Deck The Halls Wednesday, Dec 7 2011
Decorating and Fun Tips and Garden and Green christmas trees, edible ornaments, holiday, holiday decorating, willow branch holiday tree 5:31 pm
This year I wanted a tree, yet didn’t want a tree. I love the smell of a real tree, but not the mess. I found my solution — a bunch of Curly Willow branches. I don’t get the nice tree smell, but that’s a tradeoff I’m willing to take. This was quick and easy to put together. I just put the branches in a vase with rocks and hung chocolate ornaments on it — you could add lights and garlands if you wanted. At the end of the season the ornaments will have been eaten and the branches can be saved for another year, planted if they root (Willow branches are fairly easy to root in water) or composted.
Keeping it Together Thursday, Nov 3 2011
Decorating and Living and Tips clean living, de clutter, decorating, organizing, simplify 4:01 pm
Living in a small house has taught me how to maximize my space. Some of the ways to get the most out of your space and keep things organized are:
Find multi-purpose furniture. I like pieces with lots of storage. Living in a house with small closets and small rooms means I have to find furniture that will accommodate a lot of items, yet won’t over power the room. I use the media stand as a media stand and as a dresser.
Use clear containers and mesh drawer organizers to get the most out of your drawer space, and so you can see what you have.
Clear containers work great in a pantry as well, and if you label and date the containers it will help you to keep your pantry items fresh.
In visible areas where you want things to look stylish and organized try using baskets. You can find various sizes and styles to work with most items.
Inspiration Tuesday, Oct 11 2011
Decorating and Living and Tips blogs, decorating, fashion, ideas, inspiration 11:27 am
The internet is full of inspiration and sometimes it’s easy to miss the good stuff. Here are some design and fashion blogs that have inspired me:
- Victoria Smith has put together an inspiring design blog with great photographs at http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/
- Remodelista is another design blog with pictures to inspire http://remodelista.com/
- Houzz is a great place to browse for ideas if you are planning on fixing up your home or yard, lots of great photos at http://www.houzz.com
- Apartment Therapy has lots of great ideas and photos on a variety of home topics from organizing to utilizing small spaces http://www.apartmenttherapy.com
- ChicTip is a design blog with a modern bend http://www.chictip.com/
- Say Yes to Hoboken is a fun blog with fashion, food and design ideas http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/
- Black Eiffel is a lifestyle & design blog http://blackeiffel.blogspot.com/
- Oh Happy Day is a lifestyle blog with DIY projects http://ohhappyday.com/
- Simplesong a blog focussing on lovely, simple things http://suannsong.com
- Bows & Sparrows a blog on fashion and design http://bowsandsparrows.com/
These are just a few of the many inspiring blogs out there. Go find your inspiration!
Quick Fix Friday, Apr 29 2011
Decorating and Recycle/Reuse and Tips benjamin moore, cottage, cottage redo, decorate, exterior paint, home improvement, modern house, old window, painting, recycle, reuse 8:06 pm
My backyard cottage was in need of a facelift. I painted the cottage a dark blue (Benjamin Moore, Evening Sky) and broadened the white trim (Benjamin Moore, White Dove) around the door. Then I found an old window at a salvage yard and hung it like a picture. I added a mailbox, some plants, a bench and a doormat to complete the look. The window made all the difference.
BEFORE
AFTER
SIDE VIEW
Get The Mess Out! Friday, Sep 24 2010
Decorating and Donating and Healthy Living and Living and Recycle/Reuse and Tips de clutter, donate, organizing, recycle, simplify 10:52 am
It happens to everyone, all of sudden you look over and you can’t see your desk anymore or your floor or the back of your closet or… and you know it’s time to tackle the mess.
I have my own system for organizing. First of all, if you feel overwhelmed you might want to get help. The other thing to do if you feel overwhelmed is to pick a small area to focus on – instead of the bookshelf do one shelf. The process works the same whether it is one shelf or an entire house.
The Steps:
- Choose your area and make some space to put sorted items. Cover as large an area as you can handle.
- Remove items starting with one area (shelf, desktop, drawer, portion of the room, etc.).
- Place the items into piles: Keep, Trash, Recycling, Donate, Unsure. The reason I do an Unsure pile is to keep down the time it takes to sort the items, for many people sorting is the hardest part. If you aren’t sure if you can give the item away then just stick the item in the Unsure pile.
- Once everything is sorted take the items from the Keep pile and place the appropriate items back in the area you have been organizing. You may have things in your Keep pile that don’t belong in the area you’re working on and those will be placed where they belong or dealt with later.
- Now the trash and recycling can be put out, and the items to be donated can be bagged or boxed and given away. See my lists of local resources for donating https://bayareaassistant.com/2010/06/25/taking-out-the-trash/ & https://bayareaassistant.com/2010/06/28/taking-out-the-trash-part-two/
- Take a look at your Unsure pile and ask yourself these questions: When was the last time I used this? How often do I use this? Will I use this? Is there a place to keep it? Would someone else be happy to have this? Now sort the items accordingly.
- Next continue to move through the rest of the clutter until you are satisfied. You can do this in small blocks of time or all at once if you are motivated. See https://bayareaassistant.com/2011/11/03/keeping-it-together/ for tips on how to store items.
The No Nonsense Assistant 