holy moly.

the coolest space saving furniture ever.

happy thursday to me!

kathy mcDonald gave me the heads up that bneato organizing boot camp was going to be included in the august issue of the los feliz ledger. so today, i ran around town trying to locate hard copies (and after stop 3, i found a stack). it's also online for you to read here. stoked!

purge your closet and make some extra cash

after purging my closet of extra clothes (i mean, how many pairs of jeans does one girl need) i went down to crossroads trading company and sold them. they took everything but 2 items and i made $50 + dollars (fun)! i turned around and splurged on fresh flowers and nice bottle of cabernet. fresh flowers make my week not to mention make the house look extra nice. especially when they're displayed in the bedroom and i can enjoy seeing them when i wake in the morning. and not only did i free up drawer space in the dresser, i got rid of stuff i never wear. and all that extra stuff usually just gets in the way and hinders the getting ready process--so i'm saving time to boot.

here are a few other places to check out when you're looking to sell stuff and make a little cash in the process as some extra incentive.

crossroads trading company (clothes, shoes, accessories)

buffalo exchange (clothes, shoes, accessories)

ameoba music (cds, dvds, LPs, tapes, videos)

craigslist (sell anything from furniture to cars)

to-do list tuesday

this to-do list is from one of my favorite bloggers, meredith (of penelope loves lists fame). she crafts honest and inspiring entries and hits the nail on the head every time. the topics are relatable and often have me saying, "oh yeah, i went through that--thanks for sharing and making me feel normal!"  you can tell meredith really loves filling the big shoes over at penelope--and she's created quite a lovely community of folks over there. so without further ado, here is meredith's to-do list with tips and all!

One thing that works: the highlight system. 

I list my 5 or so items for the day with highlight on those that absolutely HAVE to get done that day or are time-sensitive within the day. I focus on those first.

One thing that is a challenge: limiting myself to putting just 5 or so items on my list.

It's tough, there's always SO much to do. But, I find if I limit myself to the 5 or so most important items, I can focus on them and get them done, without getting distracted by the overwhelming weight of my overall task list. I wrote about this in more detail here.

mac monday

now this is trippy.  apparently, if certain keys are pressed at the same time, your computer will invert the colors or your screen will display black and white. if you're feeling venturesome this morning, press option-control-command-8 (without the hyphens). kinda neat, huh? press the same combo to get back to square one. this is a great mac shortcut if you ever find your screen in a psychedelic funk.

important text messages...

have you ever noticed how some important text messages that get sent to you end up getting lost in the shuffle? because i get email on my phone, a text message can quickly go to the bottom of the days list of items. and because text messages stay only on my phone, it's a good bet that i won't catch them later when i'm back on my laptop (yeah--make that a definite). and while you can't stop friends from sending you important dates or things to respond to via text, what you can do is email that info to yourself immediately--that way, you're bound to see it later when you're back in front of your computer. and as a word of caution, how about emailing that important bit of info to a friend rather than texting it. this tip does not apply to our friends who only respond to text messages (you know who you are).

image; dpstyles™

to-do list tuesday

there are a couple of things on my to-do list that are always on there (things like "exercise" and "blog today" or "meditate"). you'd be surprised at how easily i can forget to do something if it isn't written down. but i've found a few links recently that make some items on my to-do list a little easier to tackle. 

meditation

for the past 6 months, i've tried meditating on a regular basis to no avail. to me, the benefits are apparent immediately but because it's self guided, i usually write it off. although i find that if i meditate exactly when it crosses my mind to do so (instead of putting it off til later in the day) it usually gets done. then a friend forwarded me this very helpful link for guided meditations. i find that the taped meditations offer a hint of accountability because of the pre-determined time length and the soothing voice leading the way.

yoga

almost 3 years ago, i ran my first marathon. the training was super intense and by the end of the marathon i was like, "i never have to do that again." i pretty much quit exercising and chilled out for a while. fast forward to now and you can find me sporadically attending classes at all about you wellness boot camp and still yoga (while rotating in a long run for good measure). unfortunately, when i get super busy with work, i hate leaving the house to exercise. i calculate the time it takes to look presentable, add up the minutes for the drive to and from the class and determine that i'm wasting time (even though exercise helps keep me sane). and then 2 weeks ago, my friend ric told me about yogaglo. for only $18/month, you can stream yoga classes into the comfort of your own home. yesterday, when i was at ric's house (borrowing her internet) she did a yoga class in her living room. the cool thing is, you can pick classes based on level, teacher, what part of the body you'd like to work on... and the classes are continually being updated so nothing gets stale. and while i don't think yogaglo will replace my yoga classes in silver lake, they're a great addition to my exercise routine.

image; pauldeveto

mac monday

no internet means no mac monday. boo. please send your concerns and frustrations to at&t. apparently the heat had something to do with it. my friend, ric renae was kind enough to let me use her internet this late afternoon to catch up on work. see you tomorrow (hopefully)!

image; vintagecat

tackle this now

random lids (and one container without a lid--goodbye!)

organize your plastic containers (there's bound to be a handful without their lid). it will take all of 5-10 minutes (seriously). the bright side? it will save you tons of time when you're in the kitchen and looking for the right lid. plus, you'll probably stack them all nicely when you're done which will look (and feel) wonderful.

i'm in heaven...

...with my new trash can and recycling system. the two trash cans used to take up prime floor space in the kitchen. now--they tuck neatly underneath the sink and pull out with ease. thank you IKEA!

to-do list tuesday

ok. i'm super ashamed to admit it but as of yesterday, i had something on my to-do list for almost 8 months (yikes)! the check engine light (and 2 other ones that were always questionable) started randomly going on and off for the last year. it caused me concern initially but my mechanic said it was probably just a rogue sensor and he could reset it (but in the near future i should bring the car in and he'll take a look at it). so of course i went in for my car's routine maintenance a few months back and totally forgot to have him look at it. at the time, the light wasn't on and i plum forgot (damn).

fast forward to yesterday. my parents are coming into town this weekend (which entails me driving us around) and i didn't want the check engine light going on and off. so i made an appointment to take my scion xb in today. to make a really long story short, the cam shaft gear had malfunctioned (apparently the model of my car is known to do this). and it needed to be replaced (double damn). at the tune of $600--and that was just for the part and did not include labor (we're going straight to quadruple damn). anywhoodle, my uh-mazing mechanic (seriously love this guy) decides to call the dealership to see if my car is still under warranty for this part (which i totally didn't think to do--partly because it's almost 5 years old). turns out, it is! the kicker? it's a 60,000 mile warranty. wanna know what my odometer read this morning?! 59,943!!!!! um, yeah. basically if i had not taken my car in today, i would be $1,000 out of pocket. huge lesson learned. do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

mac monday

holy z (of course i totally needed this mac shortcut yesterday). sunday afternoon, i was working on an apartment therapy post and i used the mac shortcut, "command z" (which undoes what you just did). the only problem with command z is when you think you're only undoing a word of text and it takes away all the text! if this has happened to you before, you know exactly the frustration i felt. but there's a solution--shift, command z (it undoes your undo). perfect.

image: dps

container store shopping trip

yes. i have to admit it. i love the container store. but don't get any wild ideas that i just go in their and aimlessly buy crap (i'm usually shopping for clients from a specific list). but today... i'm shopping for me! since moving into the new pad with "the beau" we have yet to get the closets organized. i've been so busy getting the rest of the place in tip-top shape that our closets have been left to their own devices (there isn't a shoe rack to be found in our home and our hamper storage doesn't suit our new closet dimensions). and lucky me, the container store is having a sale!

expandable shoe rack

mesh + chrome laundry stand

oh yeah, our dvds are a mess too. i love these woven containers for keeping them searchable!

and down the road, you can always repurpose them to store something else

i'm not buying this but if i had a proper vanity area, it would be rad. mad scientist meets organization.

michael graves closetMAX system

i'm not sure how i feel about this new michael graves for target closetMAX system. wait a second, yes i do--i think this is the perfect closet system for those of us who have 10 items of clothing or live in a nunnery. in other words, this closet system doesn't appear to be for folks like us (lots of clothes, shoes, sweaters) with about 3-4 feet of closet space to store them in. so i picked out my fave pieces (they sell them separately).

closetMAX 16 compartment shoe organizer

this would be perfect for a kids room (doesn't even have to live in the closet). or for a big entryway or in the garage if it's a "no shoes" house.

 

closetMAX over the door 5 basket organizer

i like this for storing toiletries and/or accessories in the bathroom. it's much cleaner looking than the clear, over the door shoe rack (which is usually repurposed).

closetMAX expandable hanging bar

i love using these in closets when you just have to maximize every square inch. it also expands for those of you who have bigger closets (jealous).

to-do list tuesday

To-Do List

maureen and i met by happenstance. she uploaded some uh-mazing pics of her organized home to one of the flickr group pools i often frequent. from there i went to her blog, notes on a visual life (inspiration galore) and decided to follow her blog. turns out--we're from the same place in sc (well almost the same place). we decided to meet up for coffee in the big city of LA since we're both transplants and the rest is history. maureen graciously shared her to-do list with us, which will be history as soon as she crosses stuff off (i couldn't help myself)!

My biggest challenge when it comes to my to-do's would be initial motivation. I can be a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to tasks where I haven't done a particular thing before or there is some chance that I'm going to fail. Those are the tasks I'll be most likely to put off for a long time (i.e. going to the DMV to get my CA license and registration).

If the tasks are home based (cleaning, organizing, computer-y, etc...) I will put on a favorite podcast for some funny background noise (The Ricky Gervais podcast is a go to!) and I will just keep thinking, "Do it now!" Once I'm up and moving, I'll be unstoppable. Also, another trick for when I CAN'T get in the mood to clean or organize: go to YouTube and watch a segment from the British show "How Clean Is Your House." If you're like me, you'll be in a cleaning frenzy in NO TIME. This may sound silly but if you find something that can help to motivate you visually, put it somewhere in your space! I found a lovely print that actually says "Do it Now." I framed it and put it in my kitchen and it does work for me as a good reminder. But it's true that the longer you wait to tackle something, the more psychologically difficult it becomes.

I am a list maker through and through so I always have a To-Do list on hand. If I'm feeling super motivated and fancy, I will categorize items by importance through ink color. I think it's best to avoid an overly ambitious to-do list as you'll probably never complete it (or it will take ages) and you won't get that rewarding sense of completion which may inspire you to tackle more of your to-do baggage. I try to keep mine realistic. It's also a good idea to make your entries singular and precise rather than one entry that includes LOADS of steps and tasks. But, everyone is different and as my dad would say, "If everyone liked vanilla they wouldn't make chocolate." Find whatever works for you and knock it out of the park.

flickr friday

you guys remember this ad from citigroup a couple of years ago, right? at the time, i didn't really cook and i thought--genius idea. i'm all about repurposing a space so it functions for your specific needs.

and yesterday, i spotted this pic on flickr titled, "mediaeater." it took me right back to the citigroup ad. the photo caption goes on to read, "i re-organize my kitchen to better suit my activities." rock steady.

second image; jm3