The Big Picture / Out the Window

I stood in the aisle at Canadian Tire and freaked the eff out. "$25 for varnish? Where is that money coming from?"

I stormed out the door and stomped all the way home (fortunately, not very far away - my poor knees!). We needed the varnish, but certainly not as much as Scott needed new shoes, and we have a road trip coming up, not to mention it's now wedding season... life just felt really expensive. Even though part of me knew that we had a plan in place for all of this, I just couldn't SEE how we could make ends me.

I'm a highly visual person. I was the kid that - when learning about the different bones in the body - pulled out the skeleton from the Halloween decorations, and made a came out of labeling each bone with sticky-notes. Why it had never occurred to me to make a giant poster of our budget is beyond me. But that's how Scott & I spent our Saturday night - making giant posters.

Now, when I stand in the aisle at Canadian Tire and freak out over the cost of varnish, I visualize the poster: "We have $50 set a side each month for household items. That is where this money will come from." And even better, when we want to do something, but life feels oh so very expensive, we made a poster of all the free/cheap things we can do in the city. Now, we have no excuse for yelling at each other over money or sitting at home, bored, on a weekend!

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Do you ever get the urge to just throw your clothes out the window? No, just me? That's fine, it works well into my "Curating My Closet" plan, anyway! I'm finding the more my brain gets wrapped around the idea of getting rid of something on a regular basis, the easier it is to weed through my closet to get rid of stuff. Don't love it? Don't need it!

Why did I buy it? 

Well, I didn't so much buy it as make it. I wanted a cropped sweater and this pattern was super easy to make. So easy, I made one for me and one for my sister. Rumour has it she doesn't like it, and has never worn it.

Why did it work?

It was easy! And it was cropped! And I made it!

Why didn't it work?

During the bedbug fiasco of 2011, it got washed with a number of colours and is a weird swampy white colour now.  It was also a bit more of a chunky knit than I had wanted. The good news is that making another one will solve both of those problems!

How did I wear it?

Getting Out the Door

Starting a new job means starting a new routine. Starting a new routine means the opportunity to start new habits. In addition to those general habits I discussed last week, there have been some new and treasured routines I have established. My favourite -- and possibly the most efficient -- routine I've established has been getting ready for bed.

Yes, there's always an episode of The Nanny prior to washing my face and brushing my teeth. There is the lingering by Scott's desk, taking much too long to say good night - even if he's coming to bed with me. However, it's what comes next that makes all the difference.

1. I sweep back out to the kitchen to make sure that I've got everything I need for my lunch ready to go.
2. I pack my purse, making sure I have my bus pass, id/key card, wallet and keys
3. I lay out my clothes & accessories, making sure nothing needs ironing, the colours match as well in real life as they do in my head, and that I have both a left and a right shoe.

Those three steps save me not just save me time in the morning because its already done, but it also allows me to solve any problems - from realizing I left the check on the counter, and having to make myself a peanut butter sandwich instead, to discovering a stain on my white shirt - with a cool head when time isn't as much of an issue. Despite having to leave 30 minutes earlier than I used to, I seem to have more time in the morning, including enough time to eat a balanced breakfast!

What steps do you take to make your mornings run a little smoother?

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Red Wrap

Why did I buy it?
Originally, this shirt had ribbons running down the sleeves, which you could tighten ruche the sleeves. That detail sold me on the shirt

Why did it work?
It's a faux wrap, and is a blue red, which I find works better with my complexion than an orange red

Why does it not work?
It's faded and a bit short. I've noticed these are 2 common problems within my wardrobe.

How did I wear it?

 What will happen to it?

I might have already packed it off to a thrift store! And it's been replaced by a very similarly styled deep red sweater I stole from my sister.

Cleaning Up Winter / Curating my Closet

I can't believe I've gone all winter without sharing my favourite winter storage solution! Since winter is pretty hard in the Canadian prairies (this year being the exception - first time in 70 years that we haven't had a single day below -30!!!), I find it easier to get excited about going outside (ok, excitement isn't the right term. I'm never excited to go into the cold) if I can at least have fun with winter accessories. Of course, that means having quite a few sets of mitts, scarves and toques. While I used to keep them in decorative boxes on the shelf in the closet just inside our door, I was either too lazy to toss them up there, or was forever digging through the box to find a matching set.

I saw on Pinterest people were using over the door shoe organizers for cleaning supplies, and thought: "Why not for winter accessories?" While the "front door" to our apartment was too big for the door hangers provided, I simply hung it on the wall across from the closet. Sure, it's not the most attractive solution, but it's not visible from any where but right beside it. As soon as I'm convinced winter is over, it will hang over the door to our storage closet. Or who knows - maybe I'll move all accessories back into boxes, and actually use it as a shoe rack! That'd be one way to organize all my summer sandals!

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Black Blazer
(not pictured, sorry... last minute cold removed my ability to edit photos)

Why did I buy it?
I was on a jacket kick, loved the polka dot seam binding, and thought: 'can you go wrong with a black blazer'?

Why did it work?
It was a black blazer, need I say more?

Why didn't it work?
The lapel is too large for my frame, the silhouette isn't tailored enough, and it hits me a little short.

How have I worn it?
Never on the blog - an easy sign that it's not quite the right article for me!

What will happen to it?
I had given it to my sister a few months ago, but stole it back. Now I'll check with her to see if she wants it again.

I like my world in little boxes

I spend far too many hours a day digging through baskets for tights. "I need my black tights" I say to Scott, as he picks up random pairs. "These ones?" "No, those are the footless black tights". "How about these ones: "No, those are the pinstripe black tights". And while, yes, I could weed down my tights, I thought: "why not just organize them better?"

The idea came to me when I was grocery shopping. Why not use milk cartons to help me keep everything together? 

You will need:
milk cartons
utility knife
duct tape
measuring tape
marker or pen

First, measure your milk carton, and see how many you can fit into your drawer / shelf / basket. You can get 2 boxes out of each carton

Open the top of the carton fully. Slice the corners down from the top to the horizontal fold line.

Then, fold the flaps down so form a flat bottom. Be liberal with the duct tape.

Measure and mark halfway up (or down) the carton, all the way around it. Cut along this line. Once it's open, you may need to duct tape the flaps on the inside of the top of the two boxes down.

Place in drawer and organize!!

And since it's Monday, I need to get rid of something. I have a couple pairs of skinny jeans that have lost their stretch or have gone through the knees. I'm getting rid of 2 pairs this week. But since I've already replaced them (with 1 pair, so I'm still going down 1), there's no need to show you.

Cleaning Up House

First of all, my apologies for being sporadic in my comments. I've been doing a full day of work, then a full day of thesis work, including supplemental reading for my commute. Don't worry, I've been very good at making sure I unwind every night with an episode of Buffy, and which I follow with a solid night of Buffy-related nightmares. They are much more preferable to thesis nightmares.

Second of all - hee hee! Check me out on Breakfast With Tiffany. After a couple failed attempts at getting a guest post to her (err, sorry again!) I finally wrote myself an appropriately awkward introduction to her readers!

Third, it's Monday, and I actually have organizational tips. Well, tip. We have 5 video game systems hooked up (there's one system lurking in a closet, and I've heard rumour of a couple extraneous systems in hiding at Scott's parents). With these systems are a lot of peripherals and batteries.We have tried storing these in boxes, baskets, even the living room floor. Then in a fit of brilliance, I thought "why not store them under the couch?" A number of months later, after my sister's latest trip to Ikea, we had our solution

And of course, the item of a week that's heading out the door! (In case it's your first time here: Every Monday for 2012, I will be featuring an article from my wardrobe that I'll be getting rid of, in an attempt to have a wardrobe with only clothes that I love)

Why did I get this?
I was out of a  long term relationship, starting to hang out with new friend, and starting to pay attention clothing, just as blazers came in. It all culminated one Saturday when I had my first social outing in a few weeks (*cough* months *cough*). It was an impulse purchase

Why did it work?
It was casual enough for my student life, and was cheap

Why didn't it work?
It was casual and cheap. Huh... amazing how benefits become disadvantages! And it's a little short

How have I worn it?

What will happen to it?
It's in the selfhelp box Scott it threatening to light on fire if I don't give it away soon!