• Blogging,  Organization & Storage,  Printables

    2020 Calendar and Planners

    Happy Holidays! I hope you have had an amazing holiday and are ready to tackle 2020. I wanted to share the newest of my printables with you to get your year together. Here are my annual Calendar and Planners! (Download available in The Gallery.)

    2020 Calendar and Planners

    This set is printer/binder friendly and ready for your 3 hole punch. Or, you can have it professionally printed at your local print shop, your choice. Everything included will help you keep on top of your schedules and organization for the year!

    I’ve included the traditional monthly calendar, as well as…



    Weekly calendar and planners with specific days and hours (print 4-5 of these for each month),

    A bill pay checklist to keep all of your finances in check, a weekly menu planner…

    Bill Pay Checklist Menu Planner

    And a notes section to keep up on all of the random things that life throws at you in a month. (Please tell me that doesn’t only happen in my life.)

    Monthly Planning Budget

    Plus, I’ve included a printable shopping list page, note cards, and a wifi password print that can fit in a 5″ x 7″ frame for guests.

    Printable Shopping List Wife Password

    As an added bonus, there are printable monthly page tabs that you can use to keep your binder separated and organized! (These are so easy to cut out and attach with double-sided tape!)

    Monthly Binder Tabs

    You can find the 2020 Calendar and Planners in The Gallery, for free!

    And also many other organizational printables, holiday tags and invations, fun & games, and art prints! I know you will be able to find this bundle helpful in your annual planning. Thanks for supporting Elizabeth Joan Designs!

  • Kids,  Organization & Storage,  Room Makeovers,  The Country House

    Boys’ Nautical Shared Bedroom Reveal

    We’ve been working hard to get this room finished and I’m so excited that it is finally done! Here is our Boys’ Nautical Shared Bedroom Reveal!

    Our boys, Big E & Little E, are 6 1/2 years apart. 8 years old and 18 months old to be exact. Coming up with a space that could work for both of them was a bit of a challenge, but I think we’ve made it work. We needed to focus on storage since we were limited on space. See the room mood board and before pics here.

    Boys Nautical Shared Bedroom Reveal

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click the link and purchase. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.

    This small corner is for our youngest little guy. It is just enough space for Little E’s mini crib. We keep all of his toys are in our living room play area. Under the crib, I’ve added a plastic bin for diapers, wipes, etc. Oh, and the moon on the wall acts as a nightlight for both of the boys.

    Nautical Nursery

    Moon In My Room | Mini Crib | Wall Light | Art Print

    Even though this space sleeps two, there is room for three! We took the extra mattress from the bunk bed and put it behind Big E’s bed. We can pull out it out anytime we have a guest spending the night. (And it makes a great spot for him to lean against while reading.) I’m sure you probably thought that the mattress was under the bed. My hubby made a trundle drawer to fit perfectly under the bed. It has 4 divided sections in it. This huge drawer can fit all of Big E’s clothing and even some toys!

    Neutral Nautical Bedroom

    How cool is this White Sailing Ship Kite from Uncommon Goods? Big E has been having fun playing with it and using his imagination on the high seas! There is enough room inside for army men, zombies, and toy cars. It is beautifully made and fairly sturdy. We have yet to get it outside and fly it, but it has made a great accessory/toy for this nautical space.

    Sailboat Bedroom

    Big E loved that he was able to pick out the paint color (Sherwin Willams Silver Strand) and have some input on a theme. Sharks and the ocean are his favorites, so going with a nautical theme just made sense. He is also enjoying his new bed that we found for a steal on Facebook Marketplace!

    Shark Bedroom

    Art Print | Wall Light | Shark Puppet

    There used to be a nice wide bookshelf in this room, but we had to move it out to make room for the baby. We were stumped as to where we would put all of Big E’s books, but then found this cool floating bookshelf. It doesn’t take up much space in the corner and still fits all of the books and trophies.

    Wall Hooks Floating Bookshelf

    Floating Bookshelf

    The boys were also in need of an alarm clock. Big E needed something that could help him get up for school and Little E could use a little sleep training help. The Kid’s Ready to Rise Alarm Clock from Uncommon Goods is perfect for both of them. It has built-in white noise and an alarm. It can even help a child learn when to get out of bed by displaying different colors for sleep, quiet time, and rise & shine! So cool.

    Kids Alarm Clock

    This small dresser fit great in the bedroom because it doesn’t take up much space. It houses all of little E’s clothes, shoes, blankets, etc.

    Kids Dresser Storage

    Numbered Storage Basket | Large Galvanized E | Small Metal E

    We added a long board along this wall with hooks so that the boys can hang things up. The hooks are actually boat cleats and are perfect for holding book bags, coats and hats!

    Boat Cleat Wall Hook

    And of course, we needed a new, fun overhead light. This light compliments the other lights in the room and goes with our homes modern farmhouse feel. Plus, for less than $30, the price was right!

    Cage Ceiling Light Farmhouse

    Metal Cage Light | Edison Bulb

    I think that everyone is pretty happy with the new bedroom! There are enough storage solutions that allowed for Big E to keep all of his belongings in the room. (Most of his toys/games/shoes/etc. are in the closet which is not pictured.) However, since everything is arranged to maximize the space, this tiny bedroom still has plenty of floor area for playing!

    Kids Room Boy Nursery

    We hope you enjoyed our Boys’ Nautical Shared Bedroom Reveal. We are so thrilled with how this room turned out!

     

  • Organization & Storage,  Uncategorized

    Space Saving DVD Storage and Organization

    In this day and age of online streaming everything, I don’t even know if people still have DVDs. However, we do. A lot of them. And since we don’t have a lot of extra storage space in our home, I’m always looking for ways to minimize. All while keeping things that we enjoy and love. Our collection of favorite movies were taking up way too much room, so it was time to tackle some space saving DVD storage and organization.

    Dresser Extra Household Storage

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click the link and purchase. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.

    We’ve always loved watching movies and our collection of DVDs has grown throughout the years. Even though many shows and movies can be watched online now, it is nice to still have a DVD for when streaming services no longer offer them or charge extra. Since DVD towers are basically the ugliest furniture pieces of all time, we’ve stored ours away in a lovely dresser-turned-entertainment stand. (We’ve used several different dressers for this purpose over the years.)

    Use Dresser As Entertainment Stand

    It was nice because they were out of sight, but they took up almost 5 1/2 drawers (plus, video games). Typically, that wouldn’t be a problem, since we’ve used this method for a long time. However, we were wanting to do a little furniture rearranging and needed the DVDs to take up less space.

    DVD Storage

    Initially, I was a bit hesitant to get rid of all of those cases. I don’t know why, but I had some weird attachment and felt that I would regret purging them. However, I knew that I had to move on, if I wanted more space.

    After some researching, I found these plastic sleeves that use way less room than the traditional DVD cases. We went through our collection and donated movies/games that we knew we weren’t really going to miss. Then we placed the leftover DVDs and their folded covers inside the sleeves.

    DVD Storage Sleeves

    DVD storage sleeves

    These sleeves save so much space!

    Look at how small the new collection is versus the cases that they came out of! We can technically fit two DVDs in each sleeve, which is nice for those that have bonus discs.

    DVD Consildation

    When we moved in the new, smaller dresser that would hold the DVDs, we knew that we wanted to also be able to store lots of other items inside. We were able to fit all of the DVD sleeves into one small drawer. Plus we used the other drawers for the kids art supplies, computer/camera accessories, game controllers, and office supplies!

    DVD Storage & Organization

    We are so happy that we went ahead and made this simple switch. It saves us so much space! I’m honestly really glad that we went with this method and letting the cases go was a lot easier than I thought. I don’t miss them one bit!



    If you still own them, do you have any space saving DVD storage and organization tips/tricks?

    Space Saving DVD Storage & Organization

  • Holidays & Seasons,  Life & Family,  Organization & Storage,  Tips & Tricks

    Guest Room Welcome Basket Essentials

    “This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and NicePak, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #nicencleanwipes  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

    Nice ‘n CLEAN Antibacterial Hand Wipes

    The holidays are almost here and like many of you, we are gearing up for house guests. YAY! I even put together a fun little Guest Room Welcome Basket with all of the essentials. Yes, I know that we don’t have a designated guest room (sorry, family!), but this container of goodies will work perfect on an air mattress or next to the pull out couch. *wink*

    One thing that has been on our minds lately is trying to avoid the massive amounts of sickness that our family experienced last winter. (Can you say flu, strep, ear infections, pneumonia, and even a broken foot? Yikes.) So, we’ve been using Nice ‘n Clean Antibacterial Hand Wipes on pretty much everything. Hands. Hard surfaces. You name it.

    Keep Cold Flu Germs Away

    As I was putting together our Guest Room Welcome Basket, I knew I had to throw some wipes in. Our guests certainly don’t want to get sick while traveling and if we can help them minimize that, we are glad to. So, what are these essentials that guests may need?

    Guest Room Welcome Basket Essentials

    Well, for starters…

    • Towels – Everyone needs to shower at some point.
    • Toiletries – Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, razor, lotion.
    • Tissues – Can always come in handy.
    • Water – Thirst quenchers.
    • Snacks – Midnight munchies, anyone?
    • Candle – Ambiance.
    • Books – Late night reading.
    • Wifi Password – Of course.
    • Nice ‘n CLEAN wipes –  For extra clean hands and surfaces.

    Guest Room Essentials

    So what’s with the hand wipes?

    You are probably asking yourself why I didn’t just include some hand sanitizer gel instead? Well, these natural, moisturizing wipes are actually better than gel because they can kill 99.99% of germs. Plus, they can be used to remove soil and bacteria from not only your hands, but also hard surfaces, such as door knobs and switch plates. Even high chairs! You know that germs can certainly hang out there.

    Kids Stay Healthy Safe

    These hand wipes are great to have around the house and will help keep the germs away for the holidays. I found mine at Walmart, so head over there and grab a 5 x 20ct. Family Value Pack for yourself and your guests!

    I hope that our guests like the little basket we have prepared for them!

    I believe it is important to make your house guests feel welcome. Sometimes guests may feel uncomfortable asking for items they may have forgotten or need, so this little bin makes it super easy to have all of that stuff in one spot, ready for them to use. Would you add anything else?

    Guest Room Welcome Basket