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Hey, friends! Happy Friday! Today I wanted to share some of my most recent post topics from the Homes.com blog. Click on the topic to head over and read the entire post.
Have a great Mother’s Day weekend!
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Packing Tips and Tricks
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Hey, beautiful friends!
You can find me over at IHeart Organizing today. I’m sharing some packing tips and tricks to stay organized while traveling and maximize the space in your suitcase. These are super top secret secrets I’m sharing here, folks. So head over and let your mind be blown. Plus, it’s like a TSA agent’s view into my personal items. Kind of creepy, kind of enlightening.
Speaking of TSA agents, my duffel bag was searched upon my return from SNAP! conference last weekend. I posted this pic on Instagram and pondered: I wonder which item was a cause for concern. Or was it the combination?
Note: these are totally acceptable items to travel with, in my opinion.
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What to Take to a Blog Conference + Printable Checklist
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In a few weeks I’m heading to SNAP!, a crafts and home DIY blog conference in Salt Lake City. I’m pretty excited because I had an amazing time at Haven last year. Blog conferences are downright fun. You’re with your people. They get you, and you get them. Plus, you learn a lot.
Around this time is when bloggers start to freak out a little about what to take to a blog conference, especially newbies. Do I take my laptop? Will I need my DSLR? What will I wear?!
Now, I’m not an expert because I’ve only been to one conference, but I quickly learned what to bring and what not to bring. So let’s start with your blogger bag. It’s the bag you’ll carry with you during the conference.
1. Bag
In order to have a blogger bag you’ll need a bag. A nice sized tote is a good choice. Feel free to splurge and get a smaller bag to curtail the little stuff you’ll put in the bag.
2. Smartphone
This is kind of a no brainer, but you’ll want your smartphone. You’re going to want to tweet people and post pics of you and your favorite bloggers on Instagram. You’re also going to want to use your smartphone to take photos.
3. iPad/tablet
An iPad is great for taking notes in breakout sessions, especially if you prefer typing over writing.
4. Notebook
You’ll want a notebook for notes (obviously), especially if you don’t bring a tablet. I used my notebook and iPad at Haven last year.
5. Pens
Bring more than one pen. You’re bound to lose one. Plus it’s nice to have a couple to lend people who forgot or lost theirs.
6. Business Cards & Holder
You’re at a blog conference to network so it’s kind of silly to show up without business cards. (Read about mine here.) And you don’t want to fumble around your bag for your cards when someone asks for one, so invest in a business card holder. There are plenty on Etsy.
7. Mints
Who wants to have rank breath when they meet their blog idol? No one. That’s who.
8. Hand Lotion
Sometimes you hug people, sometimes you shake hands. Which now reminds me that I should have put hand sanitizer on this list. Anyway, keep your hands moisturized for all the hand shaking with some lotion.
9. Water Bottle
Wet your whistle. You’ll be talking a lot.
10. Lip Gloss
Sometimes you hug people, sometimes you kiss people. Hah. Just kidding. Keep your smackers looking pretty and hydrated with some lip gloss.
11. Smartphone Backup Battery
Your phone battery will die. I promise this will happen to you. Save yourself a headache and invest in a smartphone backup battery.
1. DSLR camera
I lugged my DSLR all the way to Haven to not use it. I took photos with my iPhone or if I was in a photo taken with a DSLR I’d ask the DSLR’s owner if she could email me the pic. Worked out fine for me.
2. Laptop
I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to bring your laptop. I didn’t take one to Haven since I had an iPad. You won’t have time to work on blog posts or edit photos at a blog conference. Leaving your laptop at home means one less thing you have to drag around the airport with you.
3. Duffel Bag
To put the bodies in. Just kidding. There’s typically a fair amount of swag at blog conferences. If you’re flying, I recommend bringing along a durable duffel bag in your checked bag. When the conference is over, you can put your dirty clothes in the duffel bag and your swag in your suitcase. This way you’re able to take your swag home with you. Trust me, it’s no fun leaving swag behind. Since you’re only flying one way, the checked duffel bag should only cost you an additional $20-$25 to get it home. Darn airlines making us pay for checked bags nowadays.
4. Media Kits
Your media kit is a piece of paper that tells all about you and your blog. Some things you’ll find on a media kit are: type of blog, history of the blog, photo of the author, about the author, statistics, some blog photos, advertising policy, brands the author has worked with, etc. Media kits come in handy when meeting and talking with brand representatives.
5. Power Strip
If you’re going to have 3+ roommates you may want to consider bringing a power strip so there will be enough outlets to charge all of your electronics. However, I stayed with two other girls at Haven, and I never used the one I brought because there were enough outlets for the three of us.
6. Roommate Gifts
Some bloggers will bring little gifts for their roommates as a preemptive apology for passing gas or hogging the bathroom mirror. Just kidding. Kind of. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It could be a candle, their favorite candy, or some cute stationary. If this gives you anxiety (will my roommates bring me a gift and I’m the jerk who shows up empty handed?) talk to your roommates about it beforehand and tell them you don’t expect a gift or settle on everyone bringing a bag of dried fruit candy to share. Or you could take it to the next level and do a white elephant of sorts.
7. E-reader
If you’re going to be spending a lot of time flying or hanging out in airports between flights I recommend bringing your e-reader along. You won’t need it during the conference. Unless you’re totally anti-social. But that won’t happen because you’ll be with your people, remember?
Now, because I’m the nicest person in the world, I created a blog conference packing checklist for you. Oh, stop it. You don’t have to tell me how awesome I am.
I added the lines next to the clothing and accessories so you can specifically list which pieces of clothing you want to bring (ex: blue dress, jean jacket, emerald earrings).
Click on the image to download the checklist.
Do you have to bring everything on the checklist? No. Decide what you want to bring based on what you think your needs are. If you won’t use your laptop, don’t bring it. But please bring your deodorant. You’ll definitely need that.
Will I see you at SNAP?
Any blog conference tips for newbies?
Is there something you bring to conference that I left out?
I’m sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, Liz Marie Blog, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Classy Clutter, Today’s Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, Craftberry Bush, Design, Dining, & Diapers, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Snap Creativity, and Serenity Now.
This post contains affiliate links.
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Organizing, Cleaning, & Fashion. Oh, my!
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Hey, friends! Some of you may remember back in January when I announced my partnership with Homes.com as one of their brand ambassadors. Well, as part of my brand ambassadorship I post on the Homes.com blog twice a month. Today I wanted to share some of my recent post topics with you guys. Click on the topic to head over to the Homes.com blog to read the entire post.
Laundry Room Organization Tips
Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks
I’m also co-hosting a spring cleaning and organizing twitter chat with Homes.com and ForRent.com this Thursday, March 21 at 8PM (EST). $50 gift cards will be given away. Yay, free money! RSVP here. I’d love to see you there!
In other news, I’ve been asked to be a contributor on Kim‘s new blog, Work Your Wardrobe. Today is my very first contributor post. Woot! Head over and check out my outfit. Feel free to tell me how gorgeous I look.
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Spring eBook + $5,000 Closet Makeover Contest
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Spring is the perfect time to brighten, rejuvenate, and freshen your home. They don’t call it spring cleaning for nothing.
So in preparation of the impending cleaning and organizing, I’m excited to share this guide for spring cleaning and organizing your home from my friends at Homes.com. In addition to spotlighting tips on spring cleaning (who knew dryer sheets could be used so many different ways?), this guide has tons of helpful organization tips.
Visit the Homes.com blog to download the free Spring Into the Dream Guide.
While you’re there, make sure you check out the $5,000 Closet Makeover Contest.
Every day from March 6 – 27th Homes.com is giving you the chance to enter to win a $5,000 Closet Makeover by providing you a theme on Facebook. Once you know that day’s theme head over to their blog and pin your favorite image of a tip or idea in that theme that you love using #SpringDream. Click here for more details.
Have you started your spring cleaning yet?
What spring cleaning and organizing project will you tackle first?
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Home Office Makeover Reveal
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Today’s the day! My home office/craft room makeover reveal. I hope it lives up to your expectations.
This room makeover has been in the works for hmm 17 months. The process was slow. Obviously. This goes to show that rooms don’t come together over night. Remember that.
I must say I really love my office. It’s my woman cave. The place where I can display as many pink and feminine things as I want. Forget about man caves, every chick should have a woman cave.
Let’s start with the largest piece of furniture in the room– the Ikea Expedit workstation. I decided on this behemoth because it seemed like a good storage solution for my office. So in May, 2012 Brad and I made the 2 hour drive to Cincinnati, home of the nearest Ikea, to get the workstation, white storage boxes, picture frames, shelves, and some chocolate.
Brad started on the Expedit shelving unit when we got home and had it assembled in an hour. I don’t know why people complain about assembling Ikea furniture. Tip: don’t use the supplied dinky Allen wrenches. Get a cordless drill. And a beefcake husband. You’re welcome.
I’m not an overly girly person. Don’t let this room give you the impression I’m the bubble gum and rainbows cheerleader type. I’m not. I just like the color pink. I mean, our wedding colors were pink and green.
Speaking of weddings, I tried to sell my DIY wedding program box and card box after our wedding but that didn’t pan out so they’re hanging out on top of the Expedit. I had my wedding bouquet immortalized on canvas this past summer. But I still didn’t have the guts to throw away my gross, dried up bouquet. It’s in the wedding program box.
I originally bought these shelves (from Ikea) for our guest bathroom but they were too deep, so I put them in the office. The Ball mason jelly jars I thrifted a while back fit perfectly on the shelves. I also store my turquoise Ball mason jars on the top shelf.
I store various craft and sewing supplies in the jelly jars– washi tape, bakers twine, buttons, and vintage thread spools.
This wooden cart was given to us by Brad’s grandma. I brightened it up with a little spray paint. I use it to house our printer, modem, router, my greeting card box, and some of my books.
I created a little sitting area/reading nook with one of the chairs I purchased off Craigslist and a table I scored at Goodwill for $9 on half-off Saturday. The table looked a little rough, so I freshened up with a coat of white spray paint.
The blanket has made previous appearances on the blog– it was a wedding present knit by my Great Aunt. The pillow’s twin has made an appearance on the blog too.
I showed you how I tackled the gallery wall a few weeks ago. The process wasn’t as painful as I thought it’d be.
I spruced up my grandma Mildred’s sewing cabinet a year ago. And I showed you how I took the storage box from ugly green to pretty pink last year.
Thrifted tatting threads and vintage thread spools are displayed in apothecary jars.
Last year I covered my teenage cork board I stole from my parent’s basement with fabric and pushed 5,000 thumbtacks along the edge to give it a nailhead trimmed look. I get phantom pains in my fingers when I look at it. Just kidding. Kind of.
No room reveal post is complete without fresh flowers. Write that down.
I picked up these hydrangeas for under $5 at our local grocery store. Two of them were in the clearance section for $.89. $.89! And these puppies have lasted well over a week. They look pretty nice next to my DIY lucite tray, no?
I’m not opening those closet doors and showing you what’s inside. . . yet. I have a little DIY project planned for the closet. Hopefully, I’ll get to it within the next 5 years.
The C monogram hanging on my closet door is from college, and the canvas bag is my super cool Two Twenty One bag. I’m legit.
Oh look, it’s my stenciled file cabinet.
I had it under the desk, but I didn’t like how it was somewhat hidden so I put it here. It fits perfectly in this spot.
The Expedit is pretty awesome. It holds a whole lot of stuff. Which is really nice for me because my home office really is my home office. I’m a self-employed developmental therapist, and I provide in-home therapy in clients’ homes so my home office is my home base. This room also serves as the Two Twenty One headquarters and my craft room. Therefore, I have a lot of stuff. I’m able to store my work related necessities (client files, paperwork, books) along with my blogging, crafting, and personal items in the Expedit.
Finally, no room reveal post is complete without the appropriate before and after photos.
I hope you enjoyed the home office/craft room tour!
Find out more details about the makeover, where I purchased everything, and the approximate cost of the makeover HERE.
What do you think about the room makeover?
What’s your favorite thing about the room?
Any random questions?
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Organizing the Spices
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Remember when I shared my newly organized kitchen utensil drawer last week? Well, I also organized the unruly kitchen cabinet above the utensil drawer. I initially set out to organize our spices, but I was on an organizing streak, people. I couldn’t be stopped. So I organized (and cleaned!) the entire cabinet.
Let’s start with a before image of the cabinet. Woof. Tons of spices on the bottom shelf, a bunch of stuff on the middle shelf, and even more stuff on the top shelf.
I could never find spices because they were stacked on top of each other. I’d dig into the pile hoping to pull out the garlic powder and I’d get parsley flakes instead. It was rough.
So I picked up some tiered, wire shelf thingies for about $3.50 each at the Walmart (please don’t judge me). I pushed the shelves together to make one big tiered shelf. Don’t they remind you of the risers you stood on for choir concerts in elementary school? No? Well, that’s what I think of when I look at them.
I arranged the spices in categories– grilling, cooking, and baking. My cooking wines and oils are arranged in the empty space on the left. Now, some of you may be saying “Well, that’s great, but you can’t see the spices on the second and third shelves”. That’s partly true, but I’ve been using this system for a week, and I’ve already memorized where my most used spices are located. Maybe I’ll label the caps one day. But for now, this system is working for me, and it’s a great improvement from what I was doing.
I corralled our spice packets in a shallow plastic basket I had laying around. Now when I need a packet, I grab the basket from the second shelf and flip through the packets until I find the one I need.
So here’s the freshly cleaned and organized cabinet.
I put our varieties of salts and peppers on the second shelf along with the spice packets. The third shelf houses my recipe boxes, toothpicks, and kitchen scales.
Now the entire cabinet is organized, down to the cabinet door with my hidden kitchen organizer.
How do you organize your spices?
Do you now have the sudden urge to clean one of your kitchen cabinets?
Don’t forget to enter to win the New Year, New Home $3,000+ Room Makeover Giveaway!
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Organizing the Kitchen Utensil Drawer
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I hope I’m not the only person out there who’s guilty of a ridiculously messy kitchen utensil drawer. By ridiculously messy I mean when you open the drawer it gets stuck because you have so many things jammed into the drawer. Or when getting into the drawer you have to be careful not to cut your fingers on the rogue cheese grater.
Enough was enough. I had it with my hot mess of a drawer and decided it was time to get it under control. During a trip to the store I picked up three drawer organizers for about $5 each. I took everything out of the drawer and wiped down the drawer for good measure. Miscellaneous crumbs have a tendency to sneak into drawers. After the drawer was lemony fresh, I grouped the utensils together in the organizers– rubber spatulas, spoons, and spatulas. And here is the end result.
Can you tell I have a thing for rubber spatulas? They’re my favorite kitchen utensil. Well, next to my corkscrew, of course. As with diamonds, chocolate cake, and semi-nude photos of Channing Tatum, you can never have too many rubber spatulas.
Now, some items were evicted from the kitchen utensil drawer. They are finding a new home very soon. I have a plan. I just need to execute it, and when I do you’ll be the first to know.
This little organization project took me all of 15 minutes and cost me all of $15. Time and money I’m perfectly fine parting with if it means not having to battle with that drawer anymore.
What does your kitchen utensil drawer look like?
What’s your favorite kitchen utensil?
Got a must-have kitchen gadget you’d like to share with the rest of us?
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Greeting Card Organizer
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I swear I’m the most random person when it comes to organization. Is my sock drawer organized? Nope. My closet? Shyeah right. Spice cabinet? Hah! But are my greeting cards organized? Oh, you betcha. Seriously. There’s something wrong with me.
Now, you may be asking yourself, “Who the heck hoards greeting cards?” Um, this chick. If I have time to kill in Target I’ll peruse the greeting card aisle in attempt to find the best cards, especially birthday cards. Because really good, funny birthday cards are hard to come by. I’m notorious among my closest friends for sending them cards on their birthdays. I’m like their sweet grandma friend, always remembering their birthdays. Although I doubt their grandmas send them birthday cards with unicorns farting rainbows or awkward band nerds on the front. I can use the term ‘band nerd’ because I played the clarinet from 5th to 10th grade. Third chair. Booyah.
For the longest time I kept my greeting cards organized in a big binder. I sectioned off the binder by greeting card topic (birthday, get well, wedding, etc.) and stored the cards in those clear plastic page protector jobbies. It worked for a while, but cards would fall out and I started to run out of room.
A couple years ago I came across a greeting card organizer on Amazon.com and added it to my Amazon wishlist. Side note: I highly recommend creating an Amazon wishlist for Christmas and birthday gift ideas. People don’t even have to buy your item from Amazon, but they can mark on the list that they purchased it from somewhere else. You’ll never have to worry about people asking what you want because you can direct them to your list. Anyway, back to the greeting card organizer. This Christmas one was all mine, thanks to Brad’s lovely grandparents.
It’s a lovely little plastic box that features removable separators that can be labeled (I used my label maker). I had to double and triple up some categories, but I’m fine with that. I even made a cute little sign to put in the front of the container. Since I’m pretty much the sweetest person on earth, you can download one for yourself here.
This greeting card organizer is available on Amazon for $16.68 ($8.73 plus $7.95 for shipping). You can also find greeting card organizers at The Container Store from $9.99 to $14.99.
Some may think this is teetering on overly-organized, and I get that but I like always having cards on hand. Who wants to run to the store and spend 10-15 minutes trying to find the best card when they have other things to do? Not I. But then again I’m a weirdo, and I have a thing with getting the most appropriate greeting card to convey my feelings.
Are you a greeting card hoarder?
Do you organize random things before tackling more obvious organization projects?
Are you more of a sentimental or funny card giver?
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Christmas Card Books
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Hey friends! In case you missed it last week, I shared my Christmas card books over at IHeart Organizing.
I showed how I made them, and I created a few 6 inch by 8 inch covers for the Christmas card books, which you can download for free. My Christmas gift to you. Ho, ho, ho. So head over to IHeart Organizing and check them out!
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