Made in the USA: Shoe Box Organization

I know I have talked about this before, but one made in the USA products we love and use often on client organization projects is shoes boxes. These particular ones are from The Container Store and we use them all the time on projects. Besides being made in the USA, one of the things we love most about them is that they are durable and they always stack on top of each other perfectly because they have not changed the design. You can also stack them on other Container Store brand boxes in various ways. For these clients we used the regular shoe box and the boot box. 

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Houston Personal Concierge // One of Our Most Requested Concierge Tasks Pt. 1

As a personal concierge in Houston my team and I have been asked to do lots of various things through the past 15 years from professional organizing to personal assistant tasks. On the personal concierge side of the business one of the most requested things I get asked to do is pick up and deliver balloons. I do this all the time for clients for various occasions like birthdays, holiday events, thank yous, and the list goes on and on. We get requests for lots of different types of balloons and we usually get them inflated and then delivered. I love doing it because I know there is going to be some happy person out there. We also hire balloon companies, like That Ballon Girl here in Houston,  for clients to do balloon arches, displays, etc. People love balloons and they are a fun and festive way to celebrate a variety of occasions. 

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Houston Professional Organizer // Client World Traveller: Pantry Organization

I have worked with this client for many, many years and she moved into this space in River Oaks / Montrose area of Houston several years ago, but the pantry never got organized. I do everything from professional organizing to concierge work for her. One day when she was out of town I asked her if I could organize her pantry and she said yes! When she got back from her business trip was so surprised and how everything turned out. This project cost less than $150 and made a HUGE impact. A little organizing can go a long way.

Here is what I did:

1. Got rid of expired food.
2. Sorted like foods and items together.
3. Organized everything into bins. 
4. Used a water bottle organizer.
5. Labeled. 

Here are some products we used:

• Clear bins
• Water bottle organizer
• White bins
• OXO containers (she already had)
• Can riser
• Turntables
• Label maker
• White labels

Before:

After:

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Moving Supplies Needed for Move Coordination, Projects & Tips | Expert Houston Professional Organizer & Concierge

As a professional organizer and concierge in Houston we get asked to manage moves and assist with move coordination ALL the time. We are experts in move management and coordination at this point and LOVE handling move coordination. We are in the height of move season right now. It brings us so much joy knowing that we can help various families get settled in and organized into their new place as stress free as possible. Of course, there will more than likely be some stresses when it comes to moving, but we try to help as much as possible. We help with everything from decluttering before a move to scheduling movers to getting organized after the move and everything in between. In this video I explain about lots of products that we use when working with move clients. These are products I love and use often and that are really helpful when it comes to moves.

What are some of your favorite products to use for moves?

You can shop all the products on the Eco Modern Concierge shop page. 

Here are some other resources we have talked about before in regards to moves:

5 Tips for Moving from a Houston Professional Organizer
An Organized Moved and Moving Tips

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10 Things that Make Me Happy: July 2020

Here are 10 things that made me happy in July!

1. Scheduling so many move projects. We LOVE working move projects. 
2. Having a relaxing 4th of July with no obligations.
3. Seeing friends we haven't seen in a really long time.
4. Swimming.
5. Washing and detailing my car weekly.
6. Doing some of my own organizing projects. 
7. FINALLY getting my full refund from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I had mailed in a return in May before the store opened back up to the public and they have pushed around and around in regards to getting the full refund back from project supplies. It was several hundred dollars, it definitely needed to be refunded and not something I was willing to accept my loss on. 
8. Sonic cheese sticks and cherry limeades.
9. Quick road trip to Round Top with Bryan in the middle of the week. No one was around and we ate at Royer's Cafe.
10. Astros season opener.

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Houston Professional Organizer // Toddler's Room Organization

This fun family we got to organize for was expecting twins, they already had a little one and they own a local brewery here in Houston. We were helping them get organized in their home before the twins came. They have since moved, but I definitely wanted to highlight how we helped them get organized in their home before they moved. This space was in an older home and many older homes in Houston have tiny closets. Believe me I lived in many spaces for over a decade with tiny closets and in fact, I still have a relatively small closet. Hiring a professional organizer is great if you are trying to utilize every inch of your space in an efficient way. Like I've said before organizing kids and babies spaces are one of favorite areas to organize because everything is so cute and tiny. They were pretty organized already and here is what we did:

1. Put like items together.
2. Take some items out of their boxes.
3. Utilize the back of door spaces.
4. Organize everything in various spaces.
5. Use drawer dividers.
6. Use drawer organizers.

Here is the product we used:

• Behind the door rack
• Drawer dividers
• Twill drawer organizers
• Similar baskets here and here to what they already had

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What You Should Have In Your Emergency Go Bag

If you / when you have to leave your house unexpectedly for various reasons like fire, hurricanes, natural disasters, etc. there are several documents and things you should have on hand.

It is very important to keep an updated inventory of your house / dwelling. This way if anything happens you have records for insurance

Here are somethings you should have on hand and an electronic either on your computer, a hard drive and / or in the cloud. This goes for yourself and everyone in your household. I suggest keeping these items in a fire and waterproof bag like this.

• Drivers license
• Social security card
• Birth certificate
• Marriage license
• Deed to house
• Title to your car
• Medical insurance information
• List of medications
• Medical records
• Passport
• Will
• List of personal contact information
• List of in case of emergency contacts
• Kids records
• Pet records
• Bank and investment records
• All insurance records

What you should have in a bag prepared:

• Cash
• Credit cards / checks
• Cellphone
• Computer
• Food / protein bars
• Water
• Clothes
• Sunscreen
• Glasses / contacts
• Medication
• Portable chargers for electronics
• Flashlight
• Chemical light sticks / glow sticks
• Matches / lighter
• Pocket knife
• First-aid kit
• Blankets
• Masks
• Gloves
• Hand sanitizer
• Whistle
• Batteries
• Wet Wipes
• Tissue &/or paper towels
• Battery powered or hand crank radio

If you have kids

• Diapers
• Formula
• Clothes
• Medication
• Shot records and any necessary medical information
• Age appropriate toys, games, puzzles, books, etc.

If you have pets:

• Food
• Collapsable water bowl
• Medication
• Medical records
• Leash, collar and tags
• Portable carrier if necessary

Any suggestions to add?

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5 Eco Changes You can Make This Weekend

Making eco changes can be hard for many people, but here are several small eco changes you can make this weekend to make a difference in your life. Do what you can when you can. If you try to do everything all at once you will become extremely overwhelmed.

• Replace plastic items with glass. Start with water bottles or food storage containers these are usually things that you use often so you will likely notice a difference.
• Switch to eco cleaning supplies. You don't have to overhaul your cleaning supplies all at once, but maybe switch to an eco all-purpose cleaner then to a glass cleaner and so on and so forth.
• Buy only what you need. Don't buy just to buy. It can be hard when you are influenced by a lot of different accounts and sites, but try to only buy what you need.
• Unsubscribe from mail. Save a up a pile of junk mail and start calling various companies or going online to unsubscribe from their mailing list. This will greatly reduce the amount of waste.
• Try to limit disposable items. Don't have disposable items be your go to, try to only use disposable items when you need to.

What eco changes are you currently making?

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

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Houston Professional Organizer // Kid's Room Organization

I always love it when we get to organize kid's spaces because they are usually fun, bright and colorful! We helped this client in the Memorial area of Houston organize his whole house. I do not have a before picture of this space, but we just gave it a little refresh. We organized all parts of this kid's room like this toy area, the bathroom, bedroom in general and the closet. I think everything turned out great. 

Here is what we did with the area in the picture above.:

1. Move items to where they belong in other parts of the room.
2. Sort toys and items with like things together.
3. Organize into baskets.
4. Label baskets.

They already had the shelves and baskets, but here are similar items we used and we added the bin clips for labeling:

• Shelves
• Hyacinth cube baskets, Montauk cube baskets, and Rattan cube baskets
• Bin clips
• Label maker
• Clear label tape

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Eco Modern Concierge Recently Purchased Items: Part 2

This is the 2nd installment of "Recently Purchased Items". As a professional organizer and concierge I am constantly buying and sourcing items for clients online. These are a few things that we have recently purchased. You can always find items of recently purchased things on the Eco Modern Concierge shop page under This & That.

Staub Dishes: This is a stoneware favorite by many clients.

Gold Twisted Plate Stand: Perfect if you want to display large plates, frames, etc.

White Plates: Great standard everyday, white plates.

Only Hearts Long Slip: This is perfect for long, sheer dresses. They come in tan and black. Plus, it is comfortable, the material is nice and it doesn't ride up.

Acid-Free Tissue Paper: This is great if you are storing old clothing, any linens and anything you want to preserve.

Ziploc Totes: We use these for moves sometimes, but I have some clients who love using these totes.

Blueprint Tube: These are great to use when you want to save blueprints, posters, etc.

Bike Rack: Bike rack installations have been popular since quarantine and now that clients are using their garages more.

Glass spray bottles: Glass is always a great alternative to plastic.

Knot Workout Top: It's lightweight, inexpensive and comes in several colors.

Fresh Flowers: I have a few clients I purchase fresh flowers for. Some I buy fresh flowers weekly for and it is such a sweet treat for them. If you have Amazon Prime and a Whole Foods near you you can purchase them with Amazon Prime and you can even buy fresh flowers from other companies on Amazon as well.

Ombre Blue Bath Rug: We recently redid our bathroom and it is sometimes hard for my husband and I to agree on colors, decor, etc., but these bathmats are actually pretty and compliment our grey cabinets well.

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5 Tips to Green Your College Dorm Room or Apartment

I wrote this article back in college well over 10 years ago for The Daily Cougar, The University of Houston's on campus newspaper. When decluttering my office space recently I came across this article again and I thought I would share because I think all of these eco dorm room tips still stand true. I did tweak just a few things like the brands of certain items.

Living a green and sustainable life is something that a lot of people want to do, but do not know where to begin. College is costing students more money every year, and you think, “How could I possibly make green changes in my life without breaking the bank?” There are actually plenty of small things you can do whether you are living the dorm life or live off campus. Let’s start with a few simple inexpensive things you can do:

1. Donate. People tend to collect stuff as time goes on. Being green usually means less is more. Go through what you have and if you haven’t used it in the past 6 months donate it to a local shelter or thrift store. You can take it to places like The Women’s Home, Goodwill or Salvation Army. 
2. Hand wash. Whether it is dishes or clothes, hand washing can be a very eco-friendly thing if it is done correctly. It will save energy and water, but you can not be constantly running the water the whole time you are washing. Also, hang dry your clothes after you have washed them. This does not necessarily have to be done outside; you can also hang dry clothes by putting them underneath a fan. 
3. Go paperless. Many companies are giving you the option to go paperless. This means everything is done electronically instead of receiving paper bills. You can also read most newspapers online now. If you do choose to receive paper bills see if the company has an eco option where they use recycled paper.
4. Use eco cleaners. They do the same job as any other household cleaner just without all the extra harmful chemicals. There is a variety to choose from, Seventh Generation, Branch Basics, Mrs. Meyer’s and Method are just a few of them. You can find these brands at places like Whole Foods, Kroger’s, Target and online.
5. Recycle. You can always recycle no matter where you are at. It is one of the easiest and most effective things you can do to help the environment. You can separate your recycling using boxes, small trashcans or any type of storage bins. You can recycle just about anything. For a list of recycling centers in Houston that recycle a variety of items go to: www.houstontx.gov. 

These are all small, easy chores you can do to becoming a greener person. No matter who you are or what you do, taking the smallest of steps to do your part for the environment helps more than you could ever imagine. You can not just become green overnight it is a process which takes time. Whether you do all the things on the list or just one, you are still making a world of difference for yourself and the environment.

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Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

Houston Professional Organizer // Client Whole House Organization: Bathroom Organization

This client bought a gift certificate for professional organizing when I was running a Small Business Saturday discount in 2018. I am so proud of her because she was committed to organizing and we went through her whole house in just under a year and got everything organized. When you are organizing the goal is always to make your life more efficient in some way. Having certain things you need within reach makes things easier.

We did multiple areas in the bathroom, but this area was right above the toilet. We used all for The Home Edit products for Container Store.

Here is what I did:

• I took everything out of the cabinet.
• Sorted like items together.
• Got rid of items she no longer needed.
• Took several items out of their boxes. This helps them be more accessible and able to contain better.

Here are products we used:

• These divided turntables
• These divided bins
• These labels

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Products I use ALL the Time & LOVE

As a professional organizer and concierge there are many things that I buy, test and use on a regular basis. These are things that I have, love and use all time. What are some of your favorite items you have and love?

Bormioli Mini Glasses: I have had these glasses for many years and absolutely LOVE them.

Dust Buster: I got this dust buster as a gift from my mom because it was on my wishlist and I love it just as much as I thought I would. I really the attachments that come with it as well.

Daily Pill Organizer: I really like this pill organizer, but the only downside is if you eat vitamin gummies they don't fit well in the organizer. The thing I like about this one is it is compact, color coded and doesn't take up a lot of space.

External Charger: When I am in remote locations or when I am FaceTiming clients I use this charger and it works great!

Mesh Pouches: I know I have talked about these before, but I use them all the time whether I am organizing client's kids puzzle pieces or organizing my car console. They come in 3 different sizes and come in blue or black. They are are just handy overall.

Breville Juicer: I LOVE this juicer I have used it for years and it makes juicing citrus super easy.

Compact Tape Measure: I almost always have a tape measure with me. I have them in my purse, car, organizing toolkit, etc.

Mini WD-40: I actually use WD-40 more than you would think, especially on client organizing projects when there are stuck drawers and when things need a little extra oil to work properly.

Liquid Aminos Spray: I have been using coconut aminos and liquid aminos for many years and love that this spray is so convenient and is great to spray on vegetables.

Spray & Wash Stain Stick: As you know I use almost all eco, natural laundry products and swear by The Laundress stain solution, but sometimes need a little something extra and I prefer the stick version over the spray version for the Spray & Wash.

Pyrex: I use my pyrex dishes almost daily. I use them to take my lunch, for leftovers, etc. I prefer using glass over plastic whenever I can and absolutely love my pyrex dishes.

Notepads: I love using these notepads on projects. I really like that they are lined and it give you enough room to write on.

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