Make-Up and Mardi Gras
Makeup and Mardi Gras have a lot to do with organization! Keeping a well-organized makeup drawer can save you time and money when getting ready for a night out. When it comes to Mardi Gras, organization is essential for making sure the celebration runs smoothly.
Makeup and Mardi Gras have a lot to do with organization! Keeping a well-organized makeup drawer can save you time and money when getting ready for a night out. When it comes to Mardi Gras, organization is essential for making sure the celebration runs smoothly.
Use the C.H.A.O.S Method to get your makeup organized
C- Categorize
Take everything out of your drawer and put like items with like items. That means mascara with mascara, lipsticks with lipsticks, etc.
H- Hurtful or Helpful
What emotion does your makeup elicit? Do you like wearing it; does it make you feel good?
A- Action
Take action once you’ve decided how you feel about each item. Keep the Make-up you love and Discard expired make-up (so you don’t get a nasty rash on your face) and what you don’t like.
Here are some common make-up expiration dates
O- Organize
We like trays like these to help keep our makeup organized. They come in various sizes, so be sure to measure the space before ordering.
S- Simplify
Label each tray to set yourself up for success in the mornings and for ease of retrieval.
After the parades, costumes, and other festivities, ensure your mardi gras decorations are organized.
Three tips to keep it organized:
Use a Storage bin with dividers – this will make it easy to separate different colors and types of beads. Keep your costumes in good condition for next year by wrapping in plastic for next year.
Go Vertical – Use a pegboard so you can hang your mardi gras jewelry and beads on the wall free of tangles
Use Space bags – to keep your costumes in good condition for next year and free from dirt and debris.
Above all else, make sure you use a purple bin!
Have extra mardi gras beads? Donate them here.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR METHOD OR WOULD LIKE OUR HELP WITH GETTING ORGANIZED, GIVE US A CALL.
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How to Prepare Your Home for Guests: Southern Hospitality
Are you excited to open your houses and have guests for the holidays again? We sure are! It’s been a while so here are some great reminders about bringing a little Southern Hospitality into your home. This year will be exciting as guests finally get to come to visit so let’s get ready!
Are you excited to open your houses and have guests for the holidays again? We sure are! It’s been a while so here are some great reminders about bringing a little Southern Hospitality into your home. This year will be exciting as guests finally get to come to visit so let’s get ready!
We hope you enjoy our two latest blogs on preparing your home for guests this holiday season. You can let us know by clicking the like button at the bottom left corner of this blog or, even better, forwarding it to a friend to enjoy! We appreciate your feedback!
Southern hospitality is definitely a thing down here in Louisiana! We relish in being “extra” as my daughter would say. So, no matter if you are having family or just a few friends, here are some extra special touches to making them feel welcome.
"There are no strangers, just friends we haven't met yet."
A small vase of flowers in the guest bath or just around your home in general.
A small gift bag with local, trial size products. I love to give a trial size Tabasco sauce, small Community coffee and a locally made praline. What can you get locally that they might not be able to get where they live?
Be aware of their food likes and dislikes, or allergies. (Not everyone can tolerate our seafood.) Sure hope they like Community Coffee because there is no compromising on that!
Don’t forget to offer them something to drink! Nothing says welcome like a glass of sweet tea or a mimosa!
Be sure to greet your guests and put them at ease. This year, this may include, having masks available in case they forgot theirs. It also might include having hand sanitizers spread around your home.
Anticipate their special needs and be accommodating to them. Do they need a place to make bottles or prefer privacy to nurse a baby? Will they need a place for a baby to nap? Will they need the Wi-Fi password?
Let them know it’s an honor for you to have them as your guest, not a burden, by having a beautiful tablescape and using your finest dishes and glassware (Grandmother’s china and crystal is always a welcome sight for the holidays!). Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a tablescape!
Need help getting your home ready for guests? We would love to help!
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A Hurricane Prep Guide
Certain sounds from hurricanes stay forever embedded in our mind. The loud thud of trees hitting the ground, screeching and howling as the winds whip around your house and the waves of pounding rain as the hurricane bands pass by. It can get scary at times for sure and you have to be ready to evacuate or hunker down. Here are a few tips from this seasoned southern organizer that can help you if you are new to this season.
HURRICANE PREP
Certain sounds from hurricanes stay forever embedded in our mind. The loud thud of trees hitting the ground, screeching and howling as the winds whip around your house and the waves of pounding rain as the hurricane bands pass by. It can get scary at times for sure and you have to be ready to evacuate or hunker down. Here are a few tips from this seasoned southern organizer that can help you if you are new to this season. It’s certainly not everything but it’s a good start! It may just be refresher info for those of you seasoned Gulf Coasters.
The CDC breaks down prep into 2 categories: Prep before and actions after. I am addressing the prep before the storm here.
PLAN
Review your homeowner’s insurance. This needs to be done prior to storm season because by the time it’s in the gulf, it’s too late to change anything. Here’s a link with some great questions to ask your agent.
Make sure you have emergency numbers stored in your phone. This includes but is not limited to your doctor’s numbers, local police or fire and rescue numbers, local hospital, utility companies, your veterinarian, animal control, family members, insurance agent, boss, school/daycare, and neighbors. I keep a printed backup copy with my important papers just in case something happens to my phone. Here is a free printable from Apartment Guide so you can have these numbers on hand.
Personal papers such as insurance papers, passports, birth certificates, immunization records, wills, vet records and anything else deemed important should be kept in waterproof bags or containers. See example here.
Create a First Aid kit or order one online. These can include non-prescription meds. Talk with your doctor about getting an emergency supply of essential meds as well as a list of current medication, dosages, allergies and any other pertinent medical information that you may need to know.
Have emergency power sources in case you lose power. Make sure your electronics are charged ahead of time. (Extra battery phone chargers, flashlights with extra batteries, hearing aid batteries, generators, car chargers.) Here is a list from the CDC.
Have a printed evacuation plan (in case your phone isn’t working) and an emergency plan for tornados. If you have pets, be sure to include them in this plan. This includes names and phone numbers of hotels that allow pets.
Protect Home-board windows and secure anything that might fly away. This is when my kids realize I have a million potted plants! lol
Clean your shrimp boots.
Clean your margarita machine.
STOCK UP
Infant care items
Pet care items- medicines, leashes, bowls for food and water. They will need good collars with their tags attached. Make sure their vet records are with your important papers.
Emergency food and water. CDC recommends 1 gallon of water per person per day. Food that needs little to no prep and no refrigeration is recommended because you may not have utilities. Plan for people with special dietary needs such as the elderly or infants. Here is more information about emergency foods.
Don’t forget to include contacts, contact solution, asthma inhaler, blood sugar monitor or any other items that you or a family member will need if you have to evacuate.
Gas-For car and generator!
Paper goods-Be sure to include a manual can opener.
Covid-19 protection-Masks, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, and gloves.
Ziploc bags filled with ice or freezing water bottles can help keep your freezer and refrigerator cold for a little bit if the power goes out.
Hurricane drink supplies.
Toilet paper-I may become a toilet paper hoarder after the Covid-19 shortage!
WE NEED AS MUCH PEACE OF MIND AS WE CAN GET NOT ONLY IN THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, BUT ESPECIALLY IN HURRICANE SEASON AS WELL. IF YOU ARE FEELING OVERWHELMED WITH ANY SPACE IN YOUR HOME AND NEED HELP GETTING ORGANIZED, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT US AT 225-205-6400. WE ARE HAPPY TO HELP!
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Tailgating Essentials to Start this Football Season Off Right
Perhaps it’s the spirit of competition or the need to belong to something greater than ourselves, regardless the reason football is king in the South. From Friday night lights to college tailgating and NFL teams, we love it all.
It’s the sweltering dog days of summer when cicadas sing lullabies and we watch the weather channel like crows watch the hen house, but we are excited because the new year is starting. For us in the south, our new year starts on August 1st. Come August 1st, families start kissing the lazy days of summer goodbye as they become mindful of bedtime routines and getting children back on school sleep schedules. Everything feels new at this time of year more so than January 1st ever could.
The children are starting a new grade in school with new teachers and classmates. Many of our friends have moved into new homes over the summer break just to be ready for the start of the new year. And nothing is more refreshing than a new football schedule. Past losses are wiped free and anything is possible. There is a powerful feeling of hope at this time of year. It’s contagious and this is our South.
“College football is not like religion, it’s more important than that.”
- Unknown
We are not sure who coined that phrase, but it certainly goes a long way in describing how southerners feel about football. We absolutely love our football! Perhaps it’s the spirit of competition or the need to belong to something greater than ourselves, regardless the reason football is king in the South. From Friday night lights to college tailgating and NFL teams, we love it all.
If there is anything to know about football in the South it’s that tailgating is serious business steeped in long traditions that vary by school. Whether you are at The Grove at Ole Miss or sailgating with the VOLS Navy on the Tennessee River before a game you are sure to discover the regional flavors that make these traditions so special.
To prepare for the start of this football season…
Here are some tailgating essentials:
A perfect outfit in your team’s colors!
A clear purse
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Bug Spray
A hat
Tent
Folding chairs
Folding table
A wagon- to haul the goods if you are walking around
An ice chest filled with your favorite beverages and lots of water because it’s HOT!
Ice chest with (already prepared)food to grill.
Bottle opener/Corkscrew
Coozies
Snacks
Battery powered fan
Hand wipes
Hand sanitizer
Small first aid kit
Phone chargers
Small bag for trash
Tailgate grill (Fire extinguisher)
Propane or charcoal
Utensils/BBQ tools
Paper goods (Plates, napkins, paper towels, cups)
Speakers or entertainment system
Games
Extension cords
Décor-flags, rugs, pom-poms or anything else needed to make your tailgate look like home!
YOUR TICKETS!!
To pack an ice chest:
Stack bottles and cans at the bottom of the ice chest.
Pour fresh ice over cans and bottles
Put tailgating food on top of ice in air tight containers
Large plastic tubs are great to store the non-perishable items throughout the year. Be sure to restock before putting them away so they are ready to go for the next home game.
Game day is almost here! Check our Facebook and Instagram pages for pictures of our tailgating adventures and please share your tailgate pictures with us!
What would you add to this list? Let us know!
And last but not least…Geaux Tigers and Geaux Cajuns!
There is Always Time for a Party in the South
And to close out our guest blogger series, Amber is talking about another favorite topic of ours, PARTIES!
And to close out our guest blogger series, Amber is talking about another favorite topic of ours, PARTIES!
Living in Taiwan has really been eye-opening. Particularly about how southerners truly do focus their lives around their homes and entertaining in their homes. In the south we love to entertain in our homes. However, in Taiwan it is customary to invite people out to a restaurant. The person who invites typically pays for the meal. This is largely due to the fact that many people live in apartments.
This has been a huge adjustment for my husband and I as we really love to entertain in our home. In the past when we purchased a home, one of the main features we considered is how well the house will work for entertaining.
I come from a really large family that celebrates everything together. All of the parties throughout all of the years and all of the expected parties to come have contributed to my extensive collection of serving wear. Plates, bowls, wine buckets, candle holders, cake plates, you name it. I have all the holidays covered. Christmas, Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Easter, Derby, Summer parties, fiestas and so many other theme events contribute to these items I use once a year.
Years ago, I learned to purchase mostly white serving wear so I am able to use my fundamental pieces throughout all the seasons but let’s be real, even with these root pieces my collection continues to grow yearly.
The real challenge of owning all of these items is in how to store them. It’s a struggle because there are so many different shapes and sizes. Many pieces are downright bulky and hard to organize. They are sparsely used and take up significant space but bring such joy.
In my last home, I had a wonderful area under my staircase to store these items. Unless there is a designated place in my new home when I return to the states, I will definitely need the assistance of a professional organizer to help me in this area.
Sometimes knowing what to do isn’t enough. Sometimes we need a little help with the things we are really good at doing.
There are reasons superheroes have sidekicks. Sometimes we just can’t tackle the world alone and that is ok. So even if organizing is your superpower there will be times and areas where you will struggle and can benefit from some help. These are the times to consider the value of hiring someone to help bring peace to your family. Life is easier when everything has a place. Find that peaceful easy feeling by hiring a professional organizer.