Stuff around the house

I'm still going through my house and purging and organizing- and labeling.  I love labeling.  It just makes everything so easy to find and easy on the eyes.  Making your own labels is really easy but be warned, the pretty scalloped edge labels are a bitch to cut out when you have 50+ to do!  I did try using my Cricut but couldn't really get what I wanted.  If you have one of the newer scrapbook machines that prints and cuts it might be easier for you but my Cricut X only prints if I put the pen tips in the razor slot.  Photoshop and good old fashioned scissors ended up being all I needed.

Let me show you the baking shelf in my pantry.

Look at how easy everything is to find.  I can tell the minute I get low on something.  The wide openings are so much nicer for scooping than paper bags or the tall, skinny boxes you get powdered sugar in.  This also allows me to stock up- I could fit 5-6 of the round canisters of salt in a single one of these, with much less of a footprint.

Since I'm Italian we'll move on to the pastas.

Again, see how easy it is to see everything?  Until I took the lasagna noodles out of the box and put them in that canister, I didn't realize how low I was.

On the opposite note, when it comes to my shoes and purses, I keep them covered.

I put a lot of money into purses, and I don't want the leather exposed to sun or much air when I'm not using them.  Oxidization can look nice, but can also look not so nice.

I also put a lot of money into my shoes.  This isn't the nicest looking way to store them- most are on their sides if they are not flats- but it keeps them away from pet hair, curious toddlers, or anything else that might damage them when they aren't being used.

You can also see my jewelry armoire- again, I like to keep everything put away, out of sight, for obvious reasons there.  My 2 year old has broken enough replaceable stuff I care about; I'd hate to see what he'd do if he could get at a jewelry tree or something!

My closet is a work in progress.  It extends a larger distance on the other side (behind me, the camera person) and I'm still fiddling with how I want to organize things.  Right now it's shirts and cocktail dresses where you can see, and ball gowns behind me.  I'm hunting for a mirror and possibly some different modular shelving, but haven't found anything I'm in love with yet.