Month: May 2007

  • Martha Stewart Craft Line at Michaels – A Review

    Martha_at_michaels

    One of the things we love most in writing about organizing, is we get to hear rumblings about new ideas, read the formal announcements, see the actual idea or product revealed and finally get an opportunity to review it.  It’s fun discovering, and sharing with readers.

    Our friend Amy Mobray has been to Michaels Craft Store, and checked out their brand-new line of Martha Stewart’s new line of craft supplies.  She says good things.  Amy does have her pulse on typical shopping– what has value for the price, and what just seems wrong.  Her opinions are always on the mark.

    Amy has written up a great review and even snapped a few pics (where does she find the time?) on Martha’s new line.  Better than we could have done.  Our nearest Michaels is in the Burbank Empire Center, 7 miles away in *uber* heavy San Fernando Valley traffic.  We don’t get there as often as we should.  Here’s what Amy said about Martha’s organizational products:

    "I did purchase a few of [Martha’s] organizational products.  I bought the paper box, CD box, and photo box…  I like how the boxes have ribbon in them so you don’t remove the lid completely.  The ribbon acts like a hinge.  Another thing that I like about  her stuff is the packaging.  Apparently there’s storage binders to store all the rub ons, stickers, etc. in.  My Michael’s didn’t have it."

    Check out Amy’s review on Martha’s new craft line-up.  If you’ve seen the products, we’d love to hear what you have to say, too.  Enter your comment below.

    Picture courtesy Amy Mobray.

    John_trosko_2

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  • Liz Witts Hosts New Organized Living Blog

    Liz_wittsThe new Organized Living has announced an organizing "blog," hosted by Liz Witts.

    Liz is a professional organizer in Philadelphia and has appeared in over 30 (wow) segments for HGTV’s Mission Organization.

    Liz does offer great tips and we’re excited to see new ideas on the horizon, but this site project is incorrectly labeled a blog.  It’s more of a series of essays, or articles.  And that’s fine.  However the pages where Liz offers advise is not at all interactive.  At this point, readers are not allowed to make comments, create trackbacks, or get posts delivered to their in-box via Feedblitz or RSS feed.  The conversation is needed in order to call this project a blog, at least in our opinion.

    But we do like that not every single thing Liz talks about has a promotional link to their products.  We hope Organized Living continues to provide Liz with creative freedom to produce articles that feed inspiration and not just direct people to the company’s organizing products. We know it’s a thin line and we’re excited to see how the project grows.

    Picture courtesy Organized Living

    John_trosko_3

  • Lime.com Mashes Up May with Ditch-It

    Ditchit

    LIME.com is hosting something really interesting this month:  Ditch-It.

    Regina_leeds_2The special theme features a room-by-room organizing guide developed by Los Angeles "Zen Organizer" expert Regina Leeds (pictured right.)  Regina who was voted the "Best Organizer in Los Angeles" by Los Angeles Magazine will provide easy steps to tackle the closet, office, kitchen and bathroom.

    This month, the site also provides readers with an online recycling tool that will allow users to find responsible ways of ditching their belongings this spring.

    Also available this month are short-form videos featuring eco-stylist guru Danny Seo and clips that will inform readers on recycling cell phones and office furniture.

    It all sounds great!  We love discovering (and sharing) new organizing resources.

    John_trosko_3

  • Yahoo Auctions Shuts Down US Operations

    YahooThere’s one less way for you to de-clutter your home, or finally sell that old printer from the office.

    The Chicago Tribune announced today Yahoo! Auctions U.S. is closing.

    The company decided to stop competing with behemoth eBay and close down operations after the last auction ceases June 16th.  In comparison, eBay has over 60 million visitors yearly, compared to just 330,000 for Yahoo.

    Professionally, we’ve never, ever, had a client ask us to investigate possible auctions on Yahoo!  Ebay is always the auction vendor of choice.

    One big reason for the move is that Yahoo may team with Microsoft and compete with Google.  Yahoo seems to be downsizing the clutter. first.

    What kind of clutter are you downsizing in order to make your next big move?

    Source:  Chicago Tribune

    John_trosko

  • Danny Seo Is the Next Martha Stewart

    Danny_seoDanny Seo is being called the "next Martha Stewart."

    30-year old Seo is taking over the Universe with his environmental tips, tricks and trips.  He offers sensitive ideas for recycling and what’s earth-friendly.  The media has gone nuts– he’s got a McSizable amount of television appearances, book deals, radio shows, keynote speeches and DVDs under his re-purposed belt.

    We bring him up because he always seem to have great ideas for organizing, too.

    How Did Danny Do It?

    It was at a breakfast 9-years ago with Seo that pushed a Washington Post reporter to believe that green living could be chic, and that style and sustainability do not need to be mutually exclusive from each other. It was that cover story on the Post about Danny’s unique eco-style that transformed his everyday way of living into a lifestyle brand.  Incredible.

    Danny’s Simply Green Blog highlights his finds, facts and fantasies about his world.  It’s pretty amazing that he continues to blog, even though he’s so busy.  We’re adding Danny to our organizing blog roll.

    John_trosko

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  • Site Updates

    Over the weekend, we added some site updates:

    If you’re interested in those changes, read them after the jump.

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