Archive for August, 2009

Too Many Towels; Too Little Space.

Monday, August 31st, 2009
If you’ve got too many towels and too little space for all of them, the first step is to get rid of any that have seen better days, haven’t been used in a long time or you just don’t like for whatever reason. If, after that, you’ve still got too many towels and not enough storage space for them in your linen closet, here’s a suggestion for storing them right in your bathroom. It’s a convenient, attractive option if you’re suffering from towel overload…and even if you’re not!
This is from The Container Store and their description of it reads:  “Enameled Steel Cube [white, 14"sq.] blends Italian design with the durability and strength of steel for urban-loft style and functionality. Easy to assemble and configure, the modular cubes can be used alone or in any combination to create a custom solution that conforms to your exact needs.”
I recommend mounting them over the bathroom door, if possible. It’s an often little used and overlooked location that won’t take up floor space or be in anyone’s way. I would suggest putting up 2 or 3 of them side-by-side, depending on how many towels and how much space you have. Unless you have a lot of oversize towels, these cubes are a good storage choice. They’re perforated for ventilation, rust-resistant; will match the sink in your bathroom, if it’s white(!);  have a great look, are easy to clean and your towels will fold and stack nicely in them, without falling over (or you can roll them up and stack them). Of course, measure first to see if the cubes will fit your particular space.

I’m pretty handy and would have no trouble putting up these cubes, but for anyone who isn’t handy, doesn’t have the right tools, doesn’t want to be bothered or doesn’t have a super or handyman in the building who will do it for you, contact Handy In The City for help at (917) 841-8032 or email them at handyinthecity@yahoo.com.

If you’re “vertically challenged” – meaning not tall enough to reach your towels in their newly stowed spot – I’d suggest keeping a small step stool in the bathroom for quick and easy access to them. Here are a couple of possibilities from Bed, Bath & Beyond that don’t take up much space:

EZ Foldz 12″ Folding Step Stool

“This convenient step stool is lightweight and so easy to store, too. It folds up to less than 3″ wide so you can stash it anywhere. Step stool holds up to 300 lbs. and measures 18 1/2″ L x 12 3/4″ W folded out.”

E-Z Foldz Folding Plastic Step Stool
“Use this sturdy and durable plastic step stool for standing up or sitting down anywhere you need it. Lightweight material makes it easy to move from room to room. Collapsible design lets you store it anywhere easily. Holds a maximum weight of 300 pounds. Measures 9″ H x 12″ L x 10 1/2″ D unfolded. Folds conveniently down to a mere 2″.”

Posted in bathrooms, products/resources, storage | Comments Off

Mr. Sandless Wood Floor Refinishing – A Dream Come True!

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

I recently had my apartment painted, re-arranged the furniture and spruced up the kitchen, but the sorry state of my wood floors detracted from everything I had done. I have lived in this apartment for 25 years and the wood floors looked like it. I couldn’t bare the thought of having them sanded and refinished. I know what an insane mess sanding is, to say nothing of the fumes from the stuff they finish the floor with. I knew I couldn’t deal with that and thought that I was eternally consigned to having dull, lifeless-looking floors. And then I discovered Mr. Sandless, “the quick no sanding solution for beautiful wood floors”.

Their website says that they make “refinishing wood floors quick, affordable and painless! There is no mess to clean up, no odors, and service is complete in just hours. We are always less expensive than sanding, and everything we use is kid and pet safe.” The Before and After pictures on their website and watching Mr. Sandless videos on YouTube convinced me to call the Manhattan franchise owner, Joe Burns. Joe’s crew did my floors in a day and the result is wonderful. Now the floors are the equal of all the other improvements that I’ve made and I couldn’t be happier! If you live in Manhattan, you can reach Joe at (718) 980-2853 or Toll Free at (888) WOOD-212. For other locations, visit the Mr. Sandless website.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Preserve Your Family History For Future Generations Before It’s Too Late.

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Life is not that which one lived, but that which one remembers, and how one remembers to tell it.
–Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928-)

This is the quote found on the “Why Now” page of Alli Joseph’s Seventh Generation Stories website. Her company provides personal historian services (also known as life story-telling or oral history) to record and preserve precious pieces of yours or your elders histories for future generations to enjoy. They help clients save their life stories in narrative books (memoirs/autobiographies), family video documentaries and tributes, photo albums, scrapbooks, and much more. SGS can also craft an original family crest or other artisan-based piece for your family.

I had two great-aunts who were sisters with whom I spent a lot of happy time growing up. I deeply regret not having asked more questions and gotten more information from them before they passed away. In fact, before my last great-aunt died, she destroyed all the family photos she had. When asked why, she answered that she didn’t think anyone in the family would be interested in a bunch of old photos. Need I say how wrong she was and how I regret not having or ever seeing those photos? I think about it often and it pains me to know that pieces of my history are gone forever and not recoverable. Don’t let this happen to you.

Alli offers a free consultation so contact her now because, like her tagline says, there’s no time like the present to save the past.

Posted in memorabilia | 1 Comment »

Cord Chaos: Before And (A Fabulous) After!

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

A lovely client of mine is allowing me to share this with everyone else out there who finds themselves lost in a sea of electric cords. Thank you, client. You know who you are!

So, this client – probably like a lot of you – has a million corded devices in her office area. She also has three of the most wonderful cats I have ever seen. While the cats are wonderful, the fact that they – if left to their own devices – like to play with the surge protectors and cords is not so wonderful. As you can imagine, between them they produce a lot of fur, which is also not so wonderful for the equipment.

In order to protect the cords from her cats, my client laid the top of a plastic box over them. An admirable though not particularly lovely attempt nor a good permanent solution, she wondered if I could come up with something better. At first, I suggested enclosing the whole area. It’s a little hard to tell from the picture, but it’s a contained space at the bottom of her bookcase that I thought we could put some doors on. Well, she LOVED that idea and said she would check out her local hardware store, Lowe’s or Home Depot for door possibilities. She’s a very resourceful and handy woman and I was confident that she could get the job done.

The next day I was in The Container Store looking for some items for another client and I saw an attractive storage stool that I thought would be PERFECT to contain all that cord clutter. Even better, it was on sale! I sent her an email with a picture giving her a heads up about what I had found, how it could work for her in this instance (put the surge protectors inside and slip the cords through the open stool handles) and the fact that it was on sale, but she responded that she would probably go with the door option. OK. No problem. I’m all for whatever the client prefers that will get the job done.

Imagine my surprise when I got an email from her with the Before and After photos below and her praising my out-of-the-box thinking (pun intended!) to control her cord clutter as “brilliant”. While I love the appreciation, I love just as much that the product I suggested took care of the problem so beautifully and neatly. In fact, she liked the storage stool so much that she bought two and is using the other one to store her copy paper and to put her feet up on when she’s hard at work on her computer.

Before:

After:

Ah, just another problem solving day in the life of a Professional Organizer!

Posted in clutter, pets, products/resources | Comments Off

The Joy – And Convenience – Of Clipless Coupons. New Ways To Save Money In Tough Economic Times.

Saturday, August 29th, 2009
So, I’m in The Container Store recently working on a client project with a very lovely salesperson. He notices my bag from the Apple store and asks me what I bought. I tell him a new iPhone. Then comes the life-changing revelation. (OK, maybe it’s only life-changing if you’re a Professional Organizer because we love, love, love The Container Store!) The salesperson tells me about Yowza!, a FREE mobile coupon application. Loading it onto my iPhone (or iPod Touch, if you have one of those) and showing the coupon to the cashier at checkout – who will scan the bar code off of the iPhone screen – will give me a 15% discount at The Container Store. Wow, I’m stunned.  Recently, the Container Store started offering discounts to Professional Organizers like me who are members of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers). The discount they offer is 10% on non-Elfa purchases and 20% on Elfa. While organizers and their clients were pretty pleased with that, hearing about Yowza!’s 15% discount is music to my ears! It gives me – and my clients – an additional 5% off everything that isn’t Elfa or on already sale. It gives everyone else 15% off all of their non-sale purchases.
For more about mobile coupons, see today’s (August 29) article in the N. Y. Times technology section. It’s called Coupons You Don’t Clip, Sent to Your Cellphone.  Click here for more about Yowza!

Posted in money savers, technology | 3 Comments »

Ownership Means Taking Responsibility.

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

If you think of every possession you own as a responsibility requiring some degree of thought, energy, effort, time and money, it might give you pause to seriously reconsider your buying/collecting habits. Instead of bringing you the enjoyment that you want, items that aren’t useful, beautiful or things that you cherish for reasons of your own drain your physical, mental and emotional resources. That means that you have less of them available to devote to the people, activities and pursuits that are important to you.

If you’re not willing to take responsibility for an item, cut clutter at its source and don’t allow it into your life in the first place. If it’s something that you already own and is in good condition, give it away to a friend or relative who might like to have it or donate it to a thrift store or charity. You’ll get a tax deduction and someone who needs, likes or truly wants it will benefit. Remember, life is not a dress rehearsal for anything and there’s no time like the present to get organized!

Posted in clutter, responsibility | Comments Off