Houston Professional Organizer // Lego Organization

Who is a LEGO fan or have kids that have TONS of LEGOS? Are they constantly everywhere? I can't tell you have many LEGOS we have organized through the years. They are countless. Some professional organizers LOVE organizing LEGOS and some not so much. Since it is summertime LEGOS are probably getting more play time than usual, so keeping them organized is important if you don't want them to drive you crazy.

Here are different ways we have organized LEGOS through the years:

• By color. most of time LEGOS will not stay color coded unless you set boundaries and teach kids how you want it to be.
• All thrown in a box 😂. This is probably the most common way that clients like to organize LEGOS because they know that it will get messed up again. 
• By set. If all the pieces are still together we sometimes organize LEGOS by the set. This makes it easy when you want to go build that set again.

Here are some products that are often used to organize LEGOS:

• Clear shoes boxes
• Clear drawer pull outs
• Bin with divided bins inside of the larger bin (as pictured above)
• Ikea pull out bins
• mDesign lidded bins
• Divided lazy susan
• Colorful drawer containers

How do you like to organize LEGOS?

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Houston Profesional Organizer // Did You Know We Take Donations for you?

As a professional organizer and concierge we get asked ALL the time if we take donations. The answer is YES at Eco Modern Concierge we take donations for you for FREE!! If donations can fit in our vehicles at the end of an organizing session we will take them for you for free. We do not take construction materials, trash or large furniture. If you can and want to, we highly encourage them to donate rather than trash items. We donate to various places and charities in need. We even donate some speciality items to various charities that take those specialty items. Many charities have textile recyclers that come by so if there are clothing items that are not in good shape they can still be recycled. 

Where do you like to take your donations?

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Green / Eco Companies & Initiatives in Houston, TX

As many of you know I am passionate about eco causes and like to support eco companies whenever possible. We are not perfect when it comes to all things eco, but try and do what we can when we can. I try to be pushy on our concierge and professional organizing clients when it comes to eco causes I believe in, but thankfully most are willing to recycle and donate when they can. Here are some various Houston eco companies. Some I have visited and some I have not. So many eco companies have gone out of business through the years in Houston, so it was hard finding new companies and ones that are still open. I have also included some Houston green initiatives that seem promising. I won't list them, but there are a done of If you know of any we should add, please share!

Eco Modern Concierge: shameless plug. We are a lifestyle management company that helps clients that get tasks done they don't have time to do or don't want to do. Our company offers professional organizing and personal assistant tasks to businesses and individuals in the Houston area and beyond. 

Rooted to Home: the owner is a zero waste activist and many of their items are by women and fair trade artisans. 

JJ Fords & Geauxcrates: these are plastic moving crates that are great to use instead of cardboard because they are sturdy and reusable. We have used these crates many of times for professional organizing and move management clients. 

Natran Green Pest Control: Natran is an eco pest control company in Houston. 

Refinement Houston: a local Houston company that sells various eco friendly products.

Pat Greer's Kitchen: Pat Greer is a plant based / vegan food chef in Houston that uses many sustainable practices and makes delicious food here in Houston. 

Cason Graye Homes: Eco friendly custom home builders in Houston. 

Green Cremation Services: this Houston company offers green /eco cremation services using low energy flame process or water cremation process.

Junkluggers & College Hunks Hauling Junk: I have used both of these companies for professional organizing and concierge clients here in Houston and they donate and dispose of many items in an eco way before trashing the rest. 

Gorman Uniform: they are doing various things like reusing hangers and using eco laundry services for their uniforms.

Some other green /eco resources in Houston:

Eco / green things to do in Houston

Green Initiatives in Houston

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4 Tips to ReOrganizing Your Closet For Working From Home

Are you still working from home? Have you gotten into the slump of wearing the same old thing or defaulting to all loungewear? As a professional organizer, we are still getting a ton of requests from clients to help them organize their home offices, closet and various other spaces to help them work from. They still want to be presentable for any regular meetings, zoom call, etc. Below are 4 tips to reorganize your closet when working from home. 

• Put 3 outfits together with jewelry and all. This way if you have to get on an unexpected video conference call you are ready to go. 

• Purge work clothes. Now is a great time to purge work clothes, hose, shoes, etc. that you no longer love, doesn't fit, has holes, is in bad condition, etc. 

• Have your most used clothing items front and center and easily accessible. Less used items should be in harder to reach areas of your closet. ​This way you have your go tos easy to access and know exactly what you want and like.

• Start a donation pile. ​​As you declutter your closet have a donation pile easily accessible. So you can drop off or schedule a donation pick when places begin opening again. I like to use a bag or basket on the floor of my closet under my hanging clothes that way if I try something on and don't like it, I can just toss it in there. 

What tips do you have for reorganizing your closet for working from home? Are you starting to go back into the office, will you do a hybrid or will permanently be working from home?

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7 Tip on How to Manage Your Vacation & 2nd Homes

More and more we run into professional organizing and concierge clients that have more than 1 home. Whether it is a ranch house, beach house, mountain house, dessert house, lake house, etc. Every so often we get asked to help manage those 2nd and vacation homes. During the summers and winters and during the pandemic many of our clients fled Houston to their 2nd homes in an effort to get be somewhere different and because many had the time to spend at their 2nd / vacation homes.

Managing a 2nd or vacation home (s) can be a lot of work. There are several things you can do in order to take the stress out of it and really make the most of your time while you are there or if you will be renting it.  

• Inventory what you currently have. Inventory what you currently have at your 2nd home so you are not constantly bringing unnecessary items to your 2nd home. If you will be renting it, you can keep track if anything goes missing.
• Make a list of what you need. What are some things you want to add to your 2nd / vacation home? Are there items that you have been meaning to take there? Repairs that need to be made? Make a list of anything that comes to mind while you are there.
• Maintain the house. Schedule regular maintenance. Try to pick service providers who you can get on a regular service where they call you or automatically maintain. This will significantly reduce your stress level and keep things in tip top shape.
• Organize. Get your 2nd home / vacation home organized and make sure there is a place for everything. That way it makes it easier to see what you have and what you need. 
• Keep a vendor list. Do you have specific vendors and services that you really like in the area where you have a vacation or 2nd home? If so, keep an ongoing vendor list. Often times vendors that service remote locations are not always findable on Google and are local and known by word of month. If you find a good vendor keep their information handy.
• House binder. Make a house binder of all the things related to your vacation home that include contacts, local stores, vendors, bills and services associated with the 2nd or vacation home, etc. This will be a lifesaver in a pinch or if you have guests over to your house when you are not present. 
• Have an emergency contact or service handy. Be sure to have an emergency contact or service that you can call in case you need anything last minute, need them to check on the house during a natural disaster, etc. 

Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to managing a 2nd or vacation home?

Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

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6 Reasons Why it is Important to Write Things Down for Visual People

Are you a visual person? I am and writing things down with pen and paper really help me remember all the things that I need to do for myself, my business and for clients.  Doing professional organizing and concierge tasks for clients can mean juggling a ton of different balls all at once and writing everything down visually lets me quickly scan what needs to be and what the most important tasks may be. If you are a visual person like me, here are some reasons why writing things down is important. 

• It helps you remember things. You can often retain more when you are doing the act of writing things down.
• It helps you keep a record of what needs to be done. Are you a list maker? I am and having a written list helps me keep a record and track of everything that needs to be done. I can ask my husband what needs to be done, but he does better when he has a list and can check things off.
• Helps you get your ideas out of your head. Do you ever think of ideas at the strangest times? I do and writing things down immediately if possible helps me remember them. A lot of times these are things that need to be done in business or various ideas I have about various things. 
• Clears the mind. Before bed I often try to do a brain dump to get everything out of my head that is going on and what needs to be done the next day. This is so helpful to not start the days off chaotic thinking of the 5 million things that need to get done and how they are going to get done. That is why I try to plan the night before. Since having a baby this has been extremely helpful. 
• Helps with productivity. Keeps you on track of what needs to be done and staying productive because you can see what needs to be done and map out the best way to prioritize those tasks. 
• Frees up mental space. Getting things out of your head really helps you clear your mental space. 

Some other thoughts....

• Because I write so many things down I have made it a "goal" this year to use up various notepads I had laying around that were half used. I am happy to report that it is going well so far.
• I once read that writing things down in a green pen or pencil helps you remember things more. I am not sure the science behind this, but I like the color green so it works out well.
• I love using colored pens in general for writing things down because, for me, it helps me remember things more and I actually WANT to accomplish things. 
• I don't know about you, but for me making lists and crossing things off of them just feels dang good. 

Are you a visual person? Why do you like writing things down?

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4 Things You Can Do to Get Your Linen Closet Organized | Houston Professional Organizer

The linen closet can often become a dumping area for ALLLL the things besides linens because it become easy to just stuff things inside of it. There are all kinds of ways to organize a linen closet depending on how much you want to store in there. Here is where you can start:

1. Purge. Get rid of anything that is torn, stained, you don't like or that you would be embarrassed to have if you have guests come over. 
2. Make sure you have full sheet sets all together. That way when you go to change the sheets you have the full set all together and you are not searching all over for that random pillow case. Fold your towels where it makes it easy to grab them off the shelf and put them back on the shelf after you do the laundry. You can use shelf dividers, bins, baskets or whatever you would like to corral the sheet sets and towels. 
3. Label. Label the shelf or use a tag so you know what is what in the linen closet. This makes it easy to quickly identify what you are looking for. It is great especially for when you are in a rush.
4. Donate. Donate what you no longer need, want or like. Consider donating towels and sheets to an animal shelter or many local charities have textile recyclers that come by and pick up the unwanted textiles. 

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