An Organizer’s Chaos Confession

Last week was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week.

✤I indulged in a girls’ weekend of fun and came home with no voice.

✤I took on 11 new clients (Woohoo!) and had to work through midnight to finish their designs & field emails. I told a neighbor I could drive her son to school. That made me hate my alarm; I missed my morning run.

✤An hour-away client decided she wanted me to design another California Closet (Yippee!) and I left my laptop charger at her home.

✤When a Big Event finally happened Thursday night, I had to have a colleague make my presentation. Did I mention that I lost my voice?

✤What else happened last week? ...

Stylishly Organized, Time Management

Posted September 27, 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 .

What’s All the Fuss About Labor Day?

Labor Day is such a great holiday! You get a break from work & school; there are parades; cooler weather has to be soon; sales abound for any item imaginable; and, if you’re lucky enough to live where I do, the great State Fair of Texas is just around the corner.

Labor Day’s purpose is to give us a day off right?

Right! It is to celebrate the American Worker & all that we hard working Americans do for this great nation. It’s one of our older holidays, going national in 1892. There are historically, two ways to celebrate this holiday. One, taking on a weekend project & working your way through the holiday or two, taking advantage of the time off to relax ...

Family, Stylishly Organized

Posted August 29, 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 .

Getting Out the Door….On Time

Nothing is harder than getting up to the same frantic routine everyday after a bad night’s sleep or not enough sleep at all and stress awaiting your whole day. You might as well just pull the covers over your head and hide…..or should you?

Granted, daily living with an over scheduled schedule is a daunting task, but you are a smart cookie who has mastered much more complicated problems! You can master this too. It just takes a little pre-planning and elimination of decision making early in the morning when you brain is still half asleep.

1.Pack lunches the night before while cleaning up the dinner dishes. At some point, the kids will need to take this over with your supervision of course. Getting them ...

Kids, Stylishly Organized, Time Management, Tips

Posted August 22, 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 .