Rubbermaid - Adventures in Organization

My Wife's Tidy Closet

Sometimes silence is more effective then words.

In my last blog post I talked about how messiness had returned to my wife's closet despite the Configurations makeover we'd given it over a year ago.

 

I asked people if I should take comfort in the fact that 'at least' she could now close her door or if I should keep pushing for an organized closet.

Our readership was clear...."if she keeps the door shut....you keep your mouth shut."

 

And I did.

Instead I went about my usual Fall closet conversion (Summer clothes in totes to the basement, Fall/Winter clothes up) without a word of nagging or even a hopeful suggestion that she do the same.

It turns out that silence was more powerful.

Not only did she clean out her closet and fill three bags of purged clothes for Good Will, but she actually asked me to install another basket. She got engaged in making the space work for her!

 

Now I'm not under the illusion that the closet won't drift back to clutter but this is a huge victory.

My lessons are simple:

 

1) System Matters: In the dark days (about a week ago) I fretted that the system didn't matter if the person in question wasn't committed. But after our little miracle I realize that her Configurations Closet did play a big role.

a. It tamed her mess and stopped it from spilling out on the floor

b. It helped her see the benefits of an organized closet and tipped her back into action

c. It was flexible so we could easily alter its set-up (remove shelves and add a basket)

 

2) Lead by Example: It probably won't work for kids but if you're unhappy with a parner's messiness;

a. let it be known

b. do all you can to help

c. let it  be. In my case the fact that I'd "given up on her" really propelled her to action.

 

I have to thank everyone who nudged me in this direction.....the sound of silence.

Please Help My Mom Get Her Basement Organized!

The last time I went home to Virginia, my mom invited me to join her in the basement.

  She led me to a corner that had a ton of decorative flowerpots, home decor items, and party serving dishes.  Then she said to me,"Take a look if you want anything...I don't need all this stuff. I don't have any more room in the house for it."

Let's back up. In many ways, I am very similar to my mother.  My mom is really organized - see an example of her closet on the right that she and my stepfather designed and built.  They combed through magazines to find the perfect combination, then he built it from scratch in his workshop.  She selected neat organizers that matched from Tuesday morning.  Overall, it is quite impressive.

The Basement Problem

However, while I am a "purger" and like to get rid of anything in my home I don't actively use (except all my art supplies!!), my mom is more of a "keeper".  Her basement has become a collection place for so many items from their combined households when they got married.  The issue is that they don't have room in the house to put the decorations, extra chairs, etc. anymore - see below:

The decor area:

The graveyard of rocking chairs and dining room chairs from combined households:

The overflow area for household supplies that she does not use everyday (this needs to stay in the basement but I want to organize it better for them):

My mom is feeling a bit stressed from the clutter in the basement.  She feels guilty that she bought some things for use in the house, but ran out of room.  Many of the decorative items are not returnable.

I am thinking a yard sale might be best to sell a lot of the things they don't need, and then they could do something fun and spontaneous with the money.  That could allow her to feel like the purchases were not a waste.

Progress Thus Far:

I mailed her some tags that I bought at Target to start tagging things that she knows she doesn't need, things she wants to keep, and things she is not sure about. When I go home over Thanksgiving, we are going to go through it all together.   I will likely return in the Spring to help them have the yard sale.

Help me!

I would love your help.  Do you think the process is right so far?   Any tips or pointers for the process, or do you have any advice on having a yard sale?  This is my first time, so welcome your expert input!  I look forward to keeping you updated on the progress!

Lance Armstrong's Garage

Just saw a post on Lance Armstrong's garage that desperately needs a Rubbermaid makeover by Jim and I !  I would love to show Lance what FastTrack can do.  Who thinks Rubbermaid has what it takes to help Lance get his garage in order?

Abby's Hall Closet Makeover

A few months ago, I did a post, sharing a story about Abby who needed help getting her hall closet in more manageable order due to an overwhelming amount of kids shoes, gloves and scarves.

Taking advice from professional organizers, Mandi @doodlesplace and Lauren @orgconnect, we sent Rubbermaid Configurations cubbies and an over the door shoe organizer to help organize.

Below are a few photos of the results she took of how she has kept the closet organized since.  Great job, Abby!

 

 

The Consumer Queen's Garage - The Professional Organizer's View

As I have mentioned before, professional organizer Melissa Smallwood of Organized Life by Design volunteered her services to help the Consumer Queen organize her garage. Now that the Consumer Queen's garage is decluttered, she was able to send Melissa her garage dimensions and a better idea of what needed to go in the space. Melissa was then able to start to put together  a detailed organizational plan for the garage. As she started this process, I was able to ask her a few questions to get a better idea of what professional organizers do and how they tackle a customer's organizational problem.

1. As a professional organizer, when you first talked to the Consumer Queen about organizing her garage, what information did you need to know?

I needed to know the scope of the problem (she was able to provide me with a video and pictures), I need to know how the clutter became an issue, what the client's goal is for the space and more practical things like the dimensions of the space, budget, time frame for project, etc.

2. What is an organizational plan that a professional organizer will give you?

This will vary according to the professional organizer. There are more and more of us offering virtual organizing services similar to the services I am offering the Consumer Queen. The plans I provide my clients include my insight into how the area became disorganized (or why organization is lacking in general), ways to improve organization generally and then specific steps for organizing based on the individual client's needs and preferences. I also provide a maintenance plan and follow up so that once someone has invested the time, money and energy in becoming more organized they don't turn around 3 months later to find the space a mess again. The plan will also include product recommendations within the budget guidelines the client has provided me with.

3. What were you thinking about when you were drawing up the Consumer Queen's garage plan?

Her husband's health issues and the fact that kids play in there means that safety needs to be in the forefront of the design. My biggest goal is getting room for the car in there :-)

4. What was the most challenging aspect of creating a design for the Consumer Queen's garage?

The many purposes the space needs to accommodate versus the space available

5. What should a plan from a professional organizer include?

Again this will depend on the organizer and the type of services you are receiving. When I worked with local clients (hands-on) my plans were less involved and less specific because I was implementing them. With virtual organizing clients the plan is much more detailed and "user friendly" so that the client can easily make the changes called for. Any basic plan should be specific to the client's needs, situation and goal for their space.

6. What makes plans effective?

Effective organizing plans are NOT canned. Everyone has a different organizing style or personality. Any plan needs to reflect the unique desires and style of the client and their situation. Organizing is not a one size fits all field.

7. Why should people consider hiring a professional organizer instead of doing the project themselves?

A professional organizer can look at the clutter/disorganization objectively and can assist with insight into how the problem came to exist in the first place. A professional organizer can also narrow the focus and set realistic goals to make sure a project is successful from start to finish.

Consumer Queen Garage Makeover - Getting rid of the junk

The Consumer Queen is working hard with her garage makeover. As professional organizer Melissa Smallwood advised (see this post), the Consumer Queen is starting with decluttering. She has started to go through her garage and get rid of the junk - with a garage sale.

Check out her garage sale and her progress!

Consumer Queen Garage Makeover - Step One is De-cluttering!

The first step of any organizing project (after admitting the problem exists) is to DECLUTTER!

Melissa Smallwood from Organized Life By Design offered the Consumer Queen these tips for Decluttering:

Problem Area:  Garage
Ultimate goal for space:  clean, organized storage, safe for kids to use space for games and crafts, room to park vehicle

• Group like things together when sorting (seasonal items, your stockpile items, etc)
• Eliminate duplicate items (particularly tools, toys)
• Items that have not been used for a significant period of time (i.e 3 months) should consider getting rid of unless they are seasonal items for holidays
• If items do not get used often (seasonal, etc.) group them together for storage (such as the attic area) that is less accessible 
• If you have boxes, containers storing items- now is a good time to go through and make sure what you think is in the box actually is, make sure the things in there really need to be stored (have you used them recently?, will you use them in the near future?, etc)
• Try to avoid being distracted by sentimental items.  Make a pile of anything that has sentimental value to go through later.  It will slow down the decluttering process if you try to do that at the same time.
• Items not recommended to be stored in the garage/shed: candles, paper, clothing
• You mentioned gardening equipment- when going through this only keep what you have used in the last gardening season.  Resist the urge to keep things just because you might need them someday.  Someday rarely comes and if it does, you can go borrow one or get another.
• Any chemicals (paint, car chemicals (oil, antifreeze, etc) need to be stored in a locked place if children are going to be playing in the garage for liability reasons.

De-cluttering made easy:

• Have a box for yard sale, a box for donating, a big trash bag and a place to put the things you intend to keep.  You can also have a box for items you can’t decide what to do with and come back to it later.
• Be prepared to compromise with your spouse- de-cluttering can be emotional.
• Do this in short 15-30 minute spurts.  Don’t try to do a marathon de-cluttering.  You will tire out and start to make decisions about the items based on wanting to get finished rather than choices that will stick. 

As Melissa says: Happy Organizing!

Easy Find Lids - Rubbermaid Employee Rivalry Contest

We are excited to announce a little internal competition here at Rubbermaid.   To give you a bit of history on how this competition came to be, the team was in a marketing meeting back in November.   One of our goals was to brainstorm ways to get the word out about our Easy Find Lids System food storage containers.  Around the table, we all had different opinions on what favorite thing was, and  realized everyone uses them quite differently in our own homes!

We want YOU, the readers, to vote who has the most compelling argument.   In your post, list the NAME of the person you think has the best idea and WHY. To thank you for your vote, we will be selecting 5 posts at random to win an All-in-One set at the end of June.    

So here goes..... 

Lauren Spahr -  Leader, Marketing Communications

My favorite feature about Rubbermaid Premier is how well they stack together, both in my refrigerator, and then when I want to take food on the go. Check out how the entire contents of my barbeque are stored for a nice week of leftovers and how I can easily grab the stack to take them to work for the week.

Jim Deitzel - eMarketing Manager

  

There are so many great features about the Easy Find Lids food storage system that it was really hard to pick just one (but Lauren made me). So, my favorite feature is how the containers nest inside of each other (plus that lids snap to lids, plus there are only 3 sizes of lids so you have a really good chance of finding one that fits).

As you can see from this photo, I have three main stacks of containers in my cabinet. One stack for the 1.25 & 2 cup, one stack for the 3 & 5 cup, and another stack for the 9 & 14 cup. I also have a separate stack just for the Produce Saver containers, which I nest all together.

Within each stack I have both Premier and Easy Find Lids containers. Since all the containers within the system are the same shapes they all nest neatly together, which makes it very easy to keep the cabinet organized.

I store all of my lids in a single stack. Large lids on bottom, medium, then small. This conserves space as well and it makes it easy to keep the lids organized. One of the nice things about these lids is that even though I have six sizes of containers there are only three sizes of lids. This makes it very easy to always find a lid that fits and I’m never searching for missing lids.

NOTE: This picture was taken back in October but my cabinet STILL looks as neat as it did in this photo, which is amazing. Additionally I’ve added another small Produce Saver as well as a medium Produce Saver to my collection. They are absolutely invaluable when it comes to storing strawberries, blueberries & blackberries.

Megan Murphy -  Leader, Product Marketing

By far my favorite cabinet in my kitchen is the one that keeps my food storage. The Easy Find Lids System has provided me with the perfect organizational method. Every time I open up this cabinet I feel accomplished - like I’m doing something right. My Premier, Produce Saver, Easy Find Lids and Lock-its are all neatly stacked with lids snapped to the bases. Depending on my need, I always have the right container at the ready. Now if only my pantry made me feel the same way!!

Doug Marquardt-  Sr. Manager, Product Marketing

 

One of the coolest things about Rubbermaid containers is how they are specially designed for different uses. I think this is a great feature of the product line because it makes storing leftovers a lot less frustrating. For example, I don’t enjoy throwing out lettuce a couple days after I bought it, so I really like how Rubbermaid Produce Saver containers keep leafy vegetables fresh and crisp. I also like my plastic containers to stay clean and odor free. I used to throw them out when they would have leftover pasta sauce stains or onion smell. This isn’t a problem anymore with Rubbermaid Premier containers – they always stay clean and odor free!

Now for the bonus feature - you might think that keeping a bunch of special containers would take up a lot of space in my cabinets, but they actually nest together in one stack because of the Easy Find Lids system. Besides nesting together, the lids snap together and also attach to the bottom of containers. Pretty cool!

Katie Parsons-   Manager, Product Marketing

   

I love Rubbermaid Premier because I can always find the lid I need, when I need it. I’m not really known for my culinary skills but I decided to test them out by making a big Sunday dinner, last weekend. I managed to whip up quite the feast but had a lot of leftovers. I grabbed my Rubbermaid Premier and transferred the food into the container. My green bean casserole was still warm, so I snapped the lid to the base and left it on the counter to cool. I was able to move the container off the counter to clean it, and the lid stayed attached. When I was finished washing dishes, my leftovers had cooled off. I moved the lid from the bottom to the top and into the fridge it went! It’s really a handy feature!

Rachel Pike -  Associate Product Manager

 

My favorite feature about the Easy Find Lids system is the fact that the same lid fits different size bases. For example, the same Premier lid fits the 3-cup, 5-cup, and 7-cup bases. That means when I pull a lid out of my cabinet, the first lid I grab will most likely be the right size for my base. It’s just another way that this system eliminates the frustration and time drain of the "great lid hunt."

The Consumer Queen's Garage

For those of you who missed Jim Deitzel's post linking to a video of Melissa's (aka The Consumer Queen) garage, you need to go check it out. Her garage was an absolute mess (no offense Melissa!). Here are a few pictures.

                       

 She was pleading for help from Rubbermaid to get her garage organized.

This was a job that was a little too big for just us to tackle. Thankfully, professional organizer Melissa Smallwood (whose company is called Organized Life By Design) stepped up and offered her services. Working together, we are all going to get Consumer Queen's garage looking BEAUTIFUL and ORGANIZED.

Last night we had our first meeting. I was so excited to see how other people go about the organization process and more importantly how professional organizers help others get organized.

The Consumer Queen had realized two things about her garage:

1. She had too much stuff - she is going to have a garage sale to get rid of some of her clutter
2. Her kids had started to just throw things in the garage and not putting them where they belong

These were two important realizations. First, she realized she needed to purge and get rid of things, and second, she needed easy organizational systems that her kids could follow.

Melissa Smallwood had some great advice for anyone trying to get organized. Here are some of the things she said that really stood out to me:

1. When organizing you need to figure out who is going to be responsible for the decluttering. Someone who is a natural is always better but the skills could be taught.(In this case, the Consumer Queen is the natural declutterer so she will be forcing her husband to get rid of things) 
2. You do not need duplicates. The Consumer Queen said her husband had duplicate tools because someone would offer them to him and he would not say no. If you have one, don't get another and add to the clutter!
3. It is easier to keep a garage organized if you park your car in it. A car takes up a lot of space and to park it in the garage you have to keep that space organized.

Check back here for updates and visit The Consumer Queen and Melissa Smallwood's blogs for updates also.

The Consumer Queen needs help in her garage

 If you don't know Melissa (Consumer Queen) you should. She writes a great blog about saving money and she reviews products too.  She also has a fun Blog Talk Radio show on Thursday nights.

Anyway, a while back Lauren and I told her we'd try to help get her garage organized (now seeing the video I'm a little scared). On Tuesday she sent us a video of her garage so we could get a feel for the situation.

Below is our challenge/her garage. I thought you'd be interested in seeing. Does anyone feel like helping out? She's in Oklahoma.