Joyful Abode

My pantry was starting to bug me more and more each day. Things were in front of things I needed, the open boxes of crackers were mixed with unopened boxes, bags and boxes of pasta were everywhere…

So do you want to know what I did?

I took everything out of the pantry, cleaned the shelves and swept the floor, and then put everything back in. Except for some foods I decided were too non-nutritious for us to actually eat, which we gave to my brother-in-law, who can handle it because he does triathlons and bikes everywhere.

I re-designated shelves and reorganized, but I didn’t actually buy any new organizing gadgets/boxes/shelves/baskets/widgets. It’s much better now, and I know exactly HOW MANY olives I have (olive-busting recipe to follow).

Sorry it’s blurry, but you can still tell how much better it is.

This is sort of part two to this post, “Getting Ready for a Guest, or How I Pulled a Guest Room Out of My Bum.”

Now that my dear friend Meagan is safely on her airplane, I can tell you about the other things I did to get ready for her stay.

But… I’m going to write it like I’m telling you what to do, because that’s how I roll. You know, I make a recipe for the first time or pull a craft idea out of my back pocket, and then I act like the authority on it and you all listen to me, and then I get a mini-power-trip off of that.

And I’m also going to ask you to forgive my pictures… my camera has been getting blurrier and blurrier and I’m not sure why. It’s not the lens being dirty, and it’s not the settings (because I know how to use them). So maybe the camera is just dying.

So, I present to you…

A list of things you should always do when you are playing hostess to an out-of-town guest

1. Ask your friend what foods she’d like to have around. Buy them. Have them around. Also, read your friend’s mind and buy some things you know she likes and strategically place them around the house in bowls. See: M&Ms.
   
2. If it’s possible, clear out a closet for your guest’s clothes. If not, at least provide some empty drawers. Make sure there’s a place for her to rest her suitcase, a place for her dirty clothes, some reading material, and a mirror. Always provide 2 towels for ladies (we like one for our hair too!) along with a hand towel and a washcloth.
   
3. Put clean pretty bedding on the bed. I tried to fluff out the wrinkles in the dryer, but since the comforter is new, it didn’t want to do that… Make sure there are lamps by the bed, for night-time reading.
   
4. Make sure you have an alarm clock, kleenex, and a trash can in the room. If you want, you can add fresh flowers, a live plant, and some candles.
5. A box of goodies never hurt anyone. Make sure to include things your guest might forget, like toothpaste and lotion, a razor, soap, anti-frizz hair gel (hehe) for humid climates, lip balm, and a pad of paper and pen. Other fun things to include are fancy soaps, a loofah, room spray, and season 5 of Scrubs. Seriously.
6. Hope that your friend likes Gerbera daisies as much as you do.
   
7. Also, freshen up the bathroom, put some flowers in there, stuff like that. And when your guest arrives, go with her to McGuires Irish Pub, drink margaritas, and relax, because no one likes a hyperactive-anxious hostess.

So, since we’ve lived here in Milton, we’ve only had overnight guests once, and they were guys who couldn’t care less about where they slept or the condition of the house.Because of the lack of guests, the room intended to be the “guest room” quickly degenerated into this:

This is the room in which we store my dress form, usually have my light box set up (but I had to take it down to use the table for the craft show last week), weights, yoga ball, the “goodwill pile” of things to donate, and so forth. It’s even more of a disaster area now because of the show last week… I just dumped everything in here afterward (stock, displays, etc). And then we chucked the ironing board with its mound of fabric on top in there last night because friends came over to play games.

So, the first thing I did was take care of the ironing.

I ironed and folded all of the fabric, then put it away.

Then I started to tackle the post-craft-show-chaos that was everywhere.  I managed to get the non-apron stock into two rubbermaid bins, and stacked them out of the way in the corner.

The Man found a “good enough” home for my card display rack, which is pretty cumbersome, in the closet that houses the air conditioning.

My non-stock show stuff found a place in my craft room closet, along with the box of bubble envelopes I just ordered.

It’s starting to look better, isn’t it?

My stationery display racks and mannequin family found their way into the guest room closet (which, sad to say, isn’t for guests to use since it stores our luggage and the guy’s golf stuff and things like that).

My dimantled light box…

was rearranged so it fit into its bin…

…and sent to the garage for storage.

My craft show tables also went to the garage. Because really, why not?

And the room was clear! After vacuuming, The new inflatable pillow-top queen-sized mattress was set out….

…inflated, sheeted, and new-fluffy-pillow-ed. I also put out some lamps so that my guest will be able to read in bed if she wants to, and a little crate to serve as a nightstand so she can put her books or whatever in there.

She has a wide selection of reading materials if she’s into children’s books.

And she can put her clothes away in the dresser (except for the one occupied drawer).

YAY!!! I can’t wait until Meagan gets here.

I love Real Simple magazine. Really. It’s always filled with tips for how to declutter or better organize your home. It has home decor tips and lots of pretty pictures. BUT it’s filled with advertisements. So much so that it’s difficult to find an article, even if you know what page it’s on (since the ads don’t have page numbers on them).

Anyway, I taught my latest Real Simple magazine a lesson. Before I even started to read the magazine, I pulled out all of the subscription inserts (hello! I’m already a subscriber) and every single page that had an advertisement on both sides. I obviously left in the pages that had an article on one side.

Witness the aftermath:

Easy clutter control, indeed! I was able to read through my magazine without being bombarded with tens of pages of ads all in a row between articles… much nicer.

However, the magazine is pretty slim without all of the padding.

I recently subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It feels like such an old-lady thing to do, but I’ve been reading old issues at work during lunch, and there are some great ideas in there! Delicious recipes, unique decorating ideas (no, really!), and really good articles. I may just let my Real Simple subscription expire this year. Goodbye!

I’ve always been addicted to stationery. When I was six years old, my best friend Kelly Simon moved to Massachusetts, leaving me behind in South Carolina. We were pen pals for YEARS, writing constantly. When I was 8 and my oldest sister went to college, we exchanged letters frequently. Then, when I was 11, I started writing with some pen pals I “met” through a library program. New stationery was always something to show off and inspired a rush of outgoing letters.

With email, instant messaging, and blogging (not to mention cell phones) to keep in touch with friends now, I don’t write nearly as much as I used to. But I’m still addicted to stationery.

A few years ago, I crocheted a little box with the word “write” on top of it, for storing my cards and envelopes. It was supposed to remind me and inspire me to send mail. It worked sometimes, but couldn’t keep up with the rate at which I was buying the cutest cards ever! I soon outgrew the box, and started a library of cards beside the box on my shelf.

Last week though, I decided it had gone far enough. (This picture doesn’t include all of my stationery… I found some more after I snapped this shot.)

Since my husband and I have combined our files, I stole the file organizer from my desk makeover for my stationery. I organized the cards into categories… formal, informal, blank inside, thank-yous, etc, and put them into the accordion file.

It’s deliciously cute, and now my cards all fit in one container on my shelf again.

I wonder what to do with my crocheted “write” box now though.

Besides that, I need to start writing more letters again. That’s always fun!

For a while, my jewelry has been lumped together in a jewelry box. When I want to wear earrings, I have to hunt for mates… when I want to wear a necklace, I must first unravel it from a tangle of its cousins.

Not anymore! If you have this problem too, you might enjoy making some gorgeous jewelry boards for your bedroom (or dressing room, if you have one… I have heard of such things).

You’ll need frames. Buy them on sale! Sometimes Michael’s has a selection of frames on clearance. I got mine at Linens n Things. Buy one get one 1/2 off.

You will also need cork. I bought 4 square-foot boards from Michael’s with a 50% off coupon. I only spent 5 bucks on them.

You will need hot glue, a ruler, an exacto knife or similar blade, stapler (regular kind), fabric, coordinating ribbon, coordinating pins, and a FEW minutes.

Remove the glass from the frames, but save the cardboard. Using the cardboard as a guide, cut your cork to size. It’s ok to piece it in order to make it big enough. No one will know.

Then, use your amazing hot glue gun to affix the cork to the cardboard.

Now, cut your fabric a little larger than your cork/cardboard mess. You can always trim it later, so err on the larger size. Place your mess cork-side-down onto the wrong side of the fabric. Stretch and staple. Staple a lot. And look out for those corners!

Now, if you just want a plain old covered cork board, you’re pretty much done.

For the magical jewelry boards though, pull out your coordinating ribbon.

Turn over your boards and measure where you want your ribbons. Mark with a pen. Don’t worry… no one will see the back.

Now, wrap your ribbons and staple staple staple (on the back, of course).

See what we’re getting at? Now they’re ready for the frames!

You’ll probably have to kind of cram them into the frames, because they’re a little bulkier than a photo… but it’s worth it. Make sure you secure your board by bending the little metal thingies down.

Check it out!

Now pull out your coordinating pins and your ruler. Add pins below your ribbons, about an inch apart. These are what you’ll hang your necklaces on. I pushed my pins in almost all the way, and then bent them out a bit so they’re like hooks.

Now, hang your jewelry and you’re ready to go! Hook your earrings over the ribbons, and hang your necklaces.

I really like this because everything is out where I can see it. It also really looks like the jewelry is framed, and since I chose frames, fabric, and ribbons that coordinate with our bedroom, it’s like a piece of art.

Let me know if you make some! I’d love to see photos.
And if you have a different solution for your jewelry storage, please comment about it. Another reader may prefer your solution.

You will need:

• one picture frame, whatever size you like. I used 18″ x 24″
• a piece of corrugated cardboard cut to fit your frame
• cork tiles, which you can find at Michael’s next to the whiteboards, about 10 dollars for 4 (12″ square)
• pretty fabric, a little larger than the area to be framed
• hot glue gun + glue
• stapler + staples
• x-acto knife

Step 1: Glue the cork to the corrugated cardboard. You will probably have to cut some pieces, but that’s okay. No one will see! Just make sure they are pushed close together, no gaps.

Step 2: Try out your fabric in the frame, just to make sure you like it.

Step 3: Lay your fabric wrong-side-up on the floor or table. Then place your cork+cardboard cork-side-down on top. Stretch the fabric around it and staple to the back. You can use a regular stapler for this; just open it up. Start at the middle of each side, then work toward the corners.

Step 5: Install the fabric covered cork in the frame. I took mine to Michael’s and they did it for free. Lovely!

Step 6: Hang and use!

I was sitting at my desk, setting up Joyful Abode, when it occurred to me that nothing about my desk area was working. (Click this picture to see the tags in flickr.)

Oh my goodness… horrible! I had “organizational things” but it wasn’t working for my needs. So I needed a change.

At times like this, I always do the same thing. Make sure my bed is made, then pile the offending objects on my bed. I totally cleared my desk, then dusted everything.

After that, I went through all of the junk on my bed, analyzing it. Why do I need all of my paper on my desk? I don’t! So I found a clear plastic drawer unit to put it in. That went under my desk.

Next, the mugs for the pencils and pens went into the “give away” box. They were replaced by cute tin buckets I got from Walmart several months ago. I had been using them in my classroom until now.

I had a few pieces of trash, which went in the trash of course… but I noticed something sad. I had expired coupons and things that WOULD have been useful to me, had they not been buried under a pile of sadness. I determined I needed a bulletin board.

I also decided I needed a smaller place to file my reciepts, bills, and paystubs… the tall black filing tray monstrosity had to go!

So I made a shopping trip to Michael’s for the smaller filing tool and the bulletin board. I found just what I wanted, too. These “creative home accents” are lovely, and currently 50% off! More on the bulletin board later.

I tore the fabric off of my chair to reveal a much less offensive grey. When I get a staple gun, I’ll re-cover it to match my bulletin board.

And now, I am working in a much more joyful place. Clutter-free and attractive. My bulletin board is reminding me about today’s sale at Hancock Fabrics, and I’ll make a trip there later.