It was a typical trip to Costco for me–five bags of Tostitos Scoops, tissue boxes, the famous ‘Costco Rotisserie Chicken,’ and a few items that I never knew I needed…
If I’m short on time, I don’t usually explore the aisles with the car/outdoor/electronics because it’s rare that I ‘find’ anything I need in there. But, this time I turned the corner from the produce section, passing electronics on my way to the register, and found this:
Today’s ‘Cool Product:’ The Battery Daddy
(And a whole lot of them!)
It was on sale for $9.99–how could I resist? Organizing my home’s battery collection was not exactly my top priority but when I saw the Battery Daddy (and the great price) I had to bring it home with me.
The sale price enticed me to buy it but what was really my reasoning?
This was my household battery storage system…
Yes–all the batteries are in one spot so I do get points for organization and grouping ‘like with like’ but it wasn’t always easy to find what I needed. The poor AAs and AAAs were always cowering under the weight of the Cs and Ds. And when we bought extra batteries in the event of a storm, the packaging stuck out of the top and we couldn’t use the lid of the container. I don’t need to have my batteries stored in rainbow order but I wanted to step it up a bit from the open bin on the shelf of our garage.
I showed the Battery Daddy to my husband when I got home (I did put the chicken away first…).
“Look, Honey!” I said to him. “Look what organizing product I found at Costco today!”
He knows that I usually come home with the Tostitos Scoops, tissues, and ‘the chicken’ but I think I surprised him with this one.
“Great!” he said.
“It was only $10 on sale!” I replied gleefully.
“Have fun filling it!” he yelled gleefully because he was thankful he didn’t have to be the one to fill it.
Speaking of filling it, this complete battery storage system holds 180 batteries. It weighs 2.2 lbs. empty and weighs 13 lbs. when it’s full. It has the capacity to hold:
• 72 AAAs
• 76 AAs
• 8 9 Volts
• 10 Cs
• 8 Ds
• 12 Button cells
There are even two ‘surprise’ slots for storing batteries in the handle!
AND–it’s comes with a BATTERY TESTER! That was what sealed the deal for me. My days of not knowing whether a battery still had a charge or not were about to be over. I have faint memories of my father owning a battery tester (probably from the now-defunct Radio Shack) and having me test batteries at our kitchen table. It was fun to do back then–I plan to pass the love of battery testing on to my kids all thanks to the Battery Daddy.
Features:
• Double sided design – the other side is just for AA battery storage
• See-through lid (on both sides)
• Bright red–easy to spot on a shelf
• Sturdy handle with finger grooves (useful when heavy!)
• Did I mention it came with a battery tester?
Here’s what our container of batteries looked like…
Here’s what they looked while I sorted, battery-tested, and purged some…
Here’s what they look like after transferring them from the plastic bin to the Battery Daddy…
Love it! 😍
Some Battery Daddy Tips:
• If you fill it to capacity, it weighs 13 lbs. Please make sure you store it on a sturdy lower shelf, cabinet, or standing upright on the floor. You don’t want this case to crack or break the bottom of a drawer (or your foot).
• Store a set of regular-sized and/or mini screwdrivers near the Battery Daddy. Where there’s a need for batteries, there’s often a need for a screwdriver!
• Along with some packages of AAAs, AAs, Cs and Ds, it’s the perfect gift for a new dad or mom–they just don’t know it yet (wink wink). If you have kids, you know that while kids don’t run on batteries (they run on chicken nuggets…), much of what they own does require batteries from baby swings to remote control cars to Xbox controllers. Makes a useful housewarming gift as well.
One might ask–Do I really need 180 batteries or an organizing tool that is able to hold 180 batteries? If you don’t, here are a few battery organizers that might work better for your needs…
Even though our household does not need storage for 180 batteries, I feel the Battery Daddy is totally worth the price. It’s going to make finding the batteries my family I need when we need them practically effortless.
No more sifting through cluttered junk drawers or plastic baggies searching for batteries! No more wondering whether your batteries still have ‘juice’ left in them. The Battery Daddy–it’s my latest ‘Cool Product’ pick.
As a Professional Organizer in business almost nineteen years (!) I have heard the above declarations more times than I can count. I’ve recently coined a phrase I offer to my clients when they feel like it’s all too much:
Starting ‘small’ is the solution to dealing with clutter. De-cluttering a whole room is overwhelming. Starting small by focusing on one teeny-tiny part of that room is more manageable.
Starting ‘easy’ helps us to build our de-cluttering ‘muscles.’ ‘Easy’ items are usually ones with little-to-no sentimental or monetary value. The decision making process takes barely any brain power when we start with the ‘easy’ stuff. Once we’ve trained our decision-making muscles on the easy items, we’re better equipped to make the tougher decisions later on.
Are you familiar with the phrase, ‘The shoemaker’s son has no shoes?’ Well, sometimes I’m so focused on organizing spaces for others that I don’t focus on organizing my own! Case in point–my kid’s linen closet. OK, really it was one shelf in the linen closet…
I have two kids and they share a linen closet where I store their sheets, towels, extra blankets, and any medicine/first aid items they may need or require. When I only had one child, the shelves in this linen closet weren’t as full. Now that there are two of them, there’s A LOT more stuff.
The sheets, towels, and blanket shelves were under control but what was not was the shelf I had dedicated to my kid’s medicine and first aid items. For the first few years, I had a couple of tubes, bottles, and boxes of things that I could find easily. Then after kid number two arrived, the shelf started filling up. I could still find what I was looking for but I would sometimes accidentally knock things over and cause an unwanted ‘domino effect’ resulting in a disorganized mess.
Full disclosure–this is what it looked like:
Forget about the fact that it looked cluttered when I opened the door to this closet. Visually, it was unappealing (and appalling!) to me. I needed to block off time in my calendar to organize this spot. I knew decluttering a linen closet shelf wouldn’t take me long–I just had to create a plan and stick to it.
It was time to take my own advice to start small, start easy–just start. And get the job done…
I followed the 5 steps to getting any space in the home organized–created by Professional Organizer Julie Morgenstern in her book, Organizing from the Inside Out. This is the 5 step method I use with my clients when organizing any space in their homes. It works every time!
Step 1: The Sort
I took all items off the shelf and placed them on a nearby staircase. I sorted them by type and for the most part found that they fell into four categories: First Aid, Medicine, Nose, and Teeth. I also created a category of ‘Expired’ and ‘No Longer Used.’ to be dealt with during the next step.
Step 2: The Purge
Once I sorted all the items, it was easy to see what could be purged. Expired medicine was dealt with in an ecologically-friendly manner and boxes were flattened and added to our recycle bin. Papers were filed, garbage was collected and added to our household trash. I was left with only the things my kids presently use or would need in the future.
Step 3: Assign a Home
This step asks the question, ‘Where are the post-purge items all going to live?’ I knew they were going to live on this shelf in the linen closet so this step was pretty easy to breeze through. After the purge, I placed each grouping of the remaining items back onto the shelf by category until I could complete Step 4.
Step 4: Containerize
I was certain I wanted to use some kind of drawer system to store the medical/first aid items. Quick and easy access to meds and first aid supplies is key when your child is wheezing, sneezing, or bleeding! I measured the height, width, and depth of the shelf and took to the internet to locate a product that would work.
A brief search led me to the Small Tint Stackable Storage Drawers from The Container Store. They were colorful and just the right size to fit two-stacked one on top of another on the linen closet shelf. Lucky for me, I live in driving distance of their location in Paramus, NJ so I hopped in my car and set out to get one step closer to completing my small and easy organizing project. I chose blue and orange because my boys like the NY Knicks and tolerate the Mets because their dad is a life-long fan.
I brought the drawers home, filled each drawer by category, and placed them on the shelf. Organizing success!
Step 5: Equalize
(also known as Maintain)
This is the step that comes after the organizing is done and systems are in place. Every so often, depending upon the how often you use the items, it is necessary to do what’s called ‘maintenance.’
In this case, every few weeks, I peek in the drawers and take inventory on meds, flossers, band-aids, and lip balm. I straighten up other items on the shelf such as shampoo bottles and hand sanitizer and make room for anything new that my kids have started using (deodorant–yikes!). Decluttering a linen closet shelf or any space in your home won’t take long if you keep up with maintaining it!
You may notice that I did not add any labels to the outside of the bins. I tossed the idea around but since the drawers are translucent, it’s fairly easy to see their contents without opening the drawer. As my kids become more independent and access the items on their own, I may choose to add labels. But, for now I like how seamless and colorful it looks when I open the linen closet door.
Not every organizing project has to be on a grand scale for it to make a positive impact on your life. Some are as small as a drawer, a shelf, or a corner of your desk. Even organizing your wallet, your car’s glove compartment, or a bucket full of batteries can save you time, money, and space. Regardless of the size of the project, block off time on your calendar, follow the five steps, and start. Start small. Start easy. Just start.
What small and easy organizing project will you start this week?
I have been thinking about blogging about meal planning for a while. With the coronavirus pandemic currently a part of our everyday lives, there isn’t a better time to talk about it.
I’ve been a Professional Organizer for eighteen years. I’m also the ‘head chef’ in my family. One of the most vital organizing systems I’ve created in my home is the meal planning I do for my family.
Why do I meal plan?
I grew up with my mom planning our meals–I witnessed the benefits of planning ahead. As a single woman (an elementary school teacher living on a tight budget) I shopped, packed my own lunches, and planned dinners according to the needs of my schedule. Now, as a wife and mom, good nutrition, multiple family food allergies, and a busy lifestyle make meal planning a necessity to stay on top of our food needs.
Why is it important to meal plan?
We eat every day. Multiple times a day. To live. There’s no getting around that…
Anything we do multiple times a day, every day should have some kind of automation so we don’t have to constantly be thinking about it.
Meal Planning is a multi-step system and organizing strategy designed to take the every-day-multiple-times-a-day thought process of ‘what-are-we-going-to-eat?’ out of your head and put it onto paper or your favorite digital tool.
You want to avoid organizing your sock drawer–OK. I’ll give that to you. But, please–don’t avoid meal planning. Especially now.
Why is its important to meal plan NOW?
In the time of coronavirus, food shopping is considered an essential trip outside of your home. For safety reasons, we’re supposed to stay out of public spaces as much as possible. This is not the time to be running to the grocery store for a forgotten ingredient or because you can’t think of what to cook for dinner.
Meal planning is a time management strategy but now, it is also a safety measure that will ensure you spend as little time as possible food shopping in public. You’ll also know exactly what recipes you’ll be making, what foods you’ll be eating, and when you’ll be eating them–one less thing to think about every day when we have so many other recent lifestyle changes to juggle.
*If you currently do most or all of your food shopping online due to age, illness or personal choice, it’s even more important to take the time to create a meal plan for you and your family.
If you’re a beginner to meal planning (or any other organizing) I advise you to start small, start easy, and start where you are. I want you to have the tools necessary for meal planning–not only for the sake of good nutrition, saving money and time, but also to keep you safe.
What are the benefits to meal planning?
Besides promoting healthier eating, meal planning saves you time, money, and stress.
Time
With meal planning, there’s no need to take time out of your day to run to the market, find a parking spot, grab a few items, stand on line, come home and eat later than you wanted to. Meal planning will put hours back into your life!
Money
With a meal planning system in place, there’s no need to pull out a menu and order last minute takeout–often more expensive than a home-cooked meal. Fewer trips to the store means fewer opportunities for impulse shopping which can add up to hundreds of dollars a year. With many people out of work at this time, meal planning is a necessary part of tightening up a budget.
Stress
This coronavirus pandemic is causing us to feel more stressed than usual. Our brains are working on overdrive. With that being said–we HAVE to eat. But, we don’t have to keep all that food-knowledge in our head. Meal planning takes the every day decision-making out of your brain.
“Your mind is meant for having ideas, not for holding them” says David Allen (the founder of the Getting Things Done work-life management system). Bluntly said, (by me)–your brain is not a storage device! We already have enough swirling around up there–we shouldn’t keep any more information up there than we need to!
Are you ready to learn how to meal plan? Great! Follow the steps to help you get organized for meal planning…
My Seven Step System for Meal Planning:
Step 1: Do a Brain Dump
Take four separate pieces of paper. Write the word ‘breakfast’ one one, ‘lunch’ on the next piece, ‘dinner’ on the third and ‘snacks’ at the top of the fourth piece of paper.
Take a few minutes to do a ‘brain dump’ of what meals/snacks you like to eat and write them on the appropriate papers.
Ex:
breakfast = almond butter on a bagel, blueberry pancakes and syrup, cereal with milk and fruit
lunch = chicken nuggets and french fries, turkey sandwiches and chips, cheese sticks with crackers and baby carrots
dinner = chicken cutlets/steam-in-bag veggies/rice, spaghetti and meatballs
snacks = dried apricots, Oreo cookies, pretzel rods
Step 2: Ask for Ideas
Gather the members of your household and ask them to brainstorm their favorite meals in each of the categories and add them to the appropriate lists.
Everyone eats? Everyone gets a say!
*In the time of coronavirus–remember to also list out meals you may be cooking for/delivering to family and friends. You’ll need to add those ingredients to your shopping list, too.
Step 3: Start Meal Planning
Now that you’ve written down meals that everyone likes to eat, it’s time to start meal planning!
Two things to consider:
-what recipes you want to make
-how many days you want to plan for–two? Five? A whole week?
It’s now time to take out a new piece of paper (to plan out your meals) and consult those four pieces of paper from Step 1 and Step 2 for ideas on what meals to plan for.
As an example, let’s create a one-day sample meal plan using the meals from above:
MONDAY
breakfast: cereal with milk and fruit
lunch: turkey sandwiches and chips
dinner: spaghetti and meatballs
snack: pretzels
Whether it’s one day or a whole week, do the above exercise for each day you are planning meals for.
*It’s important during this coronavirus crisis that you be in the supermarket as infrequently as possible for everyone’s safety. Please try your hand at planning out a few of your meals. If you’re not used to doing much cooking or meal planning, start off planning for 1-2 days and slowly work your way up to a week’s worth of meals. Don’t stress about this–start where you are.
Step 4: Take Inventory
After listing out all the food items you’ll need for the meals you’re planning to make, it’s time to take inventory and see if you already have the ingredients for those meals. Take the list from Step 3 and a pen and carry it to your fridge, freezer, and pantry area(s). If you already have the item at home, circle it on your list–no need to buy it (unless you want to stock up on more while at the store). Any items not circled will be added later to your Shopping List.
*If you’re using a specific recipe, take time to review it to determine what ingredients you’ll need.
Step 5: Shop at Home
You don’t always have to start from scratch. Meal planning can also start at home. It’s a time, money, and stress saver to meal plan with…
-items that are about to turn green and fuzzy in your fridge
-items that have been in your freezer long enough to have a few ice crystals on them
-items in your pantry that are about to expire
-items on sale at the supermarket
Maybe you have mushrooms that have 1-2 days left in them. Plan to make mushroom omelettes for lunch or chop the mushrooms into the sauce to go over spaghetti and meatballs. Or, maybe on page 3 of your supermarket’s sale circular, you see that chicken cutlets are on sale. Consider buying enough to make chicken based meals once a week for a month.
Add these ‘shop at home’ and ‘supermarket sale’ options to your meal plan for the next few days. This is not the time to let food go to waste!
Step 6: Put it on your Calendar
There’s a famous time management quote that says, “What gets scheduled–gets done.” Let’s combine that with David Allen’s quote from above about how your brain is not a storage room. Take your meal planning ideas out of your head and put them on your calendar!
What day do you want to make that spaghetti and meatball dinner? What day next week do you have a 4pm Zoom call?
Take out your calendar and organize those meals you just spent time planning for.
Some things to consider…
-Do you want to eat meat and vegetarian meals on alternating days?
-Do you want to create ‘theme nights’ such as Meatless Monday and Taco Tuesday?
-Which days do you want to cook? Which days would you prefer to support a local restaurant with a take-out meal?
-Do you think you’ll have enough food for a ‘leftovers night?’
All good questions to ask yourself while scanning your calendar and meal planning for the days of the week ahead of you.
*In the future (after the coronavirus pandemic is over) your schedule may include days/nights where you’re working late, your son has to be at baseball practice, or your daughter has a dance class. Check your calendar for those events and plan to make on-the-go and quick-prep meals (or takeout) on those days.
Step 7: Make Your Shopping List
You’re ready to make your shopping list! Grab a long piece of paper or your phone (whichever you prefer) and start listing out the foods you’ll be needing to purchase for your pre-determined amount of meals.
Here are two ways to do this:
-List out your foods by category (an easy place to start–especially for beginners)
-List out your foods by supermarket aisle (for advanced meal planers and/or those who are familiar with the aisles of the stores they shop in).
Listing foods on your shopping list by category can look like this:
Ex: spaghetti and meatball dinner from above (with a box of spaghetti already in your pantry)
Shopping List
Cans/Jars/Boxes: spaghetti sauce
Bread: Italian bread
Meat: 1.5 – 2 lb package of 85/15 ground beef
Spices: oregano
Dairy: butter
Produce: lettuce, cucumber, fresh garlic
Listing foods on your shopping list by supermarket aisle can resemble this (using my local ShopRite as an example):
Ex: spaghetti and meatball dinner from above (with a box of spaghetti already in your pantry)
Shopping List
lettuce, cucumber, fresh garlic (my store opens into the produce section)
oregano
spaghetti sauce
1.5 – 2 lb. package of 85/15 ground beef
Italian bread
butter (dairy is the last aisle in my store)
This infographic spells out the basics…
Congratulations! You’re a meal planner! The more often you do it, the easier it will become–I promise! And over time, you will notice your meal planning efforts saving you time, money, and stress–now in crisis time and anytime.
Be safe. Be healthy. Be a meal planner!
What meals will you plan this week? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below…
I created my first organizing product ‘Container Store Haul Video!’
Maybe you’re scratching your head and asking–what’s a ‘haul video?’
A ‘haul video’ is “a video posted on a social media site, in which someone shows and describes products they have purchased during a particular episode of shopping.” (Thank you, Oxford Dictionary)
Last week I got an email from The Container Store. They were having their 25% off Closet Essentials sale (woo-hoo!)–that’s when I usually stock up on whatever hangers I need for the laundry room and closets in my home. It’s not just my clients that need organizing supplies–I do, too!
So, off to The Container Store I went. Luckily, I live about ten minutes away from the Paramus, NJ location and instead of rushing in and rushing out of the store (Busy Mom Syndrome) and just grabbing what I needed, I allotted extra time to be able to walk around the aisles and check out some new products.
And literally, the first aisle I walked down, I found the first product I talk about in my video. It wasn’t on my shopping list but I had been looking for something like it for a while.
These products are going to make my life a lot easier. If you need one (or all!) of these products, here’s what I bought:
Thanks for watching my first Container Store Haul Video! Would any of the products I purchased be helpful to you? Share in the comments below.
This video can also be found on my new YouTube channel which is in it’s infancy. As I get more familiar with the platform, I’ll be creating more videos to help guide you on your journey to an organized life.
This October marks the 8th anniversary of my blog. That’s A LOT of idea-generation, image creating, and typing!
I started my blog in October of 2009 shortly after I signed my son up for preschool. This was before I was on Facebook, before Pinterest was created, and before social media was a ‘thing.’ (Can you even imagine?!?) Since then, I’ve moved my blog from Blogger to Word Press, had a second child, and joined Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Oh, and I wrote a book and survived a major home renovation project, too. My blog has evolved over time–I have found that doing yearly goal-setting has helped me stay on track.
In past ‘blogiversary’ posts, I’ve set blogging goals for the year ahead. I didn’t do too badly in 2017…
My 2017 goals:
• Boosting Pinterest traffic to my website/blog
Success! In checking my blog ‘stats,’ the top place where people are coming from to check out my blog and website is Pinterest. My most popular pin on Pinterest is the blog post I wrote back in February, ” 3 Thought-Provoking Ted Talks That Will Inspire You to Get Organized.” I still ‘heart’ Pinterest and see it as a integral part of my online presence for 2018.
• Create images in Canva
Success! I created a Canva image for each of my new blog posts and slowly, slowly, I am updating images from old blog posts using Canva. It’s a great way to freshen up an older yet still relevant blog post. My previous life as a graphic designer has really come in handy…
• Create a blogging calendar
I’ve tried this so many times but have not found success with creating a blogging calendar. Instead, I created a paper Blog Post Template which helps me to organize my thoughts on a topic I intend to blog about. The template is a place to brain dump my ideas, jot down keywords and alt-image text for Pinterest, and websites I’ll want to link to in my post. Half the work of writing a blog post is done once I’ve filled out my template. So, although I did not find success with a blog calendar, I created a thought-organizing tool that did work for me.
• Stop comparing myself to other bloggers
For the most part, I’ve been good at this. I’ve noticed that blogging has changed–it isn’t what it was when I started eight years ago. For many, blogging has evolved as a full-time business and that is something I cannot keep up with and do not wish for as part of my business model. I’ll be putting my time into some new and exciting ventures such as Virtual Organizing, marketing my wedding thank you note book, and outlining some ideas for my next book.
My 2018 goals:
• Keep using Canva to update images on already existing blog posts
Right now, half of my blog posts have Canva, Pinterest-worthy, and ready images. I’ll be chipping away at my blog title list to replace old images with new Canva-generated ones.
• Blog a minimum of 1x a month
At the beginning of 2017, I set a goal for myself–post to my blog a minimum of 2x a month. I did OK in the beginning but as my client list got longer and other Organized Artistry projects took precedence, blogging got left on the back burner. Creating the Blog Post Template helped me solidify future post ideas and I’ll be using it in 2018. So, my goal is to blog 1x a month but if I write two posts in a month or three posts in two months then YAY ME.
Stylists recommend matching your shoe and sock color to make you look taller. As a petite woman, I don’t want to appear any shorter than I already am so I try to match my sock color to my pant or shoe color. Sometimes all three are the same color and I’m feelin’ pretty tall!
Then one day, I left the house wearing black pants and navy blue socks.
Some of you might say, ‘So, what?’ Some of you might be shrieking in horror. I was shrieking.
When I got home later that day, I looked closely at my sock drawer. One side was for lighter colored socks and one side was for darker colored socks. The lighting in my bedroom wasn’t that fabulous. I could see that my navy blue and black socks (especially the knee-hi’s) were looking a lot alike. Something had to be done to prevent another fashion faux-pas!
Now, this scenario pre-dates my professional organizing days by about five years, but organizing is in my DNA so I set out to find a solution. I needed an easy, low-to-no-cost product that would separate my socks so I could find the color I needed quickly. I ended up getting a box from my neighborhood liquor store, took careful measurements and cut the cardboard. Twenty minutes later, I had sock drawer dividers!
Almost twenty year old cardboard!
Believe it or not, these pieces of cardboard survived three moves and many sock drawer purges. But after close to twenty years of service, I decided to retire my cardboard drawer dividers. We had recently renovated our home and the built-in dresser in my new closet had different dimensions. It was time to look for an upgrade.
I took to the internet to assist in my search for souped-up drawer dividers. After reviewing sizes, colors, and pricing, it was a no-brainer. It had to be an OXO product–The OXO Expandable Drawer Organizer (set of two).
I love OXO products. To put it bluntly–they’re made well with ergonomics in mind. I love, love, love my OXO POP Containers and other OXO kitchen tools I own. For years. Still working. Still in great condition.
From their website:
“OXO is dedicated to providing innovative consumer products that make everyday living easier. OXO was founded on the philosophy of Universal Design, which means the design of products usable by as many people as possible.”
But, did I really need an OXO product in my sock drawer? Once you install the drawer dividers, they just sit there doing their dividing job–right?
Here’s why I purchased the OXO Expandable Drawer Organizer…
Reputation – OXO has a long-time reputation for creating products with the user in mind. They’ve been around since 1990 and continue to create innovative tools for everyday life.
Design – I liked the way the dividers looked. They’re white and match my drawers. They have rubber ends so they don’t damage the inside of drawers.
Construction – OXO makes their products out of sturdy plastics and these drawer dividers are no different. When I took them out of the box, I felt the expansion mechanism was sturdy and would hold up to repeated changes in size if I needed to use them elsewhere someday. I was willing to spend a little more money on them because I felt they would last.
Reliability – I’ve had OXO products in my kitchen that were given to me as bridal shower gifts. Sixteen years later, I’m still using many of them. If kitchen tools I use multiple times a week can last almost two decades, so can drawer dividers.
Bonus: I also had a 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupon which made the purchase a little easier on the wallet. And it makes me happy to look at them every time I open my sock drawer. There’s something to be said for that, too. I’ve been using them for six months and no complaints from me or my socks. They’re working well, looking great and my black and blue socks live on opposite sides of the divider.
My organized sock drawer!
So, if your socks drawer needs some organization, consider using one or two sets of The OXO Expandable Drawer Organizer. It’s my latest ‘Cool Product’ pick.
What have you done to make your socks easier to find?
As you may have read in my past three blog posts, last year I was a little busy with a home addition/renovation project. I knew it would be a challenging and rewarding process–and it was! But, there was one thing I didn’t realize would need to happen after we had moved back in…
I was going to have to find new ‘homes’ for almost everything we owned.
Although I don’t formally ‘move’ clients as part of Organized Artistry’s list of services, on occasion, I have helped a client unpack their belongings into a new home. Within that process, I have assisted clients in finding new ‘homes’ for their kitchenware, linens and anything else that needed a home. With all the work that went into making our new house safe and beautiful, it never dawned upon me that I was going to have to figure out new ‘homes’ for everything we owned. Our house barely looked the same after the renovation/addition. Much of our old furniture was gone. We had a brand new kitchen with ample cabinets and pull-out drawers (squee!)–new closets, vanities, and storage options, too.
One of the storage pieces we created–four drawers to hold BBQ and entertaining pieces.
Yup. I’m a Professional Organizer and ‘finding new homes for everything we owned’ had not made it to my To-Do list.
We had lived in our pre-renovation house with mostly the same furniture and storage systems for fourteen years. For fourteen years the tape measure, the check book, and most of what we owned had ‘lived’ in the same place. I always knew where to find things when I needed them. Now, after almost six months in our house, it’s more like…
“Honey, where’s the (fill-in-the-blank)?
or
“Honey, do you remember where we decided to put the (fill-in-the-blank)?
or, once in a while it’s more like…
“WHERE IS THAT (fill-in-the-blank)? I COULD SWEAR I PUT IT IN (that drawer, that closet, that room)!
I’ll be honest–this has been pretty frustrating for me as a person and for someone who finds ‘good homes’ for people’s belongings for a living! It has left me discombobulated and a little freaked-out when I can’t find something.
Like I tell my clients, nothing happens overnight and I have to remind myself of that, too. A task this large needed to be broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks. The joke is, “How do you eat an elephant?” and the answer is, “one bite at a time…” It’s an ongoing process. I broke it down into three parts: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary (like on the color wheel). Here’s how I’ve been breaking down the task to meet this challenge head on…
Primary: What Did I Do First?
• On move-in day, I set up a bin in my new kitchen–large enough to accommodate papers. Any important papers that I needed to not misplace and have in front of my eyeballs went in there (ex. forms from school, our packing list, a wedding invitation, etc.)
• I thought of what rooms/hotspots HAD to be organized for us to function as a family in the days and weeks post move-in. Those turned out to be the kitchen/panrty, the kid’s homework/supply station, basic bedroom, bathroom, and home office set ups, current season clothing and sporting equipment (for my two boys).
• The tape measure and checkbook found semi-permanent homes!
Secondary: Three Months later–a few examples…
• I have been slowly determining where items should now ‘live’ based on our new habits and the flow of the house.
• Important papers used to hang on my fridge and I kept some in a magazine holder on my kitchen counter. Now I keep them in plastic sleeves in a binder that lives in one of my kitchen cabinets. It’s now a ‘home’ for papers I need to look at regularly (schedules for recycling, school, sports, phone lists, etc.)
This is what our old fridge used to look like! We had a ton of fridge magnets–my kids loved them!
• My kids needed a place to put their most popular games/puzzles/books on the first floor of our home. Certain kid games/puzzles/books now live in a dresser that is being used as an entrainment console until we get a new one. Other games/puzzles/books live in the basement and kid bedrooms.
Tertiary: Tasks left on the to-do list…
• Holiday, BBQ/Entertaining items, Art Supplies are still in boxes. If I need them, I know where the boxes are and what’s inside of each since my packing list perpetually lives in the bin described above. Still haven’t figured out where everything will live–especially since we’re still in need of some furniture that will serve as storage pieces for the items in these boxes. Find the turkey platter, fondue pot, and glitter glue? No problem. Where to store it for the next few years? I’ll have to get back to you on that one…
• When the movers brought some of our boxes up to the attic, they were put up there in random spots. Once the weather gets cooler, hubby and I can organize them better–especially the bins of seasonal kid clothes. Those can be a beast!
• I am still slowly determining where items should now ‘live’ based on our new habits and the flow of the house. I think we’re going to have to live in the space for a year–four seasons–to know where everything should live.
I’m taking it slow and if you’re in a similar situation–you should, too. Find a fork and eat that elephant–one bite at a time!
What have you had to recently find a new home for in YOUR house?
If you’ve been following my recent Organizing MY Home series, you know that I moved twice in one year due to an addition/renovation project. Part of what made such an upheaval bearable and organized were a few key moving tips I created for myself and a packing system that helped us find anything we needed while we were living in our rental space.
This wasn’t your typical move from one home to another. We were packing up our entire house, moving it to a rental property but not opening all our boxes and setting up to stay. Our plan was to only open boxes of items we truly needed and keep most of the rest sealed until we returned to our renovated home.
As a Professional Organizer, I have offered clients packing ideas but never for a double move. I also hadn’t packed up and moved myself for many years so I took to the internet and did some research on line on how best to pack an entire home. I came across a few posts, mostly from military wives who had lots of practice packing and relocating their households and gleaned some ideas from their experience. I quickly learned that writing the contents on the outside of the box is a magnet for unscrupulous movers. And what if we stacked the boxes so we couldn’t see what was written on the outside? I needed some other ideas. I then came across a post online that would help me. It gave me some good ideas that I adapted to our particular situation.
Based on ideas I read online, I chose to create a numbering system that would enable my husband and I to track and quickly locate of all our belongings during both moves. My husband created the cover sheet and tracking sheets of the packing list and left a few lines blank for anything we needed to add.
My ‘vintage’ NAPO-NY clipboard and trusty black marker.
Each room in our home received a number series. As we packed items from each room, we wrote down the contents of the box on the line next to the box number. We also jotted down where the contents/box would be in our rental and where it would go once it came back to our renovated home. An example is below:
A sample page from our packing list.
Here’s the breakdown of the columns on the page:
• Top of the page: Room Name (also written at the bottom of page–not shown in photo)
• Column 1: Box number
• Column 2: Where box is going in rental home (a room vs. the garage for storage)
• Column 3: What room the box will go to when it comes back to our renovated home (our address was originally next to the word ‘Location’)
• Column 4: Contents of the box
In the above photo, the ‘Green Room’ (the walls had been green for many years) at this point only had one box. This was because my home office was relocated there after our second child was born and the contents of the room would eventually be spread to three different spaces after we moved back in. Lucky for us, our rental space was a split level very similar to ours so you see in column 2 that we figured the box would either live in the garage or be unpacked into the rental home’s equivalent of our ‘Green Room.’ In box 701 (column 1), was framed family pictures (column 4) (they ended up in the garage) that eventually would live in my home office and my husband’s home office (column 3).
Depending upon the room and it’s contents, some of the pages looked fairly empty. Then there are rooms such as the kitchen that practically filled two pages! (Yes–we did purge before packing.) Notice–the top part of the page dealt with the move to the rental property while the bottom part (and the next page, too) dealt with the move back to our home. We unpacked much of our kitchen stuff and then had to repack it for the move home. Example:
Lots more to pack in the kitchen!
You might be thinking, “This sounds like A LOT of work!’ Yes, it was a lot of work! But, when it comes to time management, I advise my clients that spending more time at the beginning of a project will save you time at the end of it. Take the time to write the contents of each box on your list. You’ll be happy you did when you’re looking for an item you need!
This system isn’t just for double moves. You can delete a column or add an extra one for your unique moving situation. My husband and I found this system to be incredibly helpful in keeping us organized and knowing where to find all that we owned.
A few tips for using this packing system:
• If you are keeping some numbered boxes in storage for a while, group the boxes by ‘like’ numbers (all 200’s together, all 500’s together, etc). It will make finding the box you need much less time consuming!
• Write the box numbers on the top and at least two sides of the box–the more sides the better–a good task for kids old enough to write!
• Use a thick dark colored marker for writing the numbers on the boxes. Buy a box of them–they will run out of ink quickly from numbering all of those sides!
• When you are finished packing, back it up! Make a photocopy of the Master List and put it somewhere safe and take pictures of each page with your phone.
• Designate one spot to keep your Master List in so you’ll always know where to return it to and where to find it the next time you want to pack/unpack more boxes.
We’ve been living in our renovated home almost six months and some of our boxes are not yet unpacked. I still refer to the Master List when I’m looking for something and it sits in the same spot I designated for it the day we moved back in. As helpful as this system was, my husband and I agree–we’re not moving again for a LONG time!
Could this system be helpful to you in a move? Let me know in the comments below.
I haven’t moved much in my lifetime. I went away to college and moved some of my stuff with me. As a single gal, I moved in and out of a one bedroom apartment, then moved those belongings to a house when I got married. After that, no moving for fourteen years.
So, when my husband and I decided to renovate and add on to our home, we chose to move our family and 98% of what we owned to a rental across town for the duration of the project. Once our house was finished we would pack up again and move back in. Two moves in one year. Gulp. I was a little out of practice. But, I knew that if we were organized, we’d get the job done with barely a few mishaps.
Here are some tips that helped us have an organized move (twice!):
Start purging early
If you have been in one place for a while, you have probably accumulated some ‘stuff.’ For some of you, you might have A LOT of ‘stuff.’ Advice that I learned early on and continue to pass on to my clients is, “Don’t pay to move anything you don’t want moved in the first place.” With that quote in mind, I created the ‘two-can’ rule. Every weekend, we purged an area of our home and made sure to fill our two garbage cans before trash collection day. Making decisions can take a while–my recommendation is to start purging as soon as you know you’ll be moving.
Delegate
It takes a village to pack up a home and move so line up your villagers and let them know how they can help! Some examples of how they can help you are:
-Get your kids involved. Have them crumple up newspaper. Have them bring empty boxes to different rooms. Ask them to purge and pack their own belongings. It is a good exercise in decision-making and takes some tasks off your already-full plate.
-Ask friends and relatives to bring you their old newspapers, help you pack boxes, hold onto valuables, babysit your kids–whatever you need to ensure a smooth packing and moving experience.
-Get it delivered. The internet can be part of your village, too. Run out of packing tape? Order it. Need more boxes quick? Look on Craigslist or Facebook to see if any of your neighbors are getting rid of boxes and stuffing. Need to research moving companies? Google! And have dinner delivered, too…
–NAPO. Yes–there are Professional Organizers who specialize in packing and moving people. Head to the NAPO website to find someone in your area and let a professional be part of your village.
Organize your packing supplies
If you can, start the packing process as far in advance as you can. You’d be surprised how long it takes to pack an entire home! While you’re purging, this would be a great time to start collecting packing supplies such as:
-boxes from the liquor store or from a boxed product other than food
-a minimum of one tape gun per person doing the packing
-packing tape
-newspaper and store circulars
-thick black markers/Sharpies
-bubble wrap/packaging from packages you’ve received
-scissors/box cutter
-plastic wrap/plastic baggies of varying sizes
-paper/pen/labels
Keep all of your packing supplies in one spot. Use a bucket/caddy large enough to hold your tape gun, scissors, 2-3 black markers, labels, etc. A bucket/caddy is easy to transport from room to room and easy to spot amidst a room full of boxes. Place supplies back in the bucket when you’ve finished a box-packing session so you’ll know where they are the next time you want to fill a box.
Create an organized packing system
We had to keep track of over 100 boxes. Some of those boxes we unpacked in our rental home and some stayed packed for nine months in our garage. In order to find what we needed during those nine months, I had to create a packing system that would allow us to easily locate clothes and other belongings for Summer, Fall and Winter. Keep an eye out for my next post–you’ll see the Master Packing List my husband and I created to keep us organized through two moves.
By the way, some things just don’t fit easily in a box. Here’s how I moved our close-to-full olive oil dispenser–who knew my driver’s side cup holder could be the perfect spot to nestle it for the short ride across town?
Thanks to some organization, our amazing ‘villagers,’ and a highly competent moving company, we survived our two moves!
Montvale Movers moved us twice!
Next post: The packing system that got me through two moves in a year…
Think about an organizing project that would challenge a veteran Professional Organizer–what would it be? A room filled with loose papers? A fashionista’s exploding closet? An overstuffed garage?
How about a renovation – addition project? Her own homes’ renovation – addition project!
For about eight years my husband and I kept going back and forth trying to decide–move or renovate/add on to our home. We kept lists on paper and eventually in Evernote as to what we wanted/needed and didn’t want/need in a future home. Our house was ‘whispering’ to us–sending us ‘SOS’ signals. Slowly, appliances began to die, cracks appeared in the walls, plumbing started to malfunction. We were busting out of our closets, kitchen, and living space. It was time to make a decision.
This was our house before the renovation/addition project began.
After much deliberation, we decided to stay at our current address and renovate/add on to our home. I knew this was not going to be a quick and easy project. I also knew this would take and enormous amount of energy, thought, coordination, and organization. This project was so all encompassing that during this time I had to take a few things ‘off my plate’ such as blogging. This is my first blog post in over a year–I’m writing it happily from my new home office!
Here are some of the organizing steps we took for this project to flow smoothly…
Purging of our entire home
Based on our contractors’ recommendation and the fact that we have a child with food allergies and need a full kitchen to cook for him, we decided to rent a house across town during the construction process. That meant we had to take everything with us. Eve-ry-thing.
After meeting with our contractor and architect, we started the purging process. Each weekend before our move-out date, my husband and I would tackle a room together and purge it of what we didn’t want to come back into our new home (we purged during the week, too). I created ‘The Two Can Rule.’ Our garbage pick up day was Tuesday so every Sunday, we had to fill a minimum of the two garbage cans from our purging session. We also created bags for donations and gave things away to family, friends, and schools.
Creating an organized packing system
The last time I had packed to move, it was the contents of my one-bedroom apartment when I got married. Now, I was packing a three-bedroom house with a filled attic and basement. This double move required a multi-tiered packing and tracking system. Half of our boxes were stored in the garage of our temporary rental home and the rest were unpacked for daily use. Then, before moving back in to our new home, we had to purge (again!) and pack up to then finally unpack (again!). More on my packing system in a future post. If you or someone you know is moving in the future–keep your eye out for it. You’re going to want to know about the system I used. It was a success!
Creating a ‘home’ for all project-related paperwork and correspondence
This renovation/addition project churned out an inordinate amount of paperwork–even for a Professional Organizer to keep on top of. Keeping track of receipts, returns, contracts, finances, bills for two homes, design choices and all other related papers was overwhelming. I created a binder for all papers and created folders in my inbox for emails from our contractor, subcontractors, designer and others. (True PO Confession: The project plus our everyday life became so overwhelming, I just started putting all papers in one box so I would know where to find them if I needed them. Last month, I created a portable hanging file box for all renovation/addition papers and they’re stored in my closet.)
Creating a ‘home’ for all design-related items
I quickly found that I needed a space for things I would need handy for the design part of this project. I stored a recycle bag in my car filled with paint and tile samples, fabric swatches, a tape measure, scissors, and a roll of blue tape. It was always there when I needed it–at a store, at the construction site, in my car. If I had a dollar for every time I used that bag, I’d be a rich lady!
And all of this doesn’t happen with out an amazing team that was organized in their own areas of expertise…
Contractor/Architect
Rich Palmacchio of RTJ Construction and Joseph Donato, Architect
Plus subcontractors, friends, relatives, salespeople, and everyone else who kept us focused, informed, and sane. A big organizing shout-out goes to my hubby who became a purging, packing (unpacking) and organizing LEGEND during this project.
This is our house after the renovation/addition project was complete.
They say it takes a village to raise a child? It also takes a village–an organized village–to raise a house!
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?).
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