Book Review: Organizing For Your Lifestyle

I feel like I've been a little MIA from this space lately.  I promise it's been for a good reason.  My husband and I have been having a lot of fun lately with a new hobby.  We're making and selling farmhouse tables and other furniture pieces.  It's been quite the adventure at times.  I feel like we're constantly covered in saw dust, but we're loving it.

Recently I was asked to do a review on a book:  "Organizing For Your Lifestyle: Adaptable Inspirations From Socks to Suitcases" by Jane Stoller.  I thought, perfect timing!  Within the past year, we've moved to a new house and started a new hobby/business.  Both of these things have left me feeling a bit DISorganized and I needed some inspiration to get me motivated.

I love the quote that Jane starts her first chapter with. "For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned." - Benjamin Franklin.  Isn't that so true?  I hate it when I can't find something and love it when I know exactly where something is.  Organization equals more time and less stress in our lives and who doesn't want that?

Jane shares a lot of reasons why being organized in life and in your home is beneficial.  It helps you stay healthier, have less clutter, stay on budget, buy less, stay focused, and helps you feel better overall.

Jane shares how to organize lots of specific areas of your home.  Everything from your closet, to your kitchen, to how you pack your suitcase.

I decided to start with my closet.  Since moving into our new home, my side of the closet has been a disaster.  It was driving me nuts, but I'd never made organizing it a priority.  One of the things emphasized in this book is not just to get rid of the things that aren't quality or useful to you anymore, but to also make your closet visually appealing.  A visually appealing closet is going to be different for everyone.  Some people have huge walk in closets, some people have small closets (me!).  Some people have big budgets, and some people not so big budgets (again me!).  

I started my closet organization by buying wooden hangers to replace the plastic hangers I was using before.  I've always wanted to do this and love the look of wood hangers.  You can purchase a set of twenty wood hangers at Walmart for just $10.00!  I also purchased two large baskets and some additional wooden hangers at Marshall's too.  Most places like Marshall's have the best prices for cute baskets.  I used the two baskets to store all my sweaters.  I'm a cardigan lover, so these two baskets filled up quick.

My closet looks a lot more neat and uniform than it did before.  Everything is hanging tidy, folded neatly, or stored in it's designated place (like my shoes hanging in a shoe holder).  I was able to edit my closet down to the things I liked and wore the most.  I filled a large garbage bag full of the things that were no longer useful to me, and I'll donate those things to Goodwill.  It may sound weird, but it makes me happy now to slide open my closet door in the morning to pick something out to wear!

Jane gives great suggestions on how to store things in your closet.  However, I like that she says there's not a hard and fast, right or wrong way.  She encourages you to do what works best for you.  I think that's one of the things that I liked best about her book.  She gives you some ideas and sets you free to do what you like for your own situation.

I'm one of those simple girls that only has one purse.  It's big and neutral in color and hangs on some cute hooks in our entry way.  So the only other bags I needed to store in my closet were a couple I keep for packing towels for my kiddos if we take a trip to the river or if we take a picnic to a nearby park.  I hung those bags on a nail on the side of my closet wall.  Eventually, I'll replace that nail with some cute hooks.  For now though, a nail works just fine.

I'm really happy with how my tiny closet turned out.  Using some of what I already had, it cost me under $50 for hangers and baskets and I'm really happy with the appearance and organization I have now.

I just want to give a big shout out to Jane Stoller.  Thank you so much for your ideas, your help, and your motivation through this book, "Organizing For Your Lifestyle: Adaptable Inspirations From Socks to Suitcases".

You can purchase Jane's book anywhere from Barnes & Noble, to Amazon.  I've listed a couple links below if you're interested in buying her book.  Happy organizing friends!

Barnes & Noble

Amazon