutter :) Over the last year I’ve made many trips to Ikea to buy shelves, bins, and containers to hold shoes, books, and odds and ends. But, there were three big projects I wanted to tackle: 1) the pots and pans cupboard, 2) bathroom drawers, and 3) my underwear/bra/sock drawer. 

So as soon as my birthday money came in the mail I headed out to two of my favorite stores, World Market and The Container Store, and got organized!

1) Pots and Pans

I love to cook. I love trying new recipies and using every pot/pan/applicance in the kitchen (my poor husband – the “dishwasher”). But my biggest pet peeve is having to pull every pot and pan out of our tiny cupboard in search of the one pan that’s made its way to the dark, dusty back corner. 

  
Before:

Chaos! 

And After:

Supplies:

• Corner Organizer Rack $8.99 – I flipped this one on its side and used it to stack my baking sheets. To stabilize the rack, place a small screw at the top of the rack. This helps it from tipping over, especially if you have heavy baking sheets.
• Large Cabinet Shelf $6.49 – I order to keep my pots and frying pans separate I staked my large and small frying pan on top of the shelf, all of my pots on the side, and lids underneath. Cooking is so much more enjoyable now that my pots and pans are organized!

2) Bathroom Drawers

If you were to open my bathroom drawers a few weeks ago it would look like a bomb exploded. Our drawers are wide (13”) and deep (19”) so no matter how nicely you put things away they were constantly shifting. Matt has the top drawer (even though I’d practically taken it over at this point), I had the middle drawer, and hair necessities were in the bottom. 

Before:

After:

 

Supplies:

• Linus Deep Drawer Organizers (various sizes) $3.49-$8.99 – Visualizing the items that you want in each drawer can help determine the depth and width of the compartments you want. For example, I knew that I needed a large compartment to hold my blow dryer and straightner. **Tip: measure your drawers before you shop and bring a tape measure to the store. I laid out different containers and measured them to make sure they would be a perfect fit. 

3) Panty/Bra/Sock Drawer

After one too many times of rummaging through a mound of socks, sports bras, undies, and bras to look for that one pesky sock I decided it was time for a drawer make-over.

Before:

After:

 

 

Supplies:

• Boxer & Brief Boxes Clear Pkg/2 $6.99 – These clear boxes come in different sizes and I chose the “boxer and brief boxes” because they were the largest. These boxes are made from a thin plastic and required a little bit of assembly before they’re ready for use. I have four boxes, one for bras, one for undies, one for socks, and one for sports bras. I had so much extra room in my underware drawer that I decided to move my jewelry basket into the drawer. 
• Jewelry tree (World Market) $19.99 – This is probably my favorite purchase of the day! I’ve been wanting a fun way to display my earring for a while and love the look of jewelry trees. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

So get out there and get organized!! You don't have to break the bank to do it either. Focus on one project at a time -- I would suggest starting with a drawer or cupboard that you use the most. And don't forget to bring your tape measure with you. Most importantly, have fun!!

XOXO,

Vicky