How To Store Your Winter Footwear

Now that it looks like summer has officially arrived, it would appear that we can finally put our winter shoes away for the season. However, before you toss them into the depths of your closet or shove them under your bed, there are a few things you should do to preserve the life of your shoes before they go into hibernation.


As per Ugur of Fine Shoe Repair, here are some tips on caring for your leather shoes:


1. Clean any salt stains thoroughly (this is something you should be doing through out the cold weather). Be sure to use a product such as Kiwi Salt Stain Remover to clean off the salt. If you think about what salt can do to a car, just imagine what it can do to those leather shoes that you spent your hard earned money on.


2. Next, you want to give them a good condition using either clear polish or a coloured one to match your shoes or boots. You can either use a cream or aerosol spray to keep them "seasoned"


3. To keep the shape of tall boots, stuff the shaft with boot trees, bristol board or rolled up newspaper (great for recycling).


4. When storing your leather boots and shoes, make sure that it is in an environment that is not too dry and is away from direct sunlight. If you still have their boxes, great, but you still need to do all the maintenance work before you put them away.


5. For you regular winter boots - ones made of nylon or a waterproof material, you can remove the salt stains with soap and water and they should be good to go. Once again, try not to let the salt stay on your shoes for too long.


Fine Shoe Repair is family owned and has been in business for 20 years. They are one of a few left in a dying breed. They can change the lifts on your heels, fix a zipper, shorten your heels and fix the straps on your purses, handbags and the like. Fast, friendly and very affordable they are. Stop by and say hi and tell them Marie sent you.



Visit them at:
845 Danforth Ave. (just east of Pape St.)
Toronto, Ont.
416-463-5085

Hallelujah for the Home Box!

Are you one of those people that has a lot of paperwork and no matter how hard you try, it seems you just can't keep them organized? Would you like to be able to find exactly what you're looking for when you need it?

I happened upon the Sinden Home Box and I have to say, it is the easiest filing system I have come across.

Inside the lovely black faux leather box you will find 9 prelabeled legal size envelopes for Personal Papers, Recreation, Taxes, House Management, Financial, Vehicle, Career and Education , Home and Health.

The nice thing about the Sinden Home Box is not only does each envelope tell you what you should keep inside but there are also helpful tips on the back pertaining to each category. It also looks great and can easily be tucked away in a corner without anyone knowing what is inside.

For the very affordable price of $40, you can have piece of mind knowing that all of your pertinent information and receipts are neatly filed away in one place and never again will you have to turn your house upside down to find that important document.


If you are interested in getting your hands on one of these lovely gems, just send an email to info@theurbanorganizer.ca with your contact information and I will get you set up.

Consignment May Be a Sign of The Times

Are you feeling the pinch in your pocketbook these days and would love a little extra money without having to get a second job?

Well, as you're getting ready to do the wardrobe flip (if you're lucky enough to own that many clothes) from fall/winter to spring/summer, you may find that there are some items you no longer wish to keep. Most people would throw them in a bag and take them to the Goodwill but if they are in excellent condition, happen to be a designer label and better yet, have never been worn, why not take them to a consignment store and make a little cash.

Extoggery and the newly opened Fashionably Yours are two great consignment stores that sell ladies and men's high end pre-loved fashions, accessories and shoes. Extoggery has been around for a few years with 2 locations and accepts clothing that is no more than 2-3 years old as older styles do not sell. Clothing must also be in season. I visited Fashionably Yours located on Queen (west of Bathurst) and it's a lovely boutique with quite the selection of designer gear to choose from.

You can even consign your furniture! Elliott and Ward and Of Things Past not only sell new furniture and accessories but will accept pieces for consignment as long as it fits their mould which is more along the lines of antiques. Both stores are very selective on what they take in so items must be of really good quality.

So when you're getting ready to do your spring cleaning, think about the dollars you could get for your designer undesirables by enlisting them with a consignment store. You might make enough to add a few new pieces to your wardrobe.



As each store has their own policies, please visit their websites for more information.

www.extoggery.com

www.fashionablyyours.ca

www.ElliottandWard.com

www.ofthingspast.com

I have used wooden hangers for years to hang all the clothes in my bedroom closet. Clothes keep their shape and it just gives a nice cohesive look. Though my closet is very organized and only contains the things that I love, my penchant for finding a good bargain has left me with a little bit of a problem. I can't fit anything else in my closet to the point where I have had to double up on some hangers.

Now, normally I don't watch Rachel Ray but one day I was channel surfing and caught an episode of Rachel and her gal pal Gretchen who happened to be doing a segment on closet organization. Most of what Gretchen said was nothing new to me until she mentioned something called the huggable hanger.

What the dickens is a huggable hanger? I thought. Gretchen went on to explain that they were super thin hangers that take up less room in your closet than a wooden hanger. In fact, two huggable hangers are equal to one wooden hanger. They are soft and sturdy so your clothes still hold their shape just as good as a wooden hanger but it allows for more valuable real estate. This, of course being very important when you're not blessed with a walk-in closet.

I went on the hunt for these hangers so I could test the theory for myself and was lucky enough to find a set at Winners. As soon as I got them home I made the switch and to my amazement, the amount of space that was freed up was unbelievable!

I am so pleased with them that I plan to switch my entire wardrobe to the huggable hangers. The ones I bought were for shirts but they also make them for pants, skirts and you can also find them at Homesense.

Now that I will end up with more space in my closet, I guess you know what that means!!!