Tag Archives: organize

when you start living with a man.

1 April 2013

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Me: “For our kitchen table, I think I want something, you know, rickety. With mix-matched chairs.”

Boyfriend: “Why would you ever buy something that you describe as being ‘rickety’?”

I’ve moved in with my boyfriend. While he is a clean, creative, all around wonderful guy (not sure why those are the adjectives I’ve purposely used), he isn’t Martha Stewart’s next intern. Here’s what he’s bringing to our place:

  • sports memorabilia 
  • TV larger than my previous studio
  • brown wood coffee table
  • brown wood dresser
  • brown wood side-tables
  • white dishes
  • Army stuff
  • plants

In doing research – research meaning having conversations with gin & tonics and my girlfriends – I’ve found this to be a common style. There’s nothing wrong with it. He actually has a greener thumb than I. He has nice furniture, takes care of his furniture, and appreciates a clean space. But like, c’mon, where’s Etsy? Where are my flea market finds? Where the hell is the rainbow?

So these next few posts will be pretty much only about this. Oh, and what happens when I introduce kale smoothies and tofu into his life. (Fact: he already digs kale and pineapple juice. Win).

In any case, I’ve added some quick shots of the new space. I have some ideas for lighting, organization, and more furniture. But for now, the goal will be to make our new space feel like home – to both of us. So long paprika couch, paisley blue tables and flower painted dishes.  Ok, it’s not that dramatic. But I will objectively find space for a “man-cave” -esque design. And will incorporate that brown furniture.

Here’s what we have so far. Will post more once the rest of his furniture arrives. Andddd exhale.

photo 2Awww, peaceful. Less is more. Light and “not matchy-matchy but it works”.

photo 1

Cookie cutter “urban living” kitchen. But it sure beats the hell out of cooking in a studio. More cabinet space than I know what to do with. And Olive the cat – poor, broken, awkward looking tail.
photo 4

Bedroom is totally empty. Bed is too small for two people to sleep in every night. Will need to find space for a queen bed. photo 3

Office/den space. SO LUCKY to have this extra room in our apartment. I want fun lighting, bookshelves, and a way to hide our ugly office equipment. Bragging moment of creative but brown-loving boyfriend: he definitely painted that blue painting with his non-dominant hand. Seriously, the guy has skills. photo 1

Oh my god. Can’t wait to hang a couple humongous jerseys from humongous athletes in our apartment. But. They’re signed, they’re pretty bad ass, and by golly I will find a way. photo 2

Again. So much cabinet space. But I WILL need to find a way to organize the clutter before I lose my mind. (Hello, personal items posted online). photo 3

So somehow we found an apartment with two closets in the bedroom. My boyfriend was nice/smart enough to give me the bigger one. Though I am guessing he was smarter for his own sake…Yes, I may throw clothes all around when running late to work and hating everything I own.

Progress is soon ours.

hurricane cleaning

28 October 2012

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While I consider myself a Type-A clean freak, I too have clutter. Messy piles. And – shudder – hidden messes. Good thing Hurricane Sandy has come, and forced me to stay inside and clean!

Living in a tiny studio, I’m very fortunate to have two – that’s right – TWO closets. The one I worked on today is the storage/coat closet. I hold coats, my way-too-many-Christmas-decorations, cleaning supplies, cat food and litter, and everything else that is ugly, but needed, when living in a house.

Here are the before and after photos. Let’s be honest, my goal wasn’t to make it pretty. And I spent NO money in this process. But here are a few helpful pointers to use when cleaning out your closet.

before

after

First off, dump out all the crap. Seriously, dump it out. And then sweep out the dust. Dust is gross. Spiders and bugs like dust. And spiders and bugs are gross. When you dump it all out, check out what you have.

1. Empty box of sparkling water from Costco – RECYCLE AND GET IT OUT.

2.The empty bag of paper towels – throw it away, and remember to buy more.

3. Tools and jars and bottles and cleaning supplies that are all over the place. Think about how to put them all together.

4. A brand new litter box that your crazy cat, Olive, never used.

4. Boxes and more boxes.

DUMP IT OUT!

it’s like showing strangers my dirty laundry

Now. Check out what you have. What I realized quick was that I wanted to build another shelf – that was reachable without a stool – to hold my cleaning and laundry supplies. I found the extra shelf I never used when building my Ikea cooking block, and rested it on top of the bar. Consolidated all of my supplies up there. No mess now on the ground.

Please. Here is a recommendation from someone who hates clutter and keeping crap for no reason. There IS a reason to keep the box from a Kitchen Aid. Or the box from your drill. Moving is a b*tch, and if you keep the boxes that hold things other boxes can’t, it will make moving a heck of a lot easier. Said boxes replaced the litter box, and are now on top.

I then cleaned and gave away the litter boxes. Consolidated all of my grocery bags and recycled bags into one, and hung it in the back corner. No one needs that many bags until you need that many bags. So put em all together, and keep the clutter out.

Think about the things you use each week. Maybe your drill. Tools. The broom. Make them available, so that you don’t have to rip everything apart to find them when you need them.

And yes! By organizing all your unwanted but necessary crap, you WILL realize you actually have not one but THREE umbrellas, and therefore need to no longer purchase them EVERY time it rains.

Cheers to that. And cheers to Hurricane Sandy. Well, not really, but you get my point.

make it a kitchen

24 August 2012

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I’m struggling with how in the world I’m going to not only cook and clean in what the realtor calls a kitchen, but how I’m going to organize all of it!

I don’t online shop for kitchen tools, I no longer even have one of those 1-800-Chop It’s! All I really have are the basics, but alas, three cabinets hold diddly squat. Check out what I’ve done to organize the space, utilize the cabinets to the best of my ability, and keep the itty bitty kitch lookin’ sweet.

1. While it’s all mismatched, I love my dishes. My mom’s made some of them, some are from Ikea, some were stolen from college roommates, and others were taken from free street sales. I figured I would need additional storage in the kitchen, so why not store my pretties — and not boxes of flax seed and canned beans — in the open space, leaving my food, what can quickly appear cluttered, in the cabinets. Check.

I made one purchase from Ikea. It’s a $40 shelving unit that I’m pretty sure is for storing towels and bathroom supplies, but hey, it works.

sadly the space is so small, it’s near impossible to get the whole unit in a photo

** Another trick — Use old jars to store your silverware. Those on top are the bruschetta jars from Trader Joe’s. Nice little addition, especially when you have no drawers.

2. Next, I needed somewhere to store my pans and colander, and heck, maybe some more space for mugs. I purchased a coat hanger for $10 at Ace Hardware, and reused a couple hooks I had purchased years ago from World Market (each were like $4). Since my apartment is way old, I needed to use my drill, and a drill bit for cement walls which you can easily buy at Ace for like $5. Not only are these handy things to have at home, but damn will you feel accomplished. Make sure you get the right screws, too.

3. Lastly, I must admit, I’m an old lady at heart, and try to save all my receipts, old cards, birthday cards, recipes, you name it. There was no space for my old desk (stay tuned for that project), so I decided to mount my paper holder to the wall. Find a magnetic one and you’ll be happy you bought all those cheesy magnets while traveling abroad. Again, get two cement friendly screws (30 cents a piece?) and begin!

Next up: the living room!

-Summer