Vitra Uten Silo

Alright you all, there is just a week left in January and if you’re anything like I am, you probably ran out of that New Year’s resolution organizing steam about a week ago!

Did you get anything done? A closet cleaned? A junk drawer straightened? Tell me you at least took one box to the Goodwill or labeled something? If not, don’t fret;  it’s a good time to give yourself a kick in the bum and  try again! True confessions: I currently have two toppling stacks of tax receipts and files in the middle of my floor. I was hoping looking at the mess would make me work on them but instead I’ve learned not to see them.

One way to get your organizational juices flowing is by picking up a good book. Here are five tried and true tomes that will help you get inspired:

1. Good Things for Organizing by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Say what you want about Martha, but she didn’t get where she is today by being disorganized.

2. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I loved this book because I could totally relate, skip around and read it out of order and enjoy seeing how Rubin’s life improved as she organized her life and priorities. She has another book out now called Happier At Home that I can’t recommend as I haven’t read it yet, but based on how much I enjoyed The Happiness Project, I’m betting it’s a good one!

3. Speaking of happiness and books, The Happy Home Book. Nayar digs deep into all sorts of topics, from how to live a sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle to ancient traditions like Vastu. Though packed with all sorts of information, her writing style is accessible and makes this a very enjoyable read.

4. Peruse Real Simple 869 New Uses For Old Things before you get started. You may come across some junk that might just be useful during your cleanouts. Plus, some of the ideas might get you excited to start sorting and see if you can unearth any of the “old things” and use them in new ways.

5. If you’re finally ready to get serious, get your hands on a copy of Unclutter Your Life In One Week by Erin Rooney Doland. Be warned: The amount of things Doland expects your to accomplish in one day is exhausting. I read this book as Unclutter Your Life In One Month and tried to get a day or two’s worth of Doland’s tasks accomplished in one week. It’s a great step-by-step guide that will take you through the entire house.

Well, I hate to say it, but if school’s not already back in session it’s about to be, and it’s time to get the house ready for colder months. It’s also time to enjoy the bright leaves, crisp air and perhaps a few Sunday football games. Here’s a starter checklist to get the house ready as we transition out of summer.

Merkled Coat Rack

1) Coat closet. It’s time to switch out your swimmy shoes and beach bags for fleece pullovers, gloves and fall/winter sports gear. It’s also a time to make sure schoolkids have good landing zones for after school. A designated place for their backpacks, coat, shoes, perhaps a flute or a violin and anything else that needs to be close at hand for that groggy morning dash out the door is always a huge help. This can be anything from a kid having his own hook to a basket to an entire locker, depending on how much room you have.

2) Football game kit. If you’re big into gridiron and lucky enough to have season tickets, get your gear ready. Have your stadium blanket cleaned, rinse off those camp chairs you bring tailgating, and corral your picnic gear, binoculars, foam fingers, car decals and flags (can you tell I live in the south?), and favorite team colored clothing organized. You may even decide to leave a bunch of this stuff in the car until after the last bowl game.

3) Family room. Call a chimney sweep and make sure your wood burning fireplace chimney is clean and safe for the coming months. While you’re at it, order a cord of wood from the woodman. Pull your extra throw blankets out of the mothballs, give them a good cleaning, and drape them over the sofa for chilly nights.

Designer’s Eye Kvadrat Pillow

If you like to do some design switcheroo with the seasons, switch out those cotton coastal-inspired throw pillow covers for more autumnal hues and felt or wool, and perhaps switch out an area rug as well.

Thomas Paul Elephant Duvet Cover

4) Bedrooms. If you’re the duvet type, give the cover a good cleaning. If you usually switch from cotton to down, find your winter duvets to have on standby. I also like to do the old mattress flip/turn each season; it’s an easy way to remember to do it. While you’re in there, do that under-the-bed sweep/vacuum that probably doesn’t happen all that often. Grab the extension pole and give your ceiling fans and ceilings all a good dusting; summers spiders have probably left quite a few webs around.

MASH Studios LAX Wall Mount Desk

5) Homework station. Make sure your kids have a quiet spot to get their homework done. Outfit it with pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, a reading lamp and any other supplies they may need.

Phew. You’re done. Google a few hot toddy recipes and start getting excited for fall!

Do any of you have some home projects planned for over the weekend? I wrote a guest post for Lovely Indeed this week where I was showing three super-chic offices, and then realized I had not set foot in either of my home office spaces (one is a former garage, one shares space with a litter box; don’t go thinking I live in some sort of fancy manse) in months. The filing had stacked up, the dust had stacked up even higher, and in the garage-turned-office my face hit cobwebs as soon as I walked in the door. Yuck.

Misewell Tokyo_I Desk Lamp

A preliminary deep clean was worth the effort, because I got big rewards (try not to get too jealous). I found my autographed picture of STYX and a letter my friend wrote me in junior high that said “I am so annoyed. The stupid Iran-Contra hearings keep preempting Santa Barbara” which totally cracked me up and made me feel ancient at once.

If you have cooler weather than I do, why not get outside this weekend? You could start an herb garden. I’m not saying you have to do the entire yard like on this house in Provincetown, Massachusetts, but you could simply pick up some basil, rosemary and thyme plants when you are grocery shopping and create a small edible container garden. There’s nothing better than running outside for fresh basil for a little tomato, mozzarella basil treat in the summer.

Loll Designs 405 Chaise

If you have any weekend projects going on, drop us a line in the comments section and let us know what you’re up to. If you’re doing nothing but hanging out at the pool, please drop me a line and invite me over and I’ll forget all about the organizing!

I’m so excited to announce that Hatch: The Design Public Blog friend and guest poster Lisa Adams will be starring in a new show on HGTV called Million Dollar Closets. Lisa, the owner and designer behind LA Closet Design, will be going to the homes of celebs like Whitney Port, and Kris, Kylie and Kendall Jenner (you know, they are part of that clan that is more known for the name Kardashian).

I first discovered Lisa’s work several years ago and I’ve been dreaming of turning my entire upstairs into one big L.A. Closet Design closet ever since! In fact, I keep a giveaway basket in the closet at Lisa’s suggestion; whenever I realize I’m still keeping a pair of jeans with the shortest rise in history in the closet or realize something just isn’t my color, I toss it in there and thank Lisa. When it’s full, I take it to Goodwill.

Lisa approaches designing, organizing and styling a closet like it’s an exclusive boutique. She works with her clients to see how they live and what their storage and organizational needs are, and then customizes a closet from the big cabinets to lighted clothing rods, from built-in ironing boards to specialized accessory drawers and racks.

The show will air on HGTV on May 18th at 8 p.m. EST. It’s a great way to get re-inspired for organizing (I don’t know about you, but I’ve lost that New Year’s vim and vigor for organizing and cleaning out that I had back in January!). Be sure to set your DVRs!

All images property of LA Closet Design

Happy Tuesday DP Peeps!  Looking for some early-week inspiration?  I’ve got to say, this video from our friends at  MASH Studios totally made my day.  Remember a while back we told you about their new, awesomesauce storage platform bed?  Well, not only do they make these awesome, kick you-know-what products, but then they go and make videos like the one below. As if we needed anything to make us want this bed even more!   How great is this?

If you haven’t checked out the new MASH Studios LAX Storage Platform bed, then you definitely should.  While you’re there, check out the gorgeous LAX headboard to go with it (also pictured in the video, above).  You won’t be sorry!