February 10, 2014

Favorite Organizing Product:Laundry Basket

Most people hate to do laundry. I don’t think it is the task of putting clothes in the washer and dryer but the concept of getting the clothes into the laundry room, folding and putting away the clothes that makes laundry a chore.

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One way to make laundry easier is to choose the right basket. My favorite is the Rubbermaid Flex ‘n Carry basket. The fexible handles fold together which makes carrying laundry so much easier. I own four of these baskets and I cannot tell you how invaluable they have been to me throughout the years. My clients will tell you I always show up to their homes with three of these baskets for sorting and organizing.

They are great for college students. I moved my own daughter to college with three of these baskets. Once the baskets were unloaded I would leave her with one and it was always returned back to me filled with dirty clothes.

Get your kids to help you with laundry by leaving one in each room/bathroom for dirty laundry. The flexible handles make it easy for kids to carry to the laundry room.

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Use them all summer long to hold clean or dirty beach towels. They are also great for storing frequently used beach toys in the summer. Use a hose and rinse the sand out when we you are finished.

Pack them when you go on vacation by car and use them for dirty clothes on the trip home.

Clean the baskets with disinfecting wipes and they look brand new. If you own more than one like me they stack for easy storage. I have had mine for years and they are indestructible.

I don’t think this basket will make you want to miss a night out with friends to stay home and do laundry but anything that can make laundry less of a chore is worth sharing.

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February 5, 2014

Do You Think Less Is More?

I had the pleasure last Saturday afternoon to go hear Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus also know as “The Minimalists” talk about their new book Everything That Remains. They spoke at an independently owned old bookstore downtown. I am all for supporting local independant businesses so I overlooked the overstuffed shelves of paperbacks and hardcovers that were stacked all the way to the ceiling. I actually felt overwhelmed standing against all of these old books waiting to hear two guys speak on a Minimalist lifestyle.

There was a small area within the bookshelves that had a table and as I approached everyone was sitting on the floor or leaning against the bookshelves. I chose to stand and every time I moved I either knocked over a book or stepped on someones’s fingers but the atmosphere became secondary when the these two guys came off the elevator and greeted the crowd.  There was a certain charisma about them and then when they spoke it was if you were sitting in your living room with a couple of friends. Joshua read excerpts from the book and Ryan told his story of how he discovered the minimalist lifestyle. I loved hearing their honesty and when they talk about a meaningful life without all the stuff they really believe it and that is how they have become so successful.

We all think the dream means acquiring more things but when it comes down to it is it the things or the people in your life that you will miss the most?

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February 1, 2014

Organize This: The Refrigerator

Get into the habit of cleaning out your refrigerator on a weekly basis. The best time to do this is the day before your garbage day. This small change will prevent a cluttered refrigerator and keep you from over-buying items you already have but cannot see. This is also a good time to add to your grocery list.

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FRIDGE BINZ TRAYS

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GLASS STORAGE CONTAINERS

Containers that are clear allow you to easily see the items that are being stored. Stackable containers are great space savers especially in small refrigerators. One good rule of thumb when deciding what to discard is “if in double throw it out.”