Organizing products Archives - Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

Organizing Products That I Love

February 16, 2023/4 Comments/in Organizing products/by Ellen

Although the answer to organizing challenges is not more bins, there are organizing products I love. These are products that are universally useful throughout your home, office, or work place. Declutter first so you know what products you need. Remember to label to be sure to maintain your space. Happy Organizing!

Drop front boxes are available at Amazon. Useful for more than just shoes! Stack in any closet or high shelf for easy storage.

Brother Label Maker is available at Amazon. Label anywhere in your space for better maintenance and access.

Clear pantry bins are available at Amazon. Useful for storage in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, or storage closet to see what you have. Label these bins to keep them organized.

Vertical bins are available at The Container Store. These unique storage containers can be used in any space for medicine, papers, or other items.

This rolling utility cart is available at Amazon. Use this cart for your office, crafts and more.

Houston’s Top Self- Care Products

March 25, 2021/2 Comments/in Organizing products, Wellness and self care/by Ellen

Houston top self care products

We are spending lots of time this year talking about self care. It is necessary with the uncertainty of life and our need to address the anxiety that comes with that. There are physical examples of self care like developing a regular sleep routine, aiming for a healthy diet and going for a walk at lunchtime. In addition, there are many product possibilities that lead to taking care of ourselves in a way that also improves organizing and productivity. Check out these options, including many that work with your smart phone.

Hidrate Spark syncs with your smart phone for all day hydration

Sunrise Simulation Alarm Clock to wake to natural light

Scale Synching with Smart Phone to graph your weight, body mass and more

Fit Bit to record your exercise and sleep

Amazon Alexa (to play music or dolphin sounds)

Headspace (an app) for Meditation helps you relieve anxiety and create serenity.

Lavender bath salts for a relaxing end of your day

My Organizing Obsession: Clear plastic bags

June 1, 2017/6 Comments/in My Organizing Obsession, Organizing products/by Ellen

In the past few weeks, garage organizing has been in full swing! Beautiful Spring weather is the best time to organize outside. As we organized, my clients and I have come to love clear plastic bags. If it’s small or big, clear plastic bags make it easy to organize. There are several options I want to share with you.

Clear is always a good option for storage.

You can see what’s inside. Most of us are visual and out of sight is out of mind.
It’s easy to know what you have and how to use it because of clear storage.
It’s easy to group items together that are used together.
You can label the outside of the bag too.

Clear plastic bags are a great alternative for organizing. These extra large garbage bags can be used for all types of storage. It’s especially helpful for light weight, but big items. You can wrap floral arrangements, sleeping bags, holiday decorations and more with these bags. It’s an extra layer of protection for your items. Use these instead of black plastic garbage bags.

Ziploc big bags are a storage option for all sorts of items. As shown here, it’s great for athletic items, holiday storage, out of season clothes storage, and shoe storage. These bags are heavier than the clear plastic bags and more durable. It’s easy to store items under a bed, in the back of a closet, in a garage or in the attic.

Thanks to Ziploc, there a zillion uses for small clear bags. Ziploc has ideas for spring cleaning and organizing, as well as ways to organize all around your home. You can organize your purse, organize your junk drawer, organize your crafts and organize your office supplies. There’s so much you can do with ziplocs of all sizes that every home should have a large supply!

My Organizing Obsession: Timers

September 22, 2016/6 Comments/in My Organizing Obsession, Organizing products/by Ellen

It may not surprise you about my obsession with timers. A timer is a vital tool for time management. It’s a monitoring device as well as an accountability tool. There are so many uses for a picket timer. A slim, digital, easy to set timer can help you in a myriad of ways. Timers comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Keep it simple with an easy to use timer that fits in a pocket.

At home

Reminder to check the washer or dryer. You may be in another part of the house and need an auditory reminder to move your clothes to the next step.
Reminder to turn off the the sprinkler. You’re inside and the sprinkler is outside. A timer helps you water the whole lawn.
Reminder to get ready for bed. You may need a reminder so you are in bed on time.
Set your timer for 10 minutes of daily distribution of items to put away with your family. Together you pick up the house and everything is back in order.
Set your timer for 10 minutes of paper management. Everyone can do 10 minutes of paper sorting.

At work

Reminder to make a phone call at a certain time. You won’t want to miss an important call to a client.
Count down to a meeting. You get busy and distracted and need a reminder of when to stop to in order to be on time for a meeting.
Pomodoro method working in 20 – 45 minute increments. You work for a specific amount of time on an important project and take a 5 minute break. Do this for 3 sessions and see how much you have accomplished.
Stay focused for your power hour.
Schedule cage for a task. A timer gives you boundaries to start and finish a task. These boundaries are just like a physical boundary, or cage, to help you stay on task.

For your student

Reminder to start homework. Once your student is at home, set a timer to count down until homework time starts.
Beat the clock to finish homework. Does homework drag on? Help your student focus and work hard with a set time to finish. A timer can also help your student break big homework assignments into manageable pieces.
Reminder to pick up and place the backpack by the landing strip. Get everything ready for the next day with a timer. Just 5 minutes and everything is ready to go.

I’d love to learn what you use your timer for! What uses have you found for a timer?

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My Organizing Obsession: Notebooks

February 18, 2016/8 Comments/in My Organizing Obsession, Organizing products/by Ellen

There’s so many ways to love notebooks to help you organize. Notebooks consolidate information about a single project. You can keep these on a shelf together, with pages inside neatly ordered.

Here are some of my favorites.

I love family notebooks.

Family binders help you keep up with information about your family such as family calendar and medical for each person. Pages can include your schedule, goals, birthdates, activities, and important information like social security numbers.

I love holiday notebooks.

A holiday binder is where you find all the calendars, recipes and information about your family holiday events and activities. This notebook includes a gift list, Christmas card list and budget for your holiday.

I love bill pay or money notebooks.

Paying bills and keeping up with money can be a chore without a binder to consolidate all your information. Keep a page for passwords, account numbers and payment dates. As bills arrive, tuck these into the binder for safe keeping.

I love project notebooks.

It’s easy to keep all the information together when you are working in a project, as an officer of a club, or on a remodeling project. A project notebook has dates and deadlines, names and contact information for team members, and drafts of the project as it progresses. A club notebook has the membership roster, dates and deadlines for the club, your role as an officer, and club bylaws. A remodeling notebook has your budget, contact information for vendors, and ideas for your project.

I love small business notebooks.

A notebook is the best place to consolidate your information on your small business. If you are starting as a soloentrepreneur, you have research about the business and training for running your business. You might have a chart to track your success. Small businesses revolving around sales have printables for you to keep. A small business notebook keeps this all together.

Other ways to use a notebook:

A gratitude journal is a powerful way to record your positive connections each day.

Keep a daily journal to process and reflect on the day.

Keep up with ideas and information in your notebook. You can make a list of places to visit, wines to drink or books to read. It can hold your bucket list.

Check out more of my organizing obsessions on Pinterest Organizing Products I Love.

10 Organizing Gifts for Everyone

December 9, 2015/6 Comments/in Holiday organizing, Organizing products/by Ellen

It’s gift giving season. While we often think of giving gifts of experiences, you can also give gifts for organizing. The gift of organizing is a functional, practical and fun way to share. Here are my top 10 favorite organizing gifts.

Travel time is the best time to be organized. Give a gift of a Vera Bradley travel accessory to help keep makeup and jewelry organized on the go. It’s also a great gift for people who exercise and get ready at the gym.

Enjoy all your favorite pieces of jewelry with this Little Black Dress jewelry organizer. It’s easy to find your earrings, necklaces and bracelets with slots for each piece.

Gifting legos this holiday season? The Lay and Go Lego organizer is for you! It’s easy to store and play with all your legos this year.

Too many stuffed animals or blankets in your child’s room? The Sprouts bin is the perfect place to organize and store these.

Our families have lots of technology! Make it easy to store and access with this Kbag electronics organizer. The zipper section is great for cords or flash drives.

Struggling with all the passwords we have? Give the gift of a password directory. It’s easy to store at your computer desk.

Make dinner time special with table topics. Every one will have a chance to share.

Make it easy to file with this stylish file tote. Everyone has paper and everyone needs paper storage.

A spot for watches, phones and more with this men’s valet. Keep receipts in the drawer and you are all set!

Everyone loves a label maker!

BONUS Top 10 non clutter gifts

Once a month cleaning lady at home
Lawn maintenance or semi annual landscaping clean up
Tickets to an event, such as a baseball game, play, or concert
Season passes to amusement park, zoo or museum
Baby sitting for your adult kids to have a date night
Subscription to streaming online tv shows and movies
Donation to a charity of choice
Gift certificates for clothes, music, sporting goods or other items
Spend the day together just being spontaneous.
Professional organizer or productivity consultant

Do you have a favorite non – clutter or organizing gift you love? Share it here!

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Designer Insights with Terry’s Fabrics UK

November 27, 2015/0 Comments/in Organizing products/by Ellen

Terry’s Fabrics UK shared my favorite things!

Check this out here!

My Organizing Obsessions: Wall Pockets

September 24, 2015/4 Comments/in My Organizing Obsession, Organizing products, Paper management/by Ellen

From a young age, I loved adorable small boxes, neatly arranged closets and all sorts of planners. Of course these obsessions molded choice of my profession! I’d love to share my current organizing obsessions with you ~ wall pockets!

Wall pockets are used for paper management in your command center. These can be in your office, kitchen or other places to keep paper clutter away. You can label these with different categories for your paper, such as To Do, To Pay, or To File. For your kids, there can be one pocket per kid for incoming school or activity papers.

Container Store wall pocket paper management

Container Store Wall Pocket Charleston style

Office Depot wall pocket paper management

Office Depot See Jane Work Wall Pocket

Wayfair Wall Pocket

Here are a few ways to use wall pockets and see them in action!

Match your wall pockets to the colors of the space. Be sure you have one pocket per category and be sure to label your pockets. Happy organizing!

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15 Favorite Organizing Products

February 19, 2015/7 Comments/in Organizing products/by Ellen

There are so many organizing products available everywhere. It can be confusing and overwhelming. It’s about size, proportion, color, clear and so many more choices. In addition you probably have a lot of organizing products at your home that you can reuse like baskets, bins or even shoe boxes. I put together this list of favorite organizing products to share some basic products that I love and that make a difference for you!

shoe grid

This shoe organizing grid works wonders under your short hang items. You can put this at the back door to create a faux mud room. It’s great for kids shoes in their closets too.

slim line hangers

Not a luxury anymore, these slim line hangers are a necessity to organize your closet. Your clothes all hang at the same height. It makes your closet look like Neiman Marcus!

three drawer cart or drawers

Some times a little extra drawer space or a cart can add storage in an area. Three drawer carts give you space to categorize too. This cart can be used in the kitchen to store kids’ art supplies. It can be used in your kids’ toy area to store dollies, dolly dresses and dolly accessories. It can be used in your kid’s closet for undies, jammies and leggings.

command hooks

Need an extra hook for a backpack or purse? Want to add a hooks on a bathroom door? Here are command hooks to the organizing rescue!

plastic portable shelving

Portable plastic shelving helps you take advantage of vertical space. You can use this in an attic, basement, garage or under the stairs closet. It can be 3 to 5 shelves tall. You can use several side by side. It takes organizing to new heights.

IKEA Expedit or Kallax

Inexpensive cube storage from IKEA makes it easy to organize. Using this product, you have ample storage that can be used creatively and functionally. It can be used in an office, kid’s room, toy room, or any space that needs additional storage. Check out the many different uses here on my pinterest page.

shelf helper

We never have enough kitchen storage. It’s great to add this shelf helper to store dishes in your cabinets where it’s not adjustable.

plastic shoe box

This versatile product can be used over and over in your home. It can store floppy spice packets in the pantry, toys in the play room, school supplies in the office and more. Be sure to label the top and 2 sides to maintain your organization.

label maker

Our lives are better with a label maker! You can use these throughout your home and office to be sure everyone, including you, knows where things belong.

file cart

It’s easiest to file when you have your files nearby. Add great file organization with a cart.

office media storage

We have fewer and fewer cds or disks to store, however offfice media storage makes an attractive. You can use this for music, photos or operations disks.

paper command center

A desk top sorter is the best paper command center. These attractive organizing products make it easy to drop in papers and retrieve when you need them, keeping your desk clear and functional.

paper organizing tote

Taking your work on the road? This paper organizing tote (from Office Candy) makes it easy to stay organized on the go.

Evernote

This elephant makes your life more productive. Evernote is an online tool to keep lists, tag websites, and more. It’s an app for all your devices.

Notes

Simple to use, this Note on your smart phone gives you a post it note wherever your phone is!

Planner Pad

Planner pad is a designed to consolidate your lists and your planner. This planner helps you keep your life organized with slots for your lists, slots for your daily list and slots for your appointments. It’s unusual features make it a favorite for those with ADHD.

That’s a wrap up of my favorites! Here’s more!

What are your favorite organizing products?

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Your Most Organized Year Ever

January 23, 2015/0 Comments/in Most Organized Year Ever, Organizing products, Organizing Skills/by Ellen

Each year as we start the new year, we think of ways to make a change and improve our lives. Did you know that organizing is one of the top three goals each year? Throughout the month of January, I will be offering 31 tips to help you have Your Most Organized Year Ever. Implement just one of these tips, tools, techniques or tweaks this year.

It can be surprising how much alarms, timers and other reminders can help us during our day. We have so much to think about, these tools help us execute our intentions.

Alarms can help us

remember to leave for an appointment on time
switch tasks and remember to complete a task on time
remind us to turn off the sprinkler, move the wash to the dryer or take the brownies out of the oven

Timers can help us

get started and work for just 15 minutes on a project
help us know how much time it takes to complete a project
break a project into smaller chunks

Other reminders we all love and use

extra large post-it notes with a task written on it, posted at an exit or on your planner
with one task per note attached to a wall, reminding us of all the work to be done
used as a week at a glance calendar with dates and actions

Make this Your Most Organized Year Ever with alarms, timers and other reminders.