Saturday, January 31, 2009

Video: 16 more quick tips for Home Office Organization

Here are 16 more quick tips for organizing a home office, especiallyy if you're short on space.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Help someone in need

Do you have a friend or neighbor who's feeling the pinch? Are they scrimping on groceries? Tightening their belt?

As you're going through the Sunday paper or coupon books, save coupons that they might find useful.

You could even clip coupons and put them in a folder labeled coupons and leave it at church for others to add to and use.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Video: Organizing Home Office Supplies


I don't know which I love more: office supplies or organization. This clip reminds us to stock office supplies and keep them organized and handy.

Go ahead and test those pens, pencils (sharpen if needed) and highlighters. Get rid of any that don't work.

Purge the trash, old to do lists, and paperwork you don't need. Start with one cubbie or just a square foot of desk space. That'll be your starting point.

Friday, January 23, 2009

A decorative idea for readers



I just love love love this bookshelf. One day soon I'm going to have to get these for my library.


I think that interesting collections of books (I'm totally hooked on books) make a great finishing touch to any room. Think coffee table, kitchen, entry way, bedside table. And you know me, I'm also hooked on anything that will help me stay organized or display my faves. I don't have many collections or displays, but I do have a billion books... :)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Purple Petunias


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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Video: Organizing a Closet

This is a great video to remind us all of what we've (most of us anyway) heard before. A simple, quick way to start off a new year right.

So hop to it. Organize those closets.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wordless Wednesday



So I'm just getting around to showing off my Christmas decor... If you're totally sick of Christmas, sorry!

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Product Review: Pedi Paws

Rating: 5 stars

I have three cats and a dog. The cats don't mind getting their nails trimmed that much. Tip: wrap them in a snuggy towel. Stick out one paw at a time and talk softly.

But with the dog... I'm never sure exactly how much to cut and I get the feeling he knows it. I've never cut too much, but I'm still apprehensive.

Enter the Pedi Paw.

I love this thing. And I think that the dog does too. He lays quietly and let's me file his nails. I file his nails more often than I'd cut, but it works for us. The motor seems strong enough and you get an extra sanding wheel which I'm sure I'll need in a few months. All in all, definitely worth the investment.

Get yours:

Monday, January 12, 2009

Organizing Tip: Earrings

A few years ago my mom gave me a big jewelry box. We're talking one with lots of drawers, a mirror, wings, and legs. It's pretty tall. And I love it. I love having all my jewelry organized.

But I have a bad habit of taking of my earrings wherever my ears start to hurt. Which is usually in bed while I'm reading, after I've gotta all snuggled in. Yes, I usually forget to take my jewelry off before getting into bed. And you know, once I'm all snuggled into a warm bed, only a fire or a sick pet could get me out.

So I take the earrings out and put them in my nightstand so they don't get lost. I've learned to embrace my quirks.

Which is why when I was organizing the other day and found an old, small jewelry box, I stuck it in my night stand to hold the jewelry that I tuck away in there. I've found that once it's full I can just take it back to the big box and put things away.

Lazy? Yes. Organized? Yes. Work for me? Yep.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Inspired by...

I love finding new inspiration on others blogs. I have an eye out for new chairs and I came along this post. What a difference paint and fabric make! I'm totally inspired! Now to find a chair like that.

Home & Life goals


It's goal time here at A Walk in the Garden and boy do I have lots of them. I talked before about my blog goals for 2009, but today I'm talking a little more about Home & Life goals.

In the last year or so I've been really concentrating on quality. Quality furniture, rather than disposable good for now furniture. Substance. And making our house a home. A home to me is a warm cozy place with softly glowing lamps, soft rugs, plush cushions, and snuggly blankets. It's clutter free and is full of favorite accessories, memories and pictures. It's the little things. The finishing touches. The pleasant smell in each room. It's the warm smile after a long day. It's a pot of coffee in the morning. It's afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows or a brand new day at dawn's first light. It's organized and serene. It's a safe haven from the world. A home is taken care of just as it takes care of you.

I have plenty of goals and resolutions for 2009. Resolutions follow me all year long. Things like being punctual, smiling more, commenting on others blogs. Goals, however, I've broken down monthly. I think having a deadline will help.

I haven't decided the difference between goals and to do lists yet. So for now, I just write things down that need to get done, feelings I want to achieve, things I want to accomplish.

So for January a few of my goals include:
* take down Christmas decorations
* decorate for Valentine's Day/Winter
* update the family address book (we use Highrise HQ)
* get rid of an old couch we never use
* sell our secondary car that we never use
* have friends over for a nice dinner
* reorganize master closet

For more goal inspiration...

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Video: Organizing Lipstick


I love all things organizational. This video combines going green with being organized. While it looks a little labor intensive, it could be a fun project for a rainy Sunday.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Finishing Touches

I always love a well finished room, don't you? Welcome to Finishing Touches Friday... where I look at the finishing touches that make a house a home. You might find pictures from my own home, links to other blogs, or even catalogs.

Hooked on Houses is having a party and I thought I'd join in with a little something I'm hooked on.

The door of our home office has a problem staying open...so I'm totally hooked on attractive doorstops! Isn't this one beautiful? It's from Ballard Designs. And I'm not totally shocked by the price. $25. Get yours here.


Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

How To: Christmas Storage

I wrote an article last year for ehow.com, including pictures, on how to Pack Your Christmas Decorations using Recycled Materials. I thought I'd send you over there for your How To Tuesday to check it out.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Organizing Tip #1: The Shower



One piece of organizing advice that's always stuck with me is the idea of keeping your sink clean. Why? Because having one area spotless, a central area to your life (and the heart of your home) will make you feel good. It looks good to see a nice empty, clean sink. Especially when everything else is chaotic around you.

This past weekend I started thinking maybe the same could be said for the shower.

Since this is usually your first or second stop of the day, wouldn't it be nice to get into a nice clean, organized shower every morning? And wouldn't it be nice to be able to put your hands on exactly what you need to get clean?

So take 5 minutes today to give your shower a once over. I have a few tips below:

  • Start by getting rid of old bottles, old soaps, anything that hasn't been used in a while.
  • Toss anything that could be collecting bacteria into the sink or hamper. Bottles, scrubbers, washclothes... it's time to make your shower shine.
  • Once your shower is empty, give it a good once over with a sponge and a cleanser.
  • If you have serious grime, consider a product you can spray and leave on, and then come back to later.
  • Rinse/wipe all the bottles and things as you put them back in the shower.
  • Does your shower have a liner? Does it need cleaning? If you have glass doors, shine the outside as well as the inside.
Hopefully by now your shower is a little cleaner, a lot more sparkly and organized too.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Printables: Goals


Here's a great worksheet for listing your goals, dreams, and desires. Print it out and fill it out today. There's no time like the present to start living the life you've always wanted. One of the best first steps to achieving is writing it out. This will make the planning that much simpler.

More helpful worksheets available at thenest.com.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Preparing for a new year...


A few weeks ago I started thinking about my goals and resolutions. That's not unusual for me at this time of year. I did something a little different and already I'm seeing incredible results.

While thinking about my goals, I find it's best to write them down. Keeping track of that piece of paper is another matter entirely. This year I also listed projects I'd like to complete, personal goals, professional goals, blogging goals.

I listed a lot of goals! :)

When I thought about blogging in 2009, I decided I wanted to be more consistent. In the past I've posted sporadically.

I love helping people get organized, decorate their homes, get rid of clutter, or learn something new. I love being surrounded by a warm, happy, nurturing environment and I know there are many more like me.

One of the ways I learn is by writing things down. I've done research in the past and posted little snippets of information to my blog. This is as much to learn it and remember it and have a reservoir for that information as it is to share it with others.

So I thought about all of that and of what I can share and teach others through my blog.

And I wrote down more lists.

Using blogger's post in the future feature will let me write up tips and articles, pre-program pictures and then forget about it. Thus being more consistent. There's still plenty of on-the-spur-of-the-moment blogging to be done, but there's also plenty that I can write ahead of time and post/schedule.

I've got lots of wonderful things ready to share: product reviews, snippets of wisdom (from other sources/books), wordless Wednesdays, how tos, organizing and decoration tips, books worth reading, worksheets and cheatsheets, and even awesome videos.

If this sounds good to you, go ahead and follow me/add my RSS feed to your feed reader. Or take the RSS address and stick it into rssfwd.com to get an instant, daily or weekly email from my blog.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year