Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!
You may remember a few years ago I did a post showing you how I labeled my spice jars.
Truth be told they weren't exactly what I wanted...
I had always planned on labeling them in white but, Erik and I realized that household printers don't print white...
Needless to say, I settled with the black labels and I didn't mind them.
A few years have passed and the labels aren't holding up well.

In all honesty, I think it was simply user error. 
So, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to go back to what I originally wanted.
White cursrive labels.
Only this time they will be handwritten.

You will need:
Spice Jars
White Oil Based Paint Marker

Remove the old labels.

Clean the outside of the spice jars and remove any leftover sticker residue.

Dry thoroughly.

Using the paint marker label the jar with the name of the coordinating spice in your desired handwriting.

I went with cursive but print would work great too!

Let the ink dry.

Put away.

Enjoy!

The jars weren't the only thing I upgraded.

I moved the spices from their tiny cupboard,

 to a three-tiered shelf in our pantry.

Overall I am much happier with the results!

Bye worn-out labels!

I love the look of these spice jars much more than my originals.

The white is easier to read and gives a brighter, cleaner look.

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year!

The older I have gotten, the less into resolutions I have been.

Resolutions are great, don't get me wrong, but when I don't stick to them I tend to spiral.

So, I don't regularly make resolutions anymore.

I do love me a fresh start and any excuse to organize though. 

As we head into the first full week of the year I thought I'd share a few things I have done or will be doing to help me feel refreshed for the New Year.

Update A Space

We all have a space we spend the majority of our time in.

Maybe it's your desk at work, a desk at home or even your car.

No matter the space, start the year by giving it a little refresh.

Organize the clutter, throw out what you no longer need and add some fun new items that make you happy.

I decorated my desk at my seasonal job with some washi tape, illustrations and quotes.

It took no time at all and made all the difference.

Now my little desk is brighter and a lot more fun.

Enjoy Some Uplifting Content

I love bad TV.

I mean LOVE it.

It's one of the things that helps me turn my brain off.

That being said, I do notice a difference when I binge hours of bad TV rather than intake some good content.

So, turn off that bad TV show, put down that gossip magazine and get some uplifting content in your life.

You know, the stuff that motivates you to do better and be better?

I have loved watching Reese Witherspoon's Shine On series.

It highlights women in different career fields that are making a difference.

You can find it currently on Netflix.

I also love listening to the Awesome with Alison podcast.

She is a girl that lets her freak flag fly while sharing advice on how to live your best life.

You can find it wherever you stream your podcasts.

I have heard amazing things about Rachel Hollis' books Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing.

I haven't had the chance to dive into them just yet but I am excited to devour them this year.

Switch To A Reusable Product

If you are like me, you have at least one thing that will help you go green you keep meaning to do.

For us, it was buying reusable shopping bags.

Every time we go to the store and add another plastic bag to our plastic bag family the guilt would get real...

We finally bit the bullet and used some Christmas cash to invest in a few reusable bags.

I am excited to finally be helping the environment in a small way and to also get a drawer in my kitchen back.

So, whether you have been meaning to buy a reusable water bottle, add a second trash can for recycling or get some of them fancy aluminum straws, invest in it now and feel good that you are doing your part in some small way. 

Schedule Those Appointments

The holidays are officially over which means it's time to get back to the real world.

Boo...

A few of my least favorite things happen during the first part of the year.

Taking down Christmas decorations, my yearly trip to the doctor and tax day...

We try to get these taken care of as soon as possible so we don't have to think about them until the following year.

It's such a simple thing to do but it makes me feel hella accomplished and adult AF.

Schedule your doctor's appointments, schedule your tax appointment and then if you are like me reward yourself by scheduling something fun.

This year I scheduled a stay at my favorite hotel for my birthday.

Now that's one appointment I am not planning on missing.

Clean Out A Cluttered Space

We all have those small areas in our lives that collect clutter like crazy.

Bathroom cabinets, mail cubbies, nightstand drawers.

For us, like most homes in America, it's the dreaded kitchen junk drawer.

These spaces are so small but collect random junk like crazy!

Take a few minutes out of your day and organize that space!
It really doesn't take that long and will make finding things SO much easier.

These are just a few simple ways I am starting the year feeling accomplished.

They are all easy and took me less than an hour to do. 

Do you set New Year's resolutions?

If so, what are some of yours for 2020?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen my stories about decluttering our house.

As the weather started to get warmer, I got the bug to do a little spring cleaning. 

There were so many closets, drawers and cabinets that needed some serious attention.

I was feeling ready for a new start and was finally in a good place where I could say goodbye to a few things I have held onto for years. 

I didn't want it to turn into just another thing "I meant to do" so, I decided to set a deadline for myself.

Each year my family gathers together for a Yard Sale in my parent's neighborhood. 

My parents live in a community with an HOA that only lets them have Yard Sales twice a year on specific dates.

Due to the number of people who participate, it has grown into quite a large event. 

After finding out the date of the Yard Sale I decided it would be my deadline. 

I would go through everything in our house and have it ready for the Yard Sale.

We would try to make a little mula and what didn't sell would go to goodwill and stop taking up space in our house.

Each weekend from March till June I would take around half an hour and go through a spot in our house.

The junk drawer, under the bathroom sinks, the linen closet, the entryway table.

One by one they were sorted through and decluttered. 

It felt so good to get rid of things. 

I would classify myself as a pack rack. 

I find sentimental value in a lot of random things. 

During the last year or so I feel that I have come to find and understand myself a little more.

Because of that, I was able to go through things and recognize what they meant to me and whether or not I should keep them.

I cannot tell you the number of things that have stayed with us unnecessarily for years.

From my parent's house to our first apartment to our second apartment to our current house.

And now they are gone!

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and everything we have now has a purpose and a place.

Plus, we were able to make a little extra money!

Erik and I brought our game faces to this Yard Sale as we knew it would be our last one for a while.

We were ready to draw people in and haggle with the best of them.

We ended up making just under $70 which isn't too crazy but, it is $70 bucks we didn't have before. 

It will help pay for some churros in Disneyland. 😉
And now we have a nice clean house!

What is the most untidy place in your home?

All my love, 

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Does anyone still have their Christmas decorations up?

I finally bit the bullet this weekend and took ours down.

It's seriously one of my least favorite days of the year.

It's like a bad break up.

Christmas just decides to leave me and I am taken by surprise. 

I thought we meant something to each other.

I thought we had something special.

Time passes and it gets easier.

My friends and family tell me it's time to move on but it's too soon.

Then one day, I wake up and I have accepted that it's over and it's time to move forward without Christmas.

All of it's stuff gets put into boxes.

And what's this?

Someone new to share my life with?

Valentine's Day, you say?

I have mentioned before that January is not my favorite month.
Christmas breaking up with me every year really doesn't help...
But, something that does help is my first ever giveaway!
I love to give people gifts so, giveaways have always been something that interested me.
I am proud to say we are finally doing it!
My hope is to do one giveaway each month this year.
This month I am giving away a bando planner on my Instagram.

Hello everyone!

For those of you who don't know I love organizing things.

There is nothing more satisfying to me than an organized house.

Last week I was able to get one of my projects off of my to-do list. 

Organizing my spice cabinet!

Here is what I used:

Spice Jars

Spices

Clear Sticker Paper

Printer
Ink

Remove stickers and labels from new jars.

I picked up these spice jars from the Container Store, AKA heaven.

They hold 3 ounces which is more than enough space to hold a regular spice jar and it has a shaker top!

Clean the jars with warm water and soap.

Dry thoroughly.

Create your labels.

I created mine on the computer in word with a free font called love moment. 

Then I printed them out on Silhouette Printable Sticker Paper.

You do not need a Silhouette Machine for this.

It will work with a regular printer.

Make sure your printer is set to best or high quality, this will make it so the ink won't come out faint on the paper.

Give the labels plenty of time to dry so they won't smudge.

Cut labels to size and place them on the coordinating jar.
Give your cabinet a good cleaning.
 Place jars back inside.
And you are done!

Look at how much more room we have!

There were several spices that we had doubles of.

I could never find anything so I assumed we were out when we actually weren't...

Now we can find everything in a snap and we have so much more room!

This was such a satisfying project.

Having the same container for each spice creates a feeling of continuity and makes it look put together.

It really makes a difference!

What organizing projects do you have on your to-do list?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

You may not know I am what some people might call a pack rat.

I hold onto everything...

Receipts, concert tickets, confetti, play programs, you name it.

I have been collecting these for years.

I have always had the intention of doing something with all of these keepsakes and finally found the time.
I decided to create my own keepsake journals.

A few months ago I dug out my storage bin of all of the keepsakes I had kept and started to organize them.

I decided the best way to organize everything would be by year.

I created scratch pieces of paper, added the years 2000 -2018 on them and sorted everything into the corresponding piles.

It took a few days...

Then the real fun began!

I picked out these journals and started to add my memories to them.

To make it simpler I tried to keep everything in chronological order.
It was pretty easy adding all the keepsakes to the journals.

I added little touches such as stickers, Washi Tape, or things I wanted to remember.

I think they turned out so cute!

I like the minimalistic look of doodles and thought they would be the perfect fit to label the cover of these kraft journals.

The best part is that these journals hardly take up any room.

I have them displayed in my office on my bookshelf.

Now I can easily grab them and share my memories.
No more going to the basement, lugging up the heavy box and digging through everything to find one item.

This project was a little time consuming but I definitely think it was worth it.
They are already so much fun to look through and I know I will enjoy reliving the memories for years to come. 

How do you keep your keepsakes organized?

All my love,
Autumn

Hello everyone!

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday weekend.

Today I will be going over the final design for Erik's office.

This is for the wall to the right of our last concept design.

This wall is painted a dark gray as well.

Against the wall Erik has two large black bookcases.

Here his massive game system collection is displayed.

Every shelf holds a different game system and to the side of the game system is a stack of games that go with it.

In between the bookcases he has his TV.

Currently the TV sits on a dinky little shelf.

I would like to get a more sturdy bookcase and get the TV mounted above it.

I really liked the look of the this bookcase and love how it is separated for storage.

On it we will store the game systems he is currently playing along with his TV series collection.

Erik has so much gaming equipment.

I think this is a great way to display it without it looking too cluttered.

How do you keep all your clutter organized?

Hello everyone!

The holiday season is finally upon us which means that there are many plans to be made.

Every year I make a Christmas Planner and it doesn't leaves my side until Christmas day.

I originally got the idea from the girls of Eighteen25 several years ago and have continued to make one every year since.

You will need:

Composition Notebook

Decorative Paper

6X9 Envelope

Letter Stickers

Washi Tape

Rubber Cement 

Scissors

Pencil

Hello everyone!

Erik and I have lived in our house for about a year and a half and finally took on a big project that has been on our to do list.

Cleaning out the garage!

When we first moved in anything we couldn't find a place for got left in the garage.

A few months later my parents dropped off a large amount of stuff they had been storing for me at their house and it was left in the garage.

A few months after that Erik came home from his Mom's house with a ton of boxes from his childhood and they were left in the garage as well.

Add all of those things in with the random stuff the previous owners left for us and we had one messy garage.

We decided to finally tackle it since winter will soon be upon us and Erik would like to be able to park his new truck in the garage.

I am embarrassed to show this but here is the before: 

And the after:

The previous owners built their own shelves and left them in the garage when they moved out. 

We didn't mind as they came in use.

We moved quite a bit of junk inside and organized it in our basement.

The rest we organized into sections: yard tools, camping equipment, car supplies, etc.

The other half of our garage still has some work to be done and a trip to the dump is in order but I think we made great progress on the first half.

And Erik can finally park in the garage!

What are some big projects you have on your to do list?