Batering at its best

Remember in a previous post a few months ago when I was wishing for new bathroom counter tops to go with my new flooring? Well, I'm making it happen ... 50% anyway. A friend of mine just happens to install granite counter tops, and he approached me willing to trade my organizing skills in his kitchen for a beautiful, granite counter top. How perfect, right? He's a bachelor, but getting married soon, and he wanted his space organized before his soon-to-be-wife and all of her stuff moved in. His kitchen wasn't bad, just lacking a woman's touch! Here's how I helped:

Pots & Pans Before ..... and ..... Pots and Pans After

Spice Cabinet Before ... and ... Spice Cabinet After

Tupperware Before ... and ... Tupperware After

(He's eventually going to install a Lazy Susan here, but it needed a temporary solution.)

Pantry Before ... and ... Pantry After

Under Sink Before ... and ... Under Sink After

Utensil Drawers Before ... and ... Utensil Drawers After

Dishes Before ... and ... Dishes After

(This isn't a dramatic change, but it's an open front cabinet, so it must look it's best!)

Catch-all Drawer Before ... and ... Catch-all Drawer After

(Just sounds better than "junk drawer," right? Come on, we all have them!)

He was a very happy customer, and his fiancée was even more thrilled. I finished it just in time for his housewarming party. Can't wait to get my granite counter top. Hopefully I'll be posting pics of it in a couple of weeks!

Help! I'm a hoarder ...

... not really. Completely the opposite actually. But at the moment our house is probably the closest it will ever be to looking like a hoarder's house (Do you ever watch those shows on A&E and TLC? Disturbing ...).

We got some water in part of our house during last week's storm/flood. The study, hall bath, master closet and master bath were all saturated with water.

So we pulled up and trashed the affected carpets/vinyl tiles and have decided to replace it all with ceramic/porcelain tiles. Thankfully no damage was done to our hardwoods!

This meant that EVERYTHING that was touching the floor in these rooms had to come out and find a temporary home. Our guest bedroom and master bedroom received the brunt of the stuff.

So, our master bedroom which normally looks like this ...

... now looks like this!

Thank goodness that my eyes are closed for the majority of the time that I have to be in this room!

Aren't you just dying to come stay in our spacious guest bedroom?

I know it will all be beautiful and even better than before once it's complete, but for now, this organized person is going slightly insane. And to think that some people live like this (and much worse) ALL THE TIME!

New Uses for Old Things

Those of you who know me well know that I love to organize. So this article from Real Simple magazine is right up my alley! Some of these ideas are just plain silly, but some are really clever and I plan on using them. Do you have any new uses for old things that you are already implementing? Do share!

(I already use these six-pack holders to transport the dirty champagne glasses from the limos to our house to wash them. A condiment tote is also a great idea!)