Living Room

Tuesday 10.16.12

A NEAT Hostess with the Mostess

October immediately puts us into Fall mode, and you know what that means?! Warm chunky sweaters, a killer pair of boots, endless football games (or at least until February), and spiked apple cider. With colder weather upon us, the majority of our fun activities are forced to be moved indoors. With that being said, now is the perfect time to make sure your bar cart is stocked and organized NEATly for entertaining friends!

First and foremost, if you don’t have space for a full-fledged bar, you will most definitely need a bar cart to organize the perfect mixing station. The Society Social Bar Cart seems to be blowing up Pinterest and like most, we just adore it ::

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The whole point of keeping an organized bar is so that you can have the perfect gathering on any given day! In regards to actually stocking the bar, you will need a few bottles of wine, bubbly, and four main spirits on hand :: whiskey, gin, tequila, and vodka. A few key mixers include :: club soda, tonic, ginger beer, simple syrup, bitters, and if you are like Heather – “Fresca, not coke.”

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Now that you’ve stocked up on the goods, you need to make sure you have the proper utensils! This includes an ice bucket, wine opener, a cocktail shaker, strainer, bar spoon, and of course straws! You will also need chic bar glasses (preferably stored in a cabinet away from dust).

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As for the few details of "personal character," we recommend beautiful cocktail napkins, coasters, and a little extra touch of you! Here are a few suggestions, including Heather’s personal bar trinket (drink specials framed from her wedding) ::

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The NEAT girls love a good list, and HouseBeautiful has a great one! We also recommend a stylish tray to arrange everything together ::

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Our last and most important tip is to always check the expiration date! Nothing says "Bummer Host" quit like stale wine and a bad tasting Gimlet. If you need help polishing off that bottle of gin before it goes bad, do not hesitate to invite us over!

CHEERS!

xx

the NEAT girls

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by Heather | posted in Living Room | tagged bar cartOrganizing tipsTips

Wednesday 07.13.11

Jen Dishes on Getting Over Brad - 3 Steps to Get Over Your Old Things

Recentlty, Jennifer Aniston talked about how she got over Brad Pitt which left us inspire to give you a few tips on how to get over your old things.

Step 1: Decide what your sense of style is...

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Rustic Country?

Modern?

Or maybe even contemporary?

Once you have decided, find everything that does not fit that aesthetic, decide if you must keep it, if not, set it aside for donation; this is the best place to start. Then...

Step 2: Set limitations to the amount of furniture that you have in a room.

For example, if you have 1,000 books it does not mean that you should go out and buy enough shelves to house all of the books. Instead, find ones that you think will look pleasing in the space and decide which books you mest keep.

Here are a few of our favorite bookshelves (in case you were wondering).

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Amazing find at Restoration Hardware

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A great standby at Pottery Barn

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and for those of us with furniture commitment issues...

AND FINALLY

Step 3: Find a plae to donate that inspires you.

Nothing is truly more rewarding than giving to a cause that you are passionate about. Whether it is donating books to a local school or clothes to a women's shelter, find something that makes you want to give. After all, there is no better reason to get rid of things that you do not use when you realize that they are going to someone who will appreciate them beyond comparison.

Room photos from this post were found here

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by admin | posted in Living Room | tagged Jennifer AnistonBrad PittContemporaryDesignDonateFurnitureModernNEATRustic

Welcome

We're Ashley and Molly, the founders of NEAT Method. Lets face it - we obviously love to organize and are a little...or maybe we should say a lot type-A. This perfect storm created The Neat Life. Welcome! We've seen it all, heard it all, organized it all, and are always obsessed with the outcome of our work. Even if a clutter free space doesn't tickle your fancy as much as ours, we guarantee you will be entertained by our antics and will enjoy following the lives of a couple NEAT freaks.
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