Blog - at home with Ashley

Pretty Linen Closets

Hi Friends- last week I shared my organized linen/cleaning closet with some tips on how to make your own closet Pinterest Pretty. I kept thinking how those tips weren’t super helpful without pictures to go with them. My whole goal is to get you inspired and teach you so that you can have gorgeous homes too! So here are some of my favorite pretty linen closets with some insights on why they work:

Make the eye happy

First up, we have i Heart Organizing:

Isn’t that closet SO pretty?! The hero with her closet are the gorgeous cleaning supplies and tools- she was intentional with every item she put in there. I love all of the white open space. She absolutely purged that closet and only has the essentials.

use pretty labels

Next is Dear Lillie

[Read more…]

Making your Closet Pinterest Pretty

Confession- I have a linen closet that is such a mess, it’s embarrassing! The problem is that it is a VERY deep and narrow closet so things just get dumped in there and I haven’t known how to solve the problem. But, when I did the Craft Closet organization post, I was totally inspired! I figured I could start with the door and work my way back. I started getting inspiration and figured I would pass some of the things I learned on So let’s start with the before:

Scary! So let’s talk about the problems:

I need to throw things away. I have 50 million bags in there and we just don’t need them
There are bags hanging on each side of the closet so it’s hard to get to the back. I need to clear out one side so I have space to get to the back
There aren’t enough shelves in the back so things are stacked and it’s hard to maintain order. I need to have more shelves cut
The shelves fall off their brackets easily- the track may be installed incorrectly- I need to do some investigating.
I need a better linen storage solution. They are packed right now tightly in a large plastic bin. So if I need one thing, I have to pull everything out to find it and then it stinks badly and I have to wash it before I can use it
There are two kitchen stools in there that don’t fit in my kitchen that I need to store elsewhere

Here are some solutions that dear old Pinterest have helped me find:

Note- affiliate links are used in this post. These are only to items I purchased for this post or have purchased in the past and love. Thanks for your support!

Source. I need to utilize the back of the door for storage. This will also be awesome because then I don’t have to get to the back of the closet for everyday necessities. I have a theory with organizing that if you create a solution that you can maintain and be lazy, it will be successful.

For that, I have purchased this from Amazon for $25. How great is that price?! Organizing systems are usually so expensive, so I think this is a steal 🙂

Source. I need to utilize the depth of the closet for storage. My closet is narrow and deep so I can’t do much with this space (besides narrow racks) and still have access the back of the closet.

For that, I purchased this cabinet rack for $4.50 and this wrap rack for $4.50. Again, you’ve got to love affordable solutions! [Read more…]

How to Conquer Toy Storage

Toy storage sure creeps on you as a new parent! I remember having a newborn and wondering “will he ever be interested in toys?!” Well, he now does and it seems like our small collection of toys has multiplied 10 times! I already owned a bunch of bins and so I kept a bin or two in each room of the house so he always had something to play with wherever we were. Then we were preparing to go on vacation and cleaning up the house for my sister while she house-sat. We put all of the bins of toys in the nursery so she didn’t have to stare at baby toys and we were blown away at how much JUNK we had on our hands! And how much nicer the rest of the house looked without toys everywhere! I thought- enough is enough and figured out how to conquer toy storage.

When I was little, we had a toy chest, but it was always a mess because everything gets dumped in there and it is hard to keep like items together- so no on that idea. I already tried the bins through the house idea- so no on that one too. I liked the idea of a bookshelf because I could (selfishly) style it to look gorgeous and then baby Don could see which toys he had and easily play with them. The problem is that his nursery is tiny and I don’t have a ton of extra space.

I ended up going with the Avdala bookcase from Ikea for $19.99. I loved the price and the dimensions were perfect. One day we will move and our toy storage needs will change with so I didn’t want to invest in a fancy bookshelf. Of course, the downside to Ikea is the assembly- which is always a pain, but when a baby insists on “helping”, it takes twice as long (but is 100 times cuter)! I took the end out of the screwdriver and let him play with that. We got it put together and I anchored it to his wall so that it wouldn’t tip over on him when he inevitability pulls on it #safetyfirst.

Here are my storage/styling tips for bookcases-

Put what you and your baby love most on the shelves first
Put heavy items on the bottom so they don’t hurt the baby when he/she pull them off the shelf
Look at the leftover items. Does your baby play with them? Are they duplicates of what is on the shelf? If so donate or give them away!
If your baby loves the extra toys, consider putting them in a closet and then rotating out the toys so that they have a small collection of options and when they get bored of them, you can rotate them out.
The top is free to decorate with fragile items or decorative pieces you don’t want baby to play with. It is a great place to add some “pretty” since you probably spend plenty of time in that space as well

So where are the rest of his toys?

I still have one bin of blocks in our living room that he can play with, but the bin is pretty and you can’t tell it’s toys if you don’t know.
The fragile books are on shelves behind the rocker
The board books are in a pretty bin on the floor- I really like books to be accessible
He has a “baby walker” that sits on the floor

So now I feel like I have toy clutter conquered for now! I am holding my breath for his first birthday and the toys that are sure to be given to him, but we will deal with it then and maybe start a toy rotation then. How have you dealt with the mess of kid toys?

How to buy Caitlin Wilson pillows on a budget

Who else out there loves a good pattern, a pretty home and an amazing deal?! If that is you, this post is was made just for you! After I posted about my Living Room on a budget I got a lot of questions on where I got the pillows and I’m ready to spill the beans! [Read more…]

How to become a Decorator for a Model Home

I recently got the opportunity and was able to decorate a model home. I wanted to share some tips so that you to can do this too. For years, I have had it on my professional bucket list to decorate a model home. It all started when my husband and I (when we were dating) would go to the “Parade of Homes”- aka model homes decorated to the nines. I loved walking through them and seeing the latest trends (before blogs!) and getting inspired. Homes with basketball courts and theaters and even indoor swimming pools- so fun to see (this was obviously before the recission)! I dreamed about decorating one and what fun things I would add. Well, a few weeks ago I made that dream a reality! I got a few emails asking how I was able to do this and some tips on how to become a decorator of a model home, so I thought I would answer that question here in the hope that it is helpful for you.

The background story–

I got my Interior Design degree in 2005 from FIDM. Since graduating I have mostly worked as a visual merchandiser (I make store showrooms look pretty to increase sales) for furniture stores.

cactus print /

How it happened–

One day a builder contacted the place I work to see if we could furnish their model home with our furniture. Since I am the only one on staff with Interior Design experience, I was the lucky one to get to decorate it. So pretty much, I was in the right place at the right time. Since I’ve worked at the same furniture company for years I have received requests again and again for decorating a model home. The truth is that furniture isn’t cheap so builders love partnering with furniture stores as a advertising partner. If you are interested in merchandising, a furniture store might be a great way for you to be able to decorate a model home.

How you can make it happen-

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My Best Tips for Traveling with a Baby

Hola! I just got back from a trip to Mexico with my husband and baby and wanted to share some things I learned that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Here are my best tips for traveling with a baby.

Note, this blog post contains affiliate links

Some Background-

My husband and I are seasoned travelers. When we were first married my husband worked for the airlines and so we could travel for free! I so miss those days of spontaneous trips and frequent travel! We used to travel 8-10 times a year, but have cut back in the recent years. We are very comfortable with traveling, but throwing a baby in the mix definitely makes things more interesting/complex.

We have traveled with baby Don twice before this trip. Once when he was two months old and when he was 8 months old- both were driving trips 4-6 hours away. We definitely learned the hard way with those trips and so we applied those things for a successful international trip.

Airplane Tips-

Here is what worked for our 11 month old-

Think of the airplane ride in 5-10 minute increments. What can you keep them occupied with for the next 5 minutes? Once they are bored with that, move on to the next 5 minute activity
Activities- For our plane ride there, Don slept for 1 hour and for the rest we worked hard to keep him occupied. He screamed for about 5 minutes but was awesome for the rest. Here are activities that worked for us-
- Books. We brought with us a board book with animals to pet- we went through this a few times. Pat the Bunny is a favorite (and so classic!)
- Apps. I downloaded free baby apps on my phone and tablet so we could play those together. I like the Fisher Price free apps (my baby is really into animal noises right now and there is a great one for that)
- Snacks. My baby loves puffs or oranges right now, but I have heard of older kids liking raisins. Just give them one at a time and really draw it out. You can bring baby food on planes (which I did), but I never wanted to deal with the mess of eating or the inevitable diaper change so we didn’t use them. They were more of an emergency option 🙂
- Water. I made sure to have my baby’s sippy cup filled up with bottled water after we passed customs so he could have something to sip on (aka one more thing to do)
- Toys. I used an old puffs plastic container and put toys in it. I wrapped each one in ribbon or string so he could pull one toy out of the bin, unwrap it and then play with it. This is a somewhat messy option, but my baby did love playing with a matchbox car on a string. I have heard wrapping toys in wrapping paper, but I thought that sounded messier and I am still at the stage of putting everything in the month and eating paper is still not my favorite 🙂
- Snapchat. This is a random one, but the app Snapchat has a function where you can turn your face into silly things like a cat or it puts sunglasses on you. Very entertaining for a little one!
- Headphones. We purchased these kid headphones because they have AWESOME ratings, are affordable, and they limit the sound (aka, there is a limiter on how high the volume can go up so you don’t blast their tiny ears). They fit my 11 month old just great! He isn’t much of a TV watcher, but we started a video and within a few minutes he was asleep. Success! Embarrassing confession- I finished watching the movie with the same headphones so they really fit a variety of head sizes (insert laughing until I’m crying emoji)
- Surroundings. This one is obvious, but pull out the card from the seat back and look at the pictures for deplaning in an emergency. Open the window before takeoff and point out the workers and tell your baby what is going on. At the end of our plane ride there, we were all a little over it. We were circling over the airport for 45 minutes waiting for clearance to land when Don got a little cranky. We luckily were sitting next to the sweetest grandma who held him and he loved staring at her and all of the other passengers he could now see on the aisle
For our plane ride back home, Don slept for 98% of the 4.5 hour ride. It was BLISS! I watched a whole movie while he slept in my arms. Here is what worked for us to get him to sleep
- Breastfeeding. During takeoff and whenever he briefly woke up (planes are SO annoying with all of the overhead announcements!) I would feed him and he would go straight to sleep. I do feed him immediately before sleep normally, so try to recreate your bedtime routine
- Pajamas. Don sleeps in these Zippadee Zip pajamas (we LOVE them because they restrict his arm movement a bit, but he can still rollover, crawl, and stand up in them). He had them on in the plane and slept SO well
- Blanket or Nursing Cover- I used my lightweight nursing cover (no longer available) as a blanket over his face to help eliminate distractions/ make it more dark for him
- Sedation- this one is controversial, but talk to your pediatrician and/or pharmist and see if/what dosage they recommend for helping your baby sleep on the plane. I personally couldn’t imagine how awful a plane ride would be with a screaming baby the whole way, so I did use some medication. I did some research and here is what others recommend:
  - Kid’s Benadryl
  - Kid’s Dramamine
  - Hylands Baby Calming tablets (or anything with Calamine in it)
- Sedation tips-
  - Get the proper dosage for your age/baby’s weight. This is REALLY important to get right
  - Test before the plane ride. Lots of kids get more hyper with Benadryl, so you have to test beforehand! My child sleeps 2 hours every morning and on Benadryl he didn’t sleep at all. So we ended up using the Dramamine. I get plane sick so I didn’t mind the idea of it helping him sleep and potentially avoid being motion sick. This worked like a charm, especially on the second plane ride. We gave him 1/2 of a tablet

For landing and take off, make sure to protect their little ears! Have you ever had your ears not pop on a plane? It is so painful! Don had no problem, but I made sure he was nursing or sucking on a pacifier through the big elevation changes.
Last, if you are traveling internationally, make sure to get your passport 6 weeks in advance. We had to pay a rush fee because we needed it in 5 weeks. Learn from us :). Also, how cute are baby passport photos?!

Hotel Tips–

For a work trip when Don was 8 months old, I was able to take him and my husband with me. We stayed in a small room and the only place for the pack and play was in the same room as us. It was miserable because he would see us and not sleep- he was up every hour on the hour and I was exhausted by the end of the trip. Or when he would go to sleep at 8pm we would have to be really quiet in the dark until it was our bed time. So for this trip I was adamant we have the following things in a hotel:

Extra room- if you can afford it, try to get a suite or balcony so that after the baby goes to sleep, the party isn’t over for everyone else. We rented a hotel with one bedroom, a living room, kitchen, and a balcony. It was SO nice to put the baby to sleep in the bedroom and then have two other spaces to hang out. The location of our hotel wasn’t ideal, but it was the compromise to get a hotel room in our budget with the space our family needed.
Pack and Play- make sure your hotel has a crib or pack and play you can use. Obvious, but definitely a deal breaker. If you have to be in the same room, drape a blanket over the pack and play so that it is as dark and isolated for the baby as possible (if you don’t normally sleep in the same room as your child)
Wifi- a few of the rooms we looked at didn’t have wifi. With being out of the country I couldn’t imagine not being able to talk to the house sitter who was watching our dogs or just zone out on social media while the baby slept.
Eat-in Capabilities- with a baby, eating out for 3 meals a day gets tiring for us (having to keep him happy while we wait for a meal to be prepared can be hard work!). So we made sure to rent a hotel with the option to eat at the hotel. Honestly, if your room has a mini fridge you’ll be able to at least have cereal in the morning which can save your wallet and sanity.

On the Go Tips–

We spent most of our days exploring and here is what worked so we had what we needed when we were on the go:

Camelbak- my husband has a Camelbak hydration backpack (it has a pouch for water that comes out a hose on the shoulder pads) that ended up being perfect for an on the go diaper bag! It was easy to carry around (as opposed to an over the shoulder diaper bag) and carried water so we wouldn’t get dehydrated. The best part was that our baby could drink out of it too!
Baby Bjorn- we didn’t want to mess with hauling a stroller around, so we (mostly me) carried our baby around in the baby Bjorn. I love how easy it is to use and then he is contained and safe strapped on you, plus so compact to travel with! This was a $50 baby shower gift and one of the most useful! We have carried Don in it since he was a few weeks old and it is still going strong!
Seasonal Clothing- because we were traveling to a warm place in the winter, I needed to buy clothes for our baby. The problem is that no one is selling summer clothes yet. I lucked out when I went to H&M and found last summer’s clothes on a deep discount. I bought them in the next size up so they will fit this summer and got a bunch of stuff from $1-$5 each (I got things like sandles, shorts, tanktops, a sun hat). Score! Plus, he looked very cute!
Baby Powder- pack baby powder when you go to the beach so you can sprinkle it on your baby’s skin which helps the sand come off painlessly
Sunscreen- if your baby is older than 6 months, make sure to put baby sunscreen on them in the hotel room before you go (that way you don’t have to worry about it later). We also tried to always have a hat and long sleeves on the baby so he didn’t get sunburnt

Our trip was so fun and it was a blast just to unwind and spend quality time with my favorite people! One of my favorite travel quotes is “We travel not to escape life, but for life to not escape us.” I am pretty sad it is over with, but even though it was a ton of work, I wouldn’t trade this last week for the world. Don was a little social butterfly and made friends everywhere. It was fun to see things through his eyes. He has learned to point and would point and stare at birds. I would whisper in his ear what a bird says and he would just grin. Anyway, my trip was amazing and I can’t wait to plan the next one! Do you have any travel tips that I didn’t include?

How to get on the Same Page with your Husband about Decor

Hello! Sorry my blog went silent at the end of last week- I decorated a model home for work and it was just craziness (plus working 12+ hour days). If you want to see some sneak peeks, follow along on Instagram. A few weeks ago, I shared you my plans on spicing up my hall and was so excited about it! I did all of my research and THEN showed it to my husband. Major fail, because he was not on board with the wallpaper idea. Usually I am much better about this! I have some exciting news plus some tips on how to get on the same page with your husband about decor.

First up, the big news- we are DEBT FREE!!! (besides our mortgage)! I wrote this post awhile ago about how we paid off $40,000 in debt. We still had $2000 to go, but it was slow because I got some big bills. Side note, no one ever told me that it could take almost a year for the hospital to finish billing me from the birth of my baby. Also, small tip with medical bills- if you call and ask for a discount they may give it to you. They gave me 10% off if I paid the bill all at once. Anyway, I threw a party for my husband and I where I taped up all of the thermometers that I used as we paid off each debt, bought us a nice dinner, got balloons, and we paid off the very last of the student loan. It felt SO good!!!

It took us about 3 years to pay off $42,000 in debt. My husband had two job losses and we had a baby which slowed things down a bit. I thought it would take 2 years, but I am beyond happy that we rolled up our sleeves and got it done! One of the best “side effects” of being debt free is that my husband are on the same page about money. We talk to each other about big purchases and have the same frame of mind that we want to have a big life without a lot of “things” weighing us down. After our debt free party we sat down and talked about our next big goals and it was the best to dream together! There are big things coming for our little family :)!

All of that being said, sometimes I just want to do my own thing when it comes to home decor! Haha, but my husband cares so I have to include him. It is his house too. So here are my top tips for How to Get on the Same Page about Decor as your Husband:

Talk it Out

Before your start a project, sit down with your husband and talk about why you want to do something. With our hall I should have told him how it felt like a cave and that white would have brightened it. Plus, adding the wallpaper would be a fun way to add character. Here is where he would mention that he hates wallpaper and that birch trees are girly to him. Then you can work through any disagreements so he doesn’t come home to a big surprise that he hates and you have put a lot of work into.

Have Photos to Illustrate your Point

Pinterest is your best friend! Having a photo can really clear up any discrepancies you might have. Photos paint a picture much better than words and he can see where you are going. That way you both are communicating about the same thing and can better work together.

Show him how he will Benefit

When you are improving your home, you are improving your life. Show him how you think this will make things better for everyone. I want to add a desk to our living room. Right now all of our office stuff is in half of the baby’s closet and it is a pain when you want to work on something, but the baby is sleeping. We have big empty space in our living room and I could tell my husband it will be a place where he can do school work and all of his supplies will be in one place. How can he say no?!

Ask for his Tips and Ideas

Your husband is smart! That’s why you married him! Ask him what he thinks and how your project can be better. I really believe that when more than one person works on a project, it can be bigger and more thought out- two heads are better than one! With my craft closet organization project, he really helped elevate it with coming up with the idea of the wrapping paper holder. Plus, it was so fun to talk about different options and come up with something together!

Finish up with the Budget and Timeline

Now that you are on the same page, you can talk about how much it will cost and when you can make that happen on your budget. Painting the hallway with paint we already have on hand? Go for it! Buying a $1000 desk? Might take a few months.

So although it is more work to get on the same page as your husband, and he might not let everything be pink, it is worth it! That way you are building something together! And it might be better and bigger than you could have made it on your own!

All of that being said, here is how the hall is progressing:

Here is the before:

I started by painting the top half white because I was going to wallpaper the bottom half. When my husband veto’d that, we decided that painting the whole thing white would look awesome! It really feels more open and our art really “pops” against the contrasting background. We both love this photo and are working towards making it a reality.

Source

How to Organize Crafts

Is anyone else out there a craft hoarder?! Like, you do a project, buy the supplies, think you’ll use them again someday and pretty much just end up with a mess? I am shyly raising my hand. Haha! I have a closet in my house just for crafts and right now I can’t open the door without things falling out of it, so I figured today would be as good as any day to organize it! Here are my best tips and steps for how to organize crafts:

Note, affiliate links are used. I get a tiny percentage if you buy these items off my site. I only recommend items I love. If you have questions you can see my disclosure page or I show my monthly earnings from the blog here. Thank you for your support!

The “before” of my closet. Such a mess! Side note, I started painting my hall for my hall renovation and stopped when I ran out of paint. I was originally painting the top half only so I could wallpaper the bottom half. My husband isn’t a big fan of the wallpaper I picked out, so we are trying to find a happy compromise 🙂

Step 1- bring all of your crafts into one spot

First of all pull all of your craft supplies into one spot. If your crafts are in a closet or on shelves or all over your house, take them from where they belong and dump them on the floor somewhere central so you have to touch every single item.

Now don’t get nervous or hyperventilate over the big mess. You can do this! And you will feel so much better when its done! But seriously, crafts are a mess! I felt like I had a good organizational base, but I definitely started questioning that with the mess this closet was. I have two big rules when organizing-

Organizing Rules

you MUST get rid of items. Have bags or boxes ready for trash, giving away, and belongs in another room. If you don’t remove some of the mess, your organizing will quickly turn back into clutter. Remember, you have a mess because you have too many items. You MUST get rid of some of it!
you MUST get a better organizing solution. So once you trash/giveaway some stuff, you will see that your system is flawed (and/or you are lazy and aren’t using your organizing system, so you need to make your system easier to use). As you are pulling things down you will see a recurring theme of what items need to be organized better.

Step 2- start with a clean slate

After I dumped everything in my room I was left with empty shelves that I wiped down. It’s all about the details when you are starting fresh!

Step 3- have an organizing system purchased

Before you begin organizing, I’d suggest going to the store and buying a few of these bins. At $1 each I use them all over my house and always wish I had one or two extras on hand. I already owned them and they gave me a pretty good organizational base. They are my favorite cheap organizational tool! You can get them from the dollar store or Home Depot or Amazon for $1-$4 each. I then use labels from Michael’s (from the Martha Stewart line) and a sharpie to note what is inside. I love that no assembly is required (as opposed to Ikea boxes). They are see through so you get a visual of what is inside and can easily see if they are too full. When I am going to sew, I just pull the “sewing supplies” bin and I have everything I need all contained!

Label Everything!

If you don’t label your bins/boxes you will most likely forget what goes where and your system will fall apart. I also believe in making labeling easy for yourself. Things change! So if I have to pull out my computer and type up a label and search for the special paper- it’s not going to happen. I know I am lazy when it comes to labeling, so I keep my labels and a sharpie together so I can quickly create the label I need.

Step 4- figure out the categories of crafts you have

Here are the categories I have:

Art Supplies

Calligraphy

Fabric (colorful)

Fabric (black and white)

Felt

Gift Tags

Hole Punches

Markers

Party Supplies

Ribbon

Scrapbook Accessories

Sewing Supplies

Spray Paint

Stamps

Tape and Glue

Tools

Tissue Paper

Yarn

Hopefully those categories are helpful for you seeing if you have enough items to fill a bin. The beauty of these bins is that you can see what you have in your big pile of crafts and create bins for what works for your home. Then if you find a loose item that goes in one of the bins, you just lift the lid and toss it inside. Again, the idea is that you work hard on this project for a few hours and then can be lazy for years and the system will work for you.

Step 4- start putting items away

As I was pulling items down I was noticing what was loose and needed to be put away. If you don’t have any organizational method, here is where you will put your items in categories. See what you have and start filling up bins. As you fill a bin with everything from that category, put the bin away so your pile of crafts gets smaller #momentum

Items like scrapbooks, art paper, crafting books, and sheet protectors all went on the shelves after I made sure I wanted each item and there wasn’t any loose items or trash hitchhiking.

I have a few photo safe boxes for my photos (I don’t have many pictures printed out. Here is a post on how I organize my photos)

I have a big accordion file for my scrap booking paper. It is falling apart, but not bad enough to replace yet.

I have a few boxes of scrapbooking embellishments and a bin of hanging decor (paper lantern type items for holidays and parties)

Step 5- throw items away that no longer serve you

As I was going through my stuff I found a file with old receipts- all from around 2010. I had a major shopping problem then and I guess I saved all of the evidence. I was a little depressed at that period in my life and was shopping to try and fill a void (spoiler alert, shopping didn’t work). I can not tell you how good it felt to pull all of those receipts out and trash them. It felt like a ritual where I was literally getting rid of the past and cleansing myself from what was weighing me down. So while organizing sucks and throwing stuff out sucks, it can can heal you too.

Step 6- Take charge of those hard to organize items. The nitty gritty!

I started making piles on the floor of the harder to organize stuff- gift bags, wrapping paper, fabric, ribbon, gift boxes, crocheting items, pictures, all of these things were sitting loose and the main culprits of my closet explosion. Here is what I did with these:

The Organizing Procedure

1. I picked up each item and if I loved it or it “sparked joy” I kept it (this is a method from the book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” this is a must read book if you have any issues with organizing aka, everyone)
2. If I didn’t love it, I threw it away or donated it. Even if it was hard and I thought I might use it one day.
3. Think about how you use items. For gifts, I never put large gifts in gift bags so I gave away all huge bags.
4. Get rid of faulty items. I had a ton of gift boxes. Some of them were crappy ones where the lid is attached to the bottom of the box and are a pain to use so I gave those away too
5. As I whittled down the items, it was easier to put them away- for me this meant in bins
6. I made a pile of items that I didn’t have places or bins for (the fabric, I need to buy a bin for it or use the fabric) or that wouldn’t fit in bins (wrapping paper, gift bags, gift boxes)
7. I went out and purchased organization supplies for those items

I know that the “Does this spark joy” question sounds so cheesy, but it totally works! I love the idea that outside order can contribute to inward calm and I can definitely tell you that organizing and getting rid of items helped me with some inner peace:).

My little helper loved organizing time. So many things to play with!

Another side note, I found these little charms I made for my wedding. I printed vintage valentines I found online and mod podged them onto these little silver frames and hung them from branches on my centerpieces. Oh, weddings before Pinterest! I haven’t used them since I was married 8 years ago, so they are going away (but now I have a picture to remember them by).

I ended up with two bags of items to give away and one box of trash!

Step 7- create an organizing system for what you have left

Now I only had wrapping paper, gift bags, and gift boxes to organize.

Before, they had been shoved in the bottom of my closet and got damaged or I was too lazy to use them because I had to pull everything out of that dark and scary area to find what I needed. Plus, if I ever opened my closet my baby would play with those items that I didn’t really him to play with (eating wrapping paper isn’t my favorite baby activity). All of the sudden, I remembered a beautiful image I saw on Pinterest:Source: Cupcakes and Cashmere

I went to Michael’s and bought this Recollections door storage for $24.99 (it was 50% off):

The problem is that the bins are too deep for my closet (I only have 4.5″ clearance and these were 8″). So that went back to the store. I did more research and found an amazing system from the Container Store (that’s what is used on the inspiration image above), but it is 21″ wide and my door is only 20″ wide- dang! I then went onto Amazon and found another system for a great price ($35), but again, too wide for me. Guys- most of these resources will work for your closet- mine just happens to be tiny. Sigh! Back to Amazon I went and I found a little rack for $4.50! But, it was 12″ wide so I was worried it would be too small for all of my paper (I think it will fit 4 small rolls). I ended up buying 2 of those racks- one for the gift bags and one for the gift boxes. I also bought this matching shelf for $4.50 for my jars of tape, pens, and ribbon.

Later that night, I was showing my husband all of the options and telling how everything was to big- over 20″ or too small- under 12″. He suggested that I make something so it was back to Pinterest we went. Preston (my hubby) really liked this idea:

Source (no longer available)

But I thought it was ugly how you could see the glue. We both loved the idea of making something with supplies we had on hand. We brainstormed and came up with the idea of making a wrapping paper holder with baseboard molding we had at home! So the next day I pulled out my supplies (hacksaw, measuring tape, miter block, and trim I had at home) and got to work

Let’s be honest- I had NO clue what I was doing! I just made it up as I went along and it is FAR from perfect! I made a bottom bin and a top rack to keep the wrapping paper from falling over.

I put wood putty in the seams (they were a mess) and painted it white and it was good enough! I actually LOVE the look of the trim as opposed to cans or the wires that most of the systems are made out of! I did have to buy some brackets to hang the top rack, so it cost $2. Even if you don’t have the trim on hand, you could go to the hardware store and buy the remnants so cheaply. I love that once again I am able to use my $5 miter block to complete a project!

When my Amazon racks finally came (they got lost in transit for a few days- sooooo annoying!), I put them up and put everything away. The problem that I didn’t foresee was that with the racks not having a solid bottom, all of my boxes and bags fell through. I wasn’t ready to give up so I stapled white cardstock over the wires to make a solid bottom. It isn’t a perfect solution, but it works!

And who’s ready for the grand reveal?! As a reminder- before:

And after:

You guys!!! It’s craft heaven in that closet! I love it so much, I just go and open the closet to admire it (don’t worry, I am laughing at myself)! The Door additions are absolutely my favorites. I love that it was an unused space and now it packs so much punch for about $15! Half of the bottom of the closet is now empty- say what?!

Now that the closet is all clean, I actually find myself drawn to use the supplies more. I think the reason why is that I know where everything is and everything is useful to me in there! Some back story on this closet- when we bought this house, this was supposed to be the linen closet, but I took it over for my crafts. I really believe in the importance of creating and having a spot dedicated to that, is totally worth it. My condo is TINY- two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and kitchen. What I am getting at is that if I have the space to have all of my crafts in one spot, so do you! If you are living in a crafting mess, please use these steps and conquer it! You’ll be happier and able to create more :). XO! And thanks for stopping by!

p.s. want a free course on how to style your accessories to look amazing?

Blog Resolutions for 2016

Happy New Year! I absolutely believe in making yearly resolutions. I like the idea that every year I am intentional about how I want to grow and change. I think making concrete ideas helps them come to life. So here are my blog resolutions for 2016:

Large Quarterly Purchases

I have come up with 4 large purchases I would like to make in 2016. We get a quarterly bonus, so between that and saving up, I believe I can make these happen. I am not sure which quarter each of these will happen in, so in random order, I would like:

Camera- specifically the Olympus Pen E-PL7 Guys, this is the blogger’s best friend! It’s wi-fi compatible so you can send the gorgeous pictures you take directly to your phone for Instagram. There is a selfie screen. And you can use your phone as a remote. I have wanted a good camera for a looooong time and now that I have a blog and a baby, what better time than now?!

Sofa- I have a major crush on the Camby sofa by Southern (no longer available) and it is expensive. But our current sofa has a few holes in the fabric so we are actually needing a new one. The hard part will be finding a baby friendly, dog hair friendly fabric. My husband loves this frame, but we need to sit on it to make sure it is comfortable.

photo source

Hardwood Floors- as the continued effort to make my home look more like a Paris apartment, I need new floors. Ha! I mostly hate the old brown carpet. My husband and I are thinking this will be a great thing to spend our tax refund on. Do you think the will go for the herringbone pattern?!

photo source

Counter Tops- when we moved into our house everything was brown and beige. I have slowly been changing that, but have never gotten to the kitchen counter tops. They are the ugliest brown laminate. I would like a nice white or grey store to change all of that. This one is lowest on the priority list. Also, it would kick off a kitchen reno (paint the cabinets, new sink, put up a backsplash) that I am a little scared of right now. By Q4 I will be ready though!

photo source

Q1 Large Projects to Complete

Baby Don is turning 1 at the end of February! I am already planning a big party (which I am SO excited about!!!) so I am using the fact that we will have all of our family and friends in our home to push me to finish these projects

Hallway- it is half way painted. I need to finish painting and figure some ways to make it pretty

Stairs- the stairs just have the paint removed. I need to sand, paint, and add a runner. My husband wants wood treads, but I still want a runner to make it softer for the baby. So this is still up in the air (thus, the reason nothing has been done on it).

Dog Pee- I hate to be TMI, but my boy dog has been spotting in the house since the baby came home. I have a few things on the way to help me concur this problem (a belly band for him and a black light so I can clean). This will be it’s own post, but my house stinks and I am SO sick of it.

Reach

I have a goal for this blog to help more people live an organized, beautiful life on a budget. I need to find more ways to serve more people. I need to do more blog collaborations to get my name out there. I am trying to grow this space so that I can help my readers and I am determined to keep trying! I have a goal to have 100,000 viewers per month by the end of 2016. That is a BIG goal! If you love my blog, please share it with someone (anyone!). You can share your favorite post on Facebook, or pin it on Pinterest, or follow me on Instagram, or shop via my Amazon link (I get a teeny tiny percentage of each sale, but it doesn’t cost you anything. This helps so that I can keep this blog going).

Please share my blog if you have ever been inspired coming here! Here are links to my top posts so far:

How to Organize your Closet

Nursery Tour

How to Buy Baby Moccasins for Cheap

3 Kitchen Hacks that will make your life Prettier and Easier

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Let’s make 2016 great!

Black and White Botanical Wall Art

How to add Black and White botanical wall art to your home on a budget

Back in this post I wrote about my dream to have the Ellie Cashman dark floral wallpaper in my house.If you don’t know what that is here is a picture:

So gorgeous you want to cry, right?! I have wanted this wallpaper for years!

I did a ton of research, trying to find it for cheaper (to buy enough wallpaper for one wall is $260 plus shipping directly from Elli Cashman- just a little expensive for me). I figured I would post it in case someone else wanted that look for less. Here are the options I came up with:

note: affiliate links used in this post. I only share options I love and would buy and that hopefully will help you find the look for less 🙂

Anewall has a gorgeous black and white floral mural (108″x68″) for $319. I know that isn’t a cheaper option than the original, but keep reading…
Anewall has this vintage version of the black and white floral mural (which I love! 108″x72″) for $339. They will do custom sizes and you can select wallpaper or canvas. I priced out a 42″x60″ canvas option to fit perfectly above my sofa for $172
Dreamy Wall has a sketched flowers wallpaper (55″x35″) for $49.80. For a custom image (or they found a similar look which I posted below) at 48″ x72″ it would be $89. Much better!

I was really excited that I found an option for less than $100 for the look I wanted! I shared it with my husband and got a firm no on it. I was so sad! But I did understand his point of view- this wallpaper is incredibly feminine (which is what I love and he hates- haha), plus I was a little concerned about how long it will feel current so I moved on and installed the ledge gallery wall. #dreamcrusher

And then I saw a post by House Lars Built where she had a free download for wrapping paper that was exactly the look I wanted! The download is huge and prints a 24″x36″ size (they suggest doing an engineer print from Staples for $7).

I couldn’t stop thinking about it! And then I remembered a frame I had sitting in my garage that would be perfect. So I had the wrapping paper resized to 18″x24″ to fit my frame by my friend who is a graphic designer. I sent it to a local printer and it cost me a whopping $1.75 to print. Yes you read that right!!! It is on super cheap paper, but I love that I am getting the look I love for so cheap! Here are the steps in case you want to make it yourself:

Grab your tools- frame, foam core, print, scissors, metal ruler, exacto knife, foam brush, and mod podge

Cut your foal core to size (again, my frame was 18″x24″ so that is what I cut my foam core to).

My print had a little of a white trim on it, so I used scissors to cut it to size

I then used mod podge to mount the print to the form core. I got a few bumps. If I was to do this again, I would use a roller to flatten it and I would apply the mod podge on 1/3 of the foam core, put down the print and then continue.
I put it in my (free!) frame and I was good to go! I really needed something on that wall and it turned out perfectly! It’s not as big of an impact as I was hoping for, but I also was worried that it was too trendy of a look to spend $100-$300 on. This is what worked for my family and I love it 🙂

Derek and Lucy obviously approve :). P.s. I am starting a new hashtag on social media #athomeforless for any home decor projects you do on a budget. I can’t see what you tag!