Closet Organization Tips

You will be moving back into your apartment soon!  We are under 60 days until the fall move in date.  You want to make sure you have an organized bedroom and closet for the brand new year.  Check out these great closet organization tips, before you come back for fall.  You can find out more at Apartment Therapy.



Okay, so we're a little obsessed with organizing. And we love closets. So we thought we'd channel our obsession into something helpful: a list of ways to organize your bedroom closet. Pick and choose from the ideas below...



Top: This is our closet/spare room. We don't have any real closets in our apartment, so we turned a 1/2 bedroom into a storage space. If you don't have a closet already, you can install racks and hangers on a wall to make one. We used the ClosetMaid 6'-8' Closet Organizer. It was a pain to install, but it gives us all the storage we need.



Declutter. Use Discardian's Closet Trick to get rid of clothes you don't wear. Image: California Closets.



Store your most-used items in plain sight, less-used items below, and least-used items up high. Image: Sunset Magazine.



Combine storage units to fit your different needs: drawers for folded items, hangers for dresses and suits, boxes for odds and ends. Image: Bergen Closet Collection from West Elm.



Use coordinated hangers for a clean look that will care for your clothes and help you stay organized. Image: Bumerang Clothes Hangers, $3.49 for an 8-pack at IKEA.



Use an umbrella stand to hold odd items like a yoga mats. Image: Kartell Umbrella Stand.



Use boxes, cubbies, shelves, or a hanging organizer to sort shoes. Image: 12-Pair Shoe Organizer, $34.99.



Keep folded clothes or accessories neat with shelf dividers. Image: Shelf Dividers from the Container Store, $4.99 - $5.99.



Use vertical space (both above and below the closet rod) to store more. Image: Walnut and Platinum Elfa Closet.



Add lights in your closet between the door and the storage area. Image: Philips SpotOn Light.



If you live in a small space, replace traditional closet doors that swing out with curtains or hanging screens. Image: Woven Wood Panels from the Shade Store.



Use stackable laundry baskets that you can easily carry to the washing machine. Image: Tub Trugs from the AT Store, $14.



Hooks can create extra storage space when you hang them inside the closet. Image: Hanger Holder from Stacks and Stacks, $5.99.



Keep your closet in shape by treating it like a small room. Pay attention to lighting, wall color, and floor coverings. Image: Easy Closets.



Make more room in your closet by storing out-of-season clothes in boxes up high or under the bed. Image: Storage Bed from West Elm.



Color coding your wardrobe can make finding things easier (although it would be tough to pull out anything from these stacks of sweaters). Image: Nan Kemper's Closet.



Invest in your closet by using good-looking storage solutions. Image: Componobili Storage Units from Design Within Reach.



A rolling cart with coordinated boxes can be pulled in or out of the closet and used for clothing or office supply storage. Image: Laura's Pared Down Perfection from AT:NY.



Use suitcases to store out-of-season linens, blankets, or sweaters. Image: Living Etc.



Repurpose standard storage pieces. Solaana used IKEA's Trones Shoe Cabinets to store items along the wall of her bedroom.

Summer flowers are in bloom, and boy do they smell good! You might enjoy more than just the smell, as some of them are literally good enough to eat! Check out "5 Beautiful Flowers You Probably Didn't Know You Could Eat" below and add some petals to your plate!

Candied rose petals on cakes and stuffed squash blossoms are yesterday's news! Here are five edible flowers that will make you look at your flower bed in a new and delicious light.

I have been slightly obsessed with edible flowers ever since picking up a copy of Cooking with Flowers by Miche Bacher. The pages of this book are full of ideas that bring bright colors and new flowery flavors to almost every meal of the day. These five have me particularly excited:

1. Daylilies: Bacher says all parts of the daylily are edible, from the blooms to the roots, and they have a fresh "sweet lettuce" flavor. Add them to salads for a pop of color or use them in stir fries.

2. Lilacs: Oh, yeah! That heady, sweet, floral fragrance that turns heads apparently translates directly onto the plate. Use only the blossoms themselves, and infuse them into sorbets, ice creams, puddings, and even jam. My first project is going to be an infused simple syrup for use in cocktails.

3. Orchids: Although these flowers might seem too pretty to eat, you definitely should. Bacher describes their flavor as a mix "cucumber and endive." She recommends using them in stir fries or candy them for cake decorations.

4. Sunflowers: I love sunflower seeds, but never thought about the petals! They have mild grassy flavor. Pluck those petals and fold them into grain salads or bake them into a loaf of bread (Bacher's recipe in the book uses both the petals and the seeds for a double dose of sunflower!)

5. Tulips: Tulips have a cucumber flavor like orchids, but without the spiciness. Given their cup-like shape, they are nature's original edible container. Bacher suggests using them as ice cream bowls, but I also like the idea of packing them with a grain salad and taking them on a picnic. Remove the pistols and stamens before using.

Whenever you're cooking with flowers, make sure you only pick or buy flowers that have been grown organically and without pesticides. Many flowers intended for floral arrangements are sprayed with pesticides and insecticides that aren't always safe for consumption.

(Image: kikolinakika/Shutterstock)




Original Article Here: http://bit.ly/16dieAH

Make it At Home: Gelato

Are you looking for a new recipe to try this summer?  Check out this Gelato recipe!  You can make it at home, and it is super easy.  You can find other great recipes at The Kitchn.

 

Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline Gelato

Makes 1 quart

2 cups whole or 2% milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons hazelnut praline paste (See Recipe Notes)

3 tablespoons good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder (See Recipe Notes)

2 ounces good-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Combine milk, cream, and hazelnut paste in a heavy sauce pan and cook over medium heat until bubbling gently. Add cocoa powder and chocolate; whisk until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt with a handheld mixer on high speed until mixture is pale yellow and thickened, about 2 minutes. Add a cup of hot chocolate mixture to the eggs and whisk vigorously. Pour the tempered (warmed) eggs back into the sauce pan with the remaining chocolate mixture.

Reduce heat to low/medium-low. Whisking frequently, cook until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (180° to 185° on an instant-read thermometer). Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla and continue stirring for another minute or so to release some of the heat. 

Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until cooled completely, stirring occasionally, at least two hours or overnight. Freeze the base in an ice cream machine until it has reached a custard consistency (this took about 26 minutes in my standard Cuisinart), adding the chopped hazelnuts about 5 minutes into the churning process. Transfer the gelato to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm. 

Recipe Notes

• I used Cacao Barry hazelnut praline paste from L'Epicerie. Love 'N Bake Hazelnut Praline is a more widely available brand found in well-stocked grocery stores and online at Amazon and King Arthur Flour.
• I used Cacao Barry Extra Brute Dutch-processed cocoa but any good unsweetened cocoa will do. 

DIY Kitchen Ideas

Do you like to cook?  Storing all your ingredients can be a tough project in a college apartment. However, here is a great way to save space and to store all your spices.  Check out this DIY Spice Rack from the blog DIY College Apartment Ideas.

If you have a tiny kitchen and you're into spicy-food you'll find that you'll need a LOT of space for the ingredients.
 
Here's an idea that will help you cover the coffee stains on the wall and keep your spices organized.
You'll need:

• Sheet of stainless steel
• Hot Glue Gun
• Tiny Jars with metal Lid
• Magnets (The one in the geomag are perfect)
• Spicies (duh...)

With the Hot Glue attach the magnet on the Lid: if you do that on the outside the jar will be easier to detach from the rack but it's easy to cover the magnet with the Hog Glue, decreasing the adhesion.

I found that if you manage to cover the magnet on the inside of the Jar with the hot Glue you'll save the spicies flavour and it's still easy to use the jars!