Wednesday, January 7, 2015

New Year, New Organization Mojo! Shoe Organization

What is it about January that just makes everyone want to rip things out of cabinets, drawers and dark corners and get some order?  I know it's not just me because bloggers and Targets everywhere are showcasing organization tips, storage bins, and everything that just makes my heart race fast!!  I spent my Friday evening wondering up and down the storage aisles at Target checking out the latest must-haves in storage containers... yep, that's right, that was my exciting Friday night and I love it. For as long as I can remember I have had a love affair with all things storage - just.can't.get.enough.  I would be in serious trouble if there was a Container Store here.  I even have a storage container of extra storage bins in my basement!  Maybe I should join a support group? Ha!  But anyway, there's a point to this post.

I thought I would share one of my latest organization projects - shoes!  Like many gals, I have a love for shoes, I also have a limited amount of space for shoes.  My current closet is the smallest I've had in a while and I'm also sharing with hubby so I have to be reasonable in how much space I take over so I've gotten creative.  Here's some pics of the closet the day we moved in - the shoe cubbies are actually on the way behind the door to the left - I didn't snap a pic of that part of the closet in the "before" pics.




This was my closet in Baton Rouge - it was the perfect spot for my shoe cubbie!!  This is two units stacked together.


I'm still utilizing my shoe cubbies that have now found homes in all my houses over the last couple moves but I have too many of flats, tennie shoes and flip flops for the cubbies.  The cubbies only house my pumps.  Let's start with a little before picture... it isn't pretty.  I have this awkward spot in the corner that really was just a catch all for shoes.


So my first attempt was to get 4 of the individual Sterlite drawers that stack from Wal-Mart for my flip flops (they are sorted by color).  I left my flats in a basket on top of the drawers.
  I didn't take the labels of the drawers for a few weeks as a trial run to see how I liked this arrangement.  After giving it a go, I decided it was a success!

The existing cubbies

 
I added another drawer for flats and some pink labels 



I am not a fan of the wire shelving that's in our closet.  I go back and forth with putting the expense into redoing our whole closet system and may eventually do it.  I decided to buy a few more drawers to put under the bottom shelf for the rest of my flats.  I love that I was able to sort them all out by color - it makes finding the pair I want a snap!  The basket holds my house shoes which I should really just get rid of since I have lived in my Ugg ones that I purchased in May!  I don't typically keep shoe boxes but these 2 hold "special" shoes - my Kate Spade wedding shoes and then dressy Badgley Mischkas.

I'm trying to be conscious of how many shoes I have and the limited amount of space -- as I purchase new ones I'm trying to purge the ones I don't wear.  I do have a few pair of boots that I slide under my hanging tops on the other side of the closet and hubby keeps his shoes in the garage if you're curious.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

November & December Progress Toward Goals and Results!

Happy New Year!
WOW - Can you believe it's already 2015?!?!  I spent NYE sick on the couch, talk about feeling crummy!  I still don't have my taste buds back yet which I really miss, my sweet husband had bought be a bottle of pink champagne for the celebration but I couldn't even enjoy it with him.  Hopefully I'm on the upswing now though!  I think I must have picked up some germs from my cute niece and nephew last week when we were in WV for Christmas.  This year we did our traveling a little different - we traveled via Air Gray - Adam flew us from destination to destination!  That meant several things:  I had to really plan who was getting what gifts because space is limited (esp for 2 families and lots of kids), less clothing options, less driving time and more time with our families!  We left on the 19th and flew to West Bloomfield, MI and were with Adam's family until Monday and then headed to Bluefield, WV to spend Christmas with my family this year.  We got to be there until Saturday the 27th and then had to come back to TN a day early because the weather was turning bad.  We did get to make a surprise trip with Abbie and some of my family to Biltmore for the day on the day after Christmas and that was a ton of fun.  She was so surprised and it was her first time to fly too.  We had great weather for our day trip.  

As the year wraps up, so does my personal goal challenge for the year!  I'm behind on posting November so I'm going to do both months and then the results! 

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER



1.  Only buy the absolute necessary toiletries/cosmetics/etc

I was bad in November due to the Black Friday deals.... and Sephora had a big 20% off sale.  I did buy things I knew I would repurchase soon anyway so nothing new per say.  

December I was more on track and more focused on holiday shopping! 

I did use up quite a bit of products over the course of these 2 months.  
  • Lancome Blush in Miel Glace - I think this is a great color and would possible repurchase
  • Lancome eyelash primer
  • 2 Clinique mascaras
  • 2 Bamboo pink lipsticks
  • Victoria's Secret Hand Cream (This is from college!!!)
  • Raspberry Sorbet body wash.. will not repurchase
  • Paris body wash from Bath and Body Works - really like this scent but ready for change!
  • Laura Mercier flawless skin cleansing oil make up remover - I think this is a great product but I found the bottle to be very messy.  The oil leaks all over the counter and I would not ever take this with me when traveling.  Would not repurchase because of those issues.
  • Glitter black Sephora eyeliner - an ok product but not blown away
  • Tarte lipgloss - not my fav shade
  • Travel size Keratin Suave shampoo - again, not blown away
  • Pantene hairspray that lasted forever
  • Mary Kay black eyeliner - not repu

2.  No more magazine subscriptions (unless they are free).  My goal is to finish reading the backlog  of magazines in the living room and then start on my actual book collection!  My goal is 1-2 books per month.  
November was a light reading month!  Two magazines and two books - Allegiant (HATED the ending!!!) on Audible and The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks - such a sweet book, can't wait to see the movie here in a few months!
December was the month of the magazines.  

 3.  At least one blog entry a week. 
I did 2 posts for November and only 1 in December!
 
4.  Use the elliptical that's literally just  accumulating spider webs in the basement -- get in 20-30 minutes a day on the elliptical and walk Henderson 1-2 times  a week.
January - 56.53 miles 
February - 64.57 miles 
March - 62.27 miles
April - 46.23 miles
May - 68.84 miles 
June - 61.61 miles
July - 65.74 miles
August - 92.91 miles 
September - 44.36 miles 
October - 57.13 miles 
November - 45.41 miles
December - 39.78 miles
   
 5.  Less eating out at work.  My goal is to only eat out 2-3 times a week.  
Doing great with this one!

6.  Since I beat my scrapbook page goal for 2013, I think I am going to go with ... 300 pages for 2014.
Working my way through Memorial Day 2011 and also did some work with Mom and Grandma on her scrapbook/family history project while they were down for Thanksgiving!
52 total pages for November.

Time was super limited in December with the focus on holidays and a lot going on at work.  I did finish up my big Memorial Day trip to NYC and ended the year with June 2011 complete.  30 total pages for December.  

RESULTS FOR 2014
1.  I think I was more aware of what I was buying this year and it allowed me to focus more on using up a lot of the items I've purchased. 
   
Would repurchase -
  • Nuetrogena oil-free eye makeup remover
  • Purity facewash by Philosophy  
  • Vaseline aloe fresh hydrating lotion
  • 2 Paris Amour Bath & Body Works Shower Gel
  • Quiver Layers bodywash by Scentsy
  • 5 Bamboo Pink Long Last Clinique Lipstick
  • Sephora's brand lipstick in the shade "Star" S06. 
  • Tarte Lip Surgence in Glitzy
  • Tarte Lip Surgence in Pink
  • Blistex Complete Mositure Lip Gloss
  • Benefit They're Real Mascara
  • Smashbox Hyperlash Mascara in Black
  • 2 Clinique mascaras
  • Lancome eyelash primer
  • Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion
  • Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
  • Lancome Blush in Miel Glace
  • Baby cakes baked blush palette
  • Black Eyeliner by Stila
  • Bluefin Eyeliner by Stila
  • 3 Bath and Body Works Purse Hand Soaps
  • Brown Eyeliner by Stila
  • Pantene Shampoo
  • Pantene hairspray
  • Suave Keratine hair
  • Sculpting gel
Would not repurchase
  • Carmax Complete Moisture Lip Gloss
  • 3 Chap sticks
  • Herbal Essences Shampoo
  • Travel size Keratin Suave shampoo
  • TreSemme Conditioner
  • Bath & Body Works Brown Sugar & Fig Body Scrub
  • Raspberry Sorbet body wash
  • BBW Soap
  • Shower Gel
  • Purple Sephora Eyeliner
  • Glitter black Sephora eyeliner
  • Mary Kay black eyeliner
  • Eyelash primer
  • 3 Mini mascara
  • Laura Mercier flawless skin cleansing oil make up remover
  • Eye make up remover pads
  • Jergens Natural Glow
  • Victoria's Secret Hand Cream

2.  For 2014, I ended up reading 72 magazines, 22 books and listening to 7 audiobooks
3.  I had 27 total blog posts last year which was much less than my goal for the year but averages out to about 2 a month
4.  I walked 705.38 total miles for 2014 - and still didn't use my elliptical!!!  Putting this into context, this is like walking from my house in TN to my parents in WV and back to TN!  
5.  I did well with my goal of limiting eating out, can always improve on eating healthier.  
6.  In 2013, my scrapbook page goal was 200.  in 2014, my goal was 300.  I'm happy to say that I blew this goal out of the water!  My total page count for the year is 447 pages!!!!  Super happy with my progress for the year but still only to July 2011.  I'm not really sure how far behind I am though because I've already done everything related to wedding planning, engagement, the wedding and our honeymoon (much of 2012 and half of 2013) so maybe those years won't be too bad.  

I think I will keep most of the same goals for 2015.  I have felt challenged this year and have enjoyed keeping tabs on myself.  I do want to keep myself better organized at home and spend less time watching TV and more time being active/scrapbooking.  I hope each of you have a wonderful 2015!