The 10 Minute Tidy

We are having a bunch of people staying at the house over the next week which of course meant a lot of cleaning. I am in no way a clean person. I am not tidy. I believe in organized chaos; as long as I know where it is it doesn't matter if it's on the floor, or bed, or desk. Unfortunately other people don't see the genius in my system, and I am on occasion called to clean it up. I have perfect the 10 (sometimes closer to 15) minute tidy to make my room presentable.

So here is what I started with

And this is what I ended up with

Now here are the steps to getting to this basic level of neatness:

1. Identify everything that shouldn't be in your room and get it out of there.

2. Put it in piles. Desk stuff on the desk. Clothes in the hamper or in a pile in the closet. Makeup with the other makeup.

3. Make your bed. Doesn't have to be perfect, just tame the madness.

4. Put clothes away. Hang them up, put them in drawers. Close your drawers, it looks way better, also your closet.

5. Shove all your desk stuff in a drawer, basket in my case.

6. I keep a basket for all my shoes so I don't have to make them look neat.

7. I also have a Goodwill basket, keep this in mind while you clean.

8. Through all your doo-dads in your bedside table and you are good to go.

My general rule is one surface can be messy, in my case it's my table. I keep all my work stuff on it for the morning. In general the important thing is to consolidate, don't have things spread all over the place.

Happy cleaning!

Easy Office Hairstyle: The Tucked French

     So often I put exactly 30 seconds of effort into my hair. I shower at night to avoid blow drying it; I don't straighten or curl it; I apply one anti-damage spray, and that's it. While I pride myself in my ability to not touch my hair before work, sometimes you want to shake it up, look less like you just woke up. Here is my solution: the tucked french braid. It is super easy, quick, and requires few materials. All you need to know is how to do a simply french braid. Now let's begin.

Now that you have those, begin by doing a single french braid down the middle of your head. If you don't know how to do one here is a great tutorial from Lauren Conrad at The Beauty Department.

This is what my final product looked like. Note that it is not a great braid, doesn't have to be, looser is actually better for this hairstyle.

Now this is the fun part, and also the easy part. Create an opening behind the braid with your fingers, separating the sections to create space for the end of your braid. Then tuck the braid under like so:

Once you have the end tucked time to pin it in place. I recommend putting at least 2 through the hair tie, angled up, then 2 at the base and then wherever else you think. A quick spray of hairspray and this will stay all day, even in my slippery hair.

From here you can add a bow, pull it apart for a messy look, or head out the door. This updo honestly requires no special skills, works on fine hair, and won't waste 57 bobby pins (the number in my updo at junior prom). Wear this to the office, weddings, or parties. It's the perfect updo for any college prep.

Make Your Vineyard Vines Tote Last Forever

     So you just got a gorgeous new canvas tote, whether vineyard vines or ll bean you want it to last. This trick will prevent water damage, clothing dye rubbing off, and staining.

     Spray on waterproofing! I treat all of my bags and canvas shoes. It can more than double the life of canvas and keep it looking like new. Nikwax is great and makes waterproofers for everything (do it on your raincoat every 6 months), Vans also makes a good one.

So enjoy your tote and keds for years and years.