The Posh Blog

As usual Oprah Winfrey is always up for the task of inspiring us to spring into action and rewarding us while doing it.  Yesterday was no exception when Oprah welcomed Organizing expert Peter Walsh to her show.  The topic: Oprah’s Clean Up Your Messy House Tour.  During the show Peter conducted “ambush organizing” on three unsuspecting residents in New York.  The fortunate three had a room makeover and received a beautifully redecorated space compliments of my VERY favorite designer Candice Olsen of HGTV’s Devine Design and products from my very favorite organizing store The Container Store.  To see these inspiring stories and transformations go to Oprah’s web-site.   

As we know Oprah is a generous and giving person and she has made arrangements with The Container Store to offer 20% off anything in their store to help you get organized!  You can go to Oprah’s web-site to download a coupon and learn more about this offer.  Oprah and Peter Walsh have also negotiated an extra special offer with Snapfish to gift viewers with a Free 8”x11” scrapbook!  What an awesome deal!  Again, these offers are time sensitive so check out Oprah’s web-site for the details. 

Thanks Oprah for helping to spread the word on decluttering and for inspiring us to live the good life in our own homes. 

Enjoy,

Angela 

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

  Is Your Student Organized For Success?
Did you know that many children will receive their first school issued planner by the third or fourth grade?  Personally, I was shocked when I heard about this.  The demands on students today are far greater than they were when we were students. 
 
Just because your student is receiving a planner does not mean they are being taught how to be more organized. Organization can be the key to helping your student make better grades, turn in papers and projects on time, and gain self-confidence.  It is a skill that will serve them their entire life. 
 
Don’t miss this chance to help set your student up for success this school year. Parents will leave this three hour workshop knowing:
-The two biggest pitfalls for students and what to do about them
-Practical techniques to help students organize their study space, school work, paper, time, and schedule
-Their child’s organizing style
-Ready to use tips to help mom with the increased school papers, permission slips, and schedules
-The four questions you need to ask your child each day before they start their homework 
**Bonus-tips for communicating with your students teacher!

When: Thursday, November 13th  9:00 am to noon

Where:  Business Suites Arboretum 
9442 Capital of Texas Hwy., Plaza One, Suite 500 (In the Independence Title Offices) Map Austin, TX 78759 

Investment: $50.00  This is a small investment compared to the amount of TIME spent on those tearful nights, trying to complete projects FOR your child due to a lack of organization and poor time management.  

Do not delay registration closes at noon on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. 

Call 512-252-2866 to register.  All major credit cards accepted. 

Seating is limited so please call us at 512-252-2866 or e-mail us at info@theposhspace.com to register.

  As a Professional Organizer I am always encouraging people to reduce their clutter, but with a slow economy and the holidays drawing near now is the perfect time to shed some clutter and make a little extra money.   Of course there are the tried and true ways to turn clutter into cash which include:  garage sales, E-bay, Craigslist, resale shops, and consignment shops.  These are great methods that can bring you a little extra money.  But here are a few ways that you may not have thought about before.  

1. Jewelry (gold)- The value of gold is very high right now which means it is a great time to sell gold jewelry that you no longer wear.  Also, if you have broken jewelry either get it fixed so you can wear it or sell it.  Check your local newspapers for jewelry stores or brokers who are buying gold.  Not all stores will buy scrap gold but some stores will take a current piece and do a trade up or give you credit towards a new piece of jewelry.  If you decide to sell gold to anyone check the prices of more than one place before you sell.  There are also many online sites who will buy your gold but be careful when choosing to sell your gold to a company you are not familiar with.  I found some great tips about  selling jewelry from this article in  The Wall Street Journal.
2. Cell Phones-It seems like everyone has old cell phones lying around but did you know that you can get between $5-$50 dollars for old cell phones?  Cells for Cash has been featured on the Today Show and allows you to look up your phone online to find out how much it is worth.  You then send in your phone and receive a check.  
3. Gift Cards- If you have piles of gift cards you are not interested in using you are not stuck with a useless piece of plastic.  For $1.99 you can go to Swap a Gift and sell your old gift cards for 60-70% of its value or swap your gift card with someone else.  This is a great way to clear out some old gift cards that you know you will never use. 

  A little less clutter AND extra money for the holidays, now that’s the good life! 

Enjoy,

Angela

 Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.

If you love taking pictures like I do, then you probably want to have a camera close at hand.  If you have small children, like I do, or you simply want to win the next big jack pot on “America’s Funniest Home Video’s” then you may also want to keep a video camera near by.  So where do you store the camera so it is easy to get to but doesn’t add clutter to your counters?   

The back of the closet door of course!  Adding simple over the door hooks to the back of the door creates a quick and easy solution that requires minimal assembly.  Hooks can be purchased at The Container Store and Bed Bath and Beyond for about $2.99 for a package of two.  

The key to using your camera and video camera is to have them readily available when you need them.  Storing the camera upstairs in a hall closet when all the action is taking place downstairs in the family room isn’t going to help you capture that special moment.  If you like to take the camera with you to the park or other activities you should keep the camera near the door or near other things you grab as you are heading out the door.   

Again, I have found that many people are not utilizing the back of the doors for additional storage space.  This can instantly give you storage space all over the house that is easily accessible.    

Finding the camera when you need it…now that’s the good life!  

Enjoy,

Angela

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

   It’s early voting time and one of the best ways you can save yourself some time is by voting early.  I voted last Wednesday and waited in line for about seven minutes.  That definitely beats an hour or more in line on November 4^th!  I don’t know about you, but I have better things to do with an hour than spend it in line. 

So how do you know where to vote?  One neat tool that I found is from our friends at Google.  You can go to Google and enter your address and zip code to find out your polling location.   You can then click on the “Absentee ballot and early voting information” link which will take you to the Secretary of State’s web-site for your state.  If you are in Texas, like me, you will click on the “Early Voting” link at the top of the page then click on “Find My Polling Place” link.  You will need to enter in your name, birthday, and zip code and then it will give you a PDF list of polling locations in your county.   

If you are going to wait for Election Day on November 4^th and you need to know where you can vote go to www.maps.google.com/vote.  This new service by google allows you to enter your address and zip code and it will automatically pull up your voting location and a map of how to get there.  How easy is that?!   

Don’t delay early voting ends October 31^st!  Being organized is about finding the best ways to use your time so you have more time for the good things in life.  So get out there and vote early. 

Enjoy the good life! 

Angela  

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

Hi Blogging Friends!

Just wanted to catch up with everyone and let you know that I have not fallen off the face of the blogging earth.  I got an unexpected call last week and had to leave town unexpectedly to be with family.  When I returned home I became ill and was in bed most of the day Monday.   

I’m feeling a little livelier now so I want to make sure to deliver some great time sensitive information to you this week.   

So stay tuned… 

Lessons learned this week:  work takes a backseat to health and family. 

Enjoy the good life,

Angela

One of my favorite things to do is help people find more space when they thought they were using every inch possible.  Time and time again, I find that people are not using the back of their pantry door.  This is such a great hidden treasure that should be used!  Because this area is typically very narrow this is a great place to install a spice rack.  You can purchase spice racks that need to be installed with hardware or racks that have over the door and under the door hooks to mount the rack.  You can find racks that have stationary shelves like the one pictured here or racks with adjustable shelves.  The Container Store offers the best variety I have seen and has a system that offers adjustable shelves that are available in a variety of depths.    

When you are organizing your spices you can organize them by category, alphabetically, or both!  I like to organize spices by category first, for example I would group the sweet (baking) spices together and the savory spices together.  Then in the shelf or pantry I alphabetize them from left to right.  Remember to think about how your mind works and what works best for you.  If breaking the spices up into categories seems overwhelming or confusing then keep it simple and stick with alphabetical order.   

Some of the categories you can see in the photo are baking spices, savory spices, oils and vinegars, drink mixes, and spice mixes.  To keep the communication lines open we labeled the category on the left hand side of the spice rack.  Labeling is important so everyone including guests and husbands know where things go.   

Your husband actually putting the spices back where they belong, now that’s the good life!

Enjoy,

Angela   

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

With higher gas prices and economic uncertainty it is safe to assume that more people are staying home these days.  If you are like me, staying home more makes me realize how many home improvements projects I have, including getting organized!  So why should you move getting organized to the top of the list this month?  Here are five reasons. 

1. Spending more time at home.  I hate to state the obvious, but it is true.  If you are staying home more, then you are probably passing those piles of paper over and over again.  Your home should be a place that supports you, so take it one pile at a time to make your space a place where you want to be. 
2. Reduce excess and make a little extra money.  A big part of getting organized is clearing out the clutter and excess.  Use your excess to make a little extra money.  If you have enough stuff have a garage sale.  If you have smaller amounts of stuff consider posting items on Craigslist or e-bay. 
3. The holiday’s are coming, economic downturn or not.  Now is the time to start getting your home in order for out of town guests and the whirlwind of activities that come with November and December. 
4. Take advantage of slower times to get organized.  If your work or home life has slowed down then this is the perfect time to get organized.  Often times people say they are too busy to get organized.  If you are not as busy as you used to be then take advantage of this time to get organized. 
5. See positive results in your life.  Time and time again, I tell people that after working with someone to organize and reduce the clutter in their home or office I hear back from clients who experience big life changes.  Clutter can often be holding us back from growing and moving forward and when we release it some people experience results beyond their expectations.   

Enjoy the good life,

Angela   

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

This is the second post in my ongoing series called Back of the Door Organizing, or doorganizing^TM as I like to call it.  This series focuses on different ways you can use the back of the door to get organized.  

It’s Fall and that means it’s time for sweaters and jackets.  If you have small children you may have experienced the same frustration I did last year.  Last year my daughter would take off her jacket or sweater and toss it on the sofa.  The problem was that my three year old daughter was too short to reach the hangers in the coat closet so I would have to hang up her sweaters for her.   

I put on my thinking cap and tried to think of a solution to help me with my problem.  The first and easiest thing was to teach my daughter to put to her jacket on the door knob of the coat closet door.  This worked, but was not ideal because I still had to put the sweater back in the closet.  After more thought, I found the perfect solution.  It’s the Command ^TM Adhesive Hooks by 3M®.  These adhesive hooks are different than any other on the market and are removable and reusable.  The Command ^TM adhesive allows the hook to be placed on a painted, wood, or wallpaper surfaces and then removed easily without damaging the wall surface.   

Finally, a great hook I could use on the back of my coat closet door!  I installed three hooks on the back of the door at a height my daughter could reach.  The good thing is that if I need to remove the hooks for any reason or adjust the height I can.   

The hooks come in a variety of sizes and you can get basic plastic or the more stylish brushed nickel finish like I got.   You can purchase these hooks at The Container Store, Target, and many home stores. 

My four year old hanging up her jacket on her own…now that’s the good life! 

Enjoy,

Angela   

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.

Add Space With Shelves

Add a shelf stacker to help you utilize more space in the pantry, kitchen cabinets, or hallway closet.  This is one of my favorite items that I use over and over again.  They are great because you can use all the space in your cabinet or shelf without having to worry about knocking something off the top of the stack or having to move items in order to get something that is on the bottom of the stack.   

You can stack something on the top and then add a basket to the bottom to serve as a drawer for smaller items.   

Shelf stackers can be easily added to just about any shelf and come in a variety of sizes.  They are inexpensive and available at The Container Store and Target.   

You can see one example in the photo above of how we used one with a client so she could access cups and saucers when she needed them. 

More space for less money…now that’s the good life! 

Enjoy, Angela   

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.