Home Organization Tips

Over the past few years, I’ve moved around a lot: from my parents’ spacious house to a college dorm to a small apartment and finally to a house of my own. I’ve morphed from studious college-student to new wife, to new mother, to graduate student AND mother, and finally to working mother. There’s no question I’ve been busy: but somehow never too busy to leave my house a mess. It’s not something that I’m particularly proud of, but I’ve come to learn that I’m not suffering alone, and that sloppiness and laziness are curable ailments. All it takes is a bit of determination, time and patience.

In this blog, I hope to share with you the lessons I’ve learned while organizing my home during various new starts (when somehow it seems so exciting to keep everything neat!). I also want to discuss the lessons I’ve learned after falling prey to the same bad habits over time, as the novelty of the new beginnings gradually wore off and the excitement faded. From laundry room to bathroom and kitchen cabinets to coat closets, there ARE ways to get organized that don’t involve a full-time housekeeper or quitting your job. You may not be able to reorganize your whole house in one day, but once a few things are organized, you’ll see how much time you save each day by knowing where everything is (and then you can channel all of this newfound time into reorganizing the rest of your house!).

As I at long last moved from my shoebox apartment to a normal size house, my mother warned me of the likelihood that ‘your junk will expand to fit your space.’ In other words, even a big area housing a small amount of stuff can seem cramped and chaotic if you don’t take the time to keep it organized. I have discovered that this maxim has the potential to be 100% true (as mothers’ advice often is), but that it doesn’t HAVE to be. I look forward to sharing with you organizing tips and product suggestions that can help large spaces stay clutter-free and small spaces maximize their storage potential. This blog is for busy moms, frustrated roommates, habitually disorganized people and anyone who wants to reorganize their space and their lives. I also look forward to hearing your own tips and ideas about how to stay organized, so that everyone can benefit from your experiences. After all, there is no better way to learn than through life experience.

Posted on November 26th, 2006 by Sari
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Has the tranquility of your long-awaited bath ever been interrupted by children’s toys bobbing in the bubbles or the view of a messy bathroom beyond the rim of your tub? Did you every wonder why your friends’ bathrooms seem so neat, while yours always looks like a ransacked testing lab for beauty products and medicine? If so, you are not alone (trust me, I’ve been there!)- but there are a few quick and easy things you can do to make your time in the bathroom a more pleasant and relaxing experience.

One of the most helpful things I’ve found that cuts down the time of my morning routine is a makeup caddy that sits on my bathroom counter. After years of rummaging through my makeup bag morning after morning, I can now find each piece of makeup quickly, because it stands right in its own place. Makeup caddies don’t only have to be functional; they can also be beautiful. Try looking for a makeup caddy in a bright color that will match your bathroom, or one that looks like a little basket that will add a bit of flair to your space. I also like to put bigger makeup items, like my eye-shadow palate, in a drawer organizer in the top drawer of the bathroom cabinetry. That way, they’re further away from my kids’ reach and I know exactly where they are each morning. I also recommend keeping a makeup bag stocked with your favorite makeup, so that if you ever take a trip or need to touch yourself up, you don’t have to remove your regulars from their new homes (and, in case little fingers do happen to steal your foundation, you’ll always know where another bottle is). It doesn’t take a long time to reorganize your makeup, and the results are instantaneous.

A magazine rack is also a good way to help your bathroom reading stay neat and out of the way. You shouldn’t have to store your reading material in a heap on the floor or on top of the tank (where it probably slides off frequently). Instead, consider a magazine rack to keep your reading material organized and out of the way. If you don’t have room on the floor, or are afraid that your books could get ruined by a toilet flood, an over-the-tank magazine rack is likely the answer to your problems. It may not properly support a hefty bathroom encyclopedia, but it will definitely hold a few copies of Newsweek or People magazine!

A final way to make the bathroom look instantly neater is to install a shower caddy to keep your toys and toiletries organized (and prevent them from toppling over and spilling). I’ve found that corner caddies that are suctioned-on or bolted to the wall are the sturdiest ways to store most shower supplies. If you do try a caddy that hangs from the shower head, make sure not to put too many heavy items on it, or it may damage the shower head. For toys, I prefer to keep a wide-mouthed wire basket suctioned on to the bathtub so that the water drains out quickly and the kids can easily put their own toys away without wrestling with a wet storage bag. The best part of this basket- it can be easily removed to make room for any adult who wants to take a toy-free bath!

Posted on November 26th, 2006 by Sari
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My husband moved into our new home about a month before the kids and I did so that he could start unpacking the boxes, take care of last minute construction details, and make sure that all of the major appliances were properly installed before I brought the kids into a messy place. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and to a large extent, I’m sure it was. Out of some 170+ boxes, probably only 40-50 were left by the time I got to the house. The beds were made and there was food in the fridge (which was the only appliance that actually worked, but that’s a whole other story). I spent at least 12 hours a day unpacking and cleaning in my first week home (really!), and thought that things were finally almost all in order. That’s when I decided it was time to bake muffins.

You’re probably thinking it’s crazy to bake muffins when not everything is unpacked, but by that time, I was yearning for a bit of homemade cooking, something more than frozen hotdogs or yogurt. The muffins were delicious- but they took two hours from start to finish, which I know from experience was an hour and a half way too long. The reason: I couldn’t find anything that I needed in my brand new (and very spacious) kitchen. As promised, my husband had filled up all the cabinets with the boxes marked ‘kitchen’. But, as I quickly realized, the baking powder wasn’t next to the sugar, and the muffin tins weren’t next to the cookie sheets, and the mixing bowls somehow ended up in the cabinet with the dishes.

After I ultimately put my muffins in the oven, I set to work reorganizing the kitchen so that all of the baking supplies were on the same shelf, the pans were arranged properly, and the pantry items showed some semblance of order. It took until 1 am, but I definitely learned a lot in the process: I’m pretty sure that this was not a case of the male brain vs. the female brain. It was the creation of a classically disorganized kitchen, one that could be easily remedied with a bit of thought and attention to detail.

The most useful thing I did was to properly arrange all of my food supplies, both those that I use regularly and those that are I keep ‘just in case’. By placing the things that I use the most, such as my baking supplies and arsenal of vinegars, on sliding pantry shelves at arm-level, I have ensured that they are easy to reach in the midst of preparing a recipe, and that I can always see with a quick scan of the eye which supplies are running low and need to be replenished. On the sliding shelf right below the things that are used the most frequently, I placed my collection of canned goods, with the things that I use most often (like tuna) in the front, and things that I seldom use (like green olives) in the back. On the lowermost shelf, I placed extra supplies of ketchup, pasta and assorted other assorted food supplies that I replace with semi-frequency and like to have on hand when the need arises. It might sound silly, but I am excited by the comfort of being able to just pull out the shelves and find what I want, instead of having to unload everything just to reach the items in the back, as I did in my last kitchen.

I have also found that smaller food items are best placed in a Lazy Susan in a top corner cabinet, which is not only a wonderful way to use an otherwise hard-to-reach space, but also creates additional storage space for food items that could not be stored in the pantry. In the days before I finally splurged and purchased a spice rack, I used to store my spices in this Lazy Susan, as well as other condiments and oils. Although Lazy Susans arguably fill similar roles as pull-out pantry shelves, they are also helpful in storing smaller and lighter items, so as to make room for bulkier things in the pantry.

Although my husband may have been somewhat insulted that I felt the need to rearrange his handiwork, I think he agrees with me that makes life a lot easier when similar foods are stored together, instead of being stashed in random spaces. And, although I don’t expect him to reach for the baking powder anytime soon, I am so much more relaxed knowing that it’s easily accessible and strategically placed, so that I can make my next batch of muffins without also having to complete a scavenger hunt.

Posted on November 26th, 2006 by Sari
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It’s kind of funny to say out loud, but my guest bathroom is one of the most favorite places in the house. Perhaps because it’s not cluttered with the mundane things that are used every day in a regular bathroom (like frayed toothbrushes and three different types of shampoo), or perhaps it just makes me happy that the towels are always hanging neatly on the rack, waiting for a guest to come and take a hot shower. Either way, I am always delighted to look at the bathroom and know that it’s going to (hopefully) be enjoyed by a weary traveler or someone who just needs to escape from the constant chaos in our house.

Although I am fully aware that it’s quite luxurious to even have a guest bathroom, having one (even for a short while) has really taught me how it’s the simple things that can really spruce up a bathroom and make it not only a functional space, but a beautiful room as well. I’d even venture to say that by adding a few bathroom accessories, a bathroom can really be enjoyed by both guests and family members alike.

Coordinating bathroom accessories like towel bars, soap dishes and toothbrush holders really add a classy or personal touch to any bathroom. Although these accessories range widely in price, even cheaper models can really jazz up a bathroom. I love having a hook for hand towels to reside on that is near the sink, instead of leaving a hand towel floating on the counter. Even worse, I’ve found that in bathrooms without a designated hand towel holder, people are often forced to use others’ bath towels for drying their own hands, thereby spreading dirt and germs needlessly.

Likewise, providing matching soap dispensers near the sink basin will provide your children (and guests) with a gentle reminder to wash their hands, and will teach them how to put things away when they’re finished. My children’s bathroom, for example, is decorated with an aquatic motif, and recently I found an inexpensive bar of soap that looks like a duck floating on water. It’s amazing how my two-year-old gets excited about washing her hands, and how she loves to put the soap back on the equally fun fish-filled soap dish. What makes me equally happy is that I no longer have a ring of soap on my counter, and the bathroom always smells like freshly-used soap.

Wall-mounted soap dishes are equally functional and beautiful additions to any bathtub or shower stall. By installing a mounted soap dish, you will no longer have to search for your soap in its continual migration around the tub’s perimeter, or leave the bar on the floor of the shower stall (where you’re likely to bang your head as you reach down to get it). Those who prefer liquid soap can buy equally beautiful liquid soap dispensers, and place them either on a shelf in the bathtub, or on a caddy in a shower stall. And, although I find them a bit less practical, those in rental apartments or those who can’t install accessories in their bathrooms, can still create a more organized and beautiful bathroom by adding free-standing soap dishes to their bathtubs and showers.

Adding personal touches to your bathroom will also make the space more enjoyable for all. One thing I have done that receives a tremendous amount of positive feedback is putting a magazine rack in the bathroom, and filling it with older issues of various magazines, such as Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Good Housekeeping and People, which I collect from different neighbors who are done reading them. Several times guests have even asked if they could take a magazine home, to finish reading an article!

Posted on November 26th, 2006 by Sari
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In my old apartment, I never closed my closet door. I simply couldn’t. I tried and tried, but jacket sleeves or long skirt bottoms kept getting stuck in the door and preventing it from closing. The plus side was that I got a great glimpse of my wardrobe options every morning- without having to lift a finger. The down side was that I never got to look at a clutter-free room because my clothing was always in plain view. Ok, so I really enjoy sitting in an overstuffed armchair when I happen upon one, and I LOVE indulging in an overstuffed corned-beef sandwich about twice a year. But an overstuffed closet? It’s a bit much on a regular basis.

When we moved to our new place, I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow the same messy closet that I tolerated in our admittedly temporary apartment (so what if ‘temporary’ turned out to be nearly 3 years?). So I set about organizing my new closet in a way that it can (hopefully) stay neat. And I realized that it’s not really as hard as it seems. By following these easy steps, you too can have a neat closet, and you may be even enjoy the fact that the door actually closes.

- The first thing to do is empty out the closet and clean out all the dirt and grime that tends to pile up on the shelves and the floor. It’s amazing at how much larger the closet will seem when dirt isn’t taking up valuable space!

- Next, go through your clothes and remove anything that you haven’t worn all season (or all season last season that you’re saving for next season when you probably won’t wear it either).

- It feels great to donate all clothes in good condition to those who are less fortunate, or to use them as a dress-up game for children. Old or extra t-shirts can be cut up into rags. Stray socks can be used for polishing silver. Warning: in my experience I’ve found it is better not to save stray socks in the hopes that one day the match will be found. After two weeks, if you haven’t found it, you probably won’t. In the unlikely event that you DO find the missing sock, the first one will probably have disappeared by then.

- Whether or not you have enough room in your closet for all of your clothes, it is worthwhile to arrange your clothing by season, so that you will know what you have when the weather suddenly turns, without having to sift through the entire closet. Keeping your clothing stored in this way will also help you notice more quickly which clothing is not being worn, so that you can remove it from your closet and make room for your new acquisitions.

- All-year-round clothes will serve you best if stored in the middle of the closet, since you can always grab it in a hurry.

- Store your dressiest clothing and eveningwear on the periphery of the closet, so it doesn’t get jostled and wrinkled on a daily basis. Keeping these items out of the way will also help you find your everyday dresses and trousers more easily.

- If you have limited space and can only store seasonal clothing in your closet, make an effort to pack up your off-season outfits in an organized fashion, so that it will be a cinch to recreate your organized closet when you change the clothing over.

- If you need extra hanging space, consider using some of the space in your guest room closet (when applicable), or extra space in your children’s closet. This will help keep your garments wrinkle-free and available whenever you need them.

Picking out an outfit in the morning should make you feel good about yourself. Keeping an organized closet is a great way to appreciate the clothing that you have by allowing you to view things that would likely get lost in a messy wardrobe.

While there may be some benefits to having an open closet door, closet doors were invented for a reason.

Posted on November 26th, 2006 by Sari
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Posted on December 4th, 2006 by Sari
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The holiday season is the easiest time to let the  house go a bit - let things pile up.  And there’s always some way to rationalize the bedlam:  you were too busy to put your packages away, too tired to deal with the mess, or running late to a holiday party with little time to focus on straightening up the house.  All of these excuses are valid (I should know; I’ve used them all numerous times); but they are still excuses.  Because it’s exactly in times of chaos that critical receipts can get lost, misplaced or accidentally thrown out.  Consequently, taking extra time to care for your holiday receipts can save you from the distress of searching for them, arguing with the store clerk to return or exchange your items without their proper receipts and the throbbing headache that justifiably results from this entirely traumatic process.  

The easiest way to keep your holiday receipts on hand is to clear out a special section of your wallet just for these receipts.  Make an effort to place all of them straight into that section (and to keep all other money, receipts and garbage out of it), so that you will know where they are when you need them.  During the holiday season, it is especially worthwhile to save all of your grocery store receipts, in case you stumble upon a spoiled product that needs to be returned, or accidentally purchased the wrong product and wish to exchange.  Likewise, people are doubly likely to forget a bag or two at the grocery store during the holiday rush.  In the event that you misplace one of your shopping bags and need to reclaim it at the store, it will be helpful to have your receipt handy. 

If you receive a gift with a gift receipt that you fully intend to return (yet ANOTHER Clay Aiken CD, for example), it may be helpful to keep the receipt in the gift box so that you will have it handy when you make it back to the store.  Alternatively, if there is no gift box, place the entire gift with the gift receipt into a shopping bag, to keep them together until you can return it.  If possible, tape the receipt either to the box or directly to the gift, to further prevent it from getting lost.  (Note: if the item needs to be returned in the original, undamaged box, do not put tape on the outside of the box, as it can ruin the box). 

Even if you are excited about your new gadget and can’t wait to throw away the box and put it on your shelf, it is worthwhile to save any gift receipts that you receive, in case you discover that the item is defective or it breaks within a short time.  It is recommended to save your receipts for the window of time in which the store will accept a return or the length of the product’s warrantee policy.  This way, you will not get stuck with a lemon - you will hopefully be able to make lemonade. 

After the holiday season, place the gift receipts that you have received and the receipts of your own purchases (minus the grocery purchases) in an envelope labeled ‘’holiday receipts 2006,” and file the envelope with the rest of your important documents or receipts.  By doing this, you will keep the receipts out of your way, but you will be able to find them easily when you need them. 

Posted on December 15th, 2006 by Sari
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Posted on December 25th, 2006 by Sari
Filed under: organizing tips | 2 Comments »

When I recently changed from a top-to-bottom refrigerator to a side-by-side model, I almost had a mental breakdown.  Seriously.  For 20 years I’d been accustomed to a certain way of life, and then suddenly, there I was, thrown into an abyss of deep, narrow shelves, when all I wanted were wide, shallow ones.  In the first few days, I insisted that my husband put all of the food (especially the freshly-cooked and newly-purchased items) into the fridge.  Over time, however, I gradually grew more comfortable with my new appliance.  Nevertheless, I still feel a tiny twinge of nervousness every time I need to stock it up with food for a large gathering. There are, however, certain tricks that I’ve learned that can help make extra room in your refrigerator where you thought there was none.  Although it may seem obvious, the easiest way to make room in your refrigerator is to throw out everything that is spoiled, past its due date, or you know you won’t ever eat.  There’s no point in saving last night’s steak-n-fries leftovers if you know you’ll never eat those soggy, ketchup-soaked taters.  Likewise, sticking a half of a leftover cucumber in the fridge will probably not yield the tasty green salad that you had planned for tomorrow.  Instead, it will probably produce the shriveled, moldy white mess that makes you wretch.  So use forethought when putting items back into the refrigerator, and consider whether or not you’ll actually want to eat that item.  Similarly, if you need to make extra space, be realistic about your probability of eating something, and chuck things that you know deep-down you won’t want. Storing your food in an appropriately-sized container is perhaps the easiest (and most often overlooked) way of making space in your refrigerator.  While a 7 quart soup pot may be necessary to store your freshly-made chicken soup, a smaller vessel can just as easily hold the meal’s leftovers.  Voila!  You instantly created extra space in your refrigerator. 

Another, albeit more difficult way of keeping your fridge organized is to make a concerted effort to put things in their proper place while unloading your groceries.  Though it may take more time to be organized when you’re in a rush to put your groceries away, a bit of forethought can prevent you from having to unload your entire fridge to find the yogurt you know you threw in the back.

Consider organizing your space according to the size of the containers, and stacking everything that can be stacked in an orderly fashion.  Place larger jars in the back of the shelves, so that they don’t prevent you from locating the smaller jars and bottles.  Avoid balancing things on top of each other- they are likely to fall, spill, or get needlessly lost.  Alternatively, organize your refrigerator according to product usage, so that you’ll know where something is when you need it.  Keep your dairy items separate from your condiments, for example, so that you don’t accidentally grab the mayonnaise when you really want the Cheez Whiz. 

 

There’s no doubt that staying in control of your refrigerator contents is an ongoing chore.  However, it will undoubtedly save you from having to confront repulsive, rotting contents or worrying too much when you need to make extra space in your refrigerator.    

Posted on December 31st, 2006 by Sari
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Like I said, I had a plan. It was a valiant plan, a great plan, one I was sure would usher me into the holiday season with tranquility, pleasure and ease. And it did. Sort of. I planned my menu two weeks before the holiday just like I promised I would. I did the grocery shopping ten full days before my big family dinner. And boy, was I sure glad that I did! Everything seemed to be going perfectly, until my daughter got a fever. And not just any fever- a persistent, unrelenting fever that refused to abate for 8 full days. I couldn’t work, I couldn’t cook, I couldn’t even sleep- all I could do was tend to a cranky three year-old who just couldn’t get better.
And then, not quite out of the blue, I got a fever too. And suddenly, Tzofia and I were in bed together, moaning and groaning, coughing and sneezing- and doing everything EXCEPT cooking or cleaning for the dinner party. I thought about canceling. After all, who would want to come to a germ-infested house anyway? With 6 days to go and no hope in site, would I feel better in time? Would my kids feel better and allow me to finish my work?
I waited, and waited, and avoided inquiries from anxious family members eager to find out if they’d be left high and dry. Five days before the party, I was feeling better- and so was Tzofia. Phew- we could keep our scheduled plans. I hadn’t lost too much time, because I already had the food and the menu, and all I had to do was create it. But there were a few valuable lessons that I learned from this harrowing (and miserable) experience that I will undoubtedly take with me for the rest of my life. You should learn them now as well- after all, it’s easier to learn from the suffering of others than to pass through the fire yourselves in the name of learning….

Lesson 1- Think like a Boy Scout- always be prepared for an emergency. Having a fully-stocked refrigerator not only saved my family when Mommy was out of commission, but it allowed me to spring right into action as soon as I was able to get out of bed. After a prolonged illness, I had days of ‘real’ work to make up, in addition to numerous loads of laundry and other household chores that had been long neglected. A stocked pantry and refrigerator meant that I could return straight to the kitchen without having to run straight to the store for staples. Moreover, having my supplies for the party already on hand gave me one less thing to worry about during the difficult readjustment to a hectic life outside of bed.

Lesson 2- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Especially in the winter months when a flu or cold can sneak up on you at any inopportune time, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Fortunately for me, I had divvied up the menu and the tasks three weeks before the scheduled party date, so my relatives already knew what to do before I really needed their help. And although I would have loved to do everything myself, I was so relieved to know that I didn’t have the entire burden on my shoulders, and that I wasn’t bothering my relatives at short notice by shrugging off tasks that I would have done if I was fully-functioning.

Lesson 3- Try to make an extra effort to keep your house clean and tidy on a regular basis. It’s no secret that cleaning and straightening up your house for a big influx of guests takes significant effort and energy. But after letting the house ‘’lie fallow” for a few days, I can honestly tell you that it’s doubly, triply, maybe even ten-fold harder to clean up a seriously dirty house than one that is kept in a generally respectable fashion. After having a house in which dust-bunnies had time to gather up, I have new appreciation for my frequent efforts to sweep and dust. And after spending an hour cleaning up children’s toys that they didn’t put away when I wasn’t around to make them, I can say for certain that staying on top of the mess may be annoying on a regular basis, but it’s significantly less pleasant when you must cut a chunk of time out of your busy day to straighten things up.

During my time in bed, my grandmother thoughtfully suggested that we move the party to a restaurant to take some of the stress off my back. I resisted- thanks to a helpful husband, a supportive family, and a bit of grace from G-d, I was able to pull things off. And I’m really glad that I was able to keep things under control. Because as Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz, ‘’there’s no place like home.” Especially when it comes to holiday family parties.

Posted on January 21st, 2007 by Sari
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