how I .. pack

Going to NYC you have to travel light as you have to haul your bag around sometimes more than you'd like to. This trip was a little tough to plan for weather wise as it was going to be a little different each day, cold and raining and sunny and humid all packed into 5 days. I tried to pack a mix of items with different weights and material as well. 

Jewelry that goes with everything plus 2 statement pieces:

//6 outfits with a few modifications that could be made (1 more than days I'd be there, knowing I had 2 girls to share clothes with and that I would probably be buying a few things).
//cross-body bag so your shoulder doesn't get tired and everything is safe and secure

extra basics that go with anything and everything and add to an outfit

reader question: the TV

reader question:

What are pointers on placing a tv in a living room without it being tacky? Or how to display a tv that isn't or can't be central to the entire room.

 

Thanks for your question! 

 

2 thoughts came to mind for this issue: 

1. Choose the focal point so the TV isn't it.
Most people could choose a fire place, this means that you would center the couch to face the fire place and have the TV off to the side or on a different wall. 

Another option would be to have your couch facing 2 chairs, this give the feeling of pointing people towards conversation instead of the TV. A similar idea would be to have 4 chairs facing each other.
A lot of people have big windows or sliding glass doors in their family room, this would be another option for a focal point, outdoors make for natural artwork, face your furniture there!

Source: ikeafamilylive.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: myfavoriteandmybest.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Olivia on Pinterest

2. Put decor around it, make it look like a piece of art or that it blends right in with the theme of your decor you have going on in the living room! 

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: potterybarn.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: iometro.blogspot.com via Jean on Pinterest

organized: no closet?!

Reader Question:

Olivia! I love all your organizational skills & posts. We are moving to a much larger house but the whole place has only one large closet which in a little sitting area not any of the bedrooms. How would you organize closet-less bedrooms?

Thanks all for your questions, keep them coming!! I love answering them!

Closet-less bedroom!! Why would anyone build such a thing! :) 

Some tips/ideas for you my friend:

1. Pair down your clothes: this is a great opportunity to look at the clothes you own and make sure you you ask your self the following questions with each one: 1. do I love this? 2. do I wear this? (in the last 6 months, season depending) 3. am I drawn to it when I'm getting dressed in the morning . If you answer "no" to any of these questions, it's got to go! Even if you spend money on it and barely wore it or if you got it as a gift, get rid of it!! You'll feel great!

1a. Store away in an attic or bins not in your bedroom your out of season clothes, if it's summer, you don't need sweaters taking up "closet" space!

2. Decide what NEEDS to be hung up and what can be folded to fit in a dresser. This will help you see what you are working with and what size of something you may need to purchase

3. If this is a space you see staying for a long time, invest in an armoire (#2 can help you decide this as well as what size to get)

Source: lovelyliving.tumblr.com via Debi on Pinterest

4. Create your own closet: 

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

5. Utilize under the bed: Once dressers &  armoire are full and you need more space, under the bed is a great option for sweaters, scarves, pants or out of season items

Source: bhg.com via Luisa on Pinterest

6. Utilize Baskets, Trunks and Ottomons to double as decor: This is a great solution for any part of the home! If you can find a great piece of furniture that you love that also holds storage, its a bonus!

Source: potterybarn.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Anyone else have other tips for our friend with no closet in her bedroom??

HELP!! & a winner

Friends, I would love to write more posts about organizing. It's my passion and something that I do in my everyday life in all aspects of it. I beleive that an organized life is a stress free life and even though it takes a little time here and there, it saves you time and stress in the long run!

I would love it if you shared your issues or questions about organizing with me and I would love to answer them here! I have no problem if you want to be anonymous because I know clutter and disorganization can feel vulnerable to share (do that here: ASK AWAY!!!!) If you have more specific questions with a picture of a room problem etc, please email me at organizebyolivia@gmail.com and I would be happy to write up a post with some ideas for help as well! 

Source: songofstyle.blogspot.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: take2theyresmall.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Also: who won the Urban Walls giveaway??? check to see here.

clutter solutions: baskets

I believe that we all don't the time to stay on top organization and it's okay to not have of a super clear, clean, no clutter home at all times. Baskets are my solution of this.

If you have guests coming over and need a quick clean up, take your basket, do a clean sweep of the house throwing all "junk" in it to go through later.

Don't always have time to hang up your clothes or put them away after you wash them? Don't throw them on the ground, put them in a basket! When the basket is full it forces you to go through it.

Don't know how to store blankets? magazines? books? Use a basket!

Why they work:

1. Combines decor and organization

2. They can show off your style while being functional at the same time

3. You can find basket after basket for under $5 at Goodwill or any thrift store

4. Quick clean up guaranteed

Source: itemsbydesignbird.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: theweekendhomemaker.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: ballarddesigns.com via Olivia on Pinterest

Source: sewmanyways.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: westelm.com via Alice on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jane on Pinterest

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

Source: room-galleries.myhomeideas.com via Tori on Pinterest

Do you use baskets for organizing or decorating? Would love to know how!
Here are a few way I use them in mine:

For blankets in the family room:

For the Laundry Room chaos:

to wait

fall feast

 My husband and I had a few couples over a few nights ago for a fall feast! Here are some of my tips for organizing a dinner party on a budget without feeling overwhelmed

Prep: I think it's important to do things little bit little so you aren't spending your entire Saturday getting ready for dinner that night. Here is my timline of how I organize myself (as best as possible)

2 weeks before: pick the night & invite your friends

1 week before: pick a menu, distribute (see below)

3 days before: grocery shop

 2 days before: set the table (if it's a table you don't use everyday)

1 day before: clean the areas of your house where your guests will be

day of: cook your portion

Step ONE: the scene

Beautiful fall leaves in my backyard!!!

Step TWO: the menu

My favorite way to do a dinner party is to have each person bring a part of the meal. We had 3 couples are ours so each of us made 1 part. My friend Holly made a salad, Jill a soup and me, the main dish, a risotto. I picked out the recipes before hand and gave to each gal the week before so they could shop and prep. This takes the pressure off of preparing a large meal and saves some money!

Step THREE: the table

I hate our dining room table, old hand me down, but I dressed it up with minimal things! A table runner, some fall decorations and some fall flowers did the trick! I also hate when tables look too full so instead of using 6 brown placemats I just used 3 and did every other place. I always have paper napkins on hand that I find wherever I go, these are from Ikea (... 100 for $4 maybe? super cheap)

Step FOUR: enjoy

Step FIVE: dishes

Since there were 3 courses we did the dishes as we went. Always have a clean/empty sink when gets arrive and have an empty dishwasher ready to load. After each course we would take a quick break, load those dishes, eat, etc. This left with less clean up at the end. The night of after guests leave, I usually clean up the table, counters etc. and leave everything in the sink. The next morning I (or my husband) tackle the big dishes. This gives you a break after a long tiring and hopefully fun night!

Hope you all have a great holiday season and aren't afraid to entertain!!

organized: de-cluttering

I had a reader request to talk about a few organizational tricks, as it is one of my passions :)

To me, a big part of getting organized is to first de-clutter a space. This takes away the overwhelming process, breaks it up and you may end up doing what you needed done!

De-Cluttering:
Pick one area of your space

Step One: take everything off your shelf/drawer, whatever space you are trying to organize.
Take your items and separate them into bins labeled the following: (putting them into bins gives you the freedom to leave a project half way through and not feel like you have a mess, just tuck the bins away or stack them on themselves)

put back here  |  put somewhere else  | give away

*and a garbage for trash

Step 2: deal with these piles - take them to where they need to go, find homes for the items that are going somewhere else and keep the give away bin near by to continue to add to it -- this is a way to stay organized while you are organizing and not get out of control.

TIP:  only keep what you need-- If you're like me or my husband, you like to keep things for a long time for no reason.. This hurts the problem, ask yourself if you're REALLY going to need this item here. If you REALLY feel like you can't part with it but you don't need it up in your space, try this:  start a bin for keepsakes that you have and store in a garage or other storage area. We've been super successful with this.

Step 3: go through the pile of stuff you wanted to keep and put them up, decorate, organize it, however you would like. Chances are as you are putting and placing things back in your space, you'll realize that there are more items you can purge. Don't hold back and go with your instincts.

TIP: utilize labels, baskets, drawer dividers, cute bowls, anything that can help you organize any type of space. They don't all have to be actual organizing tools, you can find lots of great stuff in your own home!

{via}

motto: Everything has a Home.
 
If it doesn't have a home, you don't actually need it.
 
Using this motto can help to keep this space organized, don't just plop things back down in the space, ask yourself if it belongs there, continue to keep things in their places/homes.

motto: Less is totally more

{via}

wedding planning

Brian and I are going to our first wedding this Saturday to kick off the summer of weddings round 2. I've been thinking a little bit about where I was at last year with planning and being axious about the day and wishing and praying it would come faster. Here are some thoughts/tips/advice that I thought I would share to all of your soon-to-be brides!

1. Everyone says to not stress and enjoy every minute of it-- easy for them to say!-- but it really is true. You don't want to look back and remember fights you had with your fiance over silly items what don't really matter or events or days that weren't even fun because your mind was too far away in planning land. Key to this: Start a calendar of things to get done before the wedding. Break it down by month (great checklist I used was the one on Brides.com).

2. It's never too early to do anything for your wedding. The sooner you do it, the less you have to do later on. A few months before the wedding are the busiest time-- if you have most everything you can do done-- your time before the wedding will be more enjoyable.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff. 20 years from now you aren't going to care if your bride's maids had matching earrings or if one girl didn't take off her nail polish etc. It's seriously no big deal. Enjoy the time with your friends, enjoy the time with your family and with your fiance. Take a care free approach.

4. Have a friend coordinate the day of. This should be someone who doesn't already have a role in your wedding and who you trust. A few days before prep them with everything you have planned (schedule, phone #s etc.) and on the day before let them run your rehearsal and make sure everything goes smooth on the day of.

5. Don't let vendors boss you around- it's your day and you're paying them. If you don't want Sprite as a beverage at your wedding, they need to respect that you don't want the frickin' Sprite!!!!

6. Don't leave for your honeymoon the next day. BIGGEST BLESSING OF OUR WEDDING. We got married on a Saturday night and left for our honeymoon Monday morning. You are thrashed exhausted the day after and need that time to re-coop and take everything in that just happened.

7. Make sure to appreciate the people who are helping you along the way.

8. Write thank you cards as the gifts come in. Don't get behind because you'll never catch up (I still have a stack... sorry whoever you are!!!!)

9. Do things with your girls before the ceremony that makes you happy and really throughout the whole day. I woke up and felt great that morning, then my girls woke up and started making a big deal about the day and I got a super bad stomach ache. SO we calmed down, we walked to Starbucks, I had an iced tea, we came back, watched FRIENDS, packed our bags and headed out to the winery!! After we got ready we drank Diet Coke and watched FRIENDS.