ORGANIZE YOUR COSMETICS

Cosmetics have a way of accumulating. You buy a waterproof lipstick to match your new swimsuit and discover that there is no room to squeeze it in the cosmetic drawer. Worse, you reach for your special mocha lipliner and it is no where to be found. You know you will look good but you won’t look your best.

These aggravations are only the top of the iceberg for those of us who rely on a little cosmetic enhancement to make us feel pretty. We know that we will be less harried and have the look we want if we keep cosmetic products neat. But when we’re racing to get to work, to a date, to the gym, to a class, we do not do such a good job of putting things back where they belong.

The keys to keeping cosmetics organized are:

Keep it simple. You really do not need forty shades of eye shadow and twenty-five lipsticks. Choose the three or four that you use routinely and keep them close at hand.

Group items by application zones. Create a skin kit with moisturizer, concealer, foundation and powder, an eye kit with mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow, a finisher kit with lipstick, lipliner and blush.

Choose cosmetic containers that work for you. Clear plastic drawer dividers, acrylic shoe boxes and tackle boxes work as well as designated cosmetic organizers. Magna Pods have magnetized backing that allows them to adhere to metal cabinets and vintage train cases work well for gals on the go.

Keep it fresh. Cosmetics expire just like milk does and can cause skin reactions and infections if used after the expiration date. Make a date to review cosmetics and discard expired items.

It takes a little effort to keep cosmetics in order but the gains are worth it. Just think of saving time and money and looking beautiful. What more could a girl want?

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Underwear

I recently had a conversation with a group of professional organizers about organizing underwear. We all agreed that it was a common problem for most of the folks we work with but we could not agree on the best way to get the disorganized underwear drawer under control. Personal items require personalized solutions. Here is one solution that works for many people.

Start by separating the bras from the panties and then sort each category into types. Most women have everyday bras, sports bras and specialty bras like strapless, push up and super-sexy. Panties most often are everyday, control and sexy. They may also be divided into high-rise, bikinis, and thongs. Once the underwear is sorted by type sort it by color.

Use separate shallow drawers if you have a lingerie chest or dresser that is outfitted with underwear drawers. If you are trying to fit your underwear into a standard drawer, use drawer dividers or boxes to separate the various types of underwear. Organize.com offers a flexible diamond drawer separator that allows for one piece of underwear to be stored in each cubicle. They also offer spring loaded drawer dividers that work well to create various sized spaces for underwear. If you want something specifically designed for your undies they also carry drawer dividers labeled “bra box”, “panty box” and “boxer box”.

When placing items in the dividers, put bras on their sides with cups fitting into each other; roll panties and store them one layer deep. This method allows you to identify the item you are looking for without rifling through a pile of stuff. It also allows the insertion of items in the space you want them without having to rearrange anything.

If you are having trouble finding the underwear you need when you need it, give this system a try.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Lapses in Organizing

Lessons in organizing come from lots of different places in the real world. The lesson I need to focus on this week is what to do when organizing habits are abandoned and the clutter begins to pile up. (Yes, even professional organizers sometimes struggle to keep it straight.)

The example that comes to mind is a religious one. I have an ecumenical family and group of friends. In my experience, the preachers call it backsliding; the priests call it lapsing and the rabbis call it leaving the righteous path. Whatever you call it, it means you were doing what you should be doing and now you’re not.

The formula for improvement is pretty simple. Stop doing the bad stuff, get help if you need it and get back into your good habits. That is sometimes easier said than done.

For me, the hard part is getting started, so I know that I have to commit to an initial effort and hold myself accountable for it. If I think I will hedge about starting, I announce my intention to anyone who will listen. That way, I will be embarrassed if they ask how it’s going and I haven’t even started yet.

So this week I am telling you that I will finish unpacking my suitcase, putting away the clean clothes and tidying up my desk. A few days away at a conference is not going to get me to abandon my organizing goals.

If you find that the projects you were initially so proud of are beginning to look less organized than you like, make a commitment to get them back in shape. If you doubt your ability to do it alone, get help. Set up incentives to get it done. That might be a treat for yourself or avoiding an opportunity for your frenemies to gloat about your failure-whatever works to get you going and sticking to the goal of an organized household.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net

ORGANIZING FUN WITH PHOTOGRAPHS

Do you have a bunch of old photographs stored in shoe boxes, stuffed in drawers or aging in the pages of albums you never quite got around to completing? Maybe you have the sad task of rifling through photographs of a deceased relative and cannot decide who would like the picture of Great Aunt Maude with her prize-winning hog. This might be a good time to have a picture party.

If you have time, begin by sorting your photographs by decades. In a recent project we have boxes labeled by decade going back to 1920 and a box for all photographs prior to that year. It is difficult to do, but don’t take time to reminisce over the photos as you separate them. If you are stumped by the year, make the best guess you can. If you have duplicate photos or photos that can be identified as a particular event, put them together in an envelop.

Then comes the fun part. Set a time for the family to get together and look at the pictures. You may want to have more than one gathering if you have a lot of pictures and go through a few decades each time. Identify the folks in the picture and take time to share stories about the vacation, celebration or event. This is also a good time to catalogue the photographs in acid free containers, share duplicates, and identify ones that need to be scanned or copied for sharing.

Take a snapshot of your gathering and send one to all the participants to remind them of the fun you had together.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net