Organising The Shoe Collection

Organised Shoes

Shoes are a girls best friend. We love them and you can never have enough of them.

There are some great products on the market for organising your shoes. The right product for you will be totally dependent on the amount of storage you have, how many shoes you have and how often your wear your shoes. Here are a couple of my favourite storage options.

Original Shoe Boxes

Some people like to keep their shoes in their original shoe box. They then take a photo of the shoes and stick them on the outside of the shoe box. That way it’s easy to see which shoes are in which boxes. Depending on the number of shoe boxes you have, you may also like to do a register, listing all your shoes with a corresponding image.

See Through Shoe Boxes

You can replace your cardboard shoe boxes with see through shoe boxes.

Fabric Shoe Holders

Whilst they may not look that great, you can use a fabric shoe holder which clips over your wardrobe pole and hangs down. However, this is not a good option if you don’t have a lot of hanging space.

Shoe Racks – Great For Organising Shoes

There is quite a range of wooden and metal shoe racks out there.  Checkout places like Ikea, Kmart and Howard storage and see their range. The extendable ones are good option.

Custom Made Shoe Racks

Now, if you are a serious shoe collector, then it may be worth having custom made shoe storage created.

There are lots of other shoe storage options out there. When selecting a storage product, you really need to assess how many shoes you have and the space available. So what are you waiting for. Its the perfect time to do a declutter and cull and organise your shoes.  Then once you have organised the shoe collection, you can start on other areas of the house – perhaps your makeup draw. For some handy tips on decluttering your make up draw you can review to declutter your makeup draw another blog designed to give you some tips and inspiration.

Until next time, happy organising.

By Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser

Declutter Your Makeup Draw

Did you know that just like other products, cosmetics have an expiry date? When was the last time you decluttered your cosmetics draw?

I am fanatical about use by dates on food and I apply the same principle when it comes to cosmetics.

In Europe, cosmetics have a use by date on them, however, interestingly in Australia cosmetics don’t. Given you are putting product on your face and eye area, you can never be too careful. When working with clients to organise their home, I regularly find old perfumes and moisturisers in the back of their cupboards that have been there for years and years. When organizing and decluttering bathrooms, I like client’s to get involved in reviewing the product, as they know how long they have had things for.

What is the average period after opening (PAO) expiry date for standard makeup?

Reference: Better Homes and Gardens, October 2012

Make Up Used Dates_ BHG _OCt 12

Declutter your Makeup

Professional Organising Tip:

  • As soon as I open new mascara, I purchase another one, and pop it in the bathroom.
  • Strawberrynet.com. is a great online store that sells premium brands at competitive prices. It is worth a look if you want to update your cosmetics.

Good luck with decluttering your cosmetic draw!

Until next time, Happy Organising.

By Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser

Desk Decluttering

Papers, Papers, Papers

The dream of a paperless desk is still light years away for many of us. In the meantime, we need to devise a way to reduce the paper on our desk and organize it. Here are some decluttering tips.

Declutter your Desk

Start with a declutter and remove all the things that don’t belong on your desk.

For big items that need to be kept on or near your desk, you can use a range of boxes to keep the items sorted and grouped together. There are some lovely colours out there, so you can have fun and make your office look stylish too.

Set up an In-tray

Papers need a “home” when they arrive on your desk. Remember to label your in-tray too.

Set up a Filing System

When filing or creating a filing system, remember that you are doing this to make your life easier. Make sure your system makes sense and that anyone coming into your office would be able to find what they need quickly. Don’t forget to label it as well. Lever arch folders also work well when you want to file documents.

Organize your Drawers

Group similar items in each drawer. For example, put all of your office supplies in one drawer, stationery and notepads in another. That way, it’s organised and you won’t waste time trying to find items.

Now if you need some more inspiration on how to organise your desk, then checkout tips-to-organise-your-office, a previous blog that outlines 14 easy tips to help organise your desk. Start at the top and work your way down the list and before long your desk will be looking totally different.

Until next time, happy organising.

By Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser

Getting Organised Saves you Time and Stress

Being disorganised costs you time and money. Avoid being stressed and create more time by being more organised and planning ahead.

Here are a few tips to help you stay organised:

  • Buy two printer cartridges each time you make a purchase. That way you will never run out of ink.
  • Buy extra light globes, so you always have some spare. You will never be left in the dark again.
  • Stand over the rubbish bin when you open your mail and “bin” any junk mail. That way you are guaranteed never to have a buildup of junk mail on the kitchen bench again.
  • Put a hook at the door so you can hang your keys on it as soon as you walk in the house. You will never waste time searching for your lost keys.

Until next time, Happy Organising.

Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser

 

Lacking the Motivation to Declutter and Get Organized?

So often when my team and I meet with clients, we hear them say the same thing. “I just don’t know where to start”, or “I just don’t have the energy”, or “it is so over whelming, so I just close the door”.

What has taken months, possibly years to build up is not going to be cleared in a couple of hours or even a day. This is something that I always ask clients to think about. I find this helps put it into perspective. Equally though, you need to have some consistent strategies in place to help tackle the buildup of items.

Here are some key tips to help you get motivated, be organised and start decluttering:

  • Be consistent. You need to dedicate time each day to tackle the problem. Set a goal, it might only be 10 minutes a day, but set time aside every day and start decluttering.
  • Set a timer as your guide and don’t stop your decluttering until it goes off.
  • Think of a little reward that you can give yourself once you have finished the job. It might only be to have ten minutes off, or perhaps it’s having an uninterrupted coffee. Whatever it is, you can only have it once the decluttering is done.

Until next time, happy organising.

Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser