As a professional organizer, I often see this happening: someone sees clutter in a part of their home and visits the Container Store to purchase containers, carts, and gadgets. They believe this will solve their organizing problem. When clutter returns, they repeat. Another container or two enters the house to ‘fix’ the problem. Pretty soon, … Continue reading 3 Popular Organizing Tools You Should Avoid
When your life changes significantly, what you need out of your home does too. A new baby needs a host of baby items (where will it all go?!), a blended household requires negotiation and re-thinking, growing children acquire their own things and suddenly the space that worked before, doesn’t! There are dozens of obvious benefits … Continue reading 5 Hidden Benefits I Give to My Interior Design Clients
A 10×12 room can feel very, very different depending on what’s in it and how the things in that room relate to each other. Since I’m often working with city-based clients with limited square footage looking to make their home feel spacious, I’m constantly using these 5 interior designer tricks in different ways. Purchase … Continue reading How to Make a Room Feel Larger
Confession: I have a love/hate relationship to gift giving. Personally, there’s nothing I like more than opening a beautifully wrapped present. Or the child-like joy of watching someone open up a gift. But as a professional organizer who often helps clients ‘liberate’ gifts they really don’t like, I have a very difficult time giving someone … Continue reading Tips on Giving the Perfect Gift
This Thanksgiving, I asked my Mother if she had any thick colored paper, a hole punch, and a red Sharpie pen. This is what she said: “The colored heavy stock is in the large closet, right-hand side, 3rd shelf down on the left side. It’s labeled – you’ll see it. And the Sharpie pen is … Continue reading How to Make Labeling Your Things Easy and Doable
When we interior designers begin our careers, we’re encouraged to create ‘portfolio-worthy’ projects. In retrospect, it’s easy to see that these projects are more about the design firm than the client. As a well-seasoned designer, I’ve come to realize it’s much more fun to create spaces for other people. Gratitude and happy faces motivate me. … Continue reading 5 Things I Won’t Do as Your Interior Designer
I wrote recently about the habits I have that keep me organized, but getting organized in the first place feels impossible if you fall into in any of these common organizing traps. Here are a few blunders and how to avoid them. Organizing before you declutter. Oh no! You just spent time and energy … Continue reading 5 Blunders That Keep You Disorganized
I got a great email from Patricia De Fonte the other day and was thrilled when she said I could share it with you. (Patricia is a Principal and Estate Planning Attorney at De Fonte Law. She handled my estate planning and I can’t recommend her enough!) Her email has nothing to do with law … Continue reading What I Told My Friend About Her Son’s Stuffed Animals
You know a move manager would help, but it’s an expense and you’re not sure if it’s justified. After all, you’ve moved before and survived, right? After managing hundreds of moves, I’ve found 5 indicators that a move manager will be an investment that pays you back in time, energy, and sanity: You get panicked … Continue reading 5 Signs You’re Ready for a Move Manager
How full is your closet with linens you don’t use? Maybe you have a soft blanket but it’s stained, or a high-quality percale sheet that’s fraying. You think you should keep it, and suddenly your storage is stuffed. Here’s my professional organizer’s tip for what to do with old linens: donate them to Animal Rescue … Continue reading Organizer Tip: Where to Donate Your Old Linens