Category Archives: Organizing

Is Self Storage The Answer?

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

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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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!

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.

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.

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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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!

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

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.

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.

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

Garage Organization 101: Tips from a Local Professional

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Now that Polar Vortex 2014 is becoming a distant memory, we are all anxious to roll up our sleeves and begin sprucing up the exterior areas of our homes. Of course, we all know that spring is the ideal time to give the garage an organizing “overhaul”. In order to assist with the process, I invited Paige Norton of Top Shelf Transformations to provide some basic tips for banishing garage clutter and creating a functional space that you can be proud of this spring!

Make Decisions:

When you begin to go through the items in your garage, think about how often you use them. If you haven’t used an item in the last few years, you probably won’t use it in the future. Separate your items into “keep” and “toss” piles.

Once you’ve decided what to keep and what to toss, consider donating those items in the toss pile to your local charity. Donating gently used items to a local charity is a great way to recycle and give back to your own community. Now that you’ve gotten rid of unnecessary clutter, it’s time to organize what will remain in the garage.

Separate and Categorize:

Now that you’re left with the essentials, it’s time to separate them into specific categories such as: sports equipment, seasonal items, tools and yard equipment. Storing multiple items together into a category will help you identify their whereabouts easily when needed.

Once you’ve separated your items into specific categories, you will then need to assign them to a spot in the garage. Think about how often you use each item. Seasonal and holiday items are used only a certain amount of times per year and should be stored out of the way. Yard equipment, tools and sports equipment are used more frequently and should be stored in an area of easy access.

Maximize Space:

To maximize your available storage space, consider storing things up high on walls, above windows and doors and hanging from the ceiling. Utilizing these typically unused overhead areas allows you to take advantage of all the potential storage space your garage has to offer and keeps things up off the floor. As mentioned before, seasonal, less-frequently used items should be stored out of the way. Utilize overhead racks and shelving to store things up out of the way while still allowing for easy access to them when needed.

More frequently used items such as tools and yard and sports equipment should be stored in an area where items are easily accessible. Hang these items lower on walls and in cabinets for easy daily access.

Select the Right Storage Containers:

Avoid storing things in cardboard boxes. Sturdy, plastic bins are easier to stack and protect your items. Use clear plastic bins to help you easily identify the contents, or clearly label each bin.

Select the Right Storage System and Accessories:

Everyone’s storage needs are different. After separating your storage items and deciding where to store them, it’s time to decide how to store them. There are many storage solutions out there. Shelving, hooks, racks and cabinets are all great options for storing items up off the floor. Select the system and accessories that fit your specific storage needs and maximize your particular garage layout.

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Garage Organization Giveaway!

Now that you know the steps to complete your garage “makeover”, I invite you to head over to the Refined Rooms blog and enter to win a fantastic garage organization tool from Monkey Bars Storage. Refined Rooms is giving away a Garden Tool Rack to one lucky blog reader!

Paige Norton is the Community Manager at Top Shelf Transformations, Northeast Ohio’s exclusive, authorized dealer of Monkey Bars Garage Storage Systems. Top Shelf Transformations provides expert garage storage and organization solutions.

If you’d like to learn more about Monkey Bars Garage Storage Systems, you can find them here:
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Introducing Freedom Filer: The Solution for All of Your File System Woes

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Image courtesy of John Kasawa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We are nearing the end of Organize Your Files week…

Does the task of organizing your files sound about as appealing as getting a root canal?

Perhaps you dread the task of filing papers into your current filing system because the filing cabinet is overstuffed and hasn’t been purged in years. Maybe that dread prevents you from filing altogether, and you have resorted to piling your papers in stacks throughout your home instead.

Image courtesy of Nutta Kit /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If any of this resonates with you, first understand that you are not alone! As I’ve discussed in prior blog posts, paper clutter is a common challenge for most of my clients – so much so, that I offer an organizing service specifically devoted to assisting clients with managing the paper that comes into their home.
One of my absolute favorite tools for managing household papers is the Freedom Filer system.

I use Freedom Filer for organizing my own reference files, as well as my clients’ files. My clients love it as much as I do. Here’s why:

It’s a self-purging system in which files are categorized as Permanent, Replaceable, or Rotating…so you will never have to clean out your files again once the system is set up (take a few moments and let that sink in);
Following some simple rules, all of your files will rotate out after their useful life has ended;
Color coding enables users to quickly retrieve documents;
You will not have to waste any time creating labels or determining appropriate file categories/names…it’s all been done for you;
You can completely customize the system to fit your specific filing needs.

Click here to link to the Freedom Filer site, where you can learn more about this highly recommended product. After you purchase your Freedom Filer, contact me to schedule a session during which we can set up your customized filing system and end those paper piles once and for all!

To learn more about Natalie Gallagher and Refined Rooms, visit RefinedRoomsLLC.com.

Organizing Charitable Donations Records to Reduce Tax-Time Stress

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We are swiftly approaching that dreaded April 15th tax deadline. Are you one of the lucky ones who received a hefty tax refund this year? If so, then tax preparation might be a distant memory for you at this point, since you likely completed your taxes back in February (so that you could get your hands on that big check ASAP).

I know that many of you, however, are currently swimming in 1040 and W-2 forms, trying desperately to bring order to a box of chaotic receipts. One of the most common types of receipts in that “box of chaos” is the charitable donation receipt for household goods.

Throughout the year, you corral a group of items you no longer need/want, such as this:

You then bag them up and bring them to your favorite local donation site…

…and you get one of these:

Most people tuck this receipt away in a file folder (or the “box of chaos”) with the other donation receipts from the current year, never to think about it again until tax “crunch time” descends upon them. At this point, they are faced with the stress of a) attempting to remember the particular items that correspond with each receipt, and b) assigning a monetary value for each donated item. This can be a painful and time-consuming process if you attempt to accomplish this task in one annual “batch” session. In fact, I know several people who don’t bother to track this information at all because doing the task on an annual basis is simply too time daunting.

Valuing these goods is important though, because you often donate thousands of dollars worth of items each year, which can translate into hundreds of dollars in tax savings. If you completed a large decluttering or downsizing project during the year, you could end up donating tens of thousands of dollars worth of household goods. In these cases, donations can result in quite a significant tax savings. Given the importance of this, I’d like to share a few tips for organizing your (non-cash) charitable donation records that will enable you to take full advantage of your tax deduction:

1. Take pictures of your donated items

Taking pictures serves two purposes; it provides further documentation of your donated items in the event of an IRS audit, and it provides a visual accounting of your items that you can use for creating your own itemized receipt.

2. Determine the value of donated items at the time of donation

Make it a habit to complete the exercise of donation valuation on the same day that you donate your items. Information regarding the condition of each item will be fresh in your mind, which will result in a more accurate assessment of the value. In addition, this habit will prevent you from having to carve out a large block of time near the tax deadline to complete the overwhelming task of processing a year’s worth of donation receipts all at once.

3. Take advantage of existing valuation tools

In the past, I’ve referenced both the Goodwill Valuation Guide and the Salvation Army’s Donation Value Guide for determining how much my items were worth. Within the past few years, I discovered a few interactive tools that are useful for this purpose. These include Goodwill’s Donation Receipt Builder, and most recently, Intuit’s ItsDeductible tool.

ItsDeductible is available as both a web application and a mobile app. It provides a means of tracking cash donations, mileage donations, and household goods donations.

In addition to keep a running tally of the total value of the goods I’ve donated each year, ItsDeductible also provides a summary of my actual tax savings to date. Knowing that I’ve saved $127 so far on my 2014 taxes serves as strong motivation to stay on top of this process (it also reinforces the urge to declutter so that I can find more things to donate!)

4. Attach the original donation receipt with your itemized receipt

ItsDeductible syncs directly with Turbo Tax, which is a boon for Turbo Tax users. It also generates useful summary reports as well. For tax documentation purposes, however, it is best to keep an itemized receipt together with the receipt provided by the donation site.

5. Store all donation receipts for a particular tax year together in a designated location

Whether you choose to scan your receipts and keep all of your documentation electronically (which the IRS now accepts), or you prefer paper records, the final step in the process is to designate a home for these receipts (as well as all of your other tax-related documents) to live until the next tax preparation season arrives. Completing your taxes is stressful enough without the added burden of having to go on a hunting expedition for all of the supporting documentation!

What aspects of the tax preparation process do you struggle with the most? Leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list of future blog topics.

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms? Visit RefinedRoomsLLC.com.

Become an Organized Maxxinista! Shop T.J. Maxx for Inexpensive Organizing Tools

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Part of the job description of a professional organizer is to know where to buy various organizing products for the best possible price. When you’re in search of containers and tools for corraling your clutter and maximizing your space, some typical places that you might shop for these items include Target, The Container Store, and Lowes. But did you ever think to scour the back aisles of your local T.J. Maxx? You might be very surprised at the treasure trove of organizing goodies you will find.

Of course, there are the “usual suspects” that you might expect to find, like this smorgasbord of attractive baskets. The possibilities for organizing with open-top baskets such as these are endless:

Looking for a way to contain your kids’ toys in a stylish way? Why not pick up a few of these large containers…

Now for the unexpected…

Search those back aisles and you will discover organizing products for every room in your home! For example, in the aisle featured above, I spied a rack to use in the kitchen cupboard for vertical storage of cookie sheets/cutting boards, a drawer organizer for dressers, a shoe organizer (this product offers a universe of organizing possibilities), as well as a closet organizer for sweater storage. Can you say SCORE?!?

So let’s say you are in the process of organizing your bedroom. What might you uncover at T.J. Maxx that would be useful for your project? Let’s start out with your closet. Non-slip hangers are a must for maximizing space in a small closet. In fact, these hangers made my “Top 10 List of Organizing Products”.

If you are a regular reader of the Refined Rooms blog, you may remember these cute little numbers that were featured as part of the Refined Product Best Pick series. These jewelry and scarf organizers might come in handy as part of your closet organization process as well.

You might also find bed risers and under the bed storage containers; these tools would enable you to take advantage of the square footage under your bed for storing off-season clothing, or other items that you access infrequently.

The Cap Rack is another useful gadget for organizing baseball hats in your bedroom closet (or on the back of any door or wall space for that matter).

Got a kitchen organizing project in your future? Move one aisle over at T.J. Maxx and you may uncover some hidden gems, such as these plastic dry goods containers for your pantry (although I would recommend avoiding the round containers and selecting the square/rectangular containers instead, since they waste significantly less space).

I must say that my heart went pitter patter when I discovered one of my absolute favorite kitchen organizing tools…Fridge and Freezer Binz! Compartmentalizing the food in your fridge and freezer is an easy, yet super effective way to facilitate finding the items that you need quickly.

Here’s another nifty kitchen clutter control tool…an over-the-cabinet basket. I love to free up drawer space in the kitchen by using the backs of cabinet doors for storage. This tool makes it easy. (I actually purchased one of these to use in my bathroom to store my hair dryer and flat iron).

Last, but not least, are these colorful sets of drawer organizers, which can be used to organize virtually any drawer in your home. As the packaging states, they “make organizing as easy as 1, 2, 3.”!

So go ahead and explore your local T.J. Maxx (or Marshalls for that matter, since they are basically the same store) and report back to share the treasures you discover on your hunt for inexpensive organizing products.

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms? Visit RefinedRoomsLLC.com

Go Under the Bed to Uncover Hidden Storage Potential

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As a professional organizer, I spend a lot of time with my clients exploring measures they can take to maximize the storage space within their homes. In previous posts, I’ve described the importance of “going vertical” and using the backs of your doors to expand your storage possibilities. Today, we’ll explore an often untapped area in your home that can serve as extra storage space…under your bed.

Let me begin with the disclaimer that feng shui experts are not keen on the idea of using the space under your bed to for storage. I’ll leave it to you to determine whether the less-than-optimal fung shui is outweighed by the extra square footage that you will gain by utilizing the space under your bed’s footprint.

Bed Risers

The most common way to render “under the bed” a useful space is to raise your bed off the floor a bit. I’ve seen people use wood blocks or even cinder blocks to elevate their bed. Did you know that there’s actually a product that is made specifically for this purpose?

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You can purchase a set of bed risers at almost any of the major retail stores. They come in varying heights and are typically made of plastic or wood. The one featured above comes with a bonus electrical outlet. Fancy!

Captain’s Bed

Looking for a great storage solution for a small bedroom? Perhaps a captain’s bed is the answer. These beds boast built-in drawers beneath the frame that make use of the space between the floor and the bed frame. The captain’s bed can eliminate the need for a dresser or chest of drawers in your bedroom, which will make the room feel more spacious.

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There are so many cute captain’s beds for kid’s spaces available today. Many of them offer open cubby spaces in addition to closed (drawer) storage, like this one:

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Murphy Bed

Need a place for the occasional house guest to sleep, but don’t have the luxury of a designated guest room in your home? The murphy bed is the ideal solution for you. What is it you ask? A murphy bed is a bed that is hinged at one end to store vertically against the wall, or inside of a closet or cabinet.
Pull it out when you need it on those few occasions during the year:

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…and push it back up and out of the way when the bed is not in use. Voila – instant square footage! This particular brand gets an A+ for clever design. Did you notice that the bed support doubles as a desk/work area?

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Storage Bed

It looks like a typical upholstered bed, right?

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Wait for it…

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Ta da! How’s that for the unexpected? a storage bed such as this one can yield up to about 50 extra square feet of storage space. Not too shabby, eh?

Moral of the story – if you are pressed for space, don’t overlook the wealth of opportunity that lies underneath your beds. Got another way that you utilize your under-the-bed space? I’d love to hear about it. Be sure to leave a comment below.

Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher and Refined Rooms?

Visit RefinedRoomsLLC.com

Major Takeaways from the 2014 Association of Personal Photo Organizers Conference

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If you’ve ever attended a professional conference, you can relate to that energized, yet frenetic post-conference feeling you have upon returning home. I have a “post-conference routine” that I engage in to ensure that I capitalize on my conference experience as much as possible. This routine includes creating a list of core takeaway messages, as well as a list of action steps for implementing all of the new business ideas that conference attendance invariably conjures up.

Earlier this week, I returned from the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) conference in Dallas and finally had a chance to create my list of core takeaway messages from the conference. In today’s blog post, I’ll share the list with you.

Takeaway #1:

There is a monumental need for photo organizing services

The photo organizing industry is a field that is currently in its infancy. The field has emerged as a consequence of the huge volume of photos that people have amassed since the advent of the digital camera, as well as the ever-changing sea of technology that has significantly impacted the way in which we capture our memories. People are often too busy and/or too overwhelmed to regularly manage and safeguard their photo collections on their own.

The need for help is significant.

Takeaway #2:

Our photos are sacred to us

It’s certainly not an earth-shattering revelation to say that our photos are very important to us. During the conference though, I came away with an enhanced appreciation for just how important a role photos play in our lives. This message really hit home as I listened to several presenters discuss their amazing stories of various photo rescue efforts following natural disasters that have occurred across the U.S. and Canada.

Because photos are so sacred, it is vital that we all take the necessary steps to ensure that our precious memories are safe in the event of an unthinkable disaster.

Takeaway #3:

Our photos are everywhere…and that’s a problem

One of the consistent themes throughout the conference was the need to address the universal challenge of having our digital photos scattered across many different devices. The typical person has segments of their photo collection stored on their phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, and memory cards/flash drives.

The first step for putting a photo management system in place is to establish a digital “hub”–that is, a centralized place where all images will ultimately be stored, once collected from the original image source.

This image created by my APPO colleagues at PSG Photo Solutions provides a useful illustration of the digital hub concept.

Takeaway #4:

Our photos are not properly backed up…and that’s a problem

Another key component of a good photo management system is setting up an appropriate back up system for your photos. Several conference presenters shared alarming statistics regarding the percentage of people who don’t back up their photos on a regular basis, or have NO back up system in place whatsoever.

In addition, many people back up their photos to CD/DVD and are under the impression that their photos are safe for the long-term, when in fact, the average shelf life of the typical CD/DVD is 2-5 years.

Takeaway #5:

The way that we share our photos has changed over time

We print less photos, but share more than we used to.

While rates of photo printing have decreased, the variety of ways in which people “interact” with their photos has increased. People are choosing to be more creative with their photos, using photo books and photo products for displaying and sharing.

Of course, the advent of the smart phone, tablet, and picture sharing sites have also contributed to the demise of the print photo.

Takeaway #6:

We take a lot of bad photos…but that can be easily remedied

During the conference, I had the opportunity to hear well-known photographer Nick Kelsh discuss the need for ruthless purging of bad photos (and according to him, bad photos are an epidemic). So many of us tend to keep every single shot we’ve ever taken. Don’t be afraid to throw away the blurry ones…and the photos of your foot that you took accidentally.

Nick also offered these simple, yet powerful tips to reduce the number of bad photos you will eventually need to cull from your collection:

Organizing the Organizer’s Home: Closet Makeover Reveal

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Ever heard the saying about the cobbler’s children who have no shoes? Sometimes this adage holds true for professional organizers as well!

I have a confession to make…there are areas in my own home that are in desperate need of an organizing makeover (audible gasp).

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to set aside time in my schedule to revamp these spaces. As I alluded to in my last blog post, I took advantage of the Container Store’s annual Elfa shelving sale in January and completed the first project – the guest room closet makeover.

This closet serves as a storage area for gift wrapping supplies, photos, scrapbooks, fabric, sewing machine/supplies, and empty shopping bags. These items are seldom accessed, but when I do need to retrieve something, I usually end up uttering a few choice curse words as I sift through the closet contents. This is particularly true when it comes time to retrieve a gift bag:

During the “makeover” process, I followed the same steps that I do with every client I work with, beginning with assessing the space. As you can see in the top photo, it’s quite clear that storing items on the floor is not working. My new storage system needed to take full advantage of the vertical space in the closet. I determined that the best solution for my specific storage needs is a set of freestanding deep drawers for each side of the closet. In addition, I decided to change out the stationary shelving and replace it with a track shelving system. In addition to giving me the benefit of adjustable shelf height, the track system allowed for the addition of a third shelf to be installed at the top of the closet to store smaller, lighter items.

A quick aside…I must rave about the Container Store’s customer service! I called the store to place the order for my closet system the day before my road trip to the Columbus store. When I arrived, they had all the components of my system wrapped up and ready to load in my car. I also love the cute bags that they use to store the small components and hardware:

Once I returned from the store, the transformation began. After removing everything from the closet, the next step in the process was to sort items into categories and purge unwanted items. It was then time to remove the existing shelving system (no small feat), patch the holes, paint, and begin to install the track system:

Do you see that horizontal piece at the top of the closet? It’s called the top track, and one of the awesome features of the Elfa easy hang system is that this is the only piece that attaches to your wall. Fewer holes in your wall is always a good thing.

Ready for the reveal?

What was once my least favorite closet is currently my most favorite. I go in there several times a day and open the drawers to admire the perfectly organized contents!

It would have been ideal to remove the closet doors for the photo shoot, but Dear Hubby said it would be too much effort. I’ve done my best to capture the changes in the photos below:

Here’s a close-up of the amazing drawer system. Elfa drawers can either be attached to the track or set up as part of a freestanding system. I chose the freestanding systems, since they allowed for the wider and deeper drawer size that my project required. Let’s take a look inside those drawers, shall we?

This is one of the two shallow top drawers, which contain small gift bags, wrapping supplies and tissue paper.

Now the gift bags are easily retrievable. I even have separate drawers for everyday gift bags and holiday-themed gift bags! I seem to have a gift bag and gift wrap fetish. So I’ve implemented one of the rules that I teach my clients when it comes to controlling clutter…let the container set the limit for how much you can keep. I can only keep as many gift bags as this drawer can accommodate:

Of course, the last step in organizing the drawers was to label each one so that everyone else is clear on what items live in each drawer:

Let’s shift our attention to the closet shelves. Empty boxes for gifts and the seldom-used sewing kit are the perfect items to be stored up high:

The lower shelves are used to store my scrapbooks, photos, and unfinished projects. I love the addition of the storage baskets for corralling those scrapbooks!

More basket eye-candy…

The left side houses my print photo collection (notice the archival quality storage boxes). There’s another basket that contains gift wrapping ribbon.