Welcome to My Personal Spa!

Well, the month is almost over. Unfortunately for my husband, that means I have spent the last 3 weeks "in the process" of organizing our master bathroom. The good news is that I am done, and I have my personal spa back, new and improved!! Do you remember the BEFORE PICTURES?

Here's a look at the before and after overview...

My goal for this room was to feel like it is my personal spa. I want to feel relaxed when I walk in. It helps that when the windows are open, this is what I see: 

Here are a few other things that contribute to my personal spa!

 (I love to soak in the tub, but I like to watch a movie or plan my week or get some work done while I do. Thus the spa desk! Handy plank o' wood tucks behind the red pillow when not in use...)

Details...

(I like to have my skin care out on the counter where I will see it and remember to use it daily, but keeping it on a tray keeps it from running rampant all over the counter!)

I have always wanted to have a vanity, but even when we built this house I couldn't quite figure out how to implement it in our space. So this month I problem solved and bought a bar stool and swivel magnifying mirror... Now I can do my makeup and hair sitting at the counter, which will also keep me from wandering around while applying makeup and leaving eyeliner, lipstick, and mascara tubes all over the bedroom, bathroom, and closet. *sheepish grin*

Do you remember the drawers? Mine have more or less stayed the same, but I took the opportunity to organize my husband's drawers and make better use of them. Here's a look at the before and after... 

Top Drawer

Middle Drawer

Bottom Drawer

(I don't think we'll need to buy toothpaste for a loooong time!)

Another area I wanted to work on was under the sink. Actually, I wanted to work on the areas under both sinks. Here's the before and after, with some details... 

I know there are plenty of people who don't believe in keeping their medicine or cleaning supplies under the sink, but we've found that it works best for our family. I used to keep all the cleaning supplies in one spot, but have found that I am more likely to clean when the mood strikes and put the supplies away if they are within reach in each of the bathrooms (or hallways nearby). So yes, I have triplicate supplies, but that's okay with me. As for medicine... we've talked very seriously with our daughter about medicine and its effects. She knows that she's allowed to get stuff out of the First Aid box (bandaids, etc.) but not from the drawers where the medicine is. It's something each family has to decide for themselves, but we haven't had any problems and do our best to be open and honest about the seriousness of taking medicine.

I could do a whole separate post on how I organize my makeup, but for now I'll just show you a closeup of my bins and how I have my makeup divided. The categories I have are as follows:

FOUNDATION PRIMER, CONCEALER, ETC.

LIQUID FOUNDATION

(This is actually a bit misleading, since I have my liquid foundation, liquid highlighter, and finishing powder all in this drawer, but they are all things I only use when I wear liquid foundation.)

OTHER FOUNDATIONS

CREAM EYESHADOWS/PRIMER

EYESHADOW

EYELINER

MASCARA

LASH TOOLS

(Really, this is for the lash things I don't use often, like my heated eyelash curler, fake lashes, lash glue, etc.)

BROW PENCILS, POWDERS, & TOOLS

CHEEKS

(Pretty much just blush and shimmer powder - I keep my bronzers with eyeshadow right now.)

LIP LINER, PRIMER, & BALM

(Technically I keep my lip mask in here, too, but didn't feel  like putting that on the list since it comes in a set with the balm.)

LIPSTICK

LIP GLOSS

So there you have it... a tour of my personal spa! I have to admit that I really LOVE my bathroom. It really does feel like a trip to the spa when I put on a mask, soak in a tub with salts, and give myself a pedicure. I'm sure it's more relaxing to get a massage, but it's cheaper at my personal spa and then I can just climb into bed for a good night's sleep!

So... how is your Master Bathroom coming along? Next week (or month, however you want to look at it!) we move on to another part of the house!

New Feature... Two Tip Tuesday!!

I am excited to start a regular new feature that I have titled "TWO TIP TUESDAY"! Here's how it works... I pick a household item and show you two non-standard, but helpful, ways to use that item. I LOVE finding creative uses for common items to make them more versatile. It's usually more cost effective that way, and more fun to think outside the box!

This week's featured item is a belt and tie rack like this one:

The one pictured is a set of 2 for $4.99 at Target, so relatively inexpensive. Obviously, they are designed for holding belts and ties and work pretty well for that. My favorite use for them is for necklaces, though.

It keeps all my necklaces from getting tangled and allows me to store them easily by color. I love having my jewelry organized! 

My second use for these hangers is as doll clothing storage. Because doll clothes are so much smaller than regular clothes, it's hard to hang them up to store them. Doll hangers typically are not big enough to hang on a regular rod, and small doll wardrobes tend to tip over, undermining the purpose of the hanger, since all the clothes fall off the rod when the wardrobe tips. These hangers are velvety and hold onto the clothes, but are also small and fit in the smaller clothes!

Of course, these hangers are also great for scarves, storing lengths of ribbon in your craft room, or storing bracelets. 

There you have it! Two new uses for this handy little hanger! Happy Two Tip Tuesday!

March Focus... Master Bathroom!

Whew!! We're ALMOST done with the Master Suite! How is yours coming along? We started with the Master Bedroom in January, the Master Closet in February, and now we're ready to finish the trifecta with the Master Bathroom! To see all the posts in this series, click HERE.

So... here we go with another round of before pictures to analyze! I have to admit that the only good thing about these before pictures (aside from the help they give in figuring out what isn't working) is knowing how much better the after pictures will look in a month!!

My counter isn't often this cluttered, but lately it has been. Also, I have this bad habit of letting the trash pile up instead of just emptying it. 

This is our little toilet cubby. The biggest issue here is that I am pretty bad at remembering to refill the toilet paper canister. 

Here's the shower (and, apparently, a random doll hat on the floor) in our bathroom. 

This is the bathtub nook. I apparently like to drink Diet Dr. Pepper in the bathtub. I'm not sure those last 3 words were necessary. I think I just like to drink Diet Dr. Pepper... 

Back to the counter clutter. This is mostly stuff I left out after using and just never put back. 

This is under Leif's side of the sink, where we keep the medicine and extra towels. I'd like to redo the medicine area and move these towels since I recently updated the towels to red for this bathroom.

Now for the drawers on Leif's side... This is the bottom drawer. It's pretty much just a jumble of toothpaste and cough drops. 

The middle drawer is pretty empty. Contacts, deodorant, beard trimmer. I'm thinking it could be used better.

Leif's top drawer. The most important thing here is the hairbrush. And half of the time it's not even in this drawer. 

This is under the sink on my side. Pretty much just skin care, makeup and whatnot. 

And now for my drawers... this is my bottom drawer. It's the "hair care" drawer.

Aaaaaand the hair tools drawer. Straightener, curling irons, and blow dryer.

This is the top drawer, mostly full of nail polish. Have I mentioned how much I love nail polish? LOL!

Now... the question of Income and Outflow arises. This room is pretty simple. Clean towels come into the room. Dirty towels and trash go out of the room. Cleaning supplies go into the room. 

What I want to feel when I walk into my bathroom is tranquility, as if I am walking into a spa. I want my bathroom to be my own personal spa. It is the place I soak in my jacuzzi tub, where I get pedicures and manicures, where I dye my hair, and where I have facials. My bathroom will be a place of relaxation. 

The next step in this process is to create the systems that will contribute to the feeling of peace and tranquility I want to have in this room. 

If you're joining us this month to get your own space under control, here's a sheet to help you think through these steps... Click the link below the picture to download your copy. 

Download your copy HERE.

Master Closet Reveal!!

So... the month of February I focused on creating systems for my master closet. I already had some systems in place, but there were others that were obviously not working... Here are some before pictures...

What's wrong? Clothes on the floor... 

What's wrong? Empty hangers collecting, clothes and bins on the floor... 

What's wrong? Seems I'm using the floor as a collection space... 

What's wrong here? My Miche covers store great here, but I switch them out downstairs and leave them around the house... 

What's wrong? Paper clutter!!

What's wrong? Ummm... maybe that empty, dusty shelf?

Here's my necklace storage system.

This is where I keep all sorts of things... including boots during the summer... on the top shelf. 

What's wrong? Random empty hangers... 

Okay, so you see the problems I've been having... NOW... What have I done to fix those problems? Here are the after shots... 

I moved our luggage to the top shelf here. It's easier to access and uses the space in the top of our closet productively. Leif's clothes are on the top bar and mine are on the bottom, just like before. 

I rearranged some things in the center tower... Leif's spare shoes moved down and I put the extra red bins in the bottom cubbies. I don't know what will go in there yet, but at least they look nice. 

Perhaps the biggest change in the closet is that I moved my Miche covers (and all handbag related paraphernalia) downstairs with my shoes. Then I moved my necklaces (organized by color) to the wall where my Miche covers were. I also moved a storage stool from the bathroom to the closet so I have someplace to sit while putting on socks, etc.  

Here's the end of the closet. My "donate" bin is ready for Goodwill or a clothing exchange. I put items in here as I cull them from my closet. 

This is where Leif's pants hang on the top rod and my skirts and pants and scarves hang on the bottom. I also put a small selection of hangers here, since Leif has asked me to keep some in the closet instead of in the laundry room. 

This is the formerly empty shelf!

Here's where the rest of my jewelry gets stored... 

Again, the red bins in the bottom of the tower. One holds my fleece-lined tights. The other two are empty for now. 

I organize my tops by sleeve length and color. I have been using these dividers to separate the different kinds of tops. I'd like to design new ones, but I haven't gotten around to it yet... =D

So there you have it... my closet. I am going to admit that I didn't do as thorough a job as I wanted to do with this, so there are things I still want to do. But the month is over, so now on to the Master Bathroom!!! And guess what? DONE is better than PERFECT!