First, take an assessment of your shoe collection and storage space and ask yourself the following questions.

• How many pairs do you have?
• What types do you have (heels, flip-flops, flats, large or small sizes)?
• How many more do you think you will acquire in the near future?
• Do you have a large space or small space for storage?
• Is there a dedicated shoe area or will storage need to be creative?
• Do you have space for seasonal shoe storage or does everything need to fit in one place?

At this time you should also determine if any shoes can or will be purged before implementation of the new organization strategy. Once you have thoroughly assessed the situation, take a look at our list of favorite storage solutions below and select one that will work for your collection and space.

Our Favorite Shoe Storage Solutions:

• The modular shoe organizing system can be scaled up or down depending on needs.
• Clear shoe boxes protect shoes from dust and work well on built-in shoe shelves. For easy shoe identification, consider taping a photo of the shoes to the front of the box.
• The 30 Pair Overdoor Organizer is great for those with limited space. Place on the back of your closet or bathroom door for discrete and space-saving storage.
• Shoe cubbies are excellent for closets that only have room below the hanging racks.
• Under-bed chests can be used to store out-of-season shoes in an efficient manner.
• The 10 tier (50 pair) rolling rack may be a good solution for those with larger collections and amounts of space.
• Boot holders are designed for hanging closet rod storage and help with shape maintenance. 

No matter which storage solution you purchase, it’s important to take the time to arrange your shoes in a manner that promotes function and organization. Ideally, shoes that are worn most often should be stored in the most accessible space, front and center. Shoes that are seasonal or rarely worn should be housed in the less accessible spots (back, sides, high, low). If possible, group like shoes together. For example, all flip flops and sandals are on one shelf and all heels are on another. Finally, take care to protect your collection by utilizing accessories like cedar shoe trees, which help to retain shape and minimize odor.

Happy Organizing!
TWOW

When beginning the crafting organization process, first do an assessment of what the primary and secondary uses for the space will be. If you have a dedicated crafting room or area this will drastically change your options for organization than if typically craft on the kitchen table.

Next step is to take a general inventory of what items you have. Assess whether each item is actually being used or if it can be donated, re-purposed, or trashed. For instance it is common for crafters to keep every piece of cut ribbon, but they are rarely ever used. Culling these items will help your crafting space stay clutter-free. The other thing to keep in mind while you are reviewing your collection, is to determine if you have a certain types of crafts or tools, etc. that you use more frequently. Selecting final storage locations that are easily accessible for these types items can help to create a more functional system.

Once you have reviewed your collection, it is now time to group things together, like with like. This will tell you what size and type of storage containers you need. When shopping you should also consider if you are the type of crafter than likes to see items at a glance and thus would do well will clear containers, or if you like to be able to hide items when not in use. We have included below some excellent options for common types crafting storage.

• Embellishments: parts storage bin units, clear jars, lazy susans & spice racks if using original containers, magnetic containers, interlocking storage cups
• Pens, Scissors, tools: mesh desk cups, wall-mounted bins, modular storage cubes,
• Scrapbooking Paper: Desktop bins, movable divided holders, wall-mounted magazine racks, filing cabinets with folders organized by the rainbow
• Ribbons: paper towel holder, wall-mounted two dowel rack, stacking dispensers
• Crafting Storage Systems: wall-mounted peg board system, shoe cubbies
• Portable Crafting Storage: multi-drawer cart on wheels, locking portable art bin, gardening bag

If you have a dedicated room, many of the wall-mounted options will be desirable as they give you easy access to your items. For crafters that utilize common space, the portable options will offer more functionality. Once you have selected your storage solution there are still choices to be made. Popular organizing methods include by color, item type, theme, and crafting specialty. No matter your organizing preference, just make sure that your final choice allows you optimum accessibility for the things you determined that you use most frequently. After placing items in their new storage containers, play around with their final location to ensure the system will work for you.

Good luck & Happy Crafting!
TWOW

Once you are ready to organize your makeup, we recommend the following strategy. First, remove all products from your storage area or container. Review the contents and determine which to keep (currently in use), trash (expired/empty) or donate (unopened/new products). It’s common for women to stockpile beauty products, particularly freebies from hotels or gift-with-purchases; the problem is that most go permanently unused. Use this organizing process as a chance to clear these types of items out of your storage space.

The next step is to group like items together. Brushes with brushes, face products with face products, and so on. If you have different types of beauty products for different seasons, group them together and consider storing out-of-season items in a less accessible spot. For instance, you may not need your bronzer taking up prime real estate during the summer months when you have a natural glow.

Once you have categorized your collection, determine what type of containing system will work best for you. There is no perfect solution, but popular options include small drawer systems, trays, stacking bins, apothecary jars, chests, and bags for women who frequently travel. Ideally, the storage system should have multiple compartments to house your various categories. After organizing everything in it’s new homes, consider labeling the compartments for easy-returning of items.

This process should ideally be conducted once every 2-3 months to maintain continued organization.

Good Luck!
TWOW

First, let’s talk about purging the old prescriptions that you no longer use. Go through each of your bottles and pull out the ones with expired dates or any one-time prescriptions that you won’t need again. Place them in a bag and put them aside for a weekend day when you’ll have time to donate them. That’s right, I said donate! Just like your old clothing, you can also give your old prescriptions away. Most cities have drop off events sponsored by the DEA where trained staff members collect and dispose of your medications in a way that complies with Federal regulations. As long as you keep prescriptions in their original bottles and do not mix pills, you are able to donate. Check this site for rules and information by state.

Now, let’s organize the medicine cabinet itself. I like to recommend to my clients that they reserve a separate shelf or space each for morning meds and evening meds, and then alphabetize the prescriptions for ease of use. If you are managing the prescriptions for several family members, try keeping each person’s meds in different bathrooms or shelves to avoid confusion. And of course, keep bottles out of reach from small, curious children.

Once you clean out the unnecessary and old items, use small containers to organize the everything else housed in the space. For added storage, I love magnetic or adhesive bins that affix to the back wall or door. They utilize regularly unusable space and offer additional storage in a fun way.

For medicines or vitamins that you take when you’re on the go, consider buying a pill box that is separated by day of the week and/or time of the day. Take a few minutes on Sunday evening to dole out the pills in their proper slot and stick the pill keeper in your purse. If you have meds like birth control pills, for example, that must be taken at the same time each day, place that pack in your purse, on top of your toothpaste, or another place that you visit daily to keep it top of mind.

If forgetting your doses is something you struggle with, try placing a note on your bathroom mirror for a week to remind you to open the cabinet – this will help to make it a part of your morning or evening routine. You can even set a reminder on your smartphone if you are particularly busy or forgetful.

Taking a few moments to set yourself up for health success will make quite a difference in your home and your life. Spend a few minutes and take control of your medicine chest this week and you’ll be glad you did!

Happy organizing!

-TWOW

4-6 Weeks Before the Move:

• Research and book a moving company or organize for friends and family to help.
• Purchase or acquire moving supplies. Moving supply stores are great, but if you’re on a budget you can usually find free boxes behind major retail stores.
• Sort, organize, and purge while you pack. Ensure an easy move, by carefully labeling boxes with room and contents.
• Create a moving list inventory and organize a strategy of what will go where.
• Measure your current furniture and the new space to ensure you have enough room. Door dimensions and tight corners should also be taken into consideration.
• Investigate new professional service providers and organizations that you may need and set up relationships. These can include doctors, dentists, schools, vets, pharmacies, banks, etc.
• If you are moving in or out of an apartment building, secure the elevator for your moving day. If your moving truck will need to block anything or park in a designated area, make the necessary arrangements and notify those affected.

1-2 Weeks Before the Move:

• If repairs or improvements are needed in the new home, attempt, if possible, to get them done prior to the move. They will go more smoothly without furniture or family members interrupting.
• Set up a change of address with USPS and notify your subscriptions and bill providers directly. This is also the time to send out moving announcements to friends and family.
• Call utility companies (gas, electric, water, garbage, sewage) and organize for the new home to be switched into your name. Schedule a turn-on time for the new place and turn-off time for the current home. Don’t forget to ask the waste management company what day pickup occurs.
• Research cable, internet, and phone providers in your new area. Set up appointments for service installation.
• Start using up perishable items and liquids that can be difficult to move. Throw out flammable or potentially toxic items prior to the move.
• Procure or update items pertaining to your address, including insurance policies, car registration, voter registration, and driver’s license.
• Empty, defrost, and clean your fridge 24 hours before the move to ensure there will be no leakage.

Moving Day:

• Verify licenses of movers if applicable.
• Prepare payment, including tips for the movers.
• Pack snacks and drinks and/or order lunch for those helping you move.
• Organize for a cleaning crew to come following the movers departure from the old home.
• Leave all sets of keys and garage door openers in the old home when you are officially out.
• Take a wrap up inventory to ensure nothing is missing or broken, prior to signing any close of move documents.

Following the Move:

• Replace smoke and carbon monoxide batteries. Mark the next replacement on your calendar.
• Consider having locks re-keyed for safety.
• Locate your circuit breaker box, water shut-off valve, and fire extinguishers for emergency purposes.
• Create a filing system for documents related to the new home. The following categories are useful: warranties/purchases, insurance policies, repairs/home improvement, and tax write-offs for moving related expenses.
• Determine if you need any new storage items, furniture, or other household goods in the new home to create organization from the start.
• Ask neighbors for referrals for pool maintenance firms, gardeners, and cleaning services. Since they are already in the neighborhood, you can often get a discount.

Remember, the key to a successful move is organization and planning.

Good Luck!
TWOW

As the Well-Organized Woman, I took inspiration from this wonderful present and hope that you will do the same by following these simple steps.

1. Choose one event or period of time. For example: the first year of your relationship or your child’s life, a wedding or a vacation.

2. Make a list of what you need and stick to it. For example: you’ll need general supplies like scissors, glue and tape, as well as the fun things like stickers, photo corners, creative papers and colorful markers. Go to the craft store and buy only those things. You can always go back.

3. Develop and print the photos (and then some) you want to use ahead of time. If you’re working with a deadline, photo printing and development can take up a lot of precious time, so make this one of your first tasks. It is better to have more photos available than you think you’ll need – you’ll be surprised by the creative ideas that pop up when you get working, so give yourself room to go with it!

4. Dedicate time and make sure you have enough of it. If you are giving a scrapbook as a gift, you’ll need plenty of time to complete it by the day you need to present it. Set aside blocks of quiet time without major interruptions so that your creative juices can flow with the calm you’ll need to glue pictures and mementos in the right places.

5. Keep a box for collecting the items for your scrapbook. If your book will chronicle an entire year, you’ll need a place to keep mementos, photos and other items like movie tickets from your first date. The last thing you want is to tear the house apart to find that one photo or memento you must have for the book from six months ago – it could be anywhere!

By following this well-organized process, you’ll reap rewards in the form of a beautiful and thoughtful scrapbook that will make a loved one’s day. So get creative, and get scrapping!

Good luck and enjoy!

-TWOW

The first step in merging two households is to take an inventory of everything. With a complete inventory you can then determine if there are duplicates (keep the newer/nicer version) or items in need of purging (old, broken, unused). Although many duplicates will be obvious, others are easily overlooked, such as linens and kitchen tools. Following the removal of the these types of items, you should then assess the amount of combined belongings versus the amount of space in the new home.

If space is limited, begin discussing which items are must-haves and which are negotiable. In this process, keep in mind that just even though you hate his old Lazyboy chair, it may be his favorite piece of furniture and thus a keeper. If these discussions are particularly heated, consider inviting an impartial third party, such as WOW, to make the final judgement. The outsider does not have the same emotional attachments and thus can make decisions based on quality, necessity, or space requirements, etc.

While reviewing the inventory, take notes as to which items are moving and which are being purged. You should also note the new location of where the item will live to ensure that you actually have space for it. If the intended storage location is to remain unpacked in the moving box, in the basement, it may not be something you absolutely need to keep.

After you have conducted the move, the next task is to thoughtfully merge the items in the new home. Many find it to be a challenge to blend the design aesthetic of two individuals, so we often recommend several things. First, assess the two looks and determine if a few new purchases will help create a smooth synthesis. Small items like new throw pillows can seamlessly blend artwork or other items that would have otherwise looked out of place. Couples can also mix their styles by finding new and creative uses for furniture doubles that simply cannot be parted with. For example, if you end up with two beloved dressers, repurpose one to be a dining room console or hallway storage unit. A final option is to enlist the help of an interior designer.

Although many aspects of this process will be stressful, having an organized and beautifully merged household will be conducive to long-term harmony.

Good Luck!
TWOW

Scheduling:

• There are two schools of thought on laundry scheduling and both are based on personal preference. For some clients, doing one load per day over the course of several days, allows them to not be overloaded and manage the folding/putting away process. For people with shorter attention spans or unpredictable schedules, this is a great option. For others, picking a specific day or time of the week for laundry ensures completion. If this is your preferred method, make sure to select a time in which no interruptions will cause half-folded laundry to remain on your couch for days. Calendar reminders are also great for this method.

Laundry Tips:

• Cut down on the amount of laundry in your home by teaching family members to determine after each wear if the item can be re-hung or folded for another use, or if it is soiled and in fact in need of wash.
• If you have the space, consider getting a tri-compartment laundry hamper to allow for pre-sorting. This will cut down on time in front of the machine.
• For those with young helpers, post cleaning instructions, including proper wash cycles for various types of clothing, nearby the washer. You can also use a permanent marker to write “Cold Water” or “Air Dry” on the clothing label to ensure your clothes are not ruined on your kids watch.
• Wash clothes that need ironing first, then iron while the next load is running.
• Place a drying rack nearby the washer and hang clothes that cannot be dried immediately upon cycle finish to avoid wrinkling.
• Use safety pins to pin dirty socks together prior to washing to ensure mates stay together.

Dry Cleaning:

• Picking up and dropping off dry-cleaning can be a time-consuming weekly activity. For clients that hate the task or simply don’t have the time, I recommend several things. First, look into whether your home or office building offers free pickup. This will cut down on trips and is often similarly priced to regular cleaners. Second, is to invest in a pickup/dropoff service, such as Press Atlanta. They offer twice-a-week and will-call service for a reasonable cost. If neither of these options are a possibility, set a particular time and day of the week in which to conduct pickups and dropoffs at your normal cleaner.

No matter your feelings toward laundry, use these tips and the task will be just a bit easier.

Good Luck,
TWOW

Digital Calendars: If you’re the type of person who prefers to maintain a digital calendar, you probably know that this can be a great tool for time management and organization, if used correctly. There are two strategies for calendaring. Some chose to use calendars strictly for appointments, which is fine. Others use their calendar as an extension of their task list. They create reminders for everything and add them to their calendar during times of the day when they know they can complete the task. This method often helps to ensure completion of the task. Another calendar organization strategy is to use color coding to delineate between personal, family, professional, or task-related entries. In general, I always suggest reviewing your calendar each Sunday for the week ahead and each morning for that day.

Websites: The number of great websites and blogs that pop up each day is staggering. In order to help you keep up with your favorites, without monopolizing all of your free time, there are several excellent tools. A feed reader, such as Google Reader allows you to ‘subscribe’ to sites you like and receive all new content in a single place. Given the typical frequency of use of Facebook, other clients prefer to ‘like’ or subscribe to all of their favorite sites and brands there in order to receive updates via their newsfeed. Either way, these tools will help streamline the content into one place so that you can avoid accessing many sites each day.

Photos: Clients often have difficulty keeping their digital photo collections stored in a way that allows for easy searching and access. With this problem I suggest two things. First, set aside a particular day (or two) each month to download the photos from your camera or phone. Following the download, immediately create well-labeled folders that include dates to categorize the new photos. The second step is to add these folders and files to your external hard drive, online backup (SOS), photo storage website (Shutterfly), or social media site for additional safe-keeping. Although we all fear a computer crash where all of our files are lost, few actually maintain a system for backing up their files on a regular basis. The monthly photo download process is a great time to transfer additional new files or items to their respective backup locations.

No matter the extent to which you maintain a digital life, it is important to keep the files, tools, and processes just as organized as you would your home.

Good Luck!
TWOW

Computers: The number one piece of advice I can give any client when it comes to the content on your devices is to use your inbox, home-screen and desktop only for the items you need to access that day or regularly. Consider keeping your desktop clean by only leaving your itunes shortcut, email inbox and gym class schedule on it, for example. Everything else goes in well-labeled folders or secondary screens for easy access. The same goes for your email inbox where well-labeled folders are the key to a clear mind and a clear plan of action for each day. In other words, your inbox should double as the day’s to-do list. If it’s in the inbox, you need to respond or take action on the item that day.

Smart Phones and Tablets: Most smart phones have a homescreen with a menu of apps that pops up every time you turn on the phone. This is the screen where you should house your calendar, email accounts, texts, alarm clock, notes, calculator and any other information you access several times each day. Group together your entertainment apps, including all social media and web platforms like twitter, facebook, pinterest, weather, fandango, etc. on another screen. For financial accounts that you don’t use daily, group them together a layer or two under the most important screens. You can organize your tablets in a similar way. For traditional Kindle, try the archiving feature to get the books you’ve already read out of your main view.

Music library: If you’re like me, your iTunes can get a little out of control with songs you’ve gathered along the way that weren’t named correctly. Most of us have thousands of songs which could take a lifetime just to rename consistently, so I often recommend editing just 5 mis-named songs per day (and if you have the extra time, do 10). By the end of the year, you’ll have a consistent library that is easily searchable for those moments when you MUST hear that song you love.

Each of these recommendations will take a bit of your time to organize, but it really is in your best organizational interest to take that time and get your electronic life in order. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, break each technological arena down by month – by the end of the year, you’ll have your electronic life in order and a few organizational resolutions, resolved!

Good luck, and enjoy!
-TWOW