I was getting ready to prepare my organization post for an upcoming party . .

~ ~ ~ with the little things I do around the house ..

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ that help keep me organized.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ORGANIZATION 101 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And then realized . . that I am really not the organizing guru in my family!

And that will be revealed on Monday, January 20th, when the ORGANIZATION 101″ goes live!

So in the meantime, I shall show you some things I do to “try” . .

~ ~ to keep this “less of a star quality” organizer, organized.

Starting with loving to use vintage items to keep things in their place.

I placed French Jam Jars which fit perfectly into a vintage sewing cabinet drawer.

It keeps my pens, markers, etc. neat and tidy on my kitchen desk area.

I bought 3 of these jars in France . . and now I wish I had bought more of them!

This paint by numbers toleware container houses the cards that need to be written . .

~ ~ ~ I place the cards in the box that need to be written out from an ongoing list.

My list is long (for the very late Christmas and Birthday thank you’s). .

Another vintage item I use to corral things like these magazines . .

Now on to an epiphany I had while at Ikea…

You see this? . .

This is actually the slide/pull out bin for the under counter waste basket bin from Ikea.

I thought these by themselves (without the waste basket) would be great pull out bins. .

~ ~ as they are deep and will hold items so much better than the shallow sliders.

You will see more ways to use them on Monday!

Now on to my teeny closet dilemma . .

Yes, I have a teeny closet . . who would have thought in a house that is over 4,500 sq feet.

I store my casual shoes “with heels” in plastic shoe boxes and place a pic of them on the front.

It was a weekend project of mine years ago . .

I always struggle with storing all my sandals and shoes with “no heels” .. my ballets..

So I had another “epiphany” . .

I always place my shoes in Hefty storage bags when I pack them in my suitcase.

Keeps them neat and tidy in the suitcase and doesn’t interfere with my clean clothes!

So I thought . . hmm, I can store them this way!!

And this is where I store them . .

I have 25 pair of shoes in this drawer!!!

I used to have them all loose in a basket in my closet taking of lots of space.

Now I still store my “fancy” shoes in their original boxes on the shelves in my closet.

I really love the access and organization of this . .

. . and it is easier when purging as one new pair goes in and another goes out.

STAY TUNED MONDAY FOR THE MOST WONDERFUL TIPS FROM 6 FELLOW BLOGGERS . .

~ ~ AS WE PARTY TOGETHER TO BRING YOU GREAT IDEAS FOR ORGANIZING!!!

AND FIND OUT WHO THE ORGANIZING GURU IS IN MY FAMILY!!

Have a most wonderful day!!