Harvesting Herbs at The End of January - Thankful for Texas' Weather!

In this house herbs go on everything! Just to name a few... eggs get some garlic and dry oregano everyday (known for its potent antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties), fish is never done without rosemary (prevent brain aging)  and chicken always get the sage (natural anti inflammatory)! Even my morning coffee gets a splash of cinnamon! Nutmeg goes on so many dishes, but I like it freshly grounded with my tiny grinder bellow! Yum! (Find the health benefits of these herbs by clicking on their links)

I am not sure how much of a role herbs have to do with it, but the fact is, we have been either extremely lucky or really healthy, because it has been a couple years we had a cold, and it had been a couple more before that. Even when it seemed like everyone around us was sick! I think that's amazing considering the our children are 7 and 9, and the fact that my husband travels on airplanes every month at least once. My daughter had one stomach bug when she was months old and my son has never got one stronger than him! I had one many years ago... even when my children play closely with infected children they seem immune to it!

And as everyone knows, pesticides are simply not desirable by anyone health conscious, so buying organic is always preferable. Unless, like me, you grow most of your own herbs! Herbs are usually fairly easy to grow and in some cases even hard to control! Last year I had 10 different kinds of mint and boy, they grew!! I have had herbs indoors when I lived in north Georgia, but here is south Texas this is not necessary. Some of my perennials have been with me for over 15 years! They simply thrive in this weather! And I only buy very few plants as annuals because I always let mine bloom and seed before the cold arrives. Before trimming them down or removing them, I spread the seeds and cover with mulch and voilà! Next year I have new plants, straight from the ground! The flowers bellow are from my garlic chives, which I was told was an annual when I bought it some ten years ago. It still blooms for me every year!

Thanks to a rainy endless month of December and an unusually warm pleasant January in Texas, my herbs have done better than ever! So my perennials think it is spring (and so does my allergies) and I just had to trim them down again, to control over growth! Look at the pictures bellow? Can you imagine the smell? I tell you, it is lovely... Chop some sage and sauté in ghee, pour over baked sweet potato or butternut squash! 

Whenever I trim my herbs, I hang some to let them dry. I close my blinds tops for a couple of weeks and once they are crisp, I store them is reused glass jars to use them whole or grounded. I guess they are a reminder that happiness lies in simple little things... like sprinkles of aromatic herbs!

Photos by Daniela Cohen, all rights reserved.

All copyright Bloom Your Space Organizing © 2014-2015

Forget About Perfection! Good Enough IS Good Enough!

For a great number of people, the only obstacle to getting or staying organized is perfection! That's right! A lot of people let the fear of not being able to achieve perfection, prevent them from even getting started!

When I grew up, ADHD and OCD were not terms commonly used or well known as today. Consequently I was never diagnosed either one. I was however always labeled "hyper" and "perfectionist". The OCD in me, with the help of my ADHD, has kept me in shape. But I have improved my goals! 

Once, long ago, a friend came over to my new house for a coffee and chat, I mean a lot more chat then coffee - what in Brazil is called "um cafezinho". I meticulously prepeared the coffee and "perfectly" arranged some bites on a tray and we proceded to the table. On the way, I fixed the rug because it was crooked, then I arranged everything on the table. We spent hours talking and talking. I showed her my house around. At one point she told me: "I know why you are in such good shape! You must spent thousands of calories a day fixing everything! I wish I were like that!" The truth is, to her my house was spotless, but to me, there was always something needing to be fixed!  She noticed while we walked through my house that I was constantly straightening up things she didn't even perceived as disorganized or out of place. I realized that my search for perfection was preventing me from enjoying that moment and my "cafezinho" as much as she did. The worse part is, my friend, who is beautiful, wished to be like me... and that her house would look as neat as mine!

That could have been my wake up call, but it was just a middle of the night arrousel! Unfortunatelly, I still kept obsessing with perfection and organization for many years.

When I was expecting my son, it was even worse. I didn't want anything, I mean NOTHING, to be not even slightly imperfect for my little one! His furniture was organized to the milimeter. His clothes, double washed, with chemical free soap, folded absolutely perfectly, organized by size, color, season... Everything was planned. I attended the mothernety class, bought a realaxation CD, oil massage so my husband could help ease my labor pains... I was more then ready! I was perfectly ready! Then, 22 days before my due date, he was born, naturally, so fast, we didn't even had time to open the suitcase with the oils! My baby was born. And he was perfect!

My wake up call came when my he was 3 months. My perfect baby, acquired a very rare heart disease and nearly died. He was given 12 hours before they finally found out what he had and could treat him. My world went blank. Boom! Nothing else mattered to me. My focus switched to enjoying little things more then anything and the hamper full of clothes reminded me he was given a second chance and the laundry could wait! I never became disorganized, but I learned to let go. I embraced the books on the table as a sign that they had been read and were not only decoration.

From that moment on I knew I would never want a house like the ones we see in the magazines: perfect. I started aiming for good enough. I do have to control myself so I am not up until three am organizing. Because in a busy house, there is always something to do! I prioritize as do as I can. Sometimes I go to bed knowing the dishes I washed should be put away, but hey! they are at least washed! Even if pretty rarely, sometimes the day goes by without time to fix my bed or even taking a shower. Striving for perfection would just make me miserable, because to be honest, somedays there is not enough time to be perfect! Oh well... I know these are not ideal and not a reflexion on my deepest desire, but also, won't kill me. And YES! I will always remember that being alive is good enough!

Of course everyone's good enough is different

but good enough is almost always good enough! 

All copyright Bloom Your Space Organizing ® 2014

Laundry Room Transformation - From Tight to Bright!

I am yet to meet a person who really enjoys doing laundry! I certainly do not! I am such perfectionist, that folding or even hanging takes time! And that is exactly why it is so hard for me to get someone to do it for me. Finding a wrinkly shirt n my drawer, drives me crazy! I know it either sat for too long in the drier or wasn't smoothed or folded with love! The problem is: I would rather do something else with all that time spent in te laundry room! To top that I work with a laundry room that is too small, impractical and uninspiring! There was no system implemented. Only a builders type shallow shelf, too high, too narrow with a hanging bar laid in the back wall. The shape of the room is also a contributor to the problem. I always dreamed of  fixing the issue and I always knew how to do it. What kept me from just doing it, was the love for my washer/dryer and I knew I would need to get rid of them...But it is impossible to make that room look good! Or it was.

No matter how hard I tried, this is what it looked like on laundry day! Things stored on the floor, so the house cleaner could get it (she's quite short), and no room for more. Notice that visible storage is bothersome to the eyes even if organized! As you can, in order to add counter space, we had a table (notice the table sticking out from the door) on the angled wall temporarily. Nine years ago! 

The door could not be fully open because aprons, brooms and mops lived behind it! Perfectly organized but I knew e that is the door could be open all the way, the space would feel bigger, specially from the entrance.

 

When my 16 year old dryer failed in November, I did not look back! I pulled my sleaves up, got my measuring tape, paper and pen and started designing a complete (low budget) renovation. I didn't want to spend too much, but I envisioned my laundry room as a  spacious, functional and attractive room! Using Ikea's designing tool I planned my room and went shopping! My machines were upgraded to the humungous ones you see, and still the space feels much bigger! I assembled all the cabinets myself, installed knobs, removed hooks and fixed wall holes. (Wait until you see the inside of the cabinets!) My husband removed the shelf, fixed the wall, hung the cabinets and did all the trims. With my direction, of course! ;) There will be a granite countertop above the machines and the floor cabinets on the side wall. I will post once we have it installed. It will be the finishing touch! Even incomplete, look at the transformation!

BEFORE & AFTER
from the same point of view!

Placing horizontal cabinets very low, give an easy access to
hidden supplies with a clean look!

Removed 24" deep table and installed 12" deep cabinets.

Using the hight of the wall I can now store a lot more!

Since the table was deeper, it blocked our view from the door.

Now, even on laundry day, it looks better!

Behind the scenes never looked this good!

Giving the items behind the door a home,

allows the door and our view to open!

Where are the brooms and mops, then?

One of the main factors professional organizers consider for any project is where in the room are items used.

Drying sheets were not stored in the drawer closest to the drier, but in the one that can be open while the door of the drier is open too!

By screwing ceiling hooks (Home Depot, less then a buck each!)

on the $2.50 top shelf, prevented the cabinet wall from damage,

in case I find a new function for this cabinet in the future!

Fridge art clips, keep the mop base at reach while 2 cork placemats glued together make it for a perfectly sized bulletin board! (Ikea, $3.99 for 4)

Two 39" tall cabinets now provide plenty of room for storage of bulk or rarely used items that were in the pantry, freeing space there too!

 A trash bin inside the cabinet on the left side, makes for a great hidden laundry basket for used kitchen linens, easy to access coming from the kitchen.

While heavy bulk cleaning products stay low for easy retrieval!

So, what is my favorite part of the make-over?

I must say my Hanger Hamper! I LOVE IT!

I wish I had seen this in the cream, but I might give mine to my mom and get the light one to blend more with my room!

It makes laundry days so convenient!

Now, what my friends say when they see my laundry room?

"OMG! What is this smell???" It is true!!

It's the "Diva" soap and drier sachet I use, manufactured by Tyler Candles, made in Texas!!!

It is expensive, I know, but you won't regret!

I also carry the Diva spray on my work bag to spritz at the end of each project!

     

"The details are not the details.

They make the design."

Charles Eames

Now, let me run, I have some clothes to wash!

All copyright Bloom Your Space Organizing ® 2014

Time To Remove Your Christmas Decoration - Storage Tips

Tomorrow, January the 6th is the day of Epiphany and those following the Christian tradition, will be taking down their Christmas decorations either then or the day after depending on their culture. So here are some tips if you do so!

There are always two ways of doing anything, and one is always smarter! When I take down my Christmas  decorations throughout the house, I have one main goal: to make it easier for replacing them next time! I don't think I go too  overboard decorating for the season, but I still have little things put in nearly every room of the house! To add a little humor, even my powder room's toilet gets decorated! Thanks mom!

To me, the tree ornaments are the easiest items to store. I place them all inside clear large plastic boxes, in their original "egg case" without their original paper boxes, cutting an extra step when putting away and redecorating (an actual egg cartoon can work well for small and delicate ornaments). There are pre-divided boxes specific for ornaments. I like this one. They are harder to use though if, like me, your ornaments have many different sizes and shapes, but they are a great system for traditional glass globes. I do not recommend paper boxes for their fragility and humidity susceptibility. Clear stackable containers like this, are my favorites, as they come in many sizes and there is no guessing what is inside therefore no need to label them. Colored plastic boxes are fine, however I highly recommend labeling, specially if you keep you containers in an attic or garage with other seasonal decorations as Halloween, Easter, etc...

Lighting, for obvious reasons, should only be kept in plastic containers! Roll light strings in empty water bottles or cardboard sheets! It's practical, economical and ecological. When removing outdoor lighting, keep them separate and labeled by location. For example, we have a box only for the lights we wrap on our trees, labeled "TREES". Two more boxes are separately labeled "RIGHT" and "LEFT" since our front yard is not symmetrical. It is so easy to put them back for next Christmas! If you don't have enough to store in separate boxes, fold, or roll them separately and place them in plastic bags labeled accordingly. It will save you time when redecorating!

As for the Christmas tree, there are a number of options. From trash bags, to oversized bags, to sturdy canvas storage bags like this one on wheels!  Just search "Christmas storage" on Amazon and you will be lost in a sea of options! It all depends on the size of your tree and where you are going to store it. As stated on this post, on our home this year, we have switched to a real Christmas. So my husband was really happy we could skip this part! We had to store our tree in four huge bags!

For wreaths and garlands there are also specialty canvas and plastic bags like the ones for trees I cited above or plastic boxes like the one pictured bellow.

To me, it is how you store the little things spread around that will make all the difference when you start decorating again this year. Trust me!

To make it easier, I store everything by area or room. Kitchen and breakfast area decor, doesn't even leave the kitchen. Since I do have enough room on upper shelves of my cabinets, that is exactly where they stay. And that is also where whatever needed to be removed to give room for Santa and Gingerman is stored too. So, I take down from the shelves what will go back to place and just put back up the snowman cookie jar, bells and nutcrackers that witnessed our cooking and overeating!

All the family room and foyer small decor goes together in a large plastic container. Some special pieces are kept in their original boxes, like this wooden train bellow.

Candles are ALWAYS protected with paper. Some are placed in reused paper bags, while regular round smaller candles, like the red ones bellow, can be wrapped in paper lunch bags! Think outside the box! Of course, anything with glitter that doesn't need paper protection is stored separately in plastic bags or every decorative item will have glitter later!

All delicate, breakable and special pieces are protected between alternating layers of stocking, tree skirts and seasonal linen. That way I don't have to spend extra time, material and space protecting them. To me it makes more sense to keep my holiday table covers with the Christmas decor instead of with my regular table covers. In the pictures bellow you can see each layer of soft fabrics and ornaments.

Yes! Pinocchio is there! My mom brought it for my son from Italy when he was a baby and he gave it to me when I was taking down the decoration. I noticed its clothes matched perfectly with the rest of the decorations and since I do feel uncomfortable with the whole "believing," I decided to keep it with the decoration for next Christmas! :)

This is how the box looks like when it is ready. You see? No need to label them! 

Another box is used for seasonal books and shatterproof or sturdy items. This is a house of readers so the collection gets a couple additions every year. This time the favorite was The Nutcracker, by Alison Jay. I enjoyed reading and being read to as much as I enjoyed observing my dear daughter organize and reorganize those books in many different ways throughout the season! I think I know who she got that from!

When I told her "I wish I could keep the gingerbread house you made!", she ran to grab the camera and just then I noticed... "someone ate the snowman!" She blushed.

All pictures by Daniela Cohen.   

All copyright Bloom Your Space Organizing ® 2014-2015