I know it’s summer, and no one likes to mention the word ‘school’ during the summer, but I want to prepare you for what is coming. I bring up the topic of ‘school’ because just like kids, parents need to start the school year with tools to make their lives easier.
I’ve started using an app for de-cluttering my house and I wanted to share it with you so you’re ready for the day your child brings home this:
and this:
And enough three-dimesional pieces of art to fill an exhibition space at the MOMA.
Their tag line is: ‘The clutter free way to save and enjoy your child’s artwork’
I read about it in an article on apps for Moms about a year ago and decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did–I LOVE IT!
True Confessions: Despite the fact I’m a Professional Organizer, I still have to deal with the influx of my children’s artwork just like you do. What I’ve done in the past was display some of my son’s artwork, have him sort and purge all of it with me at the end of the year, photograph him with some of it, keep his best pieces and toss the rest. We still take pics of his artwork if he no longer wants to keep it but Artkive has made the process a much easier and organized one.
Now, artwork comes home from TWO children and as it comes out of their backpacks, I ‘Artkive’ the work of art and place them in each child’s room either for display or storage.
If you’d like to see the top of your horizontal surfaces this school year, read on–you can thank me later…
How to start…
• Download the Artkive app (for iPhone and Android).
• Set up an account with the name(s) of your child(ren) and their grade in school.
• Take a picture of your kid’s artwork or upload from your camera roll.
• Tag the photo with your child’s name, grade, date and title of artwork.
• Share with family and friend or turn into a book (coming soon: other products).
It’s just that simple. I haven’t created a book of my kids’ artwork yet, but it’s something I would definitely try out in the future. Currently, there are two options: 8″x8″ or 8″x11.” The cost is $25 for the first 20 pages–$1.00 for each additional page. Before holiday time, Artkive plans to expand to gifts like mugs, calendars and the like.
Why I love Artkive…
• It’s EASY to use.
• I can quickly email artwork to my husband or parents without having to first download the pictures to my computer and emailing them from there.
• All artwork is backed up in the ‘cloud.’
• It helps eliminate artwork clutter.
• It’s free. Go download it and set it up before the first day of school.
You’re welcome.
After you’ve used it for a while, come back and let me know what you think about Artkive!
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It’s hard to believe but Organized Artistry is heading into it’s 11th year in business. The time has certainly flown! In that time, I’ve written organizing tip articles for my website and almost four years ago, I started this blog.
In honor of 11 years of organizing, I share with you the top ten most popular posts of this blog–plus one bonus post to make it 11. I hope at least one of them will offer you an idea or a resource for creating and maintaining an organized life.
Peter Walsh Organizes Rachael Ray’s Kitchen
She’s got a smaller kitchen than one would assume. Peter Walsh makes cooking at home a more stress-free activity for the famous cook.
My blog posts are written with the intention of providing information, tips, resources and sometimes a good laugh. I hope they have provided you with all that and more. Thanks so much for supporting Organized Artistry!
Have you ever packed your suitcase and opened it later to find a mess? I’m talking about shampoo-spilled-all-over-your-clothes mess. How about a body lotion explosion?
Regardless of what can open, spill, or explode, the last thing you want to do when you arrive at your destination or get home from a trip is deal with messy laundry and cleaning your suitcase.
If you’re traveling by plane, train, or automobile in the near future, you’re going to want to take a close look at these…
Today’s Cool Product is: Nalgene Leakproof Bottles
Nalgene Round Leakproof Bottles
I first spotted Nalgene leak-proof bottles in the Travel section of the The Container Store. I bought a few to try–filled them with my bath gel, shampoo and moisturizer and took them on a trip. To my surprise, I arrived at my destination with no leaky bottles in my suitcase. Success! I bought more and have relied on them for peace of mind, ‘clean’ and easy travel ever since.
Besides different shaped bottles, Nalgene makes jars, too. I use jars for items with a thicker consistency such as diaper rash cream and my nighttime moisturizer. An example:
Nalgene Leakproof Jars
The bottles and jars come in different sizes but the 1 oz. and 2 oz sizes work best for airline travel.
I keep a few extra Nalgene leak-proof bottles and jars in my linen closet for when I need one at the last minute. No more running to the store before a vacation!
Now that I have two kids, I don’t go away often. But when I do, I take my “I’m-ready-to-leave-the-house-at-a-moment’s-notice” bag off the shelf. It has almost everything I need for a quick getaway–most of my toiletries are in Nalgene bottles labeled across the outside.
Which reminds me: Don’t forget to label these bottles once you’ve filled them. You don’t want to accidentally wash your hair with your face moisturizer… Use a label maker or removable labels by Avery. Blue painter’s tape and a Sharpie will work, too if pressed for time. You don’t want to miss your flight!
I love Nalgene bottles so much, I included them in one of my Container Store Haul videos on my YouTube channel! To watch it, click below.
If you’re planning to visit family or a far away country, get yourself a few Nalgene Leakproof Bottles and Jars. When you get back from your trip, I want to hear all about your adventures and your clean suitcase!
Like many Professional Organizers who live near a Container Store, I like to take time here and there to walk the aisles and check out what’s on the shelves. I’m always looking for cool, new products and boy, did I find one… I thought this one was so unique, I had to own it.
It’s called the Double Dish by a company called JosephJoseph.
Besides being in awe of the product, I thought the company name was fun, too. Turns out that JosephJoseph was started by twin brothers, Richard and Antony Joseph. They melded their experience in product design and business to form a company that designs stylish kitchen and cookware accessories (their mother is so proud..).
The ‘short-and-sweet’ function of this item is to ‘Serve snacks, hide waste.’
But wait, there’s more…
– Serve snacks in small dish, hide waste in collection dish
– Alternatively, use as two separate serving dishes
– Perfect for shelled nuts, olives and edamame beans
– Dishwasher safe
I bought it. Couldn’t wait to use it. Here’s how it works…
Put it on a flat surface. Fill the white bowl with whatever food needs to be shelled or have pits removed. I used pistachio nuts…
Eat a nut (or an olive or edamame pod) and place the shell/pit/pod through one of the open green areas of the Double Dish. When the bowl is finished, remove it to reveal what we usually want to conceal. Take it to your trash can/compost bin and dispose of it.
Put the white dish back on top of the green dish, fill with food, and repeat.
Organized eating!
Gone are the days of putting a smaller bowl with a shell/pit/pod next to the bigger bowl and hoping people realize it’s purpose.
Summer is almost upon us–wouldn’t the JosephJoseph Double Dish make a great conversation piece at your next BBQ?
Look how the 600+ of us were welcomed when we landed in New Orleans. I thought that was pretty cool–it was right next to the Arrivals and Departures sign.
Landed around 6pm and by the time I got to the Sheraton New Orleans, I was hungry. Hubby and I are members of the Starwood Preferred Guest program so I was able to use points to cover the cost of my room and upgrade me to the Club Floor. On the Club Floor is the Club Lounge. In the Club Lounge there is food–breakfast in the morning and hors d’oeuvres in the evening. The night I landed, alligator meatballs and frog legs were on the menu. I had my doubts but ate them anyway. YUM!
Now I can say I’ve eaten alligator–can you?
Three days of workshops, panels and lunches kept me very busy. But, year after year one of the most exciting parts of the NAPO Conference is the EXPO. The EXPO is a place for companies that specialize in organizing products and services to ‘share their wares’ with the Professional Organizer community.
Since I traveled with one carry-on bag and a purse, I tried my best to not grab every product sample and brochure available to me. Instead, I took pictures of some of the ‘cool products’ to remind me to look for them in stores and so I could share them with you.
Up first, some cool containers from Rubbermaid…
Dishwasher safe, BPA free, stackable, see-throught lids–perfect for pantries.
Premium Modular Canisters by Rubbermaid
ClosetMaid had a great booth at the EXPO. I learned a lot about their product and shot a quick tip video for them about hangers. Thought this floor organizer was an interesting option for getting shoes and the like off of closet floors…
SMEAD had a few ‘cool’ products this year. First, these file folders have tabs that are erasable! Use a Sharpie to write on the extra large tab. Made a mistake? Want to change the name of the file? No problem and no need for a new manila folder!
Next is the ColorVue Expanding File with SuperTabs–colorful and easy to use! Perfect for color coding. I put my hand in the middle of the ‘V’ shape and it was very easy to retrieve papers from the pockets.
‘Tree Free’–I love that name. Whoever thought of it should get a raise, in my opinion. They are made from sugar cane waste fiber. I have no idea what that is but it saves trees so it’s OK by me. Super Tabs–another great idea especially for those who have ‘large’ handwriting or a lot to say on the tab of a folder.
Jill Yesko, of Discover Organizing Inc. had a great idea. Besides being a Professional Organizer, she is the owner of Clearly Noted, a company that offers greeting cards to Professional Organizers and their clients. These cards, ‘encourage, motivate, and congratulate your organizing client.’
Her cards are brightly colored, whimsical and offer a bit of bling, too. The part I liked best was that a Professional Organizer has the option of placing a sentence on the inside of the card giving permission to the client to recycle the lovely card at the end of the week. We don’t want to make more clutter for our clients!
Kudos to Jill for creating a product that Professional Organizers can use to express their gratitude!
You paint a room in your home. You either label your paint can with a Sharpie, or your label maker. OK–maybe you don’t label your paint cans in the hopes you’ll remember where you used that color and the year you used it. The people at What’s That Paint have made the labeling process a snap with their fill-in-the-blank paint can labels. Despite their simplicity, everyone was ooohing and aaahhhing over them. They also used a paint tray instead of a box to collect business cards for a raffle–loved that creativity!
This is just a smattering of the products I saw at this year’s NAPO Conference EXPO. Absent this year was 3M/Post-it. Good thing I hadn’t used up my samples from last year. The people from Brother were also missing–they make amazing label maker products. Maybe they’ll be back for next year’s conference in Phoenix. The bigger question is–will I be there? If so, I promise to report back on some new and exciting products.
Which of these products would help you get more organized?
‘Confessions of a Professional Organizer and Former Hoarder’
Whoa! A Professional Organizer who is also a hoarder? Whaaaaat?
OK–I wasn’t really a true hoarder in the physical sense–but it makes for a great title, doesn’t it?
I didn’t hoard animals or newspapers or magazines.
I hoarded tabs.
Tabs?
If you own a Mac and use Safari to browse the web, you’re familiar with ‘Tabs.’ They enable you to open several web pages at once and you can easily switch back and forth between them.
The arrow is pointing to the ‘Tabs’ in Safari.
I am an information hound. As a small business owner and mom, I am always interested in reading articles that could help my business grow and my family flourish. The only thing I was missing was: TIME.
I had a five year old and a one year old and very little time to read, let alone process the information I was reading. So, if I didn’t have time to read a long article, or I was thinking of ordering a product from a web page, or thought I might need certain information someday, I would leave the tab open in Safari. At times, I had 7-10 windows open with 8-10 tabs open in each. Turns out, my tab hoarding was not a very good system. Oh, and I never shut down my computer because that would mean I’d lose all my tabs. Can you tell where this story is heading?
I started getting unusual error messages on my computer. Then one day about a month before my Apple Care Protection Plan expired for my Mac, my computer said, “I’ve had it with all your open tabs!” and crashed.
I made an appointment at the Apple Store and when my Genius Dude heard my story, he told me that in all his years working at the Genius Bar, he had never heard of anyone keeping so many tabs open at once. I was overworking my computer and my tab hoarding tendencies had to change.
Adrian, my Genius Dude, brought my computer back from the dead. I was so grateful for his patience and expertise that I vowed to not return to my tab hoarding ways. I started bookmarking websites I wanted to refer to again. A few weeks later, the App Gods looked down upon me–sleep-deprived, time-starved, information overloaded me and arranged for a productivity app by the name of Pocket (formerly Read It Later) to be placed in an article I was moments away from reading.
I read the article. I checked out Pocket.I couldn’t believe that an app could be such a perfect match for my needs.
What is Pocket and how could it be so life-changing?
According to its website, “Pocket (formerly Read It Later) was founded in 2007 by Nate Weiner to help people who discover an interesting article, video or web page, but don’t have time to view it. Once saved to Pocket, the list of content is visible on any device — phone, tablet or computer. It can be viewed while waiting in line, on the couch or during commutes or travel — even offline.”
When I first read about Pocket, I thought, “Holy moly–this app was MADE for ME! I’m always discovering interesting items on the web but I rarely have time to view them.”
I went to the Pocket website, installed the Pocket bookmarklet into my ‘Bookmarks Bar’ and immediately began putting articles in my ‘pocket.’ Now, when I come across an article I want to save and read at a later time, all I do is click on the bookmarklet. A sign then appears at the top of the web page that says ‘Pocket – Page Saved!.’ I can read my saved articles on my iPhone as well as on my laptop. Happiness abounds.
Some facts about Pocket:
– The list of articles you accumulate is called a ‘queue.’
– You can view your queue in list form or as a grid with large visuals.
– When you select the article you want to read from your queue, it offers you a stripped-down version of it without ads/visuals as well as a link to the original web page.
– You can type a word in the ‘Search’ box to look for articles you’ve saved on a specific topic
– You can assign Pocket your email address and email a link to Pocket, too!
Best of all–it doesn’t cost a dime!
How has Pocket changed my life?
– My computer has had no problems since it’s major crash in April of 2012.
– I know that if I don’t have time to read an article, it will be ‘in my pocket’ for future retrieval.
– I can retrieve that article/recipe/video over and over again.
– I store often-used recipes in Pocket. When cooking, I bring them up on my laptop which lives on my kitchen counter.
– Pocket is a repository for all the articles I may need in the future on how to grow my business. I know they will be there when I am ready for them.
-Pocket allows me to read, learn and grow on my own time.
Pocket currently has over 4.5 million registered users and is available for major devices and platforms including iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire and Android.
Want to be the 4.6 millionth user? How would Pocket make your life easier?
You’ve decided to organize your files–that’s great! I’m so proud of you.
You purchased hanging folders for this project, right? Good. You’re on your way!
Open the box of hanging folders. Somewhere in the box is a plastic baggie filled with plastic tabs and paper inserts.
Take a close look at the tabs. They’re small–only 2″ across. You can’t write much on them. I’m going to tell you right now–they’re going to frustrate you to no end as you attempt to use them for your filing project.
I’d like you to consider NOT using them.
I know you paid for them. But, I’m going to ask you to spend a little more money on your files.
The ‘Cool Product’ that will make it easier for you to locate, retrieve and store your papers is…
The 3.5″ Hanging File Poly Tab
Photo: SMEAD
What are the benefits to using 3.5″ tabs?
– they have more room to write on
– larger tabs means you can write larger on them or create labels with large letters for easy readbility
– find files more quickly with a larger tab
Whenever I work with a client on getting their papers organized/setting up a file system, I always recommend they use 3.5″ tabs. I pull a pack of these out of my ‘magic’ bag of organizing supplies, and people are amazed–most have never seen the 3.5″ tabs. They only know about the 2″ tabs that come in the box of file folders. Happiness abounds. Joyful categorizing and labeling begins. Another client’s life made easier with a Cool Product…
A year and a half ago, I discovered a product that revolutionized my sandwich-making abilities. No, I didn’t hire a chef–I bought a Fridge Bin for my refrigerator.
My food, especially my bread products, was getting lost, smushed and squashed. While strolling through the aisles of The Container Store one day (Yes, that’s where Professional Organizers stroll…) I happened upon the Fridge Bin. I thought the concept was great–but would it function well in my fridge?
If you read my first Fridge Binz post you know that it was a success. And, I’m happy to report that almost a year and a half later, it still holds my bread products and saves them from being mutilated on a daily basis.
That’s some of my bread products safely nestled in the Fridge Bin…
I was so happy with how it functioned in my refrigerator, I bought another one! This one wasn’t for keeping my bread organized–it was for baby food. Those dang jars and little containers are very good at hiding! And when they hide, the food inside of them goes bad. Can’t feed that to a baby…
I had tried organizing my youngest son’s food on the top right shelf of our refrigerator but somehow, it would all migrate across the shelf, and start hiding behind and mingling with other foods–not to be seen for days.
Back to The Container Store I went and here’s what I came home with…
It’s deeper and more narrow than my first purchase. It’s perfect for corralling my little guy’s food items and it’s BPA free, too.
It lives on the right side of the top shelf of my refrigerator–the spot where I had begun my organizing process. It’s a place for me to throw my son’s little containers, baggies of leftovers or anything I’m defrosting for him. No more lost toddler food which means the Fridge Bin is saving me money and time. I like that!
A while back, I wrote an article for my website about my favorite organizing products. Years have passed but my favorites have not changed. One of those favorite organizing products is the Helper Shelf.
What is a ‘helper shelf?’
A helper shelf divides the horizontal space of a shelf, offering more storage space above and below itself. They come in many different widths and heights—some are even width-adjustable. Looking for one to match your decor? You’ll find most are made of chrome, plastic, metal or wood. Helper shelves can be found in the same aisle as other kitchen organizing products and purchased at home stores like Target or in specialty stores such as The Container Store. They can be used anywhere you need to double a shelf space.
I recently counted how many helper shelves I was using in my home–about 15! And I have a few in my basement that are waiting to be used when the need arises.
Do you have places in your home that could use a helper shelf? If so, get ready to get organized. Here are my top ten helper shelf ‘hot-spots’ for your home:
1. Linen closet – Besides sheets and towels, linen closets often house medicine, health and beauty supplies, lightbulbs and other small items. This is a picture of the shelf in my linen closet where I keep health items for my two kids. Notice–lots of little packages. A perfect spot for a helper shelf!
2. Medicine cabinet – If there’s a spot in our homes with small bottles and boxes, it’s a medicine cabinet. Most standard-sized helper shelves don’t fit in a medicine cabinet but while shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop a few months ago, I came across one that was made especially to fit in medicine cabinets. I bought it for a whopping $1.99. Turns out I didn’t need a helper shelf in my medicine cabinet so I now use it on my…
3. Kitchen counter – I have a small kitchen and need certain items handy. Thought the ‘medicine cabinet’ helper shelf would work well to organize items near my stovetop. This is a picture of the small helper shelf in action–shorter items below and taller items on top. It’s been working very well for me!
4. Kitchen cabinet – This is where many people use helper shelves. My kitchen does not have much cabinet space so I had to maximize the space as best I could.
Between these two cabinets, I have five helper shelves. They came in extra handy when I had kids and had to make room for their kiddie plates, bowls and cups.
5. Freezer – I have one of those older refrigerators with the freezer on top. I use a helper shelf to double the space that might otherwise be a pileup of bagels, frozen veggies and leftovers. Small items such as the ice cube trays fit well under the shelf while flat items stack well on top.
6. Pantry – Sometimes we can adjust our pantry shelves and sometimes we can’t. If you have tall pantry shelves that can’t be adjusted, a helper shelf will create more space. Double the space means double the room for food storage! Here, small food items such as jello and pudding boxes fit well underneath and larger boxes stack equally as well on top.
7. Playroom – Kids have big toys and small toys and as a parent, I know that not all shelves accommodate all sizes of toys. Place a helper shelf on a tall shelf to store puzzles or board games on top and create a home for small toys like cars or a basket of Beanie Babies underneath.
8. Home Office – Use a helper shelf in a closet or storage piece to neatly stack and store office supplies. This will make it much easier to find and retrieve the supplies you need.
9. Laundry room – Like the playroom, a laundry room also has large items and small items that both need an organized home. Purchase a heavy-duty helper shelf for detergent storage and place small items such as dryer sheets and a receptacle for lonely socks below.
10. Over/Under Kitchen Sink – I had one of these when I lived in an apartment years ago. It was a great way to make more room for me in my already tiny kitchen. I put my sponge underneath the shelf and kept dishwashing soap and a few decorative items on top.
While at the NAPO Conference in Baltimore this past Spring, I got to meet a lovely representative from SMEAD at our Product EXPO. She and I chatted about office products, ‘liked’ each other on Facebook and a few months later, she asked me if I would want to review SMEAD products on my blog.
What organizer can say no to checking out new organizing products?
A few weeks later, I received the MO File System. MO stands for ‘My Organizer.’ There are three parts to the MO File system: a folder kit, a file case and a case wrap. Here’s a video with all the details:
I received three pieces: the File Case, the Case Wrap, and the Financial Kit. They come in different colors but I got the green pattered one which coincidentally fits in with the decor of my home office.
Besides the Financial Kit, the other kits sold are the MO Medical Kit, the MO Project Kit and the MO Starter Kit. According to the SMEAD website,
“MO file kits provide all the help you need to get organized. Each kit contains 9 letter size SuperTab folders, one label sheet with pre-printed and/or blank labels and a detailed instruction sheet.”
The My Organizer system can be found at most office supply stores and on Amazon.com.
Why consider the My Organizer File system for your paper organizing needs?
– It fits easily into a letter-sized file drawer – It is easily transportable – It’s a great way to organize papers for a particular project or aspect of your life
I haven’t started using it yet but here’s what I like about My Organizer File system so far…
– It’s compact – The File Case slides out of both sides of the Case Wrap – The Super Tabs on the file folders are huge! Plenty of space for writing file descriptions.
I have a lot of business and family-related papers that always need action or are pending so I’m going to explore the features of he My Organizer File system and give it a try on my desk. I’ll keep you posted!
A blog by Professional Organizer Stacey Agin Murray bursting with cool products, 'gotta-tell-a-friend' ideas, and a whole lotta organizing know-how. Learn more...
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About Stacey
When you grow up in a 5’x12′ bedroom, you learn to organize pretty quickly! I chose to take that knowledge and turn it into a business helping people find what they need when they need it. I’m also the author of The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook–a book that offers wedding thank you note-related organizing tips and how-to’s plus 101 unique sample thank you notes (what bride can’t use that?).
Contact Stacey to Get Started!
