Spring Cleaning: Smart Storage Ideas

February 26, 2013 | By

Now that winter’s come to an end, it’s time for us all to assess the state of our homes. Are they cluttered? Messy? Lacking organization? We can help. We scoured Pinterest for the most creative organization and storage ideas we could find. Here are fabulous solutions to five very common causes of messy countertops, closets, and kitchens.

1. Nail Polish Storage Idea – Spice Rack

via Pinterest

Whether you wall mount it or stow it away on a dresser, a spice rack is the perfect size to store all of your favorite polishes while keeping them visible.

2. Shoe Storage Idea – Open Basket Shelves

via Pinterest

This open shelving unit is the perfect size for shoes, and the basket inserts help keep shoes hidden, yet easily accessible.

3. Makeup Storage Idea – Silverware Organizers

via Pinterest

Silverware organizer trays, found in any home store, are perfect for makeup, too. Keep your products neatly sorted by type instead in one big pile in your bathroom drawer.

4. Art Storage Idea: Hanging Buckets

via Pinterest

This idea for storing art supplies is one of the cutest we’ve seen. How great would this look in any children’s playroom?!

5. Recipe Storage Idea: Binder

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Our trusty recipes are all dotted with sauce splotches and messy fingerprints. The plastic sleeves in this old school-style binder make your cooking completely mess-proof.

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Lose Weight By Accident: A Space Just For YOU!

February 20, 2012 | By

By Jamie G Dougherty

Ever feel like your world is going a thousand miles a minute and you just can’t catch up?  Your desk at work is a mess, there are 3 pairs of shoes, 2 protein bar wrappers and a sweater in the back seat of your car and your apartment appears to be hit by a tornado… every single day!

Managing the chaos in our lives is essential to lose weight by accident as it is often the weighty stuff around us that reflects the weighty stuff within us.  Now, I’m not saying you have to be a control freak about your environment.  I’m certainly the proud owner of a messy desk more often than not (plus I LOVE to leave my clothes on the floor) however, finding a special space where everything is clean, clear and light will allow you to feel the same way in your body.

Fort-like hideaways don’t have to be just for kids.

Take a corner of your bedroom, living room, office or even the bathroom and transform it into a space that makes you feel warm and calm.  Find a luxurious pillow to sit on, a plant to bring in greenery and fresh oxygen (bonsai tree to the right found here) and a candle or two to set a soothing mood.  This is a mess, noise, smart phone and clutter free zone where you get to chill and release from your day.  Visit your special space every time you feel life is getting too frantic and overwhelming.  In other words, go to your special space every day!  This environment is just for you, so take advantage of it and notice how your body softens the moment you sit down.

In the comments below tell me where you’ve created your special space and how it makes you feel.  Much love and enjoy!

Jamie G. Dougherty, founder of JamieLiving.com, empowers busy women to create bodies that are as rockin’ as their careers!  Jamie believes that though kale and brown rice are good foods to put on your plate, until we truly learn HOW to eat rather than just WHAT to eat we will continue to be carb-craving, super-frazzled, stress-out ladies. If you ever feel hungry, stuck and unsatisfied with your food be sure to visit Jamie’s website to get her FREE 5-Step Guide to Fabulous.  Seriously ladies, get ready for Jamie to rock your world!

 

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There’s Something in the Air… Detox Your Ox(ygen)

September 9, 2010 | By

spa home
Please welcome our newest guest columnist: Candy Silvasy, Spa Expert and CEO of Art of the Spa (also the co-founder of #SpaWeekGossip)

Let’s clear the air.  Think you have to live a la Paris or Martha to savor a stylish, sumptuous, spa inspired home?. . . Not!  No matter where you flop from fancy to farmhouse or how much (or little for lots of us these days) money you have – you can Pamper Your Palace and thanks to Spa Week, we’re here every week to rescue your retreat.  And I’m christening our column with something so element-ary that everyone does it all day everyday – breathing!

Loving our lungs by deeply breathing air is not only the simplest way to relax – it nixes nasty toxins.  Many spas even distinguish themselves based on the luxuriousness of their air like the Rio Mar Resort & Mar which has supersonic air filtration systems in the spa and every guest room.

BUT chances are in your own palace dust, pet dander, allergens and/or mold are lurking – sending noxious to your nostrils.  The solution? A few simple Spa ways to Detox Your Ox:

Suck it Up – Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter so dust doesn’t get ejected into the air.  Electrolux’s Sanitaire HEPA Vacuum does it in cheery fire engine red too.

Turn Japanese – Remove and have guests remove their shoes when entering your lair.  (I have cute slippers for mine to wear & this Shoe Pad by the door to gently remind them.)   Oh, and if they’re Manolos put them somewhere safe (nod to Carrie Bradshaw).

Defeat Dust -  Clean with lint free cloths like these from Caldrea – so air tight that surgeons use them.  Green alert – They attract and hold the dust and you don’t have to use chemicals.

Wash the Air – Filter driven air cleaners are so passe.  Perk up your pad with an air washer like the Plaston.  It  draws air through water instead of a mucked up filter.  Beauty Bonus – it humidifies the air keeping your skin moist & glowy.

Purify with Plants – Space isn’t the only thing that NASA is up to.  Their Sick Building study proves many plants suck in harmful gases and clean the air.  The classic book How to Grow Fresh Air gives how-to’s and 50 plants (many super low maintenance) for irritant free inhales.

Listen Up – Check out this airy concoction of inspiring tunes! (Click here for all the other Spa Week Daily playlists)


Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones

Now just breathe. . .  ahh.

Live, Love and Lounge,

Candy

Candy Silvasy is CEO of Art of the Spa (www.spaaroundtheworld.com), a spacentric brand that delivers home decor, beauty, cooking, style and living advice with a Martha Stewartesque flair.  An internationally recognized spa expert, her latest book SpaHome: Makeover Your Maison from Blah to Ahhhhh will be released in February 2011.  Is your pad more stress than sanctuary?  Pick her spa brain at candace@artofthespa.com

Filed Under: Good + Happy, Home Sweet Home, Pamper Your Palace Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Gwyneth’s Nashville Nook

May 27, 2010 | By

Celeb and GOOP author Gwyneth Paltrow and family (Apple included) are going to be in Nashville for a while – so, as you do, Gwyneth had an industrial warehouse converted into a cutting-edge, million-dollar home in just 10 days.

In her newsletter, Gwyneth detailed the breakneck pace and the gorgeous results – at one point, 30 workers were busily installing drywall, painting, hanging, tiling, and wiring – all at once. The furniture and decor was moved into the home with just 3 days to spare.

Head over to Apartment Therapy or Paltrow’s site to check out the results – they’re undeniably gorgeous, but one has to wonder at the wisdom of building an entire home from the ground up just for a temporary stay. Aren’t there any 5 star hotels in Nashville?

(All images courtesy of GOOP)

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Hollywood Living (Where Even Your House Is Famous)

February 23, 2010 | By

If you’re fond of 90s television dramas and have 10 million dollars lying around gathering in dust, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s what you should do with all that scratch–buy the beach house from Beverly Hills 90210 (the original series.)
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The house, which is located near the shops in Manhattan Beach, California, is on the market for a cool $10.5 million. No big!

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If you don’t have millions of dollars lying around to purchase beachfront property with, like I do, then you just need a million to purchase Cameron Frye’s boxy, modern house from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The house is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and costs a very reasonable $1.8 million. Which we all have lying around in our real estate piggybanks.

If you could buy any famous house, what would you buy?

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