arianna belle

A good tip for magazines that are current reading material is to store them wherever you tend to do most of your reading. Here, a basket next to the sofa makes them easily accessible, perfect for reading while lounging:

You could follow the same idea and place a basket or rack next to or under your nightstand if you read in bed.

Or near your desk if you tend to do your reading there:

Maybe you have a desk that has built-in storage, like the one shown above right (lucky!). Since chances are you don't, you could consider creating your own storage using display shelves. A magazine wall like this one shown below would be perfect for an office or breakfast nook:

In a later post I'll go over ideas for storing larger collections of back issues saved for future reference, so stay tuned for that!

image credits: 1 -via plantation design, 2- anthology, 3 -cupcakes and cashmere, 4 -found via pinterest, 5-lonny, 6- made by girl

The How I Organize series, which gives us a peek at how others organize their homes, is back! I've got some fabulous participants lined up. First up is my friend and Seattle-based interior decorator, Maggie of Maggie Rose Interiors (who just launched a new e-book!). She shares with us today how she organizes her bathroom cabinet:

Our apartment has no under-sink storage, but it came with a generously sized cupboard in the corner near the door. It's not the prettiest thing to look at, but it holds a LOT of stuff! It's nice to have everything at eye-level instead of getting down on your knees on the bathroom floor to dig stuff out from under the sink.

The top shelf (out of my reach!) holds infrequently used items like beach towels, a small tub for soaking, and back-up bulk kleenex. The next shelf holds back-up toilet paper (we keep 3 rolls in a glass vase near the toilet so guests don't have to scrounge), once-in-a-while beauty and health products, travel supplies in a shoebox, and our first aid kit (blue bin on the right). The third shelf from the top holds towels (holds up to four plus our two in rotation), hand towels, cleaner, and the heavy kitty litter box - I wish there was a better place to stash that, but the litter box is in the bathroom, so it makes sense. The bottom shelf is the most frequently used and easiest to reach. I have a basket for everyday items (hairdryer, etc), occasional items (feminine products, curling iron), and the basket on the right holds all the washcloths. It's not uber-glamorous but it IS uber-functional and I can find everything quickly. Maybe someday I'll get around to painting or wall-papering the inside, but for now, it does its job!