I love a well organized kitchen and pantry. Sadly, since moving to San Francisco, all of the places I've lived have lacked a pantry. No pantry means one has to get creative with storage. Some solutions, while pretty, aren't always best at keeping food. I'm now on a mission to organize my kitchen with prevention of food spoilage in mind.     Right now winter vegetables are available from our CSA, some of which I'm not very familiar with -- hard or winter squash varieties for example. And, with cubes until recently on a soft foods diet we didn't go through what I was buying as quickly as before. So, I was seeing potatoes turn green or shrivel. Squash rot. Garlic turn to dust. Seeing this waste a light bulb went on: I must be storing the vegetables wrong. To my cookbooks and the Internet I went in search of the right way(s) to keep them. And I discovered, or rather confirmed, I was doing it wrong.   General Guidelines for Storing Vegetables Most of us don't hav...

One of the biggest problem with New Year's Resolutions is that we set them and forget them for roughly 345 days. (Some of us -- not typically me -- make it through to the middle or end of January.)   In the past, I've been known to have completely forgotten my goals, a few days after New Year's has come and gone. If you struggle with your resolutions or objectives and goals as I like to call them, here's an action plan (a tried and true plan that I use with all of my clients).     If you ask anyone who knows me, they'll tell you I'm crazy organized. Give me a date and a goal and I'll come up with a plan for making it happen. Now when it comes to my own life outside of my clients, I'm not so organized. So, when I started thinking about this year's objectives and goals I was surprised to find I'd actually jotted down my 2013 goals (I often don't). More startling was the fact I'd achieved some of them! Immediately, I decided this year is ...

When it comes to getting ready in the morning I've recently found myself going through and pulling out multiple drawers in search of shirts or a onesie for Gates. In my wake, piles of clothes and messed up organization. Putting things away has also been a chore, trying to figure out where everything goes. My recent solution? Labels.     I started organizing in Gates' nursery. The reason? Multiple people regularly need to find items. Now all one has to do is quickly scan the labels. The other benefit of this system is that anyone can put clean laundry away.     You'd think that I'd know where everything I own is stored. Nope. I managed to displace my sweaters for a couple of months. (I wasn't sure if I'd packed them away with other clothes I couldn't wear during my pregnancy.) Because my vintage luggage does double duty, as storage and as props for Gates' monthly portrait, I needed to make sure the labels could be easily removed so I used left over ri...

I don't know about you, but with a small closet and creative solutions for organizing the overflow, I forget what I own. In some cases, I've purchased something similar to what I already owned. To keep wardrobe sprawl under control, at least once a year (typically twice) I go through my wardrobe with a critical eye asking three questions.     Before I begin appraising my wardrobe, I do two things. First, I make sure everything is back from the dry cleaners and that nothing is in the laundry. Then, I empty out my closet as well as any other spaces where I have clothes stored into a large well-lit space, aka our living room.     Phase One: Pull items that no longer fit or are in need of repair. For this phase you'll want to have some paper grocery bags (or boxes) on hand. Label each bag or box: Trade/Sell, Clothing Swap, Goodwill, Repair. This will make sorting much easier.     Now, take everything you own and group items by type: sweaters, pants, shirt...

I don't think anyone has ever exclaimed I have too much closet space or too many cabinets. Americans have a lot of stuff. According to the Self Storage Association , one in 10 US households currently rent a self storage unit, a number that has increased approximately 65 percent from one in 17 in the last 15 years.     How do you know when your stuff might be taking over? When it starts to pile up consistently in one or more places.   For us, our entry hall had become a dumping ground for shoes and jackets. Every night when we returned home with Gates, we were finding it easier to leave our shoes where we stepped out of them and our jackets and scarfs simply draped over the railing. We intended to put everything away after Gates went to bed but somehow never got to it. With an inquisitive toddler, this meant we were spending a lot of time grabbing of shoes out of her hands before they went into her mouth.     Before you start thinking of getting a storage u...

It's been awhile since I showed you our home. As we get ready for Family Dinners at The Station as well as our first seder later in March, my focus has widened from my closet to the rest of the flat. It's time to finally get everything unpacked and put away.     I always seem to have more stuff than space; one can never have enough drawers for clothes. This perennial lack of storage space led me to come up with creative solutions that kept my space from looking cluttered or resembling the back of a store. For example, using vintage luggage and storing under my bed. (You may recognize the luggage from Gates' monthly portraits. My luggage pieces have always done double duty as props for photography as well as serving as everyday storage. I especially like the ability to lock pieces with items that aren't toddler safe (makeup, shoe cleaning supplies, and so on).     Another challenge I have with a mobile toddler is baby proofing my in-home office. This means I need ...

This summer flew by. July was over before I knew it, and now August has come and gone in less than a blink of an eye. Progress was made on settling in. My wardrobe expanded. And, we continued ordering in.     In preparation for a mobile toddler, wherever I could hang shelving or hooks I did. Changing table supplies moved from under the table to the back of her door. Lotions and potions that were tucked haphazardly under the sink moved to shelves hanging from the shower wall. Diaper bag supplies that once littered the floor of Gates' closet moved to the back of the entry hall closet door. (I like the entry hall closet organizer so much that I might order another to replace the over the door hooks we currently have on our bedroom door.)   The Finds (top clockwise) : Crochet Cuff Henley, Henna and Silver, $68 ; Empire Waist Dress, Navy, $68 ; Empire Waist Top, Navy, $53 .   Now that I'm back at work, my wardrobe needed a refresh. I got clothes for casual Friday, frequ...

After what seemed like an eternity, Gates' nursery is almost done (check back next Monday for the big reveal). So, for August we move onto the bathroom!     A few things are missing from this room: a bathtub (my compromise); a mirror; a medicine cabinet; and under sink storage. On the plus side, the lack of under sink storage means less childproofing we need to do. On the flip side, our bathroom supplies have migrated to other rooms in the flat -- not particularly convenient.   For the missing storage, my mom and I have been looking into a few different options, and I think we may have a solution that will work. Stay tuned.   Were you faced with no cabinets in a bathroom? How did you organize your lotions and potions?   Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Want a retro look but are not a fan of stalking the Internet or frequenting flea markets or thrift shoppes for Lincoln BeautyWare or Masterware Canette? Today's type roundup features mid-century inspired containers for your pantry. The Finds (far left clockwise) : Homemade Cookie Jar, 6.25" diameter x 8.35" tall, $24.95 ; Mint Green Metal Canisters, 4.25" diameter x 8" tall to 7" diameter x 11.5" tall, $13.56 to $18.36 ; Bristol Canisters, 4.75" diameter x 6" tall to 5" diameter x 7.25" high, $59.95 ; Italian Spice Jars, 2.5" diameter x 3" tall, $3.49 each . The only thing these reproductions lack are Art Deco fonts which I adore and were my primary motivation for acquiring Lincoln BeautyWare. Bon Apetit! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Crate and Barrel , Pier 1 Imports , Sur La Table , and Williams-Sonoma . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Our apartment is cozy which means everything needs a place, and everything needs to be put away in its place. For my husband, this means he can never find anything. To store my washi tape collection, I repurposed a 1950s, copper, kitchen wrap organizer from Lincoln BeautyWare. Later, I'll share how I've used ammunition belts and train cases for organizing office supplies and tools. How do you organize your crafting supplies and tools? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Over the years I have amassed a collection of fortunes. Some were affixed to our fridge. Others were in a ring box. And still others were tossed in with scrapbooking supplies. In total, I had 43 fortunes. "No one knows what he can do until he tries." " If you follow someone else, you are ignoring your own path. " "Fame and fortune are in your stars." "Turn your thoughts within - find yourself." "You are contemplative and analytical by nature." "Your careful nature will bring you financial success." "Follow your honest beliefs to stay strong." "Take the right action and your future will bring your heart's desire." " You will be fortunate in the opportunities presented to you. " "Put yourself proudly in front of the world and declare your place." "Assert yourself, your ideas are worthwhile." "Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling." "Stay close to you...