New Pillows

Over the weekend I purchased new pillows. The zebra print in pink and white are by Jillian's Closet. I them from TJ Maxx -- $29.99 for the square one (per pair) and $9.99 for the neck roll.  The white ones are just the plush pillows from Target with white pillowcases. I'll take more photos later. I want to add turquoise and silver pillows or maybe just a turquoise throw or something. 

My Pink Room, My White Bed

This weekend I purchased new bedding. My room looks very empty. Not to worry, I'm working. I want to focus on purging before I get anything new so it will be empty for a few more weeks.

I want a white duvet and lots of throw pillows: turquoise, silver, and pinks is what I'm going for. I might make them myself.

Sneek Peek Room Redesign

I haven't started posting my room because quite frankly it had gotten really disorganized. Anyway, I will get into that later. For now, here's a sneek peek of the re-design. I painted that dresser silver. It was fuggly before. I'm going for French Shabby Chic/boutique hotel look. Basically, think up in your head what a high end girly modern but antique bed and breakfast in New Orleans French Quarter might look like and you will begin to visualize my room.

Spring Painting

I am having my room painted from a powdery blue to a powdery pink color. It's Carnation Pink from Glidden. Here's the swatch.

It's going to take 2-3 coats to cover up the blue. I am ready to have my room back but it's going to take a couple of weeks.

Think Outside The File Box

You don't have to go with the typical office file cabinet. Consider this file box on a stand available at Neiman Marcus for $395










Or how about this Palladian File Cabinet...

File & Chic

I think every home should have some sort of filling system. Here are some tips for setting up a file cabinet.

• Get a file cabinet or some sort of filing container to hold the files
• Get hanging file folders and interior file folders... aren't these adorable?
  
• Sort your documents. There are 3 major categories of files: reference, archives, and action.
• Action files are files that need to be taken care of immediately for example your cell phone bill that's due soon or a letter from someone you need to follow up with next week. Store these files in the top drawer of your file cabinet in the very front. I use different color folders for the action files.
• Reference files are files that you need to refer to from time to time like your car insurance quotes or things of that nature.
• Archives are files you hardly ever use but you may need in the future like taxes from 3 years ago.
• Type of write labels on the folders and then file, file, file away.
  

Quick Organizing

You want to get organized, but you don't have the time. Can you afford 15 minutes a day? Pick a room or area that you want to tackle, pop in your favorite CD, set a timer for 15 minutes and just sort sort sort purge purge purge and organize organize organize. Push yourself as if you're in a competition with time to see how quickly you can finish the area. If you do this everyday you will have the cleanest most organized "crib" you've ever seen, I promise when all is said and done you will feel accomplished and less stressed.

Organize Now!: A Week By Week Guide To Simplify Your Space And Your Life

With a unique week-by-week approach, Organize Now! gives readers simple and effective tools to organize every aspect of their lives. Jennifer Ford Berry walks the readers through each step of the organizing process for 52 different topics, dealing with each topic one week at a time. Organize Now! is not only easy-to-use but covers a wide variety of topics from paperwork, time management, mental clutter, pets and specific rooms to special events such as moving or vacation planning. The advice is proactive, straightforward and presented in checklists so that readers can see immediate results as they work. Advice for monthly and yearly maintenance is provided. Due to the structure of the book, readers can follow the book from start to finish for a full organizational makeover, or work through the book in any order they wish, targeting the problem areas for their life.
Offers practical, effective and easy-to-use instruction on organizing 52 specific problem areas and is structured so that readers can take a week-by-week approach if desired.

Printed on uncoated paper so that readers can easily mark off the checklists and write in their own notes and ideas.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler's Closet

The Sopranos' actress has completely made-over a 2,700-square-foot Tribeca duplex. "Tribeca is very cool. There's a lot of old architecture and a sense of mystery too." Jamie-Lynn Sigler's 200-square-foot closet was created by Anthony's Custom Closets in Long Island and the new setup helps keep her designer dresses, bags, countless pairs of Genetic jeans, and over 75 pairs of shoes organized. "For years I have not been able to find anything in my closet," says Sigler. "Now I see all my clothes shoes and accessories, even some stuff I completely forgot I had with the tags still on them!"

SOURCE: INSTYLE

Clean Sweep: The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering, Detoxing, and Destressing Your Home

In her book Clean Sweep: The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering, Detoxing, and Destressing Your Home by Alison Haynes. Alison shows us how everyone needs to have a plan to manage his or her home. With Clean Sweep, anyone can turn a house or apartment into a streamlined and stress-free sanctuary of comfort. It demystifies household management by telling you how to declutter every room, deter dust mites, decode detergent tables, dehumidify your bathrooms and bedrooms, and devise storage solutions. At the same time, you will learn about the "clever house," where you can save water and energy, cut down your household bills, and minimize your use of chemicals. Clean Sweep teaches you, room by room, how to cut down on clutter and keep it under control.

Paula Abdul's Closet

The American Idol judge has an impressive walk-in closet in her 5,000 square foot Mediterranean style home in the San Fernando valley. All her outfits and coordinating accessories are numbered with tags so she can easily pack for trips and events. Her impressive shoe collection is made up mostly of high-heels—"I always wear heels unless I'm working out," says Paula Abdul, who is just over five feet. Even with all of those shoes the former choreographer claims, "A comfortable pair of jeans, a great belt, and a leather jacket is all I need."

SOURCE: INSTYLE

The Great Wall of Purses

Are your bags to fab to hide in a closet?  Do you think they should be put on display?  Try these Command™ large classic hooks in brushed nickel from The Container Store. They are $12.99 each and are guaranteed to make a statement when you hang your purse collection.

Eva Longoria's Closet

Check out Eva Longoria Parker's closet, filled to the brim with heels (mostly Christian Louboutins), dresses, designer denim and clutch bags. The 133-square-foot master closet in Eva Longoria Parker's L.A. home is full of gorgeous gowns, shoes, shirts—and a coveted Hermes hot-pink crocodile Birkin bag. Taking a glance through her impressive shoe collection.

SOURCE: INSTYLE

50 Percent Rule

So, where do you start? The most likely answer is to go backwards. Removing any and all unnecessary, unused, broken or simply unloved items is a great way to reach what I call the "50 percent real-estate rule." The 50 percent real-estate rule is the rule that at least 50 percent of the total volume of space within a closet be nothing. Yes, you read right, nothing. Now, you have to think 3-D here, as in total volume. I'm not saying you should cut your hanging rod in half, but I am saying that there should be enough space between the hanging items so you can actually see what's there without a major workout. And if there's stuff on the floor below the hanging items (shoes for example), those items should not be touching the hanging items and robbing them of their space.

Another example: If you have drawers or a dresser in your closet, the upper half of the drawer space -- of each drawer-- must not be filled to the top. For some, this 3-D thinking is new, and it may take practice. But I'll guarantee that if you've never had this kind of space in your closets, and then you create it, you will immediately feel the difference.

If this clearing is beyond your current abilities, ask a good friend to help. This should be someone who respects your inability to clear clutter. Please know that weird, uneasy feelings can come up when you're clearing clutter. It is a part of the process and is not a sign that you should stop. Be strong, I know you can do it!

Maria Menounos's Closet

The 28-year-old actress and television correspondent has set up house in a white, Georgian-style home in Hollywood, CA. It was decorated with the help of designer Clayton Asher Doyle, of L.A. furnishing store Plantation. She transformed a massive upstairs space into Maria Menounos' "office/hair-makeup-and-dressing room," which houses her Azzaro and Calvin Klein gowns, 50 pairs of jeans, blazers, sweaters, and a cedar walk-in closet devoted mostly to rows of shoes and boots. Even with such an impressive closet, Menounos claims, "I hate shopping. Really. I used to go to the mall once a year and just stock up on white T-shirts, tanks, socks and necessities. Now I need nice clothes for my career."

SOURCE: INSTYLE

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

Architect and author Sarah Susanka believes that the large homes being built today place too much emphasis on square footage rather than on current lifestyles. Here she shows how homes can be designed to feature "adaptable spaces open to one another, designed for everyday use." She describes how to examine occupants' lifestyles, how to incorporate the kitchen as the focal point of the home, how to give the illusion of space, and how, with storage, lighting, and furniture arrangement, a smaller home can be comfortably livable. Photographs of contemporary homes as well as those by Frank Lloyd Wright and other modern architects illustrate Susanka's ideas and show the timelessness of the style she advocates. This thought-provoking book will be a good addition to architectural and interior design collections.

Kimora's Closet

Kimora Lee Simmons, head of Baby Phat clothing line, combined two bedrooms in her 49,000-square-foot Saddle River, N.J. home to create her expansive walk-in closet. "I wanted my closet to look like a boutique," she says. It contains over 500 pairs of jeans, 35 custom-made Hermes Birkin bags and an extensive collection of jewelry. The closet, which is decorated with leopard-print carpet, marble columns, a mini-bar, and flat screen tvs, only holds some of her clothes—the overflow is stored in other bedroom closets. Everything in her closet is photographed and stored on her computer so she can easily put together outfits, "I'm very neurotic is what my closet says about me," she says. "It's always in great order."

SOURCE: INSTYLE

Closet Feng Shui

Use the bagua as guidance to separate your clothes, jewelry and shoes so that they have the strongest effect on your life. Not familiar with the bagua? A bagua is a feng shui road map. It divides your home into nine sections (called guas) that correspond to the nine main areas of your life.

Skills and Knowledge, Prosperity and Family
On the left side of your closet, place your jewelry, work clothes, or school clothes. This is where your skills and knowledge, prosperity and family guas are.)

Health, Fame and Reputation and Career
Then place your formal or casual evening or weekend wear including workout clothes in the middle of the closet where the health, fame and reputation and career guas lie.

Creativity, Relationships and Helpful People and Travel
Finally, place your most creative clothes, such as intimate wear and travel clothes (and possibly suitcases) on the right side of your closet to represent the creativity, relationship, and helpful people and travel guas.

Here are some other tips that can help:

Make sure that all your shoes are pointing in the same direction in your closet if you want to feel more together and don't want to feel like you are going in a thousand directions all the time.

Add deodorizers if shoes are mixed in with clothes -- a baking soda box can go a long way here.

Make sure the closet doors are easy to open -- happy tracks for sliders, and happy hinges for regular doors. (This goes for drawers as well. If they're stuck, then usually you are too.)

Make sure there is enough light to see everything without effort. Extra wattage can make the difference between a pleasant and a frustrating closet experience.

Shop Your Closet

A former Style.com editor and fashion PR consultant, Melanie Charlton Fascitelli founded the closet design company, Closette, in 2002. The company has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Real Simple, and Marie Claire. She lives in New York City.

Just when you feared your overstuffed, eyesore of a closet was a lost cause, here's the antidote to all your closet woes. Closet expert and style maven Melanie Charlton Fascitelli is here to help you whip your closet into shape, refreshing your wardrobe and saving you time along the way.

With this accessible, stylish guide, you'll find out how to redo your closet and organize your clothes so that you can, yes, go shopping there—sort through shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, scarves, and shoes, all in perfect condition and ready to go.

From the first closet face-off to long-term maintenance, Charlton Fascitelli takes you step by step through the entire process of turning your closet into a "safe haven" for your clothes.

Learn how to:

• Face your inner packrat and clean out your closet
• Shop for and pick items that flatter your body
• Craft the best wardrobe for your lifestyle
• Create space in your closet by reworking it logistically
• Store your clothes and shoes so they last longer
  

Charlton Fascitelli also covers consigning or donating all your old stuff; keeping your closet clean and tidy; packing smartly and efficiently; storing your linens; and organizing other areas of your home, including your medicine cabinet, pantry, or CD collection.

Clearing clutter, organizing clothes, and remaking your wardrobe has never been so easy or attainable. Shop Your Closet is your go-to source for closet nirvana.

Mariah's Shoe Closet

The five-time Grammy award winning artist has an enormous, climate controlled closet in her 12,000 square foot Manhattan triplex. However, the vast space still can't contain all of Mariah Carey's shoes. "I have about 1,000 pairs of shoes. But lots are in storage," she says. Carey designed the sweeping space with gold-leaf and bleached-wood floors. "Like Louis Vuitton luggage," she says, "it will only look better over time." Few girls would be able to fill the closet, which is arranged by color and material, as well as in event-specific groupings. "If someone else ever bought it [the apartment], she'd have to be a total diva!"

SOURCE: INSTYLE

Declutter Your Closet

Declutter your closet is decluttering your life.  You need to be able to shop your closet.  I like to think of my closet as a mini boutique.  Here are my tips for decluttering your closet.

Out with the Old

You know those Hammer pants aren't coming back.  If you haven't worn it in a year, you should toss it.  If it doesn't look good on your anymore or if you haven't worn it in public... toss it!

Wire Hangers Are Whack!

If you want to take proper care of your clothes and help them last longer.   I prefer wooden hangers.  I hate hate hate hate wire hangers.  I think they are the worst thing ever. 

Sort, Sort, Sort

Hang your clothes in categories for easy access. Keep all skirts, pants, shirts and sweaters together where you can see them, and store items that you don't wear very often in the back and sides of your closet.  Apply this same concept when storing shoes.    

Floor It 

You can make the most of your floor space by adding shelves, cubbies or bins at the bottom of your closet.  Adding racks allow for easy access when storing shoes.

Shelf Life

Store jeans, sweats, tees and anything else that won't wrinkle on your closet shelves, either on the top closet shelf or in a hanging shelving units.

Get Inside The Box

Sort accessories like bags and scarves by type, and then store them in separate bins or boxes.

Perfectly Prepped Floor Standing Vanity

With this collection, there’s a place for all of your get-ready supplies – from hair accessories to makeup. Maximize your storage options in one compact unit with this rolling vanity designed with a flip-top mirror and a powerstrip for plug-in essentials. Multiple drawers and cubbies keep bathroom products tucked away and completely organized. This vanity is $329 at pbteen.com. 

Nicky Hilton's Closet

The Hilton heiress and designer of fashion lines Chic and Nicholai grew up in hotels, but Nicky Hilton now calls a 1950s two-story ranch above the Sunset Strip home. It boasts two "very organized" couture-filled walk-in closets. Her shoe collection, which isn't raided by her friends or family because of her size 10.5 foot, is organized by designer."My Manolos are together, Chanels are together, Louboutins together."

SOURCE: INSTYLE