Luv Your Luggage

Baggalini Quilted Rolling Tote

Say HELLO to my lovely new piece of luggage!  

I've had my eye on this adorable bag by Baggalini for quite a while, and the moment 

I got notice that it went on sale at The Container Store I ran in there and bought it.  

It was absolutely perfect for my quick trip last weekend to Vegas for a friend's birthday.

I love how it has such large pockets that fit everything including my clothes, a laptop, my toiletry bag and a few pairs of shoes.  It also unzips in the middle to lay flat which is great for packing it up.

The best part about it is that it can fit everything I need and it fits under the seat on the plane.  Seriously!!

Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube

This organized packer always uses these amazing cubes from Eagle Creek to keep my clothes from getting wrinkled.  It also makes packing and unpacking a breeze.  

I was able to fit two (double-sided) cubes in my bag.

I swear that I was skipping through the Vegas airport- I'm sure the other travelers were sure that I had just hit the jackpot, but no one could have guessed that I was just giddy about my luggage.  

Wow, I AM a nerd!

~Leah 

Organizing Nerds

I attended an awesome presentation last night with NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers).  Vendors from companies that sell organizing products came to visit us and unveil some of their new products.  

My fave was the representative from Post-It... and it was pretty hysterical as he brought out each new tab, label, bright sticky pad, and pen because the whole group was oohing and aahhing in delight!  We were laughing together at being such organizing nerds.  

I mean, who freaks out about post-its?!  

Check these out:

This cool envelope also has a mini pocket for a business card.

This clear tab is great for marking a spot in a book- 

You can write a note on it and still see the words underneath.  Pretty nifty!

A pen, a highlighter, and sticky tabs?!  Shut the front door!!

~Leah

Leah: 1 Ikea: 0

Do you recognize this funny looking guy?  

Well, if you do then you have assembled a lot of Ikea furniture just like me.  And let me tell you, being familiar with this strange Ikea Assembly Man is not always a good thing.  I have cursed at him MANY times for being so unclear.  

 

It all started when my best friend and I moved into our first apartment in Manhattan after college.  We insisted on building all of our furniture ourselves, despite both of our mothers telling us it wasn't a good idea.  Hours later, with tears in our eyes and blisters on our hands we admitted that maybe they were right.

Now, almost ten years later I am still putting together Ikea furniture and staring at the instruction booklet (that has NO WORDS!!) with a look of confusion.  But I am happy to say that yesterday I assembled a new freestanding wardrobe for my bedroom in record time.  Yay!  It was really great to be able to move some of my clothes out of the guest room and sort through the stuff I never wear.  

So, thank you Ikea Assembly Man.  It was nice working with ya (for once!). 

~Leah

Book Clutter?

A family I have been working with has a very large book collection... very large, people!  

We have spent quite a few days working on sorting through their books, organizing them by categories, and then finishing up by putting them in chronological order.  It's been a fun project and my arm muscles are getting a workout from carrying all those books!

 

I used to keep all my books, but recently I have decided to donate most of them.  I just didn't want any "book clutter" and I would rather use my shelf space for other things.  It has been interesting to see how important books are in some households and how much space is dedicated to them.

So, here are my questions: 

Do you have a large book collection?  

Did you keep all your books from school?  If so, why did you keep them? 

Do you find yourself looking at the books again and even reading them?

Would you ever consider books as clutter?

~Leah

(photo credit: recent settlers)

An Unexpected Arrival

Three days ago, this little guy joined our family.  

We hadn't planned on getting another kitty.  Our cat, Diego, has been our main focus for so many years and it's not a secret that we are completely obsessed with him.  We always thought that it would be too stressful for him to get a "sibling."  

But then our friend sent us a photo of a tiny kitten that was found in a tire... and we couldn't resist.

Pono (the Hawaiian name was inspired by our recent honeymoon to Kauai) is so adorable.  He has more energy than I've ever seen and has been creating a bit of havoc in our house.  Let me just say that this organized girl is a bit worried about the mess of toys, litter, and towels that are all over the living room.  But it's totally worth it!  He's the best!  

I did label his binder with the notes from the vet... I had to do something!

~Leah

Just Dreamin'

Some days... well, most days... I dream of having a closet that I can fill entirely with crafts and gift wrapping supplies.  I think it would look something like this.  

I seriously love everything about this photo; the rolls of wrapping paper mounted to the wall, a rainbow of ribbon choices inside a trunk (so cool!), labeled bins on the shelves for projects.  Not to mention the lovely curtains and rug... aaahhh, I WANT IT!!  

What do you dream about having in your home?

~Leah

(Photo Credit: RealSimple.com)

Turn it up!

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of my morning working on my files.  I had obviously put it off for a while since I found articles and bills from around January and February that I hadn't filed yet!  Eek!  It's a good thing I have that "To Be Filed" letter tray, but it was getting way too packed.  

Since I knew this task may not be the most enjoyable thing to do, I decided to turn on some fun music to keep me motivated.  It worked!  Before long I was dancing around my little office space and the filing was all done.  yay!  

Here's a song I would highly recommend if you need some motivation: 

~Leah

Confession

I am seriously challenged in the bookkeeping department.

Don't get me wrong, I have some great files and all my receipts for my business are organized and labeled.  But when it comes to spreadsheets and reporting, I just want to run and hide.

So, instead of ignoring this for any longer I decided to confront it head on and ask for help.  

Today I have some bookkeeping/accounting experts coming over to give me some advice and help whip my office into shape!  I'm a little anxious about it but I know that I'll feel so much better after their visit.

Is this what my clients feel like before our first session??

~Leah

(photo credit: o5com)

Remains of the Day

...My Wedding Day, that is.

Baskets with our little chalkboard signs, jars, and programs from the ceremony

We had the most amazing wedding planner, Stefanie.  One of the coolest things she did was take all of our decor and personal items from the reception and took them back to our house at the end of the night.  When we got home the next day, all of our stuff was sitting in our living room and we didn't have to lift a finger.  Thanks, Stefanie!!  

My bins of crafting supplies and folders with To-Do lists

But that also meant that EVERYTHING WAS IN OUR LIVING ROOM!! 

Including all the bins of markers, spray paint, ribbon, and stamps.  

So, my lovely readers, what should I do with all of this stuff??  How much should I keep for memorabilia and how much should I toss?  Should I try to give some stuff to friends for their weddings or parties?  Should I just toss it since I can always look at the photos??  

An organizer friend of mine gave me some good advice yesterday: put the stuff in the guest room and leave it for a while.  Come back to it when you have had a little time to breathe and it won't seem as overwhelming.  It will be fun to look through it again. 

Okay, I'm going to do that!  Into the guest room it goes... 

In the meantime, I will just focus on thank you notes. :-)

~Leah

Confession

I got married two weeks ago and I completely neglected this blog for MONTHS!  

Boy, these past five months have been intense, filled with seating charts and table decorations and timelines.  It was a pretty stressful time, but it all culminated in the most magical day of my life.  

Although I did my best to stay very organized (did you expect anything less from me?!), it was tough to keep things together when dealing with families and lots of emotions.  I admit that I obsessed about details that sound completely crazy when I talk about it - I won't tell you how many times I went to Michael's to find the perfect Kraft paper!  But when I woke up that morning, none of that mattered anymore.  All I cared about was seeing my beloved and having the time of my life. 

So, two weeks later I am finally ready to get back to reality... and deal with the huge mess in my home!  For just this week, I will share a few struggles I am having with the wedding aftermath.  I would love to hear from all of you married folks if you have any tips for organizing all that wedding stuff and if you struggled to get back to reality.  

Mostly, I am so excited to be blogging again and to share the ups and downs of organizing my life.  

Missed you!!!!  

 

~Leah

(Photo: Our ceremony setting- gorgeous, if I do say so myself!)

A daily dose of inspiration

 

 Today, I would like to share some lovely words that a new friend passed along.  

Thank you, Indy!!

I have been given this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. 

What I do today is impor­tant because I am exchang­ing a day of my life for it.

 I will learn some­thing new today–and not worry about all the things I still need to learn.

~Leah

(photo credit:Useitinfo)

Hello Home Goods

I finally got my butt over to Home Goods today... and I think I'm in love.

The moment I walked through the door, this wall of bins caught my eye.  

And before I knew it, my cart was already full. 

Anyone else love this store?  I think it may become my new obsession.

~Leah

p.s. I've been testing out Instagram on my iphone.  Another new addiction!!  

Those Darn Dollar Bins

I was shopping at Michael's the other day and got some neat stuff for crafting projects. By the time I got to the registers to check out, there was a pretty long line.  And guess what was lined up right in front of us as we stood waiting to check out.... Those dollar bins full of random little gifts.

As the line inched forward, I noticed that we were all looking at those bins.  I wasn't interested in ANY of that stuff when I was shopping the rest of the store, but once I was forced to stand in front of them and wait, all those nick nacks started to look cute.  I caught myself sifting through the monogrammed notepads, silly pens, and charm bracelets when I truly did not need any of it!  

 

They were so tempting and I know that I am not alone! My client and I were talking about those bins today, commiserating on our lack of self control around them.  Ugh!  Why do we all of a sudden need cute gardening gloves just because they are $1?!  We don't!  It's just CLUTTER!

Next time, I am going to bring a book to read in line to keep me distracted.  Do you have any tips to keep me away from those bins?

~Leah

(photo credit: Scott Hamlin)

Confession

I am baby-crazy.

Any of my friends will tell you this is true.  I just light up when a baby is around.

And I LOVE to help parents get their nurseries set up and organized.

There is so much joy and anticipation when a baby is coming.  But there can also be some stress and anxiety that the house is just not ready for this new addition.  So, any help that I can give parents before their little one joins the family is such a pleasure for me.  

I recently came across Project Nursery, which is a great resource for getting your baby's room set up.  Their photos are so inspiring and I don't know about you, but I am giddy just looking at them.  

Not only are the toys so sweetly displayed in the room, but they are also very organized!  Smaller bins on shelves make it easy to grab a few things to play with and make clean-up a breeze.  And how cool is that argyle pattern on the walls?! 

I may have to call up a friend with a baby to see if I can babysit.  Any takers??

~Leah

(photo credit: Accessoire)

elfa Sale!!!

This is the first year in five years that I have not been designing closets at

The Container Store for their HUGE sale.  

The Container Store

A part of me is having "elfa withdrawal," but at least I still get emails from the store 

with photos of all the amazing organized solutions. 

Have you ever tried elfa in your home?  

They call it the "Potato Chip Product": Once you try it, you keep buying more! 

~Leah

Do a little dance

This is completely random, but I had to share it with everyone!

I LOVE how these "normal" people can move- it always make me smile.

So, do you have a Happy Dance?  What makes you want to boogie down?

~Leah

Confession

I do not make New Year's Resolutions.

I guess I have found that it just sets me up for failure,

and I don't want to start out a new year beating myself up.

But I do love how the new year represents a new beginning... a fresh start...

and a Clean Slate!

For 2012, I am simply going to do my best to be positive, loving, hard working, introspective, patient, and grateful.  And I am going to give myself a break once in a while from trying to be "perfectly organized."  I hope that you will do the same.

~Leah

(photo credit: Design Collector)