Pure Organization Project #5: (You Knew It Was Coming): The Junk Drawer

So it's another not-so-pretty project, but one that makes life easier.  The truth is, my junk drawer got to the point where it wouldn't shut anymore, so it was really obvious as to which organizational project we'd be undertaking this week.  It was so bad:

So many things that belonged in other places had found their way in.  (above)  I did this junk drawer clean-up in 2 stages.  (In the first one, above, I got rid of all of the things that didn't belong and got plastic ziploc bags to corral all of the different little things like screws, extra wine stops, pingpong balls, etc.  It took 10 minutes or so.)  Something else must have demanded my attention because I stopped there.  I picked up the project a couple of days later when it was here:

There were still some things that needed to go elsewhere so I ditched them and added a drawer organizer & had fun putting all of the little things in their spots:  (so organizationally-nerdy, I know!)  And here it is now:

Yes, she's a beauty!  hahaa  but I'm seriously really proud of it.  My sister-in-law was visiting the other day & asked me where a pen was and I was SO happy she'd asked.  "It's in the junk drawer," I said and directed her to it.  "THIS is your junk drawer???"  She asked.  And it thrilled me to the bone.  "YES!!  It is!!"  (And then I went on to tell her that it was a new & improved junk drawer.) 

I've had this drawer organizer (below) for years & don't remember where I got it but I came accross it a few days ago in the basement.  Perfect!  I love that the top slides to reveal space below.  You have to be careful with these though...  If you don't keep them organized & they get to full, they can become really cranky & keep the drawer from closing.  (I speak from experience...  I think it's why the thing ended up in the basement.)

See our cooking stone above?  And I saw a pretty green gift bag lying around so I sliced it open & lined the bottom of the drawer with it.  I grabbed some seldom-used bowls & used them to corral matches & name holder wine corks.  Now we've got a good spot for our his & hers screwdrivers:

My plan of attack was to basically get all of the tiny things & put them in other containers like the bags of misc screws. nails, etc.  It really helped because for us it was the little things that were everywhere that drove me insane:

... And the broken pieces of chalk went into this little jar:

I specifically left extra space in the junk drawer so it can do its job as a catch-all for random things of the kitchen, but I do know it'll need need tending to in a few months or so.  But I have to say, I enjoyed the project so much more because of the green gift bag lining the drawer.  As silly as it sounds, I know I'll keep it neater in there just because it's prettier.  Can't wait to see your projects!!

xoxo,

lauren

I'm attempting to use Mr.Linky so if you participate in this week's junk drawer project, you can link to your blog post here!  Just type in your name and the address of the exact post so we can all visit.  (I know there must be a better way to explain that but I really don't know it.) 

*Also check out this giveaway giving you the chance to have design help for the front of your home!!

Pure Organization Project #7: Declutter the Kitchen

Somehow things just accumulate in my kitchen.  We have a little tray that's supposed to be for wallets & cell phones & sunglasses, but it ends up overflowing with coupons and batteries & lightbulbs & screws &chargers and other random annoyances.  Things just come into our house & if we don't stay on top of them, they build up, particularly in the kitchen...  cards, coupons, new (old) purchases, candles, etc...   Sometimes it's just stuff that needs to be put away in another room but remains in the kitchen for weeks.  argggg...  Now my junk drawer is clean, but the rest of the kitchen is starting to feel like a giant junk drawer.  eeek!  

So,  I put every single item that needs to find a home or leave the kitchen on my kitchen island.  Here it is, my junk:

And today there's no "after" because it's still sitting on my island where I'm typing right now. 

So Project #7 is to Declutter the kitchen of everything that doesn't belong.  Find spots for the things that do need to stay and ditch the rest.  (Preferably to a good home in another room instead of making more clutter in another room as I'm tempted to do!)

Good luck & I'll be back on later today to add Mr.Linky!  (I am so strapped for time right now & didn't get a chance to look at all of last week's links but promise I will!!)

The Better Homes & Gardens crew arrives today and will be here all week-long for our Christmas shoot!!  The tree's up & we're getting ready to go.  I'll be posting to let you know how it's going & how it works.  (I'm so curious!!!)

xoxo,
lauren

Our kitchen island

In our kitchen, I went back and forth (over and over!!) on what I wanted in our kitchen, and I finally decided we needed some worn wood in it somewhere to add warmth and carry over the rustic feeling from the rest of our house into the kitchen.  I originally planned to do wood perimeter cabinets but then fell in love with a slab of black soapstone, so I liked the idea of the lighter-painted perimeter cabinets with the dark soapstone top and then a darker wood island with a white marble top.  Here you can see our mid-stage kitchen:

Our island is around 8 feet long & can sit four of us...  (Even though you only see 3 chairs above)

Our builders got the kitchen island fucntional and we've been doing this for a while:

This island is a WORKHORSE!! Oh my gosh, it's a beast.  I love it.  It holds our trash, recycling, junk drawer, pasta/rice/randoms, a little bar drawer, kids' snacks, my vases & mason jars, and then paper goods like paper towels/ plates/cups.  We've had parties where we've loaded it up with food/ drinks.  (And even beer pong I must admit ;)  For Christmas, it seemed like our entire extended family fit around it easily.  It's one of the most practical pieces I've ever had and I've never had anything like this in a kitchen of my own before.  It might be my favorite thing in my house...  And it's not even pretty yet.

{Reality: My dog is "vacuuming" up our crumbs.  Get it giiiirl.}

BUT... our reclaimed oak arrived this week!!!  It was an amazingly generous gift from David Ellison at the Lorimer Workshop who we often team up with for cour clients' projects.  David & his team are true craftspeople and everything that arrives from them is so much more beautiful than any photos could show.  Our clients are always over the moon with their Lorimer pieces and we were no less blown away when our reclaimed wood arrived:

(Don't mind the helicoptor ;)

The color was exactly what I'd asked David for...  It's stained sort of a warm (but still somehow grayish and not too orangey) medium walnut.  I love how it looks with our light white oak floors.

Here's a close-up where you can really see the saw marks: 

Eeeeek!

We are having the wood planks applied horizontally over the entire existing island & drawers similar to this:

 They're all random length, width & depths though, so it will be a bit rougher-looking.

I wanted something special for hardware on the island and on an ebay search Dave, my husband, found prettiest antique apothecary bin pulls:

{My computer is being evil and won't let me flip this photo around}

Thy're labeled with what the bins used to hold...

Here's a close-up:

They had the exact number of bin pulls we needed (7) so I'm convinced it was meant to be ;) ;)

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on our island's progress and can't wait to share 'afters' of it!!

Have the best weekend!! 

 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

The Fall Purge

Now's the time for getting rid of the clutter!! If you don't have a Fall clean-up in your neightborhood, set a deadline for yourself & do your own "Fall Cleanup." (image above from www.treelink.org)

The first thing is to get all of the "total junk" (or trash) out of your house & take it to the curb or dump. We did this this weekend & it feels SO good!! (The people left a shed full of junk here for us when we bought the house last Spring.)

As you're switching over your clothes from Summer to Winter/ Fall, go through each & every closet & drawer in your house. If you haven't worn something in the past year, decide whether to: give it away, throw it away (if you think no one would want it) or consign it.

Comb through your storage areas looking for items you or your kids may have outgrown or you no longer need/ want: old toys, ratty sheets & towels, bad decor purchases, non-working tools, etc. Finally, organize the wajeebies out of everything you're keeping so next season's organizing is easier.

*images from Real Simple

So go ahead, if you haven't already, begin THE PURGE. It's time and you'll feel so much better. I know I do!

xoxo,

lauren

My First Blog

My First Blog
--------------------------OCTOBER 7, 2008---9:44 AM----------------


(A room in progress... a lake house for my dad I'm currently working on just to give you an idea of my work.)

So here I am, writing my first blog. Hmmm... I'm not really even quite sure what a blog is so here goes. First, I should say that there will probably be lots of typos & I apologize.

Here's a bit about me: I'm a 26 year old wife, mom & interior designer. My husband's a high school English teacher & the most involved dad ever. He's always doing those random sweet things & in general, just makes my life better & easier.

On that note- the easy life. The simple life. I guess that's what I wanted this blog to be about. I try to impart the "pure style" philosophy into every aspect of life. It's taking pleasure in the little things & simplifying your life... making it beautiful. Home is really important to me. I believe the way we design our homes really determines how our life is going to play out in that house. Does your house make you smile when you walk in the door or does it make you cringe? Is your home pretty & organized & easy to live in or full of mess & clutter & unfinished tasks? 

Photo by Trio Giovan from Cottage Living

I think when our homes are set up so we can live easily in them, we have more time to be with the people we love & to do the things we really care about. If we surround ourselves in an environment that relaxes us & works with us, we'll be happier. 

Now, I am the definition of a "mess." When my husband & I first met in college & I was struggling to pull out my dining card from my super-packed & unorganized wallet, he handed the dining guy his card & had him swipe it for me and shook his head at me, "You're such a mess." I was shocked. I had never really thought of myself that way- I always wanted to be one of those really composed-looking people. You know- they have a little clutches & always look good- hair in place, makeup, great clothes. I call them "groomers" because as I've gotten older, I've realized it doesn't come naturally. Yes, the tendency to groom may come naturally, but the grooming itself, they have to work at it. They have to "groom." (And I'm not talking about those really naturally beautiful people. Beautiful people can be groomers or normal people.) I want to be one of them.

clutch by fredala

But my husband (actually, "Guy I'd just met in Creative Writing Class" at the time) made me realize what I truly was. An organized mess. A mess trying not to be a mess. Because I loved organization & cleaning out other people's junk drawers & rearranging their rooms. I could always find something eventually. Everything did have a place even if it wasn't always in its place. I realized I'm one of those people who naturally inflicts chaos into a room- I try on a bunch of clothes & throw them all on the chair when I'm finished. I work really hard to get something in working order & then I go & screw it all up!

It was good to face reality. Once I realized that I was truly a mess & couldn't change my innate habits, I became much more organized & life became simpler. I started thinking in terms of my handicap: "Because I'm such a mess, I always lose my car keys, so I need a place to put them." And Voila! I stopped losing my cars keys! (Most of the time.) And the trick to putting the clothes back in the closet lies in having a closet with extra space (empty hangers!) so it's not such a daunting task to try to fit the clothes back in. (This means constantly clearing out the stuff I don't wear & switching out my wardrobes seasonally because I unfortunately don't have a large closet.)

Photo from canada.com

I remember my best friend had been asked about her toothpaste tube on a job interview & of course she answered with what they were looking for: "When I'm finished using it, I flatten out the bottom part & fold it." That little toothpaste analogy really rings true with me- I forget about the toothpaste tube for a few days & then when it startes to get really gooped at the bottom & wrinkled & messed up, I fix it.

And I realized that this is how I handle a lot of aspects of my life. So I started putting little "spillovers" or "boobytraps" into the way I organize my life. The huge bottom drawer in my closet (an elfa drawer cart) has become the spot where I toss the things I have worn or tried on that aren't dirty. When it starts to get really full, then I empty it & start over. When my wallet starts to feel full, it gets cleaned out. (Would you believe it's actually a little clutch that my mom gave me that gets thrown into whatever bag I need for the day- diaper bag, work bag, pretty purse, etc.) So I've gotten to know myself & I now have little systems set into place to keep my messes at bay.

I see I'm rambling. I'll just really quickly say that I have an adorable one year-old & having him has, of course, really changed so much in our lives, but we really try to stay the same. He's such a flexible, sweet little guy & the 3 of us have so much fun together. But our time is so insanely valuable now. We've found the only way to keep things good is to become more scheduled- even going as far as to scheduling in "nothing to do" time.

I'm passionate about what I do- decorating & designing homes- & really think that it spills over into every aspect of life. The only way for us to keep things running long smoothly is to keep things simple, beautiful, organized and fun.

For now, I think the purpose of this blog is to write about trying to have that "pure style home" & being real about who we are to get that home. Putting booby traps in our organizational planning to stop fighting how we really live. And beautiful things, of course. (Not necessarily expensive, because I love a good thrift-store find. But right & easy & very "you.")

$15 chandelier I found at a thrift store: I painted it in a silverleaf & strung it with crystals found online. (I repaint it whenever a new mood strikes me- it's white now but I think it'll be going black for Halloween!)

My first blog

It's been a year now (and 189 posts)since I started writing Pure Style Home. (I'm not good with anniversaries, so it's a week or 2 late.) But I thought it would be fun to share with you my first post, which I called my first "blog" at the time. I really don't even remember why I started writing... I guess stumbled across a blog (I can't remember which) & have always loved writing so I just decided to start writing, never thinking anyone but my grandmother & mother-in-law would ever read it.

We were living in my parents' basement at the time, having just sold our own townhome for a huge loss and at first I didn't share this with readers. (Well I really didn't have any readers to share it with... but at the point when no one's reading, you just sort of pretend you are writing for people ;) Anyway, I was embarrassed that we lived in my parents' basement until one day it just hit me that life happens. People do what they have to do to get places and we were living in a basement so we could get a new house. I shared it with readers and got some amazing support and advice.

I think it was then that I really opened up on my blog and realized how kind & caring you all were. It's been an awesome experience and I've made so many friends here. I've learned so much & many of you have influenced my style along the way. I feel like I've met a few mentors (I don't think they know it ;) and I've found that in general, the people of blogworld are generous, caring & open about sharing knowledge & ideas. It's a wonderful community & I'm so glad to have joined. One of my very first commenters was the lovely Camila of High-Heeled Foot in the Door & she really explained to me how things were done and has been there for me ever since.

I've gained a lot of confidence from writing this blog & having others believe in me... My business has come a long way in just one short year and I owe much of it to this blog & readers. (I hope to be thinking the same thing next year! :) Thank you so much for reading and here is my very first post... (bear with it! ;)


--------------------------OCTOBER 7, 2008---9:44 AM----------------


(A room in progress... a lake house for my dad I'm currently working on just to give you an idea of my work.)


So here I am, writing my first blog. Hmmm... I'm not really even quite sure what a blog is so here goes. First, I should say that there will probably be lots of typos & I apologize.

Here's a bit about me: I'm a 26 year old wife, mom & interior designer. My husband's a high school English teacher & the most involved dad ever. He's always doing those random sweet things & in general, just makes my life better & easier.

On that note- the easy life. The simple life. I guess that's what I wanted this blog to be about. I try to impart the "pure style" philosophy into every aspect of life. It's taking pleasure in the little things & simplifying your life... making it beautiful. Home is really important to me. I believe the way we design our homes really determines how our life is going to play out in that house. Does your house make you smile when you walk in the door or does it make you cringe? Is your home pretty & organized & easy to live in or full of mess & clutter & unfinished tasks?

Photo by Trio Giovan from Cottage Living

I think when our homes are set up so we can live easily in them, we have more time to be with the people we love & to do the things we really care about. If we surround ourselves in an environment that relaxes us & works with us, we'll be happier.

Now, I am the definition of a "mess." When my husband & I first met in college & I was struggling to pull out my dining card from my super-packed & unorganized wallet, he handed the dining guy his card & had him swipe it for me and shook his head at me, "You're such a mess." I was shocked. I had never really thought of myself that way- I always wanted to be one of those really composed-looking people. You know- they have a little clutches & always look good- hair in place, makeup, great clothes. I call them "groomers" because as I've gotten older, I've realized it doesn't come naturally. Yes, the tendency to groom may come naturally, but the grooming itself, they have to work at it. They have to "groom." (And I'm not talking about those really naturally beautiful people. Beautiful people can be groomers or normal people.) I want to be one of them.

clutch by fredala

But my husband (actually, "Guy I'd just met in Creative Writing Class" at the time) made me realize what I truly was. An organized mess. A mess trying not to be a mess. Because I loved organization & cleaning out other people's junk drawers & rearranging their rooms. I could always find something eventually. Everything did have a place even if it wasn't always in its place. I realized I'm one of those people who naturally inflicts chaos into a room- I try on a bunch of clothes & throw them all on the chair when I'm finished. I work really hard to get something in working order & then I go & screw it all up!

It was good to face reality. Once I realized that I was truly a mess & couldn't change my innate habits, I became much more organized & life became simpler. I started thinking in terms of my handicap: "Because I'm such a mess, I always lose my car keys, so I need a place to put them." And Voila! I stopped losing my cars keys! (Most of the time.) And the trick to putting the clothes back in the closet lies in having a closet with extra space (empty hangers!) so it's not such a daunting task to try to fit the clothes back in. (This means constantly clearing out the stuff I don't wear & switching out my wardrobes seasonally because I unfortunately don't have a large closet.)

Photo from canada.com

I remember my best friend had been asked about her toothpaste tube on a job interview & of course she answered with what they were looking for: "When I'm finished using it, I flatten out the bottom part & fold it." That little toothpaste analogy really rings true with me- I forget about the toothpaste tube for a few days & then when it startes to get really gooped at the bottom & wrinkled & messed up, I fix it.

And I realized that this is how I handle a lot of aspects of my life. So I started putting little "spillovers" or "boobytraps" into the way I organize my life. The huge bottom drawer in my closet (an elfa drawer cart) has become the spot where I toss the things I have worn or tried on that aren't dirty. When it starts to get really full, then I empty it & start over. When my wallet starts to feel full, it gets cleaned out. (Would you believe it's actually a little clutch that my mom gave me that gets thrown into whatever bag I need for the day- diaper bag, work bag, pretty purse, etc.) So I've gotten to know myself & I now have little systems set into place to keep my messes at bay.

I see I'm rambling. I'll just really quickly say that I have an adorable one year-old & having him has, of course, really changed so much in our lives, but we really try to stay the same. He's such a flexible, sweet little guy & the 3 of us have so much fun together. But our time is so insanely valuable now. We've found the only way to keep things good is to become more scheduled- even going as far as to scheduling in "nothing to do" time.

I'm passionate about what I do- decorating & designing homes- & really think that it spills over into every aspect of life. The only way for us to keep things running long smoothly is to keep things simple, beautiful, organized and fun.

For now, I think the purpose of this blog is to write about trying to have that "pure style home" & being real about who we are to get that home. Putting booby traps in our organizational planning to stop fighting how we really live. And beautiful things, of course. (Not necessarily expensive, because I love a good thrift-store find. But right & easy & very "you.")

$15 chandelier I found at a thrift store: I painted it in a silverleaf & strung it with crystals found online. (I repaint it whenever a new mood strikes me- it's white now but I think it'll be going black for Halloween!)

-----------------------------------THE END ------

So that was it! haha my first post! As you can see, I wasn't even really sure what a blog was at the time. My blog has evolved with me & as time went on, I gained the confidence to share some of my work & own home with you all. I must say though, I still agree: Simple - Happy - Beautiful --- is what a home should be. We can all get our homes there & have fun in the process and that's what I've tried to make this blog about: sometimes you'll see organizational posts (simple), sometimes you'll see cheesy personal posts with my family (happy) and other times you'll see design-related posts (Beautiful) but I always try to keep the idea of living this way in mind when I post. I share our often unglamorous & (sometimes unsuccessful!!) DIY projects to show how crazy it can be to get to "simple" and "beautiful" but also to show how "happy" and fun (albeit exhausting) getting there can be.

Anyway, thanks everyone so much for reading and bearing with me. You're the best & I can't tell you how happy hearing from you all makes me. Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane...

xoxo,
lauren