Springtime Garage organization

It’s spring and finally starting to feel like it.  Time to put away the shovels and sleds and get your garage organized.  Afterall, kids will be playing outside more and I’d rather be playing with them than searching for balls, bike helmets and other outdoor gear.

First things first. Sort like items together and purge.  I always start an organizing project with a few contractor bags.  It’s usually easiest to sort through the stuff you can do without.  Put trash into one bag and items to donate into another contractor bag or other heavy duty bag or box.

Properly dispose of old paint and oil cans and empty cleaning supply bottles.  Check with your town’s disposal facility to find out when they accept hazardous waste.

Once you have like items grouped together (i.e. gardening, car care, outdoor games, bikes and other ride on toys, helmets, other pads- like street hockey and skateboarding kneepads, chalk, bubbles, etc) think about where to store them.  I like to use plastic shelving like this InterMetro one from The Container Store.  Hard working shelves are 18″ deep (any deeper and items can get lost on the shelves)  and can hold up to 300 pounds per shelf!

intermetro

Frequently  used items used should be stored at eye level or below. Seasonal items should be kept on higher shelves. Choose ventilated shelves and drawers which allow visibility to what you’re storing — they also prevent dust and dirt from collecting. I use mesh handled bins like this one from The Container store to coral

  • baseballs and whiffleballs
  • chalk
  • bubble and bubble toys
  • street hockey balls and pucks
  • wrist guards, knee pads, elbow pads
  • outdoor games

mesh handled bin
Lacrosse sticks, baseball bats, hockey sticks, are oranized in a couple of tall mesh bins. Rollerblades sit on the shelf by themselves but get stored in clear bins during the winter.
mesh bin casters

About 80% of items stored in a garage can be stored on shelving — the other 20% can be organized on hooks.  These items are usually handled tools including shovels, roof rake, and gardening tools.  Other large bulky items like garden hoses, ladders, strollers and backpack carriers can also be stored up off the ground on hooks.  To organize your entire garage, you’ll need a combination of shelving, drawers and hooks to keep everything organized.

I recommend kids’ bikes, sports equipment and toys to be closest to the garage door if possible and everything else deepest in the garage.  Create a “gardening station”, “car care station”, “winter station” to keep like items together. Once you’ve designated a spot to store everything you must be diligent and conscientious about returning everything to it’s proper place.

If your storage space is limited, consider storing items hanging from the ceiling, under a workbench, behind the door, and maximize vertical wall space. Utilizing The Container Store’s best-selling elfa shelving, everything from bikes to hedge clippers to screwdrivers can be in their own designated spot!

elfa Garage

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Spring is in the air!

Spring is here. Really it is.  Hard to believe when you’re still sending your kids off to school in full winter regalia.  Days are bright and sunny and the air is crisp.  Perfect time to clean out and organize your closet and wardrobe.

Many clients have told me when they attempt to do this, they get overwhelmed and end up stuffing all the clothes back in the closet and shoving shoes and accessories into any nook they can find.  If you do a little bit at a time  you’ll be more successful.

Step one: Purge current season’s clothes. You know which pieces you love and feel good in.  Those obviously stay.  If there are any pieces that you didn’t wear or that you didn’t feel great in, put them in a donation pile. I often use shopping bags with handles or contractor bags so all the donation items are ready to go.  If there are pieces that need laundering/dry cleaning/repair set those in a separate pile.  Take care of them before you store them.

Step two: Purge and organize tops.  Go through spring and summer tops and remove any that are dingy or that you don’t love.  If you have 15 black t-shirts,  pare ’em down.  If you have hanging space in your closet, I recommend hanging as much as possible. It makes it easier to see what you have vs. going through a pile in a dresser drawer.  Hang them in majority color order: reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples, browns, blacks, whites.  Within the color hang by sleeve length: tanks, short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, long sleeve. I like to use these low profile non-slip hangers from The Container Store.  Using only one type of hanger provides a uniform look making your closet neater.

Step three: Purge and organize bottoms.  Same process as for the tops, for shorts, skirts, capris, ankle length and long pants.  I keep shorts, capris and jeans on shelves in my closet and hang skirts, dressier pants and dresses.  I like these hangers from The Container Store to hang skirts because they save space.

Step four: Purge and organize shoes and accessories. I hang my scarves in color order on the back of my door with a rack like this one from Bed Bath and Beyond. I have earrings on a jewelry stand like this available at the Container Store.  I don’t have a ton of earrings, so this sits on my dresser.  Again, I like to see what I have. It makes getting dressed easier.  Sterling silver jewlery is in a closed jewelry box on my dresser so they don’t tarnish.  If you have shoe shelves in your closet, you can use those or a shoe rack like this one.  Most of my frequently worn shoes for the season are in the hall closet on the main floor and not-so-frequently worn shoes are in my closet.  You can sort and hang belts on an organizer like this.  I like to stand purses on a shelf (in their dust bag if you have it).  These shelf dividers keep them separated and from falling down.

You don’t have to sort and organize your wardrobe in one go.  You could do it in four smaller chunks of time.  Once you’ve organized and sorted your wardrobe, it makes it easier to know what you need to shop for!

 

 

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Less is more when Decluttering

Often times when thinking about areas in your home that need attention and organization, people become overwhelmed because they think of the big projects, like the basement, the attic or the playroom. If you take smaller “bites”, you’ll be less overwhelmed and more successful.

Here’s a list of 50 areas to declutter. Most should take 20-30 minutes. Print it out and get started. Decide if you are going to tackle one task per day or one task per week and get it done! Don’t forget to schedule donation pick up for those items that haven’t been used or worn in over a year. Find next available donation pick up in your area at www.GoodDonor.org. Happy organizing!

1. Kitchen silverware drawer
2. Kitchen utensils
3. Canned goods in the pantry
4.Tea/coffee/mugs
5. Pots and pans
6. Baking sheets/pans and ingredients
7.Tupperware or other like containers
8. Sports bottles/sippy cups
9. Kids’ lunchboxes
10. Food storage wraps/foils/bags
11. Kitchen towels, linens, placemats
12. Under the kitchen sink
13. Fridge
14. Freezer
15. Glassware
16. Vitamins/medicines in the kitchen
17. Coupons and gift cards
18. Stationary
19. Bills/mail area
20. Junk drawer
21. Batteries/light bulbs
22. Cookbooks and recipes
23. Dry storage
24. Trash/Recycling area
25. Mudroom or entry way shoes/boots
26. Hall closet
27. Catalogs, magazines and newspapers
28. Family room coffee table/end tables
29. DVDs and gaming console games
30. Laundry area
31. Guest bathroom linens
32. Bedroom nightstands
33. Scarves/purses/bags
34. Jewelry
35. Sock drawer
36. Athletic clothes
37. Pajamas
38. Bathroom beauty supplies
39. Bathroom shower/tub
40. Cough/cold/first aid supplies
41. Bed linens and towels
42. Craft supplies
43. Sports equipment
44. Holiday decor: Valentine’s
45. Holiday decor: Easter
46. Holiday decor: Halloween
47. Holiday decor: Thanksgiving
48. Holiday decor: Christmas/Hannukah
49. Cleaning supplies
50. Car

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New Year’s Resolutions

Are you making New Year’s resolutions to get your home more organized?  If so, then you will probably need some products like bins for clothes, toys and food storage, hooks, hangers, folders and other organizing tools.  Luckily all of thees items can be found in one location, one of my happy places, The Container Store, which has various sales that run throughout the year.

The Container Store’s promotions typically run for 6-8 weeks although the specific dates change each year.  Some sales include Elfa products and installation of Elfa is usually applicable for the sale (but this is subject to change).

The Annual Elfa sale is happening now!  It started December 24th 2014 and runs through February 11, 2015. The promotion is 30% off all Elfa products and installation.

Work Smart Office Sale:  typically starts right after the annual Elfa sale and goes through mid-March.  The Work Smart Office sale includes various discounts on office products.

Spring Organizational Sale: typically runs April through May and provides discounts on spring organizing items (think closet!)

I recently designed an Elfa system for a client for her daughter’s closet, and a kitchen pantry.  Working on a design for a basement entryway right now.  Let me know if you have any questions or would like help getting more organized!  Happy organizing!

elfa-sale

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One last purge

With the holidays fast approaching and new toys sure to enter your home, I encourage my clients to walk through their home (or at least the kids’ playroom and bedrooms) and donate any toys that are no longer used.  Use contractor bags to gather donations.  They are sturdier than regular trash bags and you cannot see through them, so you’re more likely to get the items out the door. If the items are visible, you may get little hands pulling toys back out of the bags claiming that they are their most favorite toys that they can’t live without.   Don’t let the kids sabotage your plans to stay organized!!   I also like to have a few clear bins on hand for storing new holiday toys.  I usually have a few shoe size boxes and a few sweater size boxes from the Container Store on hand to coral all the pieces to a new game, toy or craft.

You can schedule a donation pick up in advance by going to GoodDonor.org or scheduleapickup.com.  If you schedule a donation pick up in advance of doing your walk through, gestimate how large or small your donation will be.  Scheduling a donation pick up in advance will make it more likely that you actually go through your home and collect items to be donated.  You can’t really blow it off once it’s scheduled, it gives you a deadline for your last purge of 2014.  It’s kinda like working out, you may not initially feel that enthusiastic about doing it, but you’ll feel great after it’s done. 🙂

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10 Strategies for a Stress Free Holiday Season

1. Shorten your to-do list.  Ask yourself, “If I don’t do this, what will happen?”  I’m usually a get-it-done-now-so-you-can-relax-later kind of girl, but in this case, see what you can put off until after the holidays.  When things get crazy and hectic, I ask myself, “will my kids/family/friends remember I did this?” and if the answer is “no” it gets knocked off my list.

2. Limit gift giving.  Not being Scrooge here, but try limiting gift giving to children only and consider do a “Secret Santa”.  You’ll only have to shop for a few kids in the family instead of all the cousins, nieces and nephews!

3. Wrap as you go.  Wouldn’t you rather spend Christmas Eve with a mug of hot chocolate (or hot toddy) instead of doing a gift wrapping marathon?  Label to/from right away, and use sticky notes if necessary to keep track of gift contents.

4. Buy, don’t bake. We bake and decorate Christmas cookies each year, but to save time, you could buy plain sugar cookies from a local bakery or supermarket for the kids to decorate.  I buy a pre-assembled gingerbread house that the kids decorate (baking and or assembling our own house was NOT contributing to the joy of the season!)

5. Use labels for addressing Christmas cards. Last post was about using labels to address your Christmas cards.  If you do it this year, imagine how easy it’ll be next year!!

6. Scale back décor.  We still get a fresh Christmas tree each year but there are several reasons why folks turn to artificial trees. It’s efficient (the lights are already strung), it’s less expensive over the years, and is environmentally conscious.   You can display a pretty door wreath instead of doing large scale outdoor lighting, and a tabletop tree instead of over-the-top entire home decor.

7. Put home projects on hold.  Wait, what?  Yup, just close the door on the messy office or spare bedroom that’s become the dumping ground.  Put off the organizing and house projects until after the holiday season.

8. Downsize dishwashing. Maybe you still want to use your fine china for Christmas day, but hand-washing fine china is no fun, so use everyday dishes or paper plates for other gatherings.

9. Less is more.  Consider serving a variety of appetizers and finger foods instead of a entree and sides.  We’ll always have a Christmas turkey at my in-laws (LOVE it!!) on Christmas day but for other gatherings during the holidays it’s easier on the host to do several appetizers than a big sit-down dinner.  Hosting a pot luck would make it even easier.

10.  Be a homebody. Staying close to home beats holiday travel any day. Staying close to home allows you more time to do the things you really want to do with your family.

Happy Holidays!!
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Christmas cards!!

Some friends feel strongly that they want to hand address their Christmas or holiday cards. While I admit, it does look more personal, depending on how many cards you send out, it can take A LOT longer to hand address them vs. printing out some cute address labels. Also, even if you hand address cards a few at a time, after writing out a few addresses, I don’t know about you, but I would not like what my handwriting looks like! Plus, I’d rather get the whole job done at once vs. doing it over a few days, but that’s just me.

I use Avery #18863 clear labels or Avery #5163 white labels to address our holiday cards. (I used them for birth announcements too!) There are 10 labels per page. The thing about using labels for your holiday cards, is that you can play with fonts and add images. I like to use a larger font for the recipient name, usually in a fancier script andimage then the address in an all caps font for contrast. These Avery labels are large enough to accommodate the use of different size fonts as well as including an image if you wish, such as a wreath or Christmas tree.

I use the Word template that corresponds to the labels and make address changes and additions to the list each year. Not in a bah-bum-bug scroogey way, but there are also a few deletions each year too. For example I don’t send Christmas cards to teachers from previous years and their sport teams change too, so I don’t necessarily send them to their previous year’s coaches or teams in their entirety either.

I used to print out return address labels, but a couple of years ago I ordered a return address stamp from Tiny Prints. They offer a variety of styles. Ours has a script “B” in the middle and then our family name and address in a circle around the “B”. I like how it looks and love the efficiency of it!

You can save yourself a trip to the Post Office by ordering your stamps in the mail. They’ll charge you a nominal fee, which can be worth it instead of waiting in a long line.

Can’t wait to see our friends and family’s holiday cards this season!

 

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Christmas and holiday gift organizing

I cannot believe Christmas is less than 30 days away!  I’ve already created a gift list for each of our family members and others who we give gifts to, including teachers, our cleaning lady, and sitters (we don’t call them “babysitters” any more!).   I start with a list of gift ideas for each person. My husband and I go through the list together and make edits.  For the kids, we like to choose different types of gifts, for example, we try to have a gift that encourages movement (like a hockey shooting pad or a chin up bar), creativity (crafts), education (books, science or STEM activity sets) and good old fun (such as Wii games).  Listing out all the ideas makes sure we get a variety of  types of gifts and to stay within our budget for each child.  Once we have decided what we are going to get, I list out where each item can be purchased, whether it is online or at a brick and mortar store.  I prefer to do online shopping as much as possible, as I have already transitioned into my “stalker” strategy when looking for a parking space– I look for someone coming out of a store and ask them if they’re leaving and then follow them to their car.  Santa will not be nice to people who steal parking spaces from others who were patiently waiting. I digress.  The holiday season is about spending time with family and friends and joy and happiness.  In the end, whether you get your child 10 toys or 2 toys, it’s the time spent together as a family that they’ll remember.  image

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Timeline project

My daughter, who is in 2nd grade, just completed a timeline project.  The project required writing out a plan, finding the right tools (pictures) and putting it all together.  It got me thinking about planning for the holidays.  Thanksgiving is coming up in just a few days and Christmas is about 30 days away. (Eeeak!  Gotta get to my Christmas shopping which I’ll talk about in the next post.)

Whether you are cooking the main course or bringing sides or dessert, making a plan will help make it less stressful.  Each day you should plan what you are purchasing and from where.  At this point hopefully your orders are already in from stores that require pre-ordering.   More specifically, you should plan what you are cooking/baking and for how long on a timeline.  You can’t double book your oven!  Unless you have two ovens, in which case I’m envious!  You should also plan what serving dishes and utensils will be used for each food item. I  like to put a small Post-It note inside the serving platter/bowl with what I am planning to serve in it.  It ensures I have enough serving pieces and the right serving pieces.  An added bonus is that when it all comes down to putting the food out, it’s easier for others to lend a hand.   Also, make sure you have enough food storage containers to store leftovers.  I prefer rectangular shaped ones, as they stack easier in the refrigerator/your kitchen cabinets.

Hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving. I’m looking forward to my favorite meal of the year.  More importantly, I am so very grateful for my husband and our beautiful children, our families and our health.

 

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Garage organization. Getting ready for winter!

Just finished a project at a client’s home this morning. We had purged and organized items in the garage and decided what was going where.  I ordered an Elfa system for her from The Container Store (passing along my 20% professional organizer discount) was installation went well yesterday.  Today we got everything up off the ground. Nine bicycles in various sizes, 2 balance bikes, 3 scooters and 1 tricycle hang on one wall, along with all the helmets. One spot is was designated to hang wet snow coats and snowpants.  Gardening tools and shovels are along one wall and there is additional storage on shelves and in pull out bins for off season items like coolers, summer toys and gear, car accessories and cleaning supplies.  We both agreed, it was extremely satisfying to see the finished project.  Here are a few pictures for inspiration.  Now they can park their two cars in the garage before the snow comes!!!  IMG_2505[1]IMG_2508[1]

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Gift card, store credits and coupon organization

 

How many times have you been out shopping and wished you had remembered where that gift card or store credit is?  I don’t really cut coupons but I do use store coupons for a % off at retailers and I’d rather use store credits and gift cards than to let them go to waste.   You likely receive gift cards and certificates for birthdays and other special occasions.  You may receive loyalty rewards at retailers that are as good as cash.  You probably have store credit for something you bought that you decided you didn’t want/need, which is a good thing if you returned it because you are reducing the clutter in your home!  How to keep them all organized?  If you truly only have a few, maybe less than 10, you could keep them in a small zippered wallet or change purse.  You probably already own something that can be repurposed.

If you have more than 10 or so gift cards/credits/coupons, consider using a coupon organizer.  I found one at Bed Bath and Beyond that looks like a zippered wallet, but has a bunch of divided sections and a note pad and pen holder.  I labeled the sections, “Restaurants”, “store coupons”, “store credits”, “BJ’s” and “CVS”.  The wallet “lives” in a drawer near my command station in the kitchen.  When I am going out shopping or think I might use a restaurant gift certificate, I grab the wallet and bring it with me.  I keep it in the drawer, because as I receive mailings with loyalty rewards/coupons I can easily file them away. Life is busy, so if I can’t put it in right away, the reward/coupon goes into the drawer and when I have a few of them, I file them away.  It works for me to remember to bring the wallet with me when I am going shopping, than another solution, like leaving it in my car.  It might be more likely to have it with you if you leave it in your car, but keeping up with filing your gift certificates/rewards/coupons would be more difficult nevermind the fact that it might not be secure in your car.

I also keep a fine point Sharpie marker in the organizer so that when I have partially used store credits, I can write the remaining balance on the back of the card. It eliminates wondering how much if any value is left on the card.  Happy shopping!
coupon organizer

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s my password??

There are so many different user names and passwords to create.  You probably have at least one email account, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram, among other social media networks, Amazon, and countless other online shopping sites, eBay, PayPal, probably some banking, Wi-Fi, professional and home computer network access and likely many more. How do you create a unique, strong password for each of these accounts that you can easily remember?

For security reasons a “strong” password contains different character types such as uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation. Here’s the problem. There is simply no way you can remember all your unique, strong passwords…or is there?

What happens is that people tend to use the same one or two passwords for all their accounts. They use children’s or pet’s names or birthdates which are hackable. Even with using these predictable passwords, sometimes you’re not sure which one password you chose, right? So you go through the few different passwords you typically use  hoping to get in and that you don’t get locked out of the account. Easy to remember?  Sort of.  But are your accounts secure? No.

What I recommend to clients is to create a mini-password that includes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation. For example, “Jb12*”.  Let’s say we are creating (or changing) an Amazon account password.  Determine an uppercase/ lowercase pattern the name of the account, Amazon, for example “aMAZON”, “amazoN”, or “aMazon”. Let’s call this the sub-password.  Then add the mini-password to the sub-password.  So, for example, if you’ve choosen “aMAZON” as the sub-password + mini-password “Jb12*” = “aMAZONJb12*”, a unique, strong password. How is that easy to remember? This is what your Facebook password would be: “fACEBOOKJb12*”.  This is what your Container Store password would be: “cONTAINERJb12*”.  Your mini-password stays the same added to the beginning or end of the sub-password for the account.

You could also use a good old fashioned address book to store your various user names and passwords, but you’ll need to keep it up to date and you’ll need to dedicate a place to keep it where it’s safe and where you’ll always be able to find it. There are also password manager apps but you’ll also need to create a user name and password for that account too!password_1

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How to STAY organized

Depending on the scope of a project, it can take anywhere from one hour to a couple of organizing sessions to organize a space.  In order to keep it organized, you need to work at it.  It’s similar to weight loss and exercise.  Once you reach your ideal weight, you still need to consciously work at eating right and exercising to maintain that weight.   Once you organize a space, you need to actively keep it organized.  Research shows that it takes consciously acting on a new behavior for just 15 minutes a day for 21 days could create a habit, to do something “automatically.”

So, whether it is keeping your email in-box organized or keeping your children’s playroom organized, you need to actively do something to maintain it.  I’m not a fan of Post-It notes because often it is used along with some other organizing to-do list/app/planner and when you have more than one system in play, things can get lost.  In this case of creating new habits, you could write one or two words to remind yourself of the habit you are working to create.  Stick the Post-It note somewhere highly visible and make tick marks for 21 days as a visual reminder and self encouragement.

post it notes

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Organizing girls’ hair accessories!!

My husband is one of 3 boys.   We have 2 daughters ages 7 and 5 and more pink and purple girly things than he could have ever imagined.  We have a fair amount of head bands, barettes, clips and hair ties.  How to keep it all organized?  I’ll share how we organize ours, and a couple of other ideas.

I bought a decorative basket at HomeGoods that measures around 15″ x 12″.  The headbands “sit” along two sides of the basket in rainbow order, which makes it easier to find one to (hopefully!) coordinate with their outfit.  I actually repurposed packaging from two Melissa and Doug crafts (Decorate your own heart box or something similar) and placed them inside the basket to keep large hair ties, small hair ties, metal hair clips, small jaw clips, and other hair clips organized.  You could also purchase a divided tray like this one at The Container Store.   Ribbon and other “stretchy” headbands hang on a couple of 3M Command hooks.   This hair station is in the bathroom on the first floor, where they often do their hair right before breakfast.  You could also place the divided tray into a bathroom drawer and hang headbands on a few 3M Command hook inside the cabinet door or on the wall.   Our hair brush and detangling spray sit inside the basket.  You could use a divided tray like this one that has many sections and separate small hair accessories by color.

I found this hair accessory organizer on Etsy– hair clips get attached to the ribbons which I like because you can see each one, headbands get hung on the rod at the bottom.  You can hang this kind of organizer with a clear Command hook and use a small tray acrylic or other decorative tray to hold brush, hair detangler and small container of hair ties.  Sometimes brushing their long beautiful and tangly hair is so painful (to me and to them!) finding a hair tie or barrette shouldn’t be!

hair station

 

 

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3M Command hooks! Love ’em!

One of my favorite organizing products are 3M Command hooks.  If you are not already familiar with them, seriously, this is going to be life changing.  If you know about them, hopefully I will share a new use with you.  3M is the same company that makes removeable Post-it notes and their revolutionary product allows you to hang hooks without drilling or hammering and they come off cleanly without damaging the wall or surface whether it’s paint, wood or wallpaper.  I swear I am not being paid to endorse their product, I just love ’em!  Each package comes with the special adhesive strips and additional strips can be purchased.  Hooks can be moved and repositioned as needed.  Small hooks hold up to 1 pound, medium hooks up to 2 pounds and large hooks up to 3 pounds.  They come in clear, white plastic, colored plastic, brushed nickel and silver.   Here are some uses in our home.

Kitchen

  • Inside kitchen cabinet doors to hang pot holders and aprons.
  • Under kitchen sink cabinet for dishwashing gloves, water bottle brush and mini dustpan and broom.
  • Inside cabinet doors for stand mixer accessories.

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Bathrooms

  • Medium command hooks are used for each child’s face cloth.
  • Mini command hooks for the kids’ flossers.  God forbid they use one another’s flosser and get cooties!
  • Mini command hooks mounted horizontally for their toothbrushes.
  • Various hooks inside the medicine cabinet (are they called that anymore??) door to hang my eyelash curler, tweezers, cuticle scissors, black hair ties, “fancy” hair ties…. I could go on and on.
  • Inside the bathroom closet door to hang my hairdryer and another to hang my curling iron (I just drape the cord around the hook once or twice).
  • Inside bathroom vanity door for girls’ hair ties and headbands although headbands seem to reproduce in our home so we’ve moved on to another system (more on that in next post). command hooks3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids’ bedrooms

  • 3M hooks in my son’s room to hang various medals and participation ribbons (don’t get my husband started talking about that 🙂
  • Medium hooks to hang baseball hats.
  • Numerous 3M hooks, various sizes in my daughters’ bedroom and my bedroom on the side of our dressers to hang necklaces and bracelets.
  • Small hooks inside my closet for thin belts.

3M hooks1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closet

  • Two large command hooks are on the inside of the hall closet.  One is designated for my purse and the other is for things I need to return/exchange.
  • A few other hooks are for broom, Swiffer and dustpan.

Hallway (we don’t have a mudroom)

  • 3 large hooks have withstood the test of time and not-so-gentle kid use.  They’ve been up for over a year and are for kids’ packpacks

Office

  • Inside closet door or side of desk to store frequently used charger cables
  • Mini command hooks to keep cords/cables along the wall instead of jumbled on the floor

I am probably missing a few here and there, but I highly recommend that you stock up on a few packs in different sizes.  It wasn’t that long ago that my husband was out playing paddle, kids were in bed and I was organizing the bathroom.  I put them on the inside of the medicine cabinet and I went to bed a happy girl.  He’s playing paddle again tonight, I’ll have to see if I can find some more uses for them!!

 

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Kitchen command center

Most families do other things besides preparing food and eating in their kitchens.  You probably pay bills, answer emails, and schedule kid activities among other household tasks.   So, the topic of this post will be how to create a kitchen command center.  We don’t have a home office on the main level of the house nor do we have a office nook in the kitchen.  Papers tended to collect in the corner of the kitchen near the refrigerator, so I sorted through the cabinet above that area and relocated the contents of the bottom shelf.  I moved wine and booze to the top shelf of that cabinet and the other less frequently used items (martini glasses, shakers, cocktail recipe books and cookbooks) to another cabinet.  Now I had space for my papers and supplies.

I bought a file box like this one from The Container Store and some pretty hanging file folders and interior file folders.  The file box sits on top of the counter next to my iPad, keyboard and telephone.  file box 2There are many desktop file boxes available in different colors, some don’t have tops at all.  I like this one because its lid stays attached, yet the contents are concealed. I have files for: to do, to file, recipes, to read, catalogs to unsubscribe, (more on that in the next post), and a file for extracurricular activities like sports rosters and information.

I hung 3M Post-It Pockets and magnetic strips on the inside of the cabinet doors.  Receipts go in one of the small pockets for exchanges/returns, tickets and stamps go in another small pocket, and school directories/change in dismissal forms go in a large pocket.  Invitations (after I have RSVP’ed ‘yes’) get hung on the magnetic strip along with anything else I might need to reference, like our town’s recycle center hours.  I try not to have too much stuff on the front of our refrigerator, so sometimes pictures or small artwork will get hung up on the magnetic strip too.   The strips come in square and rectangle shapes too, but these were too large for the inside of my cabinet door.  Two strips hung vertically provide enough space for me.

magnetic strips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have two clear magazine files in the cabinet that store active notebooks (I use one notebook for my organizing business and one for volunteer work).  The second magazine file stores my label maker and extra cartridges.  Kids’ workbooks and handwriting paper are also in the cabinet.  A book end keeps them from falling down.

Last but not least, a desk drawer organizer keeps pens and other supplies organized.  My kitchen command center has been in place for about two years now and it’s been great.  Would do it again in a heartbeat!

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Just do it!

There are really two parts to organizing any space. The first is to declutter and organize the space and contents and the second is to keep it organized.  When figuring out how to organize any space, solutions need to fit.  It needs to feel right for you.  You know whether or not you are likely to keep up a particular solution.  One solution might be a better fit over another.  For example, if you often misplace your car keys, do you think you can keep up with a solution of putting them in the same spot every time you come into your home? Or does putting them in the side pocket of your car door seem like a better solution?  You know what will work best for you.

The second part is maintenance.  Keeping up with the solution.   Making it a habit.  Once you designate a spot for your keys or    (fill in the blank)    you have to put your things away!   I say that a lot in our house!  It’s much easier to put things away when you know where they belong so just do it.  Make it a habit to put things away and encourage family members to do the same. When you are going upstairs, don’t walk empty handed, take some things with you that you know belong upstairs.  It takes discipline to maintain an organized space.

discipline

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Storing kids’ sentimentals

I’m a sentimental person. I like to keep things that bring back happy memories.   I worked at Walt Disney World for a number of years and opened 2 DisneyQuests.  It was such a fun, crazy time that I’m proud of, but I can’t keep everything associated with that chunk of time.  Fast forward and I’m now married with 3 kids and there are a lot of happy memories and I know I can’t keep everything.  Removing unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded space does not mean that the item or the time associated with that item isn’t important to you.

Each child has a sweater box from The Container Store that stores their coming-home-from-hospital outfit, and other items like their Christening outfit and candle.  Ryan used to wear a blue Magnum-PI-style Hawaiian shirt my parents got him.  He LOVED that shirt. That’s in his box.  Like the schoolwork memory boxes, there is a finite amount of space, so you can’t keep everything.  Be selective in what you keep.  You might want to toss in a few cedar balls to keep pesky insects away. When (or if) they ever tire of their loveys, those will go in the box.  I can’t even imagine….

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