OrganizingLA Blog

Hold a Professional Clothes Drive

2009-10-23T14:26:06-07:00

Fall is here. Now may be the perfect time to take a good hard look at your wardrobe.

Why not ditch the pieces that no longer fit, are out of style or just plain not you anymore. Perhaps you have clothes that are new, in perfect condition and you have no intention on wearing them? To make yourself feel good and help others in need, gather some friends, (or better yet) some office colleagues and start a professional clothes drive.

A simple email, collection center, and designated charity will do the trick. We suggest you chose Dress for Success, where women in transition benefit from donated business outfits. if you want to check into some local Los Angeles resources, dive into our 2007 post written for a reader who wanted to lose her 1990's business suits and didn't know how to.

Here are some tips we put together recently for a Professional Clothes Drive for one of the world's largest professional services firms in Downtown Los Angeles:

Clear Out Your Closet:

Let's face it, everyone knows it's hard to let go of clothes that you really like even though you have not worn. Below are three closet-clearing tips from fellow CLARE Foundation volunteer and organization expert, John Trosko of OrganizingLA. John has a few tips up his sleeve to help you clear out the old, to make way for the new, and in the meantime, help make a difference in someone's life:

The 15-Minute Rule:

If you want to make a difference in your closet and don’t have a lot of time, set a time limit and “go shopping” for things that are ready to be donated. But keep your focus on this specific task and don’t allow yourself to be distracted. It helps if you can carefully choose a friend to help you clean out your clothes closet. You’ll want a person who will constructively criticize your taste, but with a sense of humor to make it fun.

Suits That Are No Longer Suit-able:

Nostalgia’s tug is strong— but use this opportunity to clear out the larger key pieces such as men’s suits, ties, dark belts and dress shoes. For women, perhaps you have a dress-for-success ensemble that isn’t suitable for your current work environment—why not donate it along with some sensible low-pumps and simple jewelry? Never donate another person’s clothes, always check with them.

Stop Tripping Down Memory Lane:

3.) Remember, avoid keeping items in your closet as a benchmark of your achievements. Professional Clothes Drive for the Clare Foundation honors needy individuals with basic essentials and you’ll want to donate good, clean, gently-used or new clothing. You’ll feel better knowing your unwanted clothes will benefit others!

If you're putting together a professional clothes drive, feel free to use the tips above, just give us credit. O rcontact us if you'd like to explore something more.

What ideas have you implemented for your clothes donations? Please share them below.

Image above courtesy J Crew and Uncrate.

Related Posts:

Reinvent yourself with Closet Therapy's Barbra Horowitz (9/05)

What do I do with 1990's business suits? (2/07)

Build a connection with a charity (3/06)

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John Trosko Organizes Shoe Lovers for Better Homes & Gardens

2009-10-21T00:42:22-07:00

Does your personality dictate the way you organize your closet?

Three top organizing experts including Lorie Marrero of the Clutter Diet (Austin, Texas), Meryl Starr (New York, New York) and yours truly answer this question by addressing three different "closet personalities" in the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

The 6-page article (pages 78-86) features advice tailored to women who either fold or hang their clothes or a woman with shoes on center stage. Along with our friends at Closet Maid, Hanger City, the Container Store, Organize.com, Caldrea, KangaRoom Storage, OrganizeIt, Hammocks and High Tea, Agraria Home and Elizabeth W, our segment "Shoe Lover" ticked off ideas for maximizing the passion of a "shoe hog" while minimizing the clutter. Closet Maid's shoe cubby inserts helped us maintain a sense of order and accessibility. Did you know the average mature woman owns between 40-60 pairs of shoes?

"If you adore your shoes, put them front and center in cubbies. Plan enough of them to house every pair you own in a season."

There are lots more tips from Marrero and Starr, along with some excellent organizational products the talented editors discovered. Get your copy of the November BHG on newsstands nationwide now.

What kind of closet personality do you have? How many pairs of shoes do you own? Share with us by writing a comment below.

Related Posts:

Vanity Fair - John featured in March 2008 issue of BHG

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Organizing Emergency: A Reader Wants To Buy a Laundry Hamper - Part One

2009-10-17T12:21:50-07:00

DaneNow on Twitter wants to know where professional organizers get their hampers.

He's just moved into a new house in West Los Angeles and headed to IKEA to shop for a temporary clothes hamper for his closet. We put this together for Dale to get him started (and by the way, you can follow us on Twitter, too-- click here).

What is a Laundry Hamper?

A hamper serves an important function in a home. The unit is a homebase to gather, sort and store dirty laundry. By strategically placing the hamper where you need it most, you'll save time and energy doing laundry. The same kind of container can be used to re-distribute clean clothes back to their origin. Laundry Hampers are usually made of wicker, but are now offered in wood, canvas, fabric, stainless sleel, plastic, mesh and acrylic.

Save Yourself Disappointment, Ask These Questions Before Buying a Hamper:

Before Dane heads out and chooses a hamper, we suggest asking these quick questions. Thinking about them ahead of time will save him and his family time and disappointment.

Quality: Is the hamper going to be an investment piece or just serve a simple function?
Impression: Will anyone see the hamper or will you hide it in the back of your closet? Do you need to impress guests if the hamper is out in the open?
Mobility: Does the hamper need to be on wheels?
Maintainable: Does the hamper need to have a removable washable liner (ie; wet towels, dirty diapers)?
Separable: Do you need to separate whites, darks, hand washables as you toss?
Strength: Men's clothes weigh more than women's and children's clothes. A flimsy hamper will solve a short term desire for a long term demand.
Size: Is laundry done each week, once a day, every month? The timing dictates the size of your hamper. Last thing you want to do is to have your dirty clothes towering over the top. Maybe you need two hampers? Do you even have the space for a hamper?

Buy Today vs. Tomorrow:

If Dane wants his hamper today, IKEA is certainly a good bet. He can head off to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, KMart, Container Store and even a local designer hardware store will have them. Quick purchases are good even as a placeholder and an excellent interim solution until you can buy something of higher quality. And if you're fine with the quick solution, great.

If Dane can wait, he can order it online. there are pros and cons to this-- they're harder to return but you'll have a much wider ability to order something more interesting.

We'll continue this post on Monday and give Dane some suggestions. So look out for Part II.

In the meantime, if you have comments for Dane, feel free to add to the conversation below.

Image above courtesy Industrial House

Related Posts:

Organizing Emergency: Hollywood Stylist Needs Bin Labels

Organizing Emergency: Garage Shelving Solutions

Organizing Emergency: How To Find A Lazy Susan

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Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and LinkedIn!

2009-10-16T17:34:02-07:00

No matter where and when you want to connect with us, we always strive to deliver relevant, professional, tasteful tips and tricks for organizing your home and business. Simply click on the links after the jump to join in. We look forward to sharing and connecting with you.

Account for John Trosko
(twitter.com/johntrosko)

Personal page for John Trosko
(facebook.com/johntrosko)

Business fan club Page for OrganizingLA
(facebook.com/pages/Beverly-Hills-CA/OrganizingLA/9900043043)

Business fan club page for John Trosko, Professional Organizer
(facebook.com/people/John-Trosko/1125896196)

All our videos in one location
(youtube.com/johnlosangeles)

Business profile for John Trosko
(linkedin.com/in/johntrosko)

Personal profile for John Trosko
(myspace.com/johntrosko)

Florence Henderson Introduces Online Tech Support Service

2009-10-14T14:41:55-07:00

Watch out Geek Squad and EasyTech America's most iconic television mother is now helping seniors become less fearful with technology.

The FloH Club is a telephone based technical support system born out of Henderson's personal frustration with the somewhat recent onslaught of technology. The Santa Barbara-based company (with telephone technical support staff in North America) was formed by Henderson and technology partner Max Drucker. The team wants to inspire seniors to conquer the computer and discover the wonders of video conferencing, instant messenger, social networks like Facebook and Twitter, receive education for simple tasks like email and online purchasing, set up and training for new devices like printers, digital cameras and MP3 players.

The star of 1970's Brady Bunch says for about $25/month, technical advisers will safely access your computer for repair, education, and inspiration. You just sit back, watch, learn, and ask questions. There is no time limit to each call and the service operates 24/7.

"It's like roadside assistance, but for your computer," said Henderson.

Will FloH Club Crash?

Now that the service is set up and they have a trusted spokesperson, their next step is to get people over 50 comfortable when asking for help and getting over their fear. Hurray for Henderson for taking a bold leap and reaching out to this market. We smell Christmas gifts.

Image above courtesy FloH Club website.

The FloH Club - official site

Florence Henderson on ABC News - video interview

Florence Henderson - official person website

Related Posts:

Christopher Knight aka Peter Brady to present at 2009 Los Angeles Organizing Awards

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"Jon & Kate Plus 8" Finally Hire a Professional Organizer

2009-10-04T19:11:31-07:00

We're very excited to tune into the fireworks on Monday night when TCL's Jon & Kate Plus Eight features a visit from a real-live professional organizer. Keep? Toss? Donate? No? Maybe? Yes!

It's no secret that Kate Gosselin is considered an organizing expert herself. Even putting aside all the recent personal dramas, she enjoys 8 children, a large home and a busy life. According to Kate, "Maintaining a high level of organization helps any person or household-- supersized or otherwise -- run efficiently." We couldn't agree more.

Diane Albright Got The Job:

Our colleague, Diane Albright (pictured bottom left), a professional organizer, motivational speaker and retail store owner of All Bright Ideas (organizing website, blog, store website) hails from Allentown, PA, an hours drive from the family's rural Pennsylvania home in Wernersville. Diane is the lucky gal who got to experience a glimpse of Kate's organizing prowess, up close and personal. We'll be there watching and cheering everyone on.

Here's the quick synopsis from the TLC official website. The episode premieres Monday night October 5, 9:00pm. Check local listings for exact time.

Jon & Kate Plus 8: Time to Organize!

"Kate has always had a love for organization, but with such a full schedule and a house full of kids, she's had less and less time to organize. With the guidance of an expert, Kate and the children attempt to give the basement some much needed order."

Now to really put a spin on this story and prove 6-degrees of separation, Kate Gosselin contributed the "Tackle Your To-Do List" chapter alongside ours in creator Samantha Ettus' The Experts Guide To Doing Things Faster: 100 Ways To Make Life More Efficient (pictured left) which was published last October by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. We have never met Kate but we sure have a lot of respect for her ability to keep up a house with eight children.

Weigh-In With Your Comments:

So all this leads us to ask our readers to weigh in on this question: Can organized people hire a professional organizer to help them? Are organizers only reserved for the messy, disorganized, cluttered, and hoarding? Or, are they a valuable resource for anyone in need, even with a small project? Let's hear what you have to say. We're going to see if Diane can weigh in on this subject herself. Check out the comment section below.

The Gosselin 10 - Family website

Diane Abright's Blog and Website

All Bright Things - Diane's retail products store

Experts Guide Contributors

Colin Cowie loves an organized kitchen

Mary Louise Starkey is the first lady of private service

New York Magazine article featuring Experts Guide contributing author John Trosko

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Private Service Organizes as the IAPSP in Southern California

2009-09-30T04:00:00-07:00

Last year during a trip to the "Main Line" area of suburban Philadelphia, we picked up a copy Arthur Inch's Dinner is Served: An English Butler's Guide to the Art of the Table. Little did we know it would change our life.

A 50-year veteran English butler who served as technical adviser for the film Gosford Park, Inch (alongside co-author Arlene Hirst) writes a loving and formal view of the history and traditions of fine English homes, along with explanations of fine linens, silver, table top design for formal dinner parties and etiquette for serving and dining. While the book's view may not fit precisely into our "modern day California laid-back atmosphere in a recession" current mentality, Inch's book really got us thinking about the world of private service.

International Association for Private Service Professionals:

Shortly thereafter, we were introduced to the International Association for Private Service Professionals (IAPSP) late last year. The IAPSP is a national trade association based in Los Angeles that provides a platform for developing professionalism and leadership skills in the delivery of estate service. The IAPSP draws on the experience and wisdom of its membership to define and preserve the traditional core values and ethics of service excellence, while acknowledging the importance of distinctive skill-sets and embracing new trends in service technology. The IAPSP is filling a gap where little, if any, organized vocational support has previously existed.

David M. Bertnick, IAPSP President, alongside John (left) on the "red carpet" the 2009 Los Angeles Organizing Awards last January.

Organizing and private service are a perfect match. Much of what Estate Managers, Property Managers, Butlers, Personal Assistants, Enlisted Aides, Household Managers, Ranch Managers, Estate Management Couples and other executive-level household staff do on a daily basis is systematize a property to ensure comfort, elegance and time savings. As an Associate Business member of the IAPSP, we've been able to participate in monthly networking and educational events and were honored when David Bertnick, President of the IAPSP accepted our invitation to present the 2009 Los Angeles Organizing Awards in January (see picture above).

IAPSP Inaugural Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 9-11, 2009:

We are particularly excited that IAPSP is holding their inaugural conference in Dallas, October 9-11 at the Fairmont (we'll be there!) The IAPSP’s first annual leadership, educational, and networking conference is designed to promote strength of character, superior management skills and service expertise, some of the essential elements for effective service delivery in the homes of high net worth employers.

We applaud Mr. Bertnick, the volunteers, members and associated businesses who are building such a progressive organization right here in Southern California that will serve not only our area, but the rest of the nation too. If you're attending the conference, I’ll see you in Dallas!

Two weeks To Go For IAPSP Conference (PRWeb)

IAPSP (official website)

IAPSP (on Twitter)

The Changing World of the Private Service Industry (Luxist)

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Miley Cyrus Organizes Her Tank Tops

2009-09-27T14:05:00-07:00

Think Hannah Montana has the ultimate, organized closet? Think again. And what can we learn about the new "Sex in the City" star's downsizing in her recent closet organizing video?

Hannah Montana and "new" Sex in the City-star Miley Cyrus and her bff Mandy Jiroux filmed a very revealing video in Miley's closet. The video is part of the Miley and Mandy Show, a series of youtube videos that have gained an impressive, loyal following.

So while the video shot in her Los Angeles-area home is highly entertaining, it's much more interesting to watch the girls go through 16-year old Miley's closet and to downsize her extensive collection of tank tops (stripes, sequins, animal prints, dogs,bubbles, screen prints, zebra, Aztec, tie-die, beetle juice, jailhouse rock, little bo-peep, stars and the shirt she wore when she first met actor Johnny Depp).

Here's the video. If you're reading our blog on rss or feedblitz, click here to actually see the video:

As Miley continued to toss, stack and pile her shirts and unwanted clothes into a mountain, we got to thinking, is she really going through her closet the right way? Here's a few thoughts on what you can learn from watching Miley and Mandy:

It's like a tank top:

Much of the video centers around the fact that Miley's clothes all seem to look like a tank top; they're hard to describe much less organize. Instead of driving yourself crazy organizing all these crazy pieces, we suggest she simply create a category in her closet called "knits" and put the tank tops in that category. If you're lucky enough to have space, hang your knits on huggable hangers so they don't slip off.

Use a Professional Organizer; get focused and save time:

Miley is doing a great job letting go of unwanted clothes by herself. However, she could possibly have been more efficient if she used a professional organizer (specializing in closets) to help her gain focus. Miley moves through her closet from shirts to tank tops to purses and seems to skip over things. Like most, she gets distracted, and doesn't seem to do a very thorough review job of going through everything. An organizer can help her maintain the tasks and save time.

Don't make big pile of clothes, you'll be sorry:

Once Miley and Mandy are finished, they're going to be left with a mountain of clothes to process. It would have been much more efficient for them to get some boxes, bags or laundry hampers ahead of time, place some simple paper labels on the containers and toss the unwanted clothes into the appropriate location. Now, she has to go through her clothes a second time to pull out donations, trash, give-aways to friends and resale. We bet she's going to go through the piles again, second guess herself, and decide to put things back for keeping. There's nothing wrong with that behavior, but if you're really determined to get rid of unworn clothes, out of sight means out of mind. Touch the items only once and get them out of sight and out of the house as soon as possible.

Make it fun:

We love that Miley and Mandy are making the clutter clearing more fun by doing it together. We also took note that Miley let go of items that she had outworn long ago, like the outfit she wore when she first met Johnny Depp. Sentimentalism is a number one clutter creator. Bravo!

Images above courtesy g.n.o32 on flickr.

If Miley and Mandy were reading this blog post, what closet organizing techniques would you share with her?

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Traditional Home's 20th Anniversary at Pacific Design Center

2009-09-25T09:13:53-07:00

My colleague Laurie March and I just returned from an amazing day at the Pacific Design Center's Fall Preview.

Sponsored by Traditional Home Magazine, the day featured over 40 design showroom programs, open houses and industry receptions with new and innovative products, style, colors and ideas not only for Los Angeles but for the rest of the country. We met some amazing interior designers like Tobi Fairly Tobi Fairley, Shane Reilly, Madeline Stuart as well as Candace Ord Manroe, Senior Design Editor for Traditional Home and author of Uncluttered: Storage Room by Room, Storage Made Easy and numerous others.

For our continuing work as a professional organizer, It's always important to seek out continuing education. It helps grow our practice and most importantly, we return to our clients with fresh ideas, inspired by some of the top trend-setters in the country. We're always teaming with design professionals so it's particularly good to be able to understand basic language and clearly communication storage design and the needs of clients. Such a great day.

John, standing at the south escalators in what's affectionately known as West Hollywood's "Blue Whale."

Opening Keynote:

Candace Ord Manroe hosted the opening keynote: "The Past, Present and Future of Design" alongside Reilly, Fairley, Windsor Smith, Joe Lucas and Peter Dunham. The panel focused on the past 20 years of design and dived into what could be the most significant design advancements since (hint: flat panel, wall-mounted televisions).

"But Enough About Me:"

Madeline Stuart, one of Los Angeles's most talked-about interior designers spoke about her entry into the design world. She illustrated her discussion with early career photos and addressed how she builds furniture pieces for both the custom and semi-custom markets, all based on her designs.

"Today's Trends. Tomorrow's Classics:"

Candace Ord Manroe sat down with interior designer and new author Cathy Whitlock author and Oliver Peardon Olivier Peardon, owner of Brunschwig & Fils, to discuss future design classics, as well as the explosion of the internet for design.

Closing Keynote:

A panel discussion on the latest in outdoor design trends, featuring interior designers and premium outdoor manufacturers. Introduced by Luxe Interiors + Design Publisher Pamela Jacarino and moderated by Editor-at-Large Michael Wollaeger, the Panel included Ann Sutherland, Lee Menichella, Philip Gorrivan, Nathan Turner and Peter Schultz.

Luxe Interiors + Design Garden Party:

Following the Closing Keynote, Laurie and I designed our way to the Garden Party in the first floor blue lobby for some Cabernet and cuisine by Wolfgang Puck. As I said in my Twitter update afterward, a designer at the cocktail party remarked how much I looked like a sophisticated Zac Efron. The design day must have gone to her head.

PDC building photo above courtesy chriscday3 on Flickr, used under Creative Commons License.
Traditional Home, October 2009 image courtesy Magazine Agent.

Related Links:

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Do You Really Accomplish Anything Putzing Around The House?

2009-08-05T09:06:30-07:00

My wonderful father is a big "putzer." He can spend the entire day in the garage doing what seems to amount to nothing. He can rinse and repeat the putzing in his large garden, the shed, the long driveway up to our rural family home, not to mention his hobby of learning computers.

But I am not really making fun of Dad (seriously, nor do I dare, he's a amazing man), because I think on a smaller scale, I do the same. I don't know if putzing means you just want to be by yourself, it feels therapeutic, or maybe in my case, you feel great satisfaction from doing little things that amount to something. I've never asked Dad why he does it, nor would he care to discuss it, seriously.

For those that do not know, Urban Dictionary defines "putzing" as fooling about, tinkering, messing with, tooling around and dabbling. Some people claim that nothing would ever get done if it were not for putzing.

Experts that specialize in time management say you cannot accomplish anything if you don't concentrate on specific project chunks. Another words, nothing gets finished if you're tinkering. We're not so sure of that.

So are you a putzing kind of person? Is putzing a waste of time? Or do you contribute to the greater good? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Image above of Runyon Canyon Los Angelees courtesy Alex de Cordoba and Flickr

Related Posts:

My Father's Secret Garden

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