Duo Ventures

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Organizing: Travel Toiletries


We travel a lot for work & essentially live out of a suitcase for a good part of the year...and, as a result of staying in so many hotels we have accumulated a nice collection of mini shampoos, conditioners, soaps, body washes, & other random travel items.  We originally stored all these goodies in a clear plastic bin, however, it started to overflow & became a hassle to dig through.

So...I organized all the travel items into several categories:

  • shampoo & conditioner
  • lotion
  • soap & body/face wash
  • deodorant
  • Q-tips & Kleenex
  • sunscreen
  • eye care (extra contacts, solution, case)
  • dental (toothpaste, tooth brushes, floss, mouthwash)
  • razors & shaving cream
  • hair products (hairspray & gel)

Then, I picked up a clear over-the-door shoe organizer from Garden Ridge & sorted all the toiletries accordingly.  

We keep all of our suitcases, bags, & backpacks in our guest bedroom closet -  so I hung the organizer on the inside of the closet door:

So now, we can easily grab & pack what we need from our nice little "travel center".
This has made packing & unpacking so much easier for us.  Originally, we would just pack all of our toiletries straight from our bathroom - however, we found it was easier to just have two sets of everything in the end.

This might seem excessive for folks who don't travel that much, but a collection of mini toiletries is also great for guests.  It's convenient to have a nice array of items for any family or friends who may forget something.

Another bonus is that we are utilizing an area of our guest bedroom that would otherwise go unused & we don't have to use up valuable space in our own bathroom.  It's a win-win!

Mel
:)

Shades of Gray: Our Color Palette

If you've seen any photos of our home, you'll notice that we love ourselves some gray paint.
We think it's simultaneously neutral, classic, & modern.  Some colors we chose were more of a blue-gray or green-gray, while others were more of a taupe-gray...but they all work well together & give a sense of continuity throughout our home.

Here's our color palette:
Woodlawn Sterling Blue: master bathroom
Wheat Bread: living room & kitchen
Smooth Stone:  laundry room & 1/2 bathroom
Driftwood Gray:  guest bedroom
Creek Bend:  dining room & foyer
Eastern Lighthouse:  master bedroom

If you're looking for more gray paint inspiration, you should check out the January/February issue of HGTV Magazine.  The article, "51 Shades of Gray", showcases the vast array of gray paint possibilities:

Happy painting!

Mel & Nader
:)