Unique Tips For Organizing Your Closet

I recently picked up the new issue of O magazine (March) which has some articles on de-cluttering your life.  As an organizing consultant, I'm always interested in seeing how people organize their spaces and what crafty things people are doing. 

In this issue there are 4 ladies whose closets are featured and since this is an area I love whether it's working with an existing closet or designing a new one, this was of particular interest to me.

One thing I saw that I found quite interesting was a rod hung just above the inside of a closet to hang boots from.  I thought that was ingenius although you'd have to make sure the soles were clean.  But hey, it frees up valuable floor space for other stuff and keeps your boots from flopping over.  The same lady also installed a jewellry cabinet inside the closet door.  Another great space saver if you have regular doors and not bi-fold ones!  I've employed a similar idea on the inside of my linen closet with a cork board and clear push pins to hang my accessories.  I just open the door to select something and with a full length mirror on the bathroom door 2 feet away, it's easy to try on different things and see what they look like with whatever I outfit I have on.

Another lady uses an old cabinet with glass doors to store her shoes.  She just installed additional shelves and cleaned it up a bit as I think it needed a little tlc but it's great way to use something in an unconventional way.

One woman went so far as to hang her collection of scarves on drapery rods just outside of her closet so not only can she see all of them but it makes for a colourful piece of "art". They say if you can't see or don't know what you have, you'll end up wasting money buying multiples of the same thing or better yet, you'll be one of those people who have clothes in their closets that still have the price tags on them because you forgot you had them.

In my coat closet, I have some hanging shelves that I use to hold my winter hats, gloves and mitts as well as my runners, kicks and even my small umbrellas.  It's from Ikea, it velcros onto the rod and tucks nicely in the left side of the closet. Right underneath it is where I keep my winter boots and wellies.

By the way, wardrobe flip time will soon be here so if you'd like a little assistance or advice on how to make your closet more efficient (and believe me when tell you, installing a closet system is the best thing you can ever do), send me an email or give me a call.  I'll help you transform your closet into one where everything is visible and accessible, saving you time and money!

*I offer a FREE 30 minute consultation.


Marie

E: info@theurbanorganizer.ca
P: 647-341-7370

STORAGE TIPS FOR A SMALL BATHROOM

If you’re like me and you live in a place with one small bathroom, storage can be a bit of a challenge. I didn’t have the luxury of a medicine cabinet (though some might consider that more of an eyesore) to make use of so I had to get creative and in this case, think “inside the box”.  I’m a bit of a beauty junkie so in an effort to keep my things neat, organized and easily accessible, here’s what I did to maintain a clutter free environment and to maximize the space.

Fortunately, I have a vanity in my bathroom so I bought 3 plastic shoe boxes (easier to clean) and used one box to house all my hair products including my flatiron which fits perfectly when lying down.  Even though I have a hairdryer, I don’t use it so it is kept in my linen closet freeing up valuable real estate. I also took the label off an old food can and use it for combs and brushes.  This makes it easier to see them not to mention a great way to recycle.

The second shoe box holds all of my skincare stuff and the third one is for my cosmetics, which for the most part are in a makeup bag to take on the go. As with most standard vanities, the 3 containers fit flush under my sink and it’s an inexpensive way to keep things tidy. 

If you have a pedestal sink, you can attach some stick on Velcro to some fabric to “skirt” the sink and hide your products in bins behind it.

On top of the toilet, is a rectangle shaped 3-part tray for my makeup brushes (again, these are in a stainless steel holder), body lotions and sprays as well as scented bath stuff.  I can see exactly what I have and it looks great too!  If you have enough space above your toilet, you can install a couple of shelves for additional storage.

If you happen to share a bathroom, each person can have their own container to store the items they use everyday or frequently. You can label each one so you know whose is whose and besides having functional storage, if you ever have to move, just put the lid on the box and you’re good to go!

 What do you do to keep your bathroom organized? The Urban Organizer wants to know!

How I'm Planning Ahead For Christmas 2011!

Well, Christmas has come and gone and for many of you, the bills have started rolling in.  Me, not so much   as I pretty much paid for everything by debit, but it was still a good chunk of change.   I spent a lot more money than I had intended to due to a new relationship. Isn't that always the way?  Each year I say I'm going to boycott Christmas because of the amount of moolah I fork out in such a small time frame not to mention the increase in my cortisol levels.  That lovely stress hormone.  My shopping starts late summer for my family overseas so that I can mail their stuff by the end of October and hope that it gets there on time and not the following February like it did a couple of years ago.  The postage fees are so ridiculous that I swear it costs more to mail the gifts than the cost of buying them.

Anyway, I love Christmas too much and though the idea of not having to buy gifts again is very appealing and my bank account would love me but I don't think it's gonna happen.  So I thought, how can I make this less painful and not have to practically take out a second mortgage at the end of the year? I need to organize myself a little better. A lot better!

That's when I decided this year, I'm going to buy one gift a month.  On average I have about 12 people or so to buy for so I figure if I purchase one a month, it would be more manageable.

I usually send gift cards to my friends and fam out in B.C. simply because it's much simpler and now thanks to Visa gift cards, I can load up one for each of my family members overseas and spend less than the cost of a Starbucks coffee to send them.  I"m liking the sounds of that! 

I figure if I spend on average $25 per gift per month, I'll be in great shape come year end and I'll have some extra cash to treat myself to something nice since I have budgeted throughout the entire year.

If you have a lot of people in town that you need to buy for,  keep your eyes on the sales all year long, buy stuff and put it away.  Come December, you'll be glad you did! Don't get it twisted though, I'm not talking about hoarding here!  More often than not, your friends/family will mention things they'd love to have or could use and that's the time to make mental notes or plug it into your smartphone.

If you have a list and budget and stick to it, your holiday season will be that much more enjoyable and you won't be one of those folks frantically starting their shopping the day before the big day! Or in some cases the day of, if you celebrate Christmas eve!

What stresses you out the most about Christmas shopping?  The Urban Organizer wants to know!


Here's to living a more organized life in 2011!

Marie