Organizing Jewelry

Watches and earrings, pins and necklaces pose some of the hardest organizing challenges. They are different shapes and sizes, come in different colors and each have their own personality and style. That is why it is important to the fashionable woman and man (yes, even guys enjoy a little bling) to find just the right piece to accessorize the outfit. Unfortunately, for many of us, that means digging through piles of mismatched earrings and jumbled timepieces.

There are lovely jewelry boxes, jewelry armoires and specialty cases for watches and earrings. Places like Bed Bath and Beyond and Homestoragewarehouse.com have various sized jewelry trays that will fit most needs.

There are also some ways to use inexpensive household items to help get a grip on the gems glommed together in your dresser drawer.

A long piece of ribbon can be used to hold pins and post earrings. Another alternative is to cover a bulletin board with a mesh fabric. This will also hold hook earrings. Egg crates and ice cube trays make good containers for small items and allow them to be displayed for easy access.
Stacking clear bead containers from craft stores and nuts and bolt caddies from hardware stores also work well for this purpose.

One of our all-time favorite ways for storing jewelry is to use peg board. The hooks easily hold necklaces and bracelets and there are many pegboard accessory boxes that are ideal for holding other pieces of jewelry.

If you enjoy wearing bangle bracelets try a clear bagel holder for stacking. The multicolored bracelets make a decorative accent on you dressing table. Watches need careful handling. If you do not have a watch caddy or tray, cover a Pringles box with batting and a swatch of material to hold your collection.

If you are overwhelmed by the task of organizing your jewelry and other items, consider consulting with a professional organizer to help you gain control of your clutter and make your life easier.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.com

Sock It to Me!

Socks are great for protecting feet on warm days and warming feet on cold days. They are supposed to travel in pairs but often get separated between the dirty clothes hamper and the stack of clean clothes. Their small size, odd shape and sheer numbers make them a challenge to get organized and keep organized. Here are few tips and tools for making sock finding easier.

Consider separating socks by use, then by color. For instance, work socks could be separated into blue, black, brown. Athletic socks could be separated into white and other. The categories can be further separated by style if you have longer socks, shorter socks, specialty socks.

While you are sorting the socks into categories, separate out any loners who have gotten separated from their mates. Also separate out any worn socks, socks with holes and socks you have not worn in a year. (An exception might be thermal socks you save for the coldest winters)

Discard the worn, holey, unused socks. We suggest holding onto the sole mates through three washings to see if their partner turns up. If no mate appears toss the lonely sock or put it to another use. Socks make great puppets and dust cloths.

Now that your socks are separated and mated, how do you keep them together and organized? I like to keep my socks rolled together in pairs. I sort them by color and store them on a shelf in dishpan containers from the dollar store. Each container holds a different color. I have no trouble keeping my socks together and finding the pair I need when I need them.

Some folks prefer to fold their socks in pairs and there are several storage containers made specifically for folded socks. One of these type containers is a four inch wide clear plastic rectangle that fits nicely into dresser drawers. These can be lined up in rows to separate colors and types of socks. Another tool for organizing is an expandable diamond drawer organizer that gives a ready view of socks stored in the drawer. One client who uses this system say sorting by color isn’t necessary since he can view all his clean socks at a glance.

There are also some handy devices for keeping socks together when you throw them in the laundry and subject them to the washer and dryer cycles. One of our clients keeps plastic clothes pins handy for her children to clip socks together before tossing in the hamper. Soc-locks are handy little circles that grab pairs of socks without damaging the material and can be tossed in the washer and dryer.

These items can be found at the following websites:

www.Allbrightideas.com
www.Soc-locks.com
www.stacksandstacks.com
www.organize.com

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organized Travel with Zip Lock Bags

I just returned from vacation- a week at the beach with extended family ranging in ages from fifteen months to eighty-four years. We all had a great time and I came home wandering how I ever traveled before the invention of zip lock bags.

When I was packing to go, I put anything I thought might leak into those bags. Fingernail polish, make-up and other toiletries found a home as well as lens cleaner and suntan lotion. Jewelry and socks were stuffed into bags. And then I discovered the Big Bags! Perfect for packing the towels and linen we needed for the rental cottage. We just stuffed the used dirty items back in the bags to cart home to wash. Those big bags come in three sizes from ten quarts to twenty quarts and are great for toting an extra set of clothes for the kids or for separating wet swim suits from dry apparel. I have decided to store clothes in them this winter. They will take up less space than cartons or boxes. They even have a handle that makes them easy to carry.

The young mother in the group uses zip lock bags to organize her diaper bag and that sure makes it easier to change the baby’s diaper or find a snack or pull out a clean set of clothes when accidents happen.

Now that I am back home, it is time to go to the grocery store and stack up on the staple items. The first thing on my list is zip lock bags in varying sizes.

The Old SOFT Shoe

I read recently that the average man owns five pair of shoes and the average woman owns fifteen pairs of shoes. In this instance, I am happy to report I am way above average. All the women in my family are above average and most of my friends are above average. Because of these associations, I have witnessed many struggles to organize shoes and have my own preferences for making it easy to find, retrieve and store those lovely little foot protectors.

When thinking about arranging shoes in an orderly fashion I recall the word SOFT (as in soft shoe - a dance step). That stands for Sort, Observe, Find, and Test.

The first step is to sort your shoes. Match up pairs and put them in categories. I prefer to use the categories of sandals, flats, heels, formal shoes and boots. Within these categories, you can continue to sort by colors or seasons if you like.

Once the shoes are sorted, observe their style, condition and fit. It is unwise to keep shoes that are terribly scuffed, broken or in disrepair. It is also uncomfortable to wear shoes that pinch, cause blisters or are ill-fitting. Also look for shoes that are out of style. Separate those shoes from the ones that look good, fit right and are stylish. Then discard or make arrangement to donate them.

The next step is to find out how many pairs of shoes you have left to store and find the organizing tool that fits your needs. I like cubbies for my flats and everyday shoes, bins for my athletic shoes, shelves for my boots and clear boxes for my heels and formal shoes. There are all kinds of solutions on the market from stackable shelves to free standing cabinets and shoe wheels that minimize use of closet space.

Once you have chosen your storage system arrange your shoes so that you can see them and you have access to them. If using boxes, you may want to take a picture of the shoe and place on the box so you can easily identify what is inside. If you have to seasonally switch shoes to more accessible places from less accessible places, you can use storage boxes that have a spring/summer picture on one end and a fall/winter picture on the other.

Finally, test the system. Are you able to easily find and retrieve shoes when you want them and easily return them to storage when you’re through wearing them? If not, tweak your system until you have a great fit.

Some sites with storage solutions for shoes are:
www.stacksandstacks.com
www.neatcontainers.com
www.clear-shoe-boxes.com
www.organize.com
www.homedecorators.com
www.lowes.com
www.homedepot.com

A professional organizer can help you choose the right systems for your organizing style and maximize the space you have available.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net