organizing products

Beautifully Organized Recipes

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How was your Thanksgiving weekend? Did you eat a lot of turkey?  I was fortunate to spend the holiday with my family.  My husband, the chef of the day, made the most delicious meal: turkey, mushroom and thyme mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, onion rolls, and to top it off pumpkin pie. Yum!

Speaking of food, how do you all organize your family recipes?  I currently organize digitally, most of the recipes that I find in magazines, blogs, etc. (Evernote is great for that),  but  there are  special family recipes I've been meaning to write down (like  the recipe for mom's menudo, grandma's tortillas, etc.) and keep in something beautiful and tactile.  I was delighted to find several lovely options:

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Love that this on is monogrammed and is clear so you can show off pretty recipe cards:

Speaking of pretty recipe cards...

Recipe Binder

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Hi all! Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Wanted to share with you the lovely little binders pictured above, I came across recently. They're made of hard wearing cloth and decorated with folio embossed kitchen symbols on the spine and on the front. So perfect for beautifully organizing recipe tearsheets and online printouts. Bummer they don't sell 'em in the States (the company Bookbinders Design is based out of Stockholm).

p.s. In case you missed it...more stylish binders and a pretty pink recipe box.  

image credits: 1- photography by ditte isager for donna hay magazine via dustjacket attic, 2 & 3 - recipe kitchen binder by bookbindersdesign

Stylish Binders

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I use 3-ring binders for storing and organizing everything from project files and business receipts, to magazine tearsheets and recipies. I currently have basic white inexpensive ones in a variety of sizes, which I keep lined up in an office cabinet. For binders I use frequently, I'm thinking it'd be nice to upgrade to something that's stylish enough to leave out on an open shelf for easy access. Russell + hazel binders in a fun color {as seen below} would do nicely.
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image credits: 1-russell + hazel, 2-country living via everything fab, 3-from the russell + hazel 2010 catalog via dress design decor

Portable Storage Baskets

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A tote basket is a beautiful solution for containing and conveniently transporting files and/or project supplies from room-to-room.

Picture 8 image via domino

I'm loving these hand-woven fair trade imports from Tango Zulu:

P.S. You can also use 'em as market totes, magazine holders, picnic baskets...there's a multitude of uses!

Beautiful Storage: Semikolon

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home of Sabrina Linn as seen in Canadian House and Home

Chances are you've seen Semikolon boxes before. Maybe in inspirational images like the one above, or at the store {Container Store and Barnes and Noble carries them}. I had seen and admired few pieces myself here but never paid attention to who made them. When I found out a company called Semikolon made them, I immediately popped on over to their website and was in awe at how fabulously extensive their collection was. Being the geek that I am, I get excited about things like this!

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They make a nice variety of pieces most which come in a choice of several beautiful colors! Here's a quick look at a few:

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L: desktop file; R: document box
acordionfileboldmagazinebox
L: accordion file; R: magazine box
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multimedia box
SemikolonDocumentBoxAutmnColl_x
document box
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L: photo library; R: photo box

Find Semikolon products by googling them - different retailers and online shops carry a different selection.

Paring Down: Laundry Products

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A few of you emailed me asking about small space solutions for your laundry spaces. I myself have a small space.-so I hear ya! One tip is to pare down as much as possible the products you have. It's easy to go on product overload especially if an area is cluttered and you don't realize you already have a certain type of product and so go out and buy another one.Take a look at your current stash. Gather everything in one area and group like items. Look at how much space you have and consider giving away any multiples to allow room for everything to fit nicely. Don't pour them down the drain or throw them in the trash though! A lot of laundry products are toxic so please take them to your local household hazardous waste collection center if you don't want to give them away.If you decide to keep multiples, commit to using them. Place the items which are closest to being empty in the most accessible spot-like the front of a shelf. Multiples can go right behind, down below or up top. The goal is to pare it down to just a few products-preferably ones that multi-task and/or don't take up a lot of valuable space. When buying new products remember bigger isn't always better or more economical -be sure to check the price per load.

Here's a look at my picks:

oxicleanfree method-freeandclear.ashx

OxiClean Free -non-chlorine solution for removing stains and whitening {great for white linens!} Method Laundry Detergent- plant based, non-toxic, biodegradable, and comes in a compact bottle The Laundress Delicate Wash -another non-toxic, biodegradable product -this one for delicate items Dryer Balls Although they're a reusable alternative to dryer sheets, I've come to discover {and been turned off by the fact} that dryer balls are made of PVC {Polyvinyl chloride = toxic plastic}. A better alternative? Wool dryer balls or vinegar. Vinegar - to soften fabric, reduce static and prevent wrinkles

Do you have a favorite laundry product?

Laundry Organization: Hampers

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Whether you do laundry at home, take it to the laundromat, or a shared laundry room, organizing and streamlining it starts with the hamper. Hampers placed in convenient areas where you tend to remove your clothes, like the closet or the bathroom, keep dirty clothes off the floor and contained in one spot.
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A great option, if you have the space for it, is one that's divided into two or three sections {one for lights, one for darks, etc}. This option saves time on sorting since it allows you to simply throw your clothes into the appropriate sections as you take them off.
With the same idea in mind, you can get multiples of the same hamper one for each section you want. {Tip: rectangular (as opposed to round) ones are best for this purpose as they make better use of space when arranged side by side.}
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To minimize struggling while transporting the laundry or to avoid transferring clothes into a separate laundry bag, opt for a hamper that's not too heavy and you're comfortable carrying or one with a built-in removable bag {like the one pictured below right}.
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I'm loving this one {shown below} in classic black and white stripes from Etsy seller FlauraDesign, which has hook and loop fastners that make the bag easy to attach and remove.
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P.S. She also has a cute yellow and white striped one -check out her shop here.
If you're short on space, use one that will take advantage of vertical space like those that hang on a door or hook. To make it easy to deposit dirty clothes, use something like this for your drawstring laundry bag {pictured below left}. You can also make your own by using an embroidery hoop as seen in the photo below right from Martha Stewart.
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