Some of the most beautiful and admired home decor is also practical. Look at a Pottery Barn magazine. The charm is found in the uncluttered layouts that are created through practical organization (and that single bouquet of flowers on the table).
Canning jars have a lot of potential organizational uses and can simultaneously add charm and color (from the contents) to any room . Office supplies (crayons, pens, paperclips, staples, rubber bands, etc), Sewing supplies (buttons, spools of thread, safety pins, zippers, etc.), Bathroom items (cotton balls, cotton swabs, bath beads, hair clips, etc.) and kitchen supplies (beans, rice, sugar, oatmeal, measuring spoons, etc) are all potential ideas for use. And no matter where you set them out or line them up, they add a simple charm.
The next time you get some of those unsolicited return address labels in the mail, keep them to use on items that you lend out. Put them on your dishes when you take a meal to friends, a CD or DVD that somebody borrows, or on books that you lend out. This is a simple and free way of labeling outgoing items and making the returning of the item easier for the borrower.
You are headed out the door to run errands and are trying to get everybody out the door dressed, fed, bathroom breaks completed and……the library books gathered. Usually, though, I can’t even remember what books I’m looking for, let alone all of their hiding places (wedged in the couch cushions, mixed in with the family book collection, hiding in one of the kid’s beds, or becoming acquainted with the family dog).
The Library Bag will remove stress from your life that has become an old friend. Pick a simple canvas bag to be the designated book holder. This bag has two places that it can be at any given time: the car or its corner by the door. The books are free to leave the bag as anybody wills, but they need to be returned to the bag after the reader is finished. It will take a little bit of time (and lots of help from mom) to get everybody used to the routine, but eventually it will become just that – routine.
As an added help to you, leave the book receipt from the library in the bag at all times. That way it is easy to do a quick inventory check before leaving for the library.
Make leaving for the library as easy as picking up the bag.
Put a folder in your filing cabinet to hold important receipts. There is nothing worse than having an item break while under warranty, but to then be unable to locate the receipt. This gives you an immediate place to put receipts after a purchase and a stress free way of locating them if needed.
*Tip – Sort through and clean out the folder once or twice a year to keep it organized and dependable. The less clutter there is, the less likely it is that something important will get lost.