6 Ways Professional Organizers and Concierges Can Beat the Heat During The Summer

As a professional organizer and concierge living & working in Houston, TX, the summers here are brutal. We work up a sweat really quickly. I am constantly trying to find ways to stay cool. Certain projects like garages we start at 6:30 - 7am from June - September because it is almost unbearable. These are various options for various situations whether we are working in a garage or a closet we never know how clients homes are going to be. Last August one of our client's a/c units went out during a project and it was miserable, but we got through it.

Battery operated fan. The great thing is these fans actually help with air circulation, but take a lot of batteries.

Neck Fan. This is great compact option if you don't want to carry a bulky item with you.

Box fan. This or something larger is a necessity of you are working in a garage during the summer.

Neck towel. Great option if you are looking to stay consistently cool.

Neck cooling band. These get mixed reviews, but worth a shot. Anything to stay cool.

Mini A/C unit. This is compact and easy to take with you on projects in order to stay cool.

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Eco: Air Plants + Benefits

****I originally wrote and started this blogpost over 6 years ago and and am just now publishing it and trying to get old blogposts published. 

In 2014: I just recently discovered air plants. I had a friend who had some and then I saw them at the farmers market and decided to pick some up. They are super easy to take care of. You just let them sit in or on whatever you want and then you spritz them with water or leave them in a bowl of water for an hour every week or two. I have had them since the beginning of April and still have not killed them, so I consider that a success. 

Benefits of air plants:

• They are air purifying
• Easy to care for
• They are no mess
• Bring happiness and less stress because plants usually do!
• You can find them in nature or purchase them at places like Amazon and Etsy.

Image from Amazon

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Client EaDO Get it Done: Kitchen Organization Before & After

I have been meaning to share this kitchen organization project for many years. This is for a client located in EaDo Houston and she was looking to get her whole house reorganized. Many of the areas of the kitchen just needed a little sprucing up without using a ton of product. The client was not home when I was working on this project, so there was no decluttering of items other than what I thought should be disposed of and left them out for the client to look at. Looking back on this project there is actually some things that I would now change up a bit like using these water bottle holders and maybe using some bins like these or these shoeboxes or these deeper shoeboxes in the deeper utility drawers, but we were using what we had on hand at the time. The client had pre-ordered everything when it went on sale, which was awesome because they saved a ton of money.

Here are some products we used on this project:

• Drawer organizers
• Drawer dividers here and here
• White bins

Before:

After:

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Baby Gifts That I Give Time & Time Again

I feel like I am at the age and just getting past the age where I go to endless baby showers and giving baby gifts. I feel like the "in" thing changes constantly. Here are some things that are some of my go tos and that I always feel are fun. You can see there is a Texas theme because, well, I am from Texas.

Baby Book: I always hesitate about giving baby books because I know a lot go unused, but this one is beautiful. 

The Laundress Baby Detergent: I have forever talked about The Laundress and one of my top go to gifts is their baby detergent paired with their stain solution.

Andy Warhol Book: I try to always include a book as well because I think reading is VERY important and since I love Andy Warhol and art it is almost always some type of art book.

Marfa Cactus Crib Sheet: A local Houston store Biscuit sells great sheets that are made in the USA I love this Marfa cactus crib sheet. 

Rainbow Blocks: These are fun and colorful.

Texas ABC print: I think this is such a fun print for a baby's room, especially if you're from TX.

Hushabye Willie Nelson Lullaby: I know not many have cd players anymore, but you can still give the digital version as a gift. For many years I would give the actual cd version.

Fisher Price Record Player: I really love all the Fisher Price throwback toys because they remind me of when I was young.

Babiators: I have given these a lot through the years and they are always fun.

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10 Things that Make Me Happy: May 2020

We are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but here are 10 things that made me happy and that I am grateful last month.

1. Seeing family, mom, grandparents, aunts, uncles and in laws. 
2. Starting working with clients on a regular basis. 
3. Getaway to Galveston.
4. Organizing cds and dvds at my own house.
5. Get a lot of back end business things taken care of.
6. Virtual cheese and wine tasking with Montrose Cheese & Wine for National Concierge Association of Greater Houston. 
7. Listening to podcasts and audiobooks.
8. Finally recording some new YouTube videos. 
9. Supporting local businesses as they begin to open back up.
10. My health.

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Inexpensive Bathroom Organization Project

This is a bathroom organization project I worked on last year for a client in Bellaire. I really wish I had the before shot of this area, but I don't. The great thing about this project is she didn't spend a ton of money on organization products. We used these white bins that many clients opt for because they are so inexpensive and go on sale often. 

Here is what we did:

• Took everything out from under the sink
• Got rid of old and expired items
• Sorted like items together
• Then sorted between his and hers
• Contained in these white bins
• Organized them underneath the sink based on his and her side
• Refolded the towels to make them more visually appealing since this cabinet under the sink is open

How do you organize underneath your bathroom sink?

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Eco Modern Concierge Named Best Houston Home Organizer of 2020 for the 4th Year in a Row

Eco Modern Concierge was named Best Houston Home Organizer of 2020 for the 4th year in a row by Expertise.com. We are accompanied by some great colleagues as well. We absolutely LOVE what we do for clients and can't wait to organize your space soon.

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Eco Modern Concierge Recently Purchased Items: Part 1

As a professional organizer and concierge based in Houston, TX I constantly purchase products on behalf of clients, so I thought I was feature some of the products that are recently purchased here on the blog. You can always find the items on the Eco Modern Concierge Shop page as well. This of course is not everything that I have purchased recently, but just a random mix of things.

Red Wine Stain Remover: If you have never used this stuff. It actually does work.

Toothbrush Heads: This is such a common everyday item because so many people have electric toothbrushes now.

LED Cafe Bulbs: Do you have cafe lights? Several of my clients who have had them for years as they burn out we have been replacing all the strands with LED bulbs.

DiscSox DVD Organization: If you still have DVDs and would like to save some space this acrylic DVD holder and sleeves is a great option.

Rocking Chair Cover: I recently purchased this for a client's country home for furniture on their front porch.

Picnic Table Cover: Same with these cover as well.

12" Boxwood Wreath: This is an item I purchased for myself because I have been looking for smaller boxwood wreaths to put in my windows inside of my house during the holidays. I was inspired by a photo I saw, but can't find that source online.

White Trays: These are actually lids that go onto the top of boxes, but we use them often as trays in clients homes.

Paint Sprayer: If you are doing any kind of painting project this is a game changer and so much faster than using a paint roller.

Chemex Pour-Over with Handle: This is the newer version of the Chemex that clients are loving.

Chemex with Lid: If you don't have the lid for the Chemex you need it.

Gray Skirt Hangers: We use velvet hangers on a ton of projects and I really like this version of the pant / skirt hangers with the medal clips.

Mens Grooming Tape: I learned about using mens grooming tape from fellow professional organizer Geralin Thomas. It works great as tape to help with wardrobe needs and also decorations.

Black Safety Pins: Geralin had also mentioned using black safety pins and this is something that we were already using and it is a great way to not see the pins if you are working on certain projects.

Clear Wreath Bag: If you want just a general wreath bag so you can see inside of it, these are great.

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Client Woodlands Mama: Pantry Organization Before & After

Pantry organization is one of the top areas we get asked to organize. I helped this client in The Woodlands get her pantry organized last year. She already had a really great base, but wanted to elevate it a little. We used what she already had to get organized besides getting a few things. Here is a little of what we did:

1. Got rid of expired items
2. Grouped liked items together (she had done a great job of this already)
3. I rearranged the placement of some items already in her pantry
4. Contained the like items together in the organizing supplies she already had

Here are some of the products used in this project:

• Divided turntables - for oils and vinegars
• White turntable
• White stackable basket (the client already this)
• White bins 
• Undershelf basket
• Grey baskets (the client already had them)
• Oxo containers to decant certain items
• Spice organizer
• Wine crate (the client already them)
• Can organizer

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Best Father's Day Gifts: Eco Modern Concierge Featured on Heavy.com

As a professional organizer, I try to give consumable &/or useful gifts as much as possible. So I, Amy Vance of Eco Modern Concierge, was happy to contribute to and be featured on the Heavy.com where I contributed some Father's Day Gift Ideas for Dads Stuck at Home or On the Move. What are some of you top Father's Day gifts that you will be giving this year.

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Eco: 5 Tips on Composting + Composting Bin Options

One thing that I have seen several people posting about lately during quarantine is eco changes they are making because they have the time, effort and ability to make these changes. One thing I am seeing an increase in is composting. I think this is because so many people are cooking at home a lot more than they were in the past. Here are some reasons why you should compost:

• The soil that compost makes helps fertilize plants
• Reduces the amount of waste getting put into landfills and reduces emissions
• It is really easy to compost and takes basically no effort
• As long as you are composting the right things, there is no smell or bugs
• Anyone can compost, whether you live in an apartment or house

Personally I have a mini kitchen composter that I use to take to our larger warm composter in our yard. Here are some various composting bins:

Expandable Composting Bin

Tumbling Composter

Kitchen Stainless Steel Composting Pail

Kitchen Counter Compost Bin

Worm Composter

Wood Composter

All product images from Amazon

Worm photo Photo by Sippakorn Yamkasikorn from Pexels

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