Part 1: Nursery Makeover

If you read Part 1: Walk-in Closet Makeover, you know that I'm in the middle of a major organizing project at my friends house.  The idea was to start with just their bedroom closet and their baby's nursery. That quickly turned into a room by room organization project and I couldn't be happier with how things are going.  A lot of progress has been made but still lots left to do.  I want to share with you the progress of the Nursery which use to be the Office/Catch-All Room.

We wanted to clear out the room as much as possible because the baby's gifts were arriving that same weekend.  We first started clearing out the closet and sorting the babies items that they had already purchased.

Here are the before images, again, pardon the quality, they were taken with my cellphone and poor lighting.

Quickly making room for all the gifts that were coming the next day.

And here are the gifts! Ta-da!

And more gifts came coming, like the dresser and the crib.  Between my friend and I, we were able to build both furniture pieces. I loved setting up the crib, it definitely makes things get real when you see the nursery come all together. I can't wait to show you how it looks.

Still work in progress...

It's amazing how a room can be transformed with the right furniture and organizational pieces.  It's starting to look like a nursery.  Between all the soft blankets, fuzzy socks and toys....it's hard not to be excited to welcome my friend's baby to the world.  Look forward in meeting him real soon.

Can't wait to show you the final reveal.

Happy Organizing!
Organized Chica - xox

Part 1: Walk-in Closet Makeover

It's March! You know what that means? Spring will be here in less then 20 days, but who is counting right? The weather may not cooperate in some areas of the country but this doesn't stop the biggest event of the year, SPRING CLEANING!!

I wanted to share with you a very big project that I have been working on for a friend.  This is not only a spring cleaning project but "hey, I'm having a baby in less then 3 months and we need to setup his room but don't know where to put all our stuff so, ahhhhh" situation.  This is where I jump in, can you hear the superhero music? Organized Chica to the rescue!!!

Let me start by saying that when you are going to tackle a job of this magnitude, everyone needs to be on board.  This is a group effort.  As a organizer you can sort, purge and put away stuff all you want, but if the systems you use, don't work for your client, then you have failed as an organizer. What make sense for some, isn't the case for others.  Your clients input is necessary if you want to have successful results.   

This is still an ongoing project but I thought I show you the progress of what I'm working on now.  Please pardon the quality of the images, I took them with my cellphone and the lighting wasn't the best.  Also I was so focused and concentrated that I didn't do a good job of taking pictures on how the closet looked when I started.  The below images are the different stages that the project went through.

The main purpose of this project was making this walk in closet efficient for both husband and wife.    Currently only her clothes were in this closet while his clothes were in another room which now is the baby room.

As you notice the left wall had all this wasted space because it was lacking a storage unit.  This was the challenge because of the entry way.  

This was after all the shoes were removed from the floor and we were in the process of clearing the shelves. 

After a couple of conversations on what they wanted and my friend being at Home Depot for about 3 hours, this is what he came up with.  The perks of your friend being an architect and my HB being a handyman.  This is why I say it's a group effort. Look at this beauty! 

I can't wait to share with you all the final images of the completed closet.  Once their room is complete, we're moving into the baby room.  I also have personal projects coming up that I'm really excited for and can't wait to share with you.  

Happy Organizing! 

Organized Chica - xox

Ready? Set....Go! Time is Ticking

I can get easily distracted when I'm doing a task, whether I spend way too much time on a particular thing or something else just captures my attention and I loose my focus.  I find what works for me is my wonderful plain white timer.  Its small but its so valuable to me.

When I want to complete a task within a specified time frame, I'll set my timer and focus on what I want to accomplish.  I have to say that this works for me all the time.  I've been able to do a regular cleaning of my house in one hour with the help of the HB.  He may not be too keen on the idea of the timer but he knows that when I set that puppy, its Speedy Gonzalez time! Trust me, when you get to enjoy the rest of your night because you completed that one daunting task within a reasonable time frame, you will be happy.

My challenge to you today is set your timer, whether its your kitchen timer, your cellphone timer, anything.  Set it for any amount of time you may need, try anything between 5 minutes to 15 minutes and complete a task during that time and when the timer stops, you stop.  Try to stop, sometimes its just a matter of getting started on a task and then you don't want to step away from what you are doing.  The idea here is that if we use our time wisely, we can accomplish those tasks that we find so dreadful.

Here are a few ideas on what you can accomplish in 5 minutes:

• Clean out your purse
• Open/Sort mail
• Fold a load of laundry
• Clean your surfaces
• Wash your toilet and bathroom sink
• Write a Thank You card to a friend
• Plan your work outfit for the next day
• Pay a bill
• Tidy up a room in your house

I'm sure you will think of more ideas.  

So are you ready? Set.....Go! 

Happy Organizing, 

Organized Chica xox

Part 3: Under the Stairs Linen Closet

Yiay! You should all know by now it's the little things that make me happy! 

Linen closet door FINALLY got painted and the ClosetMaid Ventilated Storage Rack from Home Depot mounted! 

If you want to see the transformation, read more about it on my two other posts.

Part 1: Under the Stairs Linen Closet

Part 2: Under the Stairs Linen Closet

I transferred all my cleaning supplies that I'm currently using from my portable cart onto my door.  I also stocked it with paper towels and toilet paper because somehow when these two things run out, no one can find them.  Am I loving the setup of my new door organizer, ummm not really BUT I'm loving the fact that its up and I don't have a cart in the way of my closet anymore.  I still have to tweak exactly on how I want to utilize each shelf instead of stuffing it with toilet paper but for now it will do.  Sometimes you just need to use things to figure out exactly how you want to set them up and it may take some time but that's OK.  

I was just super duper excited my door got painted and the organizer mounted that I wanted to share with you all how it looks now.  

Happy Organizing, 

Organized Chica, xox

Coupon Stockpiling

Howdy there friends! Did you enjoy your long 3-day weekend? I sure did! Not because I did anything out of the ordinary but because I was able to actually stay home and enjoy it.  I did a little bit of organizing and relaxation to recharge for the week.

I don't know about you, but I've tried over and over again to start saving money by couponing, but to be honest with you, it hasn't been that easy.  I can figure out the basics but the whole lingo and how you need to match offers with the store or with the manufacturer, at the end of the day, left me more stressed out then anything.  So I figured that my time was worth more then saving a few bucks.  I consider myself to be a savvy shopper for my household but when I see people getting triple the amount of groceries then what I am for the same money, I know I'm missing something.  COUPONS!

A while ago, a childhood friend, whom I had lost contact with for years, reached out to me through Facebook.  Now you know when you just become friends with someone on Facebook,  the first thing you do is look around at their photos.  Come on? Admit it! I know I'm not the only one...haha!...Ok  a little sidetracked.

Well as I'm looking at her photos, I notice she has images of deals that she has found and she continued posting them and I was in awe.  I wanted to be able to get the most for my buck too so this brings us to now.

Ladies and Gents!!! A huge round of applause for our first guest blogger!!  (You can tell that I'm super duper excited, huh?) The QUEEN of Couponing!!!! (She doesn't know I call her that until she reads this post...sorry but to be honest, to master what you do, in my mind, YOU ARE the QUEEN of Couponing!)

I have asked Lissette to kindly share with all of us her tips.  Hope this helps!

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I am so honored to be able to share with all of you the great wonders of Couponing.  I have been couponing for the past 2 years and I have to tell you I am hooked!! I love knowing that I will pay minimal or close to nothing for my items, but of course, the greatest satisfaction is to receive your items for FREE!  In these tough economically times, we all could use some help cutting down our grocery bill by 50-75%. 

The first thing to remember when couponing is Keep Yourself ORGANIZED, you have no idea how badly a transaction can go when you’re not organized. 

The way to keep organized is to get yourself a 3-ring binder from your local department store or if you have one at home that will work as well.  Buy a pack of baseball card holder sheets (40-ct pack at Wal-Mart $4.97) and some binder dividers. These three items are going to save you lots of headaches while cutting coupons and sorting them.

Now, the way I divide my binder is by categories (example: breakfast, drinks, condiments, prepared sides, surface cleaners, laundry etc...).  Once you decide which way you want to divide your binder, it's time to get some coupon inserts and start cutting away! But before you go crazy doing this there is one more important step to all this madness, I always encourage everyone to print out your favorite stores coupon policy and carry this with you at all times. The reason for this is 9 out of 10 times you will have to deal with a cashier that is not very coupon savvy which means they will not want to honor your coupons BUT if you’re a smart cookie you will have that stores coupon policy readily available for the cashier.

Now that you know how to organize yourself let’s talk a little bit about coupon inserts.  When purchasing your newspapers please keep in mind to always buy in even numbers (2,4,6 etc…)not odd numbers 1, 3 or 5 (This depends on how many items you want to stock up on. The reason for that is when you find a good BOGO deal (buy one get one) you will need a coupon for each item to maximize your savings. So basically if Shaw’s has Bogo deal on Crest toothpaste for $1.99 you are automatically going to get both items for $1.99 but if you have two coupons for any Crest toothpaste and these are valued at $1.00 each you will get both items for free, had you only had one coupon you would end up paying $.99 cents for both which is still a great deal but remember we are always trying to maximize our savings. 

I hope you enjoyed my take on couponing, please stay tuned for more on couponing.

For daily updates on couponing, you can also follow me on Facebook on Coupon Stockpiling.

Facebook: CouponStockpiling
Blog page: Lissettes Coupon Stockpiling

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Thank you Lissette for taking time to stop by and share with us a few tips on how we can get started.  Like anything, ORGANIZATION is key in starting and maintaining a system.  Let's recap on what supplies we will need to get started.

Make sure to follow her Facebook page to see the new deal she found and how much she paid for it.  Breaking it down like she did doesn't seem so intimidating.  I think I'll give her method a try.  I'll start off slowly.  

Any of you use coupons to shop? Please leave your questions or suggestions below.  

Happy Couponing! 

Organized Chica - xox

Organizing Expo & Conference

This past Saturday I attended the National Association of Professional Organizers of New England Organizing Expo & Conference in Waltham, Massachusetts, (that was a mouthful).   Needless to say I was on cloud 9.  I took tons of notes like a good student. Learned so much and got so many ideas to start implementing in my life.  No worries I will share with you all what  I learned.  What I love about attending these seminars are the great ideas and useful information you receive.  Their ideas spark new ones in my head and it goes wild, trust me.

The day started by dropping off 4 storage boxes chuck full of old paperwork that I had cleaned up a few months ago.  The expo had on site vendors like a local Shredding Company.  They only charged us $5 a box which I found totally reasonable.  Make sure to look at your local city/town for shredding options.  Some places will hold shredding events for free or a low cost.  Just make sure you investigate thoroughly the company that is being used so you are satisfied and at ease that your personal data is being disposed of properly.

The conference held a total of 8 different workshops, but due to scheduling and space, I had to really decide which ones I would attend because workshops were being done simultaneously.  Choosing was the hard part but I have no regrets to the workshops I attended.  I was able to listen to three great topics.

1. Got Photos?
2. Digging Out from Under Your Paper Piles
3. Organizing for Emergencies

I also checked out the Vendor Expo Hall where I met a couple of different vendors.  There was one vendor in particular that I have to say I fell head over heels for.  I will talk all about that vendor in a later post.  All I can say is that I have admired that product line for a long time but to actually have it in my hands, WHOA! (Just like Joey in the show Blossom!....come on! don't tell me I'm the only one that remembers that anymore)
Trust me, I had to really stop my drooling because I think I was embarrassing my HB.

I left that expo all pumped and ready to conquer the world, well, my home exactly.  That energy lasted about 20 minutes into the car ride home, when I completely passed out in the car.  I'm the worse co-pilot ever, I fall asleep in the car even if I've only been in there for five minutes.  But we will talk about that another time, getting back on track here, I loved my Saturday!

I can't wait to share with all of you what I learned this past weekend so make sure you keep reading our blog for the latest.

Happy Organizing!

Organized Chica - xox

Organizing: Family Calendar via COZI

You may have a family of two or a family of five, every single person in your household has a different schedule.  Between school, work, family activities, meetings and everything else that life throws at you, things can get hectic.  We all have those moments where you forgot to inform the rest of the family of some event or appointment you may have.

With endless technology nowadays, the possibilities are endless when it comes to a list of different programs or apps that you can use to organize your time efficiently.  For some families, an actual home calendar helps, for others, like myself, an app on my cell is a great help.

Personally, I use COZI.  This is an app and website that allows you to keep track of your family's hectic schedule using the shared calendar and to-do lists.

I love COZI because my family can enter in the calendar whatever activity or appointment they may have and I can see it right away from my cellphone.  Every member is color coded, including Bam Bam, my 11 month Yorkie.  You can also access this directly through their website.  Best part of it all, its FREE!

Note: this only works if you ACTUALLY use it! I say that because everyone in your family would have to be committed in entering their own appointments in the shared schedule for this to actually be a beneficial tool for your family.  Every week we get emails with a summary of all scheduled activities for the week.

Below I included a COZI Quick Demo so you can see all the features for yourself.  Who better to give you a tour if it isn't COZI themselves.

Happy Organizing, 

Organized Chica - xox

*All opinions in this blog post are mine.  I was not paid or contacted by COZI to write this post.  

Organization: setting and reaching your goals

"I will go to the gym"
"I want to spend more time with my family"
"I will work on my temper"
"I will start eating healthy"
"I will travel more" 

...and the list continues.  We live with the mentality that a new year means a fresh start, erase all and start from zero.  Although it can be the case for some things in our lives, we shouldn't have to wait for a brand new year to set goals and work on achieving them.  Goals can be set at any point of our lives and we can make plans to work towards them.  Everyone is different and you have to ultimately do what works for you and your family.

Create a habit: You all know how much I love Pinterest.  Well I found this Pin that makes total sense.  I haven't tried it yet but I plan on incorporating this technique this month and let you know how it goes.  Its a way on how to help you form a habit.  The idea is that you write up and stick on a wall or somewhere visible, 21 or more sticky notes or page markers.  Once you complete the new habit you want to start incorporating in your life, i.e. working out, you remove a sticky note.  Its a visual helping aid.  You can't reach your goal, i.e. working out, if you don't start a habit of actually doing it.

source

Personally, if I say that this year I will do something, its probably not going to happen, for many reasons.  I'm looking at a whole year in front of me so I will keep postponing it to later. (Oh, I'll do that later or I'll do that this summer)  Sound familiar? This is why setting deadlines to your goals will help.  You are more prone to following through with your goal if you just concentrate on a game plan for the next month or the next 3 months, instead of the entire year, which can be overwhelming.

Also, breaking down your goals would be more realistic, which goes hand in hand with deadlines.  Example: you want to start eating healthy, well start on your breakfast.  Plan your meals, swap your fast food breakfast for a smoothie in the morning and try that for a week or two.  Once you are in a habit of having a healthy breakfast, start planning your lunches and snacks and so forth.

To make a dramatic change all at once can be more stressful on you then gradually making changes.

Lastly, share your goals with friends/family if you feel comfortable with that.  Nowadays with social media, you can publicly post your progress and get great encouragement from your loved ones.  This will help you stick to your goal.

Here's a recap and a few more pointers:

Feel free to share your goals with us, we would love to hear them and provide encouragement.

Happy Organizing!!

Organized Chica

January is National Get Organized (GO) Month

One of my highlights of my Winter, (besides that my Summer countdown begins), is that this month is fully focused on Organization. Of course,  I don't need a specific month to get organized but its a good jump start for many. My goal with this blog is to offer you organization tips and share my projects with you throughout the year along with other subjects that may interest you.  But seeing that the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has named January, National Get Organized Month, all month long I will be trying to focus solely on organizational posts. 

I will be showing you how organization can be applied to almost every aspect of your life. Lets see if we can start a little challenge as well.

Topics to come this month:

• Reaching your goals
• A quick money saving plan idea
• Planners
• Donation tracking

.... and much more. Feel free to comment below requesting specific topics that you would like to read on.  This definitely will motivate me to keep on track and implement new strategies that I have been working on.

So are you with me? Let's Plan! Simplify! and Organize!

Happy Organizing and stay warm,

Organized Chica - XOX

Getting back on track with America's MoneySmart Family

A few years back I was looking into different resources on how to manage my finances.  Although my mom instilled in me good money habits, I still had lots to learn.  I felt I needed a guide on how to manage the bills, the home repairs, groceries, etc all while trying to still enjoy life.  One night while I was watching ABC 20/20, the following segment aired "Debt in America Flat Broke and Borrowing" and that is where I learned about the family that would inspire me to change things.

I suggest you watch the video below.  (I apologize for the resolution)

 

I introduce you to "America's Money Smart Family", formerly known as "America's Cheapest Family".  I have been a fan of theirs ever since I first saw them on TV.  This family inspired me on how I changed the way I handle finances and a few other things too.  For some, they are extremist, way too cheap but their lifestyle worked and continues to work for them.  When I followed most of their advice, I was living proof, along with my family, that I was able to sleep sound at night because my debt-free and I was money smart.  I kid you not, as soon as I "fell off the wagon" with my budgeting, I paid the consequences.  Which brings me to writing this post.  We all have had good and bad economical times.  Sometimes we have made poor choices with our finances and have to live with the results of our actions but its never too late to pick yourself up and get back on track.

Let me share with you the two books that were that exact guide that I was looking for, America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right On The Money and Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half.  I highlighted, wrote side notes, sticky notes, you name it! I studied those books like if I was taking a finance course in college.  I recently took my books out again to restudy them because we all need a refresher course.  Life has many changes so I could have overlooked a good suggestion because it didn't apply to me back when I read the book originally but they do apply now. In the future I will share with you what works for me and my family in hopes that maybe I can give you ideas.

 Give the books a try and maybe you can find helpful tips to help you establish good financial habits or even improve what you already have in place.  Adapt their suggestions to your lifestyle and start with baby steps.  Finances is sometimes a sensitive topic so I wanted to openly share with you what worked for me since I had such a hard time finding a good, easy to understand guide I could use in my life.  Visit their website at www.moneysmartfamily.com and check out their extra information.

Happy Finances!

Organized Chica - xox


*I was not sponsored by America's Money Smart Family (America's Cheapest Family) and images are from their website.  

Part 2: Under the Stairs Linen Closet

As promised from last weeks post, Part 1: Under the Stairs Linen Closet, I will show you my linen closet almost done and organized.  I love it!  In the process I made a list of things I need to buy like new towels and new bedding.   The reason I say its "almost" done is because I still have a few things planned that need to be accomplished. Hope you enjoy the reveal! For the record, I still open the doors just to look at it, its a beauty.  It may not be this luxury closet but it's mine and was customized by Mr. Handyman! 

First I sorted through all the items I was going to store away in my linen closet.  I refolded things properly (to my standards...long story) Anyone out there picky on how your clothes and linens are folded? Please share! 

I also made labels for each bin.  I used Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery ElastiNote Tags in Blue and my label maker.  Yup! I have a label maker.  See how I labeled my bins. 

I then organized all my extra toiletries and paper goods (no room in the kitchen for my extra paper goods so I store it in my linen closet) in a Sterilite 16.5-Gallon (66-Quart) Latch Storage Box and labeled them.  I slipped pretty scrapbook paper in the front so you can't see through the bin contents.  I purchased my scrapbook paper at Michaels in clearance.  I used a small cloth bin to micro organize all the smaller items, like hand soaps, razors, hair gels, etc.  

I then used Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Adhesive Metal Bookplate Silver Horizontal  to label my shelves.  

Here it is! My linen closet. 

 Here's my under the stairs linen closet anatomy:

I also store my opened and extra cleaning products in a Small White Household Cart that stays in my linen closet that I can roll out when I do house chores.

I do have to finish up a few details and maybe tweak a couple of things but for now it works just fine.  Hope this inspires you a bit.

If you have any questions or want more details on anything you see here, please leave a comment below.

Happy organizing!

Organized Chica - xox

*I was not sponsored by any of the products used in this project or mentioned in this post.

Container Store

Oh the Container Store! What can I say? I'm in la-la land when I go inside this store.  Stress-free zone for this Chica!!!  Let's say I'm a kid in a candy store.  Can you hear the orchestra playing in the background? Ok, I know, its just me.  I told you I'm a little wacky when it came to organizing.  This is organization heaven! 

What is the Container Store? For those who don't know its a retail chain store that specializes in storage and organizational solutions.  Envision a store with aisles and aisles packed, all in a organized way, up high with all the goodies you need to organize your home and life for that matter.  

Unfortunately the store closest to me is a bit of distance away.  I don't get to visit it too much like I would if I had one closer to me but that is all going to change soon! Last week my friend told me that there was a Container Store opening right here in Cranston, Rhode Island at the Garden City Center.

Wanna know how I reacted?

I was ecstatic!!!  I couldn't believe it! Yiay!!! So naturally I confirmed with the website and yes its true!!  

You will know where to find me as of May 17th, 2014! 

I also wanted to share with you my top picks from the Container Store's current winter catalog.  All practical and affordable gifts to simplify a little bit our days.  

1. Memo Sticky Roll |2. Cable Cord Drop Clips |3. Spoiler Alert | 4. Membo Daily Reminder |5. Tumble Trivets |6. Table & eReader Stand  |7. bobino Key Clip |8. Toothpaste Tube Squeezer  |9. in.bag Handbag Organizer  |10. Travalo Easy-Fill Perfume Atomizer

Hope this sparks your interest on the Container Store.  I can't wait until my store opens up!

Let the Countdown begins!

Happy Organizing!

Organized Chica - xox

Part 1: Under the Stairs Linen Closet

I have a few details to take care of in my linen closet so that I can say its complete, that I will share with you. First, I thought I would show you how ugly my closet looked before the transformation.   The beauties of having your personal handyman (or just plain nagging your HB until he gets it done). I was able to re-purpose one of my under the stair closets into my linen closet.

I live in an old house so we have remodeled through the years by sections but some areas hadn't been touched in years.  One of the them being this closet. Yikes!

These aren't the best images so please pardon but I figure they are clear enough for you to see the before and after at least.

This closet was used to store clothes before. I wish I would've taken a picture on how packed it was.  But one bad picture is enough, right? or two! 

This closet didn't have shelves, this was taken when the shelves were being tested.  Making sure they were cut correctly and placed on the correct height.  The iron board rack and the mop/broom holder were mounted to make sure everything fit appropriately.  

Now look at what a fresh coat of paint and new flooring can do, looks like a different closet.

Painted shelves are up.

To see how my linen closet turned out, check my Part 2: Under the Stairs Linen Closet. All I can say is that I'm a happy girl because I have a pretty linen closet.  Custom made! 

Happy Organizing!

Organized Chica - xox

Fall Organizing: Sandals and Bathing Suits

It's that time of year that I have to accept that I really won't be wearing sandals and bathing suits since we have entered Fall here in the New England states.  Although with the warmer days we have had lately, I might be tempted to take my sandals out for one last stroll.  Anyone with me?

I decided to share with you two quick organizing tips that I do to take care of my sandals and bathing suits during the winter months.

Good time to make sure to get rid of those unused bathing suits or those sandals that you didn't wear once all summer.  Remember to donate items that are still in good use.

Bathing suits:

- Make sure all items are properly washed prior to storing away
- Fold up and store away in a small plastic container.

I bought my bin a while ago but here's the link to the same bin with a different color top.  You can find them at Joanne's Fabric. I really like this storage bin because it's very durable and the top clasps securely.  The handle is a bonus.


Sandals:

Now I am sure that there are women out there that have way more sandals then what I show below.  These are mostly my flats and wedges.  My high heels I keep separate.  I just want to show you how I store my sandals to preserve them for next year until they need to be replaced or thrown out.

- Make sure to clean the soil off from your sandals before storing them away to avoid erosion or stains from appearing.

I bought my under the bed shoe organizer at Bed Bath & Beyond. Shoes stay protected and you can tuck this away under your bed or any furniture.  

These are two simple and quick solutions that many may have not thought of.  So many times, I see in a clients home, all their shoes thrown into a crate or the bottom of the closet floor.  If we were to add up how much money you have spent on shoes alone, shoes are in a way an investment. I'm sure you would think about it twice before just throwing them into some corner.  

Hope these tips helped. 

Let me know what you do to store your summer favorites.  Comment below. 

Happy Organizing!!!

Organized Chica xox