Living Better With Less... 'All or Nothing' Attitude

Being a realist, I've never understood the idea of 'all or nothing'. The thought that if you can't do something all the way or completely perfect (whatever happens to be your definition of perfect) that you wouldn't do anything at all seems a bit extreme and rather ridiculous. Now of course there may be exceptions to this rule (there always are), but here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:

• living a more environmentally conscious life; instead of thinking you can't or won't completely change your lifestyle try just changing your lightbulbs to CFL, buy more locally grown food, switch to reusable bags, or whatever you know you can do and feel good about.
• dieting; you couldn't resist a home made brownie at a party. This doesn't mean you have to throw your diet out the window. Just say oh well, enjoy the brownie and get right back to it.
• home organizing/design; you know your home will never look like a page out of Real Simple magazine, but why not tackle one closet or one area of the home like your kitchen? Just having that one thing makes most people feel so much better...

Clever Wine Storage

If you only have a few bottles of wine and don't want them on display, don't have a wine cabinet or rack, and/or can't find a wine rack you like or fits your budget or space, try using a bookend. Pictured above is a simple L shaped metal one from Muji (can't find it online, but are available at Muji stores or the MoMA Store). I've also used a 6" acrylic riser laid like a U to hold bottles the same way. This solution also works in the fridge...

Living Better With Less... Shame

(right)

(left)

Many clients express some level of embarrassment or shame on how their space looks. Afraid of how others, even I, will judge them for the condition of their home. While I understand why someone would feel that way, the reality is I give all my clients serious props for reaching out and asking for help to make their homes and lives better.

Beyond that, one of the skills that allows me to do my job is that I don't see how things are, but rather how they could be. I see the potential, the way a client's things could be rearranged and repurposed to create a beautiful functional space that the client can enjoy. It's what get's me excited to dig in and get started!

Apartment Progress... Bookshelves

Just a quick post to show you some more shots of the third bookshelf. My sister-in-law is at the hospital now delivering my first niece so I need to keep it quick!

I'm so glad I got it, it looks so much better than just the two. The black candelabra is not going to stay there, in it's place I'm looking for either a sconce or table lamp. The empty center shelf is for new books. The boxes on the bottom hold misc papers. For more info and pics, visit my Flickr page :O)

Apartment Progress... Dressing Area Finished!

(the last time you saw it, with my summer wardrobe)

(now with my winter wardrobe and new drawers)

After living with the dressing area as it was (first pic), I decided I needed more storage. I thought about getting a dresser or small chest of drawers but wanting to keep with a (semi-)minimalist feel for the apartment, needed to keep all the clothes storage along this wall. I envisioned a line of drawers that would give me storage as well as second shelf for open storage.

I looked around quite a bit for the perfect drawers; ones that looked great, not super expensive, and are the right dimensions... Making sure the drawers would sit back a little and not line up with the front of the existing shelf was important to keep the area from looking too packed in.

I eventually settled on these from Muji, one of my favorite places! The drawers are the same translucent white plastic as the Make-Up Bins I've spoken about before and are stackable. They weren't cheap, between $10.95 (1/2 drawer) - $18.95 (double drawer) but considering how they fit the space perfectly, look great, and are a good quality, I think they're totally worth it.