It's apparently home improvement week here at SWS, although it wasn't planned that way.  I'm sharing another inexpensive home project today:  our master bathroom.  Although, this project still isn't completely finished, but anyway....

When we bought our house, this closet-sized bathroom had (what I can assume were) all original fixtures, straight out of 1983.

Enjoy the following breathtaking photos of the bathroom as it was when we moved in:




I wanted nothing more than to immediately rip everything out and replace it with brand new fixtures.  Unfortunately, this particular project took a backseat to all of the other items on the house to-do list, due to time and budget restraints.

Soon I was on Pinterest looking for simple, inexpensive ideas to make the bathroom situation better for the time being until a full overhaul was possible.  This project has literally been a process.  I've done little things over time to make it feel less like 1983 (although that was a fabulous year) and more like now.  Though this room still isn't completely finished, I'm ready to share my progress so far:

{Please ignore the toddler-proof contraption on the toilet lid.}

{Shower curtain:  Target (no longer available)}

{White shelving: Target; candy dish: thrifted; hair accessory organizer: TJ Maxx; glass jar: Hobby Lobby; birdbath jewelry holder: TJ Maxx}

{Glass jars: Hobby Lobby; white metal basket: Target; hair styling tool organizer: Bed, Bath, & Beyond}

{Candy dishes: info here}

We replaced the light above the vanity, painted the gold mirror on the medicine cabinet, painted the walls, and repainted the cabinet also adding new hardware to it.  I also added white shelves above the toilet.

I loved the green and white shower curtain and basically designed the rest of the room around it.  Since this bathroom is pretty small, organization was key.  Everything is stored in an easy-to-see manner using clear jars and/or old candy dishes.  (I mentioned a while back about finding candy dishes at a rummage sale and using them to store my make-up.  You can read about it here.)

The floor is still the same so I didn't show it.  It's bad anyway.  That's next on the list.

The budget for this bathroom was very small.  Tiny actually.  I'd still eventually like to demo the whole room and re-do it, but for now I like it.  A lot.  Well, minus the ugly floor.

I claimed this bathroom for myself when we moved in because a) it had a counter top where as the hallway bath has a pedestal sink which is no good for putting on make-up or doing your hair and b) because of the window and natural light.  It's really the only room in the house that's all mine, which is ironic since every time I go in there I have a toddler and two dogs follow me.  Oh well.
    

I'm probably one of a very few that still prefers to write things down, rather than put them in my phone or other electronic device.  I don't trust technology.  Case in point: my fancy smart phone now only makes actual phone calls (and sometimes texts).  It's ironic seeing how it is technically a phone, but the fact that I cannot do anything else with it is super frustrating.

I still carried an actual day planner around with me everywhere as of 2012.  I made the switch to "digital" when I had Katherine and literally could not carry one more item around with me.  I tried to like the convenience of everything being in my phone, but I just couldn't get used to it.  I eventually went back to writing things down on paper, this time on post-its and other random scraps of paper.  Lists and notes everywhere.  Lists about things I needed to remember.  Lists about things to do that day.  Lists about making other lists.

With my Etsy shop, blog, and daily life, I had to find some way to stay organized and on task.  I'm a fairly organized person, so you can imagine my excitement when I found that there are others out there just like me, needing the right template for their organization.  I found exactly what I needed on Etsy.  Big surprise.

First I found this daily planner from Pixel Luxe.  It's a digital download so I was able to print it immediately, and I can print as many as I need when I need them.  It's simple, without the extra graphics that aren't necessary and it gives me plenty of space to list my daily lists, including meal planning.  My favorite part is the water intake art, which lets you track how much water you've had that day.  
Next up, organizing the blog.  There are lots of blog organizers out there, but this one from The Native New Yorker worked best for me.  This was also an instant digital download that included 13 pages to plan and organize a blog.  Again, I chose this one because it was simple and easy to read.  I wish I had done this years ago.  It makes blogging so much easier and frees up so much room in my brain.
Last, was the Etsy shop.  While I had established my own organizational techniques for the shop, I still had a hard time keeping track of some things.  There are so many Etsy business planners out there, but I chose this one from Coffee In The Morn.  Also an instant digital download, you can print as much or as little as you need.  This planner has also made my life a lot easier.

I keep these planners in one big binder (divided of course), so that everything is always together and not in piles of post-its.  Obviously, I don't carry this around with me outside of the house, but it stays in sight where I can check through things during nap times.

{Binder from Target.}

There's an organizer or planner for everybody.  You just have to find what you're looking for.  What ways do you stay organized?

Trying to stay organized with a toddler in the house is like shoveling snow in the middle of a blizzard.  I've learned that there's no reason to try to "pick up" during the day, or any time Katherine is awake.  I've also learned not to stress out when the floor is cluttered with toys.  There will come a day when I'll wish Katherine was still little and left her toys in the floor. 

Because our living room is also the play room, I had to come up with a way to store items where they're out of the way, but still look like part of the décor.  What I came up with was baskets.  Lots of baskets. 

Every night, after Katherine goes to bed we pick up all of her toys.  I feel like my day starts better when the floor is clear in the morning.  Even if that means Katherine immediately gets everything out upon waking up, at least when I get up in the morning the house is clean. 



Her DVDs are kept in another basket.  Because she loves to play with the cases, we leave them to where she can get to them.  Whatever keeps her busy while I make lunch......

Extra remotes and other TV accessories are kept in another basket under the side table.  Katherine recently figured out that she can find some cool stuff in this basket, so we may have to move it. 

All blankets and extra pillows for the couch are kept in this old hamper basket.  It's the perfect size for fluffy blankets and fits next to the fire place.  And also covers up ugly TV cords!

Callie and Sammie's toys are kept in another basket behind the couch.  Katherine has learned that these are Callie and Sammie's toys and she shouldn't play with them....sort of.  We're still working on that one. 

All of Katherine's books are in her room.  We found this bookshelf and it's perfect for her room.  It's also perfect because Katherine can get to her books easily.  Of course at the end of the day, every single book is in the floor. 

Our little lady loves to empty her toy basket and bookshelf about as much as she loves to play with her toys and books.  We're working on learning to pick up our things at the end of the day.  So far, no such luck with this. 

On Saturday, Katherine and I met my mom for a beautiful day of rummage sale shopping.  It was absolutely perfect weather and a nice way to kick-off what will be a fall season filled with outdoor outings. 

{Saturday morning breakfast}

I was able to score a few items on my yard sale/thrift store shopping list and a couple of unexpected awesome finds. 


The milk glass candy dishes are exactly what I was looking for to organize make-up in my bathroom and the glass canister is perfect for Katherine's hair accessories.  The two antique metal yard chairs were totally unexpected and awesome.  I had to have them.  I still need to fix them up a little, but I love them regardless. 

{Baby hair accessories organization}



{I don't have drawers in my bathroom so I have to keep things easily accessible, yet neatly organized.}

{I love the idea of using milk glass dishes for displaying items I use daily.}

{Relaxing in my new chair after a long day of rummage sale shopping.}

Rummage sale shopping was a complete success.  Let the fall season officially begin.

I am a self professed clean freak.  I'm not sure when it started.  When I was younger my room was always a mess, but when we moved in the summer of '96 things changed.  At first I thought it was because I had more space.  Then, I thought since I was blessed with such a big, spacious room I should take care of it (see my previously post on my beloved room here).  Before I knew it, my room was the cleanest room in the house.  Most everything was always in its place.  Even when I left for college I would clean my room before I left to make sure it was spotless when I returned.

While in college I went through a brief phase of disorderliness.  I tried to not be so obsessed with cleaning.  Everyone experiments in college, right?

Now as an adult with a place of my own, I feel it is my responsibility to keep it clean and orderly.  I have embraced my inner "Monica" and no longer fight my urges to be "normal." 

This obsession does not exclude my closet.  I've always had large closets with plenty of space.  Unfortunately my current apartment has one average sized closet that I also have to share with my husband.  I've had to be creative in organizing my clothes and shoes.  My closet in our previous apartment was a small room (my favorite room), so the transition of down-sizing was a challenge.  There are a few rules I live by when it comes to closet organization. 

**  Match all hangers.  I have found that a closet looks more uniform if all (or at least most) of the hangers match.   
**  Organize by season.  If out of season items are out of sight, this will help with picking out what to wear in the current season. 
**  Categorize.  For example:  all of my pants, skirts, tanks, dresses and tops are hanging together.  If I'm looking for a specific thing, I know exactly where it is. 
**  Organize by color.  This not only makes the closet look cleaner and organized, but it also helps with picking out what to wear.
**  If its out of sight, it will be out of mind.  Meaning I try to display items (especially shoes) where I can see them.  When I don't see them, I don't wear them and end up forgetting I even have them.
**  Keep similar items together.  All shoes, bags, etc. stay together.

 

{Shopping in my closet.}

Obviously I'm not a professional organizer, I just do these things to help myself stay sane.  Another thing I do is keep a trend board in my closet.    This is a cork board with outfits that I like.  These are from magazines, store windows, and other media.  This gives me inspiration on what to wear if I'm having trouble picking out something to wear.  I've done this for years and it seems to help on those days when I can't decide what to wear.  It is also a way to wear things you already own in a new way.

{ Trend board complete with items that make me smile.}