Creating Stations

An important part of organizing is utilizing your natural routine to create spaces that make putting things away easier. You want your system to work with you, not against you. It should not be hard to put things away, if you have the right set up.

For example, in our bedroom, I have created a little "get pretty" station on my dresser, where I keep my most worn jewelry and perfumes.

Dresser with vanity mirror: IKEA, Jewelry tree: Urban Outfitters (really old, similar here), Egg crate: Anthropologie (here), Clock: IKEA, Frame: Target

The egg crate works great to store my everyday earrings, rings, watch, and bracelett when I take them off at night. I used to always lose earrings because I would take them off at random places and forget where I put them, now I always put them on this little crate and know exactly where they are in the morning! It works out perfectly!

Small Space: Pantry

My husband and I live in a small condo with little storage area, so I have had to be creative with the space we have.

Here is how I have organized our laundry room/pantry:

This is also where we store our tools (what little tools we have!), our vacuum, and a laundry basket.

Wicker Baskets: IKEA (here), Mesh metal basket: Target (really old), Labels: Staples' Martha Stewart

 Collection (similar here), Clear containers: Wal-mart (here), Expandable 3-tier shelf: Wal-mart (similar here)

The top shelf holds our laundry detergent, dryer cloths, cleaners, and paper products. 

On the second shelf, I keep all of our snacks, with individual bars and snacks in the smaller basket and large bags of chips in the larger basket. The clear containers are great for nuts, cereals, and crackers. 

The bottom shelf is where I store all of our "cooking foods" and the 3-tiered shelf works great to see all of our cans and bottles.

My favorite part is the labels! I love them! They are chalkboard paper from the Martha Stewart office collection at Staples. An organizer's dream. Really, the whole line is so cute! They are stickers, so I stuck them to black cardstock and cut around the labels, then I used a small hole punch on each side, wrote on them with chalk and tied them to the baskets with red and white striped baker's twine. It was kind of a process, but totally worth it in the end!

I really wish I could have taken a before picture! It was all just shoved onto the shelves and I couldn't see anything. It is a lot more functional now! Not to mention, the labels really help my husband to put things back in the right places! ;)

What do you guys think? How do YOU organize your pantry??

Welcome to Pretty in Place!

Hi, I'm Haley! I am a newly married, recent college grad looking to embark on a new adventure. I have always had a passion for organizing and making things pretty. As a child, I actually enjoyed cleaning my room and organizing my things. I have color-coordinated my closet since I was tall enough to hang my own clothes. I organized old school papers in bright colored Lisa Frank folders. I had the neatest binder at school. I would go to my friend's houses and want to refold all of their clothes because they were just shoved into drawers. My parents would get me to help them organize their own closet, the pantry, the kitchen and even the garage.

I love knowing where everything is and making sure everything has a "home." Since I have gotten married and now have my own space that I can decorate and organize, I have taken it to a whole new level and have realized even more how much I love to organize and beautify my home. So, I have decided to start a professional organizing business and this is where I will showcase my projects, my successes and my failures. I still have a lot to learn, but I am hoping that in some small way, I can inspire and help other people to get organized and to live life more orderly with a little less stress!