Pass The Remote

It`s that little piece of electronic house ware that we all can`t live without. When it goes missing there is a housewide APB sent out for its. What else would get such a fuss then the television remote. If your anything like my house you probably have 2 or 3 for each television as well. I`ve been exploring some inventive ways to store your television remotes so the search has to be no more.

Side Couch Organizer

This option is great if you lack space around your living room. These can be purchased at any home outfitting score, or make one yourself for a more personal feel.

Baskets

Baskets, whether wicker or metal, make a great storage solution for remotes. There are so many different styles out there, so choose one that best fits with your other decor.

Decorative Plate

Not only do decorative plates make a great and convenient place for you to place your remotes, they also act as an art piece for the room.

Plant Pots

Plant pots are a great inexpensive way to store your remotes. You can paint and decorate them in different colors to fit into your room.

Vases

An old vase is a nice sleek way to store your remotes, just be sure the opening is large enough to easily access the remotes.








As i`ve said before the decision on what to use, largely depends on your decor and what works best for you and your family. Happy channel surfing!

Memories Are More Then The Things

The one downfall I have with the "stuff" in my life is that I seem to collect a lot of it; not unlike many people I know. I particularly noticed this from my recent travels abroad. I had saved every ticket, every brochure, every program of every event and once I got home I had no idea what to do with it all.

Thats when I started to realize that the memories are not in the things, and sometimes they`re not worth keeping and cluttering up your space with. Don`t get me wrong, I still have a shoebox full of the more important mementoes of my travels, but not everything is worth keeping. For example do I need every single t-shirt that I picked over my university career... probably not.

So I guess the point to this post is that i`ve learned that just because you let go of a few things doesn`t mean the memories are gone.

My organizational tips to getting rid of "momentous" pieces are as follows:

(1) Make them electronic. Scanning or photographing helps clear up space, but still gives you a smaller piece of something to look back on.

(2) Limit yourself. Maybe save 1 thing from each special occasion. Do you really need 3 programs, 5 tickets and your robe from your graduation day? Think about it...

(3) Think about what your kids or grandkids will want to see. Things are saved to help stimulate and bring back memories of a certain event. Think about it in the context of what your kids or grandkids will want to see in the future. Will they get the significance of a ratty old t-shirt with your sororities name on it? Probably not...

I hope some of these tips can help you clear some room in your closet to bring in new memories.

Jewellery Organization

Don`t you hate it when you reach into your jewellery box and pull out a tangled mess of necklaces, that take you longer to unscramble then is worth the time. 

As my necklace collection continued to grow I knew I needed somewhere better then the bottom of my jewellery box to display and organize these prized possessions. For the past few months they have been hanging on push pins inside my closet, but after some Pinterest 'researching' I came across a new idea. 

I took a trip to the hardware store and picked up 5 dresser knobs, a picture hanging hook and a discount 2 foot piece of crown moulding. Drill 5 equally spaced holes in the crown moulding and insert the knobs. Screw in the picture hanging hook into the back. I found it was better to place one on each side, so that when the weight changes with the placement of necklaces it still stays centred.  And with that you have an expensive looking display, that your necklaces will be proud to hang on, with no tangling! 

"Now where`s the other one"

Shoes! We all have them, and for us girls we have a lot of them. For years when standing at the front door in a hurry to get out I always found myself saying "now where`s the other one", searching through the ever growing pile to find the matching set. Clearly they weren`t organized.

I have tried a number of different types of shoe organization methods.

My first solution was baskets for each type of shoe. One for flats, one for flip flops, one for heels, etc. As much as it narrowed down the search, I still found myself digging to find the matching pair. I also found that smushing all my shoes together didn`t leave them in the best condition. 

My second attempt at shoe organization was an exposed shelving system. As much as it was easier to find the pairs of shoes, I found I would have needed 10+ more shelves to fit my entire collection and I just didn`t have the space for that.

My final and current attempt has brought me great success. In my closet I have individual plastic boxes for each set of shoes. The labels clearly tell me what is in each box, and the see through nature of the boxes also give me a glance when deciding what I want to pair with my outfit for that day.

So many shoes seem to be the achilles heal of every home, but don`t be afraid there are a ton of organized solutions, one that just may work for you!

It`s All About You

Organizing is largely about you and your needs. Not all systems work for all people, so you need to work out what`s best for you.

I can`t tell you how many times I have organized my Dad`s office, just for it to return to it`s original state a week later. That`s when I realized that my organizational style clearly wasn`t what worked for him. So after some observation & examination I came up with a more appropriate style that worked for him. I was more of a file away type, he was more of a toss it in a labelled basket type.

So do some observation to see what would work best for you and your family. It may take a bit of trial and error but in the end it will all be worth it, because your never going to stay organized if your system doesn`t work for you!

Maybe this is his style? 

Welcome to 'Keep It Organized'! 

When I was little I used to go over to my best friends house to play (as most kids do). Her mom ran a babysitting service out of their house, so there were always oodles and oodles of toys to play with. Every Saturday when I got dropped off and we marched down to the basement I would say "we have to organize the toys, before we can play". So there we would sit for hours making sure every toy was in the correct bin before we could get to the play. For any other kid cleaning up was the worst part, but for me it was the best... I think that`s when we all knew I was destined to be an organizer. And ever since then that`s just what i`ve been. From my notebooks in school to my kitchen cupboards I love to organize! Which has led me to this, sharing my love & passion for organizing with all of you!

In this blog I hope to share tips, tricks and some of my own organizational stories. If you have any questions of your own that your having trouble solving feel free to post them in the 'Your Organizational Obstacles' section of the blog and i`d be happy to give you my two cents.

Happy Organizing!