Organizing Mail and Cords

There were two tasks (of many) from the January Cure that I tackled this weekend:
1. Creating a "landing strip" for keys and mail and whatnots
2. Organizing unsightly cords.

For the first, I already HAD a method for storing keys and small bits and bobs when I come in the door- I hang them on a hook on the wall. But I realized that having some place to put my mail would actually be really useful. I generally get two bills a month that I have to pay manually (hydro and Mastercard); the rest is automatically paid on my Visa. Other than that I only get the odd bit of mail that doesn't get immediately tossed in the recycling. But still- when it comes time to paying those bills they often are MIA in a mess of paper on the counter.

So I went to Winners and picked up a thingy-ma-bob to store my mail in the front hall until I need to look at it.

As for organizing my cords, the only visible cords in the condo was the laptop and printer cords by my desk.

Ugh, why are cords so often black. Who has black walls? They are so visible! I was originally going to clip the cords neatly to the wall, but then I realized the cords will stretch to an outlet behind the couch (which is on the other side of this table), so they are completely hidden!

However I still had a black laptop cord running along the top of my white table before it disappears behind the table/couch, so I decided just to make the best of it and wrap it in some pretty fabric!

I took this picture before changing my method and just wrapping the end that is visible on the table, but you get the idea :)

Yes, it coordinates with the mousepad! I think this look is much cuter than the ugly black cord, don't you agree? Oh how I wish the laptop plug was on the other side, but what can a girl do!

So there you go- two simple little projects that make a big difference in helping the condo look clean and pretty!

I also shampooed the carpet in the hall this weekend as part of my "cure", but it really isn't something you can photograph well, so you will just have to take my word on that! I use Resolve High Traffic Foam and one big can pretty much does the whole front hall (so it may not be the best product for people with large carpets), but it does a pretty good job. You just spray it on, work it in, let it dry, and vacuum.