Organizing My Refrigerator & Under My Kitchen Sink

A few months back, the need to organize struck me and I decided to roll with it. I started with two areas that seriously needed help: my fridge and under my kitchen sink.

The first area I tackled was under my sink. I purchased some cute bins from the Dollar Tree so I could group items together. And, a space always looks neater when you put your items in containers. I pulled everything out from under the sink, wiped it down (there may have been a few spiders living in there...eek...) and then lined the bottom with shelf liner from Walmart.

Before

After

Looks much better if I do say so myself. Now I'm not ashamed for people to look under my sink!

I tried to sort items by purpose and put the products I use least often in the back. I had a bad habit of keeping empty wine bottles for crafting purposes. I purged a lot of those and only kept the ones I'd already soaked the labels off of. I put those and my empty vases to the back since I don't need to access them on a regular basis. I moved some items to other places entirely (like the fire extinguisher).

On to the refrigerator!

If you read my 31 day blog challenges back in January, you may know what my refrigerator looked like before I went on a bin buying spree. But just in case, here it is:

Not too bad, but could be better. First off, I was keeping water bottles in my crisper drawer and my broccoli on a shelf. I let myself be inspired by other bloggers and YouTubers. I ordered plastic containers from Amazon (it was cheaper than buying them from Walmart) and set to work. It took all of 10 minutes and that is only because I had to peel labels off all of my containers.

(I did neglect to take a photo until weeks later so the contents of the refrigerator have changed slightly.)

I love the way it turned out. Still not incredibly fancy, but it looks neater and I can easily pull bins out to find the condiment I need as opposed to pushing everything around (because what you need is always in the back). My favorite part is the bin that holds my water bottles. My drawers are now freed up to put actual vegetables in!

Both processes were simple and affordable but made such a difference in my kitchen.

If you want to check out the bins I ordered, you can find them here:
Water Bottle Storage Container
Kitchen Organizer Bins- Set of 4
Refrigerator Bottle Rack

Basement Apartment Makeover- Part 2: I Bought a Couch!

So it only took 8 years but it finally happened. I bought a couch!

I've had this purchase on my list for a while now but just never followed through. About two years ago I went into a Rooms To Go to look at options (and prices). That was the last time I actively searched for a sofa. Until recently.

Getting inspired to re-decorate my living/dining room was just the push I needed to finally get serious about having legit living room furniture. Now, I didn't buy a whole matching set or anything. I'm not that much of an adult yet. Baby steps. Besides, right now I am basically living in an apartment that I (hopefully) will not live in forever. When I buy my own house, then we'll talk about matching furniture.

In the meantime, I am very happy with my purchase. After shopping online for several days, I decided on the Benchcraft Zeb Queen Sleeper Sofa I found on Wayfair. I've never used Wayfair before but everything went great. They offer payment plans for large purchases which enabled me to go ahead and buy the couch now instead of waiting a few months. The couch was delivered in about two weeks. It is firm but not hard and is plenty big enough for me to lay on without falling off, which is a plus. 

I wanted a sleeper sofa for one main reason: so people could sleep on it! No way, right? But seriously, there are no other places for guests to sleep and I knew a regular couch would probably not suffice. Especially if more than one person stays over at a time. I haven't opened up the sofa bed part yet (because I haven't managed to get rid of my old couch bed and there is no space) but so far I love it.

My main concern now is storage. I used the trundle from my old couch to store games, yoga mats, weights, my lawn chair, etc. The bed has now been gifted to my dad for the guest room/his man cave so I'm hopeful he will let me to continue to store some of my things in it. Dads don't have stuff right?

In order to motivate myself to use them, I am going to leave my weights and yoga mats downstairs. I am supposed to be developing a new workout routine this month (per my 12 Months to a Healthier Life plan) but I've been so busy I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hopefully life will slow down a bit next month and I can make even more progress on my re-decorating project.

Creating a Vision Board

Lately, I've been binge watching Mr. Kate's OMG series and it has really made me think more about my style and how to incorporate that style into the decorating process.

Since I'm redecorating now, I thought it would be a good time to make the space fresh in a way that looks and feels like me. Time to design! The problem is, I have trouble envisioning how things will look in a space without actually seeing them in it.

So I decided to take a page out of Mr. Kate's handbook and make a vision board. I browsed Pinterest and Google and compiled a few images I like to help me get ideas on how to decorate my space!

First off, I included a few items I already have: a red lamp and red vase similar to those above. I'd like to incorporate those into the design because I love them. Secondly, my walls have already been painted blue and the picture above was my inspiration for color. Now for the other elements:

Colorful rug- Since my walls are dark, and so are my floors, I would like to get a lighter rug. I shy away from whites because I know they will not stay that way and will show stains easily. I found the above rug on Wayfair and I think something like this would work great. It brings in the blue from the walls and the red from my lamp but also adds a little more color.

Photo Collage- Before I took everything down to paint, I had two photo collages on my walls. One I considered my wall of fame (where I kept photos of me with my favorite celebrities I've met at conventions) and one was supposed to be of family and friends. Problem is, I never filled most of those frames. I like the collage above, with various sizes and colors of frames. I'm thinking about painting some of the frames I have (they are all black currently) and trying to create something that looks good but isn't monochromatic.

An Organized Bookshelf- I moved my bookshelf from a dark corner to front and center so I want to make sure it looks organized and uncluttered. I want to incorporate not only books but picture frames and other cute objects or geometric shapes. It is the first thing you see when you come down the stairs so I want it to be appealing to the eye.

Rose gold- I love rose gold. It's probably my favorite metallic color but I do not have anything in that color aside from jewelry. I would love to find a small table or other accessories for the room in rose gold. My one fear is that it will clash with the reds I already have. Or maybe it's juxtaposition.

Plants- The only plant I have at the moment is a cactus and it is, believe it or not, kind of dead. I do not have a green thumb. But I love the way plants look in a space and I hear they also help improve air quality. I just need to find a plant that doesn't require a lot of care or sunlight.

Couch- Because everybody needs a legit couch in their living room. I'm leaning towards dark grey because I think it will go nicely with my blue walls.

Fangirl pillows- I have eight brown and red throw pillows on my current "couch". I wanted to find covers for them, something that would match a dark grey couch. Then one lovely afternoon, when I was browsing Etsy, I got really inspired. The perfect way to bring in a little more of my fangirl side (which is a huge part, let's be honest) was to find pillow covers from my favorite books, shows and movies! I am on the hunt for the perfect covers now. And even if they don't match each other, I still think they will fit in perfectly and will scream "Mallory lives here".


Making this inspiration board has really has given me a better visual of how I want to decorate. I would recommend trying this for your own space.

Basement Apartment Makeover- Part 1: Paint and Flooring

Well, it's official. I have the re-decorating fever. Every few years I need a change. Whether it be paint or flooring, furniture or accessories, I just want something different. About a year ago, I re-decorated my bedroom by purchasing a new desk, storage units from IKEA and Home Depot, new rugs and curtains. There are still a few projects left in this room (I have a new light fixture I need to hang and my blinds are falling apart!) but I've moved on to another major project: my living/dining room.

When I first moved into the basement "apartment" 7 years ago, I decided on a clay-brown paint for the majority of my walls, with a clam-shell peachy color for the accent walls. I'm not sure where the inspiration came from originally, but over the years I've grown tired of the brown.

Recently, I found a shade of blue that I absolutely love called Midnight Show. After very little debate, I purchased this paint color for my walls. My parents graciously painted them for me while I was in Canada a few weeks ago.


As for the floors... Carpet covered most of the living room space but a light hardwood sat under my dining room table. My original plan was to match the hardwood in the dining area and just replace the carpet. Unfortunately, this color has been discontinued and in order to avoid two shades of laminate, I just purchased flooring for the entire room. I opted for a darker color this time (Kingston Peak Hickory) and it looks good with the blue.

The next step is deciding which furniture to keep (and what to buy!) and determining the placement of my large pieces. Then comes accessorizing and styling, which will probably prove to be hardest part for me. I've been browsing Pinterest and watching a little too much HGTV and YouTube videos on home decor lately (check out Mr. Kate) so hopefully I will find my inspiration.

Updates to come!

P.S. Yes, that is a bed I am using as a couch. New couch is a must!

Decluttering My Closet: Konmari Method

Last summer I decided to revamp my closet. I searched the internet for ideas and finally found a style that I thought would not only look better but that would also make more sense. I decided to purchase The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo since I'd heard so much about it. After reading through the book, I decided to give her method for decluttering clothing and folding a chance.

I started by piling all of my clothes on my bed. Then I stood atop them and began picking up each item individually to see if it sparked any joy. I tried not to reason with myself or try to think of occasions where I would need an item of clothing again.

A good rule of thumb would be: if you have to think of a reason to keep something, get rid of it.



It went well, all things considered. Below is my donation pile:

I also tried the Konmari Method for folding and I actually quite like it. I am still folding my shirts and underwear this way. I like being able to see what all I have and it seems like I can fit more in my limited space. I have two storage bins under my bed for cosplay items and con shirts. Once I purged and folded them, everything fit with room to spare!

I bought my new closet pieces from the Home Depot and painstakingly put them together myself. I did enlist help to attach them to the wall. I didn't really hang my clothes via the Konmari method. I hung them in a way that worked for me. I grouped items together by type and color and didn't focus on length.

I folded my pants and sweaters and placed them on the shelves. I put items such as bathing suits, leggings and shorts in the bins. I finally found a place for everything!

Before

After

I was very happy with the way it turned out. It feels more organized and put together and the best part was I didn't have to find extra places to store my winter clothes. Everything fits! And after purging a good fourth of my wardrobe, I have a ton of extra hangers.

Below are links to the items mentioned above:

Shelving

Corner Organizer

Storage Bins

Rolling Storage Bin

Velvet Hangers

Cleaning Out My Closet

I'm sorry, mama. I never meant to hurt you...

Just kidding. This is about an actual closet.

Since I've been buying so many new clothes and shoes lately, I thought it would be a good idea to re-organize my closet. 

As you can see from the before picture below, my closet is really just racks hanging on the wall. Since I'm in the basement, a closet for clothes was never built. This is one of many reasons I should keep my closet tidy at all times. Whoever walks into my bedroom can see it.

As you may notice, I have a tendency to throw hangers on the floor when I take clothes off of them. Bad habit.

My first step to a better closet was to pull everything down. I put it all on my bed in piles. Shirts with shirts, jackets with jackets, dresses with dresses, etc. (Side note- I do not hang pants in my closet. I keep them in drawers.) I then went through all of the piles and picked out which clothes I really wanted to keep.The rest went into the Goodwill pile. A good rule of thumb is if you haven't worn it in the last year, you probably aren't going to. 

I read up on hangers and discovered that these thin velvet hangers are really good for space saving. They also grip your clothes so they do not fall off like they do with wire hangers. No clothes pins necessary! I ordered the hangers pictured below from Amazon ($24 for 50 hangers) and I also ordered the suit hangers as well ($25 for 50). I ended up ordering a total of 150 hangers to accommodate all of my clothes. (Yeah I know...) I also purchased a pack of finger clips from Amazon for my skirts. ($7.48 for 20). All of these items ship free with Amazon Prime. 

I hung everything back up starting at the back right with my big winter coats. Next I put dresses. This was necessary for me because my shoe rack is too tall for them to hang anywhere else. Next came long-sleeved shirts, then short sleeved, then sleeveless. Lastly, I put my cardigans on the very end. On the right side of the closet I hung my jackets and a few ugly Christmas sweaters. When it gets colder weather, I plan to unpack the rest of my non-ugly sweaters and switch them out with my sleeveless shirts.

I decided to organize each section by color as well. This makes it much easier to find things when I'm hurriedly looking for a specific article of clothing.

I have all of my bags a purses stacked in the top of my closet, along with various hats I've acquired (for parties mostly). The bigger Thirty-One totes hold all of my purses, while my grey and white polka dot bin holds my wallets. 

I think the velvet hangers really clean up the look of the closet and make it seem a bit more spacious than the plastic hangers. I'm glad I made the investment.

Not only does it look better, but re-organizing your closet once a year can really aid in getting rid of clothes you don't wear. Though it doesn't look like it, I actually got rid of a whole trash-bag of clothes this go around. 

Lord help me if I ever get my dream walk-in closet. ;)