Archives for February 2009

Valentine’s day gift ideas

vdayValentine’s day is next week and some of us are probably scrambling to find that perfect gift for their loved one. Don’t let your desperation lead you to your local retailer in search of a gift just for the sake of paying attention to the calendar. We highly recommend consumables as gifts. For example, food, tickets to a performance, or an experience gift.

If you need some ideas, here area few that should make the day a little more memorable:

Dinner for two (prepared by you): If you don’t usually cook, do yourself a favor and figure out how to make one dish very well. You can surprise your significant other with a meal he/she never expected.

Movie night: Rent the first movie that you watched together, no matter how bad it was. It will bring back some memories and if it was a really bad film it will probably make you laugh.

Be creative: If you are the creative type, create a collage of photos and mementos or write a poem. If you don’t consider yourself creative, give it a try — you may be surprised at your hidden talent.

Organize: Surprise your loved one by organizing a particular problem area of your home. Try to choose an area that really gets under their skin. 

Tickets: Print out a set of redeemable tickets for back rubs, foot rubs, or chores that your partner usually takes upon themselves. Whatever you can think of can be printed onto these redeemable tickets.

These are just a handful of ideas, feel free to add your own in the comments section.

Posted by Matt on Feb 6, 2009 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Corner kitchen cabinets

Reader Marnie submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Our house has corner kitchen cabinets with lots of wasted space. Is a lazy susan the way to go? I feel like there is a decent amount of unused space when they are used. Do you have any recommendations?

Marnie, I love this question because I had been struggling with the same problem in my kitchen and recently found a solution. The answer we discovered are storage systems that use the descriptive phrase “blind corner” in their names. Some are called “blind corner tracks” or “blind corner cabinet systems” or some version of all of those words.

They’re regular cabinet shelves that sit on a hinge and a pivoting mechanism. The unit pulls out into the room so that you can have easy access to everything on the shelves. When it is not in use, it folds back into the cupboard and occupies every nook and cranny. It is leaps and bounds more efficient than a lazy susan.

Check at your local home improvement store to see what they carry. Online, I’ve found that most of these systems are in the $500-$700 range. That is a higher price than what we found locally.

Thank you, Marnie, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Feb 6, 2009 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Crafts contained

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Ali’s craft office:

One thing is for certain, Ali is an organized crafter. Her space is perfect for her needs and even the smallest of items (like her stamps) has a home. For even more fantastic pictures and a detailed description of how the space is used, check out Ali’s office tour on her blog. This space is truly incredible. Thank you, Ali, for sharing your office with us.

Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.

Posted by Erin on Feb 6, 2009 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

ROO: Return on Organization

A recent article in USA Today explores organization and how it can help keep expenses low in these tough economic times:

We have all heard about R.O.I. — Return on Investment. It’s a useful way to analyze whether you are receiving sufficient bang for your buck for your efforts.

But have you ever considered your R.O.O. — your Return on Organization?

Look, we all know that main two pain points for most small businesses are not enough time and not enough money. This is even more true in light of the current economic environment. But what if I told you there was a simple, affordable way to get more of both? After all, as we all know, time is money.

I have been doing some work with Office Depot recently in order to help small business owners understand how, with just a few smart changes, they can increase their R.O.O., and how that can have a significant impact on the bottom line. In fact, it is estimated that increased R.O.O. can yield up to an extra two hours of productive time a week and up to an additional 6% of revenue.

How? Well, think about it. It costs five times more to create a new customer than it does to keep a current one. The whole idea is that with some extra time you can take better care of your best customers. No, 20 minutes a day may not seem like much, but what if you used those 20 minutes a day to their maximum effectiveness? You could check in with customers, make some sales calls, send out some “checking-in” e-mails … that sort of thing.

His later suggestions for how to specifically be more organized at work aren’t too in-depth, but I think he makes a very good point in this first section of the article. Being efficient with your time can create more opportunities for profits. The implied flip-side, of course, is that being disorganized can cost you your job/client/opportunity.

I also like the phrase “R.O.O. — your Return on Organization.” I may have to use that in the future.

What do you think? Is there such as thing as R.O.O.? I’m interested in reading your opinions in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Feb 5, 2009 | 26 Comments | Tweet This

Flipside wallet

flipsideIn the past, I have written about wallet alternatives that help keep pocket clutter under control. I can attest to growing tired of my traditional wallet and all of the clutter that used to accumulate in it. The more storage space I had in that fat wallet tended to be occupied by old receipts, photos I never looked at, or cards for which I had no use.

I wanted to add the Flipside Wallet to the list of wallet alternatives. It is easy to use and has a cool design. View the helpful video to watch the Flipside Wallet in action. It holds up to eight credit cards/ID cards, up to twenty cash bills, and features a slot for pictures or whatever else you would like to fit in there.

The Flipside also shields your credit cars from RFID readers that identity thieves have been known to use, and helps to prevent your cards from being demagnetized.

Posted by Matt on Feb 5, 2009 | 37 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: The snowman kit

snowmanAll Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

As winter continues to pound the northern half of the country, it is a great time to head out and enjoy some fun in the snow. My daughter and I have been taking advantage of the snow by building snowmen (one of our creations is pictured immediately at right). She has enjoyed it quite a bit, especially when we use Hershey kisses for eyes, a baby carrot for the nose, and a bunch of yarn puff balls for its mouth and buttons. 

snowman-kitI have since learned that my daughter’s snowmen-building experience could have been much more sterile and manufactured had we used an incredibly ridiculous snowman kit. The one pictured includes everything you need — even a plastic carrot and plastic branches! (Multiple kits will be needed for multiple snowmen.)

Running around the house looking for items for the snowman was pretty fun for my daughter, but if you don’t have an imagination and want to trample on your child’s fun, then the snowman kit may be for you!

Posted by Matt on Feb 4, 2009 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Storing specialty hangers?

Reader Iris wrote us an e-mail the other day that sincerely left me baffled. I struggle with a very similar issue in my home. Her question:

I always put away hangers in a cardboard box sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe when the hangers are not in use. However, the hangers are of different size tend to tangle up and it looks very messy. I just wonder whether there’s a neat way of storing them?

Okay, I can help out with the first part of this question and suggest that Iris ditch the cardboard box and exchange it for a hanger holder. I have one very similar to the one in the picture, and I recommend it highly. It is extremely convenient and transports easily to the laundry room when I’m pulling clothes out of the dryer.

HOWEVER (and this is a mighty big however), it only works for standard clothes hangers similar to the ones in the picture. Large suit and coat hangers are too big and get tangled, any hanger with a curve to it doesn’t stack well, skirt hangers never fit, and plain shirt hangers that don’t have bottom rods slide right off of it. I have to leave an empty space at the end of my closet rod to hold all of these non-standard hangers when they’re not in use. And, I always end up making a couple trips back and forth between the laundry room and the closet to grab the specialty hangers when I need them.

Admitting complete and utter defeat, I open the floor to you our readers. How do you keep the non-standard hangers organized when they aren’t in use? Please, fill the comments with your wonderful ideas — Iris and I need your help!

Posted by Erin on Feb 4, 2009 | 72 Comments | Tweet This

Tracking your favorite wines

I am a wine enthusiast (oh my, that sounds dorky). I subscribe to three wine magazines and listen to multiple wine podcasts per week (feel welcome to laugh). Some people like fixing up old cars or knitting or woodworking — I happen to like pairing the perfect bottle of wine with a well-crafted meal.

I’m not a wine collector, nor am I an alcoholic, I’m simply a wine consumer. I have never purchased a bottle of wine in a store that cost more than $50, and most of the wines I buy are under $20. I like to try new wines, and am interested in the background of a wine almost as much as the flavor.

A few years ago, my husband and I started keeping logs of the wines we tried. If we’re up for the task, we’ll steam the label off the bottle and rubber cement it to the page with our review. If we’re being lazy, we’ll just write the information down and sketch a picture of the label. Each wine gets its own page, and each page contains notes from both of us on flavor, vintage, and pairing. Our system is low-tech, but has been fun to put together. (We also have a separate notebook that I carry in my purse of wines we want to try and the notes we’ve collected about those wines.)

To make a low-tech wine notebook, I recommend hopping onto etsy and checking out their handmade notebooks. The one we are currently using is a laser etched notebook from Modofly (their store should be back up in the very near future).

Bay County Liquors in Maryland has an impressive roundup and review of online and computer software programs that are on the market for tracking the same information that we use in our low-tech notebooks. “Wine Log” and “Wine Snob” are two iPhone applications that track similar information. A benefit of using a digital program is that you can search the data much more easily than you can with a low-tech notebook.

If you’re also a wine enthusiast, check out the list of online and software programs that might suit your needs, download one of the iPhone applications, or consider starting a wine notebook. Any of the three systems will make sure that you never reorder a wine you dislike again!

Posted by Erin on Feb 3, 2009 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

Baby safety clutter

baby-knee-padsI’m not exactly sure how I survived my early days as a baby without the ever-expanding assortment of infant safety products. After browsing through an unsolicited baby product magazine that I received  in the mail, I am now aware of the slew of products that over-protective parents just can’t live without.

Here are some of the outrageous products that my parents never once considered buying for me, and that I did not consider buying for my little one’s safety:

  • Snazzy Baby Knee Pads (pictured): My daughter learned to crawl on hardwood floors and she didn’t even have the luxury of knee pads. How will she ever forgive me?
  • Walking Wings: According to this Pediatrician Recommended product, your baby can learn to walk without the fear of falling. I don’t know about you, but I think kids need to fall once in a while. (Also, I’d be afraid my kids arms would be ripped out of their sockets if I used this thing!)
  • Mommy I’m Here Child Locator: Are you always misplacing your child? Now you can watch your stories without having to pay too much attention to your toddler. Since this teddy bear only works up to 150 feet and if your child is carrying it, this locator is pointless as a child Lo-Jack device.
  • Video Monitor: This device is for the Big Brother in all of us. Why stop at simply listening to your child when you can watch their every move with this day and night video monitor? It even has night vision!

Yes, these items go overboard, but there is certainly a need for child safety in your home. Below are items that we actually use for our little explorer. They keep her safe, but they don’t make her feel like she can’t do anything on her own.

  • Outlet Covers: Tiny holes in the walls are awfully inviting to little fingers.
  • Door Knob Covers: Opening and closing doors is a favorite hobby of many toddlers. Door knob covers put a stop to this and make sure that little fingers aren’t caught in door jams.
  • Cabinet Latches: These keep cleaning products and other dangerous household items cabinets and drawers inaccessible from your children.
  • Baby Gate: If you have stairs in your home, gates help to keep your child from tumbling down.

If you are a first-time parent and are worried about the safety of your child, take a deep breathe and relax. Your child will definitely get sick and sustain a few bumps and bruises along the way — it is simply part of childhood. Do your best to protect them, but remember children also need to develop their independence.

Posted by Matt on Feb 3, 2009 | 47 Comments | Tweet This

Compulsive clutter in New York City

Hoarding is a topic that we at Unclutterer feel should be part of the uncluttering conversation. Hoarding is a serious medical condition, usually linked to obsessive compulsive disorder, which can take over someone’s life and living space.

The other day, I discovered the website Hoardhouse. It is a project being assembled by a group of journalism students at Columbia University. From the their website:

All three of the authors are very curious about the issue of hoarding and how it impacts the lives of New York City residents.

This project will explore the hoarders, psychologists, social workers, and cleanup specialists for whom hoarding is a defining phenomenon.

The final version of the site will be live by March 23, 2009.

While readers of Unclutterer may be familiar with hoarding, it is a psychological ailment that still isn’t understood by much of the general public. It is encouraging to see these journalism students working to increase public awareness about the disorder’s damaging effects.

If you or someone you know struggles with compulsive hoarding, please try and get help from the following resources:

Once again, hoarding is a disorder that should be treated by a licensed medical professional.

Posted by Matt on Feb 2, 2009 | 26 Comments | Tweet This

Seeing spring

Today is Groundhog Day, the confusing day of the year when Americans try to figure out if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and what seeing it or not seeing it means. (Answer: If he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter weather — if he doesn’t, there will be an early spring.)

Regardless of Phil’s predictions, today is a good day because it is the halfway point between the shortest day of the year and the spring equinox. This means that it doesn’t really matter what Phil saw, we’re now closer to the end of this winter than the start of it.

Before most people realize that spring is on the horizon, now is a great time to get ahead of the curve and start making appointments for all of your spring cleaning activities. These appointments are usually best to be made for late May or early June:

  • Contact the company that services your furnace and set up an appointment to have your furnace professionally inspected.
  • Contact the chimney sweep and make an appointment to have your chimney cleaned, your flue inspected, and your vents tested.
  • Make an appointment to have your lawn mower serviced and your blades sharpened.
  • Schedule to run a test with your home security system provider.
  • Inspect your wood floors for damages or scratches and contact someone to wax or refinish your floors if necessary.
  • If you use a lawn service, call now to make sure you’re on the summer schedule.

Obviously, you don’t have to take on all of these tasks if you don’t want to. But, if you’re someone who sticks to a tight spring cleaning regimen, now is the time to set your appointments.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Image from the (very tongue-in-cheek) official Groundhog Day website.

Posted by Erin on Feb 2, 2009 | 1 Comment | Tweet This