I love to use peg board to hang ansd organize large kitchen items on the wall of my basement stairwell as it’s usuable space, and it’s next to my kitchen plus it frees up more space in my kitchen cupboards.
An easy way to organize tubes of medicine
Trying to keep tubes of Neosporin, Abreva, eyelash adhesive and Tinactin tidy in your medicine cabinet is about as easy as herding cats. Use a simple acrylic make-up holder (you can find these at Bed, Bath & Beyond) to keep each tube and vial upright, neat and easy to access.
What I prefer about this versus a single cup to hold everything is that you can see all the tubes at the same time and everything stays upright when one item is removed.
An acrylic make-up organizer is the perfect way to keep tubes of medicines and lotions neat in your medicine cabinet
Celebration of Women Gala
Come out and see me tomorrow, April 28 from 1p-4p, at the Burgundy Basin for Step By Step of Rochester’s “Celebration of Women Gala”. Step By Step is a subsidiary of the Volunteers of America (Rochester) and their mission is to help women who have been incarcerated or are at risk of incarceration to claim their strengths and build healthy lives for themselves and their families.
How to recycle $300
Earlier this week a Rochester, NY client of mine remarked about how much money she spent on her garbage service each year. It was more than $300 and for that she could have a very enjoyable time buying fun storage tools at The Container Store, Rubbermaid, or Smead.
My annual recycling bill is $20. Yep, $20. And unlike the typical curbside garbage service I can drop off my garbage, newspaper, cardboard, glass and plastic to the Victor (NY) Recycling Center six days a week which means no more missed pick-ups due to bad weather or simply forgetting it was Tuesday night. They’re even open until 8pm on Wednesday night and Saturday until noon.
The Victor Recycling Center also allows residents to drop off yard waste, tires, broken glass, old furniture, and oil. They even have a spot for can & bottle return fundraisers for one of the various Victor High School athletic teams.
A couple years ago they opened a Swap Shop where perfectly good stuff which you deem as trash can be picked-up by someone who sees it as a treasure.
If you’re looking to save money and help the planet, check out www.earth911.com or www.recyclingcenters.org for locations near you to recycle dozens of different items.
NAPO 2012 Conference in Baltimore
Last week I spent four days with fellow organizers in Baltimore for the annual NAPO conference. Imagine more than 800 organized like-minded individuals in the same place! It was like an industry Vitamin B-12 shot. I met so many wonderful organizers not only from the good ol’ US of A but Germany, Brazil and Finland.
There were many informative classes to take including one from Angelique Rewers on corporate organizing and two funny yet idea rich classes from Rich Brooks of Flyte.com on blogging and starting my own YouTube channel.
I feel renewed, refreshed and ready to take on any form of clutter.
New Orleans is the 2013 location for next year’s conference. I see Mardi Gras beads in my future.
Up in smoke
As an organizer, I see loads of clutter all the time but did you know too much stuff can cause a home or life to literally go up in smoke? A very knowledgable fireman from Western New York shared some fascinating facts with me about clutter and fires.
Homes with too much stuff will burn much quicker than a home with fewer things inside. This is called “fire loading” which is one of the worst kinds of fire he seess, and it is caused by the the sheer amount of boxes, plastics, furniture and papers in a home. Even innocent looking stuffed animals are made with polypropylene, which is an oil based plastic, and is highly flammable. Although they look cute in your kids’ rooms, too many plush animals or dolls can be deadly once ignited.
The basement is a great place to store things but always maintain at least three (3) feet of air space around your hot water heater and furnace to prevent fires.
Never store gas or propane in your home as gas can ‘breathe’ through the container and ignite. Keep these items in a shed away from your home.
Rags or towels with chemicals should never be stored near a fireplace, wood burning stove, hot water heater, or furnace. Even paint leftover from decorating projects, if not sealed properly, can ignite a fire if it is too close to a heat source.
Do not place piles of papers or clothing on top of plugged in extension cords as they can develop a “short” which can ignite a fire. Overloading electrical outlets with too many extension cords can also cause a problem. It’s better to install more outlets than to plug in too many lamps or appliances.
Outdoor clutter can also cause serious problems. Outside dryer vents should be unobstructed to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Clean your lint filters after every use of the dryer to prevent spontaneous combustion.
Candles look and smell pretty this time of year but should only be used on a flat surface without piles of papers or clothing around them.
Extreme clutter not only prevents emergency personnel from opening doors to save a home’s occupants, but the piles of clutter can even trap these brave firefighters and EMTS once inside, causing more unnecessary injuries and even death. Clutter should never prevent a fireman or EMT from saving a life.
See my latest tips on About.com Personal Organizing
I’ve been featured as a guest professional organizer at http://personalorganizing.about.com/od/DailyRoutine/a/Wendy-Salmon-On-Daily-Routines.htm.
Many thanks to Elizabeth Larkin for posting my ideas on her about.com-personal organizing page!
The Democrat & Chronicle did an article on my organizing business
Hi everyone,
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle wrote an article about Find It Fast Organizing Service and it ran in yesterday’s paper. You can see the link at http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110915/NEWS05/109160309/Wendy-Salmon-finds-place-everything?fb_ref=artsharetop&fb_source=home_oneline
I’ve been quoted in the Democrat & Chronicle
Several of my garage organizing tips have been published in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle on May 16, 2011. Garage Organizing
I feel pretty, oh, so pretty….
One of my favorite things to do in January is clean out my old make-up and buy new fresh shades of eyeshadow and lipstick. Of course, there are some items that I was guilty of keeping past their use by date so I stopped by to see my favorite make-up artist, Andromeda Medlock, at the Lord & Taylor Bobbi Brown Cosmetics Department at Eastview Mall, to see what she suggested I keep and what should be tossed.
Here are suggested expiration dates from Bobbi Brown Cosmetics:
Lipstick – 12-18 months – if lipstick smells off or bad, throw it out.
Foundation – 2 years (the color will change when it gets too old or it will dry out. If this happens throw it out.)
Concealer – 2 years
Blush (powder or cream) – 2 years
Mascara – 6 months
Eyeshadow – 2 years
Moisturizer – 2 years
Eye cream – 6 months
Lip and eye pencils – 12-18 months
Powder – 2 years
Eyelash curler – 2 years – if the pads are indented they will break the lashes.
Tweezers – they can get dull if they are stored on their tips. Always use rubber stoppers on the ends to keep them sharp. Additionally, Tweezerman will resharpen their products.
Makeup should be stored at room temperature and never left in the sun as the color will change.
Keep brushes separate from make-up and clean them a couple times a month. Use baby shampoo/conditioner and brush conditioning spray for sable/goat hair brushes and eye makeup remover or a mild hand soap for synthetic bristles. Let the brushes air dry. Ideally, you should have one brush for each color.
Finally, never share your make-up as you can develop styes in your eyes or other skin problems.