Hacking Your Way to a Chic + Organized Holiday | Part 1

Raise your hand if you are in charge of shopping for gifts each holiday season?

How about prepping the meals?

Planning out outfits for family photos? Not to mention scheduling them?

My guess is everyone has three hands raised, so we don’t even need to mention wrapping the gifts, booking flights for distant celebrations, hand addressing the holiday cards, decorating the house. I mean the list is LONG, and can certainly be a major stress during the most magical time of the year.

So when the Indiana Design Center reached out to see if I’d be open to sharing best practices and tips for a chic + organized holiday season, I jumped at the chance. I partnered with Caryn O’Sullivan, CEO of Drapery Street, and last Thursday we presented to a full house.

But I couldn’t leave you out of it, so without further ado, here are a few tried and true holiday hacks to add some joy back into your season.

The Baer Minimalist's Wedding Registry Guide

I recently grabbed coffee with a bride-to-be who was struggling with putting together her wedding gift registry. She asked if I had any recommendations for what to buy and what might end up gathering dust, which got me thinking about what I would do differently if I were to register again (after almost nine years of marriage)!

Since you can add virtually anything to a registry these days thanks to Amazon and Zola, it is super easy to get overwhelmed. Stay true to who you are as a couple - if you like quiet nights at home, reconsider ordering 50 wine glasses. And vice versa, if you love hosting elegant dinner parties, go all out with crystal and china!

Don't forget that you can always borrow items from family and friends when entertaining if you are tight on storage space or happen to only need a certain item once a year.

My husband and I LOVE to entertain, but keep things pretty casual when we do. We didn't register for china or crystal, and I haven't regretted that decision a single day of our marriage.

How to Turn Your Closet into a Boutique

No matter how big or small your closet is, I promise these easy DIY tips will make it infinitely more fun to get dressed each morning.

1. UNIFORM HANGERS: This is the quickest way to transform a closet! Think about your favorite store for a minute. When you walk in you are drawn to the clothes, maybe there are lots of colors in the store or maybe they have a more minimalist approach, but regardless you are focusing in on what is hanging in front of you not distracted by the hangers holding onto the items.

I absolutely love velvet hangers (and despite what some may think, they don't shed onto your clothes). They preserve the shoulders of your blouses and work well for heavier sweaters too.

PROJECT // Nursery to Kids Study Conversion

I'm SO excited to unveil this space to you as this was quite the transformation! The evolution of this room has been pretty interesting - initially it was a storage room when my client's purchased their home. About five years ago they converted it into a nursery, but their boys are now sharing a room down the hall.

So, it was time to transform this space into a little nook perfect for studying, crafting and building some pretty incredible Lego creations. I think we have a couple of future engineers on our hands with some of the designs I saw!

Wait, Wait, Don't Throw Me!

Have you ever been this close to pitching something when it suddenly hits you that it would be the perfect vessal to hold all of your {insert any random collection of items here}? I love it when this happens - giving a second life to something that would otherwise be tossed just FEELS good.

So, without further ado, I'm sharing a few of my favorite items to hack into a new type of storage container below.

PROJECT // Kitchen Pantries Before + Afters

Oh Pantries! How I love organizing these little (and sometimes big) spaces!!

It always starts the same way...checking those handy expiration dates. It's amazing how many items are hidden inside the pantry that expired one, two, sometimes eight years ago. Once we've cleared the clutter, it's time to get things in order.

No matter what the space looks like, my goal is to create zones on the shelves that fit the family's lifestyle. These could be anything from beverages, to breakfast, to baking, to grab-and-go snacks.

Pantries are also probably the space in your home that are replenished most often, so labeling is uber-important. My favorite markers for labeling are these chalk markers that come in such vibrant colors and work on tons of different surfaces. White and black are certainly the go-tos, but adding a pop of color is so fun, especially when kiddos are using the space.

The Makings of a Party Kit

Dreaming up a perfect theme to suite the guest(s) of honor, crafting a menu that keeps everyone gathered around the table and working to create an experience that puts everyone at ease are just a few of the reasons why I LOVE planning parties!

Several years ago, I worked for a company that planned corporate meetings, mainly in the pharmaceutical world. Gathering RSVPs, managing travel plans for attendees and drafting up agendas were a big part of that world. It certainly played to my love of organization and list-making, but it didn't neccesarily allow for a ton of creativity.

As I mapped out my service offerings for The Baer Minimalist, I wanted to offer people a way to have memorable parties without all of the stress. Enter Party Kits!

Organized | SPACES, Organized | HOLIDAYSMaria BaerDecember 14, 2017The Baer Minimalist, LLCStylized, Gender RevealComment

PROJECT // Polished Family Room for Four

A few months back, I was tasked with helping a family of (almost) four style their family room. They wanted a cozy, comfortable vibe, but also felt like it was time to upgrade furniture that had been moving from house to house with them since college!

Could I help pull together this room? Shop on their behalf? Style the bookshelves?

Um....yes please!

Here is a sneak peek from my very first visit - it was time to say goodbye to the maroon chair + ottoman and pull this room together!

Organized | LIFE, Organized | SPACESMaria BaerNovember 20, 2017The Baer Minimalist, LLCBefore/After, Stylized, Client ProjectComment

10 Tips for an ORGANIZED + ENJOYABLE Holiday Season!

I absolutely adore everything about this time of year! The celebrations, the decorations, the extra time with loved ones spread across the winter months. It should be such a joyous time of year.

And yet, it can be totally stress-inducing without a little planning ahead!

So today I want to share my top 10 tips for an ORGANIZED + ENJOYABLE holiday season! I've got a few timesaver tips and a handful of hacks that will provide you with the ability to just relish in the true meaning of the season.

How California Closets is Using Virtual Reality to Help You Better Organize Your Space

I love geeking out over new technology and just learned about a concept that is going to be a total game-changer in the closet organization world.

Introducing, VIRTUAL REALITY for closet design! I can’t even WAIT to see this in action!

California Closets is introducing VR into their client experience, giving people a chance to visualize ALL of the possibilities before getting started on a project.

Tiny Space // Max Potential

I recently worked with a client who lives in a one-bedroom home in a really cool little pocket of Indianapolis called Fountain Square. This lucky gal is within walking distance to work, groceries, restaurants & bars. Dream life, right?!

However, this 600-square foot home has just one closet (located in the bedroom), so she’s had to be very creative when it comes to housing all of her possessions. Upon move-in she opted to have the stackable washer/dryer removed so that she’d have one more space to keep belongings.

Well, this space has become her true catch-all. In her words, “The only spot I have for major storage had become a black hole for odds and ends in my house.” She had quite the mix of electronics, toiletries, gift wrapping supplies, sheets, towels, games and and memorabilia all craving to be organized.

Top 5 Tips for Selling on Poshmark

Over the last several years, I’ve embraced buying secondhand – it’s also been a great resource to sell items so they can be given a second (or third) life. As we embrace Fall, now is the perfect time to sift through your closet and see if any of your summer items should be retired.

This can be especially difficult for items that you haven’t really worn - maybe you got a great deal, maybe you brought it home and it didn’t go with anything in your closet, or you discovered it simply isn’t your style.

One way to make this a bit easier is by reselling items. For me, Poshmark has been an extremely easy way to earn a little cash while turning my wardrobe into a place where everything is loved. Here are my top 5 Tips for selling on Poshmark:

Organized | LIFE, Organized | SPACESMaria BaerSeptember 6, 2017Poshmark, Stylized Comments

The Baer Minimalist® Blog -- Tips, Tricks and Hacks on living a more ORGANIZED + STYLIZED Life