Author: The Organizing Lady (Page 6 of 11)

Organizing Stuff Series 5 – Staging A Room

In this segment of the Organizing Stuff Series The Organizing Lady consults with a teenage girl about getting her room staged to help prepare her family’s home ready for sale.

Watch video:

Cyndi consults her about clearing the room of as many personal items as possible and reducing furniture in the space. She also suggests clearing the walls of all her pictures and posters and leaving only one picture displayed.

The plan is to clear the clutter, display fewer items on surface spaces, remove some excess furniture pieces, and remove the unused dresser in her closet to make it more spacious.

Oh, and of course, to ensure the bed is made before the house is shown to potential home buyers!

She was eager to get started and began with clearing her over-crowded bookshelf unit, then her desk. The room took shape and soon looked more like a showroom than a teenage girl’s room.

In the end, she was very proud of her space. Maybe she will make her room staged all the time when she moves into their new home! You never know!

Stylish & Cool Ways To Organize Makeup Cosmetics

stylish and cool ways to organize makeup

I always get great organizing ideas looking around Pinterest and found some clever makeup organizers I wanted to share with you. I even made some myself to show you some ideas of my own, adding something a little different than other similar solutions.

Basically, when it comes to beauty products, they can overcome our allotted makeup space and become unruly, especially as we add new makeup products to our “collection.”Personally, I apply the closet rule to makeup, which would be to get rid of a product when I buy a new product (with the exception of nail polish and lipstick – that is, until it gets to be too much or it has out-lived its shelf life!).

Organizing your beauty products

We have our face creams, our makeup foundations and powders, contouring creams, various blush colors, numerous eye shadow colors, dozens of lipsticks, lip pencils, eyebrow pencils, eyeliners, mascara,  makeup brushes and pads, and heaven-knows-what-else. That’s a lot of things to help make us more beautiful.

Well, I found some cool ways to create various makeup organizers and, depending on the size of your makeup “collection”, one of these just might inspire you.

Acrylic Makeup Organizer

Pictured here is actually 2 acrylic organizers – a top piece with dividers and a 3-drawer piece.

acrylic makeup organizer

DIY Tiered Makeup Organizer

Very easy to make – just a couple of flat plates, a vase for the middle pole piece and some colored glass votive candle holders. You can get creative and use just about any of these type objects to organize and store makeup and makefup brushes.

tiered makeup organizer

Makeup Plate

It gets really simple when you just have the basics in your makeup stash and want to display them for easy access. Just get a large plate (in this case a large ceramic pie dish) and any type of containers to compartmentalize your makeup.

Makeup organizer plate

Makeup Drawer Organizers

These are a must for any makeup drawer. It keeps like-items grouped together and avoids the messy drawer syndrome.

makeup drawer organizer

makeup acrylic drawer organizer

vanity drawer makeup organizer

Makeup Case

These come in all shapes, sizes and types, so if you have a big collection you want to grab – this could be the way to go.

makeup case organizer

Vanity Makeup Center

For those who need to have a large cosmetic assortment, the following vanity centers are for you! Look it over and get inspired …

makeup vanity center

makeup vanity

The Ikea Makeup Organizer Hack

There are no words other than someone found yet another use for the Ikea rail system.

ikea makeup organizer hack

DIY Makeup Organizer

What more can I say about this? It’s 6 glasses glued together to hold makeup!

DIY makeup organizer

QVC Makeup Organizer

This spinning makeup organizer is available at QVC

makeup organizer from QVC

DIY Tiered Nail Polish Center

I made this, similar to the tiered makeup organizer shown above that I made.

nail polish tiered plate organizer

Anyway, these are just some that I think will inspire you to organize your makeup, so no more excuses for messy makeup areas, okay?!

 

Organizing Stuff Series 4 – Organize Kitchen

organize kitchen cabinet

The next adventure in the Organizing Stuff video series takes place in the kitchen!

Working with a real client in real time, solutions are found for problems in her cabinets and with organizing the multitude of supplements she needs to take after surviving cancer using alternative treatment.

The fun began at the dollar store where we shopped for items to help get her kitchen cabinets better organized. We found everything we needed except for marbles to make a Lazy Susan turntable. So we hopped over to another dollar store to get those!

Watch this segment of Kitchen Cabinet Organization and see for yourself how much fun (and how rewarding) it is to do a bit of organizing!

Organizing Stuff 4 – Organize Kitchen PART 1


(There seems to be some blacked out spots in this video. Will fix and upload new version shortly!)

Organizing Stuff 4 – Organize Kitchen PART 2

In this 2-part video …

After some fun dollar-store-shopping, we returned to the house and began removing the paper party wares from the cabinet we decided to use to store all her supplements. As luck would have it, the basket bins we purchased to store her supplements fit perfectly with three baskets going across the lower shelf. We hoped everything would fit inside the baskets, and it did!

We still had an empty shelf above the lower one but that was going to be put to good use next because she had more supplements stored elsewhere in the kitchen!

So we moved all the others from the cabinet they were in and joined them with others in the new “supplement cabinet”. This not only stored all her vitamins in one place, but it freed up a whole other cabinet in her kitchen!

During this time, we paid attention to examining the supplements for expiration of their shelf lives before transferring them to the new cabinet. It didn’t surprise me that she didn’t know what some vitamins were!

The fun didn’t stop there.

organize vitamins in cabinet

Next up was organizing one of the food cabinets. For that, I made a DIY Lazy Susan to store some of the food items in. Everything was removed from the cabinet to be sorted and grouped before putting them back inside.

When that cabinet was done, she had room for more food and was able to see everything she had in there! Big win!

The same was done for the spice cabinet. We used two Lazy Susan turntables for spice storage after sorting through all the spices. Many were thrown away for being expired or having a shelf life that died many ages ago!

At the end, we wanted to leave all her cabinets open so that house guests would come and see the organization inside. It’s a proud moment when organizing projects like this are completed so we should take pleasure to share such accomplishments to the world!

cabinet organization done

I hope this gives you some inspiration and motivation to do some kitchen organization yourself. Just remember, make it a fun project to do and it will be fun!

Happy organizing,
The Organizing Lady

P.S. Also see Organizing Stuff 3 – Organize Home Office Papers

Organizing Stuff Series 3 – Organize Home Office Papers

In this reality show styled segment of Organizing Stuff, you’ll see Cyndi Seidler working with a client in a home office to organize papers and establish a paper flow system. It’s the real deal, with a real client in a real situation.

Watch as Cyndi and client have fun going through the organizing process of sorting papers with client and establishing if paper should be kept and filed, if it requires some action, or if it can be tossed.

Ways To Put Fun In Your Home Organizing Project

I’ve been seeing Facebook posts of friends taking this time of year to get organized for the new year. One friend even created a year-end challenge for her friends to post pictures in her post comments of what they organized. I thought this was such a cool thing, and she obviously created some motivation for others to join her in organizing around their own home.

The thing I noticed about this was that, in her comments it seemed like everyone posting had fun doing her challenge. Yes, fun! So this inspired me to write about it. Here are some ways I think you might be able to put the “fun” in your organizing project:

Do your organizing project with one or more people

friends organizing together

The way I see it, people seem to have fun doing organizing projects when there is someone else with them. As a professional organizer, this is very noticeable because the client did not (or could not) do it on their own. And when I joined them, they enjoyed the process of organizing.

Same goes for friends I’ve helped in organizing their space. They dreaded doing the project until I came along to join them. Somehow the task then became an adventure, and maybe that was just because we were able to hang out and do some productive thing together.

So plan a day with a friend or two or three and tackle your project together. You can even plan to have several friends over and make it an organizing party event. Younger generations would have a blast doing this together, and make the whole project loads of fun.

Talk on phone with a friend or family member while organizing

talking on phone while organizing

If you can’t get someone to join you physically during your organizing project, just call someone and put them on speaker while you sort through your stuff. I would, of course, get their agreement in advance to do this together via the phone. And making a phone appointment with them is like scheduling the appointment with yourself to do the task.

I’ve had people call me while they are cooking dinner and describe what they’re cooking, how they’re cooking it and what seasonings are going into it. We end up cooking it together, in a way, because I might suggest tossing something into the recipe they hadn’t thought of before.

Same goes for organizing – tell the person about those slacks you can’t fit into anymore and reminiscence the date you had in it. In the end, we can laugh about how it ended up staying in her closet so long!

Listen to upbeat music while organizing

dance with friends while organizing

Crank up your favorite music and let the beat move you to move out the clutter!

I’ve noticed that, when I clean my house, music makes the task much more enjoyable. Without the music, it just feels like a chore. The only down-side is if you feel like dancing and stop the task to do some moves – which actually is NOT so much a down-side at all when you’re having fun!

Just pick up where you left off and let the music move you to the next task.

Eat a delicious healthy snack while organizing

eat healthy snack while organizing

Good food always cheers me up, so make a tasty healthy snack which you can munch on while organizing. As you enjoy the tasteful morsels of food, you just might find it equally enjoyable tossing all the clutter out of your life.

Whatever you do, don’t make a sugar-snack! You will crash and burn out quickly, believe me!

Drink some wine as you’re organizing your stuff

drink wine while organizing

This may not appeal to everyone, but for some people, it just might be the thing to put fun into a project … any project!

The challenge would be to get as much done as you can BEFORE the wine completely takes over your senses. Or maybe, just maybe, it could actually help knock some sense into you and help free you from the boundaries that stuff created for you in the first place. Ya never know. I would have to say all pros on this, no cons.

Take photos of weird stuff you’ve been keeping around

take pictures while organizing

One way to remember those memories of your stuff is to take a picture of it before getting rid of it. Start a digital album online and share all the strange things you’ve hung onto for years.

This way, people can share all that memorabilia you’ve kept around, especially if you provide back-stories with each item. Like, the sweater your mom gave you for your birthday that you never wanted to be caught alive wearing. Or those earrings your friend gifted to you that you thought had to be a re-gifted item handed down for centuries. And so forth and so on.

Now, if you don’t find yourself having fun trying any of these things while organizing, then call me. I’ll bring some wine.

Happy New Year!

Create A Decorative Tiered Plate Organizer

The Organizing Lady shows how to make a tiered plate organizer to store and display just about any kind of grouped items.

There are not only numerous uses for these plate organizers, but many ways in which to make them. And you can use a variety of plates and plate stems to make them – thin vases, decorative vases, or candle-holders.

Fit your decor and design your own using things you have around the house or things you can purchase at a dollar store. Get creative and try out some combinations!

Watch video on how easy it is to do …

DIY Organizing – Make A Tiered Plate Organizer

Some suggested uses for tiered plate organizers:

  • As a nail polish organizer
  • For guest items in a bathroom
  • To hold desktop accessories

Make Your Own Lazy Susan The Lazy Way

As the first in the new Organizing Lady’s DIY Organizing Series, Cyndi Seidler shows how to make a Lazy Susan turntable to organize items in cabinets, cupboards, fridge, or just about any place where you want to store a group of items.

Furthermore, the only materials you’ll need to make this turntable are 3 items, and you can get at a dollar store. If you were to go to a store to purchase a Lazy Susan, it would cost more than a few dollars however, with this method, you won’t be spending more than $3 dollars.

Watch the video and see how she does it!

DIY Organizing – Make A Lazy Susan

Ideas of things you can store on a Lazy Susan:

  • Food in cabinets
  • Spices
  • Nail polish
  • Hair care products
  • Fragrance bottles

 

25 Great Pinterest-friendly Organizing Quotes

Here are some fun quotes to help motivate and inspire you to get organized! These are great to share on Pinterest and your other social networks! What are some of your favorites?

 

(Click on image to scroll to next image in slideshow)

14 Really Great Drawer Organization Ideas

What’s In Your Drawers?

Drawer clutter is something that lurks inside without proper guidance. Drawer organization, on the other hand, is something that smiles at you when its opened and nothing is lurking inside. And it needs no assistance in finding something.

Drawer Organization Ideas

You may have noticed that these drawers are easy to keep organized because of the various drawer dividers used. Buy them, make them, create your own drawer style. Just make sure it smiles at you when you’re done 🙂 Take a look at the photo slideshow to get ideas for organizing your drawers!

 

A fun spice drawer that uses foam liner strips by Youcopia to hold the spice jars in place inside jar.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
A kitchen utility drawer that uses wood drawer dividers to organize groups of items.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
A kitchen utility drawer using plastic drawer organizer compartments. These expand to width of drawer space.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
Make it easy to see your storage wraps inside a drawer. This drawer had built-in wooden dividers to make the job easier.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
This is a deep kitchen drawer so I used clear plastic storage containers to separate items inside drawer. These help prevent a cluttered drawer!

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
A deep drawer used for plastic storage containers. Lids are stored in a clear plastic storage bin inside drawer.

Image source: The Organizing Lady.
A nicely organized kitchen utility drawer using wood drawer dividers. It's easy to see where things are and where they go when you're putting things away in them.

Image source: Better Homes & Garden - bhg.com
Even a junk drawer should have order in it, and this one uses various size cardboard box containers. It's a clever way to group like-items together and handle the mess that junk drawers typically look like.

Image source: Hi Sugarplum
Use a drawer to organize candles of various shapes and sizes. This drawer uses plastic drawer organizers available at most department and specialty stores.

Image source: Real Simple
A simple and inexpensive way to compartmentalize your clothes drawer is to use empty shoe boxes. And to really squeeze in more than usual and be able to SEE what is there, use a folding technique that shows what you have.

Image source: OneKingLane.com
A sweater drawer without any drawer dividers - just use a folding technique to show the sweaters and you'll be able to squeeze more inside, as well as see what you have.

Image source: LuckyMag.com
This is a cool idea for a craft or sock and underwear drawer, even for ties. It uses DIY round tubed drawer organizers from PVC pipes.

Image source: diyncrafts.com
An organized sock drawer using clear plastic storage bins inside drawer to hold socks in. You can see all your socks with this simple folding technique that neatly displays each sock.

Image source: Better Homes & Garden - bhg.com
A baby drawer organized with decorative collapsible canvas bins inside drawer to separate and contain the items. Collapsible canvas bins come in all sizes and available just about anywhere these days!

Image source: Buzzfeed

 

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