Rubbermaid Adventures in Organization » Professional Organizer Q&A

What is my best solution for organizing snacks, cereals, etc. inside a kitchen cabinet? We have several different shape bags of individual snacks and treats

Beth Zeigler — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:05:33 +0000

Three words: Measure, measure measure. No pantry shelf is the same—even some of your pantry shelves could be varying lengths and depths. Before going out and purchasing containers that don’t fit the space, measure your pantry. You’ll next want to count the types of snacks, cereals and other items you typically keep on stock (you know, the ones that take up too much space). Would you want to decant all of your cereals into space-saving containers? Would some things like snacks and cereals be better accessible in larger jars on kitchen counters? Baskets and bins without lids also work fabulous to group like items like small snack bags and juice boxes. Perhaps a lazy susan is in order for the corners of your pantry? My last tip before buying anything, search Pinterest for inspiration and ideas. And to recap:

Measure your shelves (length and depth as well as height in between shelves)
How many canisters will you need for decanting? Count the items you normally have on stock and list things out.
Go onto Pinterest for ideas on additional and unique storage solutions
Repurpose bins in your home or put together a shopping list

Beth Zeigler knew she was on an organizing path when at the age of 5 she was maximizing her closet space to function as a second bedroom for her dolls. Throw in her background of delegating tasks to her younger brother throughout childhood–and her transition to organizing developed quite organically. Check out her web site at Bneato!

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

No worries – the Rubbermaid Professional Organizer Squad is here with expert advice! This group of professional organizers has seen and tackled it all. Simply enter your question, screen name and email to submit your question to them (any organizing question is welcome, no matter how simple or complicated!). We’ll answer and feature questions the squad can provide the best answers on. Don’t worry – we’ll email you if your question is selected!

How Do I Even BEGIN Dejunking My Garage?

Deb Lee — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:46:46 +0000

Spring is a great time of year to unclutter your garage. It can seem like a daunting project, but it doesn’t have to be! Having a good plan of attack can help you stay focused and get your garage looking and functioning the way you need it to.

Figure out what you have. What exactly lives in your garage now? What items do you need to keep and which ones can you throw out, recycle, or donate? Sometimes, an easy first step is to look for things that are obviously trash or that you no longer need.

Sketch your plan. As you look around your space, determine what you want to store in the garage and where (i.e., specific area) certain things will live. It can be helpful to do a rough sketch (with dimensions) so you can plan where you want to put specific things. For example, you may want to think about the items you will keep closest to the entryway from the garage to your home (for easy access). You probably won’t want to go into the heart of the garage to get things that you use often. And, keep in mind that as you go through the process and refine your plan, this sketch may change.

Create zones. Think about your space in terms of zones or centers. Do you have lots of lawn and gardening items? Bulk paper supplies? Cleaning supplies? Holiday items? Tools? Sports equipment? You’ll want to keep similar items together so that you’ll know how much inventory you have. This will help you figure out the best spot to keep certain items as well as the size/type of containers or shelving you might need. Ultimately, this will also help you to refrain from buying unnecessary duplicates.

Finally, remember that you don’t have to do this alone! Why not enlist some help from friends and family members (or even a professional organizer)? More hands on deck can get the project finished more quickly and make a challenging task seem a little bit easier.

Good luck with getting your garage dejunked!

Deb always seemed to have a knack for putting things in order, and started re-designing her mother’s room at the age of nine. Fast forward several years later and you’ll find her helping clients get more organized and comfortable in their homes and offices. Check out her website at D. Allison Lee.com!

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

What do I do with school papers?

Beth Zeigler — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:45:23 +0000

There are a few questions you’ll have to answer to determine which solution will work best:

1. Where do you do your homework? In the kitchen? In the home office? In your bedroom?

2. Are you constantly needing items signed and reviewed by a parental guardian?

3. What are your retention guidelines? Do you keep graded papers to refer back to them? And conversely, do some papers need to be kept but not referred back to?

For most spaces, I would suggest clear wall pockets. You can hang 1 or more and use each pocket for a different category. I like wall pockets because they can go just about anywhere and keep the space neat and clean.
One wall pocket could be an inbox: papers to get signed, things to review. One could be an outbox: to house papers after they are reviewed and have yet to be taken back to school.
You could also use the outbox for books that need to be returned, etc. Another wall pocket could be things to be filed or scanned.
You could also do a tiered file sorter, stackable paper tray or magazine files if wall space isn’t available.
For papers that need to be kept and referred back to, you could use a binder to store and easily access these papers (dividing them by categories using tabbed sections).
I would suggest using an accordion file box or a portable file caddy for papers that need to be kept on record–or better yet, scan in papers and recycle the hard copy.

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

How can I organize the piles and piles of paper in my office?

Deb Lee — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:40:51 +0000

Keeping your papers organized can sometimes be a challenge. Before attempting to put the papers away, you’ll first need to figure what types of documents you have and put them in categories. So, you might have business papers (like taxes, policies, client information) and personal papers (like home repair/maintenance, insurance, appliances).

Once you have you documents categorized, decide which ones need to be stored in a file cabinet (you need them, but not every day) and which ones need to be out an about so you can see them (you handle them regularly). The documents that you need to have access to often can live in a wall file or desktop sorter.

The good news is that once you find a system that works for you, it will be fairly easy to keep up with.

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

What can I use to organize our athletics equipment in our garage? Such as lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks?

Allison Carter — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:32:32 +0000

Large athletic equipment can be a real challenge to store.
One of the simplest ways to store lacrosse and hockey sticks is to use a tall garbage can and stand everything upright in it.

If you would like to get them off of the floor, there are several options of hook systems you can attach to the wall to hold them up horizontally or vertically.

One of my favorites for sticks of all kinds (including brooms and mops) is this:

Photo from Hardwareworld.com

Hook set above from Amazon.com

For less than a dollar for each rubber-coated hook, you can hang all of your long items. It holds them upright vertically in place against the wall with the friction of the rubber.

Rubbermaid’s Fast Track system is more elaborate and has functions that you can use forever. It has a double hook that attaches to the system’s track.

Rubbermaid FastTrack Hooks

This is a great solution for sports equipment with the bonus that it’s easy to add, subtract, and change your hooks based on your needs.

Allison Carter likes fun and funky organizing. She is a creative, right brainer and thinks it is more fun to organize if you love how your space looks. So she utilitzes color, shape, pattern and texture to keep herself and her stuff organized. Check out her web site at The Professional Organizer!

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

How do I organize my makeup brushes for daily use?

Deb Lee — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:28:34 +0000

There are a few products that you can use to keep your most frequently used brushes organized and easily accessible. Keep in mind that you should regularly clean your makeup brushes (usually once per week) to reduce the build up of germs and bacteria. You don’t need a fancy cleaner — mild shampoo or even facial cleanser will do.

To keep your brushes organized, you can make your own makeup brush holder using a glass container and beads (or sand or stones), a toothbrush holder, or your favorite vase. You can also use a pencil holder or an acrylic organizer. Check out the photos in the gallery below to see which one would work best for you.

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

How Do I Organize My 2 Car Garage?

Beth Zeigler — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:51:07 +0000

Oh man how I love organizing a garage. It’s usually bulky stuff which makes the job go fast. Or just the opposite, you’ll find yourself needing homes for tiny bits and pieces (like tools and hardware) that are therapeutic to sort. But hopefully, there will be lots of expired and old items that you can toss immediately like old paints, broken objects and expired artifacts.

With a garage, you’ll have plenty of room to start in one corner and work your way around the garage in a clockwise pattern (pulling items out onto the driveway that are trash and donate.

Everything that stays gets grouped into zones—for example; You might have a hardware zone where light bulbs, batteries, tools, hardware and electrical gets stored. Some other broad categories that are often found in a garage:

holiday
car maintenance supplies
overflow from kitchen (larger platters and bulky appliances that are less used)
beverage overflow
sporting equipment
brooms and mops
winter gear

My all-time favorite way to store garage gear is the combination of metro shelving and plastic bins. You can label each bin with the contents of what’s stored inside so that you can easily locate any given item. It helps if you can get metro shelving with casters as you can move the shelves to clean or rearrange effortlessly if need be.

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

What product would you suggest to store wrapping supplies, including large rolls, bows, tags, bags, etc.?

Deb Lee — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:53:26 +0000

You can use a Rubbermaid storage tote to store your gift wrapping supplies, but the type of container you use will depend on the volume of supplies you have as well as where you’ll be putting your storage containers (e.g., garage, basement, under the bed, in a closet, etc.).

Based on type of items you mentioned, this container seems like it would work well for you. There are pockets for bags and folded wrapping papers and compartments for tags, bows, and large paper rolls. What do you think?

Holiday Wrap & Tote Organizer from the Container Store

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

Setting up An Office to Also Function as a Guest Room

Beth Zeigler — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:31:16 +0000

Most home offices these days also need to function as an entirely separate space—housed all within one room. I always suggest folks make a list of what they envision for the space; accounting for your specific needs. Make sure to anticipate the needs of your guests as well. After assessing what the requirements for the space are, you might have to cross some things off to make the goals realistic. But at least you’ll have a solid road map to follow in order to set up your office / guest room. Here are some questions to get you going in the right direction:

1. How often do you have guests? If it’s more than once a month, can you tolerate being ‘kicked out’ of your home office which could interrupt work that needs to be done?

2. Alternatively, how often will you be using the office? Is the space more for bill paying and web surfing? Or will this home office function as your sole workspace with regular office hours?

3. Is it important to you to offer guests a pull out couch or will a blow-up bed suffice?

4. Will guests need a set of dresser drawers to unpack their clothes into? Do you need to leave some hanging room in the closet for their clothes? Or can you get away with a luggage rack? You might also divide a dresser in half: a portion can store office supplies and the rest can be left free for guests.

5. Is there an closet in this room? Besides office supplies, what else does it need to house? What contents do you feel comfortable letting guests have access to? If there’s only a hanging rod, think about dividing the space up by creating some shelving. Use a freestanding unit or DIY a few with brackets (both can be found at your local hardware store).

Image used with permission under Creative Commons License from Flickr user elisaself

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?

How can I organize my 4yr olds toys that isn’t tacky and won’t stick out like a sore thumb like most toy organization systems do?

Allison Carter — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:15:43 +0000

Your challenge is to find containers that go with your sense of style.There are many ways to use ordinary living room and den furniture to store toys. You can hide toys in end tables with drawers, coffee tables with pull out baskets or drawers, and ottomans with removable lids.

Storage coffee table ottoman from Amazon.com by Coaster Home Furnishings

Winsome Morris Coffe Table with baskets from Amazon.com

You can put children’s toy sets into more attractive containers and place them on open shelving.
Be sure to coordinate the bins if they are not transparent.

Bladis basket from Ikea

Bristol storage box from The Container Store

Bento Boxes from Rubbermaid

If you have large toddler toys, consider getting a room divider screen, or a shelving unit that works as a room divider, like the Ikea Expidit bookcase seen here and available at Ikea and Amazon.com

Ikea Expidit bookcase

The best way for toys not to stick out like a sore thumb is to have fewer toys. Only keep what you have room for and they won’t stick out at all. Extras can be put into a storage closet and switched out occasionally.

Do you have a room or area in your home that needs organization help?