Tile: The World's Largest Lost and Found

How brilliant is this?

Will I be able to attach one to my brain?

Thank you, SR!

more info

One final thought

About this or any other holiday.

Assuming that you plan to celebrate and/or decorate next year AND you don't want to rethink everything you spent time creating/organizing, photograph what worked.   You'll save a tremendous amount of time and energy.  The goal isn't about perfection.  It's about simplicity/sanity/starting points. All while capitalizing on what worked well.  Tweaking or total revamping, absolutely allowed.

No need to make an album, as I did years ago/though this still works for me today.  Just figure out how to organize and, more importantly, how to access those photos.

Halloween Postmortem

Yes, I have definitely lost it.  Or I'm well on my way. 

We've had non-stop house guests with more on the way.  Don't ask.  It's been Great Fun.  Really.  REALLY!

So what better time to revamp storage?  Products. Not People.

In an effort to Clean Out Every Conceivable Nook and Cranny in our House/OMGOSH/in order to make space for/as one Feng Shui consultant expressed/New, Exciting Things to Enter/I discovered our kids' Halloween costumes today. YES! Some pieces are missing but generally outfits are intact. This is the upside of saving Everything From One's Life. There is, as you might imagine, a HUGE DOWNSIDE. The benefit is that these mini-works of art/yeah, right/are now being refurbished/revitalized and brought into Our Current/soon-to-be dismantled/Halloween Household.  I am not endorsing this kind of behavior. But, hey, Halloween is my kind of holiday, remember? Thanksgiving is almost a month away.

So if any holiday is Your Kind of Holiday, how do you store stuff from year to year?  Initially I used cardboard boxes. Critters chewed their way into/and demolished/everything. So we've gradually been shifting to large, labeled plastic bins. Target was my target today. Tomorrow, labels printed for each room or set of rooms. Or outside spaces.  I'll try including pictures today but if those coming for dinner arrive, tomorrow's the day.

We're on our way to seeing what New,Exciting Experiences Are Coming Our Way!

Feng Shui Lady, you're going to be so proud of what happened today! 

Even if you're not, I AM!



Anne's plan

Some of us have Big Plans but never get around to actually implementing those ideas.  Not Anne.  She has a plan.  For pretty much everything.  I was the lucky recipient of her most recent inspiration.

Having given her one of my photo bags/left/she, in turn, designed and sewed an insert that could accommodate all the stuff I typically schlep.  It's a concept that works for the chronically disorganized (me) and the amazingly well organized (Anne).  And, of course, anyone in between who cares about some semblance of order on a day-to-day basis.

For everyone who isn't lucky enough to have an Anne in their life but does like the idea of finding what they need in an instant, I tracked down this terrific product:  The Cherry Brand Handbag Organizer.

Check out the Amazon link/above.  As you’ll see, the insert has enough pockets to pack and actually find your keys, cell phone, pens, Post-Its, pads, pens/whatever you carry with you each day.  As you might imagine, changing purses is a total no brainer. 

Photo bag blog coming soon.

Update on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 5:12PM by Lois

From Connie:  About my new little Cherry bag. I have the medium size. Today it is in my fishing bag, yesterday my golf bag, the day before, my hiking backpack, last night, my purse at the concert, and tomorrow in my bike basket. I LOVE it! Thank you!