Chalkboard tape from Daiso is $1.50 a whole roll!
Daiso for the win
Have you ever noticed chalkboard labels are soo expensive?! It makes me not want to label anything even though the look is super cute. Don’t waste your money on those expensive individual labels or chalkboard stickers. Head to Daiso and buy a whole roll of chalkboard tape for $1.50.
Want more chalkboard ideas?
If you live in an apartment and don’t want to mess up the walls, this nifty peel and stick chalkboard wallpaper decal would look nice in that empty wall at the end of a narrow rectangle kitchen. Perfect for putting grocery list items.
Love the chalkboard bottoms on these wine glasses so guest don’t have to remember where they put their glass. Or cheaper yet, you can use the Daiso chalkboard tape on the bottom of the glasses you already own.
Want some tips on how to organize and declutter your home?
I am naturally a super messy person. You wouldn’t recognize my home now if you had seen my dorm in college. What changed? I married a (not controlling ) neat freak, and it changed me for the better. He taught me a few things by example.
Buy quality over quantity.
It means having less stuff but better stuff. It means not buying stuff just because it’s on sale or cheap. All that adds up to less clutter and more free space.
Have only one of everything.
If you only have one pair of scissors (the best you can find) or one amazing pen (the best you can find), you always know where it is. On that note,
Have only one home for your items.
Yes, like my grandma said (but I never followed), a place for everything, and everything in it’s place.
It’s easier to maintain cleanliness than let things get really bad and set aside a whole day to clean it all up.
So I clean as I go. And now that I have a little boy, I make him clean up with me too. He doesn’t do much, but every item he puts away, he gets fawned over and applauded and praised for. He sees that mommy never goes to bed until all the toys are picked up. It’s creating this as part of the way we do things. We don’t go to bed with a messy house. All the toys are put away. It may be short lived to have a clean house, but I’ll cherish every morning when everything is put away (for the two seconds until it’s all a mess again). It may seem useless since it all becomes a mess anyway, but it gives my morning a sense of freshness, not like I’m dragging yesterday’s messes into a new day.
Keep baskets in every room.
(I got this from my friend Tory)
Baskets in every room make for easy pick up if guests come over Just put a nice big one, maybe with a label on it, in the corner of the room. This straw basket is lovely.
Make the bed every morning.
It really makes a difference to start the day accomplishing this very simple task. Gretchen Rubin agrees that bed makers are happier and more productive too!
File, don’t pile.
(I got this from my brother Allan)
This one is still a work in progress, but any time I see a pile start collecting, this comes to mind and I do my best to file away mail right away for example.
I noticed the bigger the pile, the longer it sits.
And personally, I stand behind these two principles:
Only keep it out in the open if it’s beautiful or used often.
If it doesn’t have curbside appeal or isn’t used often, I feel like it doesn’t deserve counter space, floor space, desk space, side table space etc. This is why my friends come over and say my house always looks clean. It’s because they don’t open drawers and closets. Nate knows the real me hahaaa.
Don’t shop for fun. Find another hobby to take the place of window shopping if you end up buying stuff anyway.
What I realized is that the less stuff I actually own or buy, the less I have to deal with when it comes to organizing stuff at home. I’ve come to the point where I actually never shop these days, not even window shop, unless I’m grocery shopping (once every one or two weeks). That may come as a shock since I write a fashion and beauty blog, but I’m very very picky when it comes to what I buy, especially for clothes and makeup. When you think about it, you probably don’t need anything for your home or your closet. I mean, truly need.
Stepping away from shopping with that mindset makes it easier to break away from the habit of using retail as therapy. If you love looking at stuff and that’s what draws you to window shop, go find an art gallery to feast on beautiful aesthetics. Or if you love clothes like I do, go to the library and borrow a bunch of old copies of Glamour or Instyle magazine or browse fashion blogs and Pinterest. Figure out what you are trying to get by buying or window shopping and find a different way to meet your need.
Want more help organizing?
I did a major fridge makeover to make healthy stuff more visible. Check it out— it’s complete with pictures.
Or if you just want some decor inspiration
These are little ways I infuse beauty throughout our home.
And these are ways I add masculine, vintage elements so my hubby doesn’t feel like he’s living in a shabby chic cottage. heeehee.
Do you have any organizational, decluttering tips or hacks? I’d love to know!
