So here’s our quick fix.

We keep a steady supply of dog food out on the counter in a cute glass jar and we hide the rest of it in plastic bags under the counter. We reuse the plastic bags every time we buy new dog food, but you could always use other canisters for a more eco-friendly option. It’s not genius but it definitely makes a world of differnce.

Where do you store your pet’s food? Do you repackage it like we do or do you just leave the bag?

Here is one of the mailboxes after priming it. We were originally planning on painting them white but after seeing them primed we decided we needed something with a bit more color.

We chose Krylon’s Indoor/Outdoor Paint in Celery. I love the way it turned out. I think the color looks really nice against our walls.

Before mounting the mailboxes we attached the magazine hooks. I’m not the greatest spray painter, so painting their small curved surfaces was a bit of a challenge. I skimped on the parts that you can’t see when they’re hanging up, but the end result looks great. To attach the magazine hooks you simply insert the hooked end through the bottom of the mailbox and bring it through the opening in the back.

Once the hook shows through, you pull it downward to lock it firmly into place.

Here is the end result. We decided to stagger the mailboxes to give them visual interest. The added bonus is that the taller one is perfect for Peter to drop his wallet and keys into and the shorter of the two works great for me.

So, what do your coat hooks look like? Do you have an eclectic array of Anthropologie hooks or did you manage to find some awesome vintage coat rack? Maybe coat hooks are something that you never bothered with. Let us know!

Over the holidays during our cross-country drive Peter and I stopped to stay with my cousin, Shawna, in Arkansas. Shawna and her fiance, Ryan, just bought a house and I was shocked by how unbelievably clean and organized everything in their house was. On our way home they let us stay there while they were in Vegas and even though they weren’t home everything that we would possibly need was so easy to find. The placement of items in their house was logical. Here’s a picture or Shawna and me together:

The sense of order that Shawna has may be something that comes more naturally to some than it does to others but I am confident that it is something that, with a lot of effort, I will learn. I’m so inspired by my cousin and her fiance’s gracious hospitality  and ability to make a house a home.

Anyone can shove their things behind couches, under beds, and in drawers to make a house appear clean for a photo but it takes true thought and organization to create a space that is easy to live in. Every item in the house needs a place to go so that when we come home from a long day it will be natural to put things where they belong. If I can master this then I will have a better designed home. What about you? Are you like Peter and I am and frantically clean before people come over (or just tell them, “You can come over but the place is a mess and we like you to much to clean before you show up.” Manipulative–I know.) or do you maintain an organized clean house? If you fit into the latter category, what are your best secrets?

Image courtesy of The Container Store.