Reader Space: A Little Love, A Big Difference!

I feature a lot of mega makeovers done by readers each week, but sometimes it is those simple and quick projects that hold just as many smiles and downstream impact!  Catch-all drawers and food cabinets are used daily and often endure as much traffic as an entire room.  Taking 15 minutes to give them some love will leave you warm and fuzzy for days to come.  Don't believe me?  Check out these happy projects Iris tackled, I bet you will be smiling too!

Iris had a cabinet for her food....

And a desk drawer for her miscellaneous goodies....

So, she invested a couple of minutes into sorting, streamlining and organizing each area and came out with dashing results.  Here she is now to explain a bit more about each!

What is the main function of each space?

"The drawer belongs to our desk.  When I open it, I expect to find pens, post-it's or even staples {not too much to ask right?}.  It's super tiny and it used to be messy all the time.  Sometimes I would open it and find food, important papers or keys.  "Humm... that's not supposed to be here".  So the first thing I did was to redefine the main function of the drawer and that helped me organize it.  This was definitely not a key holder, or a food cabinet, but a desk drawer.  So, I put stuff that went along with it's function inside.  That may seem logical but trust me, by doing that I emptied half of the drawer.

Our little food storage cabinet - as the name says it all - is the place where we store food.  It used to get pretty wild in there.  I didn't like opening this cabinet!  It wasn't pretty, it wasn't organized, it was just messy.  "Beurk" as we say in French. "


Any superstar tips for keeping the spaces organized?

"I am not going to lie, drawers are the worst!  I used to organize them, but they would soon get messy again.  Until I used dividers!

In the drawer:

1. Use dividers:  It is so important that EACH item has it's own place.  Even the little ones.  You can find cheap but great dividers, I even like to write what belongs in each divider beneath it.  And if you have kids, you can put a drawing of what's supposed to be in the divider as I did here.  Nothing complicated, but trust me it helps keeping it organized.
2. Make it pretty:  When something looks pretty you just want it to stay that way.  Don't you agree?  That's why I put colors and a nice background in my drawer.  And if you hear yourself say, "Awww, it used to be so pretty in here", then you do what you have to do!
3. Show it proudly to your husband every week.  Haha, not really. But what I do is that sometimes, I say to my husband, Mathrew, "Hey, you can check al the drawers in our home, they are still clean!"  He'll feel obligated to say something like, "Good job, I'm proud of you", and this will keep me motivated.

 

In the cupboard:

1. Define the main function of the space, and then which items are supposed to go in it.
2. Use Tupperware containers and label them.  The more you define where items go, the less it will get messy.
3. Add an inventory.  That's what I did recently here, and it really helps! "

What items did you find were essential in organizing the spaces, and why?

"In the drawer, the dividers!  In the cupboard, containers and tupperware were essential, because they makes the food easier to access.  And they are much prettier than the original food boxes."

What did you do to go the extra mile and "make it pretty"?

"In the drawer, I "rainbowtized" my pens.  Which is weird.  But it looks good.  Haha!  I put a nice background which makes the drawer so much prettier.

In the cabinet, I made the shelf liner myself {found a pattern, worked on it, printed it, laminated it and taped it}.  I made the cute labels myself to stay within in my budget, you can find them for free on my blog!" 

What items did you DIY to stay on a budget?

"The background.  In the U.S., you have amazing shelf liners, but in France, you can't find many or they are really basic.  However, I decided that this was not going to stop me!  I found a pattern I liked, I worked on it through my computer, I printed it, taped it and TADAA!  Trust me, you don't see the difference, and it was FREE!"

How have the spaces impacted your life for the better?

"Every time I ope the little drawer, I feel good.  When I need a pen, I know where to get one, haha!  I don't lose little items {like memory cards, SIM cards, USB key...} anymore.  This made me want to do the same with my other bigger drawers, which I did here and here.

When I open my food storage cabinet, I feel SO good!  Like I want to do a happy dance or something!  Haha!  I am just happy that the before photo is a long lost memory!"

Pretty sweet eh?  Those colors had me at hello!  LOVE them!  So happy and bright!

These projects are a perfect example why I love to do what I do and go the extra mile to add a little color and life to organizing projects.  Some may not understand why I love pretty shelf liner, darling labels, drawer dividers and clear containers.  But Iris said it herself, now when she opens the cupboard door and the drawer, she smiles!  She feels happy!  She is more inclined to keep the spaces organized, because she used simple systems that she adores!  Such an important part of the organizing process.

Iris has a great time working on fun little organizing projects, and shares all of those details over on her super spunky and darling blog here.  I am wrapping up a huge virtual hug and shipping it all the way over to France to Iris for being so kind to stop by and share her details with us today.

What do you think?  Do you love those little projects as much as the big?

ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please submit your story and photos here and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!