My IKEA Kitchen

When I moved into my apartment (7 years ago!), I immediately got to work on kitchen solutions.  I knew I needed to make the most of my wall space because, frankly, that's all this eat-in kitchen had other than 3 upper and lower cabinets plus one drawer.  So I went to IKEA and bought myself a kitchen.  

Fortunately, they had a plethora of wall storage.  (Plethora- fun word, right?)  I grabbed a couple of these rods with these hooks and this basket.  And I really liked this spice rack, too.

I added a few other pieces like a hanging produce basket and a butcher's block where I keep my 'garage bin', a cloth basket full of tools, batteries, flashlights and other miscellaneous items.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with my kitchen space; it's functional and organized.  Just how I like it.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what tricks do you have for an organized kitchen?

Also, remember this loft kitchen that I unpacked and Appleshined?  I had cabinet envy soooo bad; look how well it turned out.

Back in the Big Apple

Appleshine is back in the Big Apple!  After traveling in and out to Southampton and DC in the last week, the blog has been a lil' slim.  I promise to make it up to you with some good before/after pics next week.

In the meantime, I've noticed quite an online buzz on babies lately.  (Does spring fever = baby fever??)  Here are some great articles on organizing everything from nurseries to toy boxes:

Some tried-and-true tips for organizing toys from A Cup of Jo's Joanna Goddard, pulled from the book Simplicity Parenting.

My friend, Marcela Barraza, is the queen of green cleaning.  Ok, I kinda just made up that title but she is so passionate about green cleaning and its benefits.  She spoke at The Pregnant New Yorker event about the importance of using safe cleaning products around babies and young children.

And if you need some inspiration for organizing the older kids' rooms, check out this before/after of a girl's bedroom, playroom or a boy's playroom.


Tell me, Appleshiners, what tips do you have for balancing babies and organization?

Organization Inspiration

Hi friends!  I can't believe it's already Wednesday; this week has been so busy.  I was shopping for a client in West Elm yesterday and got excited about this wall display.  What a great way to add more storage on a wall, especially in a small space.  It's fancier than floating shelves and better than a build-in.  A few simple right angles turned a plain wall into a bookshelf.  And that's a good tip: one of the best ways to gain more storage space is to go vertical. (Remember this post about hanging scarves on a wall?)


Tell me, Appleshiners, how have you made the most of your wall space?

Save Money with your Lettuce

Oh, my goodness, it's going to be beautiful outside today!  Makes me wanna grab a book and blanket and spend the afternoon in the park.  Maybe I will...but before then, I've gotta pack a quick lunch.  Lemme check my fridge: some fruit, a yogurt, a bottle of water and a light salad should do the trick.  (Ooo, how 'bout a salad in a mason jar?)

Here's a little storage tip for you: when you grab a bunch of greens from the grocery, bring them home, wash 'em up and place them in this nifty contraption:

The plastic bowl is specially designed with ridges along the bottom to let the water drip down, allowing the lettuce to stay crisper longer.  And like other storage containers, it'll help save your time and money.

Living an organized lifestyle is about clearing out clutter in ALL areas of your life.  Learning how to create a healthy lifestyle affects what goes in your body as well as what surrounds it.  I like how this bowl saves money by keeping my lettuce fresher longer.  And it makes lunch easier, healthier and faster to prepare.  Appleshine success!

I'm off to enjoy the day.  Have a lovely afternoon and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, too!


Tell me, Appleshiners, what other kitchen tools help you live a more organized lifestyle?

Appleshine: Coat Closet

Hi friends!  This week, I Appleshined a coat closet.  My client was already halfway there with good intentions (note the matching hangers, wicker baskets and large bins) but needed a little direction in order to complete the look.

The main goal was to get everything off the floor, except for shoes.  And I even limited those to 'utility shoes' like sneakers, rain boots, snow boots, etc.  Anything else (ie- nicer) went into their bedroom closets.  Luckily, the green bins were a perfect size for the job and the bendable material allowed for a little give with the odd shoe sticking out.

The baskets on the top shelved housed outerwear accessories like gloves, scarves, hats and umbrellas.  I arranged the jackets by seasonal weight, the lighter, warmer-weather jackets in the front and the heavy, winter coats in the back.  The kids coats were moved into their own sections in the family mud room.

Like I said, all the key tools were there but needed that organizational finesse to make it functional.  Sometimes, it just takes a little extra time to think through the flow of the space to create a truly organized system.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what tricks do you have for organizing your coat closet?

PS- Check back tomorrow for a very cool post on some very cool, space saving furniture!

How to Organize a Refrigerator

(Keeping Home in the City)

Happy Monday!  It's a new week with a new list of things to do...like spring cleaning.  Growing up, my mom always enlisted my brother and me to help with the cleaning.  And keeping us occupied long enough for her to scrub down the fridge was probably one of many perks to family cleaning. 

Mom kept a clean and organized fridge.  And I've kept those traits alive from my first mini-fridge in college to my fridge-for-one on the Upper East Side.  Wiping it down every few months seems worth it; it just makes sense to keep your food in a clean space.  My flair for organizing the items within might be a little much, though.  My friend once asked, 'why do you keep the food stocked like it's at a grocery store?'  I guess I kinda view it that way: labels out, produce in the drawers, condiments in the side, butter up top.  Makes me feel like opening the fridge is a little grocery run.

(Organize.com)

Shopping in bulk is cost effective, especially for a family, but often times loose food gets lost at the back of the fridge.  These containers allow you to keep like with like, as well as adding an extra drawer element, enabling you to see what's shoved away.

(Clean & Scentsible)

I like this idea of labeling the drawers and shelves.  In a way, it guides you to what you're looking for, or should be looking for, when you take a sneak peak for a snack.  Often times, I open the fridge without much thought for what I'm looking for.  I think labels would direct me to healthy energy options and keep me away from the easy carb choices.

(The Container Store)

My biggest organizing tip for a refrigerator is utilizing the given compartments for their intended use: produce in the bottom drawers, condiments on the door shelves, butter in the top, protein and cheese in the small, mid-section drawer and sodas in the hanging rack.  The structure of the fridge already lends itself to organization if following properly.  But if you need some more ideas, or extra receptacles, check out this list of tips and ideas.

And if you're prepared for a full fridge makeover, follow this step-by-step How To on cleaning your fridge before you attempt to get organized.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how do you keep your fridge organized?

Shoe Hangers Without Shoes

When organizing, I always talk about grouping 'like with like'.  Using bins, baskets, drawers or other receptacles are a great way to contain your materials but sometime it helps to be a bit more creative.

Here are a few ways to use shoe hangers for organizing things other than, well, shoes:

(bhg.com)

(iheartorganizing.blogspot.com)

(icanteachmychild.com)

(Heather Weston)

And look at this great idea to use a shoe hanger as a planter.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how would you use a shoe hanger for something else?

Read a Good Book Lately?

Sometimes we need to know when to say 'when'.  Deciding what items to move away from and when to do so can be daunting; so much so that we tend to push it towards the bottom of our to do lists. In Gail Blanke's book, Throw Out Fifty Things, she encourages you to push yourself through the psychological barriers that cause you to create clutter in the first place.  "If you want to grow, you gotta let go," is Blanke's mantra; that means eliminating the clutter (physical and emotional) that holds you back. 

I absolutely support this approach to letting go of items once they've served their value.  When we obtain an object, whether it was purchased, gifted or willed, we should accept it with the understanding that it will serve a purpose.  And when that purpose is served, it's time to move it out of our lives.  

Many people find it hard to let go of an item for one of these reasons: financial, emotional or practical.  Because we paid $$ for it, it was given to us by someone special or it could be useful in the future is NOT a good reason to keep any item past its expiration date.  I'm not saying there aren't exceptions to these rules- they're surely are (and good ones!) Although, generally speaking, one should assess the purpose value of an item and determine if that purpose is still valid.  

Discarding a material item won't remove your memory attached to it.  Even though that couch was your first big purchase in your first apartment (ahem, 3 apartments ago), it's simply taking up space in your new home.  And sure, those jeans might come back in style and you could possibly fit into them but, in the meantime, they're taking up space in your closet.  Maybe you're not ready to get rid of 50 things but try starting with 5...or 10...or 20.  Just start somewhere (I promise, that'll be the hardest part).

Maybe this book will help motivate you to move a few things out.  And these are good reads, too.  Or maybe they'll just get you thinking about it.  Either way, clearing out a little clutter makes ways for big things to happen- they might just need some extra room.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what have you moved out of your life lately?

Scarf Storage

Hi friends!  How was your weekend?  I had such a lovely time enjoying our first warm-weathered weekend of the season.  I had dinner with an out-of-town bestie on Friday night, spent St. Patty's Day at the beer garden and enjoyed a museum, a movie and some shopping on Sunday.  Hel-lo springtime!

I even brought out my summertime scarves (well, I did end up wearing my brother's new scarf for most of Saturday).  I usually keep all my scarves in a bin on my closet shelf but I was thinking- maybe it's time for  a new scarf solution.  So I found a few options to consider:

I have these Ikea racks in my kitchen but using them for accessories is a cute idea.

If I had the right wall space, I could use a few tension rods to create some scarf art.

 

Oooh, I like this!  With a little string and a few clothespins, I could display all my scarves.  I'd probably do an ombre colored theme.  Or maybe I have enough for a rainbow.

I'm not positive that wall art is the way to go, though.  Keeping my scarves inside my closet might be best and this hanger gives a better visual than the bins I'm using now.

Tell me, Appleshiners, which style storage do you prefer?

PS- If you're having a little scarf-love right now, too, check out this blog dedicated entirely to scarves!

Good Finds

Oh, the weather in NYC is just gorgeous!!  I've been soaking up some springtime sun this week with a few afternoon walks.  Yesterday, I wandered into Gracious Home, a New-Yorker's staple for home furnishings.  I did some snooping for good Appleshine recommendations and here are a few products I really liked:

A folding colander from Joseph Joseph.  It deconstructs to lie flat while stored in a cabinet.  The entire line features ergonomic designs; helpful space savers for apartment living.  I like this cutting board and salad bowl (with serving utensils build into the bowl!)

I was just wishing for these!  Shelf dividers are great for adding more structure to cabinet shelves, especially when you're renting and can't make permanent changes.  You can find them here since they aren't listed on the website.

Why don't you toss your old stand-up towel holder and use this one instead?  Hanging your towels from underneath your cabinet saves counter space.

It was a fun little outing...warm weather, sunshine and organizing.  If only I could find a way to do all that at the beach, it'd be my nirvana ;)  

Tell me, Appleshiners, what good finds have you seen lately?

Appleshine: Unpacking a Kitchen (Part 2)

In yesterday's post, I started unpacking my client's kitchen.  She'd just moved from her small apartment to a more spacious loft and had no idea how to layout her kitchen.  

I unpacked all her boxes, displaying her belongings on the floor so I could see all that I had to work with.  Taking into consideration the design of the kitchen, I approached the storage with a logical and realistic sense of efficiency.  Take a look at the before/after pictures:

While it was tempting to put food in the cabinet closest to the fridge, I appreciated the simplicity of being able to unload the dishwasher and put the dishware directly in the cabinets above.  If the plates had been over the sink instead (note the Before photo), it would've required reaching around an open cabinet door in order to put a clean dish away.  Eliminating extra steps like that keep a kitchen running efficiently.

Many of her appliances and gadgets were a bright cherry red.  Instead of hiding them in cabinets, I chose the most suitable ones to display on her countertop.  When placing such items, keep the paper towels close to the sink (preferably on the right side as most are right-handed), the cooking utensils by the stove and larger electrical items accessible to an outlet.

These are 4 of her...wait for it...8 drawers!!  I know that may not seem so impressive to anyone outside of NYC but most of us deal with only one kitchen drawer.  (I wish I were exaggerating but I swear I'm not!)  I'd already filled her 4 stacked drawers with utensils, gadgets, tupperware and linens (respectively).  And since these were on the extended side of her prep area, I used them for extra smaller items, keeping like with like.

While it would've been more logical to keep pots and pans in the inner cabinet, closer to the stove, the design didn't lend itself to that idea.  The inner cabinet had a deep pocket, causing the top shelf to cut back.  So I kept more of her prep items (strainers, mixing bowls, measuring cups) there instead.  Notice that when storing the pots and pans, I kept the lids on top.  Sometimes it helps save space if you turn the lids upside down, creating a smooth surface to stack other items on.  However, unless you have a lid rack in your kitchen, it always saves time having the matching lid at hand rather than searching through loose ones.

It was a long day but in the end, I had a LOT of fun unpacking this kitchen. Starting from scratch with any organization project is a great time to implement good systems that work with the design of the space as well as the functioning needs.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what tips do you have on determining a layout for your kitchen supplies?

PS- Here are some great kitchen organizing tips from real cooks- twitter style.

Organization Inspiration

Remember my post about making storage into artwork?  Here's another take on that notion: old picture frames that create a unique visual aesthetic from otherwise typical storage solutions.

I'm a big supporter of mounting a key holder by the front door to hold all your keys in the same place.

A cute way to add more storage in the kitchen.

Read more about Sandy and what else she did with her small Brooklyn apartment.

A good DIY for creating your own sunglasses holder. 

A pegboard frame could work for any type of tools: garage, crafting, wrapping station, home office or even a mail organizer.

Tell me, Appleshiners, which storage idea do you like the most?

PS- This weekend, I'm going to my dear friend's baby shower.  She's been creating her baby's nursery from scratch.  Follow her design development in her nursery series and you might notice some Appleshine tips, too ;)

Appleshine: Nashville Pantry

Most southern kitchens have the luxury of cabinets, drawers and closets- all hard to come by in a small NYC apartment (like mine!)  True to it's intention, this Nashville pantry should only hold food and drink items (with the occasional servingware exception).

First, I removed materials that were meant to live outside the pantry (charcoal to the garage, deep fryer in the cabinet, etc).  Then I took all the items off the shelves and grouped them into categories.  When putting them back up, keep like items together (condiments, dressing+marinades, canned goods, baking supplies and so on).  Place the categories according to frequency of use.  Your everyday goods like canned veggies and soups should be at eye-level while larger, less-frequently used items like flour and sugar should be down low.  Save the higher shelves for special occasion items and servingware.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how do you organize your pantry?


PS- A great cheat sheet on how to keep your pantry clean and functional for your family.

A list of 10 must-have pantry staples.

Know the life of a spice.

Pantry art- I love this one (but not this one because I hate, hate, hate pickles!  I'd write 'cherry pie' instead.)

An Organizer's Dream: Crafts Room

I was the little girl who went on playdates and cleaned up my friends' rooms for fun.  And I'd mentally configure every small space I encountered into a one-room home.  The bed would flip out over the kitchen sink, which was above the stove and next to the closet, all on one wall.  That left me 3 other walls to construct.  Yup, that's when I knew that lifestyle organization would be my thing.

Decades later, I still play pretend with an imaginary space.

This image from Better Homes and Gardens is such an awesome inspiration for a crafts room.  There's ample storage yet everything's close at hand.  Letting your space ramble gives way to disorganization.

You can get the shelves here, the storage unit here and the baskets here.  These are a alternative type of wall shelves, if you'd prefer.  And here's a desk similar to the one pictured.

The designer let the storage space continue up to the ceiling with covered baskets, great for small items.  They even used these magazine holders for the shelves.  The flow of the room allows for lots of crafty materials to be contained in a small space.

And the best part about the design is the colors.  The soft gray walls, white and natural units, with only a dramatic pop of blue print keeps the space creative but not overpowering.  Ah...I love a good day dream.


Tell me, Appleshiners, how would you organize your 'dream' crafts room?

Organization Inspiration

When space is limited, it helps to be creative with your storage.  The fabulous designers at CasaSugar have some great ideas on how to decorate your living space when your closets are full.

And if you're overwhelmed with the kid's artwork, take a cue from this gallery wall from Apartment Therapy.  They used a curtain rod and clips to display the colorful creations.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how do you turn your storage into art?