Catch-All Rooms

Quote of the Month

“We keep a potato masher in a drawer because sometimes it’s fun to not be able to open that drawer.”
-Simon Holland

This quote made me laugh out loud. I’m guessing we all relate to certain items that prevent our drawers from opening and closing easily….yet we still keep that annoying item(s) in there. Let’s evaluate how important that item is in our daily life and perhaps find a better place to store it, based upon our frequency of use.

Beware of Catch-All Rooms

One of the most common requests I hear from prospective clients is when they ask for help organizing a ‘catch-all’ room in their homes. Often times it’s a spare bedroom left vacant by a child who has moved out.

This month, we’re going to talk about the Laundry Room. Laundry rooms can be a catch-all room, too and the photos below are a typical example of what can happen to anyone.

Laundry Room “Before” Picture 1

Laundry Room “Before” Picture 2

Laundry Room “After” Picture

If you’re feeling brave, try these suggestions to organize your Laundry Room or Washer/Dryer area.

Sort like things together – gather all the cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, batteries, picture frame hooks, rags etc.
Don’t worry about what containers you’ll store them in – wait until you see how much you have of each category. (Yes, that means NOT going to Target until later on in the process)
Figure out what items do not need to be in the laundry room (once a year Thanksgiving turkey platters, George Foreman grill that you never used, thermos sets from 1965 that are too cruddy to use now are just a few examples).
Once you identify what isn’t worthy of being in the laundry room, toss or donate or dedicate another space in the house for those items.
Now that you’re left with the most worthy laundry room items, decide what you use the most and place them in the easiest to reach spots.
Now you can decide what containers will work best because you know what shelf or area they’ll be in so you can better determine size and type of container that will work best.

The laundry room you see featured took about 2 hours to organize. Special thanks to my very special client who enthusiastically offered to have her before and after pictures taken for all to see.

Ebay Item of the Month

Unexpired Cosmetics or Vitamins!

If you have purchased expensive skincare products or vitamins and have never opened them, consider letting Howard sell them on eBay. Recently, a special skin cream set sold for $200! Contact Howardfor more information.

“Helping Baby Boomers and their Parents Lighten their Loads.”

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in your home, contact me. Together, we can transform your home into a happy, tidy place where you can feel at peace. We can also get you ready for your next move… more enjoyable, faster and easier!