Day 142: A GIVEAWAY!

I love neat things... and a few neat things that make that neat list include: watches, calendars and clocks... neat things that I can wear or display or just use that help me keep my life in order.

SO, I just absolutely HAD to share this awesome "time spent with family" clock giveaway!  It's a beautiful kit with the hands/mechanism and the vinyl (in YOUR color choice to matchy matchy!)... all you add are the frames and photos - 4 of them... or all 12 for the whole clock!  What a beautiful and wonderful reminder of what really matters the most in life!!!

LOVE this... so, be sure to click here and visit Beth's Uppercase Living Facebook page for your chance to WIN!  OR... you could always get your own family clock kit by going directly to the website, here, to order!  There are LOTS of other neat things there, too!  (My favorite chalk labels, for one!  Check out more about those on my blog, here in the pantry and here for more ideas!)

Now, THAT's neat!

DAY 139: His & Hers

I honestly don't think that anyone in his or her right mind would ever confuse my husband's closet with mine... or vice versa, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's fun to have an Uppercase Living vinyl "label" on each door.  It adds an element of whimsy to your door decor.  And it's just one of those neat, little things that I like!  You can do the same kind of thing with vanities/mirrors in your bathroom or over the towel racks, to show whose towel is whose!  There are lots of fun ways to separate the genders in your household!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 137: MORE vinyl in the kitchen!

I can't sing the praises of vinyl lettering enough for fun, decor AND organization!  I LOVE it! For a neat person who would have a special container and a label for EVERYTHING, you just can't beat this! :)  I had to show this lovely photo of a woman after my own heart, who is getting her pantry super neat.  And YOU can do it, too!  Find some containers of your choosing - whether you go to the Container Store or buy Tupperware or you head to the nearest Dollar Tree and get everything for a buck, it's up to you, your style and your needs.  Go with glass, or select plastic... pick one color, or color coordinate!  THEN, get rid of those annoying cardboard boxes and put common, useful things like sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, rice, pasta, cake flour, all-purpose flour and whatever else you'd like (think cookies and crackers, too) into your containers.... and LABEL THEM!  I prefer to use Uppercase Living chalk labels (or dry erase labels).  You can even purchase a whole chalk (or dry erase) panel and cut them down to size!  OR, chose a font and color and custom your own lettering for each container. Just be sure to measure twice; order once! :) 

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 136: Mail Bucket

I don't know about y'all, but the mail in my house has a tendency to spread out... and to migrate... and to take over many "usable" spots and work spaces in my kitchen.  Of course, I have a little system for wrangling bills... I open them immediately and then "file" them in a little holder on the counter... so I don't forget to pay them.  (Out of sight, out of mind... so they day!)  But what about all the OTHER stuff - you know, those letters, fliers, coupons, catalogs and other random odds and ends for my family?

Well, I finally got tired of this "OTHER stuff" being all over my kitchen counter, so I decided to reuse a little item I've had for a while now...  in a closet!  I just took this tin bucket and repurposed it.  Instead of adding flowers and nailing it up on a wall or hanging it outside, I put in a little burlap (which didn't make it to the photo - sorry, afterthought!) and then applied a meaningful, Uppercase Living expression, to give the old bucket some new life and interest!

Now, this fun little holder hangs from a burlap ribbon on the door to our garage, which is in our kitchen, near the counter where the mail used to collect.  I simply stuff the items inside, and we remove, use or toss those items as we get to them.  It's a really pretty - and organized - alternative to those random paper stacks!


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 132: The Dreaded Kitchen Drop-Off

You know that little space in your kitchen... the one that gets trashed by everything as soon as anyone comes home?!?!  Yes, THAT one.  No matter what you do to keep it clean, neat and orderly, somehow, candy wrappers, school papers, junk mail, bills, magazines, socks, jackets, toys and other odds and ends end up here.  Well... one solution is to just trash everything!  And believe me, I have been tempted to do this, MANY times! :)

The other option is to create a little "command center."  If you have time (and energy... and gumption), you can purchase a nice, organizational wall hanger or box... hey, even a file holder works to sort through papers, and they have some decorative ones or fun ones to fit your decor!

Another simple, quick method to get those papers to cooperate is to get some clothespins, write some helpful labels on them, and just pinch all that stuff together until you have a moment to look through and sort everything!

AND... of course, y'all know I love baskets and bins.  But a few, and throw things in there so they are out of site but still easily accessible!

Finally, purchase some fun, useful dry erase or chalk panels so you can keep track of menus, phone numbers, to-do lists, appointments and events and still have room to write down a motivational quote or an "I love you because..."  Uppercase Living offers so many wonderful options.  Click HERE to see them, and order anytime, online!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 120: Chalk labels strike again

Y'all know that I LOVE using chalk panels, labels and charts for the kitchen and in the pantry. (You can see those posts HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE!) But there are just so many uses for Uppercase Living's awesome chalk (or dry erase) panels.

Here is a very neat idea for garage storage! Just get some galvanized buckets, slap on a chalk label, and write whatever it is that's supposed to go in that pail! You can store your labeled containers on a shelf or against a wall. You can also use colorful buckets, plastic bins or crates and have fun with stacking, sorting and color coding.



You can find lots of great chalk and dry erase options on my Uppercase Living website. But THIS is one of my favorite new sets. This awesome "tags and tidbits" set comes with all sizes and shapes, so you can have lots of fun using these in lots of fun spaces!




Now, THAT's neat!

Day 106: Neat chalk?

When I was teaching high school, I refused to use a chalk board. I hate chalk. It makes my nose itchy. And I REALLY hate erasers. Yuck. They are always... so... chalky!

Of course, I DO love my flat, vinyl chalk board in my kitchen (click HERE to see that post). And while I was talking about my dream pantry from last post with my sister-in-law (who also loves the neat, organized, containerized and labeled look), I remembered that I had a "wet erasable" chalk "marker" from Uppercase Living with the rest of my stash of goodies and samples.

OK. I LOVE this thing! It is NOT chalky or messy... and it writes so beautifully! It's liquidy and smooth and lovely! You can see the difference between the "real" chalk that's already here... and the new chalk marker writing!


You will love them, too, if you have a chalk board... or if you plan to add one to your kitchen wall to keep track of schedules; plaster one on the fridge to take notes of what you need to buy next trip to the grocery store; or crop one down to make neat labels for your pantry... or for anything else in your home!

Want some chalk "markers" of your own? Click HERE! (There are 3 different colors.) Want a vinyl chalk board, too? Click HERE! (There are several sizes and fun shapes!)


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 105: The Beauty of Labels

This is not my pantry.... And I am a little jealous! :)


This is the very organized pantry of Lori M., a new acquaintance of mine. And while I do use the Tupperware containers and organize everything as neatly as possible (similar items together and labels out!), I do not have the luxury of putting everything in a container. (I have a LOT more items in my pantry!) And I do not have a label on everything, either. But isn't this a wonderful idea!?!?

This is kind of like my dream pantry.

WHY?
1. I love how just about everything matches. It really is a pretty pantry!!!! But if you don't have every Tupperware container ever made (ha-ha!), then use what you DO have! All sizes and shapes are welcome!

2. I love using containers for just about all the food in the pantry. It's great to have items like flour and baking mix in air-tight containers. It looks good, stacks well... AND it will stay fresh much longer. (It's also more difficult to spill!)

3. I love the labels. I really think I would label everything, if I could! It looks SO neat, and it's so very functional! You can print out labels or just write on the traditional, sticky, office kinds that you can pick up almost anywhere. (Color coding might even come in handy here....) OR, you can do what Lori did in her pantry: cut up a piece of Uppercase Living's chalkboard vinyl into various sizes. (This method won't leave you with sticky residue if you decide to remove the labels.) Then, apply the custom sizes to your containers, and write right on them! Of course, my handwriting isn't as great as my friend's. BUT, this should spark all of our imaginations!

Lori has also given us an EXTRA NEAT tip: write directions, recipes or notes on the containers! This is great for reminding yourself how to make pancakes or biscuits or how long to boil your noodles!




Now, THAT's neat!

Day 61: Removable chalkboards!

I don't know why I did not think of this before.... after all, I AM a neat freak, and I LOVE being organized.... (This includes enjoying some predictability in life. Hence, a schedule of all the important events happening in our family right now (AKA: baby feeding times and nap times, mostly!).)

At any rate, I feel kind of dumb for not writing about this before. So forgive me. I may have kept y'all from a WONDERFUL, HELPFUL and ADORABLE neat freak tool: flat, vinyl, removable chalkboards (and dry erase boards)!

For those of you who need to write down schedules, messages to other family members, notes to babysitters and all those important numbers (less we forget, since we typically depend on our cell phones to "remember" all that stuff nowadays), THIS is the tool for you!

I absolutely LOVE my "chalkboard" in our kitchen, the hub of the home. It's the perfect place to display our family's "need-to-knows." And this product (from Uppercase Living) works just like a regular old chalkboard: Write on it with chalk. Wipe it off with an eraser or cloth. Write some more! And because it's completely flat and sticks to the wall, you don't have to worry about adding more nails to your sheetrock or possibly knocking it down when you walk by. So it's ideal to put in those smaller nooks and crannies where things just won't fir right!

Mine happens to be right by the pantry, above some of the main light switches and the alarm keypad. It's a perfect place! You can't see it from anywhere else in the house, so it's not distracting. Of course, you could also put these on the refrigerator, a window, a mirror, a door or just about any other smooth surface in your home! There are lots of options, too. You don't have to go with the "traditional" look, like the "home organization kit" I have displayed. Just try these on for size (hearts and flowers and peace signs, oh my!):



AND.... if you just don't like chalk (or you want to add a little more color and variety), you can choose the same shapes, sizes and designs in DRY ERASE BOARD! LOVE it!

Want some for yourself -- or as a gift for the neat freak who has it all? Click HERE for more details, or just e-mail or message me for details!


Now, THAT's neat!

Day 50: More Toy Management

My little boy is now about 8-months old, but he is already well-adept at making a mess! He also gets bored very easily. So, these two factors together translate into a bunch of baby toys strewn all about the house.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I used some canvas boxes to tackle the toy problem in his room.... but this did not quite take care of the toy problem all over the house, mostly because he's too young to go upstairs to his room by himself and play (and somewhat because I am often just too busy with other things to go up there myself).

Solution!?!? A flexible, plastic toy bucket. And it's LABELED... I mean, personalized, too!

I make these myself (you can check out my etsy store HERE), and there's not too much to it. Just find a good size and color for your container, and you can apply vinyl lettering (from Uppercase Living, one of my "little side businesses") to customize your creation!

Here is Iain IN his toy tub.


As you can see, it's quite handy, cute and WAY neater than a bunch of toys on the couch, in the Pack n' Play or all over the floor... where the dog toys end up! (And as soon as I get a "free moment," I'll post a photo of the tub with some actual toys in it!)


Now, THAT's neat!