Monthly Archives: December 2017

Is there a remodel in your future?  Why not take the time to really plan how you want to function in that new space.  Glass front cabinetry is beautiful, but not if you are trying to hide a mess.  Those corner cupboards can be a waste of real estate with a lazy susan… or not… try “v” shaped drawers in those corners… no more digging in the back dark corners of the cupboard.  Consider pull-outs for all lower cupboards for easy go-to and storage.  

Bedroom storage a problem?  Purchase a decorative basket and fill with your colorful blankets, neatly folded, or purchase a bench with built in storage for the foot of your bed.  Newer nightstands have built in charging stations which eliminate cords and cables around the head of your bed.  Built-in units, more expensive, but O! so efficient!  Open shelving surrounds you with the things you love to see and closed cabinetry and drawers below allow for exceptional storage.  Plan it, do it, love it! 

Your dapper duds are only as stylish as where and how you hang them, so why not opt for the best of the best?  A great beginning is an efficient, functional and beautiful closet space and storage solution.  If you have the typical “builder’s grade” closet with one shelf and one hanging rod, consider enlarging that area with double hang, shoe shelves and using the wall space all the way to the ceiling with storage shelves.

If your closet has an odd shape, a sloped ceiling, a “cubbie,” use those spaces for belts, hats, colognes… get creative here.  There’s no such thing as an awkward or unusable space inside your closet.  Even the smallest nook can become a go-to catchall or perfect hideaway for treasures.

Preserve your wardrobe by saying NO to wire hangers, avoid overcrowding, and fold – don’t suspend sweaters and they will remain shapely.  If you have the shelf space fold your jeans allowing more hang space for trousers and dress pants.

Walk out your door dapper and happy with a spring in your step!  Well dressed and ready to face world, your clothes will love you back. 

I am talking adult kids.  We’ve either gone through it or are going through it.  This, from the voice of experience.  We downsized when we moved to Las Vegas, losing an attic and huge garage.  That was storage, valuable real estate.

As organized as I was, we still had quite a bit of the “kid stuff.”  Now adults, I flew my kids home for a weekend of sorting, throwing, and re-evaluation.  They got the idea of a garage sale (their idea – not mine) and had a blast of a time with it.  By the way, those old science fair experiments in the attic?  Ewwww.  Dioramas disintegrate through the years as well. 

Yes, there comes a time when it’s time.  Keep the treasured memories (yearbooks, a few earned trophies/ribbons, favorite toys), but the rest?  The comment I heard most was, “WHY did you keep THIS?”

Their decisions made it easy for me to pack and move only what was necessary.  Soon after, when my kids had homes of their own… we made a road trip with the saved items in tow, (I always come bearing gifts), which my kids gladly now store in their own real estate. 

Another example is a client I worked with recently.  She and her husband were moving to a new state and downsizing.  They phoned their daughter on the East Coast and said: “Come home and sort your things or we will donate all.”  They had moved her “treasures” three times and enough was enough.  This resulted in a late night urgent call for me to come the next morning and help the daughter, which I happily did.  Once faced with the cost of shipping “treasures” to the East Coast, daughter became realistic real fast and in just four hours we had the problem under control with happy parents.  If only they had done this three moves ago.

Movers charge by weight.  Stuff costs money.  Stuff takes up room.  Kids still little kids?  All the more reason to sort and choose what to keep through the years.  Keep the best of the best each school year… the first cursive project, the first reader, the best spelling test.  Treasure the memories in your heart and you will thank me in a few years.

Time to store the decor?  The holidays are such fun and who doesn’t like to take their house apart and decorate for a few short weeks?  It’s the UNdecorating where I come in.  Consider hiring a professional to dismantle the decor, wrap it, pack it, label it, and store it in heat safe, stackable containers and bins.

I recently had the opportunity to dismantle Halloween and Autumn for a client.  There were 28 bins and 5 bagged life-sized characters, this was driven to a spacious storage unit where SURPRISE!  I found over 200 bins of Christmas decor.  Requiring a 24-foot rental truck, extra muscle and weeks of organizing this client was able to see everything she didn’t know she had.  The decor had been improperly wrapped causing damage, mislabeled bins causing confusion, all resulting in many duplicates purchased over the years.

In January, I will return to UNdecorate and this time the task will be done efficiently and properly.  Maybe, just maybe… I can reduce the number of bins to under 200 and next year a pickup truck may be the only transport required.  One can only hope.