Category: home organization

Avoid Grey weather turning into a Grey mood

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This time of year, all we see is the cold, grey of winter. It’s easy to fall into a grey mood as we patiently (or not so patiently) wait for spring.  Here are 2 easy ideas to help you avoid the doldrums:

2020_brightsBrighten up your outfits.  When the temperatures outside fall below freezing, it seems we tend to think that means we should be dressing in dark dull colors. Liven up your dark ensembles with pops of bright colors. Things to look for at your local Goodwill Store include scarves, tank tops, belts or other layering pieces.

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Spring clean – a little early. After the holidays, my office is a disaster. Well, if I am being honest, everything in my house feels cluttered and unorganized.  We all have that room in our home that seems to accumulate all the “stuff” over the holidays. Take an afternoon and re-organize that space. Focusing on just one room isn’t as overwhelming as thinking about your entire home. Take all the extra things and duplicate items that you find and donate them to Goodwill. Keep the other rooms of your home free from clutter by not re-storing things you don’t use over the holidays.

Organize kids stuff: secrets to back to school bliss!

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When the kids head out the door for the first day of school, many moms start the cleaning and organizing! Fall is the perfect time to embrace an “out with the old – in with the new” attitude”…especially with your kids stuff!

This week, our organizing expert, Lorie Marrero shares some organizing tips on getting the grade and finding the Secrets of Back to School Bliss!

And remember, if you need a few more back to school wardrobe basics – including school uniforms, Goodwill is a great place to shop!


[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgpe6q9Pziw]

(transcript of the video)
Hi. I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and on-line program, and today we’re going to talk about getting in the swing of things with back-to-school time. So when you’re getting ready for back-to-school, you have to think about, of course, gathering all the school supplies and clothes you need, but you also need to think about creating new routines to go with the new schedule that you have.

So let’s start with weekly planning – we call it Sunday Planning – at the end of the weekend, sitting down with your calendar looking at the week ahead, figuring out who needs to be where, and making some menu plans for the dinners every night for the rest of that week.

So the next thing you should think about is your morning, afternoon, and evening routines so that your day goes more smoothly. So, of course, in the mornings, it can be chaotic trying to get everybody ready and out the door. Make that as easy for yourself as possible by thinking through it carefully. Who needs what and when? Are you getting yourself ready before you get the kids ready? Get a head start on them. Get up a little earlier. Also, we recommend having a destination station, which is the area where you enter and exit the home most frequently and you put things there that you need to take with you when you leave the house. So you establish this station, you can hang your keys there, your purses and backpacks go there, and anything else that needs to go out the door in the morning.

The afternoon is a little more complicated because maybe you aren’t there. Maybe the kids are by themselves. Maybe the kids have a sitter in the afternoons. Maybe they’re somewhere else in the afternoons. But you need to have a routine and some policies and rules around several pieces of what happens during that time of day.

So first of all, homework. Do they need to start their homework immediately? When is homework supposed to be done and where? Snack time, screen time, and general play time also need to have policies established around them so everybody understands what’s supposed to happen. Now, you may have homework being done at the kitchen table – this is this classic kitchen table dilemma of the multiple functions that are often going on in this space – so you may be setting the table for dinner while your children are trying to do homework here. And what often I see that people need is extra storage in this space. So, one of the greatest solutions that I’ve seen lately are these premium cubes that are available at Home Depot by ClosetMaid, and they look so nice with the rest of your furniture. They don’t look like they’re inexpensive and they belong in the kids’ playroom. They belong in the common areas of your house. They look great with these faux leather premium fabric drawers that they have. And so you can have extra storage really close by that looks good, and you can put things in it like a pouch full of school supplies for their homework time, like a calculator, extra notebooks, post-it notes, index cards, all the things that the kids need so that they can get them out and put them away quickly and easily when it’s time to shift to dinner time.

So, you can also use these cubes for other things you need around the kitchen table. So for example, you can put your cloth napkins or things like that, that you need for your eating along with the school supplies. So, establish those afternoon policies and if the kids are older, you can even do that with them and even write them into a formal contract. Sometimes, it really doesn’t hurt to get everybody’s very formal agreement on how that’s going to go.

Then, let’s talk about your evening routine. So that is crucial to making your morning go more smoothly. If you’ve got little kids, you probably have bath time. You may want to lay their clothes out for tomorrow. There’s a lot of activities that have to do with setting the stage for the morning. So clothing’s great, but also sports equipment, of course, their backpacks and any homework they’ve gotten done needs to be packed up and ready to go in that destination station area. And you may want to pack lunches the night before to save yourself a little bit of time and hassle in the morning.

So all these routines are fantastic to think through ahead of time, but remember, routine does not equal rigid. You want to plan some flexibility into the process, and don’t make it painful and frustrating for everybody. Have a little bit of leeway here and there, but use this as a basic outline for your day and for your week.

If you’d like to have more back-to- school tips, we have a countdown calendar for three weeks leading up to the first day of school and you can get that calendar at clutterdiet.com/countdown.
See you next time, and may you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.
You may have been searching for stress free school schedules or how to ease back into school.

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Spring (or summer!) Cleaning Myths and Resources

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The kids are out of school for the summer, how are you doing on your Spring Cleaning plan?  Has that plan moved to a summer-cleaning goal?

Many of us will have the best of intentions to organize things around our homes, and really clean things up this summer. This week we decided to take some advice from an organizing expert on the best way to start these daunting projects!

(from: https://www.clutterdiet.com/spring-cleaning-myths-and-resources/)

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People always ask us about Spring Cleaning, and I love the idea and energy of throwing open the windows and starting fresh with your house, reflecting all of the new life and beauty around us outside!

When I talk with people about Spring Cleaning, however, the first thing I want to tell them is that I am not a cleaning expert. I don’t know 100 household uses for vinegar, but I do know a thing or two about organizing your closets, bathrooms, kitchens, and garages!

I also want to bust the myth that you “must” do some kind of major overhaul of your home in the spring, like there is some kind of rule about exactly what should be done. Every home is different and people live in different climates, and people have varying degrees of maintenance they do all year round. Certainly there are seasonal things to do that are smart, like switching out your sweaters for shorts. But if you do a good job keeping things clean most of the year, you don’t “have to” break out the kneepads and scrub the floor, unless you want to. I always want people to feel comfortable doing what WORKS for them and not compare themselves to some unrealistic standard.

If you are feeling inspired by spring like so many people are, here are some questions about “Spring Cleaning” that you can think about as you approach your weekend, with some resources to help:

What cleaning projects do you want to get done? If you are inspired to do some major cleaning like baseboards, drapes, blinds, or comforters– decide on it, schedule it in and get it done, coordinating with your family for the extra effort you’ll need. For me, a must is cleaning my patio furniture so I can enjoy sitting outside. Our Clutter Diet members have access to household systems & routines that can help you plan all of your tasks throughout the year! We now offer the FREE 7-Day Quickstart which includes seven days of focused guidance from me plus an additional 7 days of full access and support!. For help with cleaning tips, please refer to Heloise at Good Housekeeping. Here is a great article with her 20 most popular household hints.


What organizing projects do you want to get done? We suggest closets because of the seasonal swap-out of clothing, and we also think it’s a great time to organize your garage, since it’s not too hot outside yet. Your refrigerator and pantry might need some attention, and your bathroom cupboards probably need first aid items and sunscreen to be restocked. If you’d like some support to get these projects done, our expert team is available 7 days a week to consult with you in our member message boards! 

What is your disposal plan? When you do big projects, especially like garages or basements, you need to plan ahead a little, and you will probably need some help hauling away that old broken bulky stuff.  If you just need to find your nearest Goodwill Donation Center, go to Goodwill-NI.org.


Enjoy your weekend, and enjoy your summer! What are your favorite Spring-Summer Cleaning tasks? Share in the comments!





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How to Organize Kid’s Rooms, Closets, and Toys from Lorie Marrero

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This week, author of The Clutter Diet, Lorie Marrero, shares how to deal with all the kid stuff!  What if your world didn’t include the stress of all the clutter from the toys and clothes? Impossible? Check out this video for tips on how to achieve the possible!

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It’s time to take off the kid gloves and tackle getting your children organized. Monday’s child may be fair of face, but frustrations mount when toys aren’t put back in place. Watch this video to tackle kid’s clothes, shoes, and toys. Without that daily stress you can be the poster child for relaxing, fun free time, and that’s not just child’s play!

 from: https://www.clutterdiet.com/clutter-video-tip-how-to-organize-kids-rooms-closets-and-toys/

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Clutter Video Tip: Good Riddance! 5 Good Reasons to Declutter & LET IT GO

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We are thrilled to introduce our readers to Lorie Marrero – she’s a pretty big deal in the world of de-cluttering and organizing. We hope you enjoy getting to know her, and get some useful tips on how to just LET IT GO!

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“I’ve got whozits and whatzits galore, you want thingamabobs? I’ve got twenty!” If this sounds like you, but you aren’t hanging out in an undersea cavern with a lobster named Sebastian, it may be time to declutter. Watch this video, and learn how to let go of the gadgets and gizmos a-plenty that you really don’t need. Say good riddance to your trove of “treasures” untold and let it go so you can make room for something fantastic to be Part of Your World!

Transcript:

Hi. I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and on-line program, and when you’re organizing sometimes, it can be very difficult to let go of things, to get rid of things, and let’s talk today about five reasons that might make it a little easier for you to say not only goodbye, but even good riddance to some of your things.

First of all, you can’t have anything new and useful and beautiful come into your life if you don’t have room for it. So if your closet is stuffed full of clothes that you don’t wear, you can’t even see what you have, how are you going to make room for anything new and gorgeous and fun to come into your wardrobe? You’ve got to get rid of that stagnant stuff so that you can see what new is coming in and enjoy that and have a flow in and out.

Secondly, some of your possessions may have memories associated to them that are not serving you right now. So they may be very unpleasant memories, you might want to say buh-bye to some of the possessions of your ex that are still laying around from some kind of painful breakup or divorce. That can be very therapeutic to get rid of those items. You also might have other unpleasant memories sitting around that you haven’t thought about. Like a binder from some training class from a job that you used to have and didn’t like. Or, you know, other things that represent a person that you used to be and not the person that you are now. The other things you might have around are memories that are actually pleasant memories of someone who you’ve lost, that you have been missing. They are a loved one that you wish were still around, and you want to honor that person. But what you don’t want is for that person’s belongings and all of those memories to be the predominant influence in your space to the point where it confuses your present and obscures your future and doesn’t allow you to move on to a new chapter in your life. So, again, whatever things you’re keeping, make sure the memories associated with that are serving you right now.

Third, let’s talk about things that are taking up a lot of your time, being a slave to your possessions. You might want to get rid of things if they require a lot of maintenance. So, how much are you dusting and polishing these things? Replacing the batteries? Replacing parts? How much of your stuff requires care when you go out of town? This takes a lot of your time, and maybe this factor might be the reason that pushes you to decide to get rid of something.

Next, let’s talk about the phrase “perfectly useful.” So you may have something that’s perfectly useful but it’s not perfectly useful to you. This is why I love donating my clothing and household goods to Goodwill, because I know not only is the person purchasing that item going to enjoy it, and that person is going to have a good home for that item, but the revenue from that is going to go directly to help someone in my own community, my own neighbors, to get job training, job placement services, and many other kinds of services that are really needed. So that helps me to get rid of things, because I know they’re going to a good home, and they’re going to do good in the world.

Next, let’s talk about how your possessions really complicate your life, and you can simplify your decisions by having fewer things. So essentially, fewer choices mean easier decisions. So, if you are going to select a pair of shoes, it’s much easier to choose a pair from a 30-pair collection versus having, you know, 80-something pairs of shoes. It’s going to take you a lot more time to decide that every single morning.

Essentially, you want your possessions to represent who you are and who you want to be, and you want your environment every day to support your goals moving forward. So if things that you’re debating about, whether to keep them, should you let go of them. If they are not meeting that criteria, then you should probably get rid of them. Think about it. And if you’d like more tips you can find a lot more where this came from at http://www.clutterdiet.com/freetips.

See you next time, and may you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.

Declutter Your Space & Rid Your Life of Clutter Forever

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This year I went on a journey towards being truly serious about decluttering our home of unnecessary items. I would conservatively say that we have reduced our belongings easily by 50% and I still feel that there is more that we can do this year. Is your dream to declutter your space this year and rid yourself of clutter forever? It is a common resolution and I am living proof that this is achievable, although I will always be a work in progress.

Today I want to share with you a few resources that have helped our family on the journey towards reclaiming our home- the transformation is so worth it!

Try the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

I attribute the 40 Bags in 40 days Challenge as the kickstart towards decrapifying (that is totally a word!) our life. Each year White House Black Shutters shares a 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge that typically runs from March to April. During this challenge, you are encouraged to gather 40 bags of stuff that you don’t need over the course of 40 days. 
I never dreamed that I could gather that many belongings from our home, but it started me on a journey towards realizing how much excess we really did have. Each morning I started my day with a bag and tried to clear one spot in our house to create a more organized space. I did not typically have a plan, only a desire to remove anything that I saw throughout the day that we didn’t need anymore. As each bag was unloaded, it made our space a little less cluttered and a little easier to upkeep.
Utilize this list to help you begin tackling different areas in your home and download the free printable to track your progress as you unload the clutter from your home. 
This is an example of a space that needed attention in our home that I worked on in the Spring. With the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge encouragement, I was able to free our shed of unnecessary clutter and transformed it into a dreamy bonus room for our family. Who would have ever thought that this cluttered and embarrassing space could have ever been an oasis right on our own property?
Perhaps there is an area in your own home like this that with a clutter unload could become a cozy space for your family? Try this easy challenge to successfully achieve that goal! 

Try Project 333: Experiments in Living With Less

Feeling inspired by my journey towards living with less, I began to turn my eye to my closet. In full confession, I had a lot of clothing in my closet and not a lot of closet space to house it.  I started reading about fashion capsules and thought that minimizing my wardrobe while working on selecting key pieces that worked together would be a great way to continue my journey in decluttering our home of unnecessary items.
Have you heard of a capsule wardrobe before? A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing which is designed using only interchangeable items, in order to maximize the number of outfits which can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing. This is usually achieved by buying what are considered to be “key” or “staple” items in coordinating colors.
Project 333 is what I am doing right now which is a minimalist approach to fashion that incorporates a 33-piece capsule wardrobe. Participants can have 33 items in their closet that they wear for three months. You are allowed to set aside 3 items that you can weave in as long as you weave items out, keeping the item number to just 33. 
Although I have found the planning of my capsules to be a little stressful, once I execute them well, I have discovered that I have plenty of options in my closet to wear and actually get more compliments than I did when I had a closet that was overflowing.
You can view my current capsule as an inspiration for creating your own. My best advice though is to really create your capsule around YOU and not a capsule that is just copying someone else’s style so you feel your best! 

Try the A Bag a Day Challenge

You would think that after participating in the 40 Bags in 40 Days that our home would be completely clutter free. I fully admit, I am a work in progress and that I still have a ways to go. This year I am participating in the A Bag a Day Challenge from Inspired Room which is a 12-month decluttering plan to help you reclaim your home.
I like that this challenge isn’t focused on organizing, but simply on ridding the excess from your home. With a beautiful outlined plan in place and the gentle encouragement of the beauty of Melissa’s stunning home, who wouldn’t want to rid their homes of the clutter?
Over the snowy holiday, I got rid of six bags of clutter and four bags of trash in our home. It was so freeing to let these items go and reclaim corners in our little house. I loaded these up in the car and took them over to the Goodwill donation bin, conveniently just down our road, and knew that these items would be put to good use in their store.
I hope you will find this post encouraging and hearing feedback from family and friends about our clutter-free spaces makes me even more proud of the journey we have taken towards a life with less.
I hope these ideas inspire you to declutter your space and reclaim your home!  What are some of your favorite ways to declutter? Leave your ideas in the comments below! 

8 DIY Command Center Ideas

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Back-to-school season means back to the daily grind of controlling paperwork, keeping track of schedules, checking homework, figuring out meals, and corralling the backpack clutter in the home. Thankfully, it is easy to create a DIY Command Center for your family on a budget and even in a small home.  Today I want to showcase eight ideas for command centers that would work in small spaces, or in a larger home, and how you can utilize Goodwill for some of the supplies for your project.

Let’s get organized!

Transform a Door

One of the most inventive ideas I have seen for a command center comes from Tatertots & Jello. She utilizes a screen door for creating a command center for her family. For families that don’t want to mount anything on their wall, this command center created from a door can be propped up anywhere and I could picture this project even as a command center in the garage.
To create a place for jotting down notes, consider heading to Goodwill for a picture frame that you can transform into a magnetic chalkboard and check their baskets section for a basket to gather shoes or for paper storage! 

Use a Folding Chair

Not everyone has a large space to create a command center wall. I adore this idea, from Nalle’s House, of creating a mini command center for your family by using an old folding chair. Check the furniture section of Goodwill for this project and with a little chalkboard paint and a basket, you have a spot to jot down messages and to tuck those small & important items like wallets & keys! 

Dedicate an Unused Corner

Unused corners in our home can be the best place to create a small command center. The best part about a small command center is that it is an easier space to manage and clutter can be tidied up quickly. This command center from Hi Sugarplum showcases an unused corner that she now has made into the family’s command center.  
With a simple basket, a wall-mounted file folder, a small bulletin board, and a charging station, you now have an organized hub for your family.  

Dedicate a Wall

If you have a wall that you can use for your family’s command center, I absolutely love the cohesiveness of this wall command center from The Caldwell Project. They utilize beautiful free printables in picture frames to track things with dry erase markers, they have great storage for cell phones and commonly found paper clutter in the home, there is a spot for the mail, and a place to jot down notes. 
If you want to create this on a budget, consider spray painting picture frames from Goodwill all one color and utilizing the free printables to keep your command center on budget. Be sure to visit this post for their free printable resources for your own command center. 

Use a Cabinet Door

Although Domestic Imperfection actually built this beautiful command center out of wood, a cabinet door from Goodwill would work perfectly in creating a command center for a small space. I love that she decoupaged a map of somewhere special on her door to create this command center. To keep it on budget, stop at the visitor’s bureau to snag maps of the places you visit for a special and personal touch. 
Again, this command center is perfect for limited wall space and I love that you can personalize this one to your own needs! 

Create a Chalkboard Wall

This chalkboard wall command center, featured in BHG Magazine, illustrates that you don’t need a lot of space to create a command center that functions well for your family. I love that everything is on one wall and that you can chalk captions on the wall to remind people where their items are and that items can be switched out based upon your family’s needs from year-to-year! 

Make It Fun

The Homes I Have Made has the happiest of all happy command centers that I have ever seen. It makes me so happy that I want to replicate this one for our own house. She chose an eye-catching color scheme and adds beautiful details to make this a cheery place to organize and drop your belongings.  A handmade bunting brightens the space and the happy pieces of art in her color scheme make this place feel whimiscal and not utilitarian.

Use Open Framing to Organize

One last idea that I love is this command center made with open frames created by Wid Kids. Picture frames are a great item to find at Goodwill and utilizing just the framing of them creates a unique and open detail to your command center for creating with. In this case window frames were used, but you could utilize whatever type of frame you can find at your store and replicate this same concept in your own home. 
I love that it adds a fun detail to the wall and is open and airy enough to make the space not look cluttered.

Do you have a command center in your home? What do you do to keep your family organized in this space? 

8 Fun Dresser Makeover Ideas

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I have so much fun gathering up ideas for repurposing items on the Goodwill Tips Blog and look forward to showcasing these ideas for you each month. Today’s post is all about a furniture staple…the dresser. I have gathered 8 fun ways you can you can makeover a Goodwill dresser that I know you will want to run right out and find this thrift store gem to create a new fun piece in your home. In fact, I can’t wait to snag a dresser myself so I can implement these ideas in my own home.

Create a Unique Kitchen Island

Kitchen islands can be quite pricey, but they don’t need to be. A dresser can be made over into the perfect kitchen island for your home with a fresh coat of paint. A kitchen island made from a dresser offers ample storage for table linens and silverware as well as a generous top for a cutting board, fruit bowl, or cake stand. I love this beautiful mint green kitchen island made from a dresser by You’re So Martha. 

Make a Cute Dog Bed from a Drawer

As we showed off last month in our suitcase makeover piece, cute dog and kitty beds are all the rage and can be styled to match the interior of your home. DIY Show Off takes it to another level with an adorable detachable parasol that offers your pooch shade in the summer months. If you spy a dresser that isn’t in the best of shape at Goodwill,  don’t dismiss the piece. Dresser drawers are just as valuable for fun DIY projects. Dare I say, in fact, sometimes even more fun than finishing an entire dresser piece?  I adore this DIY dog bed and the adorable details for your fashionable 4-legged friends. 

Make a DIY Costume Closet

Who knew girls came with so many costumes? When my daughter was small, our dress-up clothes resided in a drawer in her room that often exploded all over her floor. I love the idea of creating a space just for these outfits and Rambling Renovators made a DIY Costume Closet out of an old dresser that is just too adorable for words. I particularly love that there is a mirror on the side for a quick costume check and that there is storage for jewels and footwear. The floral wrapping paper interior also adds a special girly touch that any little girl would flip for. This is a DIY-must for moms of girls!

Create a Planting Station

Although I was not blessed with a green thumb, I do have an appreciation for beautiful pieces that add beauty & function to our outdoor living. Although I couldn’t find the source for this image, I just had to share this fun idea for a way you could transform a mirrored dresser into a planting station.  
By adding peg board to the mirror stand, you now have the perfect storage for your gardening tools. The top is the perfect stop for planting, or even for decorating outdoors. The drawers make ideal storage for items like seed packets, small pots, gardening gloves, and your gardening cushion. 

Turn It Into a Vanity 

As we have found with our sixties home, bathroom renovations can be expensive even with the most basic of remodels. Have you ever considered a dresser the perfect source for a vanity? I know I hadn’t until I saw this incredible DIY Vanity made from a thrift store dresser from An Oregon Cottage. 
The best part is that you can customize this to the size of your home, add a splash of color (or not), and a scratched-up tabletop basically disappears once you insert your sink. How fabulous is that? 

Create Unique Storage 

Storage is always something I am thinking about and I love the idea of using dresser drawers for storage particularly in a guest room. Liz Marie shows off her two beautiful drawers that have been stenciled with numbers as storage underneath the bed. I can picture spare linens in here, a few basic toiletries, or even reading material for a rainy day. Again, look at the bones of the pieces and find what is in the best condition and most valuable to you for your project needs. This is a perfect example of an element you can use from a furniture piece. 

Put a Number On It

Numbering things continues to be a trend and one simple addition that you can add to a dresser is numbering whether it is stenciled, applying house numbers, or getting creative with paint. I love this modern dresser makeover with fresh white paint and modern numbers on each drawer from Cozy.Cottage.Cute.
Speaking of numbers, I am also madly in love with this numbered dresser that your child’s date of birth on it. I found this adorable idea on To London With Love and it makes me want to do this adorable idea on a dresser for my kids. What kid wouldn’t love to see his birthday everyday and what mom wouldn’t feel nostalgic every time she went into her child’s room. I adore this! 

Add Unique Hardware

For today’s final idea, I love the idea of looking for unique hardware made from other items you might find at Goodwill. merrythought showcases a beautiful masculine detail on this dresser makeover utilizing leather belts for drawer pulls. The same idea could be used with leather pieces from purses or purse straps too. I love that this is such a simple detail, but can transform a dresser into a real showpiece.

Have you ever made over a dresser from Goodwill? We’d love to hear about it! 

How to Style Your Bookshelves

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The art of styling bookshelves had never really been important to me until I started perusing pictures on Pinterest and saw the carefully curated collections and beauty in the organized book spines. Of course, I don’t have an unlimited budget where I can add decorative books in one carefully choreographed color or an unlimited budget for fantastic looking odds-and-ends to update my bookshelves. That is why I am excited to share with you some easy ideas for updating your bookshelves with Goodwill items and a few budget-friendly craft materials.

Cover Books With Paper

If you have an eclectic collection of books or you want to pick up a collection of books at Goodwill to stock your shelves, one frugal way you can add order and beauty to your bookshelf is to simply wrap each book in paper. These beautiful bookshelves from Chloe Moore Photography have beautifully hand-stamped spines that add a unique detail to them. I also love how she has weaved in her photography equipment, adding her own personal nods to her favorite interests.

Spray Paint Items to Create a Cohesive Collection

Instead of trying to find items of a similar color for your bookshelves to add those unique details, consider creating your own collection of groupings with an inexpensive bottle of spray paint.

My own bookshelves were cluttered with items that did not mean anything to me and did not showcase my personality. I took a day to declutter my shelves, added a fabric back to my bookshelf and then found items that I loved and spray painted them with a little gold spray paint. It created just the look I was going for, and cost $15 to update my shelves.

Stack Your Books In a New Way

Sometimes we get into a rut with our styling. I thought there were only two ways to style my books- vertically or horizontally. The Art of Doing Stuff though has me rethinking my book stacks and groupings because there are actually 7 ways you can stack your books. The names are even fun- the Sandwich Stack, On the Bias, and the Spiral Stack…just to name a few.

Consider regrouping your stacks in new ways and adding to your stacks with items you can find at your store to round out your collection.

Add an Eye-Catching Design to Your Bookcase

Even inexpensive laminate bookcases or Goodwill finds can be transformed with a little paint and thoughtful styling into true things of beauty. One thing I love to see on bookcases, is an interesting color on the inside of the bookshelves. This can be added with a pop of color from a brightly colored paint, a pretty fabric, scrapbook paper, or even stenciling. I love this fantastic idea from Salvage Savvy to use inexpensive wall decals to add a decorative touch that is both frugal and fast.

Add Your Own Personality 

One thing that I have been trying to do is to weed out the clutter in my life and make room for the good stuff. The same tactic can be applied towards our bookshelves and what we place on them.

My shelves have yarn and knitting books, a shelf dedicated to my favorite classics, and I have a cookbook shelf that not only holds my cookbooks, but also holds the biscuit cutter that my great-grandma used to make biscuits for me when I was a little girl.

Consider creating a bookcase or shelf towards your own personal hobbies and collections. I love this beautiful cookbook collection from The Inspired Room that celebrates her love for beautiful cookbooks. This would also be a great spot to find some pretty vintage cookbooks or vintage kitchen items that you could weave into your shelves.

What’s one of your favorite things on your bookshelves? What is one styling trick you like to use when styling your bookshelves? Feel free to share here! 

Get Your Home Organized With Goodwill

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At the beginning of the year, I get the strong urge to donate everything in my house and start fresh. I am also always on the hunt to find new strategies for organization in my home that don’t cost a lot. Thankfully at Goodwill, you can organize your home and declutter it all at one store!

Today I am featuring some great ideas for organization from commonly found items at their store. I am so inspired by these bloggers that I have a trip to Goodwill planned for myself this week to try to snag a few of these items.

Get Your Desk Organized

This last month I spent the month organizing my office and craft space. One thing I really hate is desk clutter and I have been using a thrift store mug to organize all my writing and cutting tools. I love this fresh idea for using a broom head as an office caddy for organizing these item in a fun nod to  industrial-style  and to add a little whimsy to your desk. Grab the inspiration for this project from merry thought.

Get Your Bathroom Organized

One area I always struggle with organization is our bathroom. You can always find an abundance of white dishes at Goodwill though and this painting tutorial from Fruetcake shows how to turn plain white dishes into copper vanity bowls with just a little spray paint. This would be a fantastic way to organize things like bobby pins, cotton balls, or even as a small jewelry holder. 

Organize Your Photos

One thing I have vowed to do this year is to print more photos. Of course the dilemma always is where to hang and display these items. Luckily for me, I found this adorable cabinet door photo display that you can create with just a few items for decorating the top of your dresser. If you are an Instagram-addict like me, this is a must-do project for displaying your favorite pictures. Check out the tutorial to create your photo display on Making Home Base.

Organize Your Jewelry Collection

Vintage plates and china can be adorned or just allowed to show their original vintage beauty in this adorable jewelry display that you could create from plates at Goodwill.  I love that this organizing project not only organizes, but it also doubles as a cute way to decorate a wall or the interior of a walk-in closet.
To round out this display, check Goodwill’s sheets, linens, and kitchen towels for fabric to add to these embroidery hoops. If you are a woman that isn’t as fully accessorized (pity the thought!) you can even add to your jewels with items found in their jewelry department. You can find the tutorial for this vintage plate jewelry display on Craft a Doodle Doo. 

Organize the Bookcase

Bookcases can become untidy quickly especially in my kid’s rooms. Consider whittling down the book collection into a more manageable size and then create these adorable bookends from your child’s old action figures and toys. With a quick mount and a little spray paint, you have a unique bookend that can tidy those stacks. Grab the tutorial for these easy DIY Bookends from Canadian Family today! 

Organize Your Menu Plan

If one of your goals this year is to save money, the one place I always recommend starting is with your grocery shopping and menu planning. I am a visual person, so I love my chalkboard in my kitchen as a reminder of what we have in store for the week and to prompt me to prep and thaw ingredients for the days ahead. 
If you don’t have a chalkboard in your kitchen, making one is very easy thanks to chalkboard paint. Check your Goodwill Store for a frame, canvas, or serving tray that you can use to get your menu plan visual. Grab the tutorial to make your own vintage chalkboard tray on by wilma.

Organize the Paper Clutter

We talk a lot about book page crafts on the Goodwill Tips Blog because this is an item you can always find at your local Goodwill Store. Did you know that you can transform a donated book into an organizer? On the 3 R’s Blog you can find an easy folding technique for creating your own business card organizer. As someone who frequently has a pile of cards and tiny notes to myself, I love this thoughtful storage idea for these items! 

Organize the Toys

After the holidays, the toy clutter always seems to get out of control at our house. Thankfully, you can find lots of jars at your local Goodwill Store that can be transformed into adorable containers to house those smaller toys in. With a little spray paint and a figurine, car or train, you can create an adorable accent to your child’s bookshelves or to tuck away in your toy storage closet. You can get the scoop on making these adorable toy corrals on Simplicity in the South. 

What are your favorite things to use to organize your home from Goodwill? Have you upcycled anything into the perfect storage solution? Feel free to share it here!