3 Tricks to Avoid Over Packing

If you are anything like me, when you pack for a trip, you don't end up wearing more then half of the things you brought with you! At one point on every trip I wind up saying "What were you thinking?!" Well, I recently had to pack for a 3 week trip in 2 different destinations each with different weather.......so I stopped to really think about it before I packed.  These are the 3 tricks I can up with to keep me from overpacking:

1. DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE YOU LEAVE:  Before you leave, get some idea about what the weather will be, what kind of activities you may be doing, what the dress codes are for places you have planned etc. Once you know what types of things you need to bring you can limit what you pull out to pack.

2. LAY EVERYTHING OUT TO MIX & MATCH:  Clear off your bed and grab a glass of wine....it's time to create outfits! We do this for ourselves every day...now you just have to plan ahead. You don't need to wear something different every day!  Choose only pieces that will work with others to create different outfits. ONE pair of formal shoes will do on most vacations! If you are going some place tropical, ONE "just in case I'm cold piece will do! Once you have it all laid out, leave the room for awhile and then come back to see if you can weed out any more.

3. LEAVE ROOM FOR SHOPPING: Yes I am serious! If you fill your luggage with too much leaving home.....you will have no room to bring back any goodies! It's a no brainer!  

Wishing you all wonderful summer holidays!  Please share any packing tips that you have.

Organization Love Poem

I found this posted on Facebook and I thought it was so cute I wanted to share it.

An original poem written by a COLUMBUS Liberator.  ENJOY!

Make Clothing Exchanges Fun and FAIR!

Clothing exchanges are a great thing to do with your friends when you have good pieces you don't like or can't wear any more. But, they can also be very frustrating.

I have been to a few where some people bring beautiful pieces and others bring old ratty ones. When everything is just thrown in a pile on the floor.....the outcome can be quite unfair.

Of course my professional organizer mind takes over and begs me to 

Here's the plan I came up with for an organized clothing exchange:

1. Ask everyone to bring only good quality used pieces. Nothing with stains, frays or tears.
2. Organize the items by category so people will easily find what they might be looking for.  
3. Have 3 rounds timed how ever long you like.  Leave enough time for people to look around and try things on.  Whatever they don't choose goes back in the piles. 
4. In the first round, people can choose the same amount of items that they brought with them to exchange. In the second round, decide how many more pieces everyone is allowed to choose. 
5. Before the final round, people can decide whether they want to give away what is left over or take it back.

It may sound complicated but it's not!  It is organized and fair!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.  My friends have all thanked me for it! 

5 Choices When Spring Cleaning Your Closet

If you are someone who avoids cleaning out your closet because you can't decide what to keep and what to get rid of,(and what I mean by get rid of is to donate or hand down unless it's unwearable)....here's are 5 tips to help make your choices easier.

1. To Wear or Not To Wear:  You know what I am talking about! We all have those pieces of clothing that we start at time and time again thinking we will wear it, we should wear it and of course we never wear it. Those pieces need to go! Yes, you may have paid a lot of money for it, but your money will be better spent if someone else is wearing it, than if it's sitting in your closet!  
2. Ouch it Hurts: Ugh my feet are killing me! Is that another blister? If these things sound familiar...you have some shoes that need to go! Life is too short to have sore feet!
3. Did That Ever Fit?:  Are you standing in front of the mirror wondering how you ever fit into a piece of clothing? If it doesn't fit properly, send it on it's way. Yes, you may lose/gain the weight again but then treat yourself to new clothes. Live in the present and enjoy!
4. Never Again!: Say goodbye to the pink taffeta bridesmaid dress or your wedding dress from 15 years ago! If you know you will never wear something again, give it to someone who will!
5.  Tugging at the Heart Strings: High school is over. Your camp days are in the past. IF you are wearing some old comfy pieces that are torn and ragged but simply make you happy: BRAVO! But, If you are saving clothing in a box just for sentimental value, take a photo and move on.

I hope these helped and if you have any other ideas please share with us!

The 5 Biggest Organizing Dont's

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

May your life be full of LOVE!

Closet Resolutions

It's that time again! The time where we pressure ourselves to make tough changes to "better" our lives or ourselves. Personally, I think it's all to much pressure! How about we play a game instead?

The game can be considered a "resolution" but you can have some NO PRESSURE fun while being productive. So, here's how it works: 

STEP 1:  Make sure all of hangers the hangers in your closet are facing in the same direction,  Then make sure all of the piles of clothing that you have (whether in drawers or on shelves) and neatly folded.

STEP 2: Once you wear a piece of clothing, turn the hanger backwards or put the folded piece back at the bottom of the pile.

STEP 3:  Commit to only wearing new things until you have turned all your hangers or rotated all your piles.

Now, we all know what will happen along the way.......you will get to a piece and not "feel like" wearing it, or it doesn't "feel right" etc. Take note of those pieces and if it happens more then once....it's time to let it go!

Who's with me on this? It's a pretty easy resolution to make and you can weed through your wardrobe at the same time. 

Remember: Someone else will probably love to wear whatever you choose to give away!  

Happy Holidays

Warmest wishes to you and yours.

Self Care: The Holidays are Coming!

I live in a town where I hear the words "self-care" a lot! I mean A LOT!  Not that it was ever a foreign  concept to me, but when I lived in a big city I never really had time to give it much thought. I must admit, I am still not very good at it, but with the holidays coming up (and my stress level about to be elevated), I figured now was as good a time as any, so......

I started thinking about what I could do to take care of me, myself and I, so that I could be better equipped for the fun, family, excitement, over stimulation and mayhem the holiday season entails! I know that if I feel this way that others must too so I thought of 4 EASY WAYS to take care of yourself in preparation for the holidays (or even to recoup after)!

1. MEDITATE: O.K., I can't really do that either! How about just sitting quietly by yourself with your eyes closed, listening to your favorite music, blocking out the outside world? CLOSE ENOUGH Right?!  
2. JOURNAL: If this sounds too daunting....just call it writing! Take the time to express your feelings, worries, frustrations etc on paper. No one ever needs to read it. Just let all your thoughts out and your mind settle down.
3. ESCAPE: I mean, just go DO SOMETHING that you have always wanted to do or never make time to do! Dye your hair, Get a french manicure. Pierce your belly button. Ride a roller coaster. Eat oysters......you get what I mean.

LUXURIATE: Pamper yourself! If you can afford it, go for a Spa Day! If you can't pick your favorite body treatment and enjoy OR simply add some oils to your long hot bath!

It doesn't matter what you do as long as the priority is YOU! 

Do You Want a New Closet for Christmas (or Chanuka)?

What would be the best gift ever? In my opinion it would be a brand new organized closet! Who doesn't want one?

So now what? There are SO MANY  options out there how do you decide?  I hope this will help:

1) Go Custom:  There are many large closet franchise companies (and little independents like me) that can make this process fun and easy for you.  Measurements will be taken, clothing will be assessed and designs will be created. You just sit back and relax and get a quality product like this:

2) DIY Melamine: You can go into any Lowe's or Home Depot and buy ready to build kits. There are many choices available. Be aware that these are all made in good quality material so take the time to check material thickness, system  adjustability and measurements before you buy. Here are some examples of what you will find in the stores:

3) DIY Wire Racking: This is the most inexpensive choice but also the least functional. You do not get any choice of heights of shelves, hangers often don't move freely, sweaters have marks left on them....and I can go on.  But....it can help you create a more organized space then just the simple shelf and rod. This may take you some time to figure out..and it has a tendency to fall off the wall if not perfectly installed.

Are you now more confused then ever? 

I don't blame you. If I walked into a store and saw all the DIY pieces, I would just wonder what to do with them.  How do I know what to design for my closet? How do I know I am getting the right pieces? Will everything work the way I think it will?

Here is my Holiday Gift to you. VIRTUAL CLOSET DESIGN: It's the best of both worlds! I will do the professional plans and you can buy and install the closet yourself! If you mention this Blog Post I will give you 15% OFF this service.  Check it out here:   http://www.organizeatoz.com/virtual-closet/

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!