Tag Archives: organization

let’s start the new year off right belles…

21 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by in the organized belle, what's ringin' our belle

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Happy 2019, belles!! We must admit, the holidays were a blur, and now we find ourselves in mid-late January! How does this happen?? We’ve realized it’s time to get serious about settling into 2019. First up…get rid of 2018, 2017, 2016…2006…you get it, right!?

Read this from Life Hack to get yourself in the right frame of mind. Then get busy!

We love this list from HGTV on what you can toss now:

Spare contact lens cases

Broken costume jewelry

Dictionaries

Wrinkled wrapping paper and crushed bows

Latex paint (if it’s more than a year old)

A bread machine

VHS workout tapes

Manuals for appliances and electronics (they’re all available online)

Cookbooks you’ve cracked open once

Random vacuum cleaner attachments

Old remote controls you don’t recognize

Scrunchies that have lost their scrunch

Incomplete decks of playing cards

Bridesmaid dresses (go to operationprom.org for info on how to donate)

Take-out menus (everything’s online!)

Picture frames with broken easel backs

Road maps (hello GPS)

Mixtapes

Unidentifiable keys

Almost empty bottles of bubbles

In-line skates

Contents of goodie bags from kids’ parties

Impossible puzzles no one has ever finished

Free gifts from cosmetic purchases

Orphan mittens

Travel guidebooks

Chargers for old electronics

Wire hangers from the dry cleaner (return them to your cleaners)

Dusty potpourri

Chopsticks and soy sauce packets

Your “fat” clothes

Carpet remnants

Filled coloring books

Stretched-out bras

Scratched nonstick pans

Anything with an antenna

Prescription eyeglasses that are no longer your prescription (go to lionsclubs.org for info on how to donate)

Umbrellas with bent or broken spokes

Allen wrenches from DIY furniture

Checkbook registers

Disposable cameras

Musical instruments no one plays anymore (go to Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation for info on how to donate)

Business cards

Smelly towels

Fishbowls

Fancy loose teas you received as a hostess gift

The Yellow Pages

Soccer uniforms the kids have outgrown or no longer need

And this one from Somuchbetterwithage.com

We don’t think there’s anything more gratifying then a good edit…

Go ahead and lighten your load!

a&a

share and share alike…3 un-belle-ievable links every belle needs

03 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by in Beauty belle, fashion forward, the organized belle, what's ringin' our belle

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Ahhh those hot summer nights….and days…and mornings! Sometimes a belle feels like she might just melt! So….before you melt completely this holiday weekend, check this list of hacks from the beauty high blog.

What a brilliant list of pertinent and helpful ideas to keep us belles looking pulled together and fresh-as-a-daisy. Some are great reminders, but plenty are tips we’d never heard. So read on and keep cool…inside and out!!

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Go to beautyhigh.com

Not to be outdone, and certainly no less useful (especially for us messier belles) is a list of hacks …a veritable wealth of information…frankly a mass of miracles…to solve all of our stain dilemmas. Thank you whowhatwear.com, a blog that we love to check regularly with for all sorts of tips, tricks and advice for the fashionable, au courant belle.

20140630-203650-74210620.jpgAt whowhatwear.com

And because whowhatwear.com has been on another level lately with their helpful tips, we had to give them another shout out and share their organizational tips. We can never be too informed on this matter and they have come up with some ideas so simple and plentiful that you’ll want to drop everything (in a tidy pile of course) and get to organizing.

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At whowhatwear.com

So there are a few tips and tricks that we are sure to use and we sure hope by sharing that y’all will make use of them too. Here’s to a beautiful, clean, and well organized summah and beyond.

a&a

apps to make a belle’s life easier…your friday friend-1-1

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in friday friend 1-1, what's ringin' our belle

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Just a quick tip for all you belles out there…

Here is a terrific post on TEDBlog that you will not want to miss…it’s a must-read for any belle on-the-go.

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They highlight apps that do quite amazing things such as helping getting around a city, staying organized, staying in shape and other “random” things that we might not have even known we needed!

So do yourself a favor and make your lives a tad easier…thank you Tedblog!
a&a

tech trends…one for you, one for me gifts…your friday friend-1-1

07 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by in friday friend 1-1, the organized belle, what's ringin' our belle

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We must admit, most gifts that we give are actually items that we covet ourselves…that’s just how we belles roll. So…as we shop for gifts, we love finding the perfect reasonably-priced items so that we can do the one for you, one for me thing without the guilt!

Here are a couple of things in the tech arena that fit the bill!

First…the “Cord Taco Supreme 5-pack” from This Is Ground. Don’t know about you, but messy cords all over the place make us a bit testy…just sayin’.

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These little babies keep the mess to a minimum…and you won’t believe how many colors they offer!! We love this metallic gold, but the choice is yours!

Next, a cool spin on the phone cover…

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the stick-on gel cover from Exofab. Again, color options galore…so there’s one to suit everyone on your list (including yourself…of course). Only drawback…they don’t have covers for the iPhone 6 which just might be on someone’s wish list. Exofab…please work on that soon!

And speaking of the “6”…check out this sleek pebbled leather folio in cayenne/gunmetal from ShopBop

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Just $50 and also available in other colors!

For the younger (or not so) set…how about these cute home-button covers.
From Amazon, here is just a small sample of the whopping 216 buttons in the package!!!

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These should last a while!

And finally…who knew we even needed this??

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It’s a dust plug for your earphone jack! It’s just $1.82 on Amazon…so, what the heck!! Get one for ALL the princess belles in your life!!

We’ll keep shoppin’ and sharin’. Gift-givin’ season is right around the corner!’
a&a

these trays are trés magnifique…a belle bonus

14 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by in the organized belle, what's ringin' our belle

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Oh, dear belles, do we have a gift idea for you! We happen to have a belle-friend who is amazingly creative…maybe we should say “Creative” with a capital “C”! She paints, she designs…she’s like the energizer bunny! So when she showed us her latest creation, we were not entirely surprised to see that she had come up with yet another winner!

Now, we have gone on and on about lucite before…so you know we are fans. Sharp and chic, it fits with almost any decor. Add a spot of color and some personalization, and, voila, you have a one-of-a-kind piece…in this case, a gorgeous tray that will have all the other belles begging to know where on earth you found such a smart treasure!

In two sizes and an almost endless array of colors and patterns, you can create just the perfect one (or more) for yourself, your list of graduates, a shower gift, or hostess gift (because a belle would never show up for a weekend without a special little something…just sayin’.

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the small (8 1/2″ x 11″ and priced at $48) is perfect for holding keys, glasses, phones…an excellent choice for a dorm organizational piece or maybe neat containers of cotton balls and/or cotton swabs in the bath.

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The large (11 x 17 and $75) is just the perfect size for you to show off as the “hostess with the mostest”! Load it up with drinks or appetizers…or perhaps some dear will load it up with a delish breakfast and deliver it to you in bed, princess!

You may visit her Etsy shop here for more photos of the trays and options galore (and check out her other belle-worthy items while you’re at it)…or you may place an order directly through her if you are “local”. Just shoot an email to her at ordersatpaperpetals@gmail.com

Now, how easy (and awesome) is that??!

You’re welcome, belles!
a&a

teen jeans (and other organizational ah-ha’s)…your friday friend-1-1

23 Friday May 2014

Posted by in the organized belle

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Being moms to a few teen-belles, we are always trying to come up with ways to help the little darlings organize their ever-expanding wardrobes.  (not an easy task as the precious apples have not fallen far from the shop-a-holic-in-denial trees)  Add to those expanding wardrobes the typical dis-organization of the typical teen and the fact that both of our homes were built in the early 1900’s (as in the pre-ready-to-wear-why-would-anyone-need-more-than-a-cubby-as-a-clothes-closet days!!)

So…when an organizational idea strikes, we implement with abandon!  Take for instance the idea of using pretty coordinating baskets to store certain items in full view, freeing up some very valuable closet real estate.  Take a look at these images for some inspiration…

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Jeans work well in baskets because they are somewhat uniform in size and color, and can be folded in a way that allows the impatient prospective wearer to find what she needs at a moments notice

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Sandals can be paired up in baskets…again, making it easier for the prospective wearer to find what she needs (much better than the pile in the dark closet)…

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and Toms and other cute slip-ons work beautifully as well!

Bonus…if the teen happens to empty the jean basket as she tosses pair-after-pair aside in the getting-ready frenzy, (what…does it sound as though we speak from experience??), it is quite obvious to her upon her return to her chambre exactly where the jeans are to be re-placed (and the sooner the better…just sayin’)

Now, let’s not forget that these little organizational ah-ha’s don’t apply only to baskets and teen-belles.  We can all take advantage of some of these ideas.  Take, for example, one husband’s t-shirt drawer…

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This particular husband tended to wear the same 2-3 t-shirts over and over while insisting that “someone” was “stealing” his favorites.  Well, enter this brilliant idea (must give credit to a Pinterest pinner).  Storing the shirts in the drawer with the shirt-front visible allows the husband to do a quick inventory…as often as he pleases…to be sure all of his beloved shirts are present and accounted for.  Now everyone can rest peacefully 😉

We will share other organizational ideas in time…we need to give you belles time to implement these before we bombard you with more!!

a&a

(bobby) pin this…another RARE stroke of genius – your friday friend-1-1

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by in what's ringin' our belle

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After you freshen your breath, don’t dare throw that adorable little box in the trash! We have a much better future in store for this tiny item. Storage….for your bobby pins!
Genius right?!? Another Pinterest find, we admit, and no we aren’t addicted, just a little preoccupied.

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You’re welcome…again.

a&a