7 Simple Steps to Turn Closet Chaos into Closet Nirvana!

Imagine how marvelous it would be to open your closet door and in place of the regular junk pile, you find a well-organized, attractive array of clothes, shoes and accessories. Imagine the focus, calm and efficiency you would realize as you look into your closet and can walk straight to the item you need and get dressed in a snap.

You are experiencing Closet Nirvana, and it is possible, if you follow these seven simple steps.

1. Purpose the space
Before you get started, you need to visualize the result and what purpose you want this space to serve for you. What do you want to accomplish by organizing your closet? Consider your lifestyle and what you need to have good access to. For example, do you want better access to shoes; do you want to be able to do all dressing in the closet? Brainstorm the current problems you now experience and visualize the results you would like to see at the end of your efforts.

2. Begin a purge
If you are like most clients I work with, your closet has become a dumping ground for a sundry of unrelated stuff that you do not know where else to store. Before you can improve a space you have to purge the excess, clutter and stuff that does not fit the purpose of the space, in order to get to what is most valuable to you. As you start purging, consider the 80/20 rule and be honest with yourself about how this applies to you.

You wear 20 percent of your clothes, shoes and accessories 80 percent of the time.
Think about it … you likely reach for the same pair of favorite jeans, khakis, blouse, pajamas, and shoes yet your closet is bursting at the seams with clothes that have not seen the light of day in months and even years. I recall a client who held onto more than fifty pairs of pajamas all stuffed in several drawers that could barely be opened. She did not have any idea what was stuffed in these drawers. As you consider each item, be honest when you ask yourself:
• When did I last wear this?
• How did I feel when I last wore it?
• Do I find it beautiful?
Let the answers to these questions drive your purging decisions.

3. Decide how and where to store off-season clothes
A common complaint I hear is there just is not enough space. Many clients make the mistake of storing in their closet every piece of clothing and accessory they own rather than just what they wear. To free up space for better access to what you currently wear, remove off-season clothes and accessories to another part of the house. Storing in the main closet items like formal wear or ski-wear, that is rarely worn, contributes to closet chaos.

4. Install second hanging rods
In many homes I see, the hanging structure of the closet consists of ventilated shelving that the builder installed. By installing a second hanging rod, you can double the hanging space for pants, shirts and some skirts. By improving the use of the vertical space with a second hanging rod, you improve your access to your belongings.

5. Sort clothing by style, length and color (like with like)
During the purge, it is essential to be able to view the entire inventory you own of each color and style in order to make educated decisions about what to keep and what to purge. I recall a client who had so many sweaters that when sorted she owned as many as 25 sweaters in each same color. By viewing them all together, sorted by color and style, she could easily purge the excess and duplicates.

When rehanging items back in the closet, sorted by length and style, you improve access to your possessions and the efficiency of the space. If all blazers are hung together, space is opened up for a second hanging rod, a bank of shoes or laundry basket. Hanging clothes by color and style also improves your ability to quickly match outfits and find what you need in a snap.

I have clients whose primary goal of contracting a Professional Organizer to organize their closets was to reduce the time it took them in the morning to get dressed and out the door to work. This step will definitely reduce your dressing time.

6. Look up for storage
In most closets, there are opportunities to install additional shelving above the hanging space. Less used items like hats and dress shoes can be moved to this less accessible space and free up areas at eye level for most used items.

7. One in /One out rule
Most of the hard work is behind you and you are now experiencing closet nirvana. In order to keep your newly organized and peaceful space from returning to closet chaos, implement the one in and one out rule. Every time you bring a new item into your closet space, choose at least one item that goes out.

Now, go dive into that closet and take action!
Happy Organizing!

Originally posted 2008-08-17 08:37:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Angie’s List Article about Janet ~ Resolve to Rid Yourself of Clutter to Expand Use of Valuable Space

The following is an article written by Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List, where I was interviewed. The article appeared in the Indianapolis Star, Home and Garden section on 12/26/09. I’m reprinting the article on my blog for the great tips it offers.

Find reliable contractors and doctors when you join Angie’s List today –
Use promo code LOCAL to save 15%.

********************

By Angie Hicks (Founder of Angie’s List)

About this time each year, professional organizer Janet Nusbaum sees an uptick in business. “Folks start to set new goals for the year, and getting organized is always in the top 10,” said Nusbaum. Owner of Simplified Spaces in Carmel. “They have an influx of new stuff that comes in during the holiday. Often, when I get the call, they’re feeling very overwhelmed, and they’re reaching out for some solutions.

The new year represents a fresh start and a chance to purge the old, unnecessary items in your life to free up valuable space and reduce clutter. Organizing a home office, garage or basement can be a family project that you do yourself or one in which you hire a professional like Nusbaum.

“The first step is to define what the purpose is of that space,” Nusbaum said. “If you see conflicting stuff there that doesn’t meet the purpose of that space, it needs to leave, pose of that space, it needs to leave, so all you have in that space are things that meet your vision for what you want to do (there).”

Some other things to consider before beginning a reorganization project:

• Make a list of the tasks you want to accomplish and prioritize by putting the tasks most important to you at the top of the list.
• Start small and allot an hour or two dedicated to one area to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
• Buy to replace, not to add.
• If it doesn’t fit or it’s out of fashion, donate it. If you’re reorganizing your wardrobe closet, hang pants long ways, rather than fold, which takes up twice the space. Use stacking hangers that can hold multiple garments. Organize your closets by color or by type.
• Keep only what is necessary to accommodate your family’s needs. Keep in mind that round containers take up more space than square containers.
• Purchase several large plastic storage bins with lids. Organize items according to their use and label the bins accordingly.

Nusbaum also recommends storing items closest to their point of use. “If your coffee maker is on the kitchen counter, it’s more efficient to store everything relating to making that cup of coffee right together,” she said. It saves you steps.”

Carmel resident and a Simplified Spaces client, Julie Bowen, is a self-proclaimed “neat freak” who has hired Janet to organize her home, garage and basement. Organizers can also help organize bills and other paperwork that often gets lost in the shuffle.

Bowen keeps systems in place so she, her husband and two children know where to find things when they need to put up and where they are when they need to use them.

“Our home is easier to maintain because everything has a home, Bowen said.

Fritz Klooz, owner of Innovative Garages in Avon said his company can maximize garage space with overhead storage, cabinets and grid wall systems and pulley systems.  “The idea is to get everything up off the floor of the garage so you can power wash your garage or sweep your floor a lot easier, Klooz said.

You don’t have to throw away and create additional waste when you purge. An environmentally savvy organizer will look to recycle whenever possible. Also, donations to authorized charities can be used as a tax deduction.

Angie Hicks is an Indianapolis resident and founder of Angie’s List, a national provider of consumer ratings in more than 500 categories of service.

(Because they wrote this great article about my business, I’m returning the favor by passing on their 15% coupon code)

Find reliable contractors and doctors when you join Angie’s List today – Use promo code LOCAL to save 15%.

Originally posted 2010-05-07 12:26:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Create an Exit Strategy and a Drop Zone

You’re running late (again) and in a panic, you’re trying to get your kids and yourself out the door to school and work. Everyone is running around frantically to find what they need to leave the house with … backpack, cel phone, address book, hat, gym shoes … Does this sound familiar?

This was the scene at our house a few years ago too. What we needed in our home, and now as a Professional Organizer, I find that most of my clients need as well, is an’ exit strategy’ and a ‘drop zone.’ This is an area where items live that need to leave the house with you, as well as where appropriate items ‘drop’ when you arrive home. Items that need consistent homes in this area are:

• A checklist for leaving the house
• List of errands to run
• Keys, cel phone, PDA
• Purse
• Backpack
• Lunch box
• Coats, boots, hats, gloves, etc.
• Briefcase, laptop
• Merchandise returns, charity drop-offs, post office run items
• Umbrella
• Dog leash
• Sports equipment / musical instruments
• Towels for wiping dirty feet
• Trash can for dropping junk mail as you enter the house

To establish your own exit strategy and drop zone, identify (make a list) all the items that are regularly brought into the house and all the items that typically need to leave the house with you each day.

Next, determine the best location (home) for these items to live, in close proximity to the door that your family typically enters and leaves the home. Often this is through the garage. In many clients’ homes, I have arranged baskets to hold cel phones, PDAs, keys. In addition, hooks as the home for backpacks, umbrellas, dog leach, keys. What has become popular in many homes is a locker system where each family member has their own “cubby” or “locker” for holding their own belongings needed. Where space and budget allow, I have often brought in a closet contractor to construct a locker/cubby system for my clients.

A helpful tool for storing hats, gloves, scarves for all family members is to add a vertical over the door shoe holder (typically used to hold shoes vertically on a closet door). The younger kids have the lower pockets, older kids the middle pockets and the adults the top pockets. This way everyone has access to their own items and they can easily be seen through the clear pockets.

With all the electronics we carry daily, it is also important to have a consistent home to charge electronics, like cel phone and PDA. There are now docking stations available for purchase that allow you to charge all your equipment in one station.

After you have identified and strategized what needs to be located in your exit / drop zone and where the best home is for these items, it is critical that you communicate your new system to all family members. When everyone knows that there is a plan, and where the home is for their belongings, they will be more likely honor that system. When there are no consistent homes for belongings, clutter ensues.

Make a “Checklist for Leaving the House” unique to your household, or purchase the “Checklist for Leaving the House” pad for sale here at: http://www.onlineorganizing.com/ProductsPage.asp?name=Checklist_For_Leaving_The_House and keep it next to the door where you exit your home. This becomes your daily checklist and reminder so you don’t have to depend on memory when you’re rushed.

The key to creating and maintaining these areas is to know what you need to store, make the space, establish consistent homes for the items, and communicate the system to all family members. Soon the stress and chaos of the morning exit and afternoon drop will be a thing of the past.

Originally posted 2008-08-19 09:48:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Peter Walsh’s “It’s All Too Much” DVD Review

Recently I was contacted by Peter Walsh, best selling author and professional organizer from TLC’s Clean Sweep, about his new It’s All Too Much with Peter Walsh DVD release and his new book It’s All Too Much, so get it together.  (This second book is designed for older kids, say age 10+ through young adult. I’ll review this book in a future post.)

I was thrilled to receive a copy of the DVD and his new book. I popped in the DVD and was impressed by the great presentation of what can be a dry topic for some – home organizing. I’ve been a professional organizer since 2005, but even I learned many new tips from the DVD that I can share with my clients.

Like having a professional organizer right in your home, It’s All Too Much with Peter Walsh DVD offers a step-by-step guide to reducing clutter and getting organized. Walsh moves from room to room offering practical, inexpensive and easy to maintain tips and strategies that anyone can do. I was pleased to hear Peter say that the key to getting organized in any space is to have a vision for each space and what activities you want to perform in each space. Then create zones in each space and establish limits. He explained and illustrated these concepts in an easy understand fashion.

Here are a few of my favorite strategies:

GARAGE: get things up off the floor onto shelves. Items are much easier to access when stored vertically and not stacked on top of each other.

KITCHEN: I’ve shared this kitchen organizing strategy with my clients and I was glad to see Peter illustrate it in action. Empty your cooking gadget drawer into a box. When you need to use one of the gadgets in the box over the next month, take it out of the box and put it back in the drawer. After two months, go back to the box and see what’s left in it. The items that are left in the box haven’t been used in at least two month, so do you really need them?

CHILD’S ROOM AND TOYS: use the vertical space as much as possible by installing hooks and hanging clothing and shoe organizers. Limit the number of toys and create a routine for putting toys away and purging as new toys come in. I taught these skills to my kids early and they are now very comfortable with these tasks.

When Walsh’s book It’s All Too Much was first released in 2007, I bought the book on Unabridged 6-CD set and listened to it in the car daily for at least six months.  I then also purchased the hardback as a reference to refer back to again and again.

I’ve read LOTS of books on organization and many are just rehashed versions of the same body of knowledge. But Peter’s books are different. He  has a way of explaining our fascination and obsession with stuff in such a practical and logical way.  The way he presents the material is like a light-bulb going off that says “why are we living our lives with so much stuff?” and “why are we putting up with it our home looking like a storage shed?” The DVD has the same great qualities and I’m sure anyone who watches this will be motivated to get started.

Great contribution Peter! I highly recommend the It’s All Too Much DVD, Book on CD and hardback.

You can find It’s All Too Much with Peter Walsh DVD on Amazon.com

Originally posted 2010-04-12 13:53:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Organizing Small Spaces: Bathroom, Laundry, Entry, Linen and Other Closets

Now that the kids are out of school, why not tackle some of those pesky home organizing projects that you were just too busy to tackle amidst school and extra-curricular activities. There are many smaller spaces in your home that, (like bathrooms, linen closets, and entryways), once organized, can add time to your day and make your home run much smoother once things get busy again in the fall. In the next several blog posts, I’ll talk about bathrooms, linen closets, entryways and laundry rooms. Up first is the bathroom:

BEAUTIFUL BATHROOMS

The bathroom surely gets a workout each day. Get it organized with this easy-to-follow process.

INVENTORY, SORT AND PURGE
To start your bathroom organizing project, take an inventory of all the items housed there. What may be a more important question to ask is what you feel SHOULD be housed in the bathroom. Answering this question helps you make decisions about moving items to another space that you deem don’t need to be stored in a bathroom.

Start by removing everything from each space – under sink, drawers, linens, etc. And I do mean EVERYTHING! You will be much more ruthless in your purging decisions when everything has been removed for the space.

Sort them into categories, such as medical, hair care, body cleansers, shaving, tooth care, cosmetics, paper products, cleaning supplies and the goes elsewhere items. Having a trash can close by is a must.

Once everything is grouped together like with like, you’ll see where you have duplicates, (and once organized, you’ll avoid overbuying the next time you run out to the store.) Now is also the time to toss expired medications, sunscreens, cosmetics, and anything you no longer use (do you really need three curling irons or 15 hand towels past-their-prime? What about the 20 miniature-sized travel shampoos?) Now you have a true vision of your bathroom’s current storage needs.

SET UP STORAGE
Some things are shared items, while others may belong to a specific person.  Take into account the available space in your medicine cabinet, vanity drawers, and under-sink storage, as well as in your linen closet. If you need to add storage, consider installing shelving on a wall or a free-standing storage cabinet above the toilet, or under sink. I love using portable shelves to use dead space in cabinets under sinks. As you place items, group them into categories, and/or assign a specific home for each member of the household. For example, each person could have one drawer, one basket on the shelf, or one toteable caddy. If you’re grouping by category, you could use baskets, bins, or specific areas on your shelves for easy locating. I love using portable helper shelves in cabinets under bathroom sinks and other similar places like under kitchen sinks. The image featured is a small size, but these shelves come in Small, Medium and Large and expandable. Be sure to label so that everyone knows where to find necessities.

Add hooks behind the door or on the wall so everyone has a place to hang towels. I like the sets of hooks that you can hang over a door (no nailing into walls or doors and the over the door row of hooks is portable). All of these additional storage options are making use of vertical storage.

And while you’re at it color code the towels and toothbrushes by family member so that there’s no “ownership confusion.”

If you purchase paper products in bulk, store the excess in an out-of-the-way area, such as the laundry room, hall closet, or garage or basement cabinet, keeping only a week’s worth in the bathroom. Replenish as needed.

KEEP IT CLEAN AND SAFE

Make sure that the garbage can is easy to access and large enough for at least a couple of day’s worth of trash. Consider an additional small basket to catch recyclables in the bathroom. Many communities recycle plastics (such as shampoo and body wash bottles) and cardboard (such as toilet paper tubes and the boxes that toothpaste, soap, and cosmetics often come in). You’ll be surprised how many recyclables you generate! Keep the bathroom safe for the little ones by storing medications and bathroom cleaning products out of their reach. (Many medications lose effectiveness in the bathroom humidity, so consider placing them in another room.)

Finally, remember that counters are easier to clean and look best when uncluttered by oodles of bottles, tubes, and boxes. Keep only a bottle of hand soap and lotion on the countertop, plus a decorative element like a plant or small vase of fresh flowers. And if you wish, add a small clock to keep you on time. This clear and lovely space will give you inspiration to keep the bathroom neat and tidy throughout the day!

Originally posted 2010-06-11 15:08:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

How to Set-up a System to Keep Important Life Documents in One Place

How many times have you torn apart your house trying to find an important document? Often times these documents contain important pieces of your life that need to be in easy access, especially in an emergency. For most people organizing the documents and items that make up our lives is not a priority until there is a crisis. Then most will search frantically for the needed information only to waste time and increase stress.  Take it from a Professional Organizer who has worked with hundreds of clients who put this uneccessary stress upon themselves because they haven’t been proactive to design a system or were not aware that there are ready-made products available that will solve these paper clutter issues. Before the next crisis, set up a system to keep all your important documents in one place.

Ahh … imagine the relief of immediately finding any piece of needed information in the exact location you expect it to be.  I searched and found a couple of great products/solutions that solve just this dillema for my clients. Each serve as a central repository for important life and family documents, designed to be kept in easy access.

LIFE.doc  is a ready-made binder by Buttoned Up to keep all of the critical information of your life together. Life.doc has eight tabbed sections designed to organize all of the pieces of information that are needed for most people to keep one’s personal life in control.

These eight sections that encompass the most critical areas of life are:

• family basics
• in sickness & in health
• insurance
• dollars & sense
• legal ease
• caregiver information
• home sweet home
• emergency plan

It also comes with an accompanying CD-ROM with interactive forms that work with Microsoft Word (PC or MAC) making it easy to complete forms digitally and save them to a computer.

This comprehensive and bright red sturdy binder composed of 120 pages of straightforward forms for easy access are a roadmap that make it painless to get organized.  Life.doc will give you and your family the peace of mind that whatever information that you may need will be easy to find. This is the way to make sure that your house stays in one piece the next time that you need to find a piece of your personal information.

The VALUABLES.doc is another way that you can keep the things that you need in your life in one place and inventoried. This is a complete kit that will make it easy for you to catalog and keep track of all of your belongings.

• Valuables.doc binder by Buttoned Up includes:
  Eight tabbed sections for you to record all of your valuables room-by-room
• Jewelry
• Collectibles
• Family/living room
• Kitchen
• Dining room
• Bedrooms
• Basement
• Other

So, if and when disaster may strike in your life, (remember Hurricane Katrina?) you will have the necessary documentation to recoup the loss of many of the valuable keepsakes in your life.

POCKET.doc

The Pocket.doc provides simple to fill out forms that easily fit into a wallet, purse or backpack. So you have critical emergency, medical, and contact information when and where you need it.

The Pocket.doc by Buttoned Up includes:
Three sections to ensure that you have your emergency plan, medical information and important phone numbers when you need it. What’s great about this little record book is that it is the size of a credit card and easily fits in wallets, backpacks, glove compartments and briefcases.

Perfect for busy families on the go.

Each of these products would make a practical gift for your loved ones.

Visit The Simplified Home to learn more and to purchase.

Originally posted 2009-10-22 16:18:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Originally posted 2010-05-24 02:05:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

10 Critical Tips for Clearing Office Clutter

Having trouble finding your desk amidst the clutter? Follow these easy steps, consistently, and you’ll experience greater focus and productivity as a result.

1. Define the purpose of each space in your office and be sure that everyone who shares the space understands how it is to be used.

2. Keep only high-use items on your desktop – computer, telephone, project files, good lighting, notepaper, stapler, To Do list, calendar/planner, and only what you are working on right now.

3. Use vertical space around your desk effectively – put photos and calendars on your wall, not on your desktop.

4. Organize supplies in a desk drawer organizer or supply drawer within “fingertip reach” of your desk chair.

5. Place a wastebasket, recycling bin, and/or shredder where you process your mail.

6. Trim the F.A.T. – File, Act, Toss. Professional Organizer, Barbara Hemphill tells us that the only choices we have for dealing with paper is to File it, Act on it, or Toss it.

7. Create zones in your workspace for incoming and outgoing paper, filing and a work surface. Resist co-mingling each zone.

8. Create an Action File System and place all “action required” items in the system. The Action File System works in-conjunction with your calendar. Simplified Spaces can help you implement this system in your office or home. CLICK HERE to learn more about our system.

9. File non-action required papers in an accessible “reference file system” CLICK HERE to learn more about the HomeFile System, a great reference file system we recommend.

10. Schedule office clean-up/organizing on your calendar, or you will always lean toward a competing priority. Face it … most of us would prefer to do about anything else than to spend a day organizing their office or home.

Being clear about what activities you want to perform in your workspace and where, having clear surfaces in which to work, and the tools you need to perform those activities in easy access, will significantly improve what you’re able to accomplish in a day. In the process, you’ll reduce your stress level and free up time and energy for what matters most. This is a preview from our upcoming booklet “The Simplified Office – A Complete Guide to Clear Office Clutter for Good!

Originally posted 2008-11-25 19:22:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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