Do you have a messy pile of jewelry in a variety of jewelry organizers, but not really organized?  If you love jewelry, you probably have a large collection of everyday pieces that are difficult to keep organized.  Whether it is valuable jewelry pieces, costume jewelry or both, you’re going to want to have easy access to all of it, while stored in an organized and logical way.  

Here are a few tips for sorting through your jewelry:

1. First you’ll want to go through each piece of jewelry and discard anything that’s broken.
2. Set aside any jewelry that is tarnished and needs cleaning. 
3. As you sort, try to keep only the items you love and plan to wear again. Then organize the rest by type or occasion.  Dressy jewelry can be stored together, casual jewelry together etc.  You can also organize by color, especially if you have a lot of costume jewelry to match a variety of outfits.

4. Extremely valuable jewelry pieces should be stored separately, ideally in a combination safe or secret place in your home. 
5. If you have jewelry pieces that are valuable, but that you no longer want to wear, look for a place locally that you can bring your jewelry pieces to sell, or call in an appraiser for help. If you decide to sell your jewelry online, be sure to use a reputable site.

 Acrylic Jewelry Organizers for Everyday Jewelry:
For your everyday jewelry, consider storing them in a clear acrylic jewelry organizer.  Acrylic jewelry organizers have a crystal-like appearance to them that is suitable to be displayed on a bedroom dresser – the pictures on this page really don’t do them justice. Acrylic jewelry organizers are perfect for everyday jewelry because you can clearly see what’s inside.  You’re not going to forget what you have and you’re unlikely to let the organizers get cluttered because you will always be able to see the mess!

 
Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and President of the NAPO Baltimore Chapter, she helps homeowners to clear their household and paper clutter and organize their home or home office.  Jacquie also offers home organizing workshops to the general public and brief time management classes to businesses. Jacquie is the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  If you want to take control of your clutter, visit CastAway the Clutter to get Jacquie’s free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

For Mother’s Day, what do you give to the mom who appears to have it all?  What do you give to the picky mom?  What do you give to the mom with a lot of clutter? 

Mother’s Day is a day to say thank you to a special mom, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to buy.  A trip to the salon to have her hair or nails done is nice, but maybe she already visits the salon regularly.  

Giving a gift certificate to a store that carries a wide range of goods is a great way to let her decide what she needs, or would like to have. Even if the mom doesn’t have a lot of clutter, almost everyone can improve organization in at least one area of their home, so think about a gift certificate to an organization product store like Home Storage Warehouse.  Home Storage Warehouse offers organizing products for every room in the home that meets the needs of most households.  The mom can then shop when she is ready and find something that she will truly love or need, instead of accepting a gift that could otherwise end up as clutter.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie is also the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  Visit CastAway the Clutter to get a free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

It’s nearing the end of Get Organized Month (SM). Have you started any of your decluttering and organizing projects yet?  Feeling overwhelmed?  Break the task down into smaller chunks and work on one chunk at a time. 

Let’s assume you need to go through several weeks of mail that you’ve been procrastinating.  Normally, when the mail hasn’t been sorted in a while, it may be found in many different areas of the home.  So before you start, spend some time going through your home searching for piles of unopened mail.  When you’re sure you have it all, schedule some time to begin processing it.  Here are a few easy mail sorting and organizing tips:

1. Have the necessary tools on hand before you begin.  Examples of what you mind need include: A shredder (or a container to store paper to shred later), letter opener, files, file box or filing cabinet, recycle or trash bin, pen, sticky notes, paper clips and a stapler and staple remover. 

2. Sort the mail by type.  You can usually tell from the outside of the envelope what type of mail it is, e.g. bill, statement, catalog, junk mail, magazine subscription, etc.

3. Open the easy action items first, e.g. place your magazines either in a magazine basket or give it to the person in the household who holds the magazine subscription.  Discard the junk mail and trash.

4. Open the bills and make decisions.  Pay now or later?  Set up reminder systems in your day planner or PDA for bills that need to be paid later.  Discard trash and file statements.

5. Schedule time to do the mail daily or every other day.  If you have a particularly crazy schedule, you can do it once a week, but no less than that!

Here are some paper and mail organizing products and tools that you may find helpful from Home Storage Warehouse.

Desktop organizer

Newspaper and Magazine Rack

File/Letter Desk Organizer

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007 and is presently the “Ask the Organizer” expert. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie also writes a column at the Baltimore Examiner, called Organized Families and is the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  Click here to learn more. Contact Jacquie by clicking here. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips and learn more about her presentations at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Now that we’re officially in the New Year, many of us have goals and resolutions in place for a better year.  One of the top 5 New Year’s Resolutions is getting organized and the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has named January “Get Organized Month(SM)”. When you’re more organized you can get things done in a timely manner, find the things you need and generally feel less stressed.  So who wouldn’t want to be more organized? 

Although containers, bins, shelves and baskets won’t make you organized, they can certainly help you to contain all of the important things you need.  Containers will also help you to create the systems you need in your home so that you’ll be more organized, and more importantly, remain organized!  Here are a few organizing products and organizational systems that may help you on the road to organization.

Food dispenser

Wicker storage chest

Jewelry organizer

Laundry sorter - 4 bags

Handbag purse organizer

Wall cubby organizer

So, when do you plan to start decluttering?  Pick one space today, and focus on getting that one space decluttered and organized.   Starting with one space helps to prevent overwhelm.  But if you feel overwhelmed regardless, enlist the help of a friend or hire a professional organizer.  According to NAPO, “Professional organizers can help you deal with everything from your paper to your professional responsibilities and give you parameters on what to keep, what to toss, and where to take action.”

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007 and is presently the “Ask the Organizer” expert. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie is also the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com 

With a little over a week before Christmas day, last minute shoppers will be crowding the shopping malls this weekend trying to find the perfect gift.  Sometimes it’s just easier to save time and shop online.   Even though you may pay a little for shipping, you are less likely to impulse shop as much as when you shop in a physical store, saving you money in the long run.

Many online stores have special shipping deals and guarantee delivery by December 24th if you get your orders in now and select overnight or 2nd day shipping.  However, it’s important to check the store’s policy first before placing your order.  Sometimes a quick phone call or email will get you the answer you need in order to avoid disappointment. 

If shopping at the last minute creates undue stress for you, make a decision today to be more organized next year by planning your holiday shopping earlier!  Here are some gift ideas from Home Storage Warehouse :

All of the above gift items can be found in the following departments at Home Storage Warehouse:

All Occasion Gifts
Jewelry Storage
Men’s Dresser Valets
Cosmetic Organizers
Pet Organizers
Wine Storage

Another option is to purchase gift certificates.  Gift certificates can be shipped quickly and are usually always in stock.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007 and is presently the “Ask the Organizer” expert. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie also writes a column at the Baltimore Examiner, called Organized Families.  Contact Jacquie by clicking here. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips and learn more about her presentations at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Click here to find many more jewelry boxes, chest and organizers at Home Storage Warehouse.

Are you frustrated with your jewelry always in a tangled mess? Like your clothing, your jewelry should be organized and ready to wear at a moment’s notice. If you love to buy jewelry and have a large collection, then it’s even more important that it’s kept organized and tangle-free. Fortunately, there are a lot of options available in the marketplace for organizing your jewelry. There are jewelry organizers for drawers, jewelry organizers for vanities, plus jewelry boxes for men and women, jewelry armoires, jewelry trees, jewelry trays and jewelry bags. There’s truly no excuse for not having organized jewelry!

There are so many benefits to having your earrings, necklaces, bracelets, bangles, watches, rings and chains organized. This is particularly important if you purchase matching sets like I do. I love buying the earrings to match the necklace. It makes dressing so much easier. But it’s no good if I can’t find the set when I’m ready to wear it!

So what jewelry organizers should you choose? There are dozens to choose from, but today I’m going to talk about acrylic jewelry organizers. Acrylic organizers are extremely sturdy and are perfect to store and organize jewelry because you can quickly see what you have. They are attractive enough to be stored on top of your dresser or vanity and can be easily cleaned with soap and water. There’s an acrylic jewelry organizer for any type of jewelry and some combination organizers. A jewerly organizer is also a great gift idea for Mother’s Day. Some acrylic organizers are classically designed and almost look like crystal. Here’s a few Mother’s Day gift ideas to consider.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and register for an organizing workshop.

Getting children and teens organized can be a challenge!  We can help them, but they have to want to be organized, in order to stay organized.  Sometimes, if they have cool or pretty organizers to store their toys and belongings, they may feel more motivated to keep their rooms tidy.

I recommend that you purchase a favorite toy or item they want and present it in an organizing product.  For example, pick up a colorful storage cube and place the actual gift inside. An idea for an older teen girl, is to place a toiletry (bubble bath, lotion etc.) or make-up gift inside a cosmetic or bath organizer.

For my children, after they have opened and played with their gifts for a while, I discuss with them ways to keep them organized. Their items should have a place, just like anything else in the house and it teaches them that they can’t just leave their things lying around.  If you don’t have containers, this is the time to figure out what you need and make a note to purchase them in the following few weeks, if possible.  Happy organizing!

Click here to shop for kid’s gifts at HomeStorageWarehouse.com.

For Gift Certificates click here.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

Gift shopping can be quite stressful for acquaintances you respect, but maybe don’t know that well.  For instance, teachers certainly deserve to receive a gift of thanks during the holidays, but what do you buy?  One thing I’m sure of is that teachers do like to be organized and would appreciate anything that will help them to get organized.

For friends and co-workers, think about conversations you may have had regarding their home, car or other personal items.  You can learn a lot about their likes and dislikes, helping you to think of gifts they may appreciate.

Here are a few ideas, all different, that can help you to brainstorm ideas for your teachers, friends or co-workers.  This is an area I would recommend that you buy early, so that you don’t have to rush out at the last minute and spend more than you had originally intended.

Click here to shop for great gifts at HomeStorageWarehouse.com.

For Gift Certificates click here.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.