5 Things for an Organized Bedroom:

Hello Folks,

Hope you are all doing Good.

Our bedrooms are the best description of our personality. If you want to know about yourself, take a lazy look at the surroundings of your bedroom secretly without changing a thing. What did you observe? Did your eyes come back surprised? Probably not! Because you saw, what you are and you know yourself for years.

Now take a paper and write down first five words that came to your mind during this lazy eye trip. First five words that came to your mind without struggling hard are probably the best ones to define who you are, the best things about you, and the weaker areas where you need bit tweaking. Let me help you with the few words: Is your room:

•               Boring or an eye Treat

•               Maintained or clumsy

•               Cluttered or Organized

•               Chic or blatant

•               Nicely put together or Lacks style

•              Can’t Live Without or Better off without

Sad it is but still my room lacks glamor and though it may be organized it lacks style and accessories that could put everything together. Anyways, recently, I started making a list of things that really put a bedroom together, make it look organized with no effort and can make room ready to welcome an unexpected guest. Let’s Start.

1# CARPET: 

You believe it or not a carpeted bedroom looks many times better than a non-carpeted one unless the floor is worth dying for. It dresses up the room elegantly. Though, it might be difficult to keep it clean, it’s worth it. My sister recently started her married life. Living in another city, she shared the picture of her bedroom before it got carpeted and it looked horrific. I wished her good luck. After a month, I gave her a visit and voila room looked so different with a carpeted floor and additions of curtains (furniture was still the same).

If you are not in favor of covering the entire flooring area, you might use a large rug that could do the function of a carpet while still allowing you to say hello to the bare floor. 

2# CURTAINS: 

Ah! I always underestimated the power of curtains. But no more! In a bedroom, curtains might not be the show stopper but without them nothing can be. The new home (we shifted last year in June), there is a nearly a wall sized window in every room that lets you look at the greenery, a rising sun, and every Tom and Harry passing by. If you don’t put covers on such a window that basically opens up half of the wall, your bedroom becomes extension of the view outside and the room fails to offer you the privacy & coziness of a bedroom. By putting curtains, you start defining the limit by claiming a world of your own. Choose a good style and an elegant pattern for curtains and drapes, and it will change the mood of the entire room secretly. 

3# A MADE BED:

It doesn’t matter if you have a Queen-sized bed or a King-sized, a double bed or a single bed; thing that matters is if it’s made or not. I can’t stress enough. Even if your mornings are too busy to pick up the stuff, take out the time to make your bed. Not only it will instantly make the room look more presentable, it would also give you something to land on when you retire from the day.

My mother is so particular about this that whenever she used to wake us up, she reminded us that we should not start getting ready before we had made our beds. In the beginning, it felt like armoring up for a battle but soon it became habit and I give you my words, it makes a huge difference.

 

4# A STATEMENT WALL:

The purpose of the statement wall is to steal the attention. Even if your room is somewhat cluttered, a good statement wall will make it look otherwise. Because, it will shift the focus from an unpleasing sight to more well thought out pieces of art.  

5# PROPER LIGHTING: 

Proper lighting brightens up the room and accentuates its key features by adding a dramatic effect. Lamps, candles, chandelier, and twinkling lights, all can make a room look more serene and lavish. 

 

How are the things at your end? Do keep me posted. With Love,

 

Photo Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

 

How to organize Smart Phone:

Writing after a long time feels as if you are watching your favorite drama and commercial break prolongs so much that you forget what you were watching in the first place. Funny it’s; but, hey, it’s your favorite drama – worth every break.

Yesterday, I found some applications installed on my phone that I had long forgotten about. I knew it was the time to organize my cell phone. It is one thing that stays in my hand for 27 out of 24 hours - for texting, taking calls, checking emails, reading blogs, finding favorite recipes, updating my Facebook newsfeed, and doing much more. I personally believe smart phones have stolen convenience of laptops and functionality of desktops and cameras. So, to stay compos mentis (functional), it requires little bit attention every month.

I like to go about organizing my cell phone bit systematically. It helps me not to skip any step and do everything as my second nature. This month, while I show my baby little love, don’t mind to pick yours and love it along the way.

PICTURES:

I don’t know if it’s just me or it’s wrong with every one that I am never satisfied with one click per scene. I always take multiple pictures of one scene for just in case and that clutters my phone gallery within seconds. Click, click, click, and two hands come out of the phone screen to plea that’s enough (sometimes the person I am taking picture of says, “You are taking too long. Is it something wrong with your camera?” and I respond, “no, my hand is trembling”).  But seriously, I am so fond of taking pictures that I can’t afford losing them. Nor I would like to go through hundreds of pictures to find THAT one picture. So, every month, using data cable, I move all of my pictures from mobile to laptop. Go through them and select only one picture per scene. One good example is pictures of basket that I took for my car organizing project. I kept only one of them and discarded rest of them. 

 In case of one person with loads of facial expression and from tons of different angles, I find it really hard to delete pictures (quickly going through back and forth enlivens those still pictures – everything moves and looks funny.) I encourage myself to make a collage of good facial expressions. Zillions of pictures get packed in one and ones you don’t like, click and delete.

Once you sort out the pictures that you want to keep, organize them first by year and then by events (date/month/year is my preferred format). So, for example, I’ll name my convocation pictures as: Convocation_28-06-12_1. And it’ll be stored in a folder name convocation which will be stored in a folder 2012.

Regular backup of pictures is really important to never yell like Keven’s mom in “home alone” movie. Either burn them to CD or let the clouds carry them.  More Photo Organizing Tips.

MULTIMEDIA:

Life’s beauty is visible from small moments that we live every day. It’s not limited to fancy days that we all wait for. Don’t believe? Just start capturing random moments and you’ll see. I make tons of videos. I can never have enough of them. They are my time machines that let me travel back to the past. But videos take space that if not freed up frequently can slow down your cell phones. Delete every video that’s not going to serve any purpose in the future nor even going to make you happy. Rest you should keep, organize and backup, so your cell phone could breathe again.

Same goes for songs as well. Our taste changes quicker than we think it does. My sister, she will prefer to see the sun coming out of north instead of deleting a song from her cell. So, her phone has now become jewel box of every funky, sad, cheerful, and motivating song (including that song bang bang). And I, just exact opposite of that, like to remove every song from cell every two months.

MESSAGES:

Amazingly, I used to believe messages are the most harmless things I have on my cell. I let them grow, grow, grow and then one day figure out my cell was chocking. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Instead of beating it on the back, I, after detailed checkup, realized that my cell phone could even tell me what the first message was that I wrote two years back.

I knew messages couldn’t be sorted with ease. You MIGHT have useful information. It took me some time to clean my message inbox, but one trick helped. All those senders whom I was sure had always sent me unimportant, forwarded messages, I discarded their messages immediately (At that time everything seemed unimportant). Rest was easy.

APPLICATIONS:

If I don’t use one application for at least one month, I assume that I don’t need it anymore. I uninstall it. I preferred to move applications to SD card.

HOME SCREEN:

Last but not least, I organize my home screen. Unlike many, a crammed home screen makes me vomit. So, the max I have on my home screen is one of chat applications and GNotes (so I could take notes immediately).  

 Hope you enjoyed this post. Do give your feedback and till then;

  

 Picture Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Be Organized, Be Elegant:

Elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside.

– Coco Chanel

For over a year now, I have been very curious as to how to acquaint every aspect of my life with elegance. Like millions of people, I was not given training to behave elegantly as a lady; and, it was only out of my personal inclination that I researched this topic a lot. I read many blogs, articles and books on tips to be more graceful.

Some articles merely suggested looking up to role models - hoping that their way of being stylish would be good enough to boast anyone’s individual personality. While, some other articles tried to sum up the whole evolution of taking decision, action, and sticking to the challenging undertaking of spending life with a class in certain number of steps.

By no mean, I am claiming this one year research has empowered me to conclude the vast topic of elegance. However, it has enabled me to develop a clear sense of direction. In my humble opinion, IF YOU WANT TO BE ELEGANT, BE ORGANIZED.

UNORGANZIED LIFE, INELEGANT LIFE:

When was the last time you were able to enjoy the moment instead of rushing, yelling, and trying to catch things up? Let’s imagine our morning routine (given we couldn’t care less about getting organized). My office starts at 9:00 am. Having stayed up late at night, I didn’t bother getting up before 8:20 am. Because my closet was a mess, I didn’t have clothes hanged as outfits. Instead of thinking how could i look classy, I used to do with the very first outfit that I was able to find. Shower? Oh no time for that. I used to just wash my face, rush to vanity for makeup ritual, didn’t even think of accessories, let my hair looked messy and merely swallowed one slice as breakfast. Most of the time, I was late.

MONEY ISN’T AN EXCUSE:

Did I enjoy that routine? No, not at all! Every morning was frustration and led to a very unproductive start. I must admit that not for a single day I looked classy. I was mistaken as I thought perhaps I need MORE makeup, MORE clothes, MORE shoes, and MORE accessories. So, I heavily spent on such items and the result was – of course a failure.

The truth is, I wasn’t organized to utilize the resources that I had and never stretch MYSELF to the highest standards. Elegance, oppose to widely held belief, is not dependent on money. It’s an attitude which when developed does the talking on your behalf.

SO, WHY I SAID BE ORGANIZED, BE ELEGANT?

We often question ourselves as to why elegance is so rare nowadays. Perhaps, the scuffle of doing 5 times more than our ancestors in the same number of hours has put our lives on fast forward. Elegance resides in getting slowed down. Did you ever meet an elegant lady that talks fast or eats fast, or walks fast? No, because every action performed with deliberate steps unhurriedly gives us ample time to dominate our styles over the humdrum of life. No matter how expensive clothes you wear you’ll have hard time experiencing gracefulness if you don’t know when to stop and just live the moment. And getting organized let us do just that. It permits us to slow down as life feels in control.

ORGANIZED LIFE, ELEGANT LIFE:

Let’s rewind the morning scene and this time in a more organized manner. Now, my office still starts at 9: 00 am; but, I get up around 7:00 am. I do exercise for 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of yoga. This energizes my body, let me feel the nature and be grateful for yet another beautiful day. Then I take a relaxing shower that washes away every possibility of laziness. Finally having developed the habit of ironing and hanging my clothes as complete outfits for the whole week on weekend in advance, I feel freedom in the morning. Love, love, love extra time to select outfit and mix & match accessories (one bracelet, watch, one ring). I am really happy that now before the day starts I am able to fill out my to-do list. Trust me, it keeps me productive and I don’t find myself working on unimportant tasks.

Family life and relationships? Couldn’t have been better. Instead of my mother screaming at me that I am late for yet another day, our breakfast time is now more cherished and celebrated gathering.

From Mess to Order | Practical Closet Organizing Tips:

 For countless days, I dreaded opening my closet every morning to find one complete outfit out of the messy cupboard that could be everything but a solution to my clothing needs. Most of the times, either clothes themselves fell out to give me an unexpected hug or I had to pull them out. I did with it as long as I could but then one day I realized it’s time - time to make my closet work for me instead of it to be other way round.

Today, I’m going to share some practical closet organizing tips, to turn your closet into your very own boutique.

TIP 1: START FRESH

“I'm like every other woman: a closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear: So I wear jeans”. - Cameron Diaz

I never knew what I had been sacredly holding on to in my closet until I put everything out. I have talked about strategy of ready, steady and dump before as a first step to organize purse. Literally, unless you go through this painful process of unloading your entire closet, you can’t determine what you need to keep and what is just a piece of junk, claiming your closet’s space. 

After this little scary exercise, your clothes should get divided into three piles: to keep, to donate and to just toss. After starting fresh, you should be left with only those clothes that dignify your personality. You’ll be fairly familiar by now as to what kind of adjustment your closet requires. Adding adjustable shelves dividers, installing more hanging rods and buying some sturdy hangers are some of the things that you need to consider.  

 

TIP 2: HANG AS MANY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN

“You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it”.

The more clothes you hang, the more you are able to see. Out of sight, Out of mind is one thing that always stands true for me. Unless clothes are hanging as an outfit, I’m hard to call back when there is a need. I definitely find it easier to deal with hanged clothes than the folded ones. No matter, how nicely I treat them, folded clothes get chaotic.

Just a couple of quick tips:

o   In order to make your closet work for you, try to stick to only one type of hangers as it brings symmetry to the closet and visually everything looks pleasing and part of a big piece of puzzle.

o   If one rod is not enough to hang all of your clothes, try doubling your hanging space by installing another rod if your closet is deep enough. Had my closet allowed me, I would have definitely done that to hang jeans and other stuff.

TIP 3: MAKE USE OF EVERY INCH

“I don’t have too much clothes – I just don’t have enough closets”.

I never knew how big my closet was unless I thought creatively to utilize every inch of the closet. And here, I am talking about wall space, doors space, sides and bottom of the closet.

Trust me; just by utilizing all sides of closest you can double the storage space. Personally, I like to repurpose items that are otherwise designed for something else. Not only, it saves me money but also I feel more creative.

Just a couple of quick tips:

o   Install towel bars to hang all your scarves in a tangled-free way.

o   Use over the door pocket organizers to nicely hold folded socks, ties, belts, and or any other smaller item that otherwise feels lost in your closet.

o   No matter how tempted you might be, try storing your shoes out of your main closets. And if you still don’t want those pairs out, store them in clear plastic containers. You can find many practical shoe organizing ideas here.

o   In drawers, stack folded items vertically. This way, you’ll not only be able to see everything at once but also it will increase your drawer’s space.

TIP 4: SEASON SWAPS

At the start of every season, I show my closet little more love and for the rest of the season it loves me back. I am totally against stuffing the closet full with clothes as closet seems smaller and also becomes hard to maintain. At the end of every season, nicely fold those season’s clothes in plastic tackle boxes to give more breathing space to new season’s clothes. These tackle boxes can either be stored at the top shelve of closet (Out of reach) or at the bottom of the closet. I personally like to keep them stored under my bed – that way I can make room for my purses.

Just a little quick tip:

o   Make sure to fold clean clothes. Also, it’s the perfect time to purge all items that are beyond repair or you don’t feel like wearing any more.

 TIP 5: 5 MINUTES EVERY NIGHT

Mornings are busy! But sparing merely 5 minutes for your closet before going to bed is enough to keep your boutique in order.

These are some of the tips that I found practical to keep my closet organized. How do you keep your closet organized? I would love to hear any tip or trick that you would like to share.

Pictures Credit: 1, 2,3, 4(a), 4(b), 4(c), 5(a), 5(b), 5(c)

6 Tips for a more productive week!

We, as human beings, have to play several roles during 24 hours a day. We are spouses, parents, students, relatives, colleagues, professionals, hosts, guests, helper, and sometimes only ourselves. Each role has some duties and obligations attached to it; managing which are so important to keep the relationship/role alive. Spending a week that looks after every role nicely is surely a week well spent.

 TIP 1: WRITE IT DOWN TO REMEMBER:

Our mind has great powers to juggle up all these roles nicely; but, occasionally, depending on it too much to remember hundreds of small details related to various roles backs fire. We miss deadlines, forget about our appointment with doctor, get late for friend’s wedding, and fail to recall our spouse’s birthday. Why is that? Because, we don’t write it down. Writing appointments down liberates you from the exertion to memorize every date and deadline by heart.

Organizing Purse: 4 Steps to Organize a messy Purse

Would you be embarrassed if I take a look into your purse right now? If untidy look, wrappers of candies, unorganized receipts, zillions of business cards and stray coins are all that are likely to make you feel embarrassed, it’s time to organize your purse. A chaotic purse gives us a hard time especially when we have to dig for a small item sitting at the bottom of the purse. This post is taking up the challenge to not only clean but organize our messy purses for peace of mind. Following Tips will keep your purse from becoming a dumping ground; and, will make it more functional.

Organize your handbag using this step-by-step guide and keep it organized by giving it 30 minutes of your attention every weekend.

 

WHAT WILL YOU NEED?

 

      o   Zippered Pouches

o   A Poly Envelope

o   Determination