So Sew Organized

It is time for our very first Home Improvement linky party! I can’t wait to see what fantastic improvements you all have made to your homes lately! Sometimes it is just a small thing that makes a huge improvement on your system. A tweak that leaves you thinking, “Why didn’t I ever do this before?” That was the kind of improvement I made recently that I am excited to share with you today! I came to a moment where I felt I needed a better system. Ever been there? I had a drawer in my sewing desk full of note cards and candles {because you know, everyone stores those things together in a sewing desk} and it. was. full. Too full. And I wasn’t using the note cards….I didn’t even know half of what was in there, to be honest! But in an effort to keep up with my goal of being a better correspondent this year - including real, hand-written notes - I determined to create a system I could use. I wanted to make it easy for myself to get those notes written, and provide good storage as well. To be...

Since one of my goals for this year is to go through my stuff in storage , I decided to work on one aspect of that stuff each month until it is done. When Jen at IHeart Organizing issued a fun monthly challenge to get our home offices organized, I decided that was a great place to start! For me, this included paper storage, systems for dealing with various papers that come through my hands, and storage systems for those things I need to keep. It is amazing how paper clutter can pile up. Y’all, I don’t even have a complicated life, but I still end up with so much stuff! There were several areas where paper and files were clearly taking over. I started by attacking cleaning up my bookcase. Oh, I had the books and shelves pretty well organized, but the top - well, it was a disaster area if ever there was one. For years I had been using this big, ugly organizer that would work great behind closed cabinet doors, but not so much out in the open. I have never liked the look of it, but didn...

Happy Monday! Trust you all had a great weekend. We've been having some COLD weather!! Thankfully today the temperature is *almost* back up to the freezing point, which feels spring-like and balmy to us, haha! I had a great weekend, helping with a men's banquet at my dad's church on Saturday, and then ministering at my church yesterday. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord, even in what seems like "small" ways. As the song goes, "It is a great day to serve the Lord!" =) Did you see the new item in my shop this weekend?? These Booktotes have me all excited!! They have matching laptop/tablet sleeves too. {So cute!} If you haven't already, head over here to check them out ! On with our weekly updates: Here are a few blessings I've added to my 1,000 Gifts list recently: 509. A little baby’s laughter 510. My great brother {who fetches things for me when I’m already cozied into bed :) } 511. Kids laughter while playing games 512. ...

I am beyond the moon excited to be introducing some new products today, as well as the makeover that has happened in my Etsy shop this month. Welcome to: After much {and I mean much} deliberation, I finally settled on a new name for my shop, which I feel reflects the purpose of the shop far better than the old name did. As you may recall, the shop was previously in my name, which makes things kind of boring and monotonous if you as me. {Seriously, who is excited about a shop named nicolerisinger?? BORING!} I sent out a plea on my Facebook page a couple of times asking for suggestions. In the end, I kind of combined a few of the suggestions to end up with the name “Sew Organized.” After mulling it over, thinking about how it would look on banners and business cards and such, and considering how easy it would be to find/remember for visitors, I decided I liked it. Then I found out it was unavailable on Etsy . Ahhhhh!!! At some point in the past, some other brilliant mind had a shop nam...

I'm privileged to be posting over at Imperfect Homemaker about organizing in a small space! Here is an excerpt from my post: I enjoy organizing – taking a space, rethinking it, and deciding how that space could be better used. This time of year usually presents a problem, however… since I have recently been gifted new things, I have to find a place for those items as well! While I certainly don’t mind receiving new things, I am very limited on space. I’ve developed a few “rules” that work well for me in my organizing endeavors!  Click here to read the rest of the post! =)  

Just before Christmas I was asked to try a new project...making placemats! The same friend who ordered this tote {which I love} asked me to use that same fabric to make her some quilted placemats. She is planning on converting her kitchen to a rooster theme, and I am so excited to see the end result! I had never made placemats before...but after doing some research and looking at some placemats we had around, I figured out my plan of attack. Really it was quite simple! I started out by cutting the rectangles of fabric that I needed. I pretty much just guessed on a good size, after looking at the size of some other placemats. I honestly don’t remember for sure what size I ended up with, but it might have been 17x12”?? I have so many measurements written on my white board from things I’ve worked on recently that I don’t remember, haha. I cut out quilt batting the same size for each placemat. You need two rectangles of fabric and one of batting per placemat. Iron the fabric good , and pi...

You all know that I love a good organizing, rearranging, or DIY project. Last year I set out to do one DIY project and one Pinterest-inspired project per month. It was a lot of fun, and while I missed a few months, I’d say it averaged out the way it was supposed to. This year, I decided it would be fun to have a little bit of a monthly CHALLENGE! The challenge is just what that says, a Homemakers version of a Home Improvement! The idea is to make any improvement to your home, blog about it, and come back to share it next Wednesday, January 30th. The improvement can be anything that, well, improves your home - organizing a space, changing out some decor, making a new recipe, having a cooking session, or even a homemaking-related topic like couponing or child-rearing. You get the picture. Basically anything goes! Come back next Wednesday, January 30th to link up your project (feel free to link up any related project from this month!). Or if you don’t have a blog, we’d love to hear the d...