Get Hooked UP!

I love hooks A while back, I did a post about saving time in the morning, one of the comments mentioned using a hook on the back of her door... She uses it as a valet hook (the name and function of which, I just find fascinating) - staging her outfits on it, to help her get fabulously and quickly dressed in the morning. Smart, right?

So that got me thinking : Hooks! They're a simple, effective way to get stuff off the floor or even create a place for something to go. They're functional, and they can pretty much go anywhere. I love 3M's new hooks! I needed a place for my purse (instead of leaving it piled on a chair near our back door) to hang when I came home everyday. Our wall space is tight, so I decided to throw one of these babies on the side of our bookshelves.  Voila! Instant organization, and now I have a place to put my purse everyday when I get home.
 

 
One of our other problems with our most used entrance to our house is jackets/scarves/etc. There was no real place to put them (besides that chair by the back door). Our coat closet is near the front door, so it seems like a trek to put it away. Again, we didn't have much wall space, but we found a cool coat rack and decided to hang it vertically. It gave us a place to hang our coats (til they could make it into the coat closet), didn't take up much space, and works perfectly for our needs.


 
 
So buy some hooks, stick or screw them into place, and get to solving your own organization problems and making a place for everything (so eventually, everything will be in its place!). 

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!) 

Clean out your Draw's!

Working here at Rubbermaid, lots of people ask me what my favorite organization product is. My answers always vary slightly, depending on which product I'm currently using or enjoying. Today? I am TOTALLY in love with our mesh drawer organizers! As a chick, I have tons of makeup, lotions and potions to keep me looking my best. My bathroom vanity's drawers can get a little crazy! A few months ago, I got my hands on some of these puppies and re-organized these drawers. 

 
(Aren't they pretty?!) The organizers come in different sizes and have an interlocking feature to keep them in place. I configured a couple in each drawer, sorted them by use, and have been loving it ever since! Functional, keeping my stuff in order and SHINY :) What girl doesn't like shiny?
 


However, if you DON'T like the metallic look, we have these! They are new and look pretty snazzy with their black with khaki insert. Find a color that compliments your digs and clean out those drawers! Its the gift that keeps on giving! (oh, and boys, don't feel left out, I organized Jon's side as well, and he's enjoying it too... probably not as much as me though!)

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!!)

Weeknight Dinners, Simplified

Everyone wants to cook fresh, healthy food for themselves and their family. Homemade food is tastier, more affordable, and better for you than going out to eat...But these days, its often difficult to balance life and get dinner on the table!

Whether a working woman (or man) or a busy stay-at-home mom, things just get in the way of this nutritious priority. Recently my sister gave me a recipe book for making meals ahead of time and freezing them for future use... That got me thinking, I ALWAYS have more time, energy and moxie to make this want a reality... during the weekend. The key for me was to start planning my weekly meals, grocery shop for the week, and pre-prep food over the weekend to help out my work week. Here's a shot of our soon-to-be spaghetti and meatballs dinner:
 
    

I whipped up some  homemade sauce (super easy and cheaper than the jarred kind!), portioned out some for dinner and froze the rest. The veggies were bell peppers, onions and zucchini strips; prettily prepped and ready for sauteing. Even the turkey meatballs (totally bought, I cannot make those things!), I pulled out of the oddly-shaped package and neatly stacked in my Premier with the rest of the dinner. Results? Easy, fast, delishious weeknight dinner that can be cooked up in a flash!

My Messy Baby - Part 2 (Munchkin for My Munchkin)

After keeping a small cooler next to our bed for a couple of months and having to run downstairs to warm a late night bottle while our little screamer patiently awaits his meal, my wife and I decided that we needed to make the process more efficient.

Not to brag, but my little guy has plumped up to just over 18 lbs. That may seem like a lot, but it's only 2 lbs more than a standard bowling ball and the same weight of 4 gallons of milk. OK, I guess he's pretty big. To contrary belief, keeping my boy in the 98th percentile of weight is actually a pretty easy task. That is, with the help of Munchkin's Powdered Formula Dispensers. Since Mommy works full time and needs her beauty rest, most of the late night (3 am) feedings have been falling into my lap. If you don't know from personal experience, I'm sure that you can guess that it can be quite a challenge to prep a bottle in the middle of the night while your squealing little bundle of joy anxiously awaits.

With these canisters from Munchkin, you can easily pour your pre-measured formula in the 3 individual sections before the little monster has even thought about his next feeding. As you can see from the photos, I've put a small piece of tape directly below each section on the bottom of the canister to label the size of the bottle the mixture will produce. Just fill your bottles with sterilized water and seal tightly. Using the new Rubbermaid Carafe, the easy pour spout makes it effortless to fill the small-mouthed baby bottles without spilling water all over your kitchen.

This has really been a big time saver and really helped Dad get back to his own beauty rest. By having everything ready to go, you can have the bottle locked and loaded in a matter of seconds. I hope that this little insight will help you get back to sleep faster too.

 

Organize to Lift Your Spirits Using Feng Shui

When I was looking online for some interesting organizing tips or methods, I came across this article that talks about feng shui. This has a history that dates way back. It translates to organization by focusing on arranging things in your home to foster positive energy and eliminating things that put out negative energy. To me, it is a way to harmonize your space and your life. I love that word...harmony.

The article sited four types of clutter that affect the energy in your space:
(1) Things you do not use or love
(2) Untidy or disorganized items
(3) Too many items in a small space
(4) Any unfinished project.

No. 4 hit home with me. The article says: "The last category...is the hardest to see, therefore, the easiest category to ignore...These items are a constant drain on your psyche, always lurking in the back of your mind. Your conscious mind will suppress them for you but uses a lot of energy to do so..."

Anytime I'm at home I am surrounded by our unfinished walls. I believe this "unfinished-ness" reflects my nervousness about doing home projects all together - I'm always nervous that I'm going to mess something up or really ruin a part of our house. 

It all started when we scraped the popcorn off of our ceiling (which we did last summer). We want to put up crown molding in our living room. We can't do that until we paint the walls, we can't paint the walls until we lower the height of the bar in the kitchen, and we can't do that project until we get new counter tops, and we can't get new counter tops until we save the money to buy them. (Do you seem my major home project snowball forming?) I'm excited to get started and work through all of these unfinished things that surround me at home....and gain back the energy that I'm using now trying NOT to think about it.

For some, feng shui might seem a little "out there," but I think it is very interesting...but I am also someone who thinks about what kind of energy I put out into the world (and do my best to make it positive!). Feng shui here I come.

Baby Steps to a Better Coat & Game Closet

Like most people, our coat closet does not just house coats. It holds board games, shoes, a vacuum, my yoga mat and of course plenty of coats. I thought it was time to reorganize a bit...I found these easy steps online and pretty much followed them one by one. They are very basic and simple, but it helped to get my coat closet in much better shape.

The one shelf in the closet was a complete mess. It was like a game of jenga to get things down! When sorting through it, I found hand weights, a puzzle, an umbrella, several decks of cards, a poker chip set, empty gift boxes and even an old winter coat and ski pants wrapped up  tightly in a plastic bag (upper right corner). 

  

On the floor, the vacuum was taking up a lot of space because it has a rather large footprint in an awkward shape. I was trying to use a cardboard shoe holder (on left) for tennis shoes, sandals and other random things. The yoga mat was standing between the shoe holder and the vacuum, loosely rolled and not in its case.

 
 
I also found wrapping paper in the corner. (....which led me to my detour project in the middle of this: wrapping paper roundup!) My tennis shoes were NOT working out with this method - some were falling out, and I had shoved others on top. The flip flops fit well into the compartments, so that was plus.....I guess...? 

I got out my shoes and the shoe holder to assess the situation there. It is a good place for us to keep our sandals that we slip on to run out or go get the mail, so the shoe holder was going to stay. (I do need to paint it or something because that floral pattern is not my fave!) I just need to figure something out for my tennis shoes. 

I took all of the coats out to see if any could go to Goodwill. No dice. We actually wore everything that was in the closet. I put them back in order by length: vests together, short coats together and long coats together.

At this point, I found a tote that was going to be the home for my tennis shoes for now. I feel like it's not the best solution, but it will keep them together and from falling out all over the place. In reality, I probably need to only keep 1-2 pairs in the coat closet - the ones I wear most often - and put the others up in my bedroom closet.

With the closet empty, I took this rare opportunity to vacuum the floor and wipe down the baseboards and walls inside the closet. Now was ready to put everything back in...

I stacked the games in two piles on one side of the shelf up top. We don't use the games very often, so they can be stacked high. When I need one, I can always get the step stool. At least now they are neat and sturdy - no more jenga stacks! I used a small plastic bin (on right) for our decks of cards. The coats are arranged by length: short things on the left above the shoe holder and long coats on the right.

   
On the floor, the shoe holder is still there. I feel like there is a better solution, so I will keep looking around for other ideas. I found several options online, but I'm not sure if any of them will work for me. I like it for now to hold our most-used sandals, and I also put the hand weights in the bottom compartments since they were the heaviest. In another closet I found some resistance bands and small dumbbells, so I put those in the other compartments along the bottom. My yoga mat is now in it's carrying case and leaning in the corner (which you can't see in the pic). The tennis shoe bin and the vacuum fit next to each other, and when we need to get the vacuum out, we will slide the shoe bin out for easy access.

Through this process, I realized a few things:

1. It might be best to find a new home for our vacuum since it is the biggest, most awkward item that takes up the most room. Also, the height of it doesn't make it the best fit in the coat closet. We vacuum the most downstairs, which is why we have stored in the coat closet.

2. I need to find a new shoe/sandal holder or put in some shelves on the bottom. My husband and I need to pick only one or two pairs to keep in the coat closet that we wear the most and move all others up to our bedroom closet. 

3. If we can find room in another closet, it would help to store heavy winter coats somewhere else in the off-season.

I realize that my coat closet is in better shape than it was, but I still think it needs some work. Please let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. Hopefully I will have another post in the future about my new & even more improved coat closet!

No more losing earrings in my gym bag!

Several days a week I change clothes immediately after work and head to another activity: coaching volleyball practice, going to the gym or playing volleyball or softball. This requires me to change clothes either in a bathroom or a locker room. In my gym bag, there is a zipper pocket where I put my jewelry. This pocket houses bobby pins, hairties, pens and barrettes. Fishing out bracelets or necklaces from this pocket is not a problem, but earrings tend to get buried in the bottom. When this happens I have to pull everything out to find my earrings...and it's annoying.

NOT ANYMORE!! One night I had a light bulb moment: instead of dropping the earrings into the pocket, I "pierced" them through part of my necklace. 

With my earrings attached to my necklace, they no longer fall deep into the dark pocket and jumble with the other small items. Most necklaces have a small loop(s) of some sort where I think this method will work for most necklaces/earrings. So far it's worked like a charm! Now when I go to put my jewelry back in its proper place at home (which is much easier since I organized my necklaces and my earrings), I will pull out my necklace, and there will be no more fishing for earrings!