Category: Room By Room

Garage Organization

9/26/2019

Fall is a great time to organize the garage, so in the month of October we'll offer some organizing and storage suggestion for the garage.

The first step is to decide what does NOT belong. That looks different for everyone. But if it is no longer in working order or is not something you have used in a year or is a household item you already decided to donate but now sits in the garage, waiting to make it to its final destination, you have some hauling to do. Don't let it continue to take up your valuable space and when possible, pass it on to someone who will actually use it!

Discard what is unusable (if you have more than you can discard in a weekly pick up, consider a run to the Solid Waste Authority (there is a $20 minimum, but I have never exceeded it even with a minivan filled to the brim) or a dumpster service like BinThereDumpThat.com)

Clean and donate any items that still have use - Toys, athletic equipment, tools and gardening items are often in high demand and can be donated to general centers or specialty places like Habitat for Humanity centers or YMCA. There are also consignment shops like Play It Again Sports and Kid To Kid for sports equipment and toys.

While you have the car out and the garage emptied and sorted - (trash, donate, move to another area of the house, keep in garage), take a little time for deep cleaning from top to bottom. With things as empty as they've been all year, vacuum and dust from ceiling to floor, clearing cobwebs and wiping down fridge and shelf units. Then focus on the floor: sweep out the leaves that have blown in, vacuum the mats, clear oil stains with cat litter, dish soap and a wire scrub brush. Use a slightly damp sponge mop to wipe down the walls and floors as well. If you have our Swiss Trax flooring installed, take this chance to vacuum the dust and residue that has collected in the channels in the last 6 months!

Consider your "high rent" real estate. The first level is the space you need to park, move, and function well in your garage. In the next level of "rent", keep the items you use regularly within easy reach and simple storage. Items that you only access once or twice a year should be stored out of the way in the lower rent districts of long term storage. Take time this week to see what rarely accessed items are being given PRIME locations, and see what you can do to maximize your storage space, getting them up and out of the way if possible!

Here you can see the 4x8 overhead rack option at the top left, to maximize ceiling space above garage doors and parked cars. Monkey Bars shelving offers high storage for totes while still offering hooks, hanging baskets, shelves and specialized options for sports equipment. To the left is a wall mounted Monkey Bar, which allows for the same attachments flush to the wall. Lots of possibilities - consider what works in your space!

One Extra Tip: Sports Equipment can get smelly, especially when young athletes leave their items in their gear bags. Bacteria thrives in moist environments, so teach your kids to air it out after every game and practice! Wire baskets and netting bags offer convenient options to store your gear away from dusty, dirty and moist environments.

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The Kitchen - the Heart of the Home, Part 1

7/27/2019

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“In the childhood memories of every good cook, there's a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom. "
-Barbara Costikyan

One of my very earliest memories involves the story of me, my dog Bridie, and the pudding. Now, this is one of those family stories that has been told and retold, so that you have to wonder whether I actually remember the event, or just being told it at an early age. But, I have this mental picture of a dawn kitchen, lights still out except the bulb in the fridge, in front of which I sat around the age of 3, on the floor with a large bowl of pudding my mom had prepared the night before. My dog is on the floor right next to me, keeping me company. Now, it turns out, in my parents retelling, the pudding was being eaten with one bite for me, and one bite for my partner in crime (eww!), they didn't even yell at me ("I mean, you were such a good kid in general, what was the big deal?"), and the story repeats itself at some point down the road with me, Bridie, and a bag full of Oreos!

But, really, our kitchens are the places of family meals, late night snacks, early morning cups of coffee. The work of meal planning can be the bane of our existence, but the feeling of serving a hot, healthy meal of comfort food on a cool evening as everyone gathers around hungry, enjoying the delicious smells, is one to cherish.

Kitchens have so much happening in them, it can be hard to keep up. But, in most kitchens, overflowing drawers and cabinets are doing us NO favors. Counters cluttered with kitchen appliances make meal prep and clean up even harder, and outside items are just in the way. So, here are categories you can organize in your kitchen today!

1. "Junk" Drawers:
I just reduced from THREE kitchen junk drawers down to two and it feels great! (See, organizers don't judge!!) The old junk drawer became the home for my caddy of herbal teas - it looks great in the drawer, just below our electric tea pot, and it is wonderful to have it off the counter!! All of my junk drawers have desk organizers and each contain their own general category, but they are still "catch-alls" for items that probably don't warrant the "high rent" space of my kitchen's top drawers. Junk drawer #2, I'm gunning for you next! How about you, do you have a drawer that should be in YOUR crosshairs?

2. Things that just don't belong in the kitchen:
Junk mail, laundry baskets, soccer balls, craft projects - sometimes our kitchen counters are the easy drop off point for all sorts of crazy stuff. Take a few weeks to get consistent with your family (AND YOURSELF!) and reinforce a new rule that outside items can't land in the kitchen!!

3. Rarely used kitchen items that aren't earning their high rent:
When you are cooking and cleaning, the important items need to be easy to grab - you don't have time to dig through overflowing drawers and cabinets.

The first question to ask is whether you really NEED these items if you haven't pulled them out in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years. If your friend borrowed this and lost it, would you be running to Amazon to replace this at full price? Or could you live without it?? If you would just live without it, is it really worth having to move it out of the way every time you need your favorite pot? Let these items GO - and if they are in good shape, let them find a new home where they will be used and enjoyed!!

But, there's a second category that we often find not earning high rent - the once or twice a year items. Maybe in the summer you make homemade popsicles with your kids, or ice cream, or fruit pies. Maybe each Christmas it is worth having 5 cookie sheets and cooling racks for a marathon session. Maybe you have a "birthday season" like we do here, and during those weeks cake decorating tips, cupcake carriers, and cake stands get used regularly. But maybe these seasonal items sit unused the other 45 weeks of the year. Don't give them prime cabinet space!! Put them in the basement, garage, the tippy top shelf of a closet that requires a chair to access. It's okay that they are hard to get to next season - enjoy having them out of the way while they aren't earning their keep!!

4. Items that seem to "reproduce":
Here are the top 3 in my kitchen: linen items, knives, and spoons/spatulas. These are the items in our home that need replaced most often I think... but when the new ones come in, the old ones get justified because, "You can always use an extra [knife, dishrag, wooden spoon].

For me, linen items includes washcloths, cute kitchen towels, potholders and aprons. I love these items fresh and new, but they each have their space and they can't exceed their limits. So, I'm getting pretty good at following the one in, one out rule and rotating my dish towels seasonally.

Knives - another organizer confession - I have TWO woodblocks on my counter right now. One was a wedding gift, but likely no longer contains ANY of the original knives (which I loved!) just a nice mix of individual replacements. The second was an attempt at a full replacement. I tried Chicago Cutlery and I HATE this set. Others in my family use it, but the first is still my go to when I am grabbing something for chopping. Putting on my organizer hat, there are easy solutions - I'm going to implement one in the next month and only keep the ones that "bring me joy"!

Spoons/spatulas/scrapers - this category's problem is a mix of both - either we keep because "you can't have too many" OR because we just still like the old one better... even if the old spatula has a little tear in the silicone. But, again, get clear on the space allotted, and stay well within it!

What are your chronic reproducers? What limits can you set?

5. Food items:
I recommend a good system for those edible items that need to circulate. Maybe you like to give a mouse a cookie, so you go to the grocery store to shop for cookies. At the grocery store, you find a great sale, so you buy a WHOLE BUNCH of cookies. You bring the cookies home and try to put them away in your pantry. But your pantry is already full, because the grocery store had a great sale last month, too, and you also stocked up then. Because you really like giving cookies to mice. Your child is helping to put away groceries, so he stuffs them all into the front of the cabinet... Confusion, disorder, and food waste ensue! Don't be tempted to use your pantry as a grocery store - just buy what you need! For now, get things in order by date, and get rid of the expired items. Consider donating perishables you have too many of to a food bank - don't just let them sit in your cupboard going out of date!! And commit to not buying more until you open the next-to-last package of each item and it is actually on your grocery list!

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Help your kitchen work for you! Streamline it - don't stuff it to the gills! Give yourself room to maneuver and enjoy your kitchen again!

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Be Prepared - Organizing Your Car for Summer Adventure

5/23/2019

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Your car takes you everywhere in the summer. Keep it stocked and organized

It's Memorial Day weekend and time to kick off summer!!

We spend more time out and about over the summer - picnics, hikes, park days, baseball games, fireworks - so you might find yourself living out of your car more than usual. Here are some items worth packing (and repacking!) so that you are ready for whatever adventures summer sends your way!

1. Sunglasses, Sunscreen, baseball caps - I always have back up shades in the car, though our family can usually get by without the others!

2. Sheet/picnic blanket - This comes in handy any time you need to sprawl on the grass - parks, concerts, beaches, etc. It is also useful to protect your car's seats and floors after a muddy, sandy, or wet adventure!

3. Camp Chairs - Because I'd rather not be on the ground these days! And you fit in better with the "cool" soccer moms!
    Sharpie - I'm going to mention this must-have here as a public service announcement for the team mom in charge of Lost and Found: Label your kids' stuff! With this in your car, your kids can put their name back on their balls, their disc golf frisbees, their water bottles, your camp chair!

4. Water and Snacks - I keep an entire case of water in the trunk so that we are always ready, though we try to pack fresh each day! Chocolate-free trail mixes, beef jerky, and chips are good to "keep around" and fresh fruit is perfect for packing fresh, or grabbing from a roadside stand!

5. First Aid Items - For us this involves both conventional items and essential oils, but we want to be ready to treat: bee stings, cuts, headaches, bruises, allergies, and with a Type 1 Diabetic: Low Blood Sugars.

6. Grocery bags, napkins, paper towels - this was an add-on from my Aunt Kathleen - if you have ever taken a road trip with an incident involving bodily fluids, you know this is a lifesaver! But, it comes in handy in the summer for damp items, bagging up an amazing discovery, wiping up the juice of delicious fruit dripping down your arm, etc.!

7. Backup Clothing - this changes over the years, but:
             *Swimsuits, water shoes, towels - they aren't going to resist the creek, water park, swimming hole, sprinkler, so be ready and let them have at it!
            *Bowling Shoes - we LOVE the KidsBowlFree program, so bowling shoes are at the ready for frequent rounds of bowling!
              * Socks - You need them bowling, at a play place when you stop for lunch, when your other socks are [muddy, dirty, wet] from [puddle hopping, hiking, morning dew]
               *The full-out outfit change - we started with toddlers, babies, and mamas caught in the crossfire. I don't know the last time we utilized a clean outfit (I think it was for a younger friend and we rolled up sleeves and pant legs!) but I still have them stashed, because you might as well be ready!

What do you keep in the car for summer?? Must haves? First Aid? What did I miss? Comment Below!