A resource for those seeking information on organizing and transforming spaces.

Ben Soreff 7/27/18 Ben Soreff 7/27/18

Guest Post - Ways to Get Organized when Moving with Children

Ways to Get Organized when Moving with Children

The moving process itself is quite tiring and stressful, let alone when you have to organize the entire move and take care of your children at the same time. Since you can quickly get overwhelmed by your duties during this period, it’s important that you stay calm, collected and organized. Finding the right moving approach and keeping your kids engaged will help you all with the transition while also facilitating your move to a new home.

Start as soon as possible

Once you decide to move, you should start planning and getting ready as soon as possible. Moving with children can last for weeks and easily get delayed. Therefore, it’s better to start planning your move even months in advance. The first thing you need to do is organize a family meeting and break the news to the kids. You shouldn’t let them know just before the move, but give them time to process what’s happening. You should also explain why you’re moving because this is a major change that can affect your children. Letting them know as soon as you decide will give them time to get excited about your move and ask you any questions they might have.

Come up with a plan

Having a plan is essential when moving with children. Things can quickly get out of hand and you may become extremely stressed by the amount of duties and your particularly fussy children. A to-do list is always a great way to stay organized and efficient. You can also create a schedule, write down all the supplies you’ll need and even set up some deadlines.

Keep your kids engaged and involved

Letting your children be a part of your move will help them deal with the change more easily. Excluding them completely will not only make your move more difficult, but it will also make them feel as if their opinions didn’t matter. Thus, you should involve them from the very beginning by asking them to help you with packing their belongings, letting them choose the color for their new rooms, etc. This way, you’ll have some additional help during your move and make your children feel important. Making the entire process fun and exciting through packing games and music can keep you all in high spirits and keep your kids engaged.

Find help

Even if you’re an expert at multitasking, you’ll definitely need help during this period, especially if you can’t take a lot of time off work or if you’re a single parent. Having someone help you with the move will relieve a lot of pressure and keep you more organized throughout the entire process. You can ask your friends and family to look after your children or find a temporary day care. Hiring a professional moving company is another great option if you need additional help. However, if you want to do it on your own, you should still consider finding affordable truck rentals so that you can move more efficiently. Using a truck is far more practical, especially if you find a company that offers additional pieces of equipment, such as trolleys, ropes, blankets, etc.

Declutter before packing

Decluttering is one of the most important steps before you tackle packing. You’ll need to sort out your belongings and get rid of the items you don’t need. You should ask your children to go through their toys and set aside the ones they wish to donate. Not only will this make packing easier, but it will also help you bring only the items you love and need to your own home.

Pack efficiently

When you finally start packing, you need to stay organized and efficient. The best approach is to pack room by room while also labeling the boxes and writing down their contents on paper. This will enable you to easily find what you need and unpack your boxes quickly. You can also use colorful stickers and markers for different categories. When packing, don’t forget to pack a box or two of the essentials that you’ll need on your first night at your new home. You should pack items such as personal toiletries, sheets, pajamas, snacks and other items that you’ll need until you settle down.

With an organized and timely approach, you’ll be able to get through this stressful process easily and efficiently. The most important thing is to keep your kids engaged and involved and help them through this transitional period.

Derek Lotts is a Sydney based writer and researcher, a regular contributor at Smooth Decorator blog. He writes about décor, gardening, recycling, ecology and business. He thinks all of these topics fall under the self-improvement category. He believes in the power of sharing ideas and communicating via the internet to achieve betterment.

You can find Derek on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Ben Soreff 6/25/18 Ben Soreff 6/25/18

Say Goodbye to the Junk Drawer

You need to replace 3 AAA batteries. You slowly open your “junk” drawer hoping everything does not fall out. Filled with pens, pencils, rubber bands, tape, batteries, birthday candles, business cards, buttons, take out menus, and extra keys to name a few, you rummage around pushing and pulling the items to hopefully find the batteries. You can’t find them and frustrated you shut the drawer. You are now on your way to the nearest convenience store to buy more AAA’s. You promise yourself that one day soon you will organize the drawer. Sound familiar?

All homes need a drawer to put odds, ends and tools that do not quite have a home anywhere else based on how often we use them. Usually this type of drawer in found in the kitchen or office. But is this really junk? These items are useful and necessary. At House to Home Organizing we prefer calling it a utility drawer where you can easily find your daily necessities.

Here are some tips to organize and de-clutter these drawers:

Take everything out. Wipe drawer clean. Let go of things which have been never used and are easy to get again. For example, the soy packets from the Chinese restaurant that have been sitting there for 6 months. Recycle old and unused business cards and take out menus. (Most take out menus are online these days) Go through spare keys and make sure you label what door or lock they go to. Recycle the questionable keys. Do all the pens work? Do the pencils have erasers.

Sort and group like items. All rubber bands together, paper clips together, pens, pencils, tape, batteries, keys, birthday candles, etc. Make piles so you can see quantity. Keep a reasonable amount of each item. For example, if you have 10 rolls of tape maybe 8 can live in a backup area in your home. Quantity will determine the size of the containers you purchase.

Measure the width and height of the drawer. Decide what type of systems you will use to divide the drawer. Need ideas? Look online. You can buy small plastic baskets, mesh trays, wood organizers, clear Lucite trays, the options are endless.

Here are a few examples:

-Mesh Tray

-Clear Draw Organizer

Seville Classics 5-Piece Bamboo Storage Box Drawer Organizer Set

Once you have purchased the storage systems the fun begins! Arrange the items in their new containers. Now, when you open the drawer you can easily find what you are looking for. No more rummaging around and being frustrated!

Maintain your organization. Go through the drawer weekly. Up keep is crucial to prevent clutter from returning. Also, if there are any items in the utility drawer that you don’t use frequently it may be time to move them to a remote location.

Ben Soreff 6/13/18 Ben Soreff 6/13/18

Invisible Organizing

Organizing is often more than meets the eye.

We have all heard a picture is worth a thousand words. And never before has that saying been more true than in the brave new world of social media. Professional Organizing lends itself to amazing before and after pictures. There is no doubt that you get a wow factor transforming a garage filled with 30 years of clutter into a useful space with room for the cars and lined with finished systems. However, sometimes the before and after pictures can look exactly the same. How is that possible? Good organizing isn't about Instagram, it is fundamentally about being able to find what you are looking for, so you can be productive and efficient.

Buy on Amazon

In most cases people don't have chronic or extreme clutter, they have busy lives and lack of systems (containers, baskets, hooks, etc...) They may have a cleaning person or simply want their surfaces free from clutter. In these cases the before picture is often the same as the after picture until you open the drawers and closet doors. When people get the house ready for guests or just want a clean look they tend to turn to "make it go away" areas, hidden from view. These black holes give the space a neat clutter-free look but don't tell the whole story. At House to Home Organizing we usually start projects by focusing on the closets, garage, attic or basement. We want to free up usable space in order to create homes for your items to live. We want you to be able to find what you are looking for and that means looking at the whole picture. Additionally, by emptying the hidden areas we can review every item in context so our clients can make regret free decisions. Great before and after photos can make people say wow, but don't forget to see the whole picture.

Ben Soreff 6/12/18 Ben Soreff 6/12/18

Interview - MaxSold

Over the years we have helped many people downsize or move and they often ask about estate sales. Yard, garage and estate sales can be tricky and sometimes not worth it. However, there are many options available for those with items to sell. We spoke with TJ of MaxSold about the resources they offer.

Over the years we have helped many people downsize or move and they often ask about estate sales. Yard, garage and estate sales can be tricky and sometimes not worth it. However, there are still many options available for those with items to sell. We spoke with TJ of MaxSold about the resources they offer.

For the busy person, what is MaxSold?

We are an online auction company that specialize in estate and downsizing sales. Think Craigslist meets eBay.

How does the process work if someone wants to sell with you?

Once you decide to hire us, everything goes like clockwork - we just need access to your place twice and our whole process takes only 2 weeks to complete:

Cataloging: An entire day for us to photograph, describe and measure any and all items you might have to sell.
Auction: We host the auction catalog online for 7 to 10 days and at the end the winning bidders pay for their items.
Pick-Up Event: Two to four hours supervision of the removal of items – this typically happens two days after we close the week long online auction.

How does someone know if their items are worth it?

We do not complete appraisals as this is a pure auction-based system. We get fair market value for the items as we drive a bidding environment.

What geographic locations do you cover?

We are in 19 states and two provinces in Canada

(WA, CA, AZ, CO, TX, GA, FL, OH, VA, DC, MD, DE, NJ, PA, CT, MA, NY, RI and NH)

We are in British Columbia and Ontario in Canada

Can you share some of the interesting or cool things you have sold?

Old Admiralty Longshank Anchor

Measuring 10 ft. Span. 10 ft. long, and weighing in at over 3000 pounds, this anchor required an industrial strength crane for removal.

Large Chicken Plucker

Found in an unused barn that was part of an estate sale in Maryland, this rusted chicken plucker was truly a unique find.

6'5" The Predator Statue Made of Car Parts

Sold as part of a Business Downsizing auction in Kingston, Ontario, this hand-made statue was a truly one-of-a-kind piece. Selling for more than $1800, this is definitely the weirdest things we've sold yet!

You can be the cream of 19th Century Society with the Surrey, sold as part of a MaxSold Estate Sale. Note: Horses Not Included.

CPR Dummies

People definitely collect weird things over the years. But who collects FOUR CPR dummies? Like one, ok fine we can get our heads around, but FOUR? Perhaps a paramedic or a CPR instructor?