♥ DOLLAR TREE ORGANIZATION ♥ 5 TIPS FOR PACKING YOUR SUITCASE FOR A ROAD TRIP

 Simple but effective ways I stay organized when packing for trips! What tips or tricks do you like to use?

♥ DOLLAR TREE ORGANIZATION ♥ 5 TIPS FOR PACKING YOUR SUITCASE FOR A ROAD TRIP

See video here: https://youtu.be/1A202F530pc

*NEW VIDEO* DOLLAR TREE ORGANIZATION - 5 Tips to Keep Your Purse Organized

 *NEW VIDEO* DOLLAR TREE ORGANIZATION - 5 Tips to Keep Your Purse Organized

See video here: https://youtu.be/RIRnm_SaAZA

Dollar Tree Desk Organization 2017

New Dollar Tree organizing video is out! AH YES, it feels so good to get my desk organized. Absolutely, hands down it was THE messiest place in our house. It's where upcoming projects go, and where stuff of previous projects go when they aren't properly put away!

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERgx4kZjYMM

Here's the disastrous BEFORE photo (YES, it really was this messy):

And, the AFTER photo (insert breath of fresh air and sigh of relief):

I keep jewelry out of the way with my Dollar Tree Jewelry holder:

( See video for my mini Dollar Tree Jewelry Holder here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQk5UMGpWDs )

I love their file folders and plastic label holders!

And their bins...oh yes the Dollar Tree bins. They have about a jillion different kinds of different shapes, sizes, and colors.

And of course, my desk would not be complete without cute little decor from Dollar Tree:

See the video for more organizing schtuff, plus I quickly go over the little process I went through when decluttering and clearing my desk. (Dollar Tree Desk Organizing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERgx4kZjYMM )

Everyone may use their desk for different things....homework, crafts, grading papers, doing your nails....how about you? :)

love + light,

Clara

Dollar Tree Learning Corner Tour & Organization

I posted a pic of this on IG awhile ago, and although this video has been on my "to-do" for over 6 months, it took a collaboration to get myself in gear!

A special THANK YOU to Jady A for inviting me to this collaboration, titled "Organized Children Spaces." I absolutely ADORE Jady A's channel and have for a long time (way before I started my own)! Check out her free printables for Early Childhood Learning at http://www.shelfwork.com.

This video takes you on a tour of most of the individual components of this system, and the star of the organizing show are Sterilite's standard shoe boxes. I originally bought the green ones from Dollar Tree, but lately have been finding them at Kroger or Family Dollar, also for $1 each. I like them way better than Dollar Tree Essentials' shoe boxes (I mention why in the video.

See video here: http://bit.ly/1HZecCK

Do you have tips and tricks to organize your child's learning spaces?

Love + light,
Clara

Repurpose a Detergent Bottle into a Cleaning Basket!

Although having a pedestal sink may look pretty, it sucks, yes SUCKS for storage! Storage under the sink in the bathroom usually holds items you may want to hide, like toilet paper, cleaning products, etc.

I was able to find a super inexpensive solution for toilet paper storage, but as far as cleaning supplies, I decided to store them in the nearby laundry room. For easy transport, I repurposed an old detergent bottle - small, but a perfect size! It held the following:

Basic Bathroom Cleaning Supplies (no bathtub/shower in downstairs bath):
- Disinfectant spray
- Toilet gel
- "Windex" type of cleaner
- Microfiber duster
- Microfiber wash cloth
- Wooden barbecue skewer

To see more details on how I made this, see my video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JrkU6GGE2I

Here are the basics:

- Mark & cut two large holes in the front and back to insert cleaning bottles, keeping the handle intact
- Make holes to store duster, washcloth, and barbecue skewer
- Cover detergent label with contact paper if you wish!

Wait, a BARBEQUE SKEWER?

Yes! A barbecue skewer is great for really tiny and narrow places that even a toothbrush has difficulty reaching sometimes!

What are some storage solutions you have for the bathroom?

Love + light,

Clara

Dollar Tree Toilet Paper Organizing!

I love organizing that is easy and inexpensive to do. Doesn't get much better than this, hahaha!

YES, I am that excited about organizing toilet paper! Although having a pedestal sink may look pretty, it sucks, yes SUCKS for storage! Storage under the sink in the bathroom usually holds items you may want to hide, like toilet paper. However, the storage solution I made with Dollar Tree items almost made toilet paper look pretty. Okay, maybe not pretty, but it sure looked clean and neat!

Using Dollar Tree products, I made a DOLLAR TREE TOILET PAPER TOWER! Yes, I could've put the toilet paper elsewhere, like a shelf above the door or a basket hanging off the wall. Or, I could've forked over $30+ for a storage shelf sold by Ikea or Home Depot for pedestal sinks.

But, this solution was WAY cheaper (bonus was that I already had all these items on hand)!

You will need:
- Fishing line or very strong twine (you could also use yarn, jute twine, ribbon, etc., if you're okay with it bring visible)
-  A popsicle stick (from the teaching section)
- Tape (any will do)

I showed this in a recent bathroom tour - shows very simple decorating using Dollar Tree, Ikea, and thrifted items! See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB_V8leE8NE

 A few tips:

- Tie the top of the fishing line to the top door hinge
- Use a strong fishing line; you may need 2-3
- Knot the fishing line around the popsicle stick several times, then secure further with tape
- Make sure the tower doesn't interfere with opening the door

Do you have any fun toilet paper storage tricks? Comment below! I LOVE hearing about different storage solutions!

Love + light,
Clara

New Dollar Tree Haul | Love these new baskets!

New Dollar Tree Haul! If you do any holiday baking, keep an eye out for small bags of Betty Crocker nuts, Baker's Chocolate, Duncan Hines cake mixes, and more! Also, be sure to try the Dollar Tree's parchment paper - I love it for baking holiday treats and kale chips!

CLICK this link to see my video! http://bit.ly/1MY8Jug

Also, I love these baskets! They were new to my Dollar Tree, and great for so many uses! It's like a shopping basket! Let me know if you find other colors besides green or purple at your store!

Thrifty Toddler Room Tours Collab!

See a PLAYLIST of all the collab videos here! http://bit.ly/1Oftdk8 

FAVORITE Dollar Tree bin! Use as a drawer anywhere, even under the bed!

Looking for a few ways to save money on a toddler's bedroom? Some of our advice can be used for children of all ages! My video highlights ways to save money on organizing, decorating, and teaching life skills to a toddler!

Repurposed pink hospital bins (brought home unused from hospital)

IKEA Kallax shelf with DIY storage bins

My FAVORITE spot in our house is my daughter's closet! Why? We turned part of it into a reading cubby, and she LOVES it!

READING CUBBY!!!! My FAVORITE space in the house!

Our reading cubby has a Pottery Barn Kids shelf to hold books (GREAT for saving some room), a pet pillow relaxing and reclining, and Dollar Tree decals - even UNDERNEATH a closet shelf, so we can see them while we're lying down! Also, I added some Dollar Tree glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling (but they don't really glow in the dark, just FYI :) ). Such a fun space to read, sing songs, create stories, cuddle....and yes, even sleep! LOL

Enjoy creating a room for your child while still saving money! And get them involved too - after all, it's their space and they'll love it even more because it was partly the child's creation! My Boo loved putting these Dollar Tree decals up in the reading cubby.

SO grateful that all of these ladies joined this collab! Like everyone, I have YT channels to which I gravitate, and I ADORE these ladies' channels! A few of these were some of my first subscriptions! 

See the Thrifty Toddler Room Tours Collab playlist at http://bit.ly/1Oftdk8 See some of our beautiful toddler bedrooms and learn how we saved some $!‪#‎dollartree‬ ‪#‎dollartreeaa‬ ‪#‎dollartreefinds‬ ‪#‎toddler‬ ‪#‎toddlers‬ ‪#‎childhood‬‪#‎child‬ ‪#‎children‬ ‪#‎ikea‬ ‪#‎target‬ ‪#‎organizing‬ ‪#‎family‬ ‪#‎claraslate‬@deb.anderson @stilakiss33 @crystal_tara @doitonadime @ashleycooper_dthauls @patriciakeele @thepurplealphabet

Dollar Tree DIY Jewelry Organizer (Mini)

See video here:  Dollar Tree Mini Jewelry Holder DIY!!! - YouTube

I LOVE keeping my desk organized. If there is any place in the house that can make me feel more empowered to meet the tasks of the day, it's my desk!

This mess drives me crazy! lol

Although I enjoy organizing desk items with small Dollar Tree bins, I still didn't feel as organized when it came to putting jewelry in there. I am NOT a jewelry guru, and only wear a few pieces the vast majority of the time (rotating every few weeks).

Sometimes at the end of the day, I just want to take all jewelry off...kind of a way to wind down and release from the day. Could I run upstairs to do that? Sure. DO I do that? Nope!






My motto with organizing has always been to "have fun and work within your means." Basically, this means to DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, and ENJOY it!

So, while strolling through the aisles of the Dollar Tree, I came across their sink strainer mats. The translucent, clean lines really spoke to me, and I wondered if I could use this in an organizing project. And yes, it's a sink strainer!

It also kind of reminded me of a peg board without the pegs...that's when it dawned on me - I could use this to organize my jewelry at my desk! It is just the right durability to withstand holding items, yet wasn't so thick it couldn't fit in a frame.

I initially thought thin S hooks could work, but they would fall at odd angles which detracted from the beautiful clean lines (yes, I called a sink strainer beautiful, haha!). Then I thought I'd use 3M Command Hooks, but I didn't like the size and look of the smallest ones that could hold necklaces. That's when I found some nifty steel hooks at the Dollar Tree!

After trimming the sink strainer to be fit, center, and with as many grid lines as possible, I adhered the hooks, and voila!!! Instant mini jewelry organizer for my desk!

Voila! All done!

TIPS:

- Use the gridlines on the sink strainer to align your hooks so they're even.

- Use super glue or hot glue to adhere the hooks. The adhesive pads they come with weren't strong enough for me.

- Paint the edge of the frame a metallic gold or silver to give it a little more bling bling! You can also buy craft items at the Dollar Tree to decorate it further, like jewels, rhinestones, feathers, etc.

- If the frame you use has a leg to lean on, just carefully rip the leg off, otherwise it may hang unevenly. Better yet, do what I did and use 3M Command VELCRO to line it up, that way if you're a little off, you can easily take the frame down and realign it (usually without having to take any velcro off)!

- Add a backing to place behind the sink strainer and give a splash of color! If the backing may rip easily when you insert your dangly earrings, add a layer of clear contact paper to protect it (or cut the backing out of poster board, shiny department store bags, gift bags, etc.).

- Careful when disposing of the glass - keep in a safe place for future crafts!

Thrifty Desk Alarm Clock - Ikea Vackis Clock

One of the must-haves we had when buying our new home was to have a desk in the kitchen. My husband calls it the "mommy desk." As a YouTuber, it's great to have because I can keep up with social media while cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, etc.

That being said, there is such a thing as the computer being TOO readily available....at least from the perspective of a mom. I don't want to be online so much that miss out on those special moments, and sometimes I have to ACTIVELY give myself time limits or set a timer to get off the computer....much like a kid, I guess. Haha :)

Although the internet has plenty of timers available at the ready, I wanted to have a timer that was separate from my computer, more for symbolic reasons than anything. Plus, it requires me to PHYSICALLY take my hands off the keyboard and my eyes away from the screen to turn the alarm off!

I love decorating my desk, but I still wanted a little alarm clock for next to nothing, a clock that still went with the modern decor of my teal/pink/white color scheme, but not too big or cumbersome. It also had to stand on its own, be cordless, and be flexible with location, should I reorganize/redecorate my desk.




This little number from Ikea was PERFECT for my needs! It met all the above criteria for only 99 cents and is just adorable. So happy to have found a clock this small that has an alarm clock, plus, it's NEW!!! I am so used to buying things used that it actually felt like a bit of luxury - I know, weird, huh? :)

Ikea Vackis Clock

Ikea Vackis Clock (rear)

See how it sits well with the decor? Don't be fooled by its size - I hear its alarm very well and just annoying enough to tear me away from the computer !!!!

Introduction to New Blog

Oh my....how did this happen? I told myself over and over again that blogging will NOT happen. The amount of time and effort that goes into my YouTube channel is enough already! But yes, here it is. I keep hearing the first few words of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in my head...

"IS THIS THE REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY?"...

Well, I'm thinking that blog is going to be closer to my "real life." While I LOVE making videos for my YouTube channel, it doesn't allow me the freedom to be myself 100%...not that a blog could really do that either, but at least I don't feel so restricted as to keep my thoughts and words under an "X" amount of minutes.

Making short, compressed videos, while fun (and much more rewarding than I had anticipated because it brought me to YOU!!!) is not "THE REAL LIFE"...no, how can it be? And yes, I could do vlogging, and even make videos up to an hour long just talking about my thoughts, but I don't know if I'm ready to do something like that.

SO, where do the remnants of my daily thoughts end up? Probably here. Will it last? Time will tell, I guess. WELCOME to the REAL CLARA SLATE....hopefully you weren't brought here simply because you were looking for Dollar Tree stuff, because there is definitely going to be some non-Dollar Tree topics here.

If you ARE only interested in Dollar Tree stuff, please feel free to visit my YouTube channel, at https://www.youtube.com/user/claraslate ! If you prefer to ignore this blog completely, believe me, I totally get it. I'm not hilarious, I'm not a supermodel, and I'm not a wonder woman with an immaculate house and Pinterest-worthy decorations.

So, hopefully what brought you here is merely a wish to get to know me better and discuss some things...whether you are a long time friend or family member, a new friend, or a new subbie to my YouTube channel! I'd love to hear your thoughts...but anything nonconstructive or disrespectful will probably end up in the trash, just fyi :)

Love + light,
Clara Slate