T is for Thankful

My original intent for this post was to pick one of my favorite products and talk about all the reasons I am thankful for it, hoping to share some ways to use this product outside of its original purpose. But then I started thinking about the long list of all of the things I’m thankful for, and my intent changed dramatically.

I have been blogging here at Open Concept Organizing for about a year. (Can you believe it’s been a year already?) This is post #93! I’ve learned a ton about the World Wide Web, the land of blogging, organizing and what it means to be organized, and about myself. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some online friends who I wouldn’t have known without this blog, and I’ve had some opportunities to get to know the people around me in my own community just through networking this blog. For all of these things, I am thankful.

But my thankfulness goes well beyond that of this digital home of mine. I’m thankful for my mister who lets me write about our home and the happenings within it. He never once rolled his eyes at one of my crazy project ideas (or at least didn’t let me see him do it.) He encourages me and supports me day in and day out. And I’m thankful for my family who read my posts pretty diligently. They also provide encouragement and support, and are more than willing for me to “practice” organizing with and for them any time.

Beyond that, I’m thankful every morning for a new day, for a body that is healthy and working. I am thankful for my day job that allows me to help pay our bills, have a little fun, and blog in my free time. I’m thankful for a roof over my head and heat coming out of the furnace. I’m thankful that I have a car to drive to get to where I need to go. I’m thankful for the food in our cupboards and I’m thankful that when I go to the grocery store to buy more, I have the means to do so. I’m thankful that pure, clean, drinkable water comes out of my faucet whenever I turn it on and bright light comes out of the fixtures in our home when I flip the light switch. 

Though technology can be overwhelming sometimes, I’m thankful for the internet and the ability to make friends around the world without leaving my home. I’m thankful for so much knowledge at my fingertips and I’m thankful for the desire to learn that has been planted in me. 

Even further beyond that, I’m thankful for my faith. I’m thankful that I live in a place that allows me to express it freely and openly.

As the holiday season rolls in, I’m overwhelmed at just how much I have to be thankful for and I’m reminded of the real reason I celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m reminded that it’s not about rushing around, spending money, eating until my pants don’t fit, and gaining more new things. It’s about reflection. It’s about giving. It’s about sharing time with those we love and showing love to those who need it. It’s about the ending of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. It is about hope and peace and gratefulness.

I’ve decided to take a few weeks away from this place. I enjoy blogging here so much, but with a regular full-time job and a full social calendar, it’s hard to squeeze in the time to write quality stuff while staying focused on the meaning of the season. So, I bid you farewell temporarily. I wish you and yours a very thankful Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas season. I plan to return in January with a new year of organizing posts, tips, tricks, and excitement. 

Don’t forget about me while I’m gone and I promise, I won’t forget about you.

8 Steps to a Less Stressful Holiday Shopping Experience + FREE Shopping Plan Printable

My mister and I budget for Christmas year round, meaning that each paycheck, a little bit of money goes into a “gift fund” that we use to purchase not only Christmas gifts, but birthday gifts and other presents throughout the year. Regardless of whether you budget for Christmas year round or not, having an organized approach is key to a less stressful holiday shopping experience. 

Organized shopping, to me, means having a plan and setting up a budget ahead of time. To make this easier, I've created a free holiday shopping printable that you can download and use to organize your upcoming shopping experience. Click here to download it!

Let's walk through the plan together.

Step One: Determine your budget

Many people start their shopping process by making a list of who they need to buy for. I say start with your budget and fit your list into it. Decide on a predetermined amount that you’re willing/able to spend on Christmas and write it down.

Step Two: Make a list

Once you have an overall budget amount in writing, make a list of every person you intend to buy a gift for.

Step Three: Check your list twice

Rethink your list you created in step two. Are you forgetting anyone? How about teachers, neighbors, hair stylists, mail people, co-workers, church members, etc? In order to stick to your budget, you want to avoid those last minute I-forgot-to-get-a-gift-for-so-and-so moments. 

Step Four: Assign a denomination to each person on the list

Divide your total budget among all the people on your list. Maybe you want to spend more on family than on friends, or spend more on children than adults. That is all up to you. Divvy up your total budget to each person until it’s all accounted for. Don’t forget to include wrapping/shipping supplies in your budget too! Those expenses can add up quickly.

Step Five: Generate gift ideas for each person

Now that you have a maximum spending price for each person on your list, brain storm some ideas for gifts in that price range. Many websites like Amazon allow you to search for gifts under a certain price. You can also find a lot of gift giving guides online that offer suggestions for certain age groups, family members, etc. Don’t forget about handmade gifts too. You could bake some special treats, make a craft, give a photo in a nice frame, etc. Sometimes those handmade gifts are much more meaningful than something store bought.

Step Six: Research the average cost of your gift ideas and narrow them down accordingly

If you have a $10 limit for someone, and find that 3 gift ideas cost $20 and one costs $8, stick to the gift item within your budget. Then, check leaked Black Friday ads, Amazon, and other retailers ahead of time to determine the best price/location to purchase your gift. Two weeks ago, I started seeing leaked Black Friday ads, so they are out there! If you are hand-making gifts, check ads for ingredients and supplies.

Step Seven: Plan your shopping route ahead of time

Take a look at your list and decide which items should be purchased online and which items you need to visit a brick and mortar store. If you are relying on Black Friday sales or cyber Monday sales, make a note of which stores/websites you need to visit either day. 

Step Eight: Make your purchases

Keep track of how much you actually spend on each gift. If you end up under budget, you could buy something for yourself, add a small gift to someone on your list, roll your savings into next year’s holiday spending, or donate it to a local charity. 

Don't forget to download your free printable to help you organize your shopping list according to the steps above. Take some deep breaths and get organized now so that your stress levels remain low and you can truly enjoy this holiday season. 

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By the way, how are you doing on this month's organizing challenge? Don't forget to share your photos on Instagram or comment on the challenge post with your results!

Do you budget for holiday spending year round? How do you keep your shopping list organized?

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DIY Jewelry Organizer

Somehow we accumulate a lot of corks. I’m not sure how…

I hang on to them, knowing that someday I will use them in some sort of project. I used a bunch when I made our bulletin board for the command center. And I found another use for them this week!

I’ve had the same jewelry box for about nine years. It’s cluttered and no longer working well. Updating the master bedroom has motivated me to update this storage solution to something less cluttered and fresh.

I started with two 8x10 photo frames with a silver finish. I found these at the Dollar store for just $1 each. I also picked up a couple yards of unbleached muslin at JoAnn’s for $1.19 a yard.

I cut out two squares of the muslin and wrapped it around the backing of the frames, securing it with a hot glue gun.

I folded the corners kind of like a Christmas present to keep them flat.

Once the fabric was in place, I wanted to add some corks to actually hang my jewelry from. I decided to cut most of them in half so they wouldn’t stick out too far from the frame.

Cutting corks with a knife proved more difficult than I anticipated. It was difficult to get a straight edge on the cut side. And, if you know anything about my history with knives, this project quickly became more dangerous than I’d like. Scissors worked much better.

I cut 9 corks in half and then secured them to the top of each frame with the hot glue gun. A few wine-stained corks provided a nice purple hue and added some color to the project.

Finally I added two larger champagne corks in the bottom corners to hold bracelets and round necklaces.

I found 5/8 inch cup hooks at Lowes and they screwed into the corks very easily. I added the hooks as I added the necklaces because I wasn’t sure I wanted or needed a hook in every cork. I ended up with 7 hooks in each frame. The tiny hooks are strong enough to hold two light necklaces or one heavier one. 

I hung the frames over the dresser and the jewelry became wall décor itself, but that wasn’t quite enough. The wall felt too empty. I wanted to add a mirror to the room to bounce some light around but I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of buying a new mirror especially since the cheapest one I could find was $40 and it was rather plain. 

I had a large 22x28 frame sitting in the basement unused, so I went to Lowes and purchased a new sheet of mirror glass. They cut it down to the size I needed for free. Then I just removed the glass on the frame and replaced it with the mirror. The dark wood finish of the frame didn’t really blend well with the rest of the bedroom, so I wrapped the frame in the muslin fabric as well, securing it in the back with the glue gun.

I simplified the dresser décor quite a bit, leaving only a stack of books, our sand ceremony box from our wedding, and some dried flowers I’ve received from the mister over the years. A couple dishes from HomeGoods hold earrings, rings, and pins.

Here is the dresser before:

And here is the after:

These new organizers make choosing accessories in the morning much easier because I can see all of my options at once. And with a limited number of hooks, I’m forced to keep my jewelry collection to a moderate size!

How do you organize your shiny accessories?

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Monthly Organizing Challenge: Under the Sink

Last week, I talked about wanting to create more interaction with all of you here on the blog. I hope you’ll sign up to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest! I’m here today with another fun way that we can all interact: A Monthly Organizing Challenge!

Each month, I plan to present a new challenge to organize a space in our homes. I’ll show you what I did in my own space and give you some ideas on how to get started in yours. Then, as you complete the challenge, we can share our results with one another. If you have an Instagram account, please share your monthly organizing photos using the hashtag #ocomonthlychallenge. You are also welcome to leave comments on each month’s post about what worked and didn’t work for you, and I encourage you to leave me some ideas on what spaces you’d like to see featured in upcoming months. So what do you say? Will you accept my challenge?
This month, I chose the area under the kitchen sink. This is one of the hardest places for me to keep organized. Here is a before shot of this space in our house.

It is cluttered with multiple open bottles of the same products, old products that might not even be usable anymore, and items that really don’t belong in this space.

To start this project, let’s remove everything from the space. 

Once it’s empty, wipe it down so it’s nice and clean. 

Then, go through your items and determine which of four categories each item belongs to: 

• return to the space
• return to a different space
• donate
• trash/recycle

When you’re finished dividing up the items, take the trash/recycle items to their designated containers right away. Feeling better already?

Let’s go back to the items remaining in the return to space category. If your space is like mine, you may need to consolidate like items. (I had three open bottles of dish soap and two open bottles of carpet spot cleaner.) 

Now that you have an idea of what needs to go back in the space, you can assess what types of storage containers are going to be most helpful. 

For this space, I decided on two major storage solutions. 

First, I hung a tension rod across the top half of the cabinet. This creates easy storage for spray bottles and keeps them up out of the way. If you have a lot of bottles, closet rod sockets are super easy to install and will prevent your tension rod from slipping.

I picked up my tension rod and the closet sockets at my local Meijer store with a 15% off coupon, spending just $5. (If you don’t have a Meijer near you, I’m sure you can find these items at Walmart or a home improvement store.)

Second, I moved a metal sliding drawer from our master bath cabinet. It doesn’t get utilized in that space and I think it will work much better under the kitchen sink. I used it to hold rags, dish soap, sponges, and a few products that can’t hang on the tension rod.

I also hung a simple command hook in the cabinet to hang the dish drying mat out of the way when it’s not in use.

When your storage containers are in place, return your keep items to the space. When you’ve got everything you want to keep put away, take the items that you determined belonged in a different space and put those away. 

I find it best to take care of these items last because, chances are, if I take a group of items into another room, I will get distracted organizing something in that room instead of finishing the project I started.

I showed off the space to my mister and he asked what I was going to do with all that open space? I said, “Nothing!”

So, now it’s your turn! I’m challenging you to organize the area under your sink over the next 30 days. 

I strongly encourage you to schedule the project into your calendar. If you don’t have time to complete it all at once, break it into parts and schedule each of those parts. It might only be 10 to 15 minutes here and there, but you have 30 days to get it finished!

Don’t be shy. Share your spaces on Instagram to encourage and motivate others! I can’t wait to see them!

What spaces do you find are most difficult to keep organized?

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Let's Get Social

I decided to start this blog for one main reason: to share my love of organizing with other people. Each week, I hope that my posts inspire, teach, encourage, and bring joy to others. At the same time, I look forward to hearing from all of you. I want to hear your organizing ideas and learn from you. I want to hear your questions or areas of trouble. A one way conversation is no fun. So, I’m inviting you to get social with me!

In addition to my weekly blog posts, there are a number of ways for us to all connect with one another. I encourage you to check out one or more of the options listed below. I hope you find them as beneficial as I do! 

Connect with Me through E-mail

How to Do It: Just above my photo on the right hand side of my page is a box that says “Subscribe By E-mail.” Type your e-mail in that box to sign-up. You will get a confirmation e-mail almost immediately. The next step is very important, and one that most people forget or overlook. You have to click the link in that confirmation e-mail to confirm your subscription. 

Why to Do It: Each time I post on the blog, that post will be sent directly to your e-mail.

What You Get: You will never miss any new posts. If you’re like me, you are logging in to your e-mail daily anyway so you’ll never have to remember to stop by the blog page. Plus, you can save e-mails/posts you find particularly beneficial in an e-mail folder for easy reference later.

Connect with Me through Facebook

How to Do It: Click the blue and white "f" icon under the “Follow Me” heading on the right hand side of my page or visit www.facebook.com/openconceptorganizing. If you’re already logged in to Facebook, type Open Concept Organizing into the search bar. Click on my page. Click Like or Follow and my posts should show up in your News Feed.

Why to Do It: Right now, I’m only posting one post per week on the blog. Facebook allows me to share organizing related information with you almost daily. Three days a week I share a post from another blog that is organizing or cleaning related. In addition, I always post my weekly blog topic on my Facebook page as well as a flashback post of an organizing blog post from a few months back.

What You Get: This gives you some exposure to other blogs you might like and offers an alternate opinion from my own on different topics. If you aren't subscribed by e-mail and forget to check the blog on a regular basis, you’ll be notified of new posts through Facebook. If you missed a post on the blog from awhile back, it will be showcased on Facebook periodically.

Connect with Me through Instagram

How to Do It: Click the old-school looking camera icon under the “Follow Me” heading on the right hand side of my page or go to www.instagram.com/openconceptorganizing. Click on the +Follow button.

Why to Do It: I’ve found it somewhat difficult to incorporate Instagram into my blog, but thanks to a 31 day purge challenge, I’m starting to get the hang of it. You’ll find photos of my organizing projects and a variety of before and afters. Instagram is also a more personal social media avenue for me so you’ll find photos of my Mister and our furry kid, Mando.

What You Get: Because Instagram consists of photos instead of words (for the most part) it’s easy to scroll through your feed and see what’s new relatively quickly. It can be inspiring to see photos of other people’s work. Through the use of hashtags, you’ll find other people posting photos of similar projects so you get more than one idea all in one place. Plus, if you don’t live in a four season state like Michigan, you’ll get a glimpse of the beauty fall and winter bring to us folks in the mitten. 

Connect with Me through Pinterest

How to Do It: Click the "P" icon under the “Follow Me” heading on the right hand side of my page or go to www.pinterest.com/openconcept. Click follow to follow all of my boards or click on boards that might interest you and follow them individually.

Why to Do It: Pinterest is by far the most well rounded of my social media applications. You can find ideas and projects, recipes, home décor, hobbies I’m interested in, etc. I’ve tried to create enough boards so that there is something there for everyone but not too many that it gets to be overwhelming.

What You Get: Pinterest allows you to save - or pin - favorite posts or projects you might want to try later. I try to pin new pins at least four times a week, so if you're following me, these pins will show up in your home feed giving you the option to pin them too. This gives you links to new recipes, craft projects, and organizing ideas more often. Since the blog focuses mostly on organizing, Pinterest gives you the opportunity to learn more about me (and others) who share other similar interests. While I do love organizing and it is a huge part of my life, I also enjoy (and pin about) camping, eating, crafting, shopping, beer tasting, photography, saving money, and fashion.

I would love to get to know you better and learn what kinds of things you're interested in. Take advantage of all the benefits above and follow me on social media today!

What social media application do you like best? What topics would you like to see addressed on social media?

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