Creating a Tool Chest for my Jewels

First problem of finding a cheaper alternative to a metal tool chest of drawers was solved at The Container Store. Three stackable smokey, gray plastic drawers with metal pulls for a reasonable $17.99 each.

I was so excited with my find, that I went straight home and started to put away all of my jewelry…which soon presented me with my second problem. Nothing stayed put!

After more problem solving AND shopping, I had my tools assembled: pencil, ruler, X-Acto knife, foam paper and a ton of plastic pill containers.

Remember my perfectionist tendency? Well all I can say is thank goodness I’m an artist who likes math because it took a lot of measuring to get everything straight!

Once I had my cutouts done, I was ready for my favorite part – organizing! I layered a second sheet of white foam paper underneath the cutouts, nestled the containers in their new homes and piled in the jewelry. And since a collection never stops growing…I left a few empty containers for good measure!

The Snowball Effect

The ideas for my projects usually come about in one of two ways – either by inspiration or out of frustration. This first project came about because of the latter.

You see, like most of the people out there, I’m a decorator on a budget. And it sucks when you can’t afford the perfect piece of furniture or accessory for your home.

But lucky for me, I’m a creative problem solver. So if I can’t find the right piece for the right price, then I put my tool belt on and figure out how to make it myself. Fortunately for my apartment neighbors, this project did not require the use of a circular saw - though it’s always much more fun when they do!

You see, when I recently started shopping around for a jewelry box, I was less than pleased with the small, overly flowery containers that I was finding…because I wanted something that didn’t look like a jewelry box.

I wanted something utilitarian. I wanted something that could handle my ever-growing collection of rings and necklaces. I wanted a miniature metal tool chest of drawers – the kind you store nuts and bolts and small tools in. But shockingly, (insert eye roll here) they were all priced way above my budget.

So after a few days bemoaning my light wallet, I put my problem-solving hat on and started sourcing for a chest of drawers that I could afford. And I found my perfect solution at that organizing mecca known as The Container Store.

Off to a Gold Medal Start!

I know the end of a race determines who receives the gold medal, but for me the beginning is always the hardest. Once I get the ball rolling, my excitement and motivation start to snowball and I pick up speed.

But procrastination is all about putting off the beginning, so I always feel a small victory at the start of a project because it means I’ve gotten over the biggest obstacle…myself.

So as I mentioned over the weekend, I finally started my first project and tonight I finished it! By doing a little bit each day, I was able to accomplish something I’d had on my list for months.

I know it’s kind of hard to believe – I’m actually a little surprised myself – but sit tight because the proof is forthcoming!

Solitude = Productivity

In an ironic twist, I’ve always been my most productive when I’m home alone.

Maybe it’s because I’m easily distracted with people around. Or perhaps it’s because I take my free time very seriously and would prefer to spend my weekends with my boyfriend, playing with my cats or hanging out with my sister and friends.

But this weekend, a few of my (favorite) distractions were out of town. At first, I was a bit bummed that both my boyfriend and sister would be away on business trips, but then I realized that I had been presented with a golden opportunity.

So I psyched myself up throughout the week and created the mother of all To Do lists. And I kid you not; I got most of it done! While the majority of the list entailed me running errands, most of those trips were to find supplies for new projects.

And even though the weekend is almost officially over, I’m not going to waste a minute of time. Instead, I’m going to get started on one of those projects right now!

Collecting Experiences

Last night, I fought a bout of vertigo to see Jay-Z in concert. Sure the seats were three rows from the top of the arena, but it was the experience that counts - even the part where we were stuck for an hour inside the adjacent parking garage waiting to exit.

But when it was all said and done, I was achieving my goal of getting out of the house more AND collecting an experience.

See I recently read an interview where a woman said that one of her passions was collecting experiences. And BAM – I had had another epiphany! I’ve always loved to collect things, from art and purses to books and lamps. But what I didn’t realize was that I'd always been striving to collect experiences.

You see I despise being left out of things because it means that I’m missing out on having an experience. And that extended to starting a business, getting out of the house more and doing new things. And those feelings were actually the catalyst for starting this blog.

Whew! Who knew blogging could be so draining. I feel like my laptop should be billing me hourly for all this therapy.

Today’s (In)Significant Successes

Even small successes can make you feel good. And nothing makes me feel more successful than crossing things off my To Do list. Today, I crossed off three!

1. Schedule a Haircut – I know they say that you can go three months before getting your highlights redone, but my mirror doesn’t lie – yikes!

2. Vet Sample – It’d been one month exactly since our vet requested that we bring in a sample from one of our cats; I felt like such a bad mother! And even though this was actually handled by my boyfriend, I am taking partial credit because I know he wouldn’t have gone litter box diving if I hadn’t kept reminding him!

3. Potting Plants – I have a slight addiction to plants (as my apartment can attest to) so I was thrilled when my sister gifted me some that she found recently at the most amazing home and garden store in Philly. They’d been neglected for the past week, awaiting pots and dirt, but now they are quite happy and ready to grow, grow, grow!

Is Snow Tubing a Viable Job Occupation?

Two down – eight to go!

I started this blog to hold myself responsible for the things I said I was going to do in order to start living life, because I knew that I wouldn’t let myself fail on seeing them through.

But this is also the reason why I started to panic last week when I realized that there wasn’t much time left to get snow tubing crossed off the list. I know it’s barely March, but they don’t call it global warming for nothing!

Ironically, it turned out to take little effort at all to rally family and friends for an afternoon of snow tubing and by noon on Saturday we were all headed to Ski Liberty. By four o’clock, all of my worries and stress had disappeared; I had regressed to my inner eight year old and was having one of the funnest afternoons of my life.

I went to sleep that night with a big smile on my face and couldn’t wait to tell everybody about my weekend adventure. And I am already making plans (can you believe it?) to go back in a few weeks!