Blog - Graceful Order

Organizing your Car

October 9, 2013 · by Maria · 3 Comments

The day you get your minivan. The day that elation and depression collide. A mixture of excitement and resignation. Your chances of coolness have fled forever.

The thing is…they are SO darn practical that you knew it was a matter of time before you caved in. You are a minivan owner.

So here she is…look at those clean lines…those curves…that exquisite paint job that screams…P-R-A-C-T-I-C-A-L-!!!!

The truth is that I LOVE IT. The storage that a minivan offers is unmatched.

How to keep it clean: I try my very best to avoid eating in the car. If we are in a time crunch or going on a longer trip we do it but we (we means only me) try to avoid it. You have to be flexible with kids but I find that if I set the standard that we don’t eat in the car I end up having to clean up so much less. Even with “the standard” I end up picking up a bowl of Cheerios from the backseat every two weeks.

Here is the interior.

I keep a box of wipes and an umbrella in the front. The box of wipes fits on the floor in the very center and doesn’t move about because the umbrella keeps it put.

I basically don’t know what I did before baby wipes. I don’t recall my life before them. I am pretty sure I was miserable.

I put these hooks on the passenger seat to hold my purse while I drive. I flip them towards the back when I need them to hold groceries.

I have spilled the contents of my bag so many times after breaking hard. No more. You can find the hook HERE if you want to try it out.

Here is my favorite feature of this minivan (Chrysler Town & Country). The latch on the floor of the second row opens up and there is a world of storage under there.

On one side I keep a TON of grocery bags and a beach towel. In the next picture you can see the full size of this storage space because here it is only half-open.

Here is the other side fully open. Isn’t this space huge?!

There is a wagon full of toys, rain coats for the whole family, and large first aid kit under the tool kit (just in case I have to fully assemble my car roadside although I have AAA and a number of other roadside assistance programs).

Now the trunk. I only keep a small stroller in there since my 2-year old rarely uses a stroller when we are out.

I line the bottom of the trunk with a blanket that I can wash if it gets dirty from a spill or dirt from when I buy plants. If you ever need a blanket for the park, it’s there too.

On the side of the trunk I keep a roll of paper towel, cups, sunscreen and a bottle of water. I realize that you shouldn’t drink water that has been sitting in a car getting hot but I like having one there just in case someone starts choking while they are assembling the car roadside. Am I the only one that thinks of these things?

Don’t answer that.

So you have a minivan. You now make a new commitment to yourself. “I will never wear mom jeans. The minivan is as low as I will go”

This gives you hope for the future. You may still have a chance at being cool…when you are not driving, of course.

Share with me what else you store in your car. Do you have a minivan? Do you love it too?

Happy Organizing,

Maria

How to Fold T-shirts

September 26, 2013 · by Maria · 6 Comments

We are continuing the “how-to-fold” series and today we are folding t-shirts.

I fold all of our t-shirts in the way I am about to show you. Today we will be focusing on men’s t-shirts.

Do drawers like this look familiar to you?

I used to fold t-shirts this way and when my husband needed a shirt from the middle or bottom of the stack…the drawer looked like a category 5 storm had paid a visit.

The solution (and it really was a solution because its been years since I started the new folding method) was folding the t-shirts in fourths so that they all stand up in the drawer.

Here is how I fold a t-shirt. I picked the most wrinkled one for the pictures. I am smart like that.

Then the other side.

Then the bottom half.

Up to this point we all pretty much fold the same.

The next step is what made all the difference. Fold ONE more time.

In this case we are folding a white t-shirt with no design. If there were a design it would usually be visible after this last fold. This helps if you have a lot of t-shirts and end up pulling out the wrong one.

Now here is a folding tool that I started using this year. I.LOVE.IT.

The one that I have is from the Container Store so you can find it there as well. Right after I purchased it I found it for half the price on Amazon. Apparently, I am smart like that too.

You can find it HERE.

It’s basically the same steps but the tool makes it go much faster and the lines are cleaner. It helps to create a crisp fold like in the stores. Minus the wrinkles. No tool can help the wrinkles on this shirt. Except an iron. And I avoid those.

Next side.

Bottom.

Not quite done.

And then the last fold by hand so that you end up with fourths.

And then do it another 127 times and fill up your drawers!

Do the same for the under-shirts.

I use the dividers above for some of my drawers. You can find them HERE.

Some drawers I use no dividers at all like in the picture below. My son benefits from the dividers but my husbands drawers do fine without them.

This is one of my favorite organizing tips because it made such a difference in my home! I also find that I can fit more shirts per drawer.

Just make sure that the shirts are not jammed in the drawer. They should come out without much hassle.

Please share with me if you already do this or will you be re-doing some drawers this weekend?

Happy Organizing!

Maria

Organizing Your Purse

September 19, 2013 · by Maria · 16 Comments

Here is my purse. One of them. Same story with you I’m sure.

Now inside my purse.

You will notice that I place all the items vertically. I can easily see what is in there and easily pull out my wallet (not sure if that’s a good thing).

Most women have more than one purse. We usually rotate them and we do have a couple that are on the top of the rotation list.

I like this little purse. However, it doesn’t have as many pockets as I would like. Basically, no purse ever does.

So I purchased an inexpensive (as in under $5) little insert on Amazon. You can find different colors HERE.

Inside the insert I keep a diaper, a small wipes container, tissue, my wallet, a small bag that contains my sons epi-pen along with band-aids.

When I change purses I simply move the insert to the next purse.

Organizing Perfume and Cologne

September 16, 2013 · by Maria · 4 Comments

You already know that many of my organization ideas revolve around turntables. Revolve…haha!

I need to learn to focus.

Well, this is no exception. You may recall that I used turntables HERE in my linen closet and I use them in my kitchen as well. I usually purchase white ones. I added this stainless steel turntable to the Amazon store because I thought it was nicer for fancier items like perfumes.

{You can find the turntable HERE or in any home store that you frequent}

Here is the before picture.

I love how the perfumes look on the turntable! They are accessible and contained at the same time!

Don’t leave the hubby out in the cold. Lets work on his too!

And here is the after.

Simple idea but it really makes a difference!

Share with me where you store your perfume. In the bathroom, closet or bedroom?

🙂

Maria

Breaking out the Spray Paint

September 12, 2013 · by Maria · 5 Comments

This isn’t really a tutorial. Its more like an idea that you can apply to many things in your home.

Before I was introduced to how easy it is to spray paint an object, I would purchase gold picture frames when I was tired of the silver. I would want to replace weathered doorknobs instead of just repainting them and so on…

When you get into spray painting you start walking through your home (with a scary look in your eye) looking to see what’s next. What will you transform next?

I think everyone should have basic colors like an Silver, Gold, Antique Bronze, White, Heirloom White and Black in their spray paint arsenal.

In this case I found the perfect mirror for my master closet but the color was wrong.

So I took it outside with a can of Rust-Oleum Silver Metallic and lots of paper to cover the mirror.

And I went to TOWN!

As soon as it dried I put it up in my closet and it was perfect!

So look around your home. Is there a patio set that you have been wanting to replace but didn’t want to spend the money? It is a lot less expensive to buy 3 cans of spray paint than a patio set. Maybe you have grown tired of some picture frames; give them a refresher coat!

Door knobs also get lots of use and the finish starts to wear quickly. I need to touch up mine real soon.

So that’s it! Just an idea to break out the spray paint. As you read this is there anything you have in mind to tackle next?

Until next time,

Maria

By the way, always spray paint in a well-ventilated area!