Dorm Life!

DORM LIFE.....Ok I finally downloaded Alexa's dorm pics.  I took them all with my iPhone so bear with me...we didn't have room for the BIG camera after loading the truck up, trust me.  Thought I'd share some ideas for anyone planning their own teen's dorms in the future. 

We were lucky that during orientation this summer, Alexa's Green Scholars mentor took us on a tour of the apartment style dorm she'd be living in. It gave me a chance to measure drawers, closet space and under bed space to make a plan.

Here are a few pics of our SUV all packed up...it was like a Tetris puzzle fitting everything lemme tell ya LOL.  Good thing Riley stayed with my parents because we had NO room for him and barely room for Alexa in the backseat hahaha!

And this Alexa's half-hearted wave the morning we left.  She was a bit sniffly & crying saying goodbye to her house, room and cat.  Hard stuff!

And here is her final room pic.  The only thing missing from picture is a long, aqua body pillow I got her for the backside of the bed so it could be couch-like when friends are sitting on it.  That's why the pictures are a bit higher so people won't knock into them.  I hung a curtain I got from Target with 2 large 3M hooks and 2 clear shower rings...yup McGyver style and it worked perfectly.  Adds a nice touch to the plain window.

Her bedding is from Pottery Barn Teen and we used white, navy & aqua colors...her fave...to decorate with.  The navy ottoman (Target) under bed holds extra blankets and is how she gets up on the bed. She has a tempurpedic mattress cover on top of her mattress as well to make it more comfy since those mattresses are plastic covered..yuk!  Her bins hold winter clothes, snacks and extra cosmetics.  A black trunk holds anything that needs to be locked up and her printer sits on top of it.  We got that 6-outlet-surge-protector plug for next to her bed for all the electronics.
The peel-n-stick frames are by Jonathan Adler...Alexa hadn't filled them all in yet as she's waiting for me to print some pics for her LOL. But they are on Amazon in sets too.

We scooted her desk & dresser together to make one large space against the wall. Then I had bought a white shoe shelf to put on top of dresser to give her more space..only $12 and much sturdier than most desk-risers.  She's keeping her school books/binders on the bottom now.  Posters were from Amazon..I got her a few that she can change around when the mood strikes. The 3M poster strips are awesome to use too. To the far right are a larger set of drawer bins that hold undies, socks and such and on top is a smaller set of drawers that hold hair-bands, nail products, etc...we kept the larger dresser drawers for clothing.  The blue cone-thing is a small fan we got for her room from Target and her iPod dock sits there too.

The cute ? lamp is from Target too.  Then she has the monogrammed tray I made her (see here for tray diy) and some of her fave pics.  The bird-jewelry tree is from Amazon.  She couldn't have any metal or clip on lamps due to being fire hazards so we got her this cute lamp from Target as well.  The trifold mirror all the way to the left was a gift from my parents for Christmas (from Pottery Barn Teen too)...she uses it to put her makeup on.  The desk is a multi-functional space LOL.

This is a picture collage I made her to take to school.  You may remember THESE from Valentine's Day I made too.  This one is special for her because I added words that meant something to her...there are names of our favorite beaches, vacation places, things she hopes to study & see...a piece of personal art for her room. The frames are from Michaels that I love..usually on sale for buy one get one free!  I always meant to do a post and I promise I still will...but until then you can make your own at Tagxedo..you can even upload clip art shapes of your own.

Wall Pops 24-Inch by 36-Inch Peel and Stick Dry Erase Message Board Decal

Since she can't have anything nailed or pinned to walls we bought A LOT of 3M command strip items including these cute white paper clips.  The large white board is peel-off vinyl and came from Amazon. Great place for her to write her to-do list and such. We decorated it before we left but I forgot to snap a pic.  A desk organizer holds her school stuff, the little 3-drawers hold her makeup inside and on top.

I also got her a cute Lily Pulitzer agenda because she loves using them and helps keep her organized.  The desk drawers hold other school supplies and extra light bulbs, batteries and such.

Quirky Pivot Power 6 Outlet Flexible Surge Protector Power Strip 

This is a great surge-protector I ordered from Amazon (Bed Bath & Beyond has them too).  It twists around things and is great for all those items that have large chargers. We fit it around her desk shelf and left a few open for all those other things that need charging.  Any extension cords had to have an on/off switch or they would not be allowed.

Bed Post Shelf  

We also got her this handy dandy bunk bed shelf for her alarm and other essentials that must be within reach. The lil clip-on LED light is for reading in bed.  The shelves come in different sizes but I knew Alexa would have her bed against the wall so this was the only one that would fit well.

Gearbox Bedside Caddy
We also got her this little bedside caddy to hold her kindle and other reading materials. It tucks in nicely under her bedspread. A little note though...because her mattress is very light we had to buy mini clamps to clamp it to the underside of the bunk...just FYI. That way it stays in place.

This is her closet & door heading out to hall way (that's James getting in my picture hmmppffft lol).
We made it Alexa's dressing area and hung a bunch of 3M hooks for her necklaces, jewelry organizer and hat.  Her closet door also got 2 hooks for her towel-wrap and her purses. On the backside of her door is a full length over the door mirror as well.

In her closet we hung an over-the-door shoe hanger for shoes, belts, umbrella, tights, and other essentials. Obviously its not filled totally up yet but she forgot 4 prs of shoes which I had to ship to her.  Her boots are lined up in bottom of closet.

We bought her space-saving velvet hangers which make a HUGE difference in your closet. Definitely worth the $$ for the amount of space they save.
** We also got her 2 stick-on lights for the closet because its pretty dark in there--that way she can see easily for everything in the evening or early morning **

I hung 2 large 3M hooks on either side of her closet...one holds her laundry bag the and the other holds larger totes.  She has floor space for her boots and an almost empty bin for anything she might need to add or need room for. Her bookbag sits on top.  The robe hanging is actually mine..I've had it since I was pregnant with Alexa and she took it a few years ago...she loves it so I let her have it LOL.

At the top of her closet are a bin of laundry supplies including the cards and things I made for her last fall (See HERE).  A bottle of Febreze...cuz well it is college and you just never know LOL!  I got her Tide pods so she could grab a couple, add them to the bin and take down to the laundry room w/o having to carry a huge jug of detergent. Their laundry room is on first floor, has vending and tables for studying and HEY the machines TEXT YOU WHEN THEY ARE 5 MINS FROM BEING FINISHED and stay locked.  Now that's pretty cool!
The chevron bin holds her workout clothes for the gym so she can easily access them.
In all her bins and drawers that held clothes I added lil soaps to each...helps them smell nice and keeps bugs away..just a wee tip. Save the ones from hotels since they are perfect size.

Her apartment is 4 bedroom/2 bath style with wings...so her and her roomie are on one side of the kitchen/living room with a door and the other two are on the other side.  So the sink sits out at end of their hall and then the shower/toilet are behind a door.  We got Alexa these 2 drawer bins for her towels and cosmetics.  Her roomie went and got the same one so it was streamlined and neat...a trashcan sits in between. They are on wheels so they pull out and we loaded toilet paper at the very back of vanity so it was out of the way but accessible when they needed it.   I had Alexa's towels monogrammed in navy (from Pottery Barn Teen) and we got her this cool hot-tool hanging organizer.  It holds her hair dryer and curling wand easily and out of the way.
I'm making her a fancy acrylic tray for the things on top of the sink...shhh don't tell...will have that up on blog soon too.

The bathroom is tiny but big enough for them...however it was HARD to get a good picture LOL.
I got them a shower curtain from Pottery Barn Teen and the shower organizer.  On either side of the toilet we have bins with cleaning supplies, a plunger (cuz ya know) and a place for a few rolls of toilet paper and air freshner.

I didn't get a picture of the kitchen after we decorated...I totally forgot.  But they have a new, white microwave now and we added kitchen towels and a utensil holder for them. And some fun magnets on the fridge to add some color.  In the fridge we got Alexa 2 clear fridge bins to hold her food.  Each girl got a cabinet for their dishes and food storage.

This is one side of the living room...the other has a table & chairs and a couch.  Alexa's roommate's mom put up curtains on the window for some color and the girls have since added some art/posters to the walls.

Always a Daddy's girl!

So she's pretty set...I think the best thing about organizing is knowing who you are doing it for. For Alexa (a teen haha) I had to make it easily accessible so it would be used...and in a small space you gotta work with every inch.  I was happy that with what we did she had lots of room to grow including a rolling bin on backside of bed (you can't see it) that is still empty...so she can add more clothes that I seem to be sending down LOL!  Anyway she's set and she loves her room, so my work is done!

Ok I'm off to boo-hoo some more!  Will be back with some more posts really soon I promise!

Keep It Together!

Are you still a bit old fashioned and love to write your lists, reminders & appointments down?  You know, with pen and paper?  

That would be me...yes even though I do make lists and use my calendar on my iPhone I still prefer to see everything on paper...its just the way I am.  So that way I have bits of notepad paper and stickies everywhere...it makes me crazy half the time!

I have a HUGE chalkboard in my kitchen that I made last year (see post here) that I keep running lists & important dates on as well.  This is what it looks like currently....make you dizzy & tired yet?  Yeah me too but I have wiped a few things off the to-do list andddddd added things in their place LOL! And everything under Alexa's name are dates I have to remember...minus graduation and the party..those are burned into my memory!

This is just ONE page of some of the list titles I keep on my iPhone. I try to be diligent and erase them when I'm done so I don't have too much to page through. I keep all my grocery lists on my phone too and that way I can easily text a pic of it to the hubs or Alexa when I have them go in my place.  No some of the names make no sense to YOU...but they mean things to me...like ICE is my code name for the hubs LOL (In Case of Emergency it stands for really...it just kinda stuck lol).

I don't know if its my meds, me turning 40 or just too much going on but I have to have MANY VISUAL REMINDERS these days.  Heck I even send myself alert alarms on my phone to remind me of things...crazy eh?

And I keep a separate notebook for just blog and project ideas...it sits by my chair and I jot things in it regularly.  I tried to keep up with my Filofax but it just wasn't working...the size of the pages were too small for me and I needed something bigger.

This one is called "Jellies Be Jammin"..bwahahaha I love the name!

So I pre-ordered two of these super cute Lily Pulitzer Agendas (one for me & one for Alexa)...they are $28 for the Large Size although they do have smaller and larger versions too.  They ship out the end of June so plenty of time to get one.  I liked the layout and and size of the pages...plus they run thru Aug 14 thru Dec 15.  Hoping to combine my to-do dates with my to-do list and my blog project list in just ONE agenda...we shall see how this works out.

I had gotten Alexa an Erin Condren Agenda for Christmas and she loves it...she's always been one to utilize an agenda well.  Those you can customize how you'd like them too so that's a good option as well.  Now if I could get my son to do the same...hmmmmmmm

But the chalkboard and iPhone will still get used...trust me...the more help that I have these days the better.  

Now for someone to invent a personal assistant that I can fit in my pocket that will pinch me when I am forgetting something....I'd pay top dollar for that ;)

Before & After Bathroom Vanity!

Ready for Mess-a-Mess #2?

This area under my vanity was semi-organized over a year ago but it wasn't working...at all.

Sometimes you organize and you realize after awhile its just not working for you and you

gotta rethink the plan.  And my next bathroom will have vanities with drawers and pull-outs...not these gigantic spaces inside...so much wasted space ugh.

There ya go...the messy fun...actually it wasn't too bad...just needed to purge and figure out a new system.  I'm a hair product addict lover and I have fine, straight as an arrow hair, so I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for products that strengthen, smooth, volumize my hair.  Which means I have LOTS of hair stuffs in my vanity..oy vey. 

First things first...empty, purge, trash and create piles of "KEEPS".

Wipe down cabinet really good and lay down my zebra contact paper (from Amazon.com) that matches my bedside table drawers HERE.  Getting it around the pipes was a total pain-in-the-bum but I'm anal and it just didn't look right without paper...so I cut and patched and it doesn't match 100% but at least its covered. 

Now me being anal and looking at it after a good week...I want to paint the pipes...bright white...they look so ugly right? LOL another chore for another day.

And here she is all finished up.  I purchased new bins from Target...the two basket weave bins and the 3-drawer bin.  The patterned bag with handles is my Thirty-One makeup bag that stores all the makeup I use everyday and is easy to pack when I'm traveling.

The bin on top of the drawers holds my two hairdryers. Why two? Well one really nice one is for me...the other is for drying the dogs when they're bathed LOL..a cheap hairdryer for that.

The bin on the far right holds all my hair products...sprays, volumizers, mousses, leave-in conditioners, you name it...but the taller bottles stay nicely in there and I can pull the whole bin out if needed.

The front open white bin holds products I use on a daily basis...lotions, hairspray, detanglers, my mousse.  Easy to see and grab.  In the very back is my Nail Bin and extra stuff like handsoaps (I buy in bulk on sale from Bath & Bodyworks) and cotton balls and Q-Tips.

The drawers aren't labeled...why...because its my vanity and no one goes in there or searches for anything.  I know what each drawer holds LOL.  The top drawer holds extra facial cleaning wipes, my Clarisonic and charger, makeup sponges, extra moisturizers.  Middle drawer holds makeup samples and other nail products that doesn't fit in my Nail Bin.  Bottom drawer holds extra makeup, eye shadows, bronzers and things I use seasonally.  I don't wear the same makeup in the fall/winter that I do in the summer when I'm tanner....so I switch it out of my makeup bag and its stored in that drawer neatly.

This is the top of my vanity...James' vanity is across from the shower so we each have our own.  I keep things on my counter but it has to be NEAT or it makes me crazy.  

So I have a clear square bin (from Target) that holds all my body sprays and perfumes.  If you've read my blog before you know my MAIN scent/perfume is CLEAN...love them & worn them for at least 12 years. They have different varieties and I have them all but my fave is always Cotton T-Shirt Clean...just depends on my mood. But I love them because they are fresh smelling and never overpowering...if I smell it all day I will be sick with a migraine..these don't do that to me.  I'm also a body spray addict but I only keep a few of my faves on the counter along with 2 travel sized ones I can quickly grab and stash in my bag.  See my brass face/makeup mirror?  I need a chrome face mirror to match the other chrome fixtures but you know what?  They aren't cheap and I've had this brass version for over 14 years and well...it just works..I probably should spray paint it huh? LOL!

My little clear lazy-susan is from Target too and it holds all my face products I'm currently using.

My medicine cabinet holds the rest trust me...it needs to be purged next so wait on that :)

But a container holds my cottonballs & Q-Tips and then my favorite Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads, moisturizers and serums.  I love that I can spin it around and it holds everything neatly.

I also lined both of my vanity drawers with my zebra contact paper.  This drawer holds extra makeup, makeup samples I'm trying out and my collection of lip balms and glosses. I cannot stand dry hands or lips...hence my love for all my many lotions and balms. So this clear organizer holds all kinds of lip glosses and balms that I can grab quickly when I'm in the bathroom....also all my eye creams are in here.  I'm slightly obsessive about wrinkles around my eyes...so anytime I'm in the bathroom I grab an eye cream and dot it around my eyes...probably 3 times a day.  Yeah I know...but I have such dry skin and its like my body never has enough moisture...so eye creams, lotions and lip balms are my saviors especially in the wintertime :)  

Shhhh Don't Judge!!

The other drawer is not that exciting...it just holds my brushes, mirror, hairdryer nozzles and a small bin of clips, hairbands and bobby pins.  Along the side are my scissors for trimming my bangs and split ends which I do monthly.

And last but not least...I added a kitchen sponge/mop holder (Target) to the inside of one of my cabinet doors.  It had suction cups but they slid right down the door ugh...so I fixed that with my 3M hooks quickly.  It holds my curling iron which I hate seeing on my counter...makes me crazy. So this solution worked well...the side of it is made for a sponge but I didn't care about that so much. My curling iron is large barreled so I had to make sure it fit through the hole and this was the only one that worked.  So I have an extra space for something...give me time and I will fill it :)

Done, diggety-dog, Done!  Now to do hubby's vanity which is actually not really that messy, just needs some organization.  Hubby asked if I was lining it with zebra contact paper too...duhhhh yessss...its gotta match and at least its brown and not HOT PINK ZEBRA! ;)

So sometimes the organization you start with stops working after awhile...then you have to figure out a new plan and see what works best for you.  More work yes..but in the end it is so much better!!!  It makes me happy to open the cupboard now and see tidiness...almost like I could squeal each time...but I won't...that may be over the top huh?

What have you reorganized lately?
*****

I'm entering this into the following fun Linky Parties:

Your Homebased Mom 
Suburbs Mama
A Bowl Full of Lemons
I Heart Organizing

Baring It All!

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....

I have a dirty little secret to share.

I'm so ashamed.

Well not really <ha> but it did bother me and its one of those things that 

NEVER got put on the "list".

My bedside table drawer...look with fingers over your eyes ok?

Everything was just thrown in there...it hurt hubby's eyes to look at it.

Ok Ready?

Thar' she is folks in all her glory!  Old clipped recipes, old lotions, medicines, nail stuff, cords, you name it.

Messy, messy, messy...phew now that I shared my dirty secret

its time to deal with it right?

First things first...empty it out..sort out trash and make new piles.

Then wipe down drawer well and clean everything up.

I got myself some snazzy brown zebra contact paper at Amazon.com...two rolls for a great price.

Y'all KNOW how I love my zebra stuff :)

My Target lacks in good selection of contact paper but Amazon has TONS of cute styles.

Look at that paper in all her glory...BEAUTIMOUS!!!

It makes me giddy :)

And drawer is all sorted, cleaned and unnecessary items removed.

Yes we have a landline phone in the bedroom...everyone should just in case...but more

importantly it is intercommed to 3 other phones on each level of my house.

Ya know...so I can yell at people when I need em ;)

And a pic of me and Alexa when she was little and a Precious Moments the kids bought me

for Mother's Day one year...ya know special things.

And the DIY Petite Tray I made HERE.

What did I keep:

Pens & paper for all my random notes I scribble at night.

Lotions..I hate dry hands & I apply it all the time and I like variety people.

My solitaire game...I like to play some nights when I wake up & can't sleep.

Nail stuff, vaseline for lips and some old notes/bookmarks that my daughter made when she was young.  Granted they should be in a scrapbook but I like to take them out & read them on occasion :)
I only put in 2 small organizers...I actually keep a planner/notebook in this drawer for ideas and blog ideas...but it was downstairs when I took photos. So I needed to leave space for that.

Much better now...we can all breathe a HUGE sigh of relief...heehee.

Well now hubby can...he'd come over and see that mess and sigh & shake his head.

I won't show you HIS garage though...hmmmppppfffffffttttt!

Here is that area in all its glory now.

I am a magazine addict reader and there were 3 stacks about 15 magazines high.

I refused to take a picture..it was that embarrassing.  But I put stickies in my magazines for pages I want pictures of or tear outs so they tend to pile up quickly.

But its all better now too....phew....glad that's done with!

Next up....my bathroom vanity...it was organized but it just didn't work well for me.

So I changed it up and made it pretty along the way.

Stay tuned........