Month: February 2008

  • NorthStar Moving Unveils Star-Studded Moving Services

    Chemesphere_house

    Thinking about moving?  Want the celebrity relocation treatment?

    North star Moving, a leading residential and commercial mover in California, has announced luxury partnerships with celebrity pet care provider and Oprah’s personal dog coach Tamar Geller; child care provider to the stars Nurture and Nanny and Operation Organization, a professional organizing company in Los Angeles.

    Check out these cool red carpet moving services for celebrities and non-celebs alike:

    • The Paris – Celebrity pet care providers pamper your pooch leaving you to sit poolside as muscle-bound men ensure that your hair extensions are packed to perfection. This luxury package addresses all your moving needs while protecting you and your four-legged friends from any unnecessary stresses.
    • The Angelina – For the busy family that likes to hit the road, this service takes the kids right out from underfoot and keeps the little darlings safe, happy and entertained under the watchful eye of a modern day Mary Poppins, freeing up mom and dad to focus on moving and/or saving the world.
    • The Britney – Designed for the customer looking for a little order and direction in their life. NorthStar Moving delivers professional organizers right to your doorstep and makes sure you can easily find your undergarments even in the midst of a move!

    Now this is fun marketing!  Our favorite concept is "photo perfect packing" sock drawers.  Northstar also "handles paparazzi and security with decoy trucks."  Decoy trucks?  We love it.  Will you?

    John_trosko

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  • CreditCards.com – How to Organize Gift Cards – With Advice from John Trosko

    Creditcardscom

    Inspired by our post on marking your current balances on gift cards with a Sharpie, we were asked to participate in an article on managing and organizing credit, debit and gift cards for Creditcards.com.

    After all, a card is only useful when you can find it when you need it, right?

    To our amazement the article not only appeared on the CreditCards.com website, but also on the RSS feeds on Yahoo Shopping.  All the participating experts really taught us a thing or two.  See that list below and read the full article.

    "If you have gift cards stashed in your junk drawer, wallet and desk drawer, it’s time to consolidate.  "Cards should be gathered in a central location," says John Trosko, President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Professional Organizers and author of the OrganizingLA Blog."

    Katespade_3 "It’s best if you keep them in the car so you’ve got them with you when you go shopping." His clients often use small plastic accordion folders to keep the cards organized. Some of his most stylish clients have used Kate Spade pencil cases to keep their cards together."

    6 Tips for Organizing Your Gift, Debit and Credit Cards.

      1. Keep them together
      2. Write it down
      3. Use a spreadsheet
      4. Track them online
      5. Make a trade
      6. Dump them

    CreditCards.com is a leading online credit card marketplace, bringing consumers and card issuers together. The site is a free online resource where consumers can compare hundreds of credit card offers by category, including low interest credit cards, credit cards with rewards programs, airline credit cards, cash back credit cards, small business credit cards, student credit cards, instant approval credit cards as well as prepaid debit cards. Over one million unique users access their website each month.

    Related Posts:

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  • Valley Magazine Says “OrganizingLA is a Great Place to Start the Organizing Process”

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    It’s not often that we’re in the same magazine as a Hollywood superstar like Will Smith.

    Will has a large family so we are sure he appreciates a well-organized home.

    Valley_magazine_logoIn the January – February issue of San Fernando Valley Magazine, we were among an elite group of organizing professionals and design experts interviewed by author Elyse Glickman.  We were especially honored to be first expert mentioned!

    "As there is never any shame in asking an expert, a great place to start the process is OrganizingLA, a consulting firm specializing in home and office organizing projects.  Under the watch of owner John Trosko, clients not only determine what needs to be tossed or stored, but what they hold on to too much in the first place."

    "Organizing is more than just a neatly folded towel, or a stack of papers or shopping for containers."  Trosko points out.  "Understanding why you accumulate will help you wipe out the clutter."

    "It’s easier to pile up items instead of taking the time to make a decision to retain or discard.  In our work-every-minute world, mass consumption society, people do not realize the amount of time lost to simply locating paperwork, tools, gadgets, addresses, DVDs, flashlights, keys or photographs.  Just think about the last time you looked for that warranty or receipt in order to repair to return something."

    Other experts mentioned in the humongous piece included:

    Valley Magazine serves the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Simi Valley and Conejo Valley.  With nearly 1.8 million residents, the Valley and its surrounding environs are compromised of more than 30 different communities and is part of the area OrganizingLA serves.

    The article is not online, but available on newstands right now.

    John_trosko

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  • Archive Your Wedding Gown Like a Museum

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    We were in West Hollywood yesterday, picking up dry cleaning and stumbled on some information about archiving textiles.  While this is not the most exciting news, we do run across this issue occasionally– boxing up wedding gowns and children’s clothes for organizing clients.

    Designed to last 200-years, my local dry cleaner is now using archival-quality boxes and tissue paper just like museums, overseen by Federal and State governments for the preservation of historical costumes, and by libraries for the preservation of rare books and magazines.  You are familiar with this material already because archival board is used for the backing in framing pictures.

    Once your gown has been preserved, it’s up to you to incorporate these tasks into your datebook:

    • Every 2-3 years open the box and inspect the gown;
    • Wash your hands with baking soda mixed with warm water prior to touching the garment;
    • Examine each layer, box, tissue, fabric;
    • If you see spots or discolorations, contact your cleaner;
    • It is not necessary to remove the garment for initial inspections.  Examine top layer of the gown, and in-between a few folds;
    • Wash the cotton liner and cover every 10-15 years;
    • After initial washing, rewash every 20 years.
    • Tissue should be replaced every 25-30 years.

    A quick check on Microsoft Outlook does prove that you can make a to-do task in 30 years.  So there’s no way you’ll miss it.

    Image courtesy Cat and Adi at Next Exit Photography.  Christina and Kevin’s wedding ceremony at La Venta in Palos Verdes, Calif.

    John_trosko

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  • How Do The Stars Organize Their Oscar Statuettes?

    Jennifer_hudson

    Organizing in Hollywood is coming to a screeching halt this week as the city prepares for Oscars.

    But when the glitter is over, the red carpet rolled up, jewelery returned to Harry Winston, and our sanctity returns to Hollywood and Highland, where do the big winners store their Oscar statues?

    According to Entertainment Tonight and InStyle:

    • some move their Oscar statues from room to room;
    • some create places of honor for their Oscar statues;
    • some can’t even find their Oscar statues.

    So who where do the stars store their statues?

    • Jodie Foster found corrosion on the bottom of her award so she moved it out of the bathroom;
    • Jennifer Hudson (pictured above) kept it in her empty house until she decorated and bought a pedestal and light for to showcase her win;
    • Al Pacino says "It’s like musical chairs trying to find it."

    If any winner needs to get organized, we’ll be happy to help them. We promise you’ll locate your Oscar in 30-seconds or less!

    The Oscar issue of InStyle is on newsstands now.

    If you had an Oscar, where in your home would you want to place it?  Let’s have fun with this.

    Related Post:

    • Hillary Swank – two time Oscar-winning actress wants to get organized

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  • Recipients Announced for Third Annual Los Angeles Organizing Awards

    Napolaf180

    The 2008 Los Angeles Organizing Awards, affectionately known as the "Orgies," have come and gone.

    Over 150 celebrity organizers, organizing industry professionals and members of the public attended the Awards on February 1st, geared to celebrate the organizing industry, organizing innovators, products and media.

    As President of NAPO-Los Angeles, John presided over the event, gave an opening speech and presented several awards.  Pictured here is John and stalwart host for the evening, Sherri Shepherd, of ABC-TV’s "The View."

    For more details on the winners, read the PR Web press release after the jump.

    (more…)

“John Trosko offers creative solutions for clearing cluttered spaces while spilling Hollywood habitués’ domestic obsessions.”

– Cristina Tudino, Self Magazine

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