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Mission: Master Bathroom Organization Part 1

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do it! I am talking about those projects that I keep putting off. In my case it is the things that are the most personal to me. Isn’t that sad! The two rooms that I spend the least time cleaning, organizing and decorating are my master bath and master bedroom. I keep the rooms that people can see when they stop by in nice working order but neglect to do the same to the spaces I spend the most time in. That brings me to my next project:

Mission Master Bathroom Organization

Step 1: Assess your space: your problems and your favorite things.

Oh My! I have teamed up with Apartment Guide for this project. They are great for home and apartment owners! Whether you’re living, looking or moving, Apartment Guide offers tips on how to organize your apartment and make the most of your space on the Apartment Guide blog. They will be my source for ideas for this project. My bathroom seemed large when we moved in but has quickly filled up to seem quite small. I want to make the most of every area and eliminate what is not working.
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Step 2: Get a clean slate!

Take it all out! Seriously remove everything and clean every area. Apartment Guide provides a handy apartment cleaning checklist to help revamp your space.That was a huge help in figuring out where to start! My bathroom may be a good size but I think starting with the simple steps helps the most. 17 Cleaning Essentials for Your Apartment was also a huge help! That is where I got the awesome idea to use vinegar and water as a glass cleaner! Who knew?

Step 3: Starting over:

Get trash bags and start filling. I found great tips that suggested after taking everything out of the bathroom throw out what you don’t use! How to Organize Your Bathroom has some great tips for cleaning out and organizing what is left. I love the idea of adding shelves and a lazy susan in the cabinets to maximize the space! I think I will head to the dollar store for containers.

Step 4: Find inspiration:

Inspiration is everywhere! You can find inspiration by talking to your friends, search magazines and look around on Pinterest. Here are my favorite inspirations that I would love to see in the end of this makeover.

Baskets on the walls:

Source: spruceyournest.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Drawer organization:

Source: theletter4.com via Apartment Guide on Pinterest

Mirrors everywhere:

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Beadboard walls:

Ladder shelves:

Source: hometalk.com via Heather on Pinterest

Painted cabinets:

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Step 5: Redecorate:

This is where I am now. I will need at least a week for this huge task. I will give a full report in a week. Can’t wait to show you my new space!

AND A HINT: There will be a super awesome giveaway posted with my master bathroom part 2.

While you wait here are some very helpful sites that I use for inspiration:

For real-time tips and updates on how to make the most of your small space:

Disclosure:
Apartment Guide and owner Consumer Source, Inc. partner with bloggers such as me to participate in blogger programs. As part of that program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any products and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Collective Bias discount codes Kids clothes shopping

Shopping for Fall Clothes on a Budget: Stretching $30 Online

You all know that I am a very frugal shopper! I want to get as much as I can for as little as I can! I also insist on finding good quality items for little money. That is exactly what happened recently  Two weeks ago a cool front came through Houston! Yes it is fall and you would expect to be in fall clothing already but in Houston that is not the case. Fall comes later, much later. So when the first little cool front came through I decided it was time to get some proper fall clothing for the kids. My son was the most urgent as he had nothing!

Since the kids had been sick I really wanted to do some shopping online. Recently someone suggested CookiesKids.com to me as being very affordable and having name brand clothing. After doing some research I discovered Cookies.com has been around for a long time! How did I not know about this site before? In fact they are celebrating 40 years in business! Check out what else I learned about this company:

In 1972, a young man named Cookie and his brother Marvin went into business together. They rented a 1600 square foot store in Jamaica, Queens, fixed it up, bought inventory and Summer and Fall, and opened a day after Thanksgiving with a full stock of holiday toys. The toys were a success and they put the extra money toward buying children’s clothing for the next season. When that did well, they bought more clothing. The business was on it’s way.
As the brothers Cookie, Marvin and Sonny, who had come in as a third partner in the business, began to open new stores in new locations, inventory expanded. Besides the latest fashions, our customers wanted shoes, toys, backpacks and accessories and we were prepared to deliver.
By the late 1990’s there were six superstores throughout the NYC area, and though they previously had different names, by that time they were all named Cookie’s Kids. Also in the late ’90s came an important addition to Cookie’s Kids’ inventory: school uniforms. It was the steady success in uniform sales that paved the way for founding CookiesKids.com in 2007, which originally sold uniforms and soon after the entire Cookie’s Kids Inventory.

Cookie’s Kids is not just online. They have 7 stores in the NYC area in Bronx, Brooklyn and Jamaica. I can’t wait until they spread to other states including Texas! But for now we can all access their great selection online! So I started shopping. I was really impressed with the website. My favorite thing was narrowing it down by exactly what I wanted. You can narrow by brand, gender, size, style and more! I am not a huge brand name person but was very impressed at the brands that they did offer.

Since my little man has grown so much and all brands are a little different I was thrilled to see that Cookie’s Kids offers a size guide. I noticed a little Alva Kids icon by the size option when I clicked on an article of clothing. That icon allows you to be able to tell what size your child wears in that particular item. How awesome is that? The last thing I want is new clothes arriving too small or too big!

I found so many adorable options for my little man! I found sets, tops, pants, shoes, socks and so much more. I expected a $30 budget would not go far. But when I started digging in I saw they have pieces as low as $.99!!! YES $.99! This is my kids of store! I decided on a USAthlete “League Champs” 3-Piece Set (jacket, sweatshirt and sweatpants), 3 shirts (Sesame Street “Elmo Dance” Slider Shirt, a spongebob shirt for $3.99, Faded Glory Waffle Shirt) and socks and my total was still under $30!

What I love is that Cookie’s Kids is not just affordable, they offer sales, discounts and specials constantly! In fact while I was shopping online I received a discount code through their daily email that I was able to use! SWEET! How did they know I was shopping for my little man at just that moment!

I entered that code and was thrilled to see that shipping was only $5! I expected that it would take a long to arrive. I was so excited to see a beautiful Cookie’s Kids package on my doorstep just a few days later. My little man so excited to learn that this package was ALL for him!

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Check out that face! He had trouble deciding what to wear first!


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He decided on the sweatsuit and we headed outside!

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I am thrilled with the quality, price, and selection offered by Cookie’s Kids! I will be shopping on this site from now on! I am thinking this is a great place to get Christmas gifts on a budget! One more time here is everything that I received for LESS THAN $30 from Cookie’s Kids! I would say that $30 stretched really far! I have enough money left to go buy a coffee for me!

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Give it a try! Connect and receive CookiesKids.com coupons and sale alerts just like me. Follow on Facebook and Twitter .To get you started they are offering Living on Love and Cents readers a special coupon code that you can use right now to get 10% off sitewide! Exp 11/30/12 Use this code at checkout: livingonloveandcents

Check out my entire shopping experience here.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ andCookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric

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