The Posh Blog

I’m always looking for attractive yet functional containers for various projects or clients.  I was browsing the Restoration Hardware Baby & Child web site  the other day and I found some really neat things.  Now I know you hear “Baby & Child” and you automatically assume that this is not for you, but I would tell you don’t let a title keep you away from a really beautiful, stylish, and useful product.  Inspiration is everywhere!

Here are a few of my favorite finds:

Stuff Basket

I love the look of this industrial basket with the STUFF liner!  Obviously great in a boys room, laundry room, or even in a bathroom as shown above.  But this would also work at a lake or beach house for storing beach towels or other items.  Again, love the look!  Click here for product web-site. 

Burlap Storage Collection 
These boxes are simple and stylish and work well in a family room, home office, media room, closet, I love them for a laundry room.  The options are endless, really!  Since they do not have a bold pattern they are very versatile.  Trim color available in ivory, marine (shown), and petal (pink) click here for web-site.  Personally, I think the blue or ivory would be the most versatile. 

Large Open Box: 16″L x 6″W x 6″H.  This is the ideal size box for storing CD’s.  If you have a deep media cabinet these are perfect.  It’s difficult to find boxes that are as long as this one and you will be able to utilize most of the space in your media cabinet.  LOVE it!  May I reiterate, it is EXTREMELY difficult to find containers that are this deep and narrow to hold CD’s AND that are stylish too.  This is a FIND!

Small Closed Box: 11″L x 12″W x 10″H.  The size of this box is perfect for fitting on most bookcases or shelves.  Perfect for storing items you don’t use frequently.  These would be great on an open shelf in a laundry room or the top of a master closet for storing keepsakes.

Large Closed Box: 11″L x 16″W x 11″H.  Again, I love the look of this box.  This one is larger so it will fit on deeper shelves. 

If you are looking for just the right storage solution don’t be afraid to look in the not so common places, you never know what you might find!

Happy hunting,

Angela

Photos from rhbabyandchild.com

Copyright (C) 2010 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.

Monday morning I had a brief heart palpitating experience.  I stopped by a local coffee shop before a meeting and realized that I did not have my wallet.  I know some people lose or misplace their wallets often, but this has never happened to me!  So I went through my head recalling my recent activities and where my wallet might be.  The last place I remember making a purchase was a craft store Saturday afternoon.  That evening we had a party at my house and Sunday we went out but I never needed my wallet.  I was sure that my wallet had just been left out somewhere on accident and because of my distraction from the party I had not noticed it. 

As I was driving home from my meeting (very slowly in order to not get ticket since I did not have my wallet) I started to think the panicking thoughts.  “What if I DID lose my wallet?  What if it’s not at home?”  I know I have heard that you should make copies of your wallet contents, but I have had my reservations about that.  I think it’s because I have all my files in order so I always assumed if I lost my wallet I could always find my account numbers and the phone numbers very easily.  This is may be true, but in the event of an emergency it would be much quicker to have all these numbers in one location rather than flipping through files and going through my head to determine which cards were actually in my wallet. 

So here are two different ways you can keep track of your wallet contents so you can be pro-active in case you do lose your wallet:

1. Copy your wallet contents.  The easiest thing to do is to make a copy of the front and back of all the cards that are in your wallet.  Account numbers are typically located on the front of the card and many credit card companies include a phone number on the back of the card.  Make copies of ALL your cards including:  credit cards, bank cards, insurance cards, driver license etc.

2. Make a list or spreadsheet of your wallet contents.  Include the name of the card or type of card (example: American Express card, Blue Cross Insurance Card), the account number, the expiration if applicable, the companies phone number.  You can save this on your computer or simply write it out by hand if you do not feel comfortable having all your credit card numbers stored on your computer. 

Ideally, you should keep the copy of your wallet contents in a fire proof safe, but a simple file in your filing cabinet will work too.  Just remember where you put it and update it as you get new cards in and out.

In the event that you do lose your wallet, check the web-sites or contact all the entities (credit card companies, the Department of Motor Vehicles, Insurance, etc.) for the cards that you have lost.  Most likely they will issue you new cards with new account numbers.  If you are having anything automatically drafted from a specific account, be sure to update your information with your new account numbers. 

In case you are wondering, I did find my wallet within just a couple of minutes of arriving home! 

Here’s to being proactive!

Angela

Copyright (C) 2010 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.

“It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly.”

– Mabel Newcomber

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about The Hope Alliance, and the Toiletries Drive going on between now and the end of the month (next Tusday, August 31st) that I encourage all of you to take part in.  It’s not too late to spend a few minutes and a few dollars and make a big difference in someone else’s life!

When women and children arrive at the Hope Alliance, a domestic violence prevention program for Williamson County, they often have only the clothes on thier backs.  The Hope Alliance provides each woman with a bag full of personal care items.  Because their stay can be several weeks long, it’s important that each woman has full-sized bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, etc.

The Hope Alliance is in severe need of these unused, full-sized toiletry items–especially shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, lotion, deodorant, razors, feminine hygene products, and hand sanitizer.  You can drop off these items in one of three locations in the area:

More Space Place located in north Austin at 2438 West Anderson Lane (next to Terra Toys), Austin, 78757.

Texas Family Eye Care located at 800 Crystal Falls Pkwy #4 in Leander, 78641.

The Hope Alliance offices located at 1011 Gattis School Rd #106 in Round Rock, 78664.

If you cannot make it to any of the donation sites, please consider making any monetary donation to the Hope Alliance via their web-site by clicking here.

Thanks so much for your help, and for supporting our community!  Together we can give hope to someone else.

Angela

Copyright (C) 2010 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.

Can you believe we are just a few days away from September?  This year has gone by so fast.  I was meeting with a client the other day who expressed a similar feeling.  She told me that at the beginning of the year she had made a resolution to get organized.  When she realized it was August she told herself “I am not going to get to January and still not be organized”.  That’s when she called me. 

Was organizing on your resolution list this year?  Did you reach your goal?  If you have not fully committed to organizing like you intended to the good news is there is still time.  There are still four months left in this year which is plenty of time to tackle an organizing project or two.  You can start the New Year off on the right foot.  Here are three things you can do to get your project going.

1. Choose one area to concentrate on.  Even if you want your entire house or office organized, the reality is that you can’t do it all at one time.  Choose one area or space to concentrate on.  During your project you may have to walk to another room to put something away, but don’t get distracted and start working in that space.  That is a sure fire recipe for disappointment.

2. Time and project size.  Before you start a project try to estimate how many hours it might take, and then increase it by at least a quarter.  When you schedule time to work on the project consider how many hours you have available verses how many hours you think the project might take.  This may seem elementary, but it’s better to begin the project with an idea of how far along you will get rather than thinking you will finish it and then being disappointed when you run out of time. 

When estimating how long a project will take, take these two things into account: first consider how large the space is.  Is it a small linen closet which can take an hour or two or an entire kitchen which can take 7 hours or more depending on the size.  The second thing to consider is how much stuff is in the space.  Using the closet example, is the pantry overflowing?  Are the counters covered with piles of dishes, mail, or random stuff?  Again, this will all effect how long the project will take.

3. Stay focused.  Set a timer to keep you focused and working.  It will give you a goal.  You can even try to “beat the clock” if you are motivated by racing.  Don’t read old letters or magazines as they will only slow you down.  When your space is organized you will be able to find the letters or you can set them aside to read later when you are not “working” on your space.  Don’t take phone calls or check e-mail.  If you have children, consider scheduling a play date for the kid so you can keep focus and utilize the entire time you have set aside.
Again, there is still time to get your space organized this year, it just takes a little focus and discipline, or you can call the POSH Space team and we will be happy to help you. 

Was organization one of your New Year’s resolutions this year?  If so, did you get organized or not? 

I challenge you to get one space organized between now and December 31st?  Who’s in?

Angela

Copyright (C) 2010 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.

Although school is back in session for many students.  I was recently interviewed by KXAN News, Austin’s NBC affiliate, offering tips for what parents could do the night before school starts to make it a stress free morning.  Click here is the link to the article and the video in case you missed it.

Also, the fabulous POSH Space team is working on getting POSH Space on You Tube.  More to come on that soon!  One last thing, did you know you can find us on Facebook?  Visit http://www.facebook.com/poshspace and “like” us.  We will have discussions on organizing, home/work life balance, kids, paper, and more ways to help make your life a little bit easier.  We would love to hear from you!

Have a fantastic day!

Angela

Copyright (C) 2010 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.