Fast tricks to tidy your home

 One of the first things I've been tackling in effort to take care of myself is organization.  
How does organization play into nurturing yourself?  
Easy...the more organized you are, the less stress you have.  
I'm ALL about de-stressing these days.  
I still have some work to do with organizing my house but it is coming along.  
Hey, organizing takes time you know but it is time well spent I assure you!

If you missed my first post on organization, you can read up on it here. 

Today I'm sharing some quick and easy tools 
you can use to  tame the clutter crazies.

~ Stacks ~

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Have a cluttered coffee table?  
Make your stacks intentional.  
Corral those magazines and books, stack them high and add a nice little topper like flowers or a candle.

~ Trays ~

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 Have a bunch of loose items in your bathroom or on your dresser?  
Tidy them up by combining them all on a pretty tray.  
It will look like an artful arrangement rather than a bunch of strewn items.

~ Baskets ~

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 Baskets offer not only aesthetically appealing storage but they can help you clean up in a jiffy. 
Company coming over?  
Just toss it all in a basket and you're good to go.

~ Bowls ~

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Bowls can work much the same as baskets, 
and there are a ton of options no matter what your style.

Containers can be so much fun to shop for.  Don't be overwhelmed 
by the variety out there.  You can stick to something neutral to play it safe or 
you can get a little funky.  I adore the urn used for the kitchen utensils above.   
Its traditional in nature and style but funky in the way that it is being used...t
he best of both worlds!  
Use you imagination and have fun...
and watch the clutter virtually disappear :)

*Many of the ideas for this post came from here.
** Yes, I changed my look again...just can't help myself ;)

Favorites and a Shop link-up

Do you have an online shop?  

Do you also blog?

Then The Blogging Shop Owners link-up may just be for you ;)

The Goal: Get to know and be inspired by other blogging shop owners; share your tips, tricks, and favorite items with other people; and get some free marketing while you're at it. Each month's linkup will have a different topic. This is the first month and the topic is 

showing off a couple of your favorite items from your shop. 

Kim at the K.O. Story is hosting the link-up, so swing on over and check it out.

Link-up

It's a great opportunity to network with other bloggy shop owners and I encourage you to join in.

Happy Networking!

Here are my current favorites from my Etsy Shop

Royal Simplicity Necklace

It never fails to make me feel confident when I wear it.

Onyx and Obsidian Bangle

I adore the movement in this bracelet, all that flirty fringe is just so much fun.

African Bloom Earrings

These were sold out for a while but I have them now back up in the shop.  I love the colors of the African Turquoise contrasted with the warmth of the carved wood.  This pair looks stunning with an all black top.

The mud of love

 Jump in the mud, mud  

Get your hands filthy, love  

Give it up, love, everyday
All you need is  

All you want is  

All you need is love

-Dave Matthews "Everyday" 

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Let's change the world today.

Let's jump in the mud of love.

Get everyone filthy with it!

Your neighbor

Your co-worker

Your kids

Your spouse

The checkout clerk

The waiter

Give filthy amounts of love today :)

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Flexing the old design muscles

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So you may not know that I have a background in graphic design, although I have not been 

very involved in it for many years. You'd never be able to guess my design background 

from looking at my blog.  Admittedly I do not spend a lot of time on the design of this baby.  

Not because I don't care, I just have to prioritize other things (aka work, kids, hubby, jewelry biz) 

to come in front of it and alas there are only so many hours in a day.

But over the past week or so I've been doing some design work for for Hubsy's business 

and I've loved it.  And so now I'm itching to improve things a bit.  A few months ago we got a

 new Mac with the intention of getting Photoshop and some of the other greats but they have 

not yet shown up in the budgeting plan :)  

So for the past few years I've been using a free program called Inkscape.  

Not that it is terrible in and of itself but you just can't export it to anything without losing the 

effects and such.  If your a designer, you know this is BAD....like way BAD...

extremely frustrating and extremely limiting.

So I'm curious to know what you all use for creating graphics for your blog or business.  

Do you have an "in-between" program to recommend or is it essentially Photoshop or bust?

Spotlight on color | Amethyst

Oh yeah, I totally put Prince in there!

Many of you probably already know that February's birthstone is Amethyst. 
Oh how I wish I was a February baby!

Amethyst can range from gentle violet to brilliant purple.

 Long known as the color of royalty, purple has many other properties you may not be aware of.

It is said to be the color of spiritual fulfillment and purpose.  If you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind.  

No wonder I've always been drawn to it :)

Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, 

it is believed to be the ideal color.

Even if you aren't a February baby, don't let that stop you from rocking this commanding color!

If you want to add some calm power to your look, go for Amethyst.  

Pair it with light or dark shades, you can't go wrong.

Find Amethyst in my Etsy Shop!

Sparkling Wines Earrings

Wishful thinking and giveaway winners

Like most of the country, my mind is starting to turn towards Spring. Really I only like cold weather through the New Year.  It would be A-OK with me if Spring could start in January, so let's work on that Mother Nature shall we? :)  Guess I'll have to move back to NC if I want warm weather in January 'cause it surely isn't happening in Pittsburgh until April. *Sigh*

So for now I find myself being drawn to all things Spring on my favorite vehicle for wasting time...Pinterest.
I thought I'd share a few with you.  

Take a moment...close your eyes.  

Hear the glorious song of the birds.  

Oh how I miss the birds!  

Smell the scent of life blooming all around you. 

Isn't it heaven!?

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And now for the giveaway winners...

Ashley Anderson you have won the Blue Apatite Teardrop Earrings!

Stephanie Holden you have won the Golden Branches with Amazonite Earrings!

Send your mailing address to me at krista.btmbeadworks@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Thanks for entering, I truly hope you enjoy your new earrings!

Organizing your home

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Proven fact, the less clutter their is the less stressed you will feel.

Can I get an AMEN?

Everything needs a home and I mean everything!

If you're like me you have a perpetual pile of stuff that you can't throw away but really aren't sure what to do with it.  Mine resides on my kitchen countertop.
Give it a home, even if that means a bin labeled "homeless stuff" :)

At least it's in a designated spot and can be periodically gone through to see what can be tossed and what may finally be able to be given a different home.

The biggest culprits for me are the boys' toys and financial/home/school related papers.
We've worked hard to give all toys a new home.
In other words, out of the normal living space.  Sound too harsh for the kiddos?  I don't think so.  This way they have to be intentional about what they want to play with.  They can go grab it from its home in the basement or in their bedroom and bring it to the main floor to play but then it needs to "go back home" before they get something new out.  It's genius I say!  I can't tell you how much better my mental state has been by having less toys strewn about everywhere.
My feet are happier too without the pain of stepping on Legos :)

I spent some time organizing the toys so that all the pieces are now together in one place.  I just need to get them labeled before I forget where everything goes :) Since E is too young to read yet, I'll make picture labels so its easy for him to identify what items go in which bins.

I must admit.  I'm still struggling with the homeless yet important papers but I am determined to get it straightened out.  We have a very small file cabinet so I need to go through and reorganize it, making room for some new papers.  Lord know there's probably papers from 2007 in there.

Here are some other tips I found that I fully plan to implement....stat!

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 -A HOME binder-
Get a large binder to keep master lists of all household-related contacts.
(electric company, phone company, water company, heating company, plumber, electrician, mechanic, cable company, car insurance company, home insurance company, health insurance company. Include your account number, the name of the provider and the phone number.)
You can also keep a profile of each family member in there.
(date of birth, medical conditions and phone numbers of physicians. Each profile can be as elaborate as you want it to be, listing anything and everything — from underwear sizes to ring sizes — if you are a lover of details!)  You can find free printables to help here.

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-Master Schedule-

Having a master family schedule is also a great way to eliminate household confusion. While on your trip to the office supply store, grab one of those oversized calendars and some colored markers (I prefer the dry-erase type). Assign each family member a color, and fill in the 

 calendar with everyone's day-to-day schedule.

When assigning your colors, make sure you save one color to designate family time and then be sure to include time for family on your calendar (this is even more important as the kids get older and their activities leave everyone feeling disconnected). Once a week, try to plan something special to do as a family. Whether it is going for a weekend morning walk or taking a special outing to the park, having regularly scheduled family times will ensure that the ties that bind don't unravel amid the business of life.

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 -An organized Kitchen-

My kitchen is the catch-all that every one of us clutters.  We seem to always have bookbags on the floor and some sort of electronics, clothes, and toys all over the counter tops....not to mention those ever multiplying dirty dishes.  Trying to clear the counter top is essential because when it is clean, I automatically take a cleansing breath and feel more peaceful. Some suggestions to clear those counters are using drawer and shelf organizers, take advantage of wall space,  and store like items together.   Drawer and shelf organizers will help you keep your stuff where you need it so you don't need to wade through all that counter clutter to find a pen.  Use wall pegs for your pot holders and dish towels.  

Somewhere along the way, we have separated those items from the same family.  Like our peanut butter is kept with the liquor :)  And for some reason I keep the kids' fruit snacks with the protein powder Hubsy and I use instead of with the other snacks.  It's chaos I say!

These tips are sure to help you get a better hold on things and give you that "ahhh" feeling when your home is calm and collected.  Do you have any other tips to share? Please do!

Happy Organizing!

**Many of the ideas for this post came from here and here.