Purse Organizing Made Simple with Card Cubby Organizer

I am sure I have already mentioned this product in years past but in light of the season and the large trend in gift card giving, I thought I would share it with you again.

When visiting my husband in the hospital a few years ago I went to the gift shop to buy a Diet Coke (yum) and stumbled upon the Card Cubby for the first time.   Best of all, there was one with a zebra print and I love all things black and white.   So,  on  impulse bought it and spent the time sitting around at the hospital filling it up and putting all my cards into place.  I have never regretted the purchase and get comments from sales clerks all the time how great it is when I can pull out my rewards cards or gift certificates easily with alphabetized dividers.

Check out all the fun colours and products from Card Cubby to make your coupon and card organizing a  breeze.

I would love to hear from any of you who have a Card Cubby and all the things you store in yours!

Jennifer

L is for Label: Loving your Label Maker

L is for Label     

Are you addicted to your label maker?   Do you even have a label maker?  If you do not have one, you are missing out on the glory!

For a professional organizer, a label maker is an essential “must have”, “cannot live without” tool.  Quite frankly, it is an addiction for most of us. a crazy love for a tool that makes us jump for joy to see a fully label storage system.

Did I mention my label maker is pink?  Love it!!!

So what does one do with a label maker?

Well...you could:

Label your shelves in the kitchen cabinets so the family can all put the dishes and utensils away in the correct places.  Making it easy for everyone to participate in the household chores and maintenance is one of the keys to a well organized home and frees up your time

Label your refrigerator (my friends mock me regularly for this one).   Indicate where you would like the milk, eggs, condiments, and left overs stored.   By labeling the fridge, you ensure time is not wasted looking for items and those lost leftover science experiments are less likely to occur.   Another bonus, making a grocery list is a breeze because you will know exactly what you have on hand with a quick glance.

Label your pantry.   Create a section for each food type: soups, crackers. canned tomatoes, canned vegetables, pasta, etc...  Just has having the fridge well organized, having the pantry in order will also allow for quick decisions when it comes to menu planning and making a grocery list.

Label your linen closet shelves to make put away a quick and efficient.   Family members can find what they need without ripping the shelves apart and you can get assistance with putting laundry away because they will all know where to put the items.

Label the inside of your dresser drawers, especially the ones in the kids rooms so they can be self-reliant and put away their items when clean as well as get themselves dressed in the mornings.

Label your storage bins so you know what is inside and do not have to open each one.

Basically, if you are storing something, you can label it!

Contact us today to get your closets and storage systems in order.  

www.adventuresinorganizing.ca

K is for Keep: Decluttering and Loving your "Keep Pile"

K is for Keep  

So many times in organizing, we talk about “letting go”, “downsizing”, “Scaling back” and “decluttering”.

Today the discussion is about the items, the objects, we choose to “Keep”!

That’s right!  In any organizing project, we have the keep, toss and giveaway piles.  While the traditional focus of those projects is the “toss” and “giveaway” parts of the job, at Adventures In Organizing, we believe the most important part of the decision process is “Keep”. 

Items that we keep are the day-to-day things that are functional and essential to our daily lives.  These are items that help us, items that enhance our existence, and items with which we love to surround ourselves. 

We should keep items we love, things that bring us joy and things that make us smile.  I have a statue that was from my Grandparents, a statue that is not practical; it serves no real purpose other than the fact that I love it.  It does not take up a lot of room in the house, it does not take a lot of maintenance, but even if it did and I truly loved it, I would still keep it.

The key to the “keep” part of any organizing project is to manage the quantity of those items to the space available to contain them and to ensuring that each component is necessary, used, and treasured!

Start fresh in 2013 – begin the year with an “attitude of gratitude” for the abundance that you do have and make smart decisions about your "Keep" items.

Do you need help with selecting your "Keep Pile",  downsizing and decluttering?  

Visit our website and subscribe today to Minute By Minute Organizing and start the year off right.   

Organizing By The Letter: I is for Inventory

I is for Inventory

As the year 2012 draws to a close, we tend to take stock of our lives and look toward the future.

During this time of reflection, let’s also take a look at the stock in our homes.    Has your home become one great big stockroom or worse yet a warehouse for items from years gone by?

How much is enough?  How much do we need to feel satisfied?

Take some time this week taking inventory of things like: 

·         

• Your relationships 

•  Your Freezer 

• Your Pantry 

•  Your Shoes (what have you not worn in 2012) 

•    Your clothing (how many white blouses, how many black pants) 

• Your Linen Closet (how many sheets do you really need)Y

• Your Storage Locker …let it go!

Start fresh in 2013 – begin the year with an “attitude of gratitude”.

Do you need help with downsizing and de-cluttering?  

Visit our website and subscribe today to Minute By Minute Organizing and start the year off right.   

Christmas is Coming & Guests Will be Arriving!

Christmas in coming!  

If you are having guests, take time to consider the ways you wish to extend hospitality to them.  Ensure that they are treated as the most respected and honoured people you have in your home!

Anticipate the needs of your guests, consider their likes, make a plan to create the perfect atmosphere.   You want them to feel valued and loved as the depart from their stay with you.

December's newsletter will focus on the concept of hospitality and creating a warm environment for our guests.   If you have not already signed up to receive our free newsletter, please visit our website and sign up today.

Organizing By The Letter: J is for Jewellery!

J is for Jewellery.    

I don’t know about you, but I really love Jewellery.   I do not have much, but what I do have I really like.   I have some that was my mother’s, some that my kids have given to me, some that my husband has gifted to me, and even some that I have had since childhood.   One of my favourite childhood pieces is a charm bracelet that has the Ten Commandments link all the way around.   Several of the charms have gone missing (my parent`s would tell you I just removed the commandments I was not too fond of ) but I still love that little bracelet and will keep it for my grandchildren

Jennifer, why all the “way too much information”?    Well, I really want you to understand that I am not saying throw all your jewellery away or donate things that mean a lot to you.   Even though I will never wear the little charm bracelet, I want to be able to pass it to my grandchildren – my daughters can toss it in the trash if they wish but for me, I just cannot do it!

So, let us move on to de-cluttering and finding storage solutions for our Jewellery.   We embark on our Jewellery Adventures just as we do it just like everything else: 

1.    Sort: Put all the earring together, all the bracelets together, all the necklaces together, all the rings together and then look at each one.

Do all your earrings have mates, do they need backs, are the broken – do they turn your skin     green or cause infections?   Are any of the necklaces broken?  Are they worth having repaired?  If they are worth having repaired, put a time and date in your planner to take care of this.

2.     Purge: Toss any broken costume jewellery (any broken gold or silver can be sold to one of the many gold buyers in North America wherever you live). 

3.     Donate:  Any pieces that are in good condition but you no longer like, pack them up in baggies and donate them to Salvation Army or Goodwill.

4.    Store: Look at the pieces you are keeping and think about the best way to store them.        

   Don't run out and buy any thing new without thinking about what you have now, what you might really need and what the best solutions for you might be.

    I really like long necklaces and they never fit into a jewellery box – I use a simple “Command” type hanger on the back of my bedroom door.    

    For my rings and earrings, I use ice cubes trays from the dollar store to keep them organized in the top drawer of my dresser.   Bracelets sit in small boxes.  My entire Jewellery storage system maybe cost me $30.00 - and that is erring on the high-side.

Here are a storage options for you to consider:   

Ahhh Umbra, always the coolest ideas!    This one hangs in your closet and you can see through the pockets.   Hang some clothing over the top to protect against theft  - or teenage daughters - whichever comes first!

This is a big investment solution for your jewellery from The Bombay Company.   Visit Bombay.ca to learn more.

I use ice cube trays from the dollar store but the above organizer is a little fancier and has larger compartments.

I use a simple hook like this to hang my long necklaces from. Attached inside a closet or on the back of a door, it works great and is extremely cost effective. 

As you can see, storing your jewellery can be an expensive endeavor or a thrifty one, it is totally your choice?

·       Visit us on Facebook and let us know what your favourite Jewellery storage solution is.   You will also be able to receive our Daily `Take 5`Organizing Task. “Take 5” challenges are posted Monday-Friday as well as other organizing tip and treats.

·        Our monthly newsletter launched at the beginning of November.   Subscription is free so please visit our website and subscribe to receive the December issue.  We are going to have an “Ask The Organizer” section in upcoming issues – to ask a question, simply email us and put “Ask The Organizer” in the subject line.

I If you are looking for a more personalized organizing solution, subscribe to our new program Minute-By-Minute Organizing to receive personalized service and plans created just for your needs.

Organizing By The Letter: H is for Hangers

Well, it has been 3 days since our 12 hour Organizing Extravaganza on Facebook and I believe I have recovered.   Who knew it would be so exhausting spending 12 hours:

·         sitting at the computer,

·         posting events every 15 minutes,

·         and responding to emails?

With that event tucked away now, it is onto other projects and events as well as continuing the blog posts for the Organizing Alphabet.  The last post was back in July and we finished with “G” is for Groceries, so it is definitely time to complete this mission.

H is for Hangers

This week,  I am going to get my “crazy on” and pull a Joan Crawford and do the “No Wire Hangers – Ever” routine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOILKHmZBwc

Why the world-wide persecution of the wire hanger you ask?   Well I am so glad you did.

Wire hangers are:

1.       not strong enough to support anything heavy (like coats and sweaters),

2.        they can rust, leaving marks on your clothes,

3.       they get tangled together in the closet,

4.        they are too thin and can ruin your clothes by poking through fine fabrics

5.       they leave marks in the shoulder areas of your clothing making it look like you have miniature horns protruding – not a good look for most,

6.       and, they leave a sharp sideways crease on pants requiring extra ironing to get rid of (and none of us wants to do extra ironing.)

So what to do with all those wire hangers?    Return them to the dry cleaners – most are happy to take them back

No that the wire hangers are gone, what on earth are you going to hang all your clothes up with?

Again, I am so glad you asked!  Here are a few options that are kinder to your clothing.  

These hangers are big space savers &  have a coating to stop clothing from slipping off the hanger.   

There are additions that can be purchased for many of these thinner hangers to ensure they do not crease pants and the shoulder additions ensure that there is no dimpling of fine clothing

This hanger is sturdy, has grooves to keep dresses with straps from falling off and a strong middle bar for pants and skirts.   Personally, I prefer this type of hanger as opposed to the space savers above.   I find these are easier on the clothes.

What else is happening at Adventures In Organizing?

·         Our Facebook page has Mini Challenges called “Take 5” that are posted Monday-Friday as well as other organizing tip and treats.  Come visit, "Like" our page, and join in on the fun

·         Our monthly newsletter launched at the beginning of November.   Sign up is free so please visit our website and sign up to receive the December issue.  We are going to have an “Ask The Organizer” section in upcoming issues – to ask a question, simply email us and put “Ask The Organizer” in the subject line

·         We have created a brand new “virtual organizing” program called Minute By Minute Organizing to provide you with one-on-one organizing assistance for just $5.00 per week.   Check out our website to learn more.   We would love to assist you get your homes and life in order and this program is designed to fit any budget.