Charlie Tamara Piper

Summertime is in full effect and we're all thinking about adding to or refining our sunglasses collections. Protecting our eyes is important all year long - sunlight can damage our skin and vision over time, so while this is the time of year that we think about picking up a new pair of shades we should be in the practice of wearing them every day.  I've started to experience light sensitivity which is a first sign that I need to do better about wearing my sunglasses. And hitting up a few favorite stores can give me a fantastic designer sunglass collection at a fraction of the cost.  The lead photo shows you all 10 of my sunglasses. I'll share each pair in more detail and provide links to purchase them if I can find them (I've owned a few long enough that I'm not sure if they are still being manufactured or sold.) But first, here are my favorite tips for buying sunglasses: Shopping Tips and Tricks: Save money by buying cheaper versions of tre...

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 organizing - it helps me to keep track of everything that I own and maximize the use of each space. My friends and family know my love affair with organizing runs deep, and I get asked a lot of questions about how I create an organizational system that works for me - and how I manage to stick to it. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, this blog post is for you. I'll show you how I've organized my favorite room - my bedroom - as an example for how you can organize any room in your house. Break a big job into smaller parts The number one concern that I hear about getting organized is that the job is too big - and getting organized can be a big job, indeed. The first step to getting organized is to break the job down into smaller parts - start with organizing one room in your home, and then think about organizing that room in sections. It will make the job far less overwhelming and will help you figure out what you actually need in the space to make it o...

My friends and family members know that I'm a super-organized person, so the biggest question I get asked is how do I manage to store and organize all of my beauty products. Behold, my makeup and beauty product collection, above. Now I know that this is way more than any one person needs. But like anyone who's got a collection of anything, I find joy in discovering new products and finding things that work for me. And my one of my other passions - organization - comes out in full force when I have to find ways to store everything.  So if you want some help in figuring out how best to organize your beauty products, keep reading. Take inventory of what you have The first step for organizing and storing your makeup - or organizing any part of your home - is to take inventory of what you currently have. This is a great time to go through what you own and figure out what you'd like to keep and what needs to be thrown out. Once you know what and how much you're planni...