41: How to Keep Unwanted Critters Out of Your Storage Areas

This week, we're diving into the eerie realm of keeping pests out of our storage areas, pantries, and closets. We are sharing top tips for avoiding these little creepy crawlers and what to do if you do find them in your storage areas while organizing. Grab your brooms and get ready for some storage magic as we keep our spaces less eek! and more chic.

In this episode, we talk about:

  • Keeping your storage spaces organized, safe, and critter-free!
  • Tips for Preventing Water Damage
  • Preventing Pest Infestations

Mentioned in this Episode:

Keep or Toss Decision Tree

www.organizedandproductive.com/keeportoss

Garage & Basement Organizing Products on Amazon I recommend: Amazon Storefront Here (*earns commissions)

The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or are constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!

Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast

Connect with Stephanie

https://www.instagram.com/theorganizedflamingo/

11 Tips for Organizing Your Entire House

Hello friends, so last month we were part of an article that featured some great tips on organizing your entire house. Read the full article below or by clicking the link below. Happy Organizing! 🦩

11 Tips for Organizing Your Entire House

November 18, 2020 by Julia Weaver

There isn’t just one tried and true way of organizing your home. Any approach you take has to work with your lifestyle and habits. There are a few strategies, however, that can enhance the effectiveness of any approach. From taking inventory of your belongings to attacking your task in zones, there are many ways to tweak the way you tidy up.

We’ve asked professional organizers, from New York, NY to Sacramento, CA, to spill their best-kept secrets so you can put an end to a messy life once and for all – and save time, money, and stress while doing so.

Be realistic about your availability

When you’re about to start any organizing project in your house, think about the time you have to devote to it and don’t forget that there are only 24 hours in a day. If you know your attention span is short, don’t pick a project that will take hours. Simple tasks that don’t require a lot of thought, like organizing a desk drawer will be quick. Tasks that are personalized to you, like organizing your closet, will take longer. – The Organized Flamingo

Assess your wardrobe

Is your closet a museum or a place to store and easily access your clothes? If your closet resembles a museum, here’s what you can do to help yourself. Arrange your clothes by categories and garments, and seasonally if desired. Try on your clothes, asking yourself “Is the style timely or timeless? Does the shape of the garment flattering? Is it comfortable and easy care?” Decide to keep, toss, donate or sell if valuable enough. Decide how much time you have for this project. It’s helpful to take this project in steps, working in sections. Start with one side, working from top-down. – A Helping Hand for You

Use chalkboard labels in your pantry 

Labels are a must for every room in the house, but I’m particularly obsessed with using chalkboard labels in the pantry. The pantry is a space where inventory is constantly being switched out, like how I optimistically bought a 50 pack of kale chips that will probably be replaced by an industrial-sized tub of cookie butter in a week. Chalkboard labels allow for this experimentation with your food since you can just erase and re-label whenever you need to. There are about a million kinds on Amazon for cheap, so I highly suggest giving em a whirl. – The Organizer Bunny

Keep track of the food in your pantry to avoid waste

Avoid food waste by using a small blackboard to keep a note of what needs eating first in your fridge or pantry. Place it somewhere where everyone can see it, and help them to grab snacks and lunch accordingly! (photo attached) – More Organised

Get your kids involved

Sometimes it is a challenge to get and keep your kids organized. When organizing your children’s rooms get them involved and make a game of it. Make it a race to see if you or your child can pick up and put away their toys faster than you. This also works with clothes going in the hamper, drawers and closet. Include a prize at the end if they are the fastest. (It helps to let them win.) The more fun it is, the more they will want to get involved. – Office Furniture Warehouse

Always declutter and organize before selling your home 

If your kitchen cabinets are full it tells the buyers that you don’t have enough storage. Keep everything light and when possible leave a shelf empty. You want to sell them on the fact that you have “too much” storage. Visual clutter can be the pile of laundry and excess of artwork on the walls. Find ways to simplify the visual clutter throughout your home. Edit out artwork, tchotchkes from your travels, and anything that’s collected dust over the year. The less stuff you have out the larger your home will look to buyers. – The Clutter Curator

Create a checklist for your tasks

Grab a pen and paper, then do an inventory of the room you want organized. Write down all the things you need to clean, fix, and ideas for what you think will make the room perfect for you. This can serve as a checklist to help you get started, mark off items as you go, and plan for any improvements. – Tidy by Habit

Use a door shoe organizer for a variety of belongings

You can use an over the door shoe organizer for apparel. For example, roll leggings of both dark and light colors. Place one or two pairs of like in each see-through pouch so that you can find them easily without having to dig through clothing clutter in your drawer. – Wow Organizing

Less is more in your child’s room

Looking for simple ways to keep your child’s room organized, let’s start with the less is more. Fill your child’s room with toys that are interactive so they don’t need more useless items that just take up space. Organizers are your best friend, stackable cubes or bookcases. Fill their closets with shelving, this helps keep your baby’s clothes visible, neat, and easily accessible. – CEO Ariselis Siciliano, Better Baby Boutique

Break your kitchen up into zones

One of my favorite ways to organize a kitchen is by zones. Divide your kitchen into zones such as cooking, food storage, food prep, dishware, and serveware. Keep only the number of items you need in each zone. Breaking it up in this way helps define your space and leads to a more functional kitchen. – Amber Bloomberg 

Take care of yourself while getting organized

Self-care is no longer considered selfish, in fact, it’s productive. While you’re getting organized don’t forget to make it personal. – Organize Chicago

Simple – Functional – Personalized

A method I like to use often is our Simple Functional Personalized System. This system is all about figuring out how much time you have on your hands to tackle an organizing project and labeling it as a “simple”, “functional” or “personalized” task.  

This is a great system for organizing with a purpose.

⭐ 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 – it's quick. Think less than an hour. Like organizing your desk drawer or your event files. You don't have to preplan too much. Solutions that come right out of the box. These are the projects you can do while listening to a podcast and be done.⁣

⭐ 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 – takes a bit longer but less than 4 hours. Examples include organizing your bathroom cabinets or putting together your list of tasks you want to get done for your event. You probably need to pay a little more attention because you are visualizing the function of that space and task. ⁣

⭐ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 – tailored to what your wants and needs. Plan on at least 4 hours for this project. This could include figuring out what kind of shipping station you need and how it will flow if you are a small business that ships things a lot. It has to work for everyone using it, so it's not an out of the box solution

Your organizational project will almost always fit into one of these three categories and sometimes it will be combined. 

If you combine them, you add up the hours of the categories. So if it's a simple AND personalized task, your project will be at least 5 hours. If you want your project to be simple + functional + personalized, then it'll take more like 9 hours. ⁣

Use this method next time you are planning your next project and share what you did with us on social media and how long it took you!

⁣𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨? ⁣

Creating Your Household Boutique

You have been home a lot more, not going out as much.  You might be on an organizing frenzy or want to be.  You are tired of seeing your same old stuff and need change.  Yes, you can throw your stuff away, you can donate it or you can sell it, but you can also keep it and create a Household Boutique.

Well, how about creating a household boutique?

What is a Household Boutique? Well, it’s a store, but in your own space! You can apply this idea to your office, too, but for the purposes of this post, I’ll just talk about the space at home.  

A Household Boutique is something that lives in a storage space that acts as your store or shop.  It can be as big as your basement or as small as a bin.  The main concept is that it’s the place where you go to “shop” before you actually go to a store (or online shop) and spend money on something you may already have.  This format is different from a storage room or closet, as it isn’t a place where you store stuff and forget about it.  This is a living, breathing set up for you to go to first, before going shopping.  In order for it to work, it should adhere to three simple concepts: be easily visual/accessible, be well cataloged somewhere, and have a shop name.  Read below for details and the simple outline of how to create one of your own.  

Your home is like a store.  Every item in your house should have a purpose or a value, so very once in a while, you should do an inventory of your “stock”.  

You’ll Need:

  • Stickers
  • Excel or Microsoft (or any searchable document will work)
  • Shelves or bins
  • A special place designated for your mart like a closet, an extra room

Creating your Household Boutique

  1. After cleaning out and re-organizing your space, separate the items that you are not ready to throw or give away.  These are the things that are in limbo.  Maybe you don’t use them often, maybe they’re brand new or maybe you just want to take a break from them.  This differs from items that you know you won’t use anymore and are ready to be retired or thrown out.  
  2. Choose to do either a well-documented catalog of those items or how you will display them so you can easily “see” them and get to them.  You can choose to do both but that’s one extra step and who has time for that?! (But heck, go for it, you flamazing gal!)
    • Catalog: this can be listing all of your items on an Excel sheet (or Word) and making it easily searchable.  The goal is that a year from now when you are looking to redo your bedroom and wondering which “lamps” you might own, you will easily pull up what you already have “in stock”.  Can you repurpose them? Here is where this list will be very important.  If you end up using that item, great! You just saved yourself from spending money on something you already had at home.  If you do not use it, then you will mark it on your spreadsheet.  Next time you are ready to purge your shop, you’ll go through your list and see how many times you passed on that item.  After 3 times, it’s time for it to go! There truly is no purpose for it in your life.  
    • Display: if you have space and/or you are a visual person, then this method will be for you.  (Keep in mind that displaying anything means it will collect dust, but the payoff is worth it!)  This method is simple — you display your items so when you need something, you just open up the area and choose what you want to “buy”.  There are a few ways in which you can keep track of what you have used.  Put a color sticker on the items and, when you use it, remove the sticker.  After a year, take a look at what still has a sticker and determine if you still want it. 
  3. A name! Every shop needs a name.  Pick a name for your shop/boutique that speaks to you.  You’ll want to visit your shop a lot more if you personalize it.  
  4. Lastly, regardless of what method you use, take pictures of your items.  Not necessarily one by one, but just enough so you can see what you have, and place it in a folder.  Most phones allow you to catalog your pictures and place them in a “folder” while the pictures remain in your general album.  

“Do I need a Professional Organizer?”

Well, that depends.

If you have found yourself reading this, it probably means that you are looking for ways to be more efficient and organized. The “need” for a professional to help you will depend on your needs, time and budget. I am a big fan of “hiring” out tasks that are not my strengths or I don't have the time to complete. With that same philosophy, I recommend the same to my friends, family, and clients.

Your time is precious and it shouldn't be spent worrying about your long list of things-to-do. That is where professional services come in.

  • Do you have a demanding career and you simply don' have the time to cook? Yup, so you get a meal-prep subscription.
  • Are you hardly ever home and when you are, the last thing you want to do is clean? Yup, so you hire a cleaning company.
  • Does looking at a spreadsheet and filing your taxes give you a headache? Yup, so you hire a tax accountant.

The list could go on.

My point is, hiring a professional of any kind is a choice you make because it will make your life easier and more pleasant. Sometimes, we just need some inspiration to do it ourselves. Whether you want to do it yourself or hire a professional, don't forget that your time is valuable and that you are doing the things you want to do.

Kindly, Stephanie

The Size of Your Project Matters!

You've heard the sayings “size doesn’t/does matter” or “it’s what you do with it that matters”.  As kitschy and funny as those saying sound, they also apply to how you plan your organizational projects! Determine if your project is  “small” “medium” or “large” in size.  This will help you determine how much help you need so you don’t find yourself overwhelmed in the middle of the project and/or don’t finish because it became “too” much.  Here is a quick snapshot of what each of the project sizes entails:

Small Projects:

Small: you can do it yourself and it will take you less a day, regardless of how many hours it will take you.  If you think it will have to break it down to two days, it's no longer a “small” project.  Small projects are the ones you can finish without interruptions.  Think: organizing 1-3 junk drawers or organizing your purse. 

Medium Projects:

Medium: Projects that will take you more than one day, regardless of hours or more than 6 hours in a day (because this means you will have to start-stop-start).  These are the projects that you can probably do on your own but just take longer.  Think: organizing your closet or a dinner party for 8-10.

Large Projects:

Large Projects: These are the projects that may require you to ask for help from either a professional installer or a member of your household.  These projects will require multiple days and/or multiple people to make a decision (like asking your children/spouse/roommate/coworker for permission to throw something away).  Think: organizing the entire kitchen or basement or a wedding. 

So as you begin planning out your projects, take a moment to look around be honest about how big your project is, it'll set you up for success!

Kindly, Stephanie

Clothing Swaps

Have you heard of a clothing swap? If you have not, it's basically an event where a group of people gets together to swap their clothes with each other. I have hosted and/or attended at least one of these every year for the past decade and it basically means I don't need to buy as many clothes year after year because chances are, someone else brought something to the swap I needed! It helps keep textiles out of landfills, it's fabulous and so much fun: win-win-win!

Clothing Swaps consist of a few basic steps:

  1. Grab a group together of about 6-10 people.
  2. Every person cleans out their closet, brings their gently used clothing, accessories and shoes that they don't wear or need (clothes must be in good shape).
  3. Every person takes what they need/want out of the piles of clothing. (the following part is optional, but it makes it more fun and gets people to really think twice if they need it). If more than one person wants it, it goes in a “battle” pile where each person that wants the item has to try it on and the group votes on who it looks better on or who has the best story of why they need it.

Clothing Swap themes:

  • Spring Time: spring cleaning theme
  • August: right before school starts for those back to school outfits if you work at a school (teachers, social workers, school administrator)
  • October: right before the Holidays with a “Holiday Clothing Clothing Swap”. This could include Holiday Party dresses, Ugly Sweaters, Cocktail Party clothing.

Detailed Steps & Sample Wording

If you want to create your own clothing swaps, here are some basic steps, tips, and examples. You can tailor it to your own style, friends group, and preference.

  • Talk to your friends/co-workers/family about it. See who is interested in participating. I have found that if you are doing a friends/co-workers/family clothing swap, 6-10 people is the optimal number of attendees. Less than that and there isn't enough variety of clothes and more than that, the event runs too long.
  • Clean out your closet (and dresser) and put everything unwanted but gently used in bags or boxes. This includes clothes, purses, shoes, jewelry, workout clothes, etc. Feel free to bring stuff you think no one would want because sometimes its EXACTLY what someone else wanted.
  • Sample wording:
    • This is what I use in my email/text to basically say that I will be picking up the clothes the week before the event. In my personal experience, if I don't pick up the clothing a week before, attendees cancel at the last minute and you don't want that.
      • SAMPLE WORDING: “Because we all lead very busy lives, I want to ensure you aren’t stressed and trying to find things at the last minute so I will be picking up your items the week BEFORE.” 
    • I try to give attendees a visual of what to expect the day of the event. I have three examples of how you can do your swap, choose the one that works best for your group:
      • OPTION 1: Buy different color stickers or tape, a different color for every person. Every time a person likes an item, they put their sticker on it. If they are the only person that put a sticker on it at the end of the swap, it's theirs, if several people have put a sticker, it goes in the “battle” pile and all of the people interested in the item try it on in front of the group and the group votes on who it looks better on or who has the best story that explains WHY they need this item.
        • SAMPLE WORDING: “I will be hanging and laying everything out.  So the first hour or so upon arrival, it’ll be like shopping! You’ll be given stickers that have your name and if you see something you want, put a sticker on it. “
        • SAMPLE WORDING: “If one person wants it, she automatically gets it. If no one wants it, the item goes into the charity pile. If more than one person wants it the item goes into the “voting” pile.  After an hour or so of ’ shopping’, we go through the pile that more than one person is interested in and start battling for items.  People try stuff on, vote on what looks good on other people and so on. I take care of organizing all the stuff to donate and arrange to have it picked up so you only have to haul your stuff one way and carry the things you want out”
      • OPTION 2: Every attendee takes 5 things they like at a time, tries them on first and if they still want it, they get to keep it. If multiple people want to try on the same thing, it goes in the “battle” pile and all of the people that are interested in the item try it on in front of the group and the group votes on who it looks better on or who has the best story that explains WHY they need this item.
      • OPTION 3: You all sit in a circle and everyone has their own bags of clothes next to them. Each person takes turns to showcase 1-5 items at a time. Maybe talks about the story behind those jeans or talks about the brand, size, etc. If someone shouts that they want it, they take it, if several people shout that they want it, it goes in the middle of the circle to “battle” out. This method takes a lot longer but fun to hear the stories and get to know everyone.
    • TIP: I would suggest having a few full-length mirrors for when you want to try something on. Just be aware that it usually works out with everyone changing in one room!
    • SAMPLE WORDING: “DON'T WORRY about sizes. It’s nice to have different sizes so we all have a mix of items. You may not be the same clothing size as one person but you may have the same shoe size, or it may fit differently on someone else, or you like their accessories, etc.” 
    • SAMPLE WORDING: “VERY IMPORTANT:  Please note that this swap is for gals that are truly interested in swapping clothes.  If this is the first time you’ve joined and not ready to commit, feel free to stop by and see what it’s all about. If you know of someone else that would be interested, let me know!”
Clothing Swap
Example of how to arrange a clothing swap. Photo Credit: The Organized Flamingo, LLC.

Why should I have a clothing swap?

Since attending my first clothing swap, I have made it a point to reduce the number of clothes I buy and keep clothing out of landfills. The leftover items that don't get swapped get donated to local charities that are in need of clothing like shelters, textile recycling bins and women/men's non-profit professional charities such as Dress for Success.

Let me know if you have ever tried a clothing swap, and if you have, how did it turn out?