Ask the Organizer: Studio Storage

Another post in the Ask The Organizer series! I am so happy when someone posts a question here on the blog or on the facebook page. Keep them coming!

“I have a dorm room/studio-ish room that could definitely use organization!”

Here are some options for increasing your storage, without decreasing your style.

Guest Room Closet

The closet without a purpose. It’s easy to bypass this closet since most people don’t use it everyday. Items that have no home usually end up here until guests arrive and then you think, “What am I going to do with all this stuff?!” Here are my tips on organizing this type of catch all closet while creating space for you guests.

Baby Clothes Organization

Due to the fact that babies grow so fast and their clothing is so cute, most baby closets have lots of clothing, and if not stored correctly some of those clothes might never get worn. Here are my tips for baby clothing organization.

Office Organization

A 2011 survey completed by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics found that the average American spends 8.8 hours a day at work. The office is your home away from home so why not make it an inspiring place to work.

Ask the Organizer: Small Pantry Organization

Photo: HGTV

I am beginning a new series in which individuals can post organizing questions on this blog and I will answer them.  The first in this series is a request regarding organizing tips for a small pantry with wire shelves.

Organization of Inspiration

Organizing in and of itself can be its own source of inspiration. I had one specific client who started her own company after organizing her home office, she realized what a range of work she was capable of and was inspired by the process.

I have found that to be true of the blogging experience, writing these posts has inspired me to really delve into the art of professional organizing. So it was with great surprise and honor when I read that Candy S from Finding Order in Chaos had nominated my for the Very Inspiring Blog Award. Thank you so much!

See Jane Work

I’ve previously mentioned my love of office supplies and wanted to highlight

Prepare to plan; or the benefit of using sport analogies when organizing a garage.

I am not a huge sports fan, nor do I participate in most of the activities that originate from the garage, however, I have organized more garages than I can count. This is not to say I don’t enjoy it, I have just come to realize there is a language that can motivate the most unwilling participant.

This terminology can be useful for any project but its very helpful when faced with a player who wants to tackle the garage without a game plan. Here are my steps to hitting a home run when preparing for the big game.

Home Maintenance Calendar

Whether you rent or own there is always some sense of responsibility in maintaining the space, whether vacuuming the carpet to inspecting the attic for adequate insulation. All of these acts require time and honestly wouldn’t you rather

The Purpose of Organizing: Who else can get you to let go of your elementary school report card?

I love seeing before and after images of organizing and decorating projects. There is something in the revitalization of space that brings me joy. It’s even better than buying something new, this process of refreshing the old. I can remember the times that I would organize my room as a child and I wouldn’t want to take out anything afterwards because I didn’t want to disturb the space.

Closet Before

This is still something I need to watch for as a professional organizer, that I don’t let the process of organizing distract me from the purpose of organizing. The end goal is not

Use it, don’t lose it: new uses for old things

Wine Rack turned Office Supply Organizer

Why buy new organizational products when you can use what you already have to help clear the clutter? I love finding new uses for old things and especially love saving money!

What growth are you cultivating?

Chiral patterns formed by Paenibacillus dendritiformis grown on minimal media. Photo Credit: Microbial Modus

As a Professional Organizer who goes into the deep dark recesses of your fridge, basement, or other moldy area, I get to see lovely pinks, greys, and even soft velvety blacks in various stages of bacterial/fungal growth. This may cause some of you who read during lunch to stop reading this blog however, it leads me to the question “What growth are you cultivating?”

Recipe Organization

Organizing recipes can be a life changer because

Emergency Preparedness Kit

In light of the recent events in New England and Mississippi I thought I would share my emergency preparedness kit. These are items

The Art of Organizing: Who else would you pay to look in your underwear drawer?

The Art of Organizing, to quote Fort Minor, “is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will, five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain, and a hundred percent reason to remember the name!” Organizing as a profession is as complex as the Biltmore is large. Imagine telling someone that the things they equate with life are really the things that impede them from enjoying life. That’s why I believe in order to be an organizer you also need to be a…

Three closets become one

What to do when you have lots of clothing and can never find anything to wear? We spent a day and a half organizing this closet with a materials budget of $500. Though not a “dream closet”, we turned an under utilized closet into a highly functioning space.

This specific closet, at 7′ x 10′, is a rather large walk-in closet that previously only had one hang rail and shelf. Because of inadequate storage, clothing was also stored in two other closets in the home. In order to accommodate all the clothing we

Tools for curating your collection

Yesterday’s post on Things Organized Neatly is an exact representation of how a collection can become something to be celebrated instead of considered clutter. Instead of boxing up these instruments,

Child’s Play

I have found that most children really do love to have an organized room. Don’t get me wrong they like to make HUGE messes, however,

Difficult Decisions

Recently I have been studying the process of decision-making, specifically when emotions are involved. It’s not necessarily light reading but it is fascinating trying to figure out why some people will keep a waded up tissue or hundreds of pairs of flip flops. And in both of those specific cases I know they wanted to be able to move on without those items but couldn’t let go. So how do we as professional organizers give them the tools needed to break free from these distractions?

To read, or not to read: that is the question.

I wish I had counted the number of times that I was told “I will get to those magazines eventually, they have articles I want to read.” I am not saying you shouldn’t read magazines but it is interesting how stacks of magazines are prevelant in many homes today causing clutter and that nagging feeling that “you will get to them some day”.
There is a solution that I have found works really well…

Smell The Roses

I had the opportunity to spend some time with some wonderful ladies yesterday and I felt so refreshed and thankful all because I took 2 hours out of my day to eat a meal. It made me grateful for where I am right now and to quote Ferris Bueller

Craft Room Organization

Crafting and clutter seem to go hand and hand due to the large amount of materials available and the time taken to organize the materials versus use them. I absolutely love organizing craft rooms because of how happy the client is with the final product. The first step I take when organizing a craft room is…