10 Things that Make Me Happy: February 2021

What a month February was trying to get everything done before baby came. Here are 10 things that made me happy last month

1. Checking things off our to do list at the house from painting to getting the deck built in our sun room that we have been meaning to do for 7 years to new carpet to deep cleaning the whole house, etc.
2. Enjoying our final days as a family of 2.
3. Going on maternity leave.
4. Seeing snow, but not necessarily the dangerous road conditions. 
5. Getting the Eco Modern Concierge website updated.
6. Making freezer meal preparing for baby.
7. Helping a family after them having a busted pipe because of the storm.
8. Celebrating Valentine's Day just Bryan and I. 
9. Watching the Super Bowl.
10. Playing lots of board games with neighbors.

What is currently making you happy or what made you happy in February?

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6 Tips For When You Are Overwhelmed with Clutter and Don't Know Where to Start

Are you ever so overwhelmed with clutter and have no idea where to start? This is such a common problem for our clients and the reason why so many of them reach out to us in the first place to help them get organized. Clutter can be a very daunting and unwelcoming thing that leads to an endless amount of unnecessary stress. That is where professional organizers come into place and help you tackle your clutter by asking the right questions, coaching you through everything and making sure everything has a home.

Below are 6 tips to help you tackle the clutter. 

• Make a list of all the areas that make you overwhelmed and/or that you want to get organized. Making a list helps many people get their thoughts out and feel a little less stressed.  
  
• Start small and slow. Organizing can take a lot of time, so try to break up large projects into smaller projects. For example, if you are starting in your master bedroom, start with a small pile you may have, then onto the dresser or a drawer within the dresser, then maybe just shirts from your closets, and so on.
  
• Calendar your broken up areas to tackle. This will help you stay on task and know exactly what you need to tackle without thinking about it all the time. 
  
• Start in areas that give you the most stress. Once these areas are done you will fell a lot less overwhelmed. 
  
• Have an accountability partner. If you know you do not stay on task well, ask someone to be your accountability that will motivate and encourage you along the way. 
  
• Enjoy your organized spaces!

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8 Tips on How To Be More Organized as a Family in 2021

I know we are about to be in the 2nd quarter of the year, but here are some tips that I pitched to a magazine on how to be more organized as a family in 202, but they didn't accept so I thought I would share them here. These are tips that as a professional organizer we help clients with all the time. Having a family, running a household and trying to do it all can be absolutely overwhelming and stressful. 

Start small. Don't decide one day you are going to organize your whole house because you will become very stressed and overwhelmed very quickly. Start small and pick one cabinet, drawer, area, etc. This way it doesn't feel so overwhelming. Get everyone in the family involved.

Plan ahead by setting up morning and evening routines. This makes your day go so much smoother. Set out clothes you need for the next day the night before, do a brain dump before bed or write a to do list of want you need to accomplish the next day, pack lunches for the next day, make beds in the morning, have down time in the morning and evening so you are not constantly rushing, clear off counter tops, etc. 

Create a command center. it will be where your bags go, keys, bulletin or message board, chargers, etc.

Create a supply area. Have a station where you keep various school supplies in other areas than their room like in a study or kitchen, so you aren't constantly dragging supplies everywhere. 

Master to-do list. Make a list of everything you know will need a place to live like, backpacks, papers to be signed, purses, keys, jackets, schoolwork, etc. Then figure out your organizing plan and what type of organization supplies you may need.

Utilize a family calendar. Get a family calendar and write down everything everyone has going on. This way you will know when to plan for what. You may want to use a physical calendar or use something like an iCal, Google Calendar, Cozi or something similar.

Do tasks as a team. Make sure the whole house is involved in helping stay organized throughout the year. Everyone no matter what age can have a tasks or chore to be responsible for. This makes staying organized so much easier

Utilize apps. Apps like Cozi, OurHome, Evernote, Busy Kid, TimeTree, etc. 

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Adult Easter Basket for Men

Every year I give my husband an Easter basket full of goodies. May be cheesy, but who cares and I love putting them together every year. I usually don't post on here what I am getting him for the current year in case he happens to read it, so below are things that I got him last year. 

Bug a salt: My husband loves this. So much so that we had to buy them for family and friends for Christmas.

Rotating ratchet: My husband has just about every gadget tool I feel and this is something he saw and did not have. He liked the twist handle on it.

Extension bar: This is another tool item that helps you loosen bolts in tight, hard to reach spaces.

Bombas socks: I wasn't sure what the hype was in regards to these socks, but I decided to get a pair for my husband and seems to like them ok, but still wears another brand more.

Foot peel: If your significant other has super dry feet like mine does then a foot mask may be in order. 

Lotto tickets: I love filling the eggs with lotto tickets. It's always a fun thing to see if you won any money.

Candy: I mean what is Easter without Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs.

Gift cards: Sometimes I also put gift cards in the eggs for coffee places that I know my husband likes. 

Experience gift: I lot of times I will also include a gift for some type of experience whether this is to do something together or just for him.

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Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

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2021 Earth Day Events in Houston & Surrounding Areas

I love writing this post every year, but this year is a little different because the pandemic still going on & there are not very many Earth Day events happening. That is ok because you can celebrate Earth Day in so many other ways, but if you are up for venturing out since more people are now getting vaccinated here are some events that are happening in Houston and surrounding areas.

March 20th Earth Day GreenUp 2021 in The Woodlands

April 17th Earth Day at Houston Arboretum

April 17th Richwood Earth Day 2021

April 18th Earth Day at Discovery Green

April 22nd Painting with a Twist

April 22nd Earth Day Picnic at Smithers Park

April 22nd - 28th Earth Day at Houston Museum of Natural Science

Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels

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5 Things to Declutter this Weekend

Clutter is what causes so many people stress and becomes a spiral of disorganization often. This weekend here are 5 simple things you can declutter. 

Expired items. Get rid of anything that is expired in the pantry or bathroom. 

Old receipts. If you do not need them for tax purposes, than get rid of any old receipts. 

Cords. If you do not know what they go to or if they do not have a purpose, get rid of it.

Socks with no match. If you have been hanging onto the same socks with no matches for ages, it's time to let them go.

Essential oils. With the craze of essential oils currently, we see all the time essential oils that were bought and never used or used a couple of times and then clients didn't like them. Time to declutter them. 

Photo by Taylor Heery on Unsplash

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Happy International Women's Day

 

Happy International Women’s Day! Eco Modern Concierge is a proud member of several women led organizations. We have worked very hard through the years to maintain our certifications, join various women led organizations and seek out various opportunities. We get a lot of “no”s, but that doesn’t stop us from keeping on trying to seek out those opportunities.

We love supporting other women and have so many great women in our lives. As much as we love supporting other women, I think it goes without saying that we love supporting all kinds of businesses small and big businesses. I should point out that many men run small business owners are just as important as women small business owners in my eyes and I am so happy that we have been able to collaborate and work together with many and many have been our champions from the beginning of Eco Modern Concierge's conception in 2005. 

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5 Commonly Used Products Lately | Houston Professional Organizer

Here are some commonly used organizing products that we have used on organizing projects lately. What are some of your favorite organizing products? You can find all these organizing products at ecomodernconcierge.com/shop

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8 Common Mistakes When Designing a Closet

As a professional organizer we see a ton of different closet designs. Some are really good and some are really not that great. As professional organizers there are so many times that we say how much we wish contractors, design professionals and home owners would consult with us before designing a closest. 

Here are some common design mistakes when it comes to designing a master closet:

1. Not enough long hang. I can't tell you how many times that we go into a closet and there is not nearly enough long hanging space in an area. Many women have a ton of dresses and long hanging space is necessary to make things fit properly. 
2. Not using dead space properly. A lot of times there is dead space randomly in a closet whether that is up high, in a corner, on the side of a bay, etc. In order to maximize storage try to use every little bit of space. 
3. Shelves not deep enough. If there is shelving above a closet rod or somewhere in the closet it is usually not deep enough. You want it to be deep enough in order to be able to utilize the shelf with some type of basket or bin if one is needed. 
4. Shelving is not adjustable. If you have a wall of shelving, often times we see that it is not adjustable. It is really beneficial to have adjustable shelves inside of cabinet or if there is a wall of shelves. 
5. Rod not out deep enough for hanger size. The average adult size hanger is around 15-17". If you want a non messy look then make the closet rod come out to at least 14" deep.
6. Bad lighting. If your closet has bad lighting you will not enjoy it and it will more than likely not spark a lot of happiness and joy when you walk into it. 
7. Not enough shoe storage. If you have a lot of shoes plan a space for it. I promise it will be helpful. 
8. Not planning a place for jewelry, socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. If you know you will wan to be some or all of these items in your closet, then plan for it. 

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