Get Organized Now! Weblog

I Found a GREAT Way to Store Stuffed Animals!!!

My daughter, Amanda, has literally hundreds of stuffed animals. She plays with all of them and would choose a stuffed animal in a store before most any other toy.

In the past, we've helped her keep them organized with baskets and bins--but there was nothing that was big enough to hold them all AND it was very difficult for her to find what she was looking for.

BUT last week, I found the greatest solution--it keeps every stuffed animal contained, but easily accessible for Amanda.

It's called THE ZOO.

If you're tired of having stuffed animals here, there and everywhere, I highly recommend this solution. Visit:

http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=1281420

Too Many Cookbooks...What To Do?

I like to cook, and I own lots of cookbooks. I know I can get many recipes online, and I often do, but I also love sitting down with a good 'physical' cookbook, flipping through the pages and enjoying the photos. So, even though I can access recipes online, my cookbooks are here to stay, never mind those that I'll surely accumulate in the future.

I currently am storing these cookbooks in my home office in my bookcase, but the volume is beginning to exceed the space--cookbooks are not the only genre I'm storing in my present bookcase.

So, I had an epiphany today. Why not get an additional bookcase--and put it in my kitchen? I mentioned the idea to my husband, Joe, and he grabbed his nifty tape measure and told me it was completely feasible.

So, I stopped at Keck Furniture, our local furniture store, and found an excellent bookcase, 24 inches wide, by 13 inches deep, by 84 inches tall--available to order. The wood grain is medium maple, which is nearly an exact match of my kitchen cabinets. I placed my deposit, and will have my new bookcase in 8 weeks flat. I can't wait!

I'll have plenty of space for my cookbooks, and best yet, they'll be stored right in the kitchen where I cook!

I know having a bookcase in the kitchen is not necessarily conventional, but sometimes you have to jump out of the box and do something that you know will work for you, your family, your space and your needs!

Utterly Amazing Organizing Statistics

Wondering if getting organized is worth your time? Here are some utterly amazing statistics. You make the call.

* People spend, on average, 6 minutes looking for their keys in the morning.

* Due to clutter, 25% of people with two-car garages can't park any cars in there and 32% can park only one.

* Women with shoe racks were seven more times likely to be on time for work than women without shoe racks.

* 80% of what we keep we never use.

* We wear 20 per cent of the clothes we own, 80 per cent of the time. The rest hangs there, just in case.

* 80 per cent of what we file never gets looked at again!

* Your four-drawer file cabinet, when full, holds 18,000 pages.

* Getting rid of clutter eliminates 40 per cent of housework in an average home.

* Married men were four times more likely to leave their pajamas on the floor in the morning compared to single men.

* 23% of adults say they pay bills late (and thus incur fees) because they lose them.

* Eighty per cent of the clutter in homes is a result of disorganization, not lack of space.

(Resource: Survey results from Ikea and the National Association of Professional Organizers)

Put a Hook in Every Nook

Place hooks on the insides of closet doors, on the back of bathroom, bedroom and office doors, on the backs of the cabinets in the kitchen (and the kitchen walls), in the coat closet, bedroom closets, and in other nooks and crannies in your home or office.

They're wonderful tools for keeping areas organized, and can actually increase your storage space. They can hold umbrellas, dog leashes, belts, bags, jackets, pots, pans mugs, tools and more!

Increase Your Kitchen Storage Space

Tired of the limited amount of space in your kitchen?

Wall space in most kitchens is normally neglected. When used wisely, taking advantage of storage solutions on the walls can increase your kitchen storage space.

For instance, if you install a rack or wall grid there, you may hang your cooking utensils just like many professional chefs do.

Another idea is to install hooks to hang your frying pans and lids from the ceiling--with this idea, they'd be in close reach at all times.

How about installing a wall shelf? You just might find some new space to store dish washing items, potted spices or cookbooks.

With a little bit of thought and creativity, you can find space you never knew you had!

What's In Your Purse?

A recent challenge on my web site was to 'weed out your purse or briefcase.' It's amazing how many items, one may be carrying around day-to-day, that never get used.

According to Kelley Styring, author of 'In Your Purse', the average bag weighs 3.4 pounds and contains 67 objects.

One of the first things I consider when purchasing a new purse, is the weight of the bag itself. I tend to gravitate towards lighter cloth purses (rather than leather) that do not have chain straps, metal hardware or otherwise heavy components. In addition, my wallet is small, cloth and lightweight.

To determine what you are using, insert a transparent plastic bag inside your purse. For two weeks, whatever you use gets inserted into the plastic bag. Whatever you don't use, just remains inside your purse outside of the plastic bag.

At the end of the two-week period, whatever is in your plastic bag should remain in your purse. The rest should be removed.

This list will give you an idea of the essentials for a typical purse:

--Your wallet (1 or 2 credit cards, ATM card, IDs, money and a few important photos if you wish)

--Your checkbook (only if you use it regularly)

--Your keys (I also have a few common store savings cards attached to my key chain)

--Eyeglasses, Sunglasses

--Cell Phone and/or PDA

--Lipstick and a small compact

--A hairbrush and/or comb (if you use it regularly)

--Floss (you never know when you'll need it!)

--Breath mints

--Small package of tissues

You may have one or two unconventional items in addition. For example, I keep a few crayons and some folded paper in a Ziplock for my daughter. She likes to color when we're in restaurants, waiting rooms, etc., and many establishments don't have these available for her.

At any rate, you'll be doing your back and shoulders a favor by lightening your load. Plus, you'll be able to more easily find things in a purse that's not overstuffed and overcrowded.

California family finds $10,000 in box of crackers

Source: Associated Press

IRVINE, Calif. The box of Annie's Sour Cream and Onion Cheddar Bunny crackers that Debra Rogoff bought at the grocery store included something extra--an envelope stuffed with $10,000.

Yet the Irvine woman was more curious than ecstatic. After all, who would leave money in such a place?

'We just thought, `This is someone's money,' she said. 'We would never feel good about spending it.'

The family called police and was initially told the money could be part of a drug drop.

But police later heard from store managers at Whole Foods in Tustin that an elderly woman had come in a few days earlier, hysterical because she had mistakenly returned a box of crackers with her life savings inside. In a mix- up, the store restocked the box. The woman, whose identity wasn't released, had lost faith in her bank and decided the box would be a safer place for the money.

Luckily for her, the box of crackers were bought by the Rogoffs, who found the crisp $100 bills in an unmarked white envelope.

The Rogoffs never heard from the woman and didn't receive a reward, but Rogoff did return to Whole Foods a couple weeks later.

'I asked them if I could have another box of crackers,' she said with a laugh. The store obliged.

Moral of this story...

It's never a good or organized idea to stick your life savings in a box of crackers!

Getting Magazines in the Rack to Stand Up

Recently, I purchased a very nice wrought iron magazine rack for our current magazines. It's in our master bedroom and generally holds 7-10 issues of various titles.

However, something has been driving me absolutely bonkers. I stand a fresh, new magazine in the magazine rack in it's upright position, just to find it a few days later curled and conforming to the shape of the magazine rack.

Yesterday, I cut up pieces of thick cardboard, the size of my magazines. I put each sheet behind each of the magazines, and then clipped the middle-top of each magazine to the cardboard using a binder clip.

Problem solved! Because the cardboard is so strong, the magazines will look fresh and new serving as temporary accessories in my decor AND they won't be curled when I'm ready to read them.

To some readers, this may sound silly. But in my strong opinion, it's often the little things that make your day a touch better that count!

Where is my pink sparkly barrette?

(Click photo to enlarge.)
When is it prime time to come up with an organizing solution? Often when you find you're painstakingly spending time searching for something on a fairly regularly basis.

This recently came to be with my 4-year old's hair accessories. How many hair accessories does a 4-year old need? In Amanda's case, lots!

So this past weekend, I stopped at Shopko and picked up a scrapbooking embellishment organizer to get those hair accessories under control and organized.

The results:

a) Amanda loves looking through the organizer each morning and picking the perfect accessories.

b) Mom and Dad are relieved that we don't have to waste time searching for the pink sparkly star barrette in a disorganized pile.

c) Everyone is happy . . . and that's what being organized is all about!

Organizing Paper for Scrapbooking

(Click photo to enlarge.)
As an avid scrapbooker, I like having a variety of patterned paper on hand. In doing so, I can pick and choose the appropriate paper for my project depending on my photos, theme and so on.

I recently discovered these awesome storage boxes made by Karen Foster. They're 13 x 13 inches in size and are called Snap N' Scrap. These are the perfect size for typical 12 x 12 inch scrapbooking paper.

They're the purple and red boxes displayed in the photo. I believe they also come in a few different colors, and sizes.

Each box has an easily changeable label area where you're able to indicate what's in the box.

As you can see, I purchased quite a few of these stylish boxes and use them for my patterned paper storage. I have categories such as Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, Holiday, Love, Specialty and a few others.

Now, when I want to scrapbook, I just think of the type of scrapbook page I want, and I know exactly where to look.