It's the simple things...

See ya jewelry box!

A while back I decided something had to be done with the chaos that was happening in my jewelry box. Necklaces had formed one large knot of chains, all my earrings were missing there mate; it was a mess! Plus on top of it being cluttered -I couldn't see anything I actually had. I came up with a simple solution: A PEG BOARD.

$15 dollars later and a trip the The Home Depot I came up with this:

I think I need to add some more hooks...and get some new jewelry :)

Now most of my jewelry and accessories including: belts, headbands and bags have a home. So far this system is working wanders. So well in fact, that I recommended it to my friend Kim. She to was dealing with the same predicament and was going to go the cork board route. I told her about my project and not only did she create one in her closet too...hers is prettier and cooler :( oh well... Good job Kim you win :)

She painted her board to match the wall color and added a bow...what an overachiever :)

Goodbye Christmas see ya next year...

Can't I just leave these decorations out til next year? The neighbors won't mind, right?

Unfortunately they WILL mind and the HOA will slap me with a fine come the end of the month if they catch any twinkling going on at my house...ba-hum-bug.

Whatever, I think I am actually ready to have my house back to normal. So this weekend I started with the lights, and in an attempt to "get organized in 2012" ... I tried to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I came up with this little trick last year and it made things so much easier this year when it came to unpacking.

First you find a box that is shallow and will allow you to store all your x-mas lights inside it.

Second cut off the box's lid...then create the letter "I" out of them like this: 

Then neatly wrap your lights. I got two 100 light strands around this one. Try and plug the strand's ends into itself, (if that makes sense) to keep the the ends from dangling.

Now, because your "I" is the exact width of your box, you can store it back inside for a perfect fit! All your "I"s can be lined up like a file cabinet of lights, ready to go for next year.

OK one decoration down...1000 to go ....