The life we lead is a busy one. So we have to make time - and space - to stay organized. Without it, we’d get lost in a pile of clothes, shoes, bills, shoes, receipts and shoes. But manila folders are so…vanilla. So we decided to add some spice to our organizers.

First we grabbed a rubber stamp with bubbles and covered the lower left corner of our folders in a delightful blue design. You can cover the entire folder, or just add little hints around the edges. Since manila folders are so affordable, you can change the patterns as often as you want. (Margarita stamps for Cinco de Mayo anyone?)

Next, we took our boring corkboard and sprayed it with silver paint. We painted the frame with a darker grey, to add depth to our favorite wall organizer.

And to avoid overcrowding the corkboard, we painted the wall next to our desk with magnetic paint. Now we can hang bills, pictures, dry cleaning slips, you get the drill, without putting holes in the wall.

As for the pile of t-shirts collecting in our closet, we decided we needed a better system then strategically pulling one out from under then rest, inevitably ruining the stack. So we found some wooden crates at the farmer’s market and gave them a fresh coat of bright lavender paint. Now our t-shirts are neat and tidy - and oddly make us crave califlower.

To make room for the actual shoes, we put the shoeboxes to good use. We covered them in floral wrapping paper [LB2]and filled them with all of our pictures that have yet to go in an album. Stacking these on a shelf makes for a colorful display and no one knows what’s inside.

But the fun has only begun. Let us know how you jazz up your organizers. The way we see it, as long as our organization looks nice, no one has to know we’re pack rats.