The tops of the piano keys have little capstan screws that can double as actual key hooks or jewelry hooks, if you want it to serve a purpose other than art (you probably can’t fit key rings on every hook, as they are close together). Some of the keys are a little chipped, beat up or missing some ivory vaneer, but I think that makes them more interesting.

The backer board is painted… this one is red. Some also have stain. All are polyurethaned for protection and shine. The combination of the new color background with the old vintage piano keys creates an interesting look. Each has a sawtooth hook on the back, so it’s ready for easy hanging.

I also used the internal parts to make jewelry organizers.

These organizers are the perfect way to hang and organize your bracelets, earrings, necklaces, small purses, scarves, ties, and more.    There are over 40 metal pegs/hooks on each organizer for hanging your items.

Beach Chalkboard

The brown tree, red barn and green grass are painted, stained and polyurethaned. It includes a chalk ledge (on the grass). The remaining black areas are a chalkboard, including a title area (above the limb) and the tree hole.

tree and barn chalkboard

The wood used to make these frames is reclaimed from the early 1900′s. It is tongue and groove wainscotting. I turned the groove side inward, creating a chalk ledge/channel. The frame was sanded to remove flaking paint and sprayed with a coat of polyurethane for further protection.

I used green paint on this square chalkboard.

stained mail organizer

decorative pockets

framed mail organizer

Happy New Year from In Order!

I’ve always thought it was amusing to see car models named with a number.  I  wondered if the number had any significance, like the M300 might stand for Megapowerful 300 horsepower.  Or perhaps the X5 M is for “eXtreme 5-door Motorcar”.  The R8 5.2 quattro must refer to the Revamped 8-speed transmission that clocks a zero to 60 time in 5.2 seconds and Quattro must refer to 4 spanish leather seats.  Now I don’t make cars, but I do make a product that I have decided to assign a cool number name.  Introducing the T4MO, the Totally Terrific Table Topper Mail Organizer.  It’s pretty sweet, just like the cars with number names.

I make these wall-mounted chalkboard mail organizers, which are sold on etsy.  They are really functional for holding all of a family’s mail, but they are also quite large and sturdy, so not every person is thrilled with the idea of hanging it on the wall.  Additionally some homes and apartments don’t have a lot of extra wall space.  So, through some good feedback, I have developed this table top mail organizer.  Theres no hanging involved; just unpack it and put it on a counter or table. It has hinges at the top, so it opens into an “A” shape.  Each side of the “A” is 12″ wide x 20″ tall, so it can fit almost anywhere.  It has two deep pockets on one side; one for magazines and one for mail. The other side is a simple chalkboard.  In fact, the entire thing is painted in chalkboard paint, so you can write anywhere on it, including the pockets.  If you need a small, sturdy, easy way to store your mail, check out the Tabletop Mail Organizer chalkboard wall mounted with magazine and mail pockets.  It’s not actually the T4MO.  But that does sound more succinct; more organized than the real name, wouldn’t you agree?

I recently completed a job with a client; we will call her Teebeekay.  I protect the disorganized person’s identity in case her friends stumble upon this blog.  She began our correspondence with terms such as “disaster” and “panic attack” and “bulldoze”, so I knew I must be in for quite a scene.  Her overall goal was to sell her house, so not only did I need to bulldoze with sensitivity; I needed to stage it to make it look like HGTV had just fluffed the pillows and were about to unveil a makeover.

office organization

Upon meeting Teebeekay on her doorstep, she said, “I promise I will only say this once, but I am really embarrassed to invite you in.”  I explained that this is what I do and I’ve seen it all.  I also noticed that her home was not in fact “the worst you’ve ever seen”, as many people expect.  In fact, she had quite a nice home with great features.  I could see past the accumulation of stuff and could tell it would look great in the end.

It got me thinking that so many people need help getting organized, but they don’t reach out for help because of embarrassment.  It’s sometimes a fear of being judged.  It’s sometimes that the disorganization isn’t even the “real me”, but things have gotten a little crazy as of late.  It’s sometimes that they fear the organizer will write a blog afterwards telling the world how disorganized their client was.  Those are all legit fears.

Now this client has agreed to my blogging and allowed some comic leeway in describing our experience.  It is, of course, easier to agree to this after the problem is solved and you feel you are on the right track again.   Thank you for that, Teebeekay, because good-natured humor, we found, is a great way to get past the seriousness of life, and the anxiety of clutter.  So we made a 4-day plan, during which time she only mentioned her embarrassment one more time… for each room or closet we entered.

The first step was to go through rooms and determine items to donate, recycle, trash and bring to a storage facility.  The second step was to get all of those items out.  The third step was to organize what remained.  The final step was to stage the home.

The overall concept was to simplify the look of the entire house so it was not too crowded, too busy, or too cluttered… while allowing her and her family to function within the home until it sold.  We then depersonalized it, which sounds like a negative thing, but once you put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer, you understand.  Do you want to see someone else’s family photos, tchotchke collection, or piles of clutter?  My answer for you is: not if you are trying to imagine yourself there.

The staging idea, in my opinion, is to make someone feel like they need to make the smallest mental leap possible, in order to see themself there. Part of that is related to how it is decorated; part has to do with removing the feeling that it’s going to be “a lot of work”; part is the simple concept that they can see all the space clearly without distractions and imagine how they could use it.

So, we removed some interesting items… a ten year old infant car seat, pull-up diapers, old stuffed animals including a huge Papa Smurf, more than a winter’s supply of starter logs, clothing, sneakers, sports equipment, old work files, piles of magazines, a massive collection of old toys and games the kids didn’t even want anymore, and some binder/collator machine along with all of its supplies.

Then we found some items that she had forgotten about that were perfect for staging the house.  This saved money since we bought less for staging.  Many personal and sentimental keepsakes were also found, bringing on joy and good memories.  These “finds” seemed to bring her family some positive emotional connections during this project.

So as things piled up, I reminded her that it can look worse before it gets better.  Her son even commented on the third day, “It’s weird that you hired this guy to help us get organized but the house looks worse than ever.”  But just like the TV shows, it all pulled together at the end: the donations and recycling got delivered, the out-of-season and “can do without it for a while” stuff went to storage.  The broken, soiled, unsafe, and other items inappropriate for donation, found the trash can.

basement storage

The remainder was organized using storage shelves, bins and boxes she already had.  The final touches, or staging, included rearranging furniture, hanging artwork, and decorating bookshelves.  I ended my stay with some extra staging suggestions that she could consider just prior to showing the home to a potential buyer.

Overall, the disaster was tamed, the panic was eased, and I think it’s safe to say my client is not embarrassed anymore.  

*  While things are still in your closet, go through & weed out.

*  Put all remaining similar items together, focusing on hanging length and also on piles.

*  Note the width of hanging clothes (i.e., 6’ short hanging shirts, 2’ medium hanging

    pants, 1’  long hanging dresses).

*  Note the folded clothes in terms of 1’ high piles (i.e., 4’ sweaters and sweatshirts, 2’

    of jeans).

*  Note # of shoes, hats, purses and anything else that you want in the closet.

*  Add space to the above figures if you plan to grow your wardrobe.

*  If you plan to re-do the closet system, empty the closet (keeping like items together).

*  Remove old closet system if it’s not workable with your current clothing situation.

*  Measure your closet and note wall widths and heights as well as outlet locations, vents,

    attic pull-down stairs, etc.

*  Patch the walls, prime the patched areas and re-paint the entire closet… use a color. 

    It will look better than stark white and won’t show every scuff mark. 

    Increase your light bulb wattage or change

    the lighting if you think it’s dark.

*  Identify closet systems you like in store or online. 

*  See if that company has online design software,

    like Martha Stewart closet design.

*  Design your closet or have someone like me

    InOrder2Organize do it for you.

*  Plan for often-used items with-in easy reach

    and lesser used items up high.

*  Buy your new closet system. 

*  Bring a friend and a larger vehicle to the store because

    the products are heavy and often in large boxes. 

*  Choose the boxes that look like they were not dropped on the loading dock, or you will

    be furious when you get home. 

*  Also, avoid the heavily taped-up ones.  Those are the ones someone returned that were

    damaged or  missing parts, and have now been put back on the shelf.

*  Find & mark the studs.

*  Unpack what will seem to be about 70,000 pieces and arrange them in a way that makes

    each step simpler and less frustrating.

*  Install your new closet.

*  Stand back and admire it.

*  Put all of items back in neatly.  Take your time.  It’s silly to take all the time to re-do the

    closet only to randomly shove things back in.  Many people tend to do this, which

    highlights the fact that organizing is about habits as much as it is about the storage

    space.

Enjoy.

For a printable version of this check list click here.

Medium mail organizer

“Now seriously, how could anyone resist these?”  That’s how it ended, but not quite the way it started.

I re-did the photos of my mail organizers  for Etsy.  That doesn’t sound like anything major at first, but read on.  When I took the original photos, the mail organizers were not fully built so I painted a piece of drywall, laid it on a couple 2 by 4’s, then put the board on top… then placed the mail pockets, magazine pocket, and key hooks onto the board.  There was no smoke or mirrors, yet it still looked pretty good.  But when I stood over it, I couldn’t get the entire unit into the frame.  So I stood on a small step stool… then a chair… then a wobbly bar stool.

small mail organizer

Seriously?  How high do I need to go to take a proper photo?  So I stood on my tippy toes (on top of the wobbly bar stool) and leaned over the center of the board, and like an marksman in the Olympics that competes in the biathlon  (that event where they cross country ski, then suddenly stop and shoot their gun at a target), I steadied my breathing… and carefully pulled the trigger.  A crack rang out through the tri-state area.  I had just shot a hole in the mail organizer.

So after I repaired the mail organizer with spray foam and spackle, I got my actual camera this time and realized I was right: this bar stool just wasn’t working.  So I climbed up the only ladder I had… a 40’ extension ladder.   It seemed a little ridiculous but I figured, I’ll just zoom in a bit and it should be fine.  So perched up slightly higher than the roof of my house, I leaned over again like the last time (to center it in the frame), and… leaned… slightly…too… Ooooh nooo!  The next thing I knew, I was completely separated from the ladder, falling.   During the initial moment of the fall, I felt frustrated… but not that I was falling.

I was frustrated that I still didn’t have good photos.  So I fell in a classic skydiving position, and snapped off several great shots before finally… SMASHING into the board with my chest.  Luckily, with the 2 x 4’s underneath, I survived.  Shaking off the cobwebs, I stumbled up to my computer and viewed the shots.   Considering the circumstances, the photos weren’t terrible, but I still wasn’t satisfied.  People make decisions based on these photos, I thought.

medium mail organizer

So after completely rebuilding the mail organizer again, I decided against the ladder approach, and actually built the mail organizer to its completion, secured some sturdy mirror hangers to it, and hung it on the wall.  Then, like a professional photographer, I bounced perfect lighting off the ceiling, and wrote clever little notes on the chalkboard, with the intention of making the mail organizers irresistible.

small mail station

Luckily, I held back a bit.  They can actually be resisted… albeit, with significant will power.  My hope though is that you’ll think, Why am I resisting this?… It’s actually a good thing… It’s going to help me function better.  It looks good.  All my mail will be in one place.  My table and kitchen counter will be clean and clutter free, and we can write whatever we want on it… WhatEVER we want!

 Or something like that.  I suppose the question is: Does resisting even make sense?

Shared on: http://orgjunkie.com/blog

Back to School Checklist

*  Find out when school starts – Mark your calendar and tell your children the date

*  Notify the school of any health issues or allergies your child has

*  Arrange before care and after care

*  Arrange getting to and from the bus or school

*  Fill out necessary forms like emergency contact if the school doesn’t have it already

*   Get on school contact list for closure announcements (email or phone)

*   Get school calendar – write all half days and holidays.  Make yourself a note

a week in  advance so you have time to make alternate arrangements for

child car or pick up, if needed

*   Have your children memorize your address and phone number

*  Donate old toys and clothes

*  Buy school supplies (check school web site for a list or wait for teacher instructions to

avoid wasting money on folders and binders they can’t use anyway)

*    Buy clothing if needed (things that can mix and match give more options)

*    Establish a bedtime for school (gradually work back to that in advance, if summer bedtime is later)

*   Consider alarm clocks for the kids (and/or lamp with timer)

*   Establish a homework time and location

*   Set limits on TV, video games and/or computer usage

*   Are clothes washed for the first few days/week of school?

*   Have child choose clothes for each day of the first week and set them aside

*   Do you have food for breakfasts and lunches?

*    Prepack some of the lunch the night before (juice box, fruit, snack, etc.)

*    Label backpack and lunch bag/box with child’s name

*    Establish an evening routine (shower, clothes out for tomorrow, read, etc.)

*    Follow a morning routine (dress, eat, brush, finish packing lunch, confirm homework in backpack)

*     Have child place jacket, backpack by door to show they are fully ready to go

*      Require child to be fully ready to go (sneakers on, backpack & jacket at door) before turning on the TV, to avoid last minute chaos

*      After school, have a place that sneakers and backpack/homework always reside, to avoid craziness the following morning

*      Create a place for papers that need parent review, so they don’t get covered on the kitchen counter or dining room table

*      Attempt to do something for yourself before the kids awake (exercise, read, shower, etc.)

Closet Before

So we agreed on the layout, color and other details that would bore you.  No, Chris, bore me with the boring details… please.  OK. As with many clients, we agreed that I would tear out the old closet with massive sledgehammers because she hated it so much.  I would then patch the walls with huge buckets of joint compound (yes – that means spackle), prime it, and then paint it all.

Closet After

Not all clients choose to have me paint (or even paint it themselves) because “it’s just a closet”.  But let me tell you: paint your closet and it will accentuate the new awesomeness of it.  I know it’s a very technical explanation, but please consider this. What I really enjoyed about this job was the client.  I am not kissing up.  Perhaps it was that she was quite excited about getting herself organized and we shared many ideas about the closet.  She would say “I love this”, pointing to a picture in a magazine or she’d send me a link to a website.  Then, like in the movie Airplane, I would grab her shoulders and smack her across the face, and say, “Getta hold of yourself”. In my mind, I was thinking: good customer service.  The point is, sometimes I need to say, “That’s a cool idea and I can do that, but you’ll lose three feet of hanging space.  Do you want to donate some clothes?”  And, of course, as a girl that loves her clothes… and her shoes… and her purses, she said no.  She had already made good progress weeding out and donating many items.  The actual point here is: the design became a combination of both of our ideas and style.  This yields the best results. She even had clear shoe boxes ordered and ready to go with photos of each pair of shoes when I arrived to start the job.  So after the closet was painted and system installed, each pair got their own box and photo.  This made it easier to see what was in each box, since they were on the top shelf. Now with regard to purses, we had been throwing around some options and nothing was really finalized and what she said next floored me: “Chris, I trust you. Do what you think is right.”  With this new found freedom, I leaned way back with my head to the skies and yelled, “Freeeeeeedom!”  When I looked back at her she was still smiling, to my surprise.   With this client confidence, it gave me the creative ability to think outside the box (but still inside the closet) and come up with a solution that was both functional and stylish.  According to her testimonial, she seems to have approved.

Closet Before

Closet After

When Chris completed my bedroom closet renovations I found myself in pure rapture! Quite simply, he rocks! After years of stuffing clothing, shoes, purses, office stationary, et al into my closets, I finally have a system that works and begs to be maintained! If you’re finding yourself cluttered and seeking structure, foundation and an element of sophistication to your closets, call Chris immediately. You won’t be disappointed!  ~Lisa, Piscataway NJ

Closet After