Rubbermaid - Adventures in Organization

Small Kitchen, Big Storage

My kitchen is very small. I'd say about 2 people at a time can be in there. Space is very limited and I have to make every square inch work for me. Fortunately, my cabinets reach all the way up to the ceiling, giving me lots of room to play with.

The storage space (that is too high for me to reach without a step stool) ends up getting filled with large serving bowls, small coolers, light bulbs & utility items, vases, etc. This works out very well for me since the rest of the house has virtually NO storage space. So, I guess the smallest room in the house ends up being the most space efficient!

Since I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen (I'm getting better though), my food and cooking utensils don't take up that much space. Since my roommate moved out, I really only take up two shelves with dry food. Don't be alarmed - it takes time to build back your pantry after a huge "clean out".

If I'm going to only allow for 2 shelves of food I must keep this valuable real estate organized. Armed with Dymo label maker and a plethora of food storage containers, I went to work. First step was to take everything out and put it under "review". Can I throw it away? If it's a keeper, does it need to be in a better looking or better sealed container?

I decided the flour needed to be transfered. But it ended up on the floor. Did you know that when you have a flour accident, everything within 5 feet gets blanketed?

After I dug myself out of that small detour, I managed to get everything transfered and labeled correctly. I filled things such as flour and pasta in Double Airtight Sealed Canisters. I put other items such as packets of tea and hot chocolate inside Premier containers.

I know the labeling will help me out a TON with remembering how old my food is. I'm the queen of letting things sit until they go bad! Plus, I really like how it looks in my pantry. There's something about a well organized pantry that makes me want to use my kitchen more! I know exactly what I have, I know that's fresh and I know where it is!

Now that makes me want to cook! I'll let you know how my next dish turns out. Grilled cheese anyone?

Helping out at the Samaritan House

As the final post of 2008 we thought we'd do one that keeps with the spirit of the Holidays. So we decided to help out at the Samaritan House in Charlotte, NC.

Samaritan House provides recuperative care to the homeless when they are discharged from the hospital.  They serve 3 meals daily in their dining room.  One of their challenges space-wise, was how to store the food items for breakfast for the guests, as well as a new microwave that didn’t have a home.

To solve this problem, we assembled a Rubbermaid steel reinforced resin shelf and helped the storage space go vertical, freeing up the wall for extra chairs.  Just wanted to share this quick trick, as the shelf assembly only took 5 minutes with entire project taking 15 minutes total!

BEFORE

AFTER

Unique uses for FastTrack garage shelving

Today I was walking around the office (searching for holiday chocolate) and I noticed that a couple of the Rubbermaid graphic designers, Ken Gulley and Joel Mills, had used our FastTrack garage shelving products in an unexpected way. They turned them into book shelves for the office.

I had never thought about using these 'garage' shelves in any other way than in the garage. They however work perfectly in the office. The even look modern and cool.

Labels are your best friend when organizing

A few weekends ago I completed my pantry organization project. If you read the post you'll see I was very satisfied with the results. My pantry was 300% better than it was before.

However I made a mistake. I forgot to label some of my canisters. Specifically the large canister where I store flour. You ask, how could that be a mistake. Well... I know the canister has flour but I don't know what type. Is it white flour, wheat flour, bread flour...  I just don't know (Actually I know it's not white flour but I'm not sure if it's wheat or bread flour).  Nor do I know how old it is.  I also don't know what type of beans are in the other canisters although I bet my wife knows.

Many of the canister I used I kept the original label inside of the canister. This way I know exactly what is in it.  I should have done this with the flour.

So, learn from my mistake. Be sure to either label your canisters or tear off the original label and store it inside the canister.

Randi's Closet Makeover - The Before

So, with my OCD organization tendencies, I find my friend Randi’s closet slightly scary.  I am going to give her an Extreme Rubbermaid Closet Makeover in the next few weeks, and would love your advice on what we should do with the space.

Here is the info:

• Her closet is about 8-10’ long and about 5’ wide
• There is only currently one hang bar & shelf (although the Homefree Closet system I plan to install will let us go vertical)
• She needs to store both clothing (mostly hanging), as well as holiday decorations and infrequently used items

Help us come up with ideas, please!!

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Randi's Closet Makeover Series

• Part 1: The problem
• Part 2: The makeover process
• Part 3: The happy ending

Q&A with a Professional Organizer - Krista Colvin

Krista Colvin, Organize in Style - Professional Organizer + Lifestyle Expert - Camas, Washington - www.TheShebang.com 

1. How long have you been a professional organizer?
4 years

2. What inspired you to become a professional organizer?
As a new mother on an extended leave of absence from my high school teaching position, I found myself watching a LOT of the Home + Garden channel! It was there I discovered that people actually help others get organized and do it as a business! I was so excited to learn that I could combine my teaching skills with my organizing traits… and work around my “mom schedule”.

3. What is the most common organizing project you’re hired to do?
Hands down…overall consultations! Many of my clients are organized woman that are in some type of transition that has messed with their organized lifestyle. They are looking for ideas and solutions to create functional spaces.

4. What is the most common organizing challenge people have?
Paper is always a challenge.

5. If you had to pick ‘your’ biggest organizing challenge, what would it be?
I’m a piler. I love to have my little piles around me on a big ol’ desk.

6. What one tips would you give to people who are trying to get organized?
Start on a small and emotionally low risk project. Then work your way up to more emotionally charged areas. A kitchen pantry is a great example. It’s simple to sort, purge and put back together. The emotional risk is low because no one is attached to expired food.  Your clothes closet and childhood keepsakes… well those are filled with emotions and are best dealt with after tackling a project or two!

7. How can potential clients get in touch with you?
www.theShebang.com or www.organizeinstyleblog.com   For more about Krista Colvin visit http://organizeinstyle.typepad.com/the_shebang/about.html

For The Photographer At Heart

Tis the season for family fun, good food, and photo-ops galore!  For the family photographer, because every one knows that one person that manages to capture every second of the day on film, a great gift idea would be our Media Storage Box (holds up to 20 large photo envelopes).

If your shutterbug is just starting out, I suggest filling the Media Storage Box with a few disposable cameras or rolls of film and wrapping as a gift.  For those looking into advancing to a freelance photographer, a "grab box" could be assembled:  a Media Storage Box filled with a digital camera, a memory card, Sharpie markers or even a Dymo Label Maker.

For labeling and organizing developed photo envelopes, you can have Sharpie markers personalized with funny images and sayings or names.

Other uses for the Media Storage Box are organizing up to 15 VHS tapes, 27 DVD's, or 32 CD's.  I am quite the music buff, and keep all my CD's in a large CD organizer (it's like a big book with a zipper and pockets) . I found the Media Storage Box is great for holding all the empty jewel cases to my CD's.  Speaking of jewel cases, the Media Storage Box would be ideal for holding digital photo albums that are save on a CD.

The Media Storage Box is available at Ace Hardware, TrueValue, Fred Meyer, Do It Best, www.homeandbeyond.com, and www.amazon.com. You can also click the 'Find a Store' button on the Media Storage Box page on Rubbermaid.com

Decorating for the Holidays

Every first weekend in December my wonderful family and I spend the time decorating our house for Christmas. We put on some good music, light some sugar cookie scented candles and my son and daughter put on their Santa hats. Everyone is in the holiday spirit.

For many years we kept our holiday decorations in cardboard boxes in the attic. This was never a really good idea. Since the cardboard boxes with holiday decorations looked exactly like the cardboard boxes with old books which meant we had to open each box to find the ones with the decorations. Some of the time we even missed an entire box of ornaments.

A few years ago I became so tired of the cardboard boxes I decided to switch to Rubbermaid totes.  I journeyed to Walmart and purchased half a dozen totes all in the same style, size and color. I had not purposely planned to purchase all the same style totes but doing so resulted in some great unintended consequences.

All of my Christmas totes are now brown with clear tops.  Having all these totes in the same color allows me to very easily find them when searching the dark attic. Since they are all the same style and size they stack very well too. This makes storing them easy.  The fact they are durable plastic instead of cardboard aids in protecting the decorations inside.

In addition to the plastic totes I do also have a couple holiday storage cubes to hold our ornaments. The cubes work well because they have dividers so each ornament has it's own small compartment to keep it safe.

So, for all of you who are still storing your decorations in cardboard boxes. You may want to consider transferring your decorations into a plastic tote this year. I think you'll be glad you did.

Happy Holidays!

Listen to the O-Myth on Blog Talk Radio

Today I was on the "O-Myth: Debunk Life's Organizing Myths" with Brandi Kajino and Krista Colvin. It was a fun show. You should check it out.

My Hosting Closet

I love to entertain at my house but over the years, I've had a problem keeping up with all of the "stuff" that went along with entertaining -  paper plates, cocktail napkins, outdoor candles, indoor candles, serving trays....of all different colors, holidays and themes!!

The solution I decided upon was to dedicated a spare bedroom closet to use as the "Hosting Closet". Using a few quick Rubbermaid items like small clear totes and Slide and Stack baskets, I grouped some of my most used items.   Now, when I host dinners and cookouts, it makes it easy to quickly grab what I need!!!

How have you handled storing and organizing your hosting supplies?