When I say January hit me like a truck, I'm not exaggerating. I rung in the new year with my loved ones but after the holidays things really started picking up for me. I was given an amazing opportunity to accept a part-time marketing job, my boyfriend started his soccer coach license program, we went to New York one weekend, I was offered another part-time gig (details to come soon) and I definitely can't talk about this, but my boyfriend and I are starting this insane project and when it comes time I will share, but for now–I have to be annoying and say "it's a secret." I am exhausted and it's only January to say the least. 

We all know how much I love thrifting. It's actually become more of a lifestyle than a hobby, because I find myself wanting to go to a thrift store way more than I want to go to a department store. Which got my thinking, I haven't done a thrift challenge in a while. So I messaged my friend Danya to do a thrift challenge and a photo session to see how we would style one another with a thrifted outfit.

We each picked out an outfit (minus pants because it's impossible to buy jeans for yourself let alone someone else) and styled it with accessories that were also thrifted. Then we went to Old Town Falls Church to photograph our outfits! I honestly loved both of our outfits so much! Although I wasn't thinking about the weather when I bought Danya's outfit, just that it looked cool (sorry about that D) 😂. 

I wanted to give Danya a more edgy look–something she wouldn't normally buy herself–so I headed straight to the men's section for a large t-shirt that could be turned into a t-shirt dress. I was thinking that with tights and her Doc Marten boots would be a serious LEWK. Except my t-shirt selection was crap that day, so I went for a basic gray t-shirt and decked it out with accessories. I found this black and silver belt that would go around her waist so it wasn't just a baggy t-shirt, but gave it more dimensions and then I saw this purse that just topped off the whole look for me. This mini-bag is black with snake like print on it, and it's such a weird shape, but in a good way. It's long and skinny and the silver chain tied the whole look together. I love the way this look came together and it's definitely out of Danya's comfort zone, which was the whole point.

When Danya was shopping for me she too wanted something a little different for me and she found this amazing green corduroy jacket and worked the rest of the outfit around that. She also found a belt and paired the jacket with a plain black turtleneck. I freaking loved this look. You really can't go wrong with a plain top and adding a pop of color in the accessories and jackets always gives the "basic" piece a whole new look.

The biggest project was the kitchen. I shared in the apartment tour (click here to read) that our kitchen storage was...well, unique to say the least. Weird sized drawers and cabinets just don't make for a user-friendly kitchen. There were a few other projects I needed to reorganize, but the kitchen was the main focus.

The first thing I did was deep clean the whole apartment. I mean the living room rug was outside, I moved the couch, I took everything out of cabinets and closets and went to town. As I started to make donation, for sale and throw away bags, I also started to take note of what products I could use for organization. For instance in the closet so many hangers and space were being taken up by "work clothes." As most of you, I have worn nothing but leggings and sweaters for the past year so I'm not really reaching for those pleated pants or blouse, so I got a plastic bin and stored all of my work clothes in there. Freeing up so much space in my closet for more hoodies and t-shirts. We use the second closet in our bedroom for storage so again we bought more bins and really focused on how we wanted to utilize every corner of this small closet. I even bought these two plastic organizers that stick to the back of doors and cabinets and put all of the laundry pods and dryer sheets in one so I don't have to constantly stand on my tippy-toes to get it off the shelves. I made these little changes in just about every room, but the kitchen was the monster of a project I needed to tackle.

As I said before, the first thing I did was take everything out. Every cabinet, drawer, fridge, freezer and nook and cranny that I could find. I washed EVERYTHING. I did about ten loads of dishes in the dishwasher alone then hand-washed everything else. I got rid of expired products or products I just knew we wouldn't use. We gave our families a whole bag of non-perishable goodies that I knew we wouldn't touch and then Wal-Mart and Amazon became my best friends. I measured cabinets and researched the best products. I even drew out a sketch on my iPhone of how I want the everything to be laid out. Next I made a list of products to buy. I was able to thrift 90% of these products including canisters (glass and plastic). The wooden 3-tier shelf, Lazy Susan, pump dispensers, plastic drink dispensers and the pot organizer are all from Amazon. The glass canisters for the coffee corner are from Wal-Mart and everything else was thrifted. 

BEFORE

After I got rid of a ton of stuff and deep-cleaned the kitchen, it was time to put everything away. I don't know how to explain how I put things away, I just did what worked best for my boyfriend and myself. I do want to highlight some of my favorite new things in the kitchen. The fridge got a total makeover. We now have the green onions and chives in water to keep them fresher longer, the Lazy Susan has our most used condiments for easy access, the eggs in a clear plastic container and everything has a place. There's no more half opened items or foil wrapped meats and veggies. Everything is put away in containers (even the cheese) to keep them fresher longer and also to see how much we have. My coffee station is another favorite of mine. By putting a little more on the counter (which I usually hate) but its something I use every day. I'm able to make more room for things in the cabinets. Plus I keep it super organized and always put things back where they belong. I just love how refreshing it is to open a kitchen cabinet and not instantly be overwhelmed with stuff just being everywhere. I'm excited now to use my kitchen seeing as how I am no longer in denial about "when we're going back to the office."

AFTER