I have more inspiration on the organizing side that I think you'll love! As part of my Lost + Found series, Alek of From the Right Bank to the Left Coast was sweet enough to share her systems for organizing everything from photos to shoes. Alek has moved around a lot. She's lived in more than a dozen cities (including Paris!) and her current home in Seattle masters that lived-in lovely look. I'm thrilled to share Alek's q+a as a personal fan of From the Right Bank. Alek has an incredible eye for interiors, and I love how the organizing systems that work for her are so simple and real. Here's how Alek organizes her:
+ photos
All my digital photos are on my computer in iPhoto so I use the "events" system that it comes with to organize them. They are in batches by date and place/occasion. I'm not totally happy with this though so I'd like to figure out a different system if I get some free time.
I used to shoot film as a photographer so not only do I have a crazy number of photos, I also have mountains of negatives and contact sheets. These are organized in sleeves by date and place and placed in binders. I number each sleeve, note on the outside of the binders which rolls/sleeves it contains, and then keep a book with the roll numbers, date and place/event to cross reference with the binders. Prints are in photo boxes by year and place. I basically try not to print any of my digital photos unless absolutely necessary. I still like to shoot film every now and then and those get stored by year and roll. I also have a thing for Polaroids and those are currently just in a box.
+ magazines
I subscribe to way too many magazines. I just can't
help myself so, this is what I *try* to do with them all although I
don't always succeed. Shelter, travel, and fashion magazines get read,
any really beautiful images torn out for my journals or inspiration
wall, then tossed. I try to keep no more than the most recent 2-3
months worth in the house at one time. I used to keep all back issues
but they were taking over my house so I did a major purge not that long
ago, tearing out any pages I wanted to keep and throwing everything
away. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I did this, Domino folded
and I was kicking myself! I do have the last few issues and you can
bet, I am going to hold on to those babies FOREVER. I also kept a few
random titles intact such as two issues of French Vogue that I thought
had exceptional spreads and some travel magazines that have all ceased
publication (for posterity sake, you know). I have a collection
of art and photography magazines that I can't part with as well as
magazines from other countries. I love picking up magazines when I'm
traveling. (See photo of my latest loot from a trip to Europe.)
Everything is kept in magazine boxes, grouped by subject in my studio.
I used to get several food magazines but I'm currently down to one (Bon Appetit) and these get tabbed with Post-its and stacked on a shelf in the pantry because I always think I'm going to try this or that recipe. I've been able to do this without a problem for space so far. I am missing Gourmet though so if I start that up again, who knows?
+ tax paper work and receipts
I'm lucky on this one because my
husband takes care of most of this. I feel like a 50's housewife when I
say that(!) but he's really good with that kind of thing so it's his
department. We keep receipts in monthly folders and usually about twice
a year, he'll sort them by type. He also keeps all our expenditures on
a spreadsheet and he updates that like all the time so it's always
current.
+ craft supplies
I'm also lucky here because I
have a large studio in my house where I can run amuck with all of my
art supplies. They're kind of all over the place but I have several
large plastic bins with lids where I keep papers and other materials
for art projects.
+ shoes
I'm kind of embarrassed to talk about all my shoes here but since Jen asked so nicely, I'll fess up. You might want to sit and get comfortable for this part. My "fancy" shoes are kept in my dressing room. A few pair are kept in their boxes but I was never able to do that Carrie Bradshaw thing where all her shoes are stacked neatly in their original boxes. I wish I could but I have to be able to see my shoes; I can't keep that kind of inventory in my head. As for the rest of the shoes, we have to head to the garage. That sounds a little weird but we try not to wear shoes in the house and the garage is the perfect place to leave our shoes and put on some slippers. I keep one (large) bin with spring/summer shoes, another with fall/winter shoes. Then there's a shelf for the shoes currently in heavy rotation. But wait, I'm not done yet! We can't forget my boots. I basically live in boots most of the year so there's an entire cabinet just for them. So there you have it. Phew!
+ travel mementos
When I first started traveling, I fell into that trap of picking up everything that seduces you when you go to a place for the first time. I ended up with a lot of useless stuff that never looked quite as appealing as it did when I bought it. So over the years, I've learned to cut back on the trinkets and tchotchkes. Also every time I've moved, I've donated a lot of my souvenirs. But there are those special pieces that I just can't part with and most of these reside on my bookshelves in my studio. I also have a pretty extensive postcard collection and at the moment they are organized by country in a big plastic bin. I'm currently contemplating a couple of project ideas for them. Other than that, from my travels I have a pile of textiles in the linen closet, the aforementioned magazines, and lots of art waiting to be hung(!)
Sending Alek a big thank you from the right coast for being a part of Lost + Found!
{photographs by alek}
what's lost + found? find out more here
