Closet Organization: Organize Purses & Handbags

I've been in organization mode recently and over the long weekend I took some time to organize a few messy kitchen drawers as well as my disorganized hall coat closet.  I like keeping my handbags in the hall closet downstairs, but it's been looking messy lately.  I tried standing the bags upright neatly next to each other, but the smaller ones tend to fall over and everything gets out of place whenever I reach for a bag.

I finally wised up and came up with a very simple and easy solution.  I put all of the small bags into little cube storage containers.  About 2-3 handbags can neatly fit into each plastic container.  The container holds the bag upright and in place.  Now, when I reach for a bag I just need to take out the right container and grab the bag I need without toppling the others over.

For my large summer handbags, I added a large extra coat hook onto the closet wall.  This is perfect for storing over sized bags that are too big to fit on the closet shelf.  And don't worry, once summer is over I'll have plenty of large fall/winter bags to keep there!

Garage Sale Finds: Handy Stitch & Sand

Happy Labor Day! I had a very fun labor day weekend which included going to the zoo, the beach, nice lunch and dinner outdoors with hubby, and getting some organization done around the house. I also visited a few garage sales, something I've gotten in the habit of looking forward to on Saturday mornings. I'm playing along with Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Monday party again this week to share my finds.

This week, I didn't find anything overly exciting but I did get a few good deals. But first I must confess something...I'm not very good at sewing. In fact, I don't even own a sewing machine. My aunt is an expert sewer and is a total whiz at everything from tailoring clothes to making beautiful window treatments. She's really amazing at it so I've been spoiled and have taken anything I needed to sew to her. Other than a sewing class in the 8th grade, I haven't done much on a sewing machine! I hope to change that with a little cheating. I bought the Handy Stitch hand held sewing machine at a garage sale for $1. I've wanted to try one for a while and I've been playing around with it and like it. It's really a lot like a regular sewing machine and seems to sew really well, but it's hand held making it really simple to use. I'm excited to try it on projects like my diy window valance and a table runner I'm hoping to make. I'll report back on how it goes!


At the same garage sale, I got another great deal. 4 bags of all purpose/play sand for $3. I warned you, this isn't a very exciting find but it made me happy. We've been using it while renovating our yard this summer and have been paying $2.50-$3.67 (Home Depot has jacked up their prices for it unfortunately). Since we've been buying mass quantities of the sand, finding a few discounted bags is a great deal to us.

Hurricane Vase Bamboo Planter

Last week I found a pair of hurricane vases on clearance at TJ Maxx for $3.

Today, I finally put one to good use.  First, I added some decorative rocks from Ikea:

 And then I turned it into a vase with some water and  pretty bamboo, also from Ikea:

Voila!  A pretty glass planter for my bamboo.  I love the way the rocks look with the hurricane vase and bamboo.  A perfect addition to my entry way table.  The bamboo adds some life to the table and balances the height from the lamp.  Fun, easy, pretty!