Organizing For A Conference

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I’m at the POC (Professional Organizers in Canada) conference in downtown Toronto today and have to share this great tip from Laurene of Organize Me 101 for staying organized when at a conference. Firstly, gather all your conference materials in a small binder that has a plastic outer front and back insert cover that allows you to place paper inside the insert on the exterior of the binder. Then take your agenda for your conference and insert it on the exterior front binder cover so it’s easily visible and you don’t need to hunt around to find out where you’re going next. On the exterior back insert place a map of the hotel or conference centre so you’ll be able to find your way around to all the different rooms. What a great organizing idea for conference attendees! Thanks Laurene!

Organizing Your Bathroom

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Often times my clients are short on bathroom space, especially cupboards and drawers to hold grooming and cosmetic supplies. A great fix for that is to purchase an over-the-door shoe organizer that has deep pockets for storage of products. The organizer can hold not only curling irons, hairdryers, brushes, etc. but also can hold shampoo bottles, hairsprays and other bathroom grooming products so you can easily see exactly what you have and be able to retrieve the items without having to bend over and knock other items over in the process of retrieval or return. If you’re on the shorter side, simply cut off the bottom half of the organizer and mount the top half on hooks at waist level so you can reach inside. Try it and let me know what you think!

Organizing Your Closets

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After meeting with a few new clients today for consultations it struck me that, when it comes to closet organizing, I receive the same questions and hear the same dilemmas. Often times clients will tell me they have tried to organize their closets on many occasions only to have their attempts fail over and over again. Here’s a quick tip to start your organizing project: organize your closet when it’s at its fullest. You need to make sure that all your clothes for the season are clean, all items back from the dry-cleaners and all other items, namely, belts, bags, scarves, etc. are in your room so everything is in one place and you can see all that you have. There should be nothing in transit. This way when you begin to organize your space you will be working with all the clothes that you own. When you are make sure you have a place to put the laundry and dry cleaning.

Professional Services – Do it well, or don’t do it at all!

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As part of the services I provide, and also in my day to day life, I come across and have dealings with a variety of service providers. What I don’t understand is how some of these companies actually stay in business when they offer poor customer communications, sub-standard services, and/or when they clearly lack in honesty and integrity. For me and the services I provide to my clients, integrity, honesty and customer satisfaction are the fundamental principles of my business. I personally don’t do anything half way: I either do it right, or I don’t do it at all. I don’t believe in “good enough”. Yet there are so many businesses operating out there that just don’t get it. I make every attempt to work with people on my team who have the same principles that I do. I set the bar pretty high and you either meet, or exceed it, or we don’t do business. It’s that simple. And don’t think I’ve never been burned. Just recently I allowed a new service provider in my home for cleaning and ended up shaking my head and feeling frustrated and angry. Never again. My words of wisdom are to be very careful who you invite into your home.

Organizing Cosmetics – A Conundrum

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Make Up DrawerOne of the common questions I hear from clients is how to best organize the drawer in their bathroom that holds cosmetics or grooming products for men. Most women have all their make up in a bag in the bathroom making it difficult to see what they have and where. And men seem to have a jumble of items falling about in the drawers they use. A simple solution is to purchase a low rectangular container similar to a utensil organizer that you might use for your kitchen drawer. They can be found in basket form, clear plastic or molded resin at major retail stores. Each section of the container can be allocated to a particular product. You can even add small square or rectangular clear plastic containers (as shown here) to sit inside the larger one to further segregate your cosmetics just like this one recently completed for a client. Try it and your mornings will start with less frustration and stress!

Setting Boundaries With Organizing Memorabilia

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Everyone has some form of memorabilia, whether it be your child’s artwork, high school yearbooks or ticket stubs from special events. I myself have a tote just for my own special items, as well as a tote for items from each of my children, no longer living at home. Although these items help us to recall the past, we all must live in the present. Keeping too much memorabilia can restrict us from living in the present by taking up valuable space we need to be able to use and access now. It’s a good idea to confine your memorabilia to a small tote or chest and not exceed this boundary. This way you prevent your sentimental items from turning into clutter. And remember……..The treasure is in the memory itself, not in the physical item.

Doggie Treat Organization – Containment is the key!

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Doggie treat organization
I don’t know about you, but because my little pooch is such a cutie I like to buy her an assortment of treats. I used to place them on the shelf in my pantry but inevitably I found it difficult to find them when I needed them. So, I bought one of those little canvas bins you usually see at Winners or Walmart for about $5.00 and put all her treats in the bin. Now when I want to reward her, it’s a lot easier to simply pull out the bin and find what I’m looking for. Sometimes, I even let her decide. I just put the bin on the floor and she uses her nose to nudge the package she’s interested in! Check it out!

Deals On Organizing Products

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I’m always on the lookout for great prices on products that either I or my clients can use for organizing home or office. This week Canadian Tire has a sale on a 5 tier resin shelf at 50% off. I’m purchasing this item to organize the automotive items for my son’s garage but it’s also very useful for a basement pantry, cold storage (especially because resin is not affected by moisture as a wood or metal cabinet would be), and basically anywhere shelving is needed in basement or garage. Another product on sale this week is at Staples. Its the DYMO label maker (50% off)- great for labelling all your bins, baskets and shelving. And, with the kids back to school this week, its also a good idea to label their personal items as well.