Saturday, January 19, 2008

Being Organized Does't Mean Being Bland

bathroom with souvenir mug holding toothbrushes

With Funky Shui, your mementos aren't packed away on the top shelf of the guest room closet; they live on your mantelpiece ... Be reminded of your trip to the Bahamas, not the last time you shopped at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Decorating with Funky Shui was a fun book to flip through. Why not use a fun mug (perhaps a souvenir of a trip) to hold toothbrushes, rather than a bland generic toothbrush holder?

While it's easy to get carried away and have too much stuff on display (so none of it really gets noticed), memorabilia and other unusual items used well can work wonders in a home (or office) - and help you get organized, too.

Some other ideas from this book that caught my eye:
- Putting a frame on an easel, and using that to display your child's latest masterpiece.
- Using a martini glass to hold paper clips.
- Using a colander or the bottom half of a globe as a fruit bowl.

The same authors also have a nice article on using lunch boxes as organizing tools.

2 comments:

Cynthia Friedlob said...

I love this idea! Must check out the book.

Sometimes I think people unfortunately confuse "organized" with "empty, sterile, bland, or uninteresting." Not so.

I do agree, though, that Funky Shui can easily be used as an excuse for a cluttery mess. But if it's applied in the proper spirit, what fun!

Jeri Dansky said...

Cynthia, so many folks equate organized with sterile. They should see my home: organized, yes; sterile, never. Maybe I need to post a few more pictures sometime.