Today I write this blog post on the 25th of September. We moved to Socal on August 31, and I would say that I felt settled around 2 weeks in. There was of course the flurry of purchasing large appliances because I did not know that Socal landlords didn’t provide them. We still do not have large bookcases to house our pride and joy – our library – but that is not urgent.
In the meantime packages from Amazon and Target seemed to show up daily. I am not proud of it – partially because I do think that buying and shipping is not very sustainable for the planet and we should all do more BOPIS (buy online pick up in store).
Now that everything has slowed down, I have assessed what we spent and what I liked and don’t like, as this is the first in a long time I’ve bought so many household items at once. And I do plan on doing more BOPIS going forward.
First – how much did we spend and how much was a need vs. want? To be honest, lots of things could have been a want. So I labeled them. I don’t NEED another shoe rack – our garage entrance would just be messy. However, I’m now at the point in life where I can balance and spend a little more on organization, whereas these are some things I would have really skimped on 5 – 7 years ago.
Now, what is my review of all these items? You’ll have to click on this image to make it larger and legible
Below, I’m linking some of my favorite purchases. Please be aware that if they’re Amazon, these are affiliate links (I make a little % back if you click and purchase, but it does not cost you anything to click).
Purse organizer – this hanging purse organizer is both slim and also functional. It assumes you’re not taking purses in and out of the organizer every day – the vinyl probably would not last if you’re doing that. However, it’s a great way to utilize the vertical space in my closet without creating one large bin for every purse or accessory. I also put in things like belts in here
Set of 2 Sterilite 3 drawer carts – I’ve had some version of Sterilite drawer carts since college. I really like how they are nearly indestructible and yet lightweight. I hate moving large pieces of furniture around especially if they’re not really meant to be seen. I used these inside closets and also as part of an office
Airline approved pet carrier – to fly our two cats we measured the pet carriers we had and realized one was too large. So we bought this one and now I feel bad for the cat that didn’t get to be in this carrier. The expandable windows literally make it look like a little palace. And it’s still soft enough to squish under cheap economy seats
Safety 1st child safety locks – As we are in a rental I did not feel like drilling child locks into the kitchen cabinets. Most things that we don’t want the kids to touch are in higher cabinets anyway, such as our stemware. But for things like cleaning supplies and the medicine cabinet, 2 of the larger lower cabinets we had made the most sense, so I bought 4 locks and 1 key. Super easy to install, 1 day for the tape to cure.
My favorite purchase was the bookshelf that I found for BBs room. The dimensions worked out perfectly, and the lady who sold it to me was SO nice. It did not fit into our sedan, so she kindly drove it over later that day in her truck. Orange County, you all are so nice. Thank you for welcoming me here.
