Let's Get Organized: Make-Up Drawer Edition

Like most women I wear make-up every single day. Over the years you accumulate all kinds of things that go in your make-up drawer and eventually (if you are like me) it ends up looking a little something like this:

I know it is absolute chaos! I'm a little embarrassed to even show how bad it was, but I suppose for you to get the full picture I have to.

So this morning as I was digging through piles of items to find the mascara I wanted I decided I should probably do something about it.

So I headed off to Wal-Mart to see what I could find.  I ended up leaving with this:

purchase here.

When I got home I cleaned out the drawer and started organizing and getting rid of products I don't really use anymore. I even had a little help from my favorite furry friend ;)

It took me a little bit to decide how I wanted the organizers laid out in the drawer, but I settled on having them set up like this:

I knew the small organizers would come in handy for my bobby pins and hair ties. I'm kind of a hoarder so I didn't get rid of as much make up as I know I should have. I did though have 8 tubes of mascara and now I'm down to 4. I call that a victory ;) 

Here's the finished product:

There is still a lot going on, but at least now my make up is organized by what it is so I will have an idea of where to start to look if I need something :)

* I used Washi Tape on the edges of the organizational trays just to add extra color.

This project took me maybe 20 minutes and will save me so much time in the future! 

Hope you all have a blessed day! thanks for stopping by :D

Partial Projects + An Early New Years Resolution!

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give you lovely readers some updates on where I am on a couple projects I've mentioned in previous posts, and stick around because at the end of this post I'm going to share my New Years resolution (early I know, but I have to start preparing myself ;), and challenge you all to join in with me :)

It's a rug if you were wondering ;)

I saw this rug at Walmart over a month ago and every time I would look at it and contemplate buying it, and every time I would leave it there! about a week ago I was in and saw that it was marked down to $20 and there was only one left, and yet I still left it there. I told myself today if it hadn't been sold yet then it was meant to be... and long story short its now at my house!

 It serves a greater purpose then just being an awesome rug, it is my first purchase and my style basis on how I will be redecorating our laundry room. I'm already in love with the pop of color it is adding by replacing the horribly boring brown rug that formerly resided on our laundry room floor. (To read my previous post on my Laundry room redo go here.)

It's not finished, but who doesn't like a work in progress ;)

Last week I shared a post with inspiration for DIY Christmas gifts (view post here.). One of the ideas I shared was a DIY Mug. Here is a little sneak peak at where I am at on this project. If you know me at all you know that I am a constant doodler so that's what I decided to do on this mug. I purchased a $2 plain black mug and Painters brand paint markers at Walmart and just started.

Now this isn't going to turn out perfect by any means, but I think the people that I give them to as gifts will appreciate having some authentic artwork while they drink their morning coffee. I clearly still need to finish the design and then bake it to set the paint. (oh yeah and I still have 5 more I'm going to make after this one). I may try some simpler techniques for those ;)

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...

... Or not, but I'm going to tell you anyways. Seth and I are kinda messy people and I usually wait until the house get so messy that I start panicking and go into "crazy cleaning mode" as Seth so kindly calls it. Well my vow is that next year WILL be different, and here is how. 

Get the printable from Tried and True Blog here

Each month I'm going to follow the deep cleaning advice of this nifty schedule, and I challenge all of you to do the same! Starting in January I will be posting each month what the challenge is and how it went when I completed it.

Let me know if you plan on joining me on this challenge, you have almost a whole month to decide ;)

My Must Haves: App Edition

If you are anything like me then your smart phone is your daily companion. I have about 70 apps currently downloaded on my phone, but there are a few that I just wouldn't want to live without. Today I'm here to share those with you!

Social Media:

Just to get the obvious out of the way lets take a minute to talk about the basics. 

• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

I use these apps everyday (probably a little too much). It is so convenient to have these at your fingertips so you can keep connected with your friends and family wherever you are at. 

Health and Fitness:

I am a wannabe healthy person, which means I attempt to work our regularly and eat healthy. Key word there is "attempt". Oh well it's the thought that counts ;)

My Fitness Pal:

My Fitness Pal is a total health companion. From this app you can keep track of how many calories you have eaten in a day, and also track your workouts and calories burned. My favorite part of this app is being able to add your friends and cheer each other on during their weight loss journey.

Fitbit:

To be able to use this app you first have to purchase a Fitbit first. With this app you can sync your fitbit wristband to your phone and track how many steps you have taken in that day. It helps you set goals and also challenge your friends! It is a great motivator to get extra steps in during the day.

And The Others:

Mint:

The Mint app is AMAZING! You are able to set up your budget and use the app to track all of your expenses. It will let you know how close you are to going over you monthly budgets for each category you have set up. This has helped Seth and I so much in getting our finances in order!

BrightNest:

This is such a neat app for anyone who likes DIY projects or any projects to do with cleaning and organizing. It will ask you questions and based on your responses set you up with different ideas of things to do. For example my first task is "clean your house with Coca-Cola Classic". When you click on it, it will give you step by step directions on how to complete the given task. 

Walmart:

Okay this may seem a little weird, but having the Walmart App on your phone can be a great money saver. With the app you can use "Savings Catcher", which will ad match for you and show you what the lowest prices around are based on your receipts. After the items are ad matched any savings found are added to a gift card that can be used at Walmart. Yes, its as awesome as it sounds! I scan my receipt every time I shop there just in the hopes that I might get a couple bucks back. :)

Got a good laugh from this! 

What are the Apps that you can't live without? 

Just In Case You Need Inspiration

There are many reasons to turn to DIY gifts. Maybe money is tight but you still have loved ones that you want to give something to, maybe you have to give a gift to someone who is IMPOSSIBLE to shop for, or maybe you are just super crafty and love a good project. No matter the reason with Christmas less then a month a way it is time to get working on those gifts!

I have compiled together some ideas that have inspired me this Christmas and hopefully they can help you out too (I mean isn't that what Christmas is all about ;)).

Decorated Mugs

(source)

I love this gift idea because it is extremely easy to customize! Whether you want to do initials, a special quote or saying, or custom artwork the choice is yours. Just make sure you get oil based paint pens, regular sharpies will wash off in the dishwasher and fade over time. Follow the link for step by step directions, and be watching out in the next couple of weeks when I post my own version of these lovely mugs! 

Mason Jar Gifts

(source)

I don't know about you but I am ALL about the mason jar fad that's going around. They are so cute, affordable, and perfect for so many projects. Here is one example of an adorable way to pull off a mason jar gift. Perfect for your girlfriends because you can choose special items that will fit their personality. Also if you follow the link you can get the free gift tag printable. 

Infused Vodka

(source)

I absolutely LOVE this idea! For one they are incredibly adorable and for two who wouldn't want to get a little homemade infused vodka for Christmas? If you follow the link you can get the specific recipes for the ones pictured above, but really this is perfect because you can get creative! You can infuse the vodka with anything you think would be delicious, and it gives you the excuse to sample a little for yourself. 

I hope these inspire you to get creative with your gift giving this year :) I would love to hear about any other DIY gifts that you are trying out!