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Pegboard is here to rescue another crafting fanatic!  I must say, it must be about the most functional type of storage in existence.  The lovely Courtney from A Thoughtful Place Blog, always has a knack for making her projects look simple yet elegant.  Who knew pegboard could be associated with elegance?  But my girl did it again!  She has created the perfect spot to work on projects for around her home, and now she won't ever lose her favorite "go-to" supplies again. 



So I have a confession to make. I have been in an organizational slump for quite some time. Can any of you relate? I swoon over other people’s spaces as of late, but have had trouble getting motivated to create changes in own home. While we have many procedures in place around our home that do keep us relatively organized, it is my own craft supplies and project necessities that I continue to trip over or lose. I finally took some action and with very little effort refreshed my garage craft station.


So here is the deal. I know not everyone has a little spot in their garage for crafting. Truth be told, there is no real crafting space in my home {every project takes place on my dining room table} but my craft supplies seem to be multiplying. Funny how that happens, right?! A couple of years ago we installed some cabinets in the garage. This was after I took over a rolling cart elsewhere in the garage. My husband uses the tall cabinet for tools and the shorter cabinets are for my supplies. But there are so many "go-to" items that I go to grab all the time. I needed an organized spot for them. This easy pegboard solution provides just that.


I went to my local big box store and grabbed everything I needed to put this on the wall. In total, I only spent about $36. So worth it to have these supplies so handy. And it means I have a clear work space for putting together my projects.


They sell the pegboard already in white so I was able to give them the dimensions and they made the cuts for me. I love that. We also picked up wood to use as supports to mount to the wall. I also grabbed a set of three bins and racks to hang supplies from. And no project is complete without my trusted gold spray paint.


These were a breeze to spray and dried very quickly. While I sprayed these, my husband worked on mounting the pegboard for me. Just don’t forget to clean your items before you spray them to eliminate any dust or dirt which can create a poor final product.


We were lucky enough to hit a stud with the support on the right. We mounted three pieces of wood to the wall and then drilled the pegboard directly into those. That was enough to secure it and keep it steady.


Pretty craft supplies hanging on this white board make me giddy. I am almost afraid to admit that.


These scissors are actually quite special to me. They were my moms and I love having them. They remind me of all of the sewing projects she created while we were growing up. I gave the handles a quick spray of gold paint. I think she’ll like the update. And now I can’t misplace them!



My husband is thrilled that I have these key items in a known spot now. I can’t tell you how many times I have lost that large paint brush {I use it with the vintage décor paint}. The hanging buckets also disguise the outlet. We used a jigsaw to cut out a hole so that we can still use it.


So now I can easily remove the bucket and plug in a glue gun or lamp if I am working without natural light.


Crafting tip: Stock up on those sponge brushes. They are very inexpensive and clean so well. I use them almost every time I use craft paint. I created the Greek Key trim on the work surface with black electrical tape.



This sweet little jar was a salsa jar from Trader Joe's. With a bit of gold spray paint it’s a nice spot for my markers. I always keep a journal nearby when I do projects so I can write down measurements or ideas.


Here is one last look. And thank you to my sweet friend, Krystine, for the darling “Hey Y’all!” print. It brings a smile to my face when I work in here. And side note. . . the TV is in our garage because we often entertain and the boys migrate out there to watch sports while they play table tennis. It’s the hardest working garage around {if only we had a basement!}. Hoping this newly refreshed space will keep me crating without losing my favorite pair of scissors every five minutes. You can see the other part of our garage organization here.


"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC, with my talented sister. I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."

Most often organizing is all about those simple pleasures.  Finding a storage solution that is versatile and simple and makes life easier time and time again.  For example, adhesive bookplates.  I like them a lot {in my best Jim Carrey voice}.  I use them time and time again and they make me happy with every new bin or binder or shelf that is labeled.

Courtney, my dear friend who blogs over at A Thoughtful Place, discovered her simple organizing pleasure which has allowed her daughter to keep an organized and tidy workspace.  I am thinking I need to implement her trick for myself as well!  Here she is now to share more details.



Hi, everyone!  While most of us are in full summer mode, I am always trying to figure out how the upcoming school year can run more smoothly.  I have a daughter who loves to work at her desk and she is constantly creating.  But that often translates to a huge mess.  And while a desk is fantastic, desk drawers can spell trouble.  Sometimes they end up being the black hole of the room.  I finally figured out a system that has helped us immensely.  I am now all about removable drawer organization.  Take a look.


A while back we transformed our daughter’s closet {half of it} into a desk space.  She has plenty of room on the other side for clothing and we really thought a work space would be great.  The metal pails have always worked well for the markers.


But honestly, the drawers have been a disaster.  I realized the drawers had to have something that could be removed and used elsewhere.


I stumbled upon these pouches at Staples.  They were inexpensive and you could even monogram them with a stencil.  I love that they already had a splash of color to match her room.  I love that she can keep her supplies in them but also take them out and use them down on the kitchen table with me or anywhere in the house.  If she feels like working on the floor she can grab her pouches and move there.


This was a little tray I picked up at Target a while back.  I personalized it and had a piece of acrylic cut to fit the inside.  More about that here.  It is a perfect fit for her drawer and she can take it out and use the supplies easily.  I can also ask her to take it out and clean it if it gets messy!  That has been dreamy.  And I have made her a deal.  I let her know I will check and see when supplies are low as long as she checks and makes sure things are tidy and in their place.



The bins above the desk space are from Ikea and are great for storage that will show. They have clean lines and I know these are a favorite of Jen, too!


Like mother, like daughter. Although I have a desk from which to blog, I do most of my work sitting on me bed.  So does my daughter!  So these pouches are perfect to grab from the drawer or toss in her bag if she wants to take something to work on while we are on the go.


I am always on the lookout for really simple solutions. I often find that the little changes make a big difference in how tidy and efficient we can be around the house.  Fingers cross that this new system takes us well into the school year.  What about you?  Do you have a quick and simple fix for keeping kiddos organized when it comes to their work spaces?



"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC, with my talented sister. I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."

For the first time in forever (sing it Anna), I am in a small organizing slump.  It has been a few weeks since I have tackled a drawer, closet or cabinet, and I am starting to twitch.  With school starting next week, I have quite a few things to get buttoned up this weekend.  And I have Courtney of A Thoughtful Place to thank for lighting a little fire in me again.  Although I just recently cleaned out my own nightstand, just watching her go through the process and seeing her before and after photos has inspired me to want to get something else done.  Plus, her bedroom is pure eye candy and now her nightstand drawers are as well.  She is here today to fill you with some inspiration and motivation, and celebrate her recent organizing success story.  Welcome Courtney!



Hi, all! I’m really excited to be here today and even more excited to finally have drawers I am proud of. I’ve been hiding a dirty little secret and it’s time to come clean. While I have a bedroom I truly love, I have been sleeping next to messy drawers. While this may seem like no big deal, to anyone who loves organized spaces you know what it can do to the blood pressure. The best part is that this makeover cost no money and only took a couple of hours. Let me tell you! It was time well spent.



Here is a peek at our master bedroom and my side of the bed. While we are all about the DIY and saving money (headboard project here) we did actually splurge on these bedside tables from Restoration Hardware. And I love them. I truly do. But holy cow, they quickly became a dumping ground and it’s been driving me bonkers. I am embarrassed to even show you but I think you need to see the before to appreciate the after.


Even my husband was like, “You’re not going to clean that up before you take a photo?” Ha, nope. This is really how it looked, my friends. What I love the most is that there is a book about tidying up tucked in there. How about that for irony? OK, let’s keep snooping.


Please tell me you can relate at least a little bit. I even have Christmas garland I picked up somewhere (on clearance I’m sure) because you never know when the mood might strike to bust out a holiday garland. It’s just ridiculous the amount of junk I have in these drawers.


I feel better already. I think. Part of me wants to crawl into a hole after sharing these but I think we all have been there. Or maybe you are in this same predicament now. So I wanted to take you through the method I used to have these drawers looking pretty in no time.


The first thing I did was shop my own house. That is exactly why this project was free. I am willing to bet that you have storage containers somewhere in the house that aren’t being used or could be a better fit for your drawers. Even little bowls from the kitchen work. I have been known to reuse empty salsa jars as well. You really don’t have to go shopping to a fancy organizing store to get this project going. Have any shoe boxes? Those covered in cute paper work wonders. I grabbed a dollar section wood tray, a couple of green tins (from IKEA and never used them) and a clear organizing tray I had in my bathroom with two things in it. I also grabbed a little white bucket and a clutch. HINT: a clutch you do not use on a regular basis can make a great place to store gift cards or receipts. And it’s pretty, too. 


I am queen of picking up pretty wrapping papers wherever I see them. This one was from HomeGoods and it was in my wrapping paper station I showed you not too long ago. I knew I wanted to add some color to these drawers and this was the perfect choice. I will say that if these drawers belonged to my children I would use something stronger like a contact paper. But because I am the only one going in and out of these, I knew the paper would hold up. More on that later. (Check out how I used wrapping paper as wallpaper here).


Once I gathered some bins I could use it was time to empty the drawers. It definitely gets messier before it gets better! Boy there was a ton of stuff in here. My method was to pull up my bench and use a laundry basket to hold all of the items I took out of the drawers. Then I made piles: keep, trash, and move to another spot in the house. I was shocked at how much really didn’t need to be in these drawers. About 1/3 was trash and another 1/3 belonged in a different room altogether.



I measured each drawer and cut the paper to fit. I used something called “Quake Hold” to attach the paper to the drawer. It’s just a putty that won’t hurt the furniture and can be removed. But it holds the paper in place and is perfect for this type of project. Just seeing the paper in the drawers made me so happy. I could stare at that all day long.


All I wanted in my top drawer was my daily journals, sticky notes for when I read or brainstorm blog ideas at night, and my stationary. I often write a quick note to a friend or a thank you note while sitting on my bed during the day so it’s nice to have them right here. I used the plain wood box for those notecards and a pen.



On a side note, if you have not heard of this book it’s fantastic. My friend Jennifer from Rambling Renovators gave it to me and it’s a really unique way to remember five years of memories. I highly recommend.


In the next drawer I put these green tins to work. I have a new camera that is in my camera bag, but have kept this one because it is light and compact and I usually take this one when I travel. I tucked the camera and the charger in this tin. The other tin hosts all of the printed photos I have but have not done anything with. And to be honest, I just like having a stack of real photos I can just thumb through. Seems like a lost art in this digital age.


I cut out my monogram from stationary I have and added it to the green tins because it’s just so much prettier to look at.


This drawer also holds more of my journals, my iPad and an empty tin. I have learned that more “junk” will creep in and now I have an empty tin I can toss it in (bobby pins, change, you name it). Then I will just need to address the tin and it won’t junk up the rest of my drawers.


Lastly, the bottom drawer has my laptop cord, iPhone cords, extra cards for my camera and my heating pad. Yes, my heating pad. I’m not getting any younger and this baby does wonders on my back. Just keeping it real.


I can’t tell you how much better I feel about this space. Thank you for letting me share my dirty little secret and not judging me! I seriously love opening these drawers now and they used to give me anxiety. I hope I have inspired you to clean our a drawer or two and just shop your home to get it done.

More organized spaces around our home:

• Garment Rack 
• Mini Mudroom 
• A Children’s Chore Box

Thank you so much, Jen, for letting me hang out here and share a little bit of our home with your readers. It’s always an honor to be here.


"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC, with my talented sister. I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."

My beautiful friend Courtney, is a gal I admire in many facets of life.  She has a heart of gold and this mighty talent for making any space beautiful, functional and whimsical.  And she shares that magic over on her blog, A Thoughtful Place.

Days when she comes over here to share a tip or space always make me grin big, and today is no exception.  When I saw she also loves to remove doors from her kid's closets, I squealed out loud, "YES!".  And that is just the beginning.  Here she is now!


Hi, everyone! Excited to be here today sharing our son’s room and how we organized it to really make the most of the space. Each year, as our children grow, we have to revisit their rooms and make adjustments so that things stay organized and efficient. This year we made some changes to his closet and how we prep his clothes for the week.

To increase the real estate in this room we decided to think outside of the box. We took the closet doors off and stored them in the garage {for down the road when there are far less toys in his room}. We turned the traditional closet into a storage area for toys, some clothes, and other items.


This seriously added a huge amount of space to his room. I am a big fan of taking doors off of closets in the rooms of little ones. You just have to be clever about the storage you may lose in doing so. Our son has a large dresser in his room {six drawers} which is more than enough space for his clothes. It helps that he is only six and his clothes are still relatively small! We don’t miss the hanging space at all. But you can see that to the right of the bookshelves there is still room to hang things. We could on the left hand side as well but we really only hang his dress shirts, sweaters, and navy blazer {for when he gets all snazzy}.


So here is a close up of the right side. Below the hanging clothes is a white storage bin from Target. It holds clothes that were passed down from my nephew but do not fit my son yet.


Both bookcases house books and toys. I unified the space by choosing bins that are in the room’s color scheme and by using the same chalkboard labels on most of them.


The left side has another storage bin for clothes that we need to part with because they no longer fit. I also will store out of season clothes in one of the drawers. His cute little sleeping bag gets tucked away here as well.


Because we started full time school this year with first grade, I wanted my son to be ready each morning as quickly as possible. We took a shoe hanger and cut it off so that only five bins remained. It is such an easy way to set out his outfits for the week. Not to mention this system keeps him from wearing the same shirt everyday. Do your kiddos do that, too? Seriously. He would sport the same green and white collared shirt every day if I let him.


It doesn’t get any fancier than this! Ha! Holding it up is just a flat spring rod resting on the shelves. It has worked like a charm.



The top of each bookcase holds very special wooden toys hand mad by his late great grandfather. These and his microscope from Santa last year are pretty darn special and have earned the top shelf spot! And never under estimate the power of the Banker’s Box. I adore these for storing odds and ends. Most of the items in them are mine and not my son’s. It’s great added storage!


And last but not least, we have a tall Ikea Expedit in one corner of his room which holds more toys and books. Always a fan of this piece. You can’t beat the storage space. We attached a reading light to give it some extra character.

I am hoping you are inspired to rethink your closet if you have one that isn’t functioning as well as it could be. I honestly think that there is much to be gained from thinking outside the box with children’s rooms. Thanks for letting me share. Always a pleasure to get to hang out in Jen’s neck of the woods. She has the greatest readers ever. Enjoy your day, everyone.




"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC, with my talented sister. I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."