I love organized spaces and one thing that really needs a system in place is the car. I use it everyday and there is of course the tendency to stock things up in there until a friend rides with you and comments, "Parang dito ka na naka-tira." (It's like you live in here!)
I vowed to only keep emergency items and to always put away stuff I won't need on a regular basis. Let's start with the middle console.
This contains items I use more frequently. I see to it that the items here are always standing up right so that I won't have a hard time reaching for whatever I need. Items here are...
Hand lotion, alcohol, calculator, and sun glasses. I do have my favorite sunglasses in my room which I bring with me depending on the weather, but I leave a pair in the car just in case I forget to bring mine. I also have here a pouch which contains the following...
I also find myself reaching for these quite often and it gives me a sense of fulfillment knowing that I'm prepared like how a girl scout should be :)) Here I have a comb, sanitary napkin, breath mints, petroleum jelly, blotting film, pony tails, and pens. I love that it's compact and easily fits in the pouch which allows the whole center console to be as compact but organized as possible...
Next is the glove compartment. In our past cars, this area most often than not becomes a junk drawer of all sorts and I didn't want that here. It just holds car documents and receipts.
All car documents together with the manual are in the black pouch, and all receipts and insurance papers are in the plastic receipt organizer, both of which I got free from the past owners of the car. Thank goodness they're also as OC as I am :)) The only addition I made was the small notepad.
I have zero knowledge about cars and I use this pad to take note of different services the car has gone through. I get asked a lot by my dad or mechanics about the last time this was done, or the last time this was checked. I started this so that the next time they'd ask me, I would know the answer.
A Pinterest hack I learned and am now using for the car is to use baking soda as a deodorizer. I used a small bottle of McCormick which I think is perfect for the job.
I keep the lid on when I'm driving and I take it off when I'm parked for a long time.
There are a lot of beggars and street kids here in the Metro and as much as I like to help them, I am not in favor of giving them money. Instead, I keep a stack of biscuits under the steering wheel so it's easy for me to reach when they approach my car.
There's also a little compartment for coins but I find it hard to get into so I just improvised it by putting a pouch left open. This way, it's still accessible but much more easier to get coins from.
Here in Manila, it's either super hot or it's raining, so it's always important to have an umbrella in the car. I keep a fold-able, automatic one right beside the driver's seat.
I like to keep the dashboard clutter free.
Although it usually acts as a dumping ground for receipts for toll and parking when I'm driving the whole day, but I make it a point to bring them down with me when I get home so I can encode them in my planner to track my expenses.
The seat pocket contains tissue and a fan.
The tissue box is so boxy and bulgy. I transferred the tissue to a small thin pouch so it would look more neat.
Here in the Philippines, back seat passengers are not required to wear seat belts and it always makes me cringe when I see it messed up so I tied it with a rubber band to keep it together.
I am one lamigin girl so I usually have a scarf or jacket in the car. Yes, it's hot here in the Philippines but I easily get cold when I'm in malls or restaurants, so I always keep one in the car. I just place it around the passenger seat like so.
Last but not the least is the trunk.
The parcels on top of the blue bin are stuff I need to give to friends. I keep it in the car already so that I will not have to make an excuse about forgetting them at home. I do hope these will not stay here for long.
The larger bin holds emergency items. I got the bin and most of the items here for free when I bought the car. #blessed
This isn't complete yet and I do have to buy some more to put in here.
The blue bin, I love. This is the same one I use in my room to hold craft supplies. These are sold at Ace Hardware for about P300 (I think) for a pair. I got it a discounted rate since I bought a whole lot for our school's family day!
The mesh bag at the bottom has a set of overnight clothes. This has been veeeeery useful so far. This bin is also where I keep extra biscuits, air freshener, and a pair of re-usable bags for shopping, which I also hold with a rubber band to keep it folded and for it to not open up and get messed up in the bin.
Whew. I didn't think this car would have as much elements as how it turned out but I'm happy with all the systems I set in place. Here are a few rules I set for myself:
1. Keep it to the very minimum and have a place for all of it
I realized that I have the same general rule when it comes to organized spaces - always have a place for everything. Clutter begins when you have one dumping ground for various miscellaneous pieces and a system prevents all of that from happening.
2. Always bring down items you don't need
I also see to it that I bring down items that I do not need to be in the car. I bring them down whenever I get to work or home. If you've also noticed, I don't keep a trash bin in the car for the simple reason that I don't want to keep trash in the car. I try to dispose it whenever I gas up, or upon arriving home as well.
3. Keep all systems within reach
It's also important to have these systems within the reach of the driver so that it can still work even if you're driving alone.
4. It's in the small things
Turns out, my favorite pieces in the car now are the pouches and rubber bands. I know that these are usual organizing items but I like how these made an impact in the spaces I used them in. Super simple but very efficient.
There you go. I'm pretty happy about how I keep my car clean and organized on the inside, but I do have to work my schedule out to also always have it clean on the outside :))))
So this was the last state of my chest drawer, I updated the top and the drawer pulls are waiting to be touched up.
I specifically chose a black mat for the top because it's also easy to find black pulls to replace the stars and flowers that are too nursery-ish. If you know me, I don't like anything fancy or grand, the simpler it is, the more I like it. And so, I bought these from Ace Hardware:
When I was about to work on it, I realized they weren't black. Other people probably wouldn't mind, but this time, the OC in me was stronger than the lazy in me.
The color wasn't the only problem that came up, the screws that came with the pulls I bought were too short for the drawer's thickness. I then tried the original screws it came with, but they were too long. It would look like this in front:
And like this inside:
I wanted to find the perfect sized screw for it so I immediately stepped out to go to our local hardware, only to find out that they do not sell screws which aren't part of a set. Meaning, I would probably have to buy new sets of drawer pulls, which was not okay because I don't want to spend any more money, okay? :))
Fortunately, we have a screw store in our subdivision and the staff were helpful enough to find me the right size.
When I got home, I proceeded to spray painting the knobs. I was experimenting and contemplating if I should use the color I opted for the new/old tray but as usual, the neutral (boring) color wins for me.
I didn't realize that I had matte spray paint until I used it on these and I like how it turned out!
Screwing them onto the drawers one by one was fulfilling. I was so happy that I'm finally about to finish this project.
And then, the lovely transformation:
I'm happy that I was also able to purchase a coat rack from Tagaytay. My boyfriend and I drove there for our anniversary brunch and we passed by these specialty stores selling wood furniture. Most of the coat racks were exotic looking (sorry I don't know how to describe them, but I mean the branches where you hang the bags look like actual tree branches and I didn't like that). Glad to have found this simple one with no elaborate native/nature inspired design, just raw wood. It originally costs P800 but I haggled it down to P500 since I chose one without varnish. I think it's such a good buy.
I use it to hang my most frequently used bags so it's not hung by the window anymore as seen in the photo below.
And with the additional wall decor I made, this side of the room has now been transformed.
It was a long journey, but a fulfilling one.
I am so happy with the end result. As of writing, I'm in need of more storage space for my growing collection of craft supplies, mason jars, wooden plates, and bins, and I will definitely update here if I'm able to think of a storage solution for those.
Right now, I'm happy with how this space has transformed and how it fits me. I like that those I spent for were really worth the money. At my age now, I consider spending a relatively big amount if I would be able to use it someday in my future home/family, and the chest drawer and coat rack are things I would love to use over the years, and even in the next season of my life.
I was also able to save a lot by recycling and opting for cheaper alternatives which work just the same with pricier ones. There are always ways to save and what's important is you plan out and gather all your options first, and maybe look inside your home first, before spending on anything. Most of my items are either gifted to me, re-purposed, or bought at a bargain and that's what makes the whole process a hundred times more fulfilling. Can't wait to get my hands on the next project!
Our barkada's second beach adventure was to Caramoan last May. This trip felt like we were really in Survivor and Amazing Race combined. Going there was a stressful 14 hours, and going home was a dreadful 17. Same with our Cebu trip, we only had the weekend so we had to squeeze in our activities especially our travel time.
Just to let it out - they do not have a good system YET when it comes to tourism. We booked a tour and they said everything's included. Our van from Naga to Sabang, our boat from Sabang to Caramoan, accommodations, meals, and tours. Well, it's not entirely true.
The thing is, because they have a standard rate for most of the bookings that need to be done, they just compute it for you but they do not do such coordination as what we expected. Having said that, these are the two things that mainly pissed me off:
1. We thought that we just have to pay our hotel (or at least one person) for everything - meaning the whole package. But no. We paid the van to Sabang and the boat to Caramoan, and they told us that our hotel will just deduct them from our final payment.
2. Although the van was there when we got to Naga (not sure if my friends were the ones who contacted him also), it was such a struggle to get a boat. We arrived at Sabang port with hundreds of people (I think) in line before us. We overheard people saying that they've been there for hours and still weren't able to get a ride. I think they only have 1 or 2 motor boats - although these carry many (I think about 100) passengers at a time, it takes 4 hours for it to go to Caramoan and back! We ended up renting a boat at a higher price - not to mention a very uncomfortable one - just to avoid the line because if we arrive late, we'll miss our lunch and we won't have enough time for that day's tour.
I
don't like the fact that they made it seem easy when in fact, it's such a
hassle. I'd appreciate it more if they just taught us how to DIY -
steps to get there and the approximate amount, and tell us the ACTUAL
inclusions in their package.
Caramoan has very weak signal. Almost none for Globe and none at all for Sun Cellular. Highs for our resort were the good food, wifi, friendly staff. Our tour guide was also from the hotel and we very much appreciated kuya's service. A definite low for the resort (or the whole island, I guess) is that they lose electricity every five minutes. We cannot even finish one karaoke song because power keeps on shutting down.
But the fun part - Caramoan is heaven!! We seriously have the best
beaches! No wonder Survivor chose this for their series! Also, coming
from my Krabi trip (posted here), I say our beaches still top theirs!!
We visited 3 islands on the first day. All with stunning views!
First stop for Day 2 was the grotto. We had to climb 500 steps to get there. My daily exercise helped me bear it with ease. Proud moment haha. And the view from the top was amazing!
Next stop is where we also had lunch. We swam first and took pictures while kuya prepared our lunch. I don't know how many times I'll say this but again, amazing view! :))) Plus our lunch was good also - laing, fried fish, chicken adobo, aaaaand rice! Haha perfect lunch by the beach! 
After that we went to the first sand bar. Water hasn't subsided yet but we still enjoyed swimming in the middle of the sea. It's like a veeeeery big pool, with the great view, and salty water. Haha.
And then the ultimate sand bar of all sand bars. Here we waited for about 30 minutes for low tide. And it was very much worth the wait! Standing in the middle of the sea, with God's creation 360 degrees around you. I can't put it into words :))))) Just amazing.
Although the beaches were 10 to 30 mins apart from each other, each one is so worth every trip! All had clear waters. Some had white sand and pebbles, one had gray but suuuuper pure sand - still, all were absolutely breath taking! I especially loved the sand bars!!!
And then the dreadful trip going home. Arriving at Caramoan port, our choices were to ride the motor boat to Sabang at a later time or to ride a roro to another port which leaves earlier.
We asked our kuya van (our first driver from Naga to Sabang) to get us airconed bus tickets to Manila on Sunday and the trip that was best for our schedule was with Raymond Transit which leaves Naga at 3pm. So, we had to go roro.
Again, they didn't have any (good & effective) system at all. They ask everyone to line up at the Roro, kill each other to get tickets, then double kill each other to get seats. We stayed at the airconditioned area. Airconditioned, they say. And same goes with Raymond bus, but will get to that. The roro was filled to the brim. People were seated on the floor, on the isle, on seat handles, everywhere.
We arrived at the
bus terminal at 2:30pm. Rushed (ala Amazing Race, really) to our bus
and asked if we can still run just to grab lunch. They agreed and the
only thing we could find is 711. We had to buy food to go and eat our
hotdogs or siopaos in the bus. In the bus where it was not sanitary at
all. There were cockroaches, ripped curtains, broken chairs, and no
aircooooon. Or at least that's what it felt like. I had rashes on my
face the morning after. We couldn't eat dinner at Raymond's stop over
because they had no electricity. So we had dinner at Caltex. I remember
having 2 sachets of Busog Lusog, water, and Piattos.
Okay, I'm not
sure if the beauty of Caramoan erased my stress but I'm kind of sure I
won't go back until they improve their system. I will only take a bus
again if it's DLTB but better if I can ride a plane next time :)) I'm
just thankful I got to experience its beauty.
Photo below from our resident photographer, Therese, at the sand baaar :D
Long overdue posts for my high school barkada's beach escapades (overdue as in we already had 2 for this year hahaha). I'm usually a freeloader when we have vacations. Meaning I don't contribute in the planning and I just come in when it's already set. Hihi
First is the January Pre-Sinulog Trip. Funny story: We wanted to be there in time for Sinulog Festival but we (unknowingly) booked it a week early. So we became Sinunog instead. Mwahaha.
I wasn't supposed to join this trip (because I wasn't following the thread in our FB group). It just so happened that another Cebu Pacific seat sale came up and I couldn't let this opportunity slip away. With that said, it turned out that my ticket cost (I think) 50% less than everyone else. I only had to fly to Cebu alone and 3 hours earlier (hahaha). But fortunately, I was still able to join their flight back to Manila.
I've been to Cebu before but only for 6 hours (long story haha). So glad that I'll be able to explore this time around and with my best friends. And although we only had the weekend (2 full days) to tour, it was so packed but so worth it!
We stayed at a hostel (SUGBUTEL), perfect for us for so many reasons:
- it's cheap
- it's dorm type: perfect when you're traveling with a big group (Cebu batch is only half of us)
- we really just used it to spend the night (like 5 or 6 hours?)
- we're cowboys and super game like that
Spent the first day exploring the city:
1. CNT Lechon. I had a good time here the first time I was in the city. It's sad that the Lechon was waaaay too salty during our time there. Gah.
2. Another place with a Lapu-Lapu statue. There were also some street food! Time for some afternoon merienda and food trip!
3. A Taoist Temple. It was a good place to try my camera's Toy Camera feature (which my lomographer boyfriend will not like at all hahaha)
4. A monument with a museum across it. Also appreciated my camera's aperture hihi.
5. Magellan's Cross + Buffet Dinner suggested by our driver. Food was steady. Good enough for Php200+ :))
Alright, I know
I'm not so helpful because I couldn't remember the names of the places
we went to (hahaha) but it was such a plus that we found a van rental
company (totally DIY and booked just when we got there, thank you
sulit.com) with a great driver who brought us to these tourist spots.
We contracted our driver again for day 2. We checked out out really early to drive to Oslob, south of Cebu, to watch whalesharks (yaaaaaaay!)
Highs:
- this tourist attraction is really regulated by authorities. We had an orientation where they informed us about the rules and regulations, dos and donts
- uh-maaaazing experience. Can't stress how amazing whalesharks and the chance to be so close to them are. You have to try it for yourself!
- good price. It costs Php300 for just viewing and Php500 per person to get in the water
- kuya bangkero is the one taking our underwater pictures!
Lows:
- you can't wear sunscreen!
- not that I don't want to be with my friends but this activity is better done with a small group. We ended up killing each other to get a good picture from just 1 underwater camera
After that, we spotted a small island in a distance and asked the bangkeros if we can go there. Such a good call because the island was soooooooo beautiful! No one else was there, the sand was so pure, and the view was just breath taking!!
After that we went back to the city. We had a good dinner at Casa Verde - a must try when you're in Cebu. They have big servings at very reasonable prices. We also had to kill time at a coffee shop while waiting for our midnight flight. We almost had no time to rest were it not for our 3 hour road trip but everything's worth it.
In my next trips to Cebu, I'd love to go North to Bantayan Island plus try the zip line and other activities at Crown Regency Hotel.
