Rubbermaid - Adventures in Organization

Life is Changing - Introduction

I really like to have everything in order. I want every closet, cabinet and drawer to have a specific use, but you know, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Busy schedules, family priorities and lazy procrastination gets in the way of the ideal state.

Now I have a new reason for things to be a mess - change, flux, holding patterns. Without sounding like a country song, it’s been quite a year. My husband started working from home, the oldest daughter got a place of her own, my mother-in-law had to be placed in assisted living, the youngest daughter leaves for college in 8 months.

 

What this means is it feels like my house has gone through a time warp. I have too much furniture in some places and none in others. All the closets have blended stuff, some coming in, some going out. There’s antique quilts and heirloom dishes, seasonal clothes, office supplies, spare electronics and so much more to store or place until it finds a permanent home.

HELP! The holidays are coming, and so are the relatives. I must start somewhere. I have found some inspiration and great videos here and professional organizers say step 1 is to purge and sort. But, I don't quite know where to begin....

My Wife's Messy Closet

What’s the difference between a strategic withdrawal and an outright surrender? More specifically, should I be happy that my wife’s mess is contained behind bi-fold closet doors or should I press on….striving for the nirvana of a reformed and cheerily organized wife?

Way back in June 2008 boasted about how I’d convinced my wife to organize her closet. I waited for the right moment, got her involved in the process, and had her put the finishing touches on….. amazing!

And for a while it was.

But now fifteen months later, the shine has come off. Today the inside of my wife’s closet is a jumble of clothes proving that the system is only as good as the operator. She doesn’t take the time to fold and hang, to put things back, to use the sliding basket or put her shoes on the shoe shelves.  She doesn’t see how much better her day would start without the frustration of wrestling with her cluttered closet…..

But she does keep her mess contained enough so that she can close her door.

 

Pre-June 2008 Brian really hated that her closet vomited clothes onto the floor of our room and disturbed the Zen like atmosphere. That’s been taken care of. But I do cringe whenever she opens it. Should I care? Should I risk more arguments or just take pleasure in my incremental (yet partial) victory …

Help me?

I need advice.

The Surprisingly Versatile Spring Bag

I am so glad that Lorie Marrero, a professional organizer, came to visit our office recently.  She gave us awesome insights on how she helps people organize.  However, the most exciting thing for me was that she told us how she uses our Spring Bag (designed for gathering outdoor leaves and yard debris). 

She uses it while helping her clients get organized in their homes.  She also uses it for herself - for picnics, camping, parties, and opening gifts at holiday time (The Clutter Diet Blog).  I never realized that this item was so versatile!  I am so excited to pick one of these up and actually try it to help with organizing my home.  I need a lot of help getting organized, so I'll take whatever little tips and tricks I can pick up along the way.

Do you have a product that was made for some other purpose, but you use it to help you get organized?  If so, I'd love to add your product to my list of items to try out!

Being Organized to be a Grocery Deal Hunter

I recently found out that September is National Coupon Month.   What a reason to celebrate!  Those who know me realize I LOVE coupons and deals. So, in honor of this holiday, I dedicate today's post.

My love for grocery coupons started about 5 years ago when I started working on advertising for Rubbermaid and was learning how to plan and drop coupons in the Sunday newspaper for our food storage [Fun Fact - Officially, those are called FSIs - Free Standing Inserts].   So, I started to get the paper and look at it on Sunday to learn more about it, and soon became addicted to looking for myself!  It is now something I look forward to on Sundays - a good cup of coffee and my newspaper!

Just last night, I went to my local Harris Teeter and saved $27 on a $47 purchase.  So, I only paid $20 for my groceries.

I know there are a lot of experts out there (check out Jill Cataldo, she is my new favorite), but wanted to share my personal tips and tricks for how I stay organized to be a grocery deal hunter. 

1) ORGANIZE WHEN YOU CLIP

I have found this helps me to refrain from buying items I don't need.  For instance, I recently had to throw out 3 cartons of broth I had bought with coupons.  However, in the summer, not making soups, they expired and I ended up losing money by being overly coupon zealous.

Above is a photo of my organizer which is sorted:

a) By store. 

The front is for grocery. 

The back is for Target items like toiletries and cleaning supplies that are most efficiently bought at Target.   Even with tripling, Harris Teeter can be more expensive than the every day Target price on these items.  Every time I am going to Target, I take a look to see if I need anything that is in that section soon.

b) By Type of Purchase

Triple Coupons - Within grocery, there is a section for items to only buy when there are triple coupons at Harris Teeter.  For instance, I do not use mayonaise daily. But I sometimes use it for recipes. If there is a $.75 coupon (worth $2.25 on triple coupon times) and mayonaise costs $1.89, I will save it to get it for free in case I need it.

Everyday Shopping - There is also a section by area of the store - so when I plan my shopping list, I can quickly see if I have coupons

2) UTILIZE ONLINE SITES

A few of my favorites are SmartSource and Coupons.com for which you can sign up for weekly emails.  I like it being delivered to me because then I don't have to plan to take time to look for the savings.

3) ALIGN YOUR MEALS WITH STORE SPECIALS

I am so impressed with Harris Teeter.  They have an eVic program that you can sign up for weekly.  Every Wednesday, I receive an email with the items I frequently buy that are on sale and also what is on sale in the entire store.  It also alerts you if it is Triple Coupon Week.  I spend 5 minutes to plan my shopping and meals for the week.  I look for:

a) Things I already buy and have no preference on switching.  For instance, I eat fruit daily and yogurt for breakfast every morning.  When shopping, I switch between blueberries / strawberries / grapes as well as yogurt brands depending on the deal that week.

b) BOGOs.  For instance, this week, London Broil and Turkey Burgers are Buy One Get One Free.  So, I plan to incorporate those into my meals this weekend.

I hope you find my tips beneficial.  Please leave comments with any additional tips you may have for Organizing Coupons and Savings.

How to Unclutter with Evernote and Rubbermaid in 4 Steps

Evernote recently contacted us at Rubbermaid about working on an organizational project. In case you didn't know, Rubbermaid is great for organizing your stuff and Evernote is great at organizing information electronically so you don't forget anything. So could we combine these two? Evernote decided to try! They organized their storage closet and it turned out great! Read about the four steps they used to organize with Rubbermaid and Evernote products:

http://blog.evernote.com/2009/08/26/unclutter-with-evernote-and-rubbermaid-in-4-steps/

Go read the post!!! It has some great advice about remembering what you put where...and you MIGHT be able to win some Rubbermaid storage containers. I mean MAYBE, POSSIBLY...we're TOTALLY giving away some containers so you can try the four steps yourself :)

Getting Motivated...when the clutter is too much

I have always been amazed at those shows where people have stuff all over their house. It is so disorganized that they can barely walk from room to room. The ones that pile things on their bed and still slept in it always amused me. I never understood how they could live that way let alone let their house get that way.

I have never understood until this past week. As I blogged about before, I moved last weekend out of my apartment in Athens. It was a whole weekend process that was long and tiring. I got back late to Charlotte and had enough energy to unload my car and pile stuff into my living room and crawl into bed.

Then next week flew by with me running around doing work and personal stuff every evening. I did not get home before 10 p.m. any night. I would walk into my apartment and see the pile of stuff I had left in the living room and all the energy (what little was left) would drain out of me. All my stuff piled up was stressing me out but I did not have time to deal with it. I kept promising myself that this weekend would be the time to organize.

So the weekend rolled around and Saturday morning came. I walked into my living room (or at least to the part I could get to) and I did not know where to start. There was piles of things from my move and the week before. Things I just threw down because I did not have time to put them away. Sadly, I turned my back on it all and went into my bedroom to watch a movie.

I was procrastinating and ignoring for two reasons. I was tired and my stuff was making me tired. Thinking of the energy it would take to put everything away and thinking of how much work I had to do was wearing me out. Also, I was overwhelmed. If I have little projects to organize, it's easy. I know where to start and I know I can finish it soon. This wasn't a little project and I did not know where to start.

A movie later, I walked back into my living room. I turned on some music. I stood there and looked at my stuff. Then I decided to clean my kitchen...at least I knew how and where to start there. I cleaned my kitchen. Then, I walked back into my living room and saw a box that had some kitchen stuff in it. I knew where that went so I put it away. I walked back into my living room and grabbed a pile of clothes that went in my bedroom. I put them away. Slowly, I organized my living room by taking it one step at a time.

I seriously was not sure if I was going to be able to put my living room back together. I was not sure if I was motivated enough or had enough energy. I completely understood how people's houses got out of control. It was easier to ignore it. It was easier to put it off. It was easier to stand there and not know where to start. It was easier to fill my time with other, more fun activities.

I thought it was easier until Sunday morning when I woke up and walked into my living room and felt pride, not worry or stress. The work was so worth it.

So, if you have a big organizational problem that is stressing you out and not letting you live your life...stop ignoring it! Break it up into little projects. And don't be afraid to ask for help. My back-up plan was to call my mom, tell her my problem, and have her call me every hour to ask what I had organized. I cannot lie to my mom (she always KNOWS) and she would keep me accountable.

So get motivated and organize!

FastTrack all over the house

Sadly, I don't have a garage.  But, because they have an additional whole for direct mount into studs in interior walls, I have still found ways to use Rubbermaid FastTrack hooks throughout my house.

Here are a few places the hooks have come in handy for me:

1-Holding mops / stick tools in my laundry room (3 handle S hook)

2- Propping up canvases in my art closet (ladder hooks)

Holding camping chairs in my really little coat closet (hose hook)

Keeping sporting goods off the floor (Multipurpose hook) - this poor tennis racket hasn't seen any court time for quite awhile, so it needs a good resting place!

How Rubbermaid Organizes Around the Office

Jim had done a post awhile back on how the graphic design guys in our office use FastTrack to organize their desk spaces.   I thought it might be neat to share a few other photos from our office and how we use both our own products and other great products to keep our spaces neat & tidy around here:

Engineers use Totes and Shelving for keeping their samples organized

 

The Industrial Designers use little food storage containers to hold up the glass table in their area...I wouldn't expect anything less out of this creative bunch :)

The research & development guys are very tidy, keeping their items neatly tucked away in FastTrack garage cabinets and organizing magazines on a clever rack.

The Commercial Marketing team keeps their samples on shelving as well since their large restaurant-type items won't fit in a small cube!

 

Alternative "Linen Closet"

If you don't have a linen closet like Jim (see his blog on his Linen Closet Makeover) , a quick way to store extra tablecloths, linens and sheets is an underbed box.  I love how the top flap will open halfway so I don't have to drag the box completely out to find what I am looking for. 

How do you store sheets and linens?

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."