I am officially no longer on vacation now, but I still managed to get in some cleaning at the tail end of my days off. At the Fairmont, we really only have two closets - a large walk-in in our living room and a linen closet - and so storage space is at a premium (we also have a cold-storage room in the basement, but it's terrifying. Like, dead body stash terrifying). Our linen closet is generally neat and tidy because it's not that big, but the large walk-in closet can become a bit of a disaster area. I also avoided it for a long time because that's where the mouse was living and I kept on having PTSD whenever I went in there.

But! I finally cleaned it out this week. I don't have any before pictures to show you, but believe me, it wasn't pretty. It's not like there was a lot of stuff, it just wasn't properly using the space. With the help of G (who had to clean out what was stuff to keep and stuff to toss) I neatened it up and am now using it as my main crafting storage, as G has completely taken over the office now that he's working from home. I don't mind at all, but I need my space too!

 
We had this organizer that had previously been utilized to hold beer (we drink a lot of craft beer and have a small fridge, but now we have a water dispenser with a built-in mini fridge, so that solved some problems) so I utilized it to hold my growing yarn stash.


I had previously wanted to get an over-the-door shoe organizer for my yarn, but I realized this would be better because A) I already owned it and B) you can get 3 skeins of the big Bernat Roving yarn in there, so I can group my stash by colour/project.


In the rest of the pockets I put in some sewing stuff, an embroidery hoop and floss and other crafty things that didn't really have a good home.


 I also am one of those people who collect pretty jars but don't really have a use for them, so I popped my knitting needles into one and set it on the shelf.


The needles are also held together with elastic bands so they always stayed grouped together. Those plastic things are former ribbon tubes with a binder clip, which works great if your skein is all tangled and you want to re-wrap it (the binder clip simply holds the end in place while you wind.

I really like this system because it doesn't take up extra space and everything that I don't need is now tucked neatly away, out of sight. When you lack storage space it's nice to have organization methods that are easy to access, maintain and that don't take up a lot of room themselves.

Something that I am also keeping in the closet is my new tripod, which I bought yesterday and already love.



G has a similar tripod but it's at his buisness partner's house, and I felt that I needed my own for outfit photos and of course, my own work. The best thing about having a clean closet is that I can keep the tripod set up so I can take my outfit photos quickly. The tripod even comes with a quick release so I can just plunk my camera on and take it off, no screwing around required! As long as I put the tripod in the same spot and then stand in the same spot every time, it will take very little tweaking to get a good photo.

Have I mentioned that we have finally been hit with our cliched Canadian weather? It was -20 today and snowed last night, which was actually a good thing for me, since I had to go out and take photos but had to make photos that haven't been done in a while at our paper - so no skating, sledding or people enjoying the sunshine. Since the weather has been so nice we haven't had cold weather and snow photos in a while, so I got to do that. I knew I would be under my wonderful mustard coat for the most part, so I didn't mind building a neutral outfit. Note the matching beret and tights.

Beret: Joe Fresh | Cardigan: Joe Fresh | Dress: Rickis Belt buckle: Divine Vintage | Tights: ??

I also got to bust out some good cold weather essentials in my outfit. I wear this slip a lot, not just because it's an extra layer but because I don't have a good petticoat and many of my unlined skirts stick to my legs when I walk (especially this one!) The slip is usually knee-length on me, but I tucked it up into my tights so it wouldn't show.

Slip: Imagine Vintage

Between the cardigan, the slip, the woolly tights and my big coat, I was snug as a bug in a rug when I was outside. I'm really excited that it has snowed - I love walking around while the big flakes fall  - but I really wish it didn't bring the cold winds with it! What about you - do you love winter or do you hibernate until spring time?

xo Laurie