Luv Your Luggage

Baggalini Quilted Rolling Tote

Say HELLO to my lovely new piece of luggage!  

I've had my eye on this adorable bag by Baggalini for quite a while, and the moment 

I got notice that it went on sale at The Container Store I ran in there and bought it.  

It was absolutely perfect for my quick trip last weekend to Vegas for a friend's birthday.

I love how it has such large pockets that fit everything including my clothes, a laptop, my toiletry bag and a few pairs of shoes.  It also unzips in the middle to lay flat which is great for packing it up.

The best part about it is that it can fit everything I need and it fits under the seat on the plane.  Seriously!!

Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube

This organized packer always uses these amazing cubes from Eagle Creek to keep my clothes from getting wrinkled.  It also makes packing and unpacking a breeze.  

I was able to fit two (double-sided) cubes in my bag.

I swear that I was skipping through the Vegas airport- I'm sure the other travelers were sure that I had just hit the jackpot, but no one could have guessed that I was just giddy about my luggage.  

Wow, I AM a nerd!

~Leah 

Organizing Nerds

I attended an awesome presentation last night with NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers).  Vendors from companies that sell organizing products came to visit us and unveil some of their new products.  

My fave was the representative from Post-It... and it was pretty hysterical as he brought out each new tab, label, bright sticky pad, and pen because the whole group was oohing and aahhing in delight!  We were laughing together at being such organizing nerds.  

I mean, who freaks out about post-its?!  

Check these out:

This cool envelope also has a mini pocket for a business card.

This clear tab is great for marking a spot in a book- 

You can write a note on it and still see the words underneath.  Pretty nifty!

A pen, a highlighter, and sticky tabs?!  Shut the front door!!

~Leah

Leah: 1 Ikea: 0

Do you recognize this funny looking guy?  

Well, if you do then you have assembled a lot of Ikea furniture just like me.  And let me tell you, being familiar with this strange Ikea Assembly Man is not always a good thing.  I have cursed at him MANY times for being so unclear.  

 

It all started when my best friend and I moved into our first apartment in Manhattan after college.  We insisted on building all of our furniture ourselves, despite both of our mothers telling us it wasn't a good idea.  Hours later, with tears in our eyes and blisters on our hands we admitted that maybe they were right.

Now, almost ten years later I am still putting together Ikea furniture and staring at the instruction booklet (that has NO WORDS!!) with a look of confusion.  But I am happy to say that yesterday I assembled a new freestanding wardrobe for my bedroom in record time.  Yay!  It was really great to be able to move some of my clothes out of the guest room and sort through the stuff I never wear.  

So, thank you Ikea Assembly Man.  It was nice working with ya (for once!). 

~Leah

Book Clutter?

A family I have been working with has a very large book collection... very large, people!  

We have spent quite a few days working on sorting through their books, organizing them by categories, and then finishing up by putting them in chronological order.  It's been a fun project and my arm muscles are getting a workout from carrying all those books!

 

I used to keep all my books, but recently I have decided to donate most of them.  I just didn't want any "book clutter" and I would rather use my shelf space for other things.  It has been interesting to see how important books are in some households and how much space is dedicated to them.

So, here are my questions: 

Do you have a large book collection?  

Did you keep all your books from school?  If so, why did you keep them? 

Do you find yourself looking at the books again and even reading them?

Would you ever consider books as clutter?

~Leah

(photo credit: recent settlers)

An Unexpected Arrival

Three days ago, this little guy joined our family.  

We hadn't planned on getting another kitty.  Our cat, Diego, has been our main focus for so many years and it's not a secret that we are completely obsessed with him.  We always thought that it would be too stressful for him to get a "sibling."  

But then our friend sent us a photo of a tiny kitten that was found in a tire... and we couldn't resist.

Pono (the Hawaiian name was inspired by our recent honeymoon to Kauai) is so adorable.  He has more energy than I've ever seen and has been creating a bit of havoc in our house.  Let me just say that this organized girl is a bit worried about the mess of toys, litter, and towels that are all over the living room.  But it's totally worth it!  He's the best!  

I did label his binder with the notes from the vet... I had to do something!

~Leah

Just Dreamin'

Some days... well, most days... I dream of having a closet that I can fill entirely with crafts and gift wrapping supplies.  I think it would look something like this.  

I seriously love everything about this photo; the rolls of wrapping paper mounted to the wall, a rainbow of ribbon choices inside a trunk (so cool!), labeled bins on the shelves for projects.  Not to mention the lovely curtains and rug... aaahhh, I WANT IT!!  

What do you dream about having in your home?

~Leah

(Photo Credit: RealSimple.com)

Turn it up!

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of my morning working on my files.  I had obviously put it off for a while since I found articles and bills from around January and February that I hadn't filed yet!  Eek!  It's a good thing I have that "To Be Filed" letter tray, but it was getting way too packed.  

Since I knew this task may not be the most enjoyable thing to do, I decided to turn on some fun music to keep me motivated.  It worked!  Before long I was dancing around my little office space and the filing was all done.  yay!  

Here's a song I would highly recommend if you need some motivation: 

~Leah