Shoe & Ski Lover meets 500 sq ft space.

Katy is a friend of ours at Rubbermaid.  She was very stressed out about her small apartment (less than 500 square feet) and a lack of storage.  

To make matters worse, she had a very tiny clothing closet, which barely fit her clothes, much less her  shoes or her sporting equipment.  She had been trying to maintain a system in the living room which consisted of racks and just having the items laid on the fireplace.

 

However, as the shoes started to "grow" (Katy admits to a strong shopping addiction) and the equipment solution limited space and was unsafe, she realized a solution was imperative.

Here's what I like about Katy's thought process:
She defined the issue and what was important to her.  A priority to her was keeping all of her equipment which she enjoys.   She knew that there would be no room for future purchases. 

She selected Rubbermaid FastTrack.  This system is traditionally used in the garage, but we see that a number of people re-purpose it (including the guys in the office, blogger Shannon, and myself in my utility closets).

Below is the result:

Katy comments, "This isn’t a closet system, but I wouldn’t have a closet to put it in
anyway! This way I can grab what I need and go, without worrying I am going to trip over my skis and break my ankle.” - Katy

I love her attitude and the fact she embraced the notion, "It's your life.  Organize it your way."

Nice job, Katy!

Keeping an Idea File vs. Tons of Magazines

I recently came across a great blog post on reducing magazine clutter in your home by @mabelhood. She makes the point that we always have good intentions for going back and referencing articles, recipes, and other tips but seldom do.  The magazines then lead to clutter.

She suggested keeping binders with the tips.  I was so excited that someone else did this as well!   I keep binders for tips from magazines including: hosting ideas, decorating inspirations, and exercise tips.  I have found it to be a good solution for keeping the idea but not the entire magazine.

I know other people who keep them in folders, or in accordian notebooks too.

Does anyone else do this and what tool do you use?

Recovering with the help of Rubbermaid

My husband recently had shoulder surgery, and I quickly turned into Nurse Megan for the days following the procedure. I was making countless trips to the kitchen for refills of drinks, different snacks or to get his meds. We moved an extra coffee table to his good side so we could have his phone and remote within reach. I realized that I should take full advantage of this table, and use it to cut down my back-and-forth trips to the kitchen. (Not that it's THAT far to the kitchen...but this also made it more convenient for Eric to have things accessible.) Here is his "station" looked like.

SNACKS: Instead of having chip-clipped-bags and boxes of snacks, I used Rubbermaid Lock-Its canisters to hold different snacks: chex mix, wheat thins and his favorite doritos. Having containers that have a secure seal was ideal because you never know when one of our cats will knock something over. (You can see Jill in the background of this photo.) I also had snacks in the cabinet already in our new modular canisters (love them!), so I brought those out, which held chex cereal and pretzels.

DRINKS: Because of the three different types of medication he was taking (which I also kept at the table to eliminate trips to fetch those), we were going through a lot of water and 7up. It was a little hard for Eric to tip his head back from the pain in his neck (from where they put in the nerve block) and shoulder. Even though I did keep his soda in the frozen mug, I used two Rubbermaid sip bottles for his water. I would refill both at one time so it would be longer in between refills, and I put koozies on them to keep them cold longer. (Sidenote about the mug: Eric is from Ohio and a huge Buckeye fan. We have two frozen mugs - one Michigan and one Ohio State - and it just worked out that I happen to take the pic when we had the Michigan one out. Classic!)

MEDS: I used a white board for his meds schedule so I could keep them straight. (It's leaning up against the table in the bottom/right of this photo.) Each of the meds had a different time between doses (some 4 hours, some 6), and he couldn't take them all at once because it would make him sick. Each time he took anything, I wrote down the time, which med(s) he took, and how many of each. The white board worked wonders!

PATIENT: Eric gives his station (and Rubbermaid) a thumbs up! He feels a little better each day, and in six months hopefully his shoulder will be back to normal - and back to playing basketball (which is what he cares about!) 

Recipe to Remove Small Kitchen Frustrations

This post was generously written by professional organizer Lea Schneider owner of Organize Right Now, LLC. Lea works in Pensecola, Fl and writes a fabulous blog. Feel free to reach out to her if you could use some help organizing!

It was a recipe for frustration.

Take four children under the age of six; add two parents, occasional babysitters, grandmothers, a kitchen without enough cabinet space and an economy not conducive to home remodeling. Mix it all together and it spells chaos. That’s when my phone rang.

The mission was to see if I could create more space in a modern kitchen with limited storage. I can tell you that it is a real challenge in newer homes. Since they are designed with an open concept, it becomes very difficult as overhead cabinets are often eliminated in favor of a view.

As a professional organizer, I often deal with too-much-stuff in too-little space. Most often, we spend our time dealing with the too-much-stuff part of the job by making good decisions about what to keep. But what if you’ve already eliminated the clutter and you really need to keep what is left? That’s sums up this organizing adventure.

I have to say that making enough space for this large family to really cook and enjoy family meals was made possible by three things:
1.    They were open to new ways to organize the kitchen.
2.    There was under-utilized laundry room storage.
3.    My very favorite organizing product, Rubbermaid Slide ‘n Stack Sliding Baskets, fit the space perfectly!

In the adjacent laundry room, we cleared built-in lower cabinets of their typical laundry room clutter. Out went the citronella candles, dog biscuits, flower vases, assorted light bulbs and miscellaneous cleaning products. The usable items went to new suitable homes.

Rubbermaid’s Slide N Stack Sliding Baskets were quickly installed in the cabinets that you once needed to sit on the floor with a flashlight to access. Now, everything stored was easily at their fingertips. 

Frequently used food items, such as snacks and breakfast cereals, were left in the small pantry in the kitchen. All of the dinner ingredients, such as rice and pastas, were moved to the baskets in the laundry room. Labels made it quick to find what was needed.

Not only did the baskets add a tremendous volume of space to the kitchen, it made grocery shopping easier. It is simple to see if more rice or soups are needed or if plenty are on hand.

Donate Local: Women Centered Art Co-Op

Recently I found out about a local organization in Charlotte that promotes a community for women artists. (Thanks for the info mom!) Being a designer myself, I was very interested! The organization is called Women Centered Art. The organization is new (just founded in 2010), but from what I've read, they have a passion for their purpose and a mission to grow the connections between women creatives. I'm looking forward to attending an event soon, learning more and hopefully getting involved.

As I looked through their website, I came across their wish list, which listed items of need for the organization. When I saw art supplies on the list - I knew that was going to be my first order of business - cleaning out my baskets and bins of old art supplies at home to donate. 

When I pulled out all of my old supplies at home, I hit the jackpot! I had a little bit of everything: spray mount, stickers, paper, paint, pens, tape, bookbinding supplies and more. Most of the items were things that I thought I would use at some point, but I had not used ANY of it since we moved to Charlotte a year and a half ago. I figured that if I hadn't used it yet, I wasn't going to use it. I also figured that since it was for a good cause, what better reason to gain some storage space by purging all of my old supplies? I like the slogan of Goodwill: Don't Dump. Donate!

Since I work with a team of graphic designers and we are right next to the industrial design department, I spread the word here at our office. I put a clear tote outside my cube wall for anyone to drop in their old supplies. I'm hoping to get at least one full bin - if not more!

 

In an interview, Brooke, one of the co-founders of Women Centered Art, talked about the inspiration for the organization: 

"Honestly, WCAC evolved from a place of evaluating whether or not to make this city my home after living between Charlotte and NYC for the past three years. For me, this is about a commitment to building what you want for your life, rather than leaving town for a city with more to offer. Shane and I have had many long talks about the fact that, as women, we “want it all”- great careers, chances to exhibit our work, inspiring workshops to attend, and a supportive community of friends and family to share it all with at the end of the day. It goes beyond the idea of becoming a professional artist, into the realm of living an art-full life...How can we stay inspired in the day to day grind? How do we reconnect with our natural, inherent creativity? Those questions intrigue me and I plan to continue that work through WCAC."

(Does that make you want to learn more or what? Count me in!!)

Creating An Outdoor Closet

Monthly, I volunteer at a local homeless shelter (Samaritan House) in Charlotte which provides care for homeless guests who are recovering from a hospital stay.   As you know from previous posts on their dining room and basement, this program is located in an older home which causes lots of storage and organization issues. 

Recently, when I was working, the director, Miss Carrie, mentioned they were frustrated that they didn't have a place to store their outdoor equipment.   As she started, I was thinking they just need a simple storage shed.

She went out to describe what she wanted to store....outdoor tablecloths, outdoor decorations, cleaning supplies.  As she went on, I started thinking...wait, this needs to be really an "outdoor closet".   Luckily, Rubbermaid just came out with new Roughneck sheds.  The cool thing about these is that because they are double-walled (helps protect from the elements), they also have slots in the walls so that you can hang shelving or pegboard.  The benefit is that the shed doesn't become a disorganized dumping ground for stuff.  I thought this would be perfect for Miss Carrie's storage needs. 

I shipped a shed to them.  Luckily, when I called to see if it had made it, she said some high school kids who were volunteering put it together in less than a half hour!  Awesome...

When I got there though, they had just placed their stuff in it.  As you can see, this is not optimal for maximizing the organization potential. 

 

So, I installed a Homefree closet kit which I have a lot of experience with, and went on an organizing mission also using Roughneck totes to provide more storage for these items.  My part of the project took less than ten minutes.

Miss Carrie was so excited she had an organized home for her stuff, she gave me a hug.  In looking back, I realize I should have put labels on the totes for her.  I will be sure to tackle this next visit!

Biking Adventures of the Tote

I love sharing stories about creative people who write in to us with uses for our products we never dreamed of. 

An earlier one was this blizzard post.

Below is one we received about organizing "on the road":

Hello Rubbermaid. My fiance and I are bicycling all over the US for a year. We are pulling Burley trailers with one of your storage bins attached to it. It is a great system. We feel like reps for Rubbermaid. Everywhere we go people stop us and ask us about our trailer. We love telling them that your products work great. - Ryan

 

From Shelf to Storage: Magazine Archives

I have subscribe to a handful of design magazines. They offer inspiration, ideas and information, and I like to hold on to them for reference. [My design archive, if you will.] I've kept them organized by title (and that's about it). They were taking up the two bottom shelves of my bookcase.

  

Because I don't access these magazines super often, I decided they could go in the attic. Rubbermaid's CleverStore totes are the perfect size for magazines. I used the 30-quart size because they are taller (and hold more). They are clear so I can see the title and date on the side without taking the lid off or digging through them.  

I took the magazines off the shelf one title at a time, and I organized them by date. I started with the oldest on the bottom and stacked up from there. Some titles took up two totes and some only one. Once I was done, we put them up in the attic. I left the ones that I still subscribe to closer to the attic door so I can put the newest edition on top and in the correct tote. Now they are in order, stored away and organized so I can find something when I need it! 

One of these days I'm going to go through the magazines and pick out articles and information that I want to keep and get rid of the rest - by either recycling them or using one of these tips to reuse them. I found this link to a place that will bind your old articles together into your very own hardcover book. I think THAT would be awesome....when I get the time and energy to go through all of those mags!

Spring Cleaning? Don’t Dump. Donate!

This guest post was written by Aleigh, @GoodwillSP, from Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont.

Spring is almost here (the official start to the season is March 20)—and with it comes the perfect excuse to freshen up your home. Spring cleaning isn’t just about cleaning, though; it’s also about organizing and de-cluttering, so that when the weather gets warm, you can spend your days enjoying the sunshine, instead of indoors getting your house in order!

Once you’ve scanned your home for that extra stuff you no longer need, don’t head for the trash can—instead, gather up those gently-used items you no longer want, and help them land in the hands of someone who will use them. That’s where we come in. When you donate to Goodwill, you keep items with lots more use in them out of the landfill, to be sold in our stores for amazingly affordable prices. And the best part is that the proceeds from the sales in our stores fund our job training and employment programs that help thousands of people go back to work each year. Not sure where your closest Goodwill is? There’s a handy locator on the web at http://locator.goodwill.org/.

Here are some easy ways to pull together a donation that will help the environment and your community at the same time.

DO: Wash or dry clean clothing. (Goodwill doesn’t accept donations of broken or soiled items.)
DON’T: Leave your donations unattended outside a collection center; they can be stolen or damaged by bad weather.
DO: Test electronics equipment to be sure it’s in working order.
DON’T: Donate building materials, food, live plants or animals, mattresses, newspapers or magazines, pianos, or used auto parts.
DO: Donate household items, furniture, and sports equipment. We even take electronics equipment and used cars!
DON’T: Forget to ask for a receipt—your donations to Goodwill are tax-deductible. We’ll even help you decide how much to declare; click here (http://www.goodwillsp.org/priceguide.html) for a price list for items sold in our stores to use as a guide.

And the biggest DO of all:
DO: Think before you donate. Cities across the United States are seeing a sudden appearance of unattended collection bins in parking lots and roadside. Donations placed in those boxes don’t benefit licensed charitable organizations and don’t qualify for tax deductions—plus, they’re often left open to weather damage and theft. It’s important to make an informed choice and know to whom you’re giving.

Blizzard 2010

From time to time, consumers send us photos using our products.  We received this one last week which was quite entertaining.   Glad to see that our Roughneck totes have lots of purposes beyond organization!

East coast, February 2010.  Record snowfall.  Ran out of room to pile the snow.  What do you do?

Use your Rubbermaid container to compact the snow into snow bricks, and build a retaining wall!

Marion,Washington, DC