Everything that is sitting out in your house is contributing to the look of your house. So if you leave 10 stacks of library books by the back door every day for years, like it or not, library books become part of your design. Early on, I realized how an ugly bottle of bright orange Joy dish washing soap could junk up the look of my cleaned off counter. And since it’s easier for me to have my stuff out on the counter and not hidden away, I decided to buy the soap in the prettier bottles. {Not to mention that it smells divine and now I’m completely addicted to Mrs. Meyers, do they need a spokesperson…?}
Funny how we work hard to put the sofa in the best place, find the perfect lamp and toil over the right shade of tan for the walls but we don’t take the time to change all the little things that we use every day that are down right ugly.
Is there an easy to change an overlooked eye sore in your home?
Join me and Chatting at the Sky, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, My First Kitchen, Life With My 3 Boybarians, Reluctant Entertainer, The Inspired Room, Remodeling This Life over the next 31 days.
yes, mrs. meyers’ basil smells so so good. it enhances my dishwashing experience fo sho.
Hey Nester…I keep putting the remote and the little ‘things’ that end up on the end table into a little basket there…I think I’m finally getting everyone trained to do it too…and yeah, library books are part of the ‘decor’ in the entryway bookcase…my hubby tore out an entertainment center earlier this year when he built a new one for a client so I just took the corner part and put it in the corner with the tv on it, then took the shelves that had been attached and put one of them next to it as originally done, then moved the other to the dining room to put the bread, ramen noodles, blender and crockpot in. Makes it look better. I do need to whitewash the entertainment center. Since hubby didn’t build it, I can do what I want with it. In our bedroom I have a basket under my bedside table that has lotion, nighttime gloves and socks for ‘treatment’ nights, lip stuff, etc. Back of toilet has a basket with my makeup in it (really need to move it). This weekend I’ll be working on youngest daughter’s room (she’s 11) and clear a bunch of stuff out and make her put the rest of the things into the containers and baskets I have bought her. And she gets to learn how to do her own laundry. That’s my rule, when one child has more dirty clothes than the rest of the family put together…time to start doing their own laundry.
I taught my kids to do their own laundry around their teen years. I created instructions in a word document and framed and hung them in our laundry our laundry room. I spent a few sessions with them teaching them about delicates, etc. Worked out great. ♥
Oh jeepers! I have the same soap pump as the Nester! Yay me!
And I love the way Mrs. Meyers stuff smells!
And I store most of my uglies in baskets. But I have a feeling you already use that idea. :)
Love your stuff always, but love your stuff this month especially!
Think I’m going to have to try Mrs. Meyers now…
I have a clear bottle with a pump, like the one you showed. Where do you buy the Mrs. Meyers stuff? Target?? It is a pretty bottle. And if it’s over expensive, you could always put other stuff in the bottles so you can keep using them. :) I keep mine under the cabinet, but I still like a pretty container.
YES – pretty containers matter!!! I can’t – or choose not to – afford Mrs Meyers every time, but we’ve learned to make it last by mixing those wonderful smelling products with unscented supplementary ones, or by using it first and last, maybe using something else in between, so we go to sleep and wake up with the good stuff. AND, I notice Tar-jay now has Caldrea, or maybe they have for while and I’m too small town to notice, which is part of the Mrs.Meyers family of products and they are wonderful, too.
And to your point – even a somewhat diluted but still good smelling cleaning product in a lovely bottle is justifiable when it’s offset pricewise by my Shmosko store brand, and it doesn’t mess with my shmojo, like ugly would.
And our remotes go in a pretty hinged box from the Maxx, and our photos in a bowl that looks like one I just saw on Antiques Road Show. If I wasn’t so lazy, I’d identify the markings. Tomorrow?
Mrs Meyers is the wonderful! I love the lemon verbena.
oops – Mrs. Meyers is wonderful!
I love Mrs. Meyers. Lemon Verbena is my current scent of choice. The countertop spray is marvelous!
I put my dish soap in a short olive oil dispenser-thing, and leave it out all the time. That way I can buy cheap soap, but it still looks pretty. I also have a dresser that was my great grandmothers, and we keep it in the living room, but we store toys in the bottom three drawers. That way they are available, but no toy boxes in sight. And a antique hutch in the family room also serves to keep diapers and wipes hidden behind it’s doors.
I say if it can be stashed in something prettier, then it gets to stay in the room. Otherwise it has to be put away all the time, and that is a total drag.
oh I have an entire post dedicated to dressers coming up!
I recently removed the very ugly and orange Tide container off of the washing machine. Yep it is now poured into a pretty glass container with a ladel. It turns out not only is it much more attractive, but I use less soap and therefore am saving money. Surely that justifies the cost of the pretty container and ladel? :)
I’m also a part of the prettier-and-smells-good-cleaning-products bandwagon. Williams Sonoma pink grapefruit is my drug of choice. And not only does it smell divine, you can buy the concentrate for around $12 and it makes a ZILLION refills for the countertop spray bottle. Can’t…or I choose not to…live without it!
I just picked up that soap dispenser from Target last week – I love the old school look of it! So much better than an ugly plastic squeeze bottle. Wise minds!
I have a bit of a house rule with the “ugly” stuff. It gets put in closets or cupboards or drawers so I can shut the door on it. Now, the problem is that the rest of my family seems to forget to shut the doors/drawers/etc. I’ve begged, ranted, thrown hissy fits and yes, asked nicely for 10 years to no avail. Am I doomed to spending a good part of my day running around behind them closing doors and pushing drawers closed? Does anyone have any ideas on training the rest of the family?
Yes, leave ALL of the cupboards open right before they all get home or come downstairs. Let someone else close them.
Love Mrs. Meyers!! Smells divine and looks good too. I am loving the picture of the remotes, a big eyesore in this house…I mean, really…how many do we REALLY need???
I put the dishwashing liquid in my hand soap dispenser built into my sink. It hides the ugly color and we use a little dab to wash our hands.
I have Bath and Body Works hand soap on our kitchen sink, but I never thought about changing the container the dish soap is in. I suppose it really is the simple, easy things that can make a big difference.
I use one of those clear cut glass bottles {Big Lots, Pier 1, everyone has them now} and a decorative bottle topper {I know for sure Pier 1 has those because I just bought a few} and I pour my liquid dish soap into that and use that as my container on the counter. I’m thinking of getting a spout pourer thingy to put on top instead of the bottle topper to use, as my son tends to over pour the soap. Although, I shouldn’t complain because that means he’s cleaning up after himself!
This is me. I don’t know why my name didn’t come up with it! (?)
I like the Method clear stuff spray. It’s pretty enough to leave on the counter. I love that container on the right – is that right from a comment above it’s from target? i may need that.
Yes, I was wanting to know where that adorable vintage looking soap dispenser came from too! Along the lines of what other posters have said, I purchase a pretty container for my kitchen and bathrooms, and refill with less expensive soap. For the kitchen I LOVE Costco’s Kirkland brand liquid dish soap. It was a wonderful, citrusy scent that smells expensive!
Yes, they have a couple colors at Target. All of them are glass, just tinted blue or green or just clear. :)
Target is right
this is so practical! love it~
I use one of the olive oil decanters for dish soap as well. Makes me feel so fancy when I’m doing dishes! I was watching Martha on Oprah, and she said that her new line of soaps have a removable label, so it will just look like a clear bottle!
Oh I love Mr. Meyers soap…but often times, I will just refil with Dawn or Joy. {a strict budget here my dear} — you are so brilliant. Love this series!
Cheers~
e
are you kidding me? am I just misunderstanding all of you? do you really think the mrs. Meyer’s soap dispensers are ‘pretty’? if so, you are being snookered. it may be a wonderful product, but if you are ‘displaying’ the bottle as decor, then you are doing exactly what mrs. meyers marketing is hoping. is having that label all there is? sheesh.
you have to admit that it’s prettier than the JOY bottle, right?
it seriously is much prettier. it looks vintage & kitchy. i’m happily on the mrs. meyers bandwagon. :)
I’ll have to head over to Goodwill or Big Lots and see if I can find a great looking bottle.
would you mind putting a link to the other 31 day-ers at the bottom of every day’s post? It would make it so much easier to get to everyone else. I think one of the blogs does do this, but it would be nice if it was in yours too.
YES, so sorry, I’ll do it right now
Well put.
Even if the junk is neatly stacked or arranged it makes a huge difference.
And I’m a big believer in the soap pump. I just put my Joy in that ;)
Not only is it pretty, it’s one-handed, unlike that dumb bottle that you have to pick up. Who has two hands for soap while washing dishes?
yes! the eyesore is by the front door…where everyone dumps their shoes and backpacks and i stumble and trip over them. i’m turning the coat closet into a mud closet. I can’t get rid of the doors, because i must be able to shut the mess out.
I totally agree. I’ve been on a mission to find CHEAP bottles to use rather than buying everything at retail. Any suggestions? Also, maybe another topic for another day but I have been making my own cleaners & laundry detergent… YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN SCENT!!!! This was inspired by my Mrs. Meyers addiction. Now I can have the scent and keep my money too! (sorry Mrs. Meyers). I still use my MM laundry detergent bottle for my own. If I could find a pretty 2.5 gallon bucket, that would be fantastic. I make that much detergent and just keep filling up the MM bottle as needed. Thanks for your inspiration! I would love to see a detergent story with the Nester touch, though! Also, it makes cleaning so much more worthwhile and satisfying knowng I am using my own products and exactly what is in them!
I did a simple switcheroo in the bathroom. The colors are yellow, green, and white in there, and one day it occurred to me that the tan-ish soap in the dispenser looked kind of boring. So now it’s yellow!
Meyers Soap! Was going to be on my Savor list as well!! Why not savor the daily chores we do with some better soap, right? Great minds think alike!! Have a fab Friday!! ~Chris Ann
Yea – this is my favorite “Day” so far! I am all about hiding/disguising the uglies. My family makes fun of me for how many secret hiding places we have for junk and for how I dress up all the stuff that’s sitting around. I love pump dispensers and pretty spray bottles – I have cute little different colored bottles with homemade labels that I pour all my cleaning sprays into. I’m a basket girl too, but I like the idea of a hinged box for remotes. And check out this link – I’m actually thinking of letting my kids get that kitten they’ve begged for…
http://www.recapturedcharm.com/2010/05/contest-answer-what-in-world-will-this.html
I am a believer in making the ordinary everyday things that we do pretty too…which is why I recently purchased some wonderful soap dispenser pumps to transform my vintage blue mason jars into soap/lotion dispensers! I am so happy with the way that they are both cute and functional too! I got my stuff from this very nice etsy site:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MidwestFinds
Blessings, Grace
LOve all of that!
LOVE Mrs. Meyers. I have one cleaner set below each sink in my house ( a la FlyLady) and some stored, ready to be used. I got them on sale from Drugstore.com and stocked up.
Can I just say…A different type of cleaner is not necessary for every surface in your house. It is perfectly okay to spray AP cleaner in the toilet and swish. All I need these days is AP and window. Well, I do have a bleach cleaner simply because I have four kids, but I only use it when necessary. Ok, I just lied. I have a weird affinity to Mop-N-Glo. I love the smell, but it gives me hives to watch my baby crawl on it.
It is very nice to have the very “chic” candles with the gorgeous labels for use and display or the very pretty dishwashing soap (even though it costs an arm and a leg). I like to buy plain jane “Mainstays” Wal-Mart candles and rip off the generic looking label and create one and label it. Or for dishwashing liquid I keep a clear bin underneath the sink and just grap my big Palmolive bottle use it, and put it right in it’s bin after I’m done. I do keep a bottle of J.W. Watkins lemon dish pump soap on the counter and since the smell is so fresh and light it works as hand soap. You don’t have to break the bank to accomplish the “chic” look.
Hmm…I’m thinking my napkin-holder-used-as-a-place-for-mail-and-to-do’s that sits on the desk in our main living area has to go. I see it all the time. You’ve inspired me. Maybe I’ll make one of those pretty paper-covered cereal box magazine holder things instead.
love, love, love your bottle! The rocks and the remotes, great idea, If my husband steals the remote, I can throw a rock at him!
ps…love your blog!
So the stack of paperwork next to my stove is contributing to my design as well as creating a fire hazard. That’s food for thought today. ;) I have some kitchen decluttering to do!
This is SUCH a good point. It goes to the basic principle that everything has to have it’s place. Library books used to be a terrible one for us, until I dealt with the reality of our book obsession and got enough bookcases to hold ALL of our books, plus leftover shelves for library books. We also have a shelf for “Books Currently Being Read”, and one for “Books to be Re-shelved”. It’s cut down dramatically on the stacks of books we used to have falling off of every flat surface.
I love the soap dispenser, too! I keep my dishsoap in one of the tear-drop shaped Method handsoap dispensers, but the glass one is so beautiful. For anyone who lives near a Trader Joe’s, they have wonderful lavender smelling dishsoap that’s very affordable. I usually water it down by about 1/3, too, since the kids tend to pump out more than they really need.
This post has inspired me to work on remaining “ugly” containers and objects.
I’m going to Target! I’m starting to look at the details in my house to make it more a home. Thanks all!
I’m new to your blog and thoroughly enjoying this 31 day series. Simple ideas to implement and/or think about for future decor.
I have been inspired. Thank you.
Dana
this is good. i am so loving this series.. especially now that we have moved on from baskets :-)
next part in the series: For Less-Messy Nest, get of the computer, stop blog-hopping and tweeting, and go clean the kitchen.
I am pretty sure that would work for me, but i am scared to try.
no. i am going to try. right now.
…. the pain!
you think i am kidding, but i’m not
and for the record i cleaned my entire 2nd floor this morning, top to bottom. just throwing that out there to justify the fact that i can sit at the computer for a while.
but it’s not working and i still feel guilty.
leaving now!
-angie
it’s ok to take a break from cleaning and go reward yourself! I stop and drink a cup of coffee after I’ve accomplished a big annoying cleaning task. :)
I was JUST finishing writing a post about how much I LOVE all the new cleaning products with their vintage-y lookin’ labels! I am so there with, ya, Nestie-Cakes. I love me some Mrs. Meyers, they just started carrying them in our supermarket and I am thrilled. Here’s a tip for anyone who’s wanting to order in bulk–if you order cases on amazon they are actually a bit cheaper. Target is also carrying a new lemony vintage-y looking brand, I forgot the name, but it’s a bit cheaper than Mrs. Meyers. And for cheapies like ME, I love the Method cleaning products. They are pretty to look at. And they smell AMAZING.
Anthropologis sells a cleaning solution called, “Boys’ Bathroom Cleaner.”
I swear it has been a conversation starter for so many guests! Its humor and beautiful bottle mean it stays on the counter where –
a – my boys are more likely to use it and
b – the guests who stay at our home are entertained by it.
It smells good and when I’m done using it, my boys’ bathroom doesn’t smell like funky boys bathroom anymore.
I am so getting that.
So I’m thinking I may decant my dishwashing soap. I’m a Dawn girl myself and usually store it under the counter. But I’ve been on the lookout for cheap-o containers. Two pump style – both for my little girl’s nursery. I’ll put hand sanitizer in one and lotion in the other. I’m seriously loving this series, Nester!
I LOVE Mrs. Meyers too! My husband works for The Fresh Market, that’s where we get ours. Where you find yours?
okay.. I’m sold! I’m with you Nester… I want that boy’s bathroom cleaner… please tell me where to find it. I looked it up on Anthropologie’s website and couldn’t find it.. is it in store only? I could SO use that in my house :)
I have that same pump bottle but I use mine for hand sanitizer. I saw it at Target and loved the color of the blue glass:)
I love Mrs. Meyer’s Basil fragrance!! That and Method’s Pink Grapefruit kept me from being completely nauseous all the time my first pregnancy!
I wish I could always keep my stuff out of sight! I love reading your ideas and tips on how to have a cleaner, more organized home! Plus, you are a great decorator and very creative.
I looked for ages for a suitable bottle so that I could decant the dish soap. At one point, I had it in an olive oil bottle, which mysteriously would fire the stopper across the kitchen of its own free will. Don’t ask me why, something to do with the science of dish soap…!
Now it’s in a pretty glass bottle and seems to be behaving itself. My husband thinks I’m nuts to worry about it,but I’m so glad you see the point!