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Workspace of the Week: Sewing storage in disguise

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Clara in Paradise’s whimsical sewing room storage.

But, to appreciate the After photograph, you should see what the area looked like before:

I like the idea of creating a closet — even with faux doors — to streamline a room and reduce visual clutter. I also like the fun Clara clearly had creating this storage space. Her closet door design is sewn on with a serger using blue thread, and the knobs are all blue felt. And, she states, the whole setup (curtain rod, fabric, thread, felt, etc.) was only $50. Check out her step-by-step process on her website. Thank you, Clara, for submitting your creative sewing storage solution to our Flickr group.

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.

Aug 13, 2010 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Crafts contained

This week’s Workspace of the Week is SuperShopperToo’s home crafting office:

This week’s workspace isn’t necessarily uncluttered, but — wow! — it is organized. You can see additional images in the Flickr group that show more traditional office supply storage, the bookshelves and cupboards behind the desk, another view of the room, and an impressive interior view of the closet. Notes about the images explain that the vast majority of furniture in the office is from Ikea. The ribbon rod in the closet was even a $1.49 find at Ikea, originally manufactured to be used as a shower curtain rod. Items are grouped with like items, and everything has a place to live. Even if this isn’t your style, there are a lot of great organizing solutions in this office that could be repurposed for a more traditional office space. Thank you, SuperShopperToo, for your submission to our Flickr group.

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.

Feb 12, 2010 | 13 Comments | Tweet This

Sheetseat eco-friendly and ultra-storable folding chair

With the theme of Thursday’s Blog Action Day being climate change, we’ve been thinking more about green organizing and uncluttering. Even just rethinking everyday items can make a small difference, like the Lunch Skins that Erin posted about on Tuesday.

I’m always a big fan of new solutions to old problems, so I was impressed with Ufuk Keskin’s unique take on portable seating with his Sheetseat folding chair:

Folding chairs are certainly not a new concept — the idea dates back around 4000 years to the Middle Kingdom of Egypt — but Keskin’s Sheetseat is the first I’ve seen that collapses down to a thickness of a mere thee quarters of an inch.

The simplicity of this design and the use of little more than a small sheet of plywood make the Sheetseet quite environmentally friendly. And the fact that you can easily store seating for six friends inconspicuously behind a curtain or couch, or under a bed, is about as uncluttered as you can get.

Oct 17, 2009 | 28 Comments | Tweet This

Flattening the Never Finishing Monster

We want to again welcome guest author Alex Fayle, the writer and professional organizer behind the helpful anti-procrastination website Someday Syndrome. This is his third post of three in a series on fighting procrastination.

We’ve vanquished the Getting Started Monster, conquered the No Momentum Monster and now all that’s left is to finish up. You’ve uncluttered your space and managed to keep at it until everything is nicely streamlined. You’ve even put things back where they belong.

Well, almost everything. You have a few things that don’t fit in your current storage spaces, so you’ve left them on top of your desk while you figure out what type of storage you need for them exactly.

And then months pass with them still on your desk. A few bits and bobs not done don’t really matter you tell yourself every time you see the pile of things waiting to be given a home.

But it does matter because from that pile of things not put away the clutter starts to grow again, creeping out from that spot to take over the office again.

When we don’t finish projects we leave the door open to chaos. We let the Never Finishing Monster into our lives and everything around the place needs just a few adjustments to finish, but nothing’s totally completed. The baseboard is missing on the living room trim. The bedroom needs curtains. The email inbox still has a few dozen messages from two months ago waiting to be looked at.

Why don’t we totally finish? Because often we leave the fiddly bits to the end, the stuff that we’re not quite sure what to do with, or the stuff that we hate doing.

Dedicating Time

Fortunately, unlike getting started and moving forward, there is a trick to kill the Never Finishing Monster — it’s called the Get It Done Sprint.

I use this all the time with my writing. I’ll start a project and move it forward slowly and steadily but as I get closer to the end of something I slow down to a crawl that wouldn’t win a race against 80 year old snails.

When I notice that I’ve reached this point, I schedule a block of time (for my writing projects a week is usually a good amount of time) where I dedicate several hours a day getting the project done. The Never Finishing Monster doesn’t stand a chance against such dedicated effort.

It’s like the end of a 10km race — you pace yourself throughout the race until the finish line comes into sight and you sprint to the end.

Apply this same thinking to your organizing projects. When you almost reach the end, change your approach to the project and commit to getting it done within a very specific (and very short) timeframe. Schedule a day to go buy the supplies you need and enlist (or hire) help to put in that extra bit of effort to wrap up the project.

And don’t delay. Schedule the sprint as soon as possible. The longer you leave the project unfinished, the less likely you’ll get around to it and the more likely all your hard work will undo itself.

So tell me, what’s left to get finished in your house and when will you schedule the Get It Done Sprint that will squash the Never Finishing Monster flat?

Sep 15, 2009 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

Corralling lids

The August issue of Real Simple magazine (pg. 36) has a great tip for maintaining order in the kitchen:

small tension rod
ORIGINAL PURPOSE: Hanging curtains.
AHA! USE: Corralling pot lids in kitchen drawers. Position the expandable rod a quarter of the way into the drawer and stand the lids up.
REWARD: Easier access to pots and their tops.

Do you use an item in an unconventional way to help keep your kitchen organized? Tell us about your simple solutions in the comments.

UPDATE: Several readers have inquired about the tension rod pictured and it appears to be this one, which expands from 15″ to 25″ and is available in a variety of finishes.

Jul 16, 2009 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Get moving: A checklist for an organized move

Today we welcome Bonnie Joy Dewkett as a guest post author on Unclutterer. She is a professional organizer (The Joyful Organizer) based out of southwest Connecticut. The following advice is based on her Guide to a Joyful Move.

Moving can be stressful, but it’s nothing to fear. These tips will help to make your transition less stressful, more organized, and an enjoyable new adventure for your family.

Before You Leave Your Old Home:

  1. If you have children, make sure each child has his own bag packed with any toys, blankets, or books that he will need to go to bed at night. These will help him feel comfortable during the transition.
  2. Purchase an expandable file folder and start gathering documents such as birth certificates, passports, and currency. These items should not be shipped with your household goods.
  3. Call your doctors to obtain written copies of the family’s medical records. Offices sometimes charge for these documents, so have a form of payment ready. Also, see if your doctor can refer you to a new doctor in your new location. If applicable, ask for copies of prescriptions in case you cannot see a doctor quickly in your new location. If you have remaining refills at a local pharmacy, call to see if they can transfer them to a new pharmacy where you are moving.
  4. Arrange for the home to be cleaned after all your furniture has been moved. Stay one night in a hotel and return to the home to clean, or hire a cleaning service to do the job for you while you are traveling to your new location. Keep in mind that many real estate contracts state that the home must be left in “broom clean condition.” Failure to do so could result in a fee or difficulty at closing.
  5. Call your utility companies to arrange for final readings. Give them your new address to have any remaining bills forwarded.
  6. If you are using a professional moving company, ask about insurance for your items while in transit. You should also contact your homeowner’s insurance company to inquire about the same.
  7. Send out change of address cards to friends and family.
  8. Fill out a change of address and mail forwarding forms with the Post Office. These forms can be filled out online as well.
  9. Pack irreplaceable or valuable items such as cameras, jewelry, wedding photos/videos, or family treasures to travel with your family. Also, keep in mind that most van lines are not climate controlled. Consider this when deciding to pack items like candles in with your other possessions.
  10. If you are packing yourself, color-code your boxes. (Blue for the kitchen, red for the bedroom, etc).
  11. Pack a kit of the following items for use while you are in transit, and for your first night in your new home:
    • Toilet paper
    • Shower curtain
    • Snacks and bottled water
    • Clean clothes
    • Cleaning products
    • Flashlight and/or night lights
    • First-aid kit and medicines needed by your family
    • Air Mattresses and sleeping bags (if you decide to spend your first night in your new home).

When You Arrive At your New Home:

  1. Start by sorting your boxes and bringing them to their appropriate rooms. (Red to the kitchen, etc).
  2. Evaluate if you will need to purchase any organizational supplies such as shelves, pot racks, closet systems, etc. Purchase these before you start to unpack. Not doing so will make unpacking more complicated.
  3. If you need assistance in getting unpacked, contact a professional organizer. She will help you determine the best organizational systems for your new home, have them installed, and unpack your possessions using the systems.
  4. Use labels and/or sticky notes to help everyone locate items in the kitchen cabinets or pantry. This will alleviate questions and frustration when trying to find items in their new locations.
  5. Allow kids to help unpack their rooms. If possible, allow them to decide where their bed will go, where they want their play area to be located, etc. This allows them to make the new room their own.
  6. Have a sleepover your first night in your new home. Set up air mattresses, play cards, or if you have the capability, watch a movie on a laptop or portable DVD player. Bring flashlights and snacks for the family. Spending your first night all together in one room helps kids with the new creaks and noises associated with a new home.
  7. Unpack every box. Even if you are not using everything in your new home, you should unpack everything to look for any missing or damaged items. Insurance often limits the amount of time you have to file a claim for missing or damaged items.
  8. Lay each piece of newspaper or bubble wrap flat after unwrapping an item to make sure that you completely unpacked everything from its wrapping.
  9. Call the newcomer services in your area. They will often provide you with a basket or package of coupons and offers for your new area. You will probably be eating out for a little while, so you might as well save some money!
  10. If you do eat out a few times be sure to ask for menus, coupons, and business cards. Create a three ring binder with the menus of the places you like, and make sure to circle the items your family enjoyed. This will come in handy on those busy nights when you just aren’t sure what to eat.
  11. After you have been in your new home for about a month, re-evaluate your organizational systems. What is working for your family and what is not? Are you still missing items? Are the items you use in your daily routine hard to find or use? If you did not hire a professional organizer when you first moved in, now is a great time to do so.

Jun 11, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: How can I decorate a big room without cluttering it up?

Please welcome Holly Becker, the wonderful mind behind the design blog decor8. On decor8, Holly dishes daily on topics ranging from sofas to stationery along with ideas for living a more creative lifestyle. She was perfectly suited to answer this week’s question.

Reader Eleanor submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer along with a couple pictures:

Hi there. In one room of my apartment, I have the opposite problem of many of your readers: too much space. The living room is 21 by 17 feet, mostly featureless and with a low ceiling. I want it to be an organized, uncluttered living space but don’t want it to look like an empty warehouse! What can I do with it, besides trying to fill it up with stuff? Just FYI, moving to a smaller space is not possible right now. In the future, definitely.

Hi Eleanor! While your “problem” of having too much space isn’t the most common, it’s definitely one I’ve addressed a few times with clients who went from homes with smaller rooms to spacious open concept lofts where the lines between spaces became blurred. Once settled in, they felt overwhelmed by having to “fill” all the extra space they’d once dreamed of and, like you, compared their living quarters to an empty warehouse. You are not alone in this Eleanor, between my advice and the comments that Erin’s lovely readers will no doubt offer, I’m confident you’ll soon be on your way to a cozy space in no time!

So… where to begin? THAT is the question of the day! Since you do not live in a loft with soaring ceilings and an open floor plan, I think your space issues are a lot easier to solve because you have a predefined living room space — a gorgeous one with outstanding details (vs. 4 plain walls). You have a fireplace, built in bookcase, and the most gorgeous hardwood floors. What a gem. I am not sure if these photos are current, if not have you added furniture yet? The moment you bring in a sofa or sectional, a pair of chairs, coffee table, floor rug, window treatments, etc. you will see that space shrink immediately, so never fear — your dream home isn’t that far from reality. Here are some tips for transforming your living room into space that you’ll enjoy living in!

  1. Area rug. A must! I don’t have the dimensions of your room, but my guesstimate is an 8 x 10 would do the trick. Go with a low pile vs. high.
  2. Sofa flanked by two chairs or an L-shaped sectional would really work here. Avoid overstuffed marshmallow-like seating — bulky pieces will make that ceiling feel like it’s lower than it is. Opt for furniture with clean lines and a sofa with arms (vs. armless), and try to find pieces that sit lower to the floor but not ON the floor. I think you should show a little leg but don’t allow too much space between the sofa and the floor.
  3. I’d paint the wall where the stairwell is (right side as you walk up the steps) and continue with that color down the hallway to give that space a separateness from the living room area. Perhaps something with warm tones vs. cool tones would work there.
  4. If you are keeping this wall color, I’d change the trim to the same color as the wall paint to create height or trim it a shade or two lighter (but not darker).
  5. At the top of your stairs I’d replace that light fixture with one that mounts flush against the ceiling — again to create a sense of height.
  6. Perform this little exercise; walk up your stairs and turn slightly left looking toward your living room. Where do your eyes land first? Try it again, a few times. Ask others who will live in this space to do the same. Guests too. That is your “focal” point. I’d build the design starting from that space.
  7. Fill that lovely built-in bookcase with books — what a fantastic feature you have there. For fun, you could even paint or paper inside of those shelves (go darker not lighter). I sure would. Keep books or whatever you end up putting there, in a similar size and tone because it will look clean and neat but also provide more visual weight.
  8. Hang your curtain rods several inches higher than your window frame to create a longer line from the floor to the top of the rod — visually this makes the room look taller.
  9. If you plan to keep your television, I’d place it to the left of your fireplace vs. inside of it. (hee hee) If you don’t plan to use the fireplace, decorate the inside with a few pillar candles in varying heights.
  10. I’m not sure if your room is large enough to break out into two cozy sections, so, if not, I suggest this on furniture placement: when you are arranging things “float” pieces away from the walls vs. placing everything right up against them (not applicable to the TV unit but for sofa/chairs).
  11. Add a cozy throw folded neatly over the arm of your sofa or chair. Sounds so textbook, but a few throw pillows and a nice blanket really do create warmth.
  12. Look for drapes that touch the floor (not puddled and not too short, just skimming the floor is perfect), and replace your plastic blinds with a quality fabric shade or roll up blind — look for something tactile like wood or linen.

Thank you, Eleanor, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. And, thank you, Holly, for providing such terrific advice!

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.

Apr 10, 2009 | 22 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

Mar 1, 2009 | 1 Comment | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Multi-functioning clothing and office closet

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Willy Volk’s closet office:

I want to start by saying that I know this isn’t the most uncluttered office we’ve ever featured, but it is unusually practical and deserves to be highlighted. What intrigues me the most about this space is that it’s an office in a closet — a closet that is still being used to hold clothes. The space between the two walls of rods is used to its fullest potential with the storage bins, shelf, and office desk. It even looks like there are computer speakers hanging from the ceiling. The curtains at the door to the closet help the entire space disappear from the room when not in use. It’s a great use of space, and I’m thankful Willy Volk shared this office with us. (The three pull-out pictures are pretty fun, too.)

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.

Dec 12, 2008 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Simple, hidden storage

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Cplamann’s creative workspace:

I greatly enjoy this workspace because it has a number of pieces of equipment and materials, but still achieves a high level of organization. Cplamann professes in one of the image’s comments that the space needs artwork for the walls, which I would agree with, but it’s already a great space even without the visual images.

Specifically, I love this office because of its beautiful hidden storage:

The cabinet and curtain suspension system are both from Ikea. The Alex cabinet is on wheels and can be moved out of storage when needed. And, the Deka curtain wire and clips make sliding fabric easy and keeps the movable storage accessible. Great job, Cplamann!

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.

Sep 5, 2008 | 11 Comments | Tweet This

What happens when Unclutterer is invited to tour Consumer Reports

During the last full week of June, I headed to Yonkers, New York, to a one-day conference at the Consumer Reports testing facilities. Consumers Union invited a group of about 25 bloggers to come together to talk about informed consumerism.

The intellectual in me believed that the sessions at the conference would be interesting (which they were), but it was the geek in me who really wanted to tour their testing operations. I imagined the building to be filled with pocket protector-wearing lab technicians blowing stuff up. In actuality, I only spotted one pocket protector, but I did get to see the remains of exploding grills and a lawn mower chop off a fake finger (hot dog on a stick). I loved every minute of the tour, which was about an hour and a half of our day in Yonkers.

I had lunch with Craig Newmark, the Craig of Craigslist, and discussed the impact of sites like his on the uncluttering movement. I posited that sites like Craigslist, Freecycle, and Ebay have made it easier for people to responsibly get rid of unwanted items. He agreed, and at the end of our 45 minute conversation I felt that I had garnered a new appreciation for these services and the way they bring people and stuff together.

I also greatly enjoyed Ben Popken’s presentation on customer service. Ben is the editor of the watchdog blog Consumerist, which monitors unfair business practices of companies selling products and services in the U.S. A lot of what he said will find its way indirectly into future Unclutterer posts. This presentation was recorded, and I hope to be able to provide a link to it for you in the coming days.

I’m a big fan of Consumer Reports and check it and other review sites before making most of my purchases. Being a smart consumer can take effort, but when you own few possessions, it’s important to focus on quality. Overall, I was glad to spend the day learning from others who share a similar philosophy on educated consumerism.

Now, for what you’ve been waiting for, an inside look at Consumer Reports …

All of the glass surfaces throughout the building have the Consumer Reports rating circles etched into them. You never forget where you are:

One of our first stops on the tour was to the pure-sound chamber. There is no echo in this room, which allows technicians to measure the actual sound levels coming out of a device. After just five minutes in this room, I had a brief, but severe, headache:

While still in the stereo testing wing of the building, we went inside the “family room” where live subjects sit on a couch and listen to different stereo equipment. The curtain in this photograph is where the equipment is hidden so that test subjects aren’t influenced by brand names:

Our next stop on the tour was of the television testing facilities. Along the walls of this room are dozens of televisions broadcasting the same test images. This room is used for side-by-side comparison testings:

The kitchen lab does daily accuracy tests on all of the latest appliances to hit the U.S. market. The day we were there the team was testing ovens by recording the colors of cookies baked on different shelves in 10 ovens. The engineers use a color spectrometer to record the exact color of each cookie top and bottom:

Here are cookie bottoms baked in two ovens on two different shelves in their respective ovens. You can see that the oven on the left has a more consistent temperature throughout the unit than the oven on the right:

In the sensory experience lab, we were shown how the testers set up projects for blind taste testings. The dark squares in the middle of this picture are where food items are slid into the testing room on the other side of the wall. A red light illuminates the testing room so that test subjects aren’t influenced by the food’s appearance:

Learning the methods that are used in testings made me more comfortable with the data Consumer Reports publishes. Now, if only Underwriter’s Laboratory would invite me to visit their facilities! A geeky girl can dream, right?!

Jul 7, 2008 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

A multifunctioning curtain system

My husband and I are redecorating our bedroom. Our first step was to acquire a duvet cover we liked, and then we painted the walls a pale grey to match. Our next step was to decide on window treatments.

After evaluating what I can only refer to as every single curtain option on the market, we decided to go with the Ikea Kvartal system. Our windows are around 11′ tall, and they let the most amazing light into the room. We didn’t want to block this light during the day, but we wanted privacy at night.

We ran the three rail curtain rod (pictured at right) across the whole length of the wall. This allows us to pull the panels fully off the windows where they can act as artwork during the day. Also, we’re only using two of the three rails right now, and we’re planning on hanging artwork from the third rail like we do from our art gallery system. We like the versatility the system provides, too, so that we can easily and cheaply change the fabric as our tastes change.

Big window without curtains:

Big window with curtains:

Wall between windows without curtains:

Wall between windows with curtains:

I’m writing about these curtains on Unclutterer because they have such a multifunctioning purpose to them — panel curtains, panel artwork, and an art gallery system. Additionally, they have a very clean aesthetic.

If you’re thinking about a similar curtain system, let me offer some advice:

  1. Fully assemble the rod and attach it to the wall mounts before hanging it on the wall.
  2. The cut of your panel fabric needs to be straight for your walls/ceiling, not the actual fabric. (We learned our walls are not straight.)
  3. Like all things Ikea, serious assembly is required for this project.

Also, I want to apologize for the poor quality of these photographs. I was trying to only shoot the top of the windows since the rest of our bedroom is in disarray with the redecorating, and it didn’t result in attractive pics. My father, a professional photographer, will be calling any minute now to instruct me about where I went wrong.

Next up on our bedroom redecoration project is new furniture …

Feb 28, 2008 | 12 Comments | Tweet This | Tags:

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