Decluttering Your Living Space

Good morning.  It is a beautiful sunfilled day here in Atlanta. I hope that you are moving through your piles of stuff and clearing out.  As you keep going, you will find how much lighter you feel when you walk into the room.  I know that when I came from completing (along with my team) a 100,000 sq. ft. furniture showroom each market, I would walk into my small decluttered home and I instantly felt comfort.

In my earlier blogs, I have talked about decluttering your closets and starting with small areas of space.  I believe by now you are getting the hang of it.  So let's look at ways to organize what you still want to keep.

Do you have a good bit of  framed family photos that are sitting on furniture?  Or lying in a drawer or book somewhere?  Do you want to display them but do not want one more thing to dust?  I would suggest that you pick your favorites first.  A great way to display them is on the wall.  If they are family photos I usually prefer to hang them down the hall or in a home office.  I would choose at least 3 different frame styles to use.  First arrange them on the floor in front of the wall area you want to use.  Try placing them 2-3" apart and grouping them together.

With the remaining photos, scan them into a computer and save them on a disk.  Or you can take them to a shop that will do this for you.  I suggest organizing them by family members, events or dates. Label the disk and purchase a disk storage for them.  I would place them in a fireproof safe in the attic or basement.

I hope that these suggestions are helpful to you.  Less clutter will free you.

Til tomorrow.....

Declutter Your Closets

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and your day was filled with friends, laughter and fireworks.  Fireworks, doesn't it just intrance you with all the burst of colors against the blackness of the night?

I have written the past few blogs about concentrating on small areas of your interior spaces.  I know this takes time, but remember it is just one area at a time.  Before you know it your room, your home, your garage will be organized.  You will feel renewed.

Today, let's concentrate on your closets....yes, your closets.  If you open the door and everything falls on your head, it may take a little longer.  You may want to try the small area approach as to not overwhelm you.

As you look through your closet, remember my list from yesterday:
1. When was the last time I used it?
2. If it is a magazine (I get alot) it is there an article or photo that I like?
3. If it is clothes, when was the last time you wore it?
4. Still on clothes, are you keeping it because how much you paid?
5. Still on clothes, are you keeping it because you are really going to lose that 5 lbs?

Just think of the people who would love what you just look at in your closet.  This is a great way to give back to others.  We all are so blessed and there are plenty of people who would generally apprepriate your clothing and shoes.  When I moved I took clothes, shoes, hats, coats, and household items to the organization that helped abused women get into a home and on their feet.  This thought really helped me to look at that jacket that I bought but just never looked good with anything I put one.   You know that one right?

Once again, I am a visual person so I love photos to keep me inspired of a goal.

 Photos Nancy Price Interios

Cleaning, Cleansing, Detoxing

Yesterday I began ways to start cleaning and organizing.  Today I would like to focus on the throwing away of unneeded items.  I used to be a pack rat.  Moving two states twice, both my home and office), truly helping to look at things different.

As we discussed yesterday, take one area and concentrate on cleaning and throwing out.  I know this is hard.  But ask yourself these questions:

1.  When was the last time I used it?
2.  If it is a magazine (I get alot) it is there an article or photo that I like?
3.  If it is clothes, when was the last time you wore it?
4. Still on clothes, are you keeping it because how much you paid?
5. Still on clothes, are you keeping it because you are really going to lose that 5 lbs?
6. Accessories, do you really like it or are you keeping it because a friend/family gave it to you?

This is just a start.  I think of how much I do not like to dust.  The more items, the more dusting.

One of my readers emailed me directly yesterday and asked me about her home which she described as a small space.  The photos I had sent yesterday were of larger spaces to inspire to.  I moved from a larger home to a 900 square foot home in an historical area of Atlanta. There were no real closets and only one bathroom.  So I really had to go through my clothes and items I collected.  I was fortunate to have an attic I could stand in (I am 5'4").  I bought a wood rod and hooks that clasp on the beams to create clothing storage.  I put the clothes in closet bags and hung them on the rod.  I purchased plastic containers and stored seasonal items and ones that I do not use often in them.  Do not use cardboard boxes as this will attract roaches.

In my only linen closet, I went to a local discount store (grocery stores run specials on storage bins sometimes) and purchased clear plastic storage bins.  I placed all my first aid together, nail polish and removers togther, candles, etc.  I labeled the boxes so that I could easily pull out the container  as I needed them.  I stacked these on top of each other on the top shelf since I do not use these daily.

I suggest checking out websites such as IKEA andThe Container Store.  These have containers, I will write a blog on decorating and storage tips after this sessions of organizing.

Thank you for your comments and questions.  I truly welcome comments and emails.  Have a great and happy Fourth of July.   Thank all our past and present service men who give us the freedom we enjoy.

Summer Time and You Want Less Clutter

I know that anyone who knows me is laughing right now if they just saw my office. Unfortunately for my business, I can really make a mess when I start pulling an project together. Fabrics, tiles, paint, countertops, carpet and catalogs are laying everywhere in my library. The paperwork piles up on my desk and my floor. It gets crazy.

I went to work the other day and the piles were sitting on both sides of my laptop and even behind it. I walked in, saw the desk and I walked out.....no joking. A little while later I returned and thought, "okay, just put the piles on the floor, have a clear desk area and you can proceed". Which is exactly what I did.

This  event triggered a conversation with my director of marketing and she offered this. "Jan you love to blog, write a blog on decluttering". Whom better than a person who has experienced the clutter and is now removing it.

It's summertime and the living is easy, so let's get started making our living easy.

The next few blogs will be my steps,that hopefully you will follow along with me, to declutter and detox your life/living areas.

First, after moving my piles to the floor, my breathing got easier. I worked just on my desk.

Suggestion 1: Only take space or area at a time. Don't think about the piles, just one small area. By concentrating on one small space, when it is completing clean, clear and organized you feel like you have done something HUGE!!!

Clense, Detox, Decompressed.

To inspire us, below are some photos of very clean and organized spaces

Marcia Weber Horicultural Designer...Outdoor Gardens

When I started research for this blog, I dreamt of outdoor spaces to share laughter and great food with friends. I searched the internet, magazines and books for photos. As an artist, I love to paint outdoor living spaces so I knew visually what I wanted to share with my readers. When I volunteered at the Atlanta Symphony Showhouse in May, I was inspired by the design of a local horticulturist, Marcia Weber. I knew that I wanted to include photos of her designs in this blog.

Low and behold, I never expected to find that Marcia was raised in the county adjunct to the county where I was raised. In Mississippi, we would consider us neighbors. I was raised in Meridian, Mississippi and made my way to Atlanta via Houston, Texas and Bradenton, Florida. Marcia was raised on a farm in Noxubee County, Mississippi. She founded her company Marcia Weber Gardens to Love in 1979. Her creations have been featured in national and regional publications including Better Homes and Gardens, Atlanta Style and Design, Southern Living, House and Gardens, Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, and The Highlander. Her desgins vary from contemporary to classic. Marcia has appeared as a guest designer on Ground Breakers, HGTV’s premier landscaping television show.

It was great to find a fellow Mississippian living in Atlanta.

Michael Devine - Fabric Designer

As an interior designer, I love to read about and see each season collections of fabric designers. These wonderful designers who create for us such beautiful fabrics many times goes unnoticed. The fabrics they create inspire us. Their fabrics set the mood of the room and invites us to enter and stay.

One of these fabric designers is Michael Devine. He left career as a party editor for HFN magazine to follow his passion. Michael looked for over two and a half years before finding the perfect store. In 2006, he found just the place. His 1840's storefront,located in Kinderhook, New York, serves as his work and living space.

Michael's collection of fabrics use a classic design with contemporary styling. The hand stenciled look of his fabrics is accomplished by hand screening. Excitedly, while so many fabrics are made in Europe or Asia, this process takes place in Brooklyn, New York.

His collections has been featured in magazines such as Gardening, Elle Decor, Traditional Homes and Country Living. These fabrics can be purchased through your local interior designer.

Sex and The City 2

I went to see Sex and the City 2 yesterday. I enjoyed it. I know that it is not getting great reviews, but we did not fall in love the series of movies based on the storyline. No! We feel in love with the friendship, SHOES, jewlery, Fashion and did I mention SHOES.

So the movie did not fail us. An as an interior designer, I was so glad Carrie mentions that for the last two years her passion had been furnishing their very chic apartment. The fashion of our home is just as important as the Jimmy Choo shoes you have on your feet...lol.

The photos are the some of the designers that were used in the movie. Halston, flowing gowns, Rodrigo Otazu, wonderful jewelry, Robert Danes and Hats by Albertus Swanepoel. The hotel used in the movie is located in Morocco. More of this later.

I would love to hear what you the reader would like to blog about.