Monthly Archives: June 2014

Is Self Storage The Answer?

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unit storage

Photo © Depositphotos.com / Andrea Crisante

The Self Storage Association’s 2013 Fact Sheet presents some staggering statistics regarding the self storage “epidemic”:

  • Approximately 1 out of every 10 U.S. households currently rents a self-storage unit (which translates into 21 square feet of self storage space per household)
  • Self storage facilities report an average 85% occupancy rate
  • 30% of self storage renters have rented their unit for more than 2 years

On more than one occasion, I’ve had a client who has wondered whether a self storage unit might be an appropriate solution to decluttering their home. My answer?  I believe that self storage can be a smart solution in certain circumstances…those that involve a circumscribed time frame with a clear end date. For example, I may suggest self storage for staging clients who have an excessive amount of furniture, clothing, and household items that need “edited out” in order for their property to show well while on the market.

When to Consider a Self Storage Unit

Self storage can also be quite useful for people who are “between homes”, such as those who are building a home and have had to vacate their former home before the new home is ready for occupancy. Another situation where a self storage unit may come in handy is during a major home renovation, in order to protect your belongings from the inevitable construction dust storm. For those who are temporarily moving cross country or overseas as a consequence of a job transfer or military deployment, self storage is a great solution for temporarily housing your belongings.

Situations Where a Self Storage in NOT a Good Solution

self storage

Photo © Depositphotos.com / Andrea Crisante

When is self storage a bad idea? When you are using it as a cop out for avoiding the hard work associated with decluttering.  When you simply don’t feel like making the tough decisions about what should stay or what should go. When you don’t have a clear endpoint in mind for when you will remove the items out of storage.

There is a cost associated with keeping and storing things, whether it’s in your own home or somewhere else. The typical rent for a 10×10 (non-climate controlled) storage unit is $115/month. That’s a pretty hefty price to pay for storing items that you may use someday…that you don’t necessary use or like.

One of my clients recently decided to clear out her storage unit that she’d kept in excess of 12 years.  It was heartbreaking to learn that the vast majority of the contents consisted of items that she did not need or want.  Since she hadn’t accessed the unit in several years, she didn’t even remember what was in the majority of the boxes. She estimated the total cost of storing her unit “full of junk” to be somewhere in the vicinity of $13,000 over the course of those 12 years.

Don’t let this be you.

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Hot Organizing Tools Featured at the NAPO Organizing Expo: Part 2

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napo 2014 part 2

In my previous blog post, I presented some great tools for organizing clothing, gift wrap supplies, and vital documents that I came across while attending the 2014 annual conference of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Picking up where I left off in the in the NAPO Conference debriefing process, today’s post will highlight some of the impressive tools I came across at conference for organizing and reducing paper, as well as managing time.

4.  Organize Your Paper with Smead Flexi Folder

Anyone whose worked with file folders has experienced the aggravation of having to replace their folders because of a) wear and tear,  b) the need to re-label the tab, or c) the tab placement no longer conforms with the current file organizing scheme. The folks at Smead have come up with an innovative new file folder that eradicates all of these file folder frustrations. Here at the Smead booth, Jim Riesterer demonstrates some of the great features of the Flexi Folder, including the heavy duty card stock and the ERASABLE file tab that can be positioned anywhere along the top of the folder!

Smead NAPO 2014

I’m not the only organizer who was jazzed about this office product…the Smead Flexi Folder was voted the Best Solution for Organizing at Work as part of the 2014 Organizers’ Choice Awards. Take a look at this video below to see the erasable/repositionable tabs in action:

 5.  Reduce Paper and Organize Digital Files with NeatConnect

For those of you who have a keen interest in moving toward a “paperless” household, you will definitely want to investigate the NeatConnect, the latest addition to the Neat Company’s arsenal of scanning/digital organizing products. Unlike its predecessors (the NeatReceipts and NeatDesk scanners), the NeatConnect is a cloud-based scanner and digital filing system that requires no connection to a computer.

Neat NAPO 2014

The functionality of NeatConnect impressed the heck out of me when I viewed the demonstration at Conference. Like it’s predecessor, the NeatDesk, NeatConnect can scan a mix of receipts, business cards, and regular-sized documents (at a speed of 24 pages per minute). The really cool part happens after your papers are digitized. NeatConnect sends your digital documents to the cloud, at which point, you can access them anywhere. The icing on the cake has to be the seamless integration with 3rd party applications such as Quickbooks and Evernote.

Watch the company’s demo video to see NeatConnect in action.

6.  Manage Your Time with The Time Timer

I was first introduced to the Time Timer by my son’s preschool teacher, who used it in her classroom to facilitate transitions. Who knew that several years later, I would be recommending this tool to my clients and actually using it during my organizing sessions! This tool is simple, yet genius. The Time Timer provides a visual representation of the passage of time via the use of a red disk that disappears as time elapses.

TimeTimer

While I was familiar with the original Time Timer tool, I was excited to learn at Conference about all of the other Time Timer products, which include watches, desktop and mobile apps, and several useful accessories that can be used to customize the Time Timer for classroom schedules and home routines. I routinely recommend the Time Timer as a valuable tool for clients who have difficulty with procrastination and staying focused (particularly during decluttering sessions). This tool is especially useful for families with young children…you’ll never have to answer the question, “How much longer?”

A favorite among professional organizers, the Time Timer won Best Solution for Personal Productivity as part of the Organizer’s Choice Awards at this year’s NAPO Conference. Click here to see the Time Timer in action.

That concludes my review of cool organizing tools from the NAPO 2014 Organizing Expo! I hope that at least one of these products peaked your interest.  If you decide to try out any of the organizing solutions highlighted in this blog series, please return and tell us about your experience with it.

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Hot Organizing Tools Featured at the NAPO Organizing Expo – Part 1

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napo 2014 banner

I just returned from Scottsdale, Arizona, where I attended the NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) conference, along with 500+ professional organizers from all around the world. The NAPO conference provides continuing education regarding best practices in the organizing industry, as well as a wonderful opportunity to learn about the dizzying array of organizing products/tools and storage solutions that exist in order to assist clients with their particular organizing challenges.

As part of the conference “debriefing” process, I wanted to highlight some of the products I came across at the Organizing Expo.  In today’s blog post, I’ll present some great tools for organizing clothing, gift wrapping supplies, and vital documents.

 1.  Organize Your Clothes with Pliio 

One of the first products I discovered on my foray into the Organizing Expo Hall was the Pliio Clothing Filer. This product totally plays into my OCD tendencies. Do you struggle with maintaining order within your dresser drawers or closet shelves?  The Pliio Clothing Filer is a tool which makes it easy to fold your clothes and store them in perfectly uniform piles or stacks. This enables you to easily see all of the garments that you own. The structure makes putting away and retrieving clothes effortless.  L-O-V-E it!

Pliio_Before_AND_After_450_png

Here’s professional organizer and Pliio co-creator Clare Kumar demonstrating how to use Pliio at the conference:

Pliio
Not only does the Pliio system reign in clutter at home, it is also a useful tool for keeping the clothing in your suitcase uber-organized while traveling. Pliio comes in several sizes to accommodate various types of garments, including children’s clothing. You can purchase them at Bed, Bath, & Beyond  or The Shopping Channel.

2.  Organize Your Gift Wrap Supplies with Wrap iT

Raise your hand if you have struggled with keeping all of those gift wrap rolls and supplies corralled and organized. I have.  In fact, I wrote a blog post on it not too long ago. For those of you with your hands raised, I’m happy to introduce you to Wrap iT, the all-in-one solution for organizing all of your gift wrap and wrapping supplies. Wrap iT is available in both a regular and a deluxe size. Both options hold up to 26 (yes, 26) rolls of wrapping paper, but the deluxe version can accommodate oversize rolls. There are a number of storage compartments designed to hold gift bags, tissue paper, ribbons/bows, tape and scissors…everything you need to create a gorgeously packaged gift.

As creator Adam Levine demonstrated at conference, the Wrap iT includes a unique system for storing wrapping paper rolls to prevent those annoying frayed/damaged edges that can often occur when rolls are stuffed willy nilly inside the closet or under the bed.

Wrap It NAPO 2014

The best part about Wrap iT is that it stores so much in so little space! When hung in the closet, Wrap iT takes up about as much space as a suit jacket. If you don’t want to hang it in the closet, its slim profile enables you to simply tuck it away underneath a bed. I love this product so much that I plan to become an affiliate and sell it in the Recommended Products page of my website! Until then, you can purchase it directly from the Wrap iT website.

 3.  Organize Your Vital Documents with LifeinCase

I spend a great deal of time working with clients to organize their “paper life”. One of the overriding goals we strive to achieve together is to create systems for easily retrieving important documents (for them or for their loved ones) in the event of an emergency.  Whether the situation takes the form of a medical emergency, a sudden death, or a natural disaster, it is crucial for everyone to have a way to quickly find the important documents.

The makers of LifeinCase recognized this need and created a ready-made system that makes it quite easy for anyone to gather their essential documents and have them ready to “grab and go” in the event of any emergency.

Life In Case - NAPO 2014

LifeinCase is an organizational tool that’s comprised of:

  • 5 Plastic Folders: To hold Personal, Medical, Financial, Estate, and Property records
  • Checklists:  Summarizing the 50 essential documents that should be stored in each of the 5 folders
  • Grab-and-Go Tote:  500 sheet capacity that’s small enough to be portable, yet larger enough to hold all essential documents

LifeinCase comes in multiple patterns and colors and is available on their website.
Stay tuned for the next post, where I’ll be describing cool time management and productivity tools from the NAPO 2014 conference!

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn