Are your pantry shelves cluttered with miscellaneous bags of snacks and open cereal boxes? Do you find yourself throwing food away that’s gone stale because it wasn’t stored properly? How do you keep all of these boxes and bags organized on your pantry shelves? One option is to place snack bags and boxes of crackers inside small shelf baskets to keep them contained and prevent them from falling off the shelves. Better yet, consider transferring all of your snacks and cereals into attractive sealed canisters. It is one extra step when you open up the boxes, but it can soon become a habit that you will appreciate for years to come.

What Food Storage Canisters Should You Choose?:

I recommend that you choose clear containers, which enable you to quickly see the contents of each container. However, in order to find it even faster, label all containers with a labeler machine.

Dry Food Dispenser Canister

Food Storage Canister Tips for Dieters:

If you’re watching your weight, you’ll want to look at the dry food storage canisters that will dispense a certain amount of food at one time, allowing you to control your portions a lot easier. This can be especially helpful when snacking!

Dry Food Canister - Double

 How Dry Food Canisters Can Help with the Food Budget:

Watching the grocery budget? Dry food storage canisters will save you money because there will be less waste. You won’t be throwing away snacks and other dry foods that previously wasn’t stored properly. Also, because your food will be in clear labeled containers, you’ll be able to see everything you have, resulting in less trips to the grocery store buying food that you didn’t know you already had! Transferring all of your boxed cereals and snacks into dry food storage containers or canisters will help to keep your pantry shelves organized with very little effort.

Check out the pictured dry food storage containers at Home Storage Warehouse.

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

There are many organization solutions in the marketplace today that can help keep closet clutter under control without spending a fortune on high-end custom closets.  Outfitting your child’s closet with a custom solution may not always be the best idea when they still  have a lot of growing to do.  It might make more sense to use less expensive organization products that can be changed and adjusted as the child grows.

Here are a few ideas that can be incorporated into your child’s existing closet, assuming you do not already have built-in shelving installed:

Hanging organizer shelves for clothing
Storage cubes to corral small toys
Hanging shoe organizer to keep shoes off the floor
Shoe stands, also to keep shoes off the floor
Quality hangers to take better care of clothing

Closet hanging shelf organizer

Magic toy pop-up cube

Closet hanging shoe organizer shelves

Stackable shoe shelf organizer

Childrens' wood hangers

Folding canvas bins

Rolling bins or carts to hold folded clothing or toys can also be helpful.  Find more closet organizers at Home Storage Warehouse.

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

Does your children’s clothing spend most of the time on the closet floor or hung on the clothing rod?  If your child is too small to reach the rod, you may find that you’re spending way too much time picking up clothes and trying to keep the closet organized.  Many closets consist of a single rod and shelf, but there are many affordable closet organizing solutions to help with eliminating closet clutter. To begin with, store their most frequently worn, or favorite garments at their level so that they can be responsible for putting away their clean laundry and choosing their outfits for the day. 

By incorporating some additional storage options inside the closet, you can also teach your child to be responsible for keeping their closet neat and organized.  Set up an easy organizational system so that they can select their outfits each day, with very little help from you.  One way to do this is to install a hanging pocket shelf organizer. Hanging shelves, which usually include at least 5 pockets for each weekday, are a great way for them to feel grown up because they get to pick out their pre-selected outfit for the day, without help from you. 

The typical bathroom cabinet is cluttered and disorganized due to the abundant amount of items typically used in the bathroom.  Toiletries, make-up, hair appliances, linens, medicine and other personal items are often used on a daily basis, yet the average bathroom has very little efficient storage options.  The average bathroom cabinet is deep and tall, but due to large protruding plumbing fixtures, there is usually no shelving installed inside to help maximize the available space.  

One way to solve this problem is to purchase organizers for use inside deep cabinets.  Stackable bins and containers are one option, or you can use a roll-out drawer. Roll-out drawers come in a variety of widths to fit most undersink cabinets and are available in either one or two levels.   The two tiered roll-out drawers can really maximize the space underneath the average bathroom cabinet and are also very easy to install.  Plus, roll-out drawers can also be used under kitchen sink cabinets to store cleaning supplies and in any other deep cabinet or shelf that may be difficult to access.

For the budget-conscious consumer, roll-out drawers can be an affordable alternative to custom built-in organizational installations. Home Storage Warehouse has a couple of options to choose from.  

Roll out 2 tier organizer

Roll out cabinet drawer

Roll out undersink drawer

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

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

It’s Christmas Eve and we’re counting down the hours to the big day!  If your house is on Santa’s list to visit tonight, don’t forget to leave him some milk and cookies! 

If your cookies are homemade, make an extra batch of cookies to eat as a treat on Christmas day or during the holiday period.  You’ll also want to be sure that your cookies stay fresh by storing them in either a plastic food storage container or cookie jar.   Cookie jars are great because they are decorative enough to leave on the countertop.  Cookie jars also come in a wide range of sizes, designs and styles. 

The following cookie jars are also multi-purpose containers because they include salt and pepper shakers!  These cookie jars are great space savers and can be an excellent solution for homeowners with minimal counter space.   
If you prefer the charm and simplicity of ceramic kitchen canisters, pick your favorite color and purchase a set of three.  Kitchen canisters can be used, not only store cookies, but to store sugar, coffee, tea and flour.

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

All canisters and cookie jars can be found online at Home Storage Warehouse.

A long time ago, the baker’s rack was used in bakeries to cool batches of pies and other baked goods.  The baked goods were placed on metal shelving allowing them to cool.  

Nowadays the baker’s rack is a stylish piece of furniture used to store and organize all types of kitchen and dining items.  Some baker’s racks are also used in other rooms of the home for storage or display purposes and may showcase the homeowner’s decorative items and collectibles.  Either way, the baker’s rack can be used as an extension of your kitchen countertop, additional storage in your dining room, or storage in any room of the home.  Here are some ideas of how you can take advantage of the storage space in a baker’s rack:

Kitchen: microwave, small kitchen appliances, kitchen canisters, cookbooks and cookware.

Dining room: china, collectibles, table linens, servers, wine bottles (choose one with a built-in wine rack).

Living room: As an étagère to display collectibles.

Bathroom: towels, decorative items, toiletries (use baskets for smaller items), extra paper supplies.

Hall/Entry: As an entryway organizer for backpacks, bags, hats, gloves, scarves (use baskets), keys (some baker’s racks have built-in hooks).

Covered Patio or Outdoor Shed: As a potting station for small garden tools, gloves, apron, seeds, potting soil etc.

Baker's Rack with wine storage

Linen white baker's rack with wine storage

Baker's rack with drawers

Green baker's rack with wine storage

                   

There are many other “out of the box” organizing ideas that you can use Baker’s racks for.  Take advantage of the vertical space in your home and organize your stuff in style!  Click here to shop for these baker’s racks and other organization products!

 

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

 

Whether the man in your life wears business attire every day or is strictly business casual, busy mornings are always going to be easier when his clothing is prepared and laid out the night before.  So, wouldn’t it great to set him up with a perfect, easy to use system that organizes and stores his outfit, ready to wear and without the worry of wrinkling?  A valet stand is the answer and will likely be a welcome gift for your father, husband, brother or friend. 

So, what is a valet stand?  According to the dictionary, a valet is a man’s male servant who performs personal services, e.g. taking care of clothing.  This would be nice, but not very realistic in today’s society!  So a valet stand is essentially the “do-it-yourself” version of a real valet. 

Basically, a valet stand is a wonderful organizing tool made to hold a suit, jacket and pants or other personal accessories.  There are also valet chairs which have storage inside the seat, or a drawer beneath the seat.  Some valets even have built-in charging stations for your cell phone, iPod or other mobile electronic device.

Valet stands are usually stand-alone items, so it’s important that you have additional space, ideally near the closet or dressing area. However, if space is an issue, try a folding valet which will fold flat when not in use.  

With Father’s day only a few weeks away, this is the perfect time to purchase this wonderful and practical gift for dad, or another man in your life.  Plus, there are plenty of options to choose from, in many different finishes.  You’ll find a selection of both traditional and modern styles and designs to suit all tastes. Check out the following.

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 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.

Taking advantage of every inch of space in your garage is a wise move. When organizing your seasonal items and storing sports equipment, don’t forget the overhead space. Yes, you can store items on mounted ceiling racks! Fortunately, most garages have ceiling heights high enough for storage on an overhead shelf or rack.

A garage overhead storage shelf may be the solution to storing all of those heavy boxes or outdoor equipment that you’ve had trouble finding space for inside your garage. It’s convenient, yet out of the way, for items you don’t need to use daily. However, if you select a ceiling mounted lift with an easy pulley system, it will be no trouble to quickly access the items you need. Just back out the car, lower the storage shelf with ease and take what you need. Then, simply raise the storage shelf back into place. A good quality heavy duty overhead shelf will hold lawn movers, large tools, snowboards, outdoor furniture, ladders and more.

There are also ceiling mounted lifts for your bicycles. Bicycle hoists are the perfect storage solution, especially when you have two or more. The bikes are mounted with a pulley system that allows you to easily lower and raise your bike as needed.

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.

Here in the mid-Atlantic area, it’s about that time of year when the weather begins to warm up and time to pack away the sweaters and lighten up.  I’m a bit of a wimp where cooler weather is concerned, so I tend to keep my cardigan sweaters out year-round!  However, for the warm blooded, simply thinking about a sweater may make you sweat!  Anyway, I digress.  Switching the closet from winter to spring/summer is an event in my home.  I love rediscovering clothes that I had forgotten about and creating new outfits that I hadn’t thought of.  For me, I always feel as though I have a new wardrobe again, especially if I had purchased a few items on clearance at the end of the season.  

This is also a great time to purge items and to really think about whether or not you will wear something again.  I use this time to be honest about whether I love an item, or if I’m keeping it just because I’ve spent X amount of dollars on it. 

Taking the time to review your clothing from last year will also save you money.  Try some items on and mix and match separates that you hadn’t thought to put together before. You’ll find that you needn’t rush out to stock up on new summer clothes after all!

What if you live in a year round warm state, like Florida or Southern California?  It’s still a good idea to take the time to switch your closet.  Even if you don’t have dramatically changing seasons, it’s simply a good habit to go through your closet once or twice a year. 

So, schedule a weekend morning or afternoon, put on some music and dance your way from winter to summer!