All About Baskets

Hey PHA,   I’m going through my home and notice I have baskets ALL over the place.  Do you have any great ideas what I should do with them?

Thanks, Clutter Queen (aka CQ)

Hi CQ… thanks for asking!

 Baskets are a great idea for attractively storing some of your items that need to be organized while they’re out in the open so you can live in a room that functions well.  For instance, that basket in the picture originally held extra rolls of toilet paper in my bathroom when I lived in Florida. Now, it holds cooking magazines and newspaper articles until I have time to read and scan things I want to keep.    

Many times when I’m working with my moving organizing clients, we will use baskets by the front door to hold shoes, or in hall closets for gloves/scarves/hats, etc.  Baskets are also very handy in kitchen cabinets to hold vitamins and medicines (on high shelves when there are young children in the home!) Depending on size, they are great to corral makeup brushes, or hair brushes… even on your desk to hold all your pens & pencils.

If you have a basket small enough, it can be used as a serving piece for crackers or bread sticks when entertaining… I myself use a small flowerpot to make the table-scape more interesting.

Think out of the box for creative re-use of any household item… it’s good for the environment and saves you money at the same time!!

And, don’t forget, PHA is running a special through February 14^th… mention this blog post and you can receive 10% off a four-hour organizing session!

Happy Organizing!!

Ms. Clutter Queen

Hey PHA, I started a small business from my home last year and have a HUGE box of receipts.  My tax guru wants my numbers by the middle of March….YIKES!!  Where do I begin?   Thanks, Clutter Queen

Dear Clutter Queen,

DON’T PANIC!  Take a deep breath and let’s break this seemingly daunting task down step by step.

First, take that box and start sorting and organizing those receipts into piles…. One for auto expenses, tolls, repairs, fuel etc. Another pile for supplies… keep office supplies separate; payments to vendors will be in another pile; and, yet, another pile each for entertainment, payroll, utilities (phones, cell phones, internet access, gas, electric, heating….)… you get the idea… Just be sure to ask your tax guru what categories he/she wants and sort into those categories.

Now, find a young family member or college student who needs some extra $$$ and have them enter the data into a simple spreadsheet using the categories you need.  In no time flat, you’ll have all the totals, by category that you need to get your taxes done!

CQ… if the task still seems too daunting, give me a call.  We here at PHA have resources throughout the United States and Canada for organizers that we can refer to you… and don’t forget,  PHA is running a special through February 14^th… mention this blog post and you can receive 10% off a four-hour organizing session!

Hope to hear from you soon… PHA

Happy Financial Organizing!!

How to Pack a Moving Box

Back in 2010 I did a series of Tips for How to Have a Stress Free Move

Part of that series was a post on how to properly pack a box.  Since I’m still seeing TV shows showing people declutter, move into new homes or pack up to get their home ready for sale, and none of those folks are packing the boxes correctly, I thought it might be time to revisit the basics.

At PHA, we take moving and organizing very seriously….

Use the right size box for the job!  I cringe every time I see heavy books being placed in a medium sized box… these boxes were not designed to hold the weight that books generate. Also, you will place too many books in a medium size box making it very difficult to carry. Here are this Professional Moving Organizer’s easy tips for properly packing a box.

• ·         Heavy items – small boxes
• ·         Fragile items – small boxes with lots of “crush” (unprinted newspaper crushed to protect contents)
•          Dishes/stemware – double walled cardboard… heavy items on the bottom, lighter items packed on top plus lots of crush on bottom, in middle and on top.
• ·         Clothing – wardrobe boxes so clothes can stay on hangers
• ·         Shoes/handbags/bedding/linens/towels, etc. – medium to large boxes
• ·         Lampshades – try to keep all shades in one box and write “top load” so nothing heavy gets placed on top of this lightweight box during transport

Don’t forget, PHA is running a special through February 14^th… mention this blog post and you can receive 10% off a four-hour packing or organizing session!

Hope to hear from you soon… PHA

Happy Packing and Organizing!!

Five years ago I moved an architect into her first single family home.  At the time, because of budgetary considerations, it was not a “deluxe” unpack, but a very functional unpack.

When it came time to unpack her closets,  I made the suggestion that she consider switching out her hangers to wooden ones so that her clothing could breathe.

We stayed in touch over the years, and we recently re-connected face-to-face at a networking event. She mentioned I’d been on her mind and she wanted to get together after the New Year.  So, I called her last week to check in.

We met tonight and over a cup of tea caught ourselves up over what was happening in our lives. She will be getting married this July in Holland, and will be traveling quite extensively to India for her job. She wanted to chat with me about some changes to her home should she decide to stay to make it more comfortable and also ideas of how to stage it should she decide to sell.

I open the MBR closet door!  What a beautiful site to see!!  All her clothes (mostly color coordinated.. you go Jen!) on wooden hangers.  There was a grin on my face from ear to ear as I turned to thank her for having wooden hangers… she immediately replied “But, Peggy… you taught me that when you moved me!”  (sorry that the photo above is from another client and has a mixture of wood and wire hangers)

It’s so nice when client’s listen and take your organizing advice!!

Hey PHA, Clutter Queen here….It’s January and I think it’s time for me to FINALLY get myself together and get organized. Does that mean I have to throw out the majority of what I own?  Thanks, Clutter Queen

Dear Clutter Queen,

Absolutely not!  Being organized does not mean living without your treasures, or anything else that you love, use regularly or find beautiful.

But, it does mean that you have a place to put everything so that everything can be put back in its place!

It’s very important to understand that “being organized” means different things to different people. While my clothes are color-coordinated in my closets, my spices are alphabetized in my cabinets, and my cookbooks are grouped by author… that doesn’t mean that my way is the right way. It’s just the right way for me!

CQ… everyone needs their own systems in place that work with their own unique lifestyle and way of doing things. Some people need strict rules, others, not so much. Working with a professional organizer can help you create the plan that will work for you.

By the way, CQ, PHA is running a special through February 14^th… mention this blog and you can receive 10% off a four-hour organizing session!

Hope to hear from you… PHA

Go Niners!

Photo courtesy of SF Gate

Forty-niner Fever!  Every person I met today (three appointments before 11am), in their homes, in a store, or at the market – are soo excited about today’s game that you just have to go with the flow. And, everyone is convinced that the Niners will be victorious on Superbowl Sunday.

So, while I’m an organizer and I help people move, and I am not a ‘real’ football fan, GO NINERS!!  Best of luck to the team.

As a professional organizer and moving and relocation specialist, I am constantly reading articles regarding my industry in order to keep myself abreast of new strategies, paradigms and research as to why people do what they do.

According to Dr. David Tolin, Director of Anxiety Disorders at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, here are the top three reasons why many of us have too much stuff  clutter (my synopsis of his lengthy article):

SOMEDAY – People strongly believe that whatever item they’re saving can be used “someday” or they know someone else who can use it.  Sadly, the item rarely gets used or given away to that other person.

PERFECTION – A person can actually become paralyzed and fail to make a decision because of their fear that they cannot perform the task perfectly. They are so afraid to make the wrong decision, they’re unable to make any decision.

ATTACHMENT – Item(s) become so important that sometimes people feel like the items are their friends and family and therefore they just cannot think about discarding it.

How then does someone begin to manage all of their “stuff”?  It’s really important to make a list and DECIDE what is important to you and honor that… just please remember, not everything can be important.

Resolve to set some limits…do you really need 30 white t-shirts? 20 pair of black shoes? 40 cans of black beans? (These are real numbers of items I’ve come across on projects I’ve worked on!) Most of us really don’t need more than a dozen of any one item, and even that is stretching it!

Work to define yourself by who you are – not by your “stuff”.

Happy Organizing… Want some help? Just call me and mention this post, I’ll give you a FREE one-hour telephone consultation.

I went on a walk-through yesterday for a move from San Francisco to San Jose that will happen mid-March.  I was referred to this couple by another couple who I had moved twice before – both of those moves were within the City of San Francisco. And, I was hired!

Just saying Thank You doesn’t express the deep gratitude I feel to my referring client’s for their extraordinary confidence in the abilities of PHA and crew. To be entrusted not only with their own memorabilia, treasures, artwork, household belongings and interactions with all members of their families, but then they feel strongly enough to recommend me to their colleagues and friends is awesome!

And, yes, I write hand-written thank you notes. I often send a gift appropriate to them. And, I stay in touch with them through-out every year. It still doesn’t seem to be enough.

So, while I don’t have a huge subscriber base here on  my blog, I’d still like to take this opportunity to publicly give a huge shout-out to every single person who has ever referred PHA!!  You are awesome.  I appreciate every referral from the bottom of my heart and I take each referral very seriously. My success is directly related to you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

PHA and crew was recently asked to come in a reorganize a condo even though the homeowner had “moved” in two years ago. Right at the time the homeowner was selling his loft and moving into his new condo, a series of life events happened causing him to just get the move done as quickly as possible so he could concentrate on resolving this series of challenges. Now that many of the challenges are being managed, it is time to get organized!

Junk Drawer

The first drawer I opened was obviously the junk drawer.  The second drawer I open – another junk drawer. And, lo and behold, the third drawer is also a junk drawer!!

When faced with a pile of items that are all mixed up, the first rule of organizing comes into play…. sort like things with like things.

And, don’t forget to go around the entire home corralling those things that should go together!

junk drawer 1 after

Now, look around your home to see if you have any containers or small organizing baskets that fit in your drawer so you can neatly store things away that are visible and easy to find. Alternatively, go to your favorite big box or boutique organizing store and purchase exactly what you need.

In a short period of time… organized drawers will be allowing you to save time, eliminate visual clutter, and have a system in place so you can return things to their proper place!

Happy Organizing…

At this time of year many folks start planning and make decisions on how they are going to better their life.  All good things.

I’d like to suggest that people take a good look at their living situation and start to think about what they really need… bigger house? smaller house?  is the house the right size but too much clutter?  house is too small but could work if rooms were reconfigured to how they are actually used?  house is too big but the thought of moving is overwhelming?

Many professional moving organizers have expertise in all of the above situations. And, often, when you have a fresh pair of eyes review your situation and chat with you about your desires, we can actually make suggestions and/or referrals to other professionals so you can make an informed decision.

Call PHA today to schedule a consultation…. mention this blog post and receive a 10% discount!!