Garage pegboards

I recently helped a client declutter and organize her garage. Using a pegboard for the tools was the biggest no-brainer. Most of you probably already do this, but if you don't I highly recommend it. You can buy a pegboard and hooks of all shapes and sizes at your local Home Depot or Lowe's. I also like the magnetic strip she used for metal tools. When organizing your garage, it is good to have a zone for everything and aim to get as much as possible off the floor--especially if you plan to park in your garage. You can have an amazingly organized garage if you hire professional garage organizers that have the whole "garage system." My brother did this and his garage is awesome, but it comes at a price. The other option is just to get some inexpensive basic hooks and garage organizing tools from home improvement stores and get to work. Above are before and after pictures of the garage I worked on and below is a picture of my neighbor's creative skateboard storage system and my husband's own pegboard and ladder storage system.

Kids' art

A friend of mine sent see me some pictures of how she displays her daughter's artwork on a curtain rod in her hallway. She uses the curtain clips to make a rotating gallery. I think this is a great idea. The last picture is another of her ideas--the decal frames are from photojojo.com. They are easily removable and leave no marks on the wall, so she can change out the pictures and the arrangement as often as she likes. I just love these and all creative ideas about displaying kids art. Thanks, Dorothy, for sharing!! I also found a great pic of this same idea on one of my favorite websites oohdeedoh (the curtain rod art display seen in the first picture).

Great use of recycling bags

My next door neighbor is a home organizer. She has absolutely fantastic ideas! I love her use of these recycle bags from Design Within Reach (www.dwr.com) and they cost $30 for a set of four. She uses them in her boys' room to organize their extensive Lego collection and their dress-up clothes. I also love how she used the shelves with the green bins in their room for other toys. . Like me, she does not have a separate play room for her kids, so they have to clean up their toys at the end of the day. Having all of these bins out in the open (she used to have them in their closet) facilitates clean-up time.

Moon vine

Not much time to write today, but just wanted to post some pictures of the moon vine and flowers we have growing on our fence. My husband planted these vines along with the morning glories a few years ago and they come back every year. The moon flowers bloom when the moon comes out, stay out open all night, then fall off in the morning. They are beautiful and very fragrant. Unfortunately they will not last when the weather cools off, but we may have a few more weeks with them.

Out with the old, in with the new

A few weeks ago I read a post on unclutterer.com about how deadheading flowers is sort of like uncluttering your house. New growth will be prohibited unless you remove dead flowers of certain plants. In the same way, you cannot appreciate what you have in your house unless you remove what is outdated and no longer useful. After removing these things (this is true especially in the case of closets), you will have a better vision of what you have, and there will be room for new things if needed. The above pictures I took in my yard are knock-out roses. These are great because they bloom several times a year and do great, if you deadhead them.

Tablescapes

I absolutely love the table scapes that are posted on one of my favorite blogs "Absolutely Beautiful Things" and think that they add so much to a room. Unfortunately I can't do these arrangements on my coffee table since my kids use it as a play surface, but it would be nice to experiment with these when company is coming over or on higher surfaces. It is sort of like making a work of art and it allows you display some of your collections. I love, for example, her collections and displays of paperweights, and she always seems to have fresh flowers. The last picture is of a "tablescape" I attempted on my very high dresser in my bedroom--out of the way of kids' reach.
Images courtesy of absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com