DIY Life

With school officially in session all over the country, organization and paper filing are in full swing. There are permission slips, school reports, classroom artwork... so much to file! How do you keep track of it all? Here's what I'd do:

Upon the start of school, each child gets an expanding organizer, complete with tabs to organize the paperwork they'll be bringing home. It will give (a) your child a sense of responsibility and ownership, and (b) you some time away from filing endless paperwork! Why not make it into a fun craft night by following Katherine's fun fabric file folder tutorial (whew! Say that three times fast!).

Need more filing tips? Check out 8 Systems to Organize Your Mail and beat the clutter this fall. Paperwork is no longer a headache with the right filing system, and DIY makes filing fun and affordable!

Am I preaching to the choir here, or am I the only one who loses her keys on a regular basis? I'm assuming I'm not alone here, but if so, perhaps you should be writing this post and not yours truly. I have, as a matter of fact, misplaced my keys four times this week. And yes, today is Wednesday.

Naturally, I'm in serious need of some memory tips. I did a bit of research and rounded up the best ways to stop losing your keys -- and start getting organized!:

1. Designate a space for your keys the moment you walk in the door. Try a key rack, bowl or tray. Never lay your keys anywhere but this designated spot. (My father used to tell me to do this with my swimming goggles, and if I'd leave them out in a place they shouldn't be, he'd "steal" them. I learned my lesson after one goggle-free lap!)

2. Try this memory tip: Repeat to yourself where you've laid your keys at the office or a party. For instance, "keys/shoes, keys/shoes, keys/shoes." Repeat the item and location seven times and you'll be more than likely to remember you'd left your keys in the soles of your tennies when it's time to leave the party. (Either that, or you'll find out soon enough when you step into oddly-shaped metal).

3. Cheat. Buy a key-finder gadget such as this one from Amazon. But please, don't use this unless you have to (for your co-workers' sake).

4. Keep a spare set in a safe place, just in case. It won't save you from losing your keychain with other important keys, but it will give you a day or two to look for the missing set in the mean time.

5. Try carabiner clips. Clip them to your purse, pockets, coat zippers; whatever you have to do to keep your keys on or near you. The empty clip will trigger your memory to link your keys in that space, and the visual reminder will work for locating them, as well.

I don't know about you, but I'll be setting these tips into practice immediately. (In fact, I'll be hitting Etsy for #1 tonight)! Good luck!

Not everyone has a dedicated mudroom for storing their coats, shoes, backpacks and other paraphernalia. However, even the smallest coat closet can be made into an effective and organized space. Many people like to keep the coat closet relatively empty for guests. Unless you're entertaining daily, reclaim your coat closet and instead get a coat tree for your front hall for hanging guests coats.

Reclaim your coat closet in these three easy steps:

I hoard my jewelry in the worst way. I own three different jewelry boxes, none of which seem to be doing the trick lately, as I have spent many an evening untangling pendants from bracelets and earrings from chains. Naturally, it's Friday, so I'm ready to sift through my endless supply in search of something worthy to wear for my weekend outings!

Hopefully you're more organized than I am, but if not, I've rounded up my top five DIY tutorials for organizing your jewelry! Aren't you so lucky???:

1. Jewelry Frame via Poopscape Projects
I love this project, as it seems so easy to do and most of the tools are already in my household!

So, now that you have taken the steps to reduce the influx of junk mail, how do you organize the mail that is still coming into your home? You need to develop a system. Remember that only you know what will work for your needs. Plenty of organizational systems sound good in theory, but might not be right for you.

This mail sorter has a place for everything in one compact space, making it easy to tuck into the corner of your desk or kitchen counter.

I have a very busy house. Two teens in full-time residence, three teens in part-time residence, five toddlers here during working hours. And one very patient husband. (There are still more offspring, as it happens. They're just old enough to live elsewhere.)

It's also a very small house, particularly for the number of people. Oh, and an old house, so that not every bedroom has a closet, and there is really no front hall to speak of, and certainly no front hall closet. I think I have now established my clutter and cleaning challenges, no?

There truly is something for everyone in this world. I would never have thought to combine kitchen storage with geeky computer stuff, but this idea is well worth crossing the two. After thinking it over, it makes perfect sense to store your server in your extra bread bin.

The tutorial for this project is quite clever -- and clear enough for even the most challenged of DIYers. A bread bin is just about the perfect size for a server, and the material is easily cut to fit cords and the like. Once the server is safely tucked in its new home it can live there relatively dust free and out of harm's way.

One of the best parts about summer is outdoor dining. There is something so refreshing about eating outside under an umbrella, enjoying a fresh breeze and the scent of flowers in the air.

For all the pleasures it offers, though, eating outdoors does present a few problems. Sturdy plastic dishes and flatware are a must. And you are not too likely to leave your condiments out on the patio table throughout the hot days. This means many trips to the kitchen for napkins, extra forks and condiments.

Designsponge recently featured a clever, cheap, and super cute solution to help cut down on kitchen trips and make outdoor summer dining a bit easier and more stylish.

My husband is a self-proclaimed computer geek. We don't just have a home computer; we have a downstairs server through which all of our incoming and outgoing email is processed. We have an upstairs computer which is the hub we can connect to remotely.

Add two laptops, a wireless router, a docking station, and infinitely many things that I cannot begin to tell you what they are used for, and you have our state-of-the-art wired household.

Did I say wired? You betcha. With technology comes wires, cables, and a mis-mash of mess -- everywhere! -- and that's where Creatrope's Card Cable Organizer comes in.

My husband is always hesitant to let me use his keys, probably because I'm usually borrowing his because my own are lost. I assure him I can't possible lose his keys while I am using them (it's only once I get home that they disappear), but he's unconvinced.

In our house, it's me who always misplaces the keys. But if your husband or partner is the one who's careless with their keys, then a family key keeper might just make the perfect Father's Day present. Not only will it help him keep track of his keys -- guaranteed to make mornings much easier! -- but it'll remind him of what's important each day, as he looks upon the faces of his family.

I'll tell you more about this project after the break.

When I was young and admittedly foolish, I supported myself by waitressing. Though I was constantly broke, I once dug through all of my coat pockets/waitressing aprons/jeans and came up with $150. I couldn't pay my bills, but I was floating in cash. I was a victim of a disorganized lifestyle. (Fortunately, a lot has changed since then!)

There are a lot of reasons to get organized -- a cleaner living space, less clutter, simpler routines, less stress. But did you know that being well organized could also save you money?

By knowing what you have and being able to actually find it, you're less likely to take a trip to the store (where you're sure to buy more than that one necessary item). Getting your financial life in order will help you avoid late fees when you miss a payment. And donating the things you don't need any more can help you at tax time, when you receive a deduction for charitable donations. Lifehack has eight valuable opportunities for getting organized and padding your pocketbook in the process.

I don't fold my sheets. There, I said it. It's not that I don't know how. I do know how; I helped my mom with laundry all the time when I was a kid. But I don't really know how to do it by myself. What do you do when no one is holding the other end? So, I just sort of do a half-hearted fold, then wrap them all up until they fit into my linen closet.

Now you know one of my deepest, darkest secrets.

Ok, I kid (about the secret, not about not folding my sheets). The truth is, neatly folded sheets just aren't a priority for me. I mean, they're sheets. When I use them, my eyes are closed. Who cares if they're wrinkled?

A couple of months ago I made the switch from working full-time in a typical 8-5 office to working full-time from home. While I love working from home, my office leaves a little to be desired. Instead of the large office I used to have, I now work in a tiny corner of my living room.

So redesigning my office space is on the forefront of my mind: storage, comfort, and functionality are the priorities. When searching for creative ideas, I found an article from Shape with some great tips for creating a healthy home office. I'll share some of the tips I'm going to try after the break.

We all have pairs of jeans laying around the house we no longer wear. There are many ways of re-purposing them. Everything from denim purses, reusable shopping bags, messenger bags, to just about anything.

Here is another idea: an organizer made from an old pair of jeans! This organizer goes on the back of a door. It can be your bedroom, laundry room, bathroom, or any other door in your home.

All you need for this project is a pair of old jeans, scissors, glue, tape measure, thread, sewing machine, and a trouser hanger. Measure and cut pockets into the jeans depending on the size of the objects you are going to store in them.

I have some really interesting jeans I haven't been able to wear in years with all sorts of patterns, ribbons, embroidery work, and embellishments on them that I'm thinking of using. You can also jazz up a pair of plain jeans with sequins, patches, scrap fabric, paint, embroidery, ribbons.

I'm all about instant gratification, and this quick and easy cereal box organizer delivers. It's a fun craft to do with your kids, a perfect way to reuse cereal boxes, and a great place to store your magazines. My son and I had an awesome time making this magazine rack.

The project couldn't be more inexpensive -- you probably have all the materials you need lying around the house right now. All you need is a cereal box, glue stick or double-sided tape, sturdy paper, and scissors or an exacto knife.

Simply measure and cut the desired angle on a cereal box large enough to house magazines. To cover the box, I used leftover wallpaper; contact paper or heavy wrapping paper would also work well. Check out the gallery for more details.