Keep Your Craft Area Organized

Crafts are so much fun! Wrapping beautiful gifts for the special ones in your life. Creating a memory album. Quilting that unique baby quilt. Needle working for a friend’s wedding. Painting the next masterpiece for your home (instead of buying someone else’s). Creating beautiful jewelry everyone you meet admires.

Aahhh! Ooohh! The rewards of creativity. The creative process. The sharing of your beautiful works.

BBRRRRIIIIIITTTTT! (that was a needle scratching across a record) You think, “Look at that mess left behind! Who’s going to clean that up? Well, I’m too busy now. It will have to be done later. I’ll just do a quick stuff & go for now.”

If you want to keep your craft fun & easy to delve back in to when you have ...

Arts + Crafts, Organizing, Stylishly Organized, Tips

Posted October 24, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Kids Craft Organization

I’m sure your kids have come around while your are busy scrapbooking, beading, stamping, quilting, sewing, wood working, painting—doing one of your “for me” activities. They just wanted to help or touch all of your pretty tools & supplies. Admit it! Seeing them play with all of your expensive toys scares you to death. (—or even irritates you as you rush to complete a project in your limited time)

Why not give them crafts of their own and a place near you? Let this percolate for a moment.

Let’s list the reasons this might not work.

They could be distracting to your work if they are next to you.
They might still want to use some of your expensive & ...

Arts + Crafts, Kids, Organizing, Stylishly Organized

Posted October 17, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

HOLIDAY SEASON PREP: 4 STEPS TO CRAFTS ORGANIZATION

I blogged for California Closets. If you haven’t read my craft storage tips at their site, read on…..

As you begin to prepare for Halloween and fall, now is a good time to organize your craft supplies and take stock so you will be prepared as each holiday arrives.

Holiday crafting is more fun and you’ll feel more creative when your supplies are tidy and easy to find!

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1. DESIGNATE A SPACE

Don’t have a designated space for your crafts? Consider cleaning out a closet or repurposing a piece of furniture near a good work space. As a last resort, utilize space under a bed with plastic bins or built-in ...

Arts + Crafts, Organizing, Seasonal Organizing, Stylishly Organized, Tips

Posted October 10, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Clutter Control is Out There!

I saw the new Sarah Jessica Parker movie last night, I Don’t Know How She Does It. It was great, by the way. There were several messages that ran through the movie. They were typical ones: women should be women, it’s hard living in a man’s world, it’s hard to be a mom and work outside the home, etc.

One theme that struck me, though far less obvious, was underlying through the whole movie. Use the support around you. Naturally, I applied it to my passion, Organization. Just as SJP turned to her best friend to keep herself sane, her assistant when things at the office were out of control, and her nanny, you can enlist support to tackle your clutter.

1.Friends/Family

You ...

Organizing, Stylishly Organized, Tips

Posted September 19, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Be Very Afraid…of that Growing Clutter!

A close friend sent me a card a while back that said, “Sure I could get organized, but where’s the fun in that?” She quickly apologized on the inside for mocking me and my lust for organization, but I just laughed.

I get that I am unique in my quest to have the world organized before I die. That it isn’t normal to drive down an alley looking into people’s garages wondering if they would mind me sneaking in to organize their clutter. That friends invite me over for dinner or ask me for a weekend visit not only because they like me but also in the hopes that I will organize some place in their home. I think it’s fun!

But I also ...

Inspiration, Organizing, Stylishly Organized, Tips

Posted September 12, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Toy Land

Once upon a time, there was a little child’s room full of wonderfully, magical toys!

Toys! Toys! Aauuuuggghhh!!!!!

Wait, that’s not how a fairytale goes. Fairytales are sweet & magical. But children change so fast from the time they are born until they are teenagers that unless you have a magic wand it seems impossible to stay on top of the growing toy mountain. (We won’t discuss what happens when the bell tolls time to crossover to teenagedom. That’s for another bedtime story.)

A long, long time ago in a land far away, when I was little, all of my toys fit on the floor of my small closet. My toys could have fit in Red Riding Hood’s basket. Today, toys are so large ...

Kids, Organizing, Stylishly Organized

Posted September 6, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

PANTRY TIPS: THE 4 SECRETS TO FANTASTIC FOOD STORAGE

I blogged for California Closets. If you haven’t read my pantry tips at their site, read on…..

Is your food pantry either too small for a week’s worth of groceries or too messy to find that cake mix you think you bought?

Four simple strategies can be the magic wand that turns your pitiful pantry into a wonderful workhorse space. (And for you over-achievers, I’ve included an extra trick that can boost your pantry from efficient to beautiful and chic!)

1. PULL-OUTS:

Organizing, Stylishly Organized, Tips

Posted August 26, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Command Central

With school days eminent, your house is about to explode with backpacks, lunch boxes, sports equipment, school papers, school projects, shoes, mittens, hats, schedules and who knows what else! It’s all a little scary if you really dwell on it over your morning tea or coffee. Well, have your little pity party over your cup of brew & when the last drop is gone, then let’s get to work.

First, find a workable space in your home, easy for the kids to access. The most likely spots are the laundry room, kitchen breakfast nook, the study area, front door or their bedroom. Size may eliminate many of these locations, but every home is different, so find a room that has a hidden/unused space ...

Kids, Organizing, Stylishly Organized

Posted August 16, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Make Toys Fun Again

Our lives are very full of activities and things. Sometimes so much so that instead of enjoying any of it, we are just stressed out. One area to take back the enjoyment of life is to reduce the number of toys.

It can be really hard to part with our favorite things. There are memories attached, someone special gave it to you, it’s super cool, it cost a lot of money, you waited a loooong time to get it…..

But how can you truly enjoy new things when old, outgrown, worn-out, or out-dated things clog your space like acne clogs your pores. Eewww! is right. In fact, how can you even enjoy what you currently have if you can’t find it or there’s so much its just ...

Kids, Organizing, Stylishly Organized

Posted August 9, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .

Even Kids Love Organization!

They really do! But just like adults, if they have never organized their things, it can be difficult to know where to start.

As a parent, you are the important catalyst. Start your children on the road to organization by spending time with each child individually to show them what to do. One-on-one time & guidance from you can become a fun afternoon with newly created memories. Once it’s done, they are proud of their new space & the treasures they have found. And you have helped them edit their clothes & toys so you know what they need.

Don’t forget the treat at the end to thank them (and you) for their participation & hard work.

As with anything we work hard to ...

Kids, Organizing, Stylishly Organized

Posted August 1, 2011. Written by Leticia Pfeiffer. Edited by .