tidying up.

i don't like clutter, but i am a clutter bug. i'm not proud of it, but i own up to my transgressions. it's kind of like ryan reynolds: i'm sure he doesn't like being rediculously good looking, but it's his curse and he has to live with it. i try to avoid clutter in my home, but sometimes i get a little lazy and let the clutter runneth over. sue me. in an effort to avoid dirtying up certain areas of my home, i took a couple of preventative measures yesterday.

After nearly spraining my ankle for the third time, i decided to do something about the shoes that were strewn about the entrance to my back door. i really like trays. i don't know what it is, but if you set something on a tray, its appeal doubles. for example: car keys and junk mail = not cute. car keys and junk mail on a chevron tray = cute.

see what i mean? trays organize the chaos with minimal effort and maximum wow factor. i picked up my copper cutie from target. it's from the smith and hawken line and retails for $24.99. i had a coupon and got it for a mere $20.00. not too shabby considering its size. i'd like to tackle a DIY version of the chevron tray pictured above sometime soon. my to do list is increasing exponentially.

i was inspired to organize my makeup and jewelry drawer after looking at this photo from martha stewart:

before tackling this ten minute project, it looked like the top of my bedroom dresser threw up on itself with jewelry scattered here, there and everywhere.

case in point. the bedroom should be tranquil and calming, but how can i get my chillaxin' on if i have jewelry, basketball ticket stubs, clothing tags and other random trinkets litterered across the top of my dresser? and, yes, that is a copy of the giving tree up there. i don't have homeboys, but if i did, shel silverstein would be one of them. anywho, here's my version of martha's ingenuity:

of course my saucers and teacups aren't as cute as madame stewart's but they are all items i had sitting around the house. i like free better than cute...sometimes. i relocated all of my jewelry to a drawer in my bathroom so it is out of sight and out of mind. in the past, i always walked from my bedroom to put on my earrings (call it a lack of hand/ear coordination), so it just made sense to put it in the bathroom. that meant that i had to go through the makeup that previously inhabited the drawer and throw away the items that were past their prime. it was long overdue.

there you have it. no ground breaking, earth shattering changes. just a few little tweaks that make me way happier than they should.