Change
posted by Annie
Sometimes change affects me more than I think. Even good change. Change that is important and exciting.
When I found myself not doing my normal activities – like blogging, cooking, or dealing with my new surroundings, it took me some time to realize what was going on. Now my place was beautiful. My kitchen was perfect. So why wasn’t I enjoying it the way I could?
Change. Change was affecting me more than I thought. And I was having a hard time dealing with it.
So if you find that your laundry is piling up, or your bed is perpetually unmade, or you couldn’t even be bothered to unpack your Christmas decorations, go easy on yourself. Take a little stock. New calendar years are good for that.
You may need to check in with yourself and see what’s going on and how you feel about it.
Funny thing is, when I did that, my papers all of a sudden got filed. By not being stuck in a certain place, I have been able to move forward and be productive again.
Funny how that works.
Here’s to a 2010 filled with simple, productive, happy days.
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Hoarders: A Family’s Secret Life Exposed – Oprah.com
Hoarders: A Family’s Secret Life Exposed – Oprah.com.
Fascinating!
I am totally loving the show “Hoarders” on A&E. How awesome then to see it on Oprah! Love it!
It is truly fascinating to see how far people’s extremes are. I’ve worked with some clients who are definitely on the spectrum. Very sad. But it is really great to watch them get it. And start to realize the power their objects had over them.
I highly recommend checking it out! So good!
What do you think of the show?
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Chucking Your Checkbooks
posted by Annie
Part of organizing is getting rid of stuff. Realizing what you do and do not need in your life. But how do you get rid of things in a safe way? Those items that have important info of yours on there that you don’t want getting into the wrong hands.
Well, I’ve recently made the change to use my married name all of the time. So I needed to get new checks. But I wasn’t sure what to do with my old checks. They had my bank account number, name, and address. Could be dicey.
Here’s what you do: take used checkbooks right back to your bank. Your bank has tons of shredders that can handle it.
I brought them to my bank and no problem! They took them right away.
One less worry, taken care of. Awesome!
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How old is your old spice?
posted by Eduardo
Fall is here. It’s my favorite time of the year to cook and try out new recipes. I can already smell the earthy flavors of the fresh roots roasting in the oven and the ambrosial aroma that spices can bring out from any dish. To prepare for this coming feast, I decided to re-organize my spices and in the process I started questioning the freshness of some of my bottled friends. I bought some of these spices when the Spice Girls were coming out with their first album–OK, I had to mention the Spice Girls somehow, forgive me.
I consulted the McCormick’s site, they had some good tips to determine if you must edit your spices and replace them. To remember these tips think CASH (after all it cost some cash to replace this spices)–Color, Aroma, Storage (more…)
Vancouver Gem – NOOD
posted by Annie
Leaving Granville Market
I was recently in the wonderful city of Vancouver. What an amazing place to be! I just loved it! And they’re hosting the Olympics next year! How cool!
While there, I checked out some really neat shops. Amidst a ton of touristy shops I found a great store that sparked an organizing idea. It’s called NOOD which is short for New Objects Of Desire. The great design of the products reminded me of Muji. But there’s more color, pattern, and overall warmth to the items at NOOD.
All bathroom necessities in easy reach!
I saw this product and just loved it! It’s from the Hong Kong-based company Metier and it’s the Solitude Multi Hook. If you can’t totally tell from the picture (snapped on my iPhone), it’s a hook. But here’s the thing: all of the stuff hanging off of the hook are separate. So the little Vs everything is hanging off of, could be used on their own for towels or robes. Or if you buy the attachment pieces, you now have the option of a hand soap dispenser (or shampoo?), a tooth brush holder, and a whole bunch more options. (See the official website) I have clicked around and haven’t seen where you can buy it in the US. Although, apparently NOOD ships to the US, so theoretically you could get it from them. But then I didn’t see the product on their website. Frustrating.
What a nice use of space for a small area, though. An excellent use of just a few inches above your (more…)
I’m hooked on hooks
posted by Eduardo
It must have been my Roman Catholic upbringing that first brought me to the fascination with looking up and nailing things to the wall…but whatever the reason I just love hooks. I think they are the most primal form of human inventive and no organized home can be completed without them. With today’s technology there aren’t really any excuses for anyone not to use these vertical-space-utilization helpers. I mean, there are over-the-door, magnetic, suction and adhesive hooks to name a few. However, my heart belongs to the classic nail/screw to the wall fellow.
I’m going to guess that the first hooks were use to preserve a household; keeping food away from animals must have been a great motivator to start using hooks around the house. Now a days it is still the hunger for space that motivates us to keep re-inventing the use for wall mounted hooks. Here are a few of my favorite wall mounted hooks:
The Classic:
Coat and Hat Hook
The coat and hat model is great for the austere look that brings simplicity and functionality to an entryway or closet. I love this one from the Container Store. It’s believed that this was Picaso’s favorite hook style (OK, I am the only one that believes this, but if Picaso had a favorite hook, I’m confident it would be this one)
The One For Good (more…)
Shelving Sale is On!
posted by Annie
Get the Most of Your Space!
Now is a great time! The Container Store is having it’s Annual Storewide Shelving Sale. Lots of great space-saving items are now 25% off.
The Good News – Savings for You!
The Bad News – You may have to wait in extra long lines in the store while you wait for someone to design your space who may or may not have had lots of experience designing closets. And are you sure you did your measuring right? How are you getting it home? Who’s going to install it?
More Good News – Let me help you! I’ll come to your space, measure it, sketch it out for you, deal with the store, and handle delivery and installation!
Send me an email and we’ll make your space even better than it is now!
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File Drawer Options, under $100
posted by Annie
I am working with a woman who is starting a new administrative job. She just moved into her office last week and has some tweaks to make. One option that she’s looking for is piece that she can have next to her desk that will hold her printer (dimensions of the printer: 17 ½” w x 16″ d). I’d like it to line up with the height of her desk (which is around 30″h). Also, I’d like the price to remain below $100 since she has lots of other projects to do in her desk area. Here are some options that I’m finding:
Here's a funkier/modern option
Leda 3-Drawer Portable File – Cherry
$89.99
21″ w x 24″d x 27″h
I like this one since her desk has a wood meets metal aesthetic.
She’ll have room for both paper for the printer which she can put in the drawers. Not to mention some files that she may like to have close at hand.
It’s also received some nice reviews from Amazon.com
Simple Solution
Rolling File Cabinet – Espresso
$39.99
15 ½” w x 14 ½”d x 22″h
The dimensions aren’t great on this option, but the price is really nice. I like the open shelf for extra paper.
Good, solid option
$69.98
22 ¾”w x 17″d x 24″h
This is a nice, happy medium between the other two options. The price point is a little higher, so the product itself looks a bit sturdier. It still has the wood and metal accents, and the dimensions are nearly perfect.
So those are some options. If you’re looking to redo your office area and need a small piece to keep some supplies and files at the ready, these are three great options.
Have a product that you like? Let me know!
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Two Minutes!
posted by Annie
Used by Lots of Pro Organizers
I just picked up Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
If you can do a task in less than two minutes then do it right away.
Of course, if you can’t, that’s where things get a bit trickier. That’s sort of the crux of his book. But since I’m only part-way through it, I can’t paraphrase it well for you yet.
More to come on this, but it’s a good start. Very interesting. I know that this is a system that lots of organizers advocate.
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Kids’ Shoe Organization
posted by Annie
Recently, I had a young mom ask me about shoe organizing options for her little girl (she’s just over a year old). So I put on my thinking cap. Here are some options that I really like:
Hangs Down Low - Easy for Little Ones to Reach
30-Pair Overdoor Shoe Organizer
If you have the right door in your child’s closet or room, this is a great option. It hangs the entire length of the door which gives you a ton of storage. Not only that, but it’s easy for little ones to reach. So when they start dressing themselves, they’ll be able to get to the shoes all by themselves. I also like that it secures at the bottom and top of the door so that the shoe holder won’t thwap thwap every time the door is opened and closed.
I know a mom who used this for her little girl’s closet and put her daughter’s accessories in the higher pockets. The pinks of the accessories made for a very colorful door!
But you may have sliding doors (more…)
