Home – Organized at Last

Storage Solution Series: Sasha

September 15, 2015 by Lauren

Next up on the hidden spaces/unique solutions tour, is Sasha’s home. Sasha has lived in her 1500 sq foot home for twelve years and her favorite thing is finding a solution on a budget and/or within a tight space.

As we tour her home, you can see that Sasha frequently places things on trays for easy cleaning and containing. She also tends to use baskets for additional linen storage, especially in rooms with minimal storage areas like the guest room below.

One of the places in her home with extremely tight storage space, is the main bath. For this, she hung a couple of inexpensive shelves from Target, and fluffy stacks of towels are pretty and easy to grab.

One of the continual issues in her home for years, was the drop zone. They all enter through a garage and then walk right into the kitchen. Everything used to get tossed onto the island which made the whole open concept space feel cluttered and chaotic. To calm the issue, she first stacked her washer and dryer and added upright cubby shelves next to them.

Then, because mail and keys were still getting scattered all over the island, she installed some very affordable buckets from Ikea to the end and used vinyl letters to label them. They get used daily now. In the kitchen, she removed doors to the most used cabinet and then painted the back of it to match the island color. It functions so well with an active family. She also rethought a nearby coat closet that was rarely used, installed some simple shelving from Lowes and turned it into a pantry space.

Sasha moved their family computer into the kitchen/dining space for homework time converting an existing table and baskets for storage space. With clear labels, everything has a home and seldom feels overwhelming.

Though Sasha’s home doesn’t have a lot of extra storage spaces, the master closet is really large. To organized this space on a budget, she purchased a dresser and cubby shelf from Ikea and then stacked them.

For her shoe storage, she purchased glass blocks at Lowe’s and pre-cut shelf boards and stacked them up. It works so well and didn’t break the bank.

Join us again next week for more unique and practical storage solutions!

Storage Solutions Series: Kristin

September 9, 2015September 8, 2015 by Lauren

We have shown the variety of personal spaces for the Organized at Last crew in the past. Looking back at our home tours and outdoor spaces, we thought you might also really enjoy seeing some of our more hidden spaces, along with some of our unique organizing solutions. We are kicking off this little tour with Kristin’s home. Kristin is the newest member of the team and she does classic simplicity in her home so well. She lives in a large home, and has two active boys. A fan of neutrals, she has created an environment of restful corners that invite you in.

As you walk through her home, you can see that she chooses pieces with excellent storage, such as using small bookshelves instead of nightstands. And small dressers, instead of living room end tables.

One of our favorite solutions in Kristin’s space, is the antique french toast caddy that she has put to use as media device storage.

Kristin is a master at finding a great piece of furniture or simple bowl or container and repurposing it for maximum use.

Toward the end of the tour we stumbled upon a darling way to display a simple collection in her master bathroom. Old shaving brushes and barber items get tucked into a wood shelf cubby that she picked up inexpensively from Target, and because the collection isn’t overflowing it’s eye-catching, yet not overwhelming.

Stay tuned next week for a peek inside Sasha’s home and her organizing tips!

Favorite Back to School Ideas

November 29, 2019August 31, 2015 by Lauren

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“Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity they think of you.”
~H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Hard to believe another school year is already underway. My kids are grown and gone now but since I’m married to a school administrator, the school calendar still matters to me!

Here are a few of my favorite back to school ideas I found most helpful while raising my sons.

Use a single, great calendar system for keeping track of all of your family activities. Your phone might do the trick or you may still prefer a paper planner. Either way, choose a system that works for you and learn to use it well!
Clean up and clear out kids rooms including clothing, books, toys and electronics early on in the school year (do this with your kids if possible). We all function better in simple, less cluttered spaces.
Plan simple, healthy meals based on your families schedule. Learn more about how I do this in my new fall class Entertain with Ease.
Do what you can ahead of time. Pack lunches the night before, place all necessary items in backpacks and gather sports gear. Mornings will be oh so much nicer!
Give kids responsibility early. Responsible kids are made, not born! Remember in a few short years your son or daughter will be someone’s roommate or spouse…will they make a good one??

Want more ideas? Our fall classes will help you get ready for the busy school year ahead and the holidays! Click HERE to learn more about the classes and to sign up!

Would you love some help getting organized now that the kids are back in school? This week is totally booked but contact Organized at Last for openings next week!

OAL Team Outdoor Spaces: Julie

June 23, 2015 by Lauren

Happy Summer! The weather in the Pacific NW has been absolutely beautiful for the past month. I love summer and I love spending time outside so my outdoor spaces are really just an extension of my indoor spaces…simple, welcoming and low maintenance! Oh and I almost forgot, low cost as well.

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My bright orange chairs are a fun addition to my 20 year old white bench and an easy change when I’m tired of them ($17 at Lowe’s). I also am also in love with my hanging basket, a Mother’s Day gift from my youngest son.

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My outdoor wicker is an older set from Costco. I love the neutral color and it’s easy to change pillows, wall art or add an outdoor rug when I need a new look.

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I love color and I always keep a few perennials in my pots so that I don’t have to replant each year. My asters have come back now for 2 years! A $25 planter from Lowe’s is a great addition next to my perennial pot. I also added a small coral lantern that I picked up on sale for $7.00.

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As always, the team at OAL is happy to help your create your own special outdoor spaces. We love what we do and creating cheerful, low cost, low maintenance inviting spaces is our specialty! Step out and soak up some sunshine today!

OAL Team Outdoors Spaces: Sasha

June 16, 2015 by Lauren

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Welcome to my outdoor space!

Over here, I am all about keeping my kids close, and keeping their friends close as well! With a twelve and fourteen year old, our yard needs have changed over the past few years, and we’ve tried to adapt our outdoor spaces to those changing needs. Gone is the play yard structure, and in it’s place, we have a 15 foot enclosed trampoline. (Sadly it killed the grass in the main part of our yard, but it brings in kids from every part of our neighborhood and keeps them entertained for hours on end, so it is worth it.)

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We also added what we call the Party Pit to a backyard corner that never got used much when our kids were little. It’s hidden behind one side of our house, but it’s the perfect spot for catching the last rays of the sun in the evenings and feels like a hideaway of sorts. We put two creamy-painted picnic tables back there for entertaining friends, a potting bench my guys made that doubles as a buffet, a fire pit surrounded with Adirondack chairs for marshmallow toasting and late night chats, and six garden boxes ring the outside edges. Over the top of all, we strung cafe lighting which creates a festive mood.

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Our family doesn’t love doing yard work, but I enjoy gardening and especially growing flowers to bring inside and enjoy all summer long. We made an herb garden box, a salad garden box, one for veggies and three cutting garden boxes. We have an out of control Wisteria vine growing up the side, and we have plans for a small arbor as you enter into the party pit

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We have a lot of places to land in this yard, which is perfect when there are a lot of middle schoolers around. We have a hammock, an umbrella topped bistro table, a bench with cushions, and some lounging chairs in various corners. On the other side of our house, we have a long narrow strip of grass that gets used as our ball throwing area. Each night, as the BBQ is going, my people play catch or shoot nerf guns in this area. I even created a painted plywood target for them and hung it on the inside of the gate.

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I love lavender plants, hostas, boxwood, peonies, lilacs and hydrangeas and you’ll see them scattered throughout the front and back yard beds.

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Perhaps my favorite corner of our outdoor space, is our front porch. I spend a lot of my summer out here. It’s a perfect place to sit in the afternoon shade, sip iced tea, and keep an eye on kids bike riding or roller blading, etc. (I showed a before and after of these these chairs here, in this post. One problem with having homes so close to one another, is a lack of privacy. Earlier this past spring, I hung a trellis on the side of the front porch and planted a climbing clematis. It doesn’t exactly solve the no-privacy issue, but it does help it to feel a little more private and it wasn’t an expensive fix!

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When we moved into this home twelve years ago, it was a new construction, spec home with very basic landscaping and no grass. Every year we have add a little more to the landscaping as the budget allows and over time it has begun to take shape. Our exterior color is gray and I’ve kept an overall yardscape color of greens, blues, lavenders, and whites that compliment the house color.

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It is so easy to get bogged down with all the ideas we want to do, and the budget for the things we actually can do…. Every project I’ve ever tackled, has been on a budget, using what I had on hand, or adapting what I could get my hands on or make, and now everything in our space tells a story, albeit an imperfect story. So yeah, the umbrella might be broken and have to be opened a certain way, and the borders might not be perfectly edged, or the grass under the trampoline might have turned to dirt, or there might be an empty flower bed all year long waiting for budget freedom to get filled… but the nice thing is this; It doesn’t have to be perfect to be perfect for you. Life isn’t a Pinterest board, it’s a work in progress. It’s otter pop wrappers on that just oiled butcher block table top. It’s watermelon rinds thrown into the grass. It’s a slightly deflated exercise ball on the trampoline and kids fighting at the top of their lungs over who’s turn it is. Or at least it was for me yesterday. And it was pretty perfect just the way it was. Thanks for stopping by!

OAL Team Outdoor Spaces: Becca

June 9, 2015 by Lauren

Welcome friends! I’m excited to share my outdoor space with you. I went with an Americana feel with red, white and blue. My front porch is very small and on a busy street. I tried to keep it simple, but still inviting.

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I recently built this shelf after seeing something similar in a magazine. It fits the space perfectly. I updated our rusty mailbox with spray paint. All my plants are perennials which eliminates spending money year after year on annuals. I love to garden and it’s a fun way to add color and texture.

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We recently tore off a rotting deck on the backside of our house. It really opened it up and we were able to create a space with a dining area and a fire pit. My husband built the wooden sectional, dining table and benches, and the pallet buffet. All of it was less expensive than store bought sets and will last a very long time!

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Get outside this summer! Lawn games are a great way to enjoy the outdoors. This is a fun set from my in-laws.

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I love having a few entertaining supplies on hand (these are from Grandiflora Home & Garden). I also re-use berry boxes – they’re great inexpensive organizers!

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I made this fountain last year with rock from our property, a bucket from a client and a gazing ball from Fred Meyer. Inexpensive and the sound is so soothing.

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