Charlie Tamara Piper

In an earlier blog post, I revealed my revamped home office and the work that went into redesigning it and purchasing all of the pieces I needed to bring the vision to life. I absolutely love how it's come together and it's now an even more functional space to fit all of the needs I have to pull out of the space. The hardest part of any organization project is figuring out what to do with all of the stuff that you currently have, and trickier still is figuring out what to do when you have too much stuff. Downsizing can be difficult and this post is all about how to part with what you need to part with to bring in the things you need to bring in. Assess and shop your possessions The first thing I do when I begin any organizing project is assess and shop my possessions. Assess your possessions by asking yourself the following questions: Does the item hold sentimental or significant monetary value? Is the item in poor condition? Do I use the item on a regular basis? ...

I'm so excited to reveal my revamped home office! This room turned out exactly as I'd hoped it would. I'm lucky enough to not only have a home office but one that's immediately next to my bedroom with a simple doorway separating the two spaces. I wanted to create a really pretty, functional room that would serve as its own space but still look consistent with my bedroom since they're essentially one large space. My home office also helps me to store my shoes and outwear since my bedroom closet is so small.  But first, here's a shot of my office while I was moving furniture around to make room for the armoire that's the focal point of the space: My office felt like it was in disarray for about a week until my armoire came! My first act was to downsize my desk from a U-shape to an L-shape, and I held onto some wonderful bookcases to store my possessions until the armoire arrived. I had a dingy rug that got stained in the process of moving...

I've spent the last several months planning my next big organizing project to update my home office/closet and it's the inspiration for this week's blog post and a future series on this blog - the Home Organizing Series. In the first issue of the Home Organizing Series, I'll try to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that I get when it comes to taking on an organizing project, and I'll use my home office redo as an example of how to get the process started. What's the first thing I should do to start a home organizing project? Where do I even begin? Even the most organized person can still feel overwhelmed by taking on a new project because you have to figure out where to begin. Whenever I'm stuck for where to begin, I try to answer two questions: What does and does not work in this space? What does and does not need to be in this space? By figuring out how the space works for me, I can begin to figure out how to better...

Shoe storage is tricky. They take up a good deal of space and it's hard to sort out how to accommodate the different shapes and sizes of each shoe. For years I swore by the plastic shoe boxes by the Container Store , and I still recommend them. They're a fabulous storage solution and multifunctional - I currently use many of them as drawer dividers. My shoe closet was always neat and organized. Here's an old shot of my shoe closet. I stored all of my flats and sneakers in the center boxes and vertically stacked my boot boxes along each side. While everything was certainly neat and visible, it was a bear to get to my shoes. I found myself wearing the same pairs of shoes repeatedly because I didn't want to pull a box out from the lower levels. And grabbing a single pair of boots was no easy task. Storing my purses on the shelf above my shoes was a great idea but really needed to make better use of that shelf for shoe storage. I spent a lot of time online loo...

I love clothing, and carefully storing your clothing is the best way to take care of your clothes to make sure they last as long as they can.  This was my closet on Thursday night. I loved using wooden hangers, but as you can see, my closet was simply bursting at the seams. Clothing fell off the hangers regularly because the closet was so jam-packed. Closet organization is tough - especially in New York City, where your closets are super tiny. I had already added additional space by adding a hanging closet rod  but I knew that my hangers were getting in the way.  I caught an amazing sale at Macy's for Huggable Hangers and immediately ordered up a few boxes. I'd heard so many positive things about them over the years and with my closet in complete chaos, it was time to give them a shot. And the results speak for themselves! I switched out my wooden hangers for my new Huggable Hangers and gained so much space. I was even able to add a few additi...

I love home organization, and a few months back I found two teal organization pieces at TJ Maxx that I knew would be perfect in my home office. The only trouble? I needed to find a way to make the teal pieces work with my purple color scheme in my home office. I'd shown the results on my Instagram page ( @charlietpiper ) and I got a few requests for the details on how I completed the transformation. When I found a third teal piece at Marshall's, I knew I had a fantastic way to organize my crafting supplies and I could finally show the super quick process for how you can make pieces work for you with a little bit of crafting. To the left is the desktop organizer I picked up at Marshall's. It's just a shade or two off from the original piece I customized but it's a negligible difference for me. In this case, I didn't much care for the pictures inside the frames of organizer, but I knew that it would be easy enough to fix it up. To the right is the o...

For years, I used to store all of my files and important documents in file boxes - and while it was a great file organization system, it did take up quite a footprint on my desk space in my home office. That system wasn't working for me anymore, and I began thinking about building my own file drawer. This was the best decision I made because I didn't have to bear the expense of buying a filing cabinet (I put this together for under $30) and it freed up some much needed desk space for work and other essential surface needs. To create your own file drawer, you'll need: An empty drawer (obviously) A hanging file frame Hanging and interior files A label maker (if you feel like it) And here's how to do it: Measure the drawer you plan to use to make sure it can fit a hanging file frame. For a reference point, letter-sized file frames usually run about 9" tall and 13" wide, and their depths can vary to accommodate a number of drawers. Once you...