Introducing the CHAOS Method™ of Organization

I have started 2019 off with a bang.  

Well, not really.  

I have been sick for two weeks…not a lot of fun. However, I did manage to host a breakfast and do a presentation for 50 realtors at their office on January 8th , which was very enjoyable.  I’m just praying I did not pass on any sickness to them, as it turns out I had strep throat.  I would have thought it was some version of the flu but certainly not strep as my throat was not hurting, and I did not run a high fever.  Anyways, the test came back positive for strep so I quarantined myself to my house and began my recovery. Can you say cabin fever? Holy cow!!  This is why I could never live up north. This southern gal needs her sun, fresh air, AND warm temperatures.

While I was cooped up inside, I decided to see what all the fuss was surrounding Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.  I am very familiar with the Marie Kondo method, and I am certainly on board with many of her ideas.

Here’s my take away…

Marie Kondo’s method of dumping everything belonging to a category accomplishes a few things.  

1. It makes you realize, truly realize, what you own. This may sound like a silly question but you might be surprised at just how many white shirts you own, or how many koozies are scattered around your home.  Do you know what you actually own? This can be a wow moment for a lot of people!

Below are the five categories the Marie Kondo Method uses:

1. Clothing

2. Books

3. Papers

4. Komono (miscellaneous items)

5. Mementos (items with sentimental value)

2. It forces you to do something with all of your things.  When you dump all of your belongings by category onto your bed or the middle of your living room, you are FORCED to address the pile because it cannot stay there for long.  Eventually you will need to go to bed or you will have company over and you just cannot leave it in the middle of your living space.  It’s important to note, even the neatest person can probably benefit from doing this once in their life. After all, I have seen many posts on Instagram from professional organizers’ work and read the comments of readers that the newly organized space simply looks like organized hoarding - and I have to admit that sometimes it is.  Just because you have the space to keep that much stuff, should you??

In our Daily Challenges on social media, we are working on closets these two weeks.  This is the perfect time to think about truly analyzing your belongings.

3.  Organizing is a family affair.  It doesn’t work if only one person in the family is doing it.  However, we must make it easy for the members of our household to stay organized.  It is always best to set your family and yourself up for success.

We use the CHAOS Method™ to organize.

C – Categorize

H – Is it helpful or hurtful

A – Take Action

O – Organize

S – Simplify  

C - Categorize  

As you are going through your belongings, it is important to put them into categories.  Like items with like items. You will get a better idea about whether or not you need to hold onto four can openers, for instance.

H - Hurtful or helpful

As you go through your belongings ask yourself, is this item helpful or hurtful?  Are you asking yourself how a tank top can be either helpful or hurtful? Well, what emotion does it elicit?  This follows what Marie Kondo talks about and she has a valid point. What emotion do you feel? Go with your gut.  If the emotion is not positive, that probably means you should eliminate it from your life.

A - Action

Take action once you have decided how you feel about a possession.  Discard, donate, or keep.

O - Organize

Get containers to store your items.  

S - Simplify

Label everything to set your family and yourself up for success in maintaining your organization systems.

Now enjoy the fruits of your efforts, sit back, and relax!  If you have any questions about our method or would like our help with getting organized, give us a call.

XOXO,

Lisa

7 Tips to Help Your Closet Look and Feel More Organized

1 - Keep the floor clear.  

If it’s clean enough to hang on the “chair” then you can hang it back on its hanger.  You know we ALL have that place we like to leave the ½ dirty clothes. (I’ve worn them, but they aren’t dirty enough to wash or dry clean.) Hang them back up!

2 - Keep like items together.  

Group the pants, skirts, and shorts together. Tops can be grouped by sleeve length.  Dresses, coats, vests, and exercise clothes all get their own hanging space. You can use garment tags to help remind you what goes where!

We LOVE these garment dividers.

3 - Group like items by color.  

ROYGBIV - Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.  Neutrals can be grouped at either end.

4 - Use the same hangers.  

Whether you like the velvet-lined, plastic, or even (gasp) wire, using the same hangers is visually appealing and helps your closet appear more organized. Velvet hangers are great at keeping the sleeveless shoulders on the hangers.  Plastic and wire are easier to pull clothes off and on. (A must for my husband!) Wood hangers are excellent for keeping a nice shoulder shape to a garment such as a sports coat or jacket.

Here are some of our favorite hangers.

5 - Group shoes by category.  

Tennis shoes, heel style, sandals, flip-flops, short boots, and long boots all get their own space.  To keep tall boots standing up, use boot inserts, pool noodles (cut in ½) or simply a magazine!

Here are those boot inserts we’re talking about.

6 - Don’t forget the accessories!  

Jewelry gets its own space, too.  I love using belt and tie hooks hung on the wall for necklaces and slender bracelets.  Jewelry trays or ice cube trays works great for storing earrings or rings. Bangle bracelets can be stored in a bin on a shelf or in a drawer. Scarves get folded in a bin unless you have hanging space. (Less wrinkles if they are hung.)

These jewelry trays are to die for!

7 - The stuff has to fit the space!!!  

Your closet will never feel organized if it looks like boudin (Louisiana sausage) trying to come out of the casing!  As one friend put it, “I was feeling like I needed new clothes this weekend but if I buy new clothes, I’d need new hangers.  I have 250 hangers! That’s way more clothes than I need! I refuse to have more than 250 pieces of clothing.” Limit the clothes to the space.

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A Fresh Start in the Linen Closet

Black Friday, Cyber Monday…One might think, after the holidays are over so are the sales but not so my friends!  Thanks to Mr. John Wanamaker, a savvy Philadelphia entrepreneur who created the “White Sale” as a way to increase sales and pass along special offers to his customers after the holidays.  Mr. Wanamaker’s idea was to promote a “fresh start” for the New Year by having a clean house. Since bed linens and towels were white during this time period, the “White Sale” it was named!  

As professional organizers, we love his idea and it must have been a good one since the White Sale has been a tradition since 1878!

So, do you take advantage of the annual sales to tackle the various areas of your home?  I try not to become victim to consumerism, but I do like to partake in a good sale when I am in need of new items.  For this reason, I always start my yearly cleaning and organizing with the linen closet.

Questions:

Do you rotate the linens on your bed or do you wash and replace the same set of sheets each time?  

How many sets of sheets do you keep for each bed in your home?  

How many should you keep?  

As a general rule, one should have a minimum of two and a maximum of three sets of sheets per bed; one set that is on the bed and one set to change in case of sickness or while washing the other set.  I have two queen size beds and two king size beds in my house. I keep two additional sets of sheets for each size bed not each bed, which has been more than adequate for my family’s needs. Most days I simply wash and replace the same set.  While I am not a minimalist, I do value the art of minimalism and when it comes to sheets, I can certainly get on board.

Soapbox time…I have seen so many linen closets overrun with sets of sheets, blankets, and quilts for beds in sizes that are not even in their homes!  Yet people overwhelmingly wash and replace the same set of sheets that are on their bed because it is the set that matches their duvet, etc. So my question is, why are you keeping the rest??  Keep one or two sets of sheets for the size bed you have and donate the rest. Use this as your motivator: January is cold, and there are people in need of the warmth of your blankets. DONATE THEM NOW!

Once you have sorted through your linens, organize them by size or by room.  I find it convenient to place my linens in a basket labeled by size. That way I don’t have to perfectly fold them since they are inside the basket.  My closet has the appearance of neatness even though my sheet corners are not impeccably folded. I can be sneaky like that! If you don’t have a separate linen closet, you can store extra sets of linens in your bedroom closet or even in a bathroom closet.  Keeping them in a basket makes it easy to retrieve them.

What about pillows you say?

Oh, pillows!  Nothing becomes more personal during sleep time than the perfect pillow.  According to leading experts, we should replace our pillows every 12-24 months and you should wash your pillows at least every 6 months.  

So take advantage of the White Sales! Wash your pillows and donate your excess linens!  Ready, set, geaux!!

XOXO

Lisa

Tips for Un-Decorating the Christmas Decorations

“If you dream it, you can do it.” –Walt Disney

Dear Mrs. Chaos,

How in the world do I find my house under all this Christmas mess?

Sincerely,

Struggling and Overwhelmed!

Dear Struggling and Overwhelmed,

When the holiday is over and the magic has gone, it is so hard to find the energy for the cleanup process.  Let the excitement of starting a new year be your motivation. My solution is to always grab my timer and label maker, and start small.   I take down decorations in 30-minute increments so I never feel overwhelmed. I repeat this 3-4 times (or more) a day to accomplish what I need in that room, and I always take breaks when the timer goes off.  

First and foremost, grab a trash bag and fill it up!  All the leftover boxes, wrapping, ribbon pieces, Christmas cards (Oh, don’t start complaining! Truthfully, do you REALLY ever look at them again?), broken items, old receipts, not so fresh garland, empty containers…..you get the drift!  This step really helps you focus on what needs to be put away.

Next, the kitchen is my first room to revive because it has to function at all times, especially during the holidays when everyone is home.  Set your timer for 30 minutes and go! Everything on the counters should have a place of its own. All dishes should be washed and put away. New kitchen items will have to find their place, so you will have to be tough when making space. Donate items you truly don’t use. (That waffle maker that you MIGHT use once a year really shouldn’t be taking up prime kitchen real estate) If you handle it 30-minutes at a time, it doesn’t become overwhelming.  Use your timer, and clean as you go.

Third, tackle the living room and entryway.  This is where most of the Christmas decorations are in my house. I do this room in sections.  I start at the mantle. Later on, I will tackle the tree. Next, I un-decorate the bookcase. So on and so on. My plastic bins are labeled so I know exactly what goes in each bin.  As the bins are loaded, up to the attic they go! Then hang your wreaths on the attic rafter by their wreath hangers. If you don’t have enough wreath hangers, you can simply put a nail in the rafter.

This same 30-minute process can be continued in each room until all of the decorations are down and the new items have found homes.  If you have “helpers” (for me that’s my teenage children), make the 30-minute segments fun by turning on music that they like. Oh, be sure to take photos of your decorated spaces so next year’s decorating is as easy as pie!  Some organizers print the pictures and keep them in the containers for that particular space! Isn’t that brilliant?

Happy un-decorating!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Chaos

The Heart Behind Our Christmas Decorations

Do you ever feel overwhelmed or just down at Christmastime? Do you get the holiday blues while trying to make it magical for your children?  I was that way before the awful Hurricane Harvey floods. Martha Carol and I both experienced flooded homes and we agree that it changes your perspective on things like the holidays.  For the first time in a while, I really feel like there is a lot of excitement about the holidays. Last year, most of us in Houston were still trying to rebuild from Hurricane Harvey. We were tired and frustrated.  

This year, the festivities started with my neighborhood coffee group’s ornament exchange. I always stress about getting the perfect ornament for those things!  Do you? Well, at that coffee, I discovered that I have really amazingly talented neighbors (yes, more than one!) that have recently written children’s books! Each read their books aloud to us. No, do not yawn.  Stop rolling your eyes! I was mesmerized! I literally felt like a child again full of anticipation about what would happen next and what glorious scene would be depicted on each page of their stories as they read their books.  Another neighbor illustrated one of the children’s books. (Seriously, that talent! I’m honored they let me drink coffee with them!) She brought along her original canvases to show during the reading. They were beautiful! That childlike feeling I had made me remember the excitement of Christmas as a child.  It’s the feeling we all long for at this time of the year. It’s the single most reason I love Christmas decorating. I want my home to embody the excitement and magic that children feel at Christmastime.

My joy didn’t stop with the ornament exchange.  Now that many of our neighborhood’s homes are repaired, we are really excited about entertaining friends and family. On Sunday, our neighborhood hosted a holiday home tour.  I was invited to be one of the five homes showcased! ME!! I felt like I had just won the Southern Living Show Home Award. Lol! YAY!! I had so many mixed feelings about this.  My first thought was WOW! What an honor! Then, I felt excitement along with nervousness and lastly, there was a moment of pure panic! People will be looking at my house! EEK! How can I make them feel the childlike joy of the Christmas spirit? Do I have enough decorations to make this work? What will people think?

As y’all know, I love to decorate.  Love, love, love it and admittedly I have a lot of decorations...or so I thought. It’s the one time that I am not clutter free in my life!  What I loved even more was that the proceeds of the tour went to support the Toys for Tots program. To give much is to receive much, and it goes well with the Christmas spirit of giving.

Before the official start of the tour on Sunday evening, the homeowners whose homes were being featured were able to tour each home before the official tour started.  Everyone started at my house. Like I said, I like to decorate so every room of my home is decked with “Christmas cheer,” as I like to call it. I was feeling pretty confident about my home being on the tour - well, it started that way!

We then made our way to each of the other homes and by the end of the tour of these fabulous houses, I was frantically trying to figure out if I had enough time to make it to Home Goods to find more decorations!  The houses were fantastic, and I need to up my game! I managed to pull a few things from the rooms that were not being toured which made me feel a teensy bit better. I did make a point to add buy more Christmas decorations to my to-do list…Christmas décor is not clutter free.

LOL

But then I realized, that it wasn’t so much the number of decorations that mattered.  

Not one house was the same or even similar for that matter.  At the end of the day, it’s friends and family who make a house a home.  It’s our attitude; laughter and joy that make our homes have the magical and childlike Christmas feeling, not the decorations or the “stuff.”

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Here are some photos from my open house.

These books would be excellent additions to your child’s library.

“Pride of Place”

A charming, original story by a first-time author has just been published!  Entitled, Pride of Place it weaves a beautiful Christmas event from the perspective of Christmas decorations as the special time of year approaches!

Everyone is excited.  Especially the Christmas decorations who wait all year to be brought out of storage and placed as star attractions in the home's Christmas display.  They want to be placed in Pride of Place and reading the book reveals what or where this is!  At the center of the story is 'mother' who has her plan, and what she knows and understands is at the heart of this meant-to-be-read-aloud rendition of an actual Christmas celebration and tradition.  You have to read the story to find out what children, their parents and the decorations learn about 'Pride of Place'! 

The story is written by an Aussie author, Denise Mannix  and the book is beautifully illustrated with actual artwork created especially for the story by a Scottish artist, Jane Cooke.  Both author and artist live in Houston.  The book has a special acknowledgement of Harvey hurricane survivors - the story was in fact developed out of the aftermath of the hurricane, so should have special meaning to Houstonians or anyone who has lived through a catastrophic weather event.   

Though the story is a Christmas tale it carries a message for children of all ages that has meaning throughout the year.

The author, Denise can be contacted on denisemannix@hotmail.com should you be interested in finding out more about the book and how to purchase it!

“Eepworm”

The eepworm is a character created by Corinne Goyette to be a calming companion for children.  Eepworms are soft and squishy toys with many rubbery tentacles that have a soothing touch.  At approximately 5" long, they are perfectly sized feel like a hug in a young child's hand.  They can help to comfort and calm your children when they are distressed.

Corinne wrote and illustrated My Friend EEPWORM  to introduce young children to these helpful creatures.  She wants to share eepworms with everyone, especially children with special needs who struggle with strong, scary feelings as she does.

The 6" x 9" 28-page paperback book is written in simple rhyming text with beautiful watercolor illustrations on every page and includes a note from the author.  It comes with one eepworm, and is suitable for children ages three to eight.

There are two links that have information and where you can order Eepworm, an online store and Corinne's website eepworm.com.  In the online store, hit the shop button to see a description.  The Eepworms are $4 each, while the price of the book and toy are $15.  They also offer king-size eepworms (20" tall) for $15.