{Resolution: Organization} Pepper Design Blog

Next up in my series on organization is Morgan, of Pepper Design Blog.

 

 I was originally drawn to Morgan's blog because of the some amazing parties she had helped to throw, but stuck around for much more than that! She shares all about her family's adventures with remodeling & decorating their home, parenting, crafts, and even some fashion.  Plus she's always ready with a fabulous tutorial.  I also love that Morgan sticks to a budget with her projects.  Fabulous designs and parties are even more impressive to me when they are done with a realistic budget. 

Morgan was kind enough to share with us where she stores all her goods, and to explain her systems. Here's what Morgan had to say:  

I'm honored to be here today as a guest of Sandi's! My name is Morgan and I'm visiting from Pepper Design Blog - a little project of mine that focuses on the remodeling of our family's 1930's home plus a collection of parties, projects and people that inspire me. I'm delighted to share my organizing tips today since I've recently finished arranging my home office's bookshelves. 

I work from home nearly full time as the marketing director of a company that's located on the other end of California, so I find it absolutely essential to have a base at the house that will help me stay on top of all of my projects and deliveries. The funny thing is - my home office does that but primarily functions as one giant craft room (shhh - don't tell the boss). While I keep file cabinets and folders full of marketing work, I have reserved 80% of my shelf space to carefully and cleanly layout painting, knitting, sewing, felting and so on craft supplies. These are the things, after all, that really need that designated 'home' or they begin to take over!

You can read all about our little house transformation and how we turned the old 70's kitchen into an office and guest bedroom here (don't worry, we relocated the kitchen elsewhere). Though I must warn you it is still 'in progress'.

But let's get down to organizing and my tips for creating a peaceful space: 1. labeling, 2. boxes, bins & baskets, 3. functionality, 4. room to breathe.

Labeling is my best friend when it comes to organizing a space. For me, it's important to clearly identify a home for each object or I definitely won't remember where to find my hem tape or beading pliers in a snap. I keep a little handheld labeling machine nearby for my file folders, but I find a simple printed label from the computer will do just fine for my boxes and bins.

Speaking of boxes and bins, there are plenty of killer deals to be found on these super helpful organizing tools if you create a habit of consistently checking the sale racks at stores like Target, The Container Store or office supply stores, plus online perusing on those great deal sites. I picked up the brown boxes and metal baskets on my shelves at See Jane Work, the fabric floral boxes at a killer price on One Kings Lane, the white magazine butlers and file bin at West Elm on, and various filing bins on sale at Home Depot and Target. Having an office that is also pretty helps to remind me to put everything back where it belongs at the end of the day (well... I try).

Jars, baskets and containers serve their purpose well on an organized shelf. I keep spools of thread, wrapped up bunches of ribbon and even frequently referred to paint chips in unusual vessels that I've found at garage sales and while thrifting.

My last and final tip is to organize your shelves with two ideas in mind: functionality and breathing room. It's important that the objects you use most often are at an easy reach and are easily accessible. When it comes to styling, I often have to remind myself to allow the objects to 'breathe'. You don't want too many books, high boxes or baskets smashed in next to each other - seeing a decent amount of wall space on each shelf is okay. 

 I'm no organizing guru - in fact my family would probably laugh if they heard me offering advice on the subject! But from one mom/colleague/blogger to another, I'm learning as I go :).

Thanks, Sandi!

Find Morgan here: 

Pepper Design Blog
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If you missed it, check out the behind the scenes peak from GreyGrey Designs I shared earlier this week!