Category: Home & Home Office Tips

January 29, 2013

A New Multi-Tasking Kitchen Tool

Time to multi-task your eating

We're always pushing our professional organizing clients to use kitchen tools that serve many functions. They'll take up less space yet have many more functions (than just one or two).

We had to share this iPod ramen serving bowl here. Hailed as the "anti-boredom" bowl, you can keep your hands-free while you combine solo eating and surfing. So much for the company of others! We wonder if they will fit Android?

Janet Charlton is right. When this bowl design finally comes to Hollywood, expect to see it marketed with an organic leafy green salad, with balsalmic dressing on the side.

Like this Topic?

Want
to learn smart and practical organizing tips for your home,
office and life? Save time by signing up for free topic
updates and receive them as soon as they're published. Plus, as a
gift receive our exclusive Martha Stewart Living Radio
recorded radio interview and transcript, chock full of
strategies, tips and resources direct from John.

Enter your Email Address

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

January 29, 2013

Fabulous Finds, Home & Home Office Tips, Kitchen
January 22, 2013

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Turn Thrift Stores Into The New American Rodeo Drive

Can Macklemore and Ryan Lewis turn "thrifting" into the new American Rodeo Drive?

My buddy DJ eur-o-steve is a Los Angeles DJ. I'm always following Steve's newest playlists on Soundcloud. His taste in music ranges from vocal dance remixes, flashbacks, vocal house, electronic and trance genres with a special European club flavor (Steve is originally from the UK).

Being around Steve I've been fortunate to hear some great music I've downloaded or heard him play live at clubs around Southern California. So I wonder what Steve would think about this song from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (pictured below), called Thrift Shop.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis hit "Thrift Shop" has gathered over 62 million views on YouTube

Music Producer Macklemore and his partner Rapper Ryan Lewis music video Thrift Shop has been viewed on YouTube more than 62 million times. And all this without the help of a major music label support.

Owning a Los Angeles home organizing service, we visit thrift stores all over Southern California and we drop off items from generous clients so they can get a tax write-off or just help clear the clutter in their house or office. We've written blog topics that included how one Pomona thrift store employee employee found $30,000 tucked inside a donated suit jacket, celebrity thrift stores in Los Angeles, even a piece on a woman who was featured on David Letterman when bought a Jackson Pollock painting for $5 and almost threw darts at it in her mobile home in Costa Mesa.

One thing for sure, Thift Stores have not always seem very cool– but they are gaining popularity with the reuse and recyle movement. But what if Tag Shops were somehow to become these hip locales where everyone wants to hang out, sort of like, The New American Rodeo Drive? Check out Macklemore & Ryan Lewis new song (caution: adult language). They're making thrifting fun, sexy, full of great cool designer bargains (99-cents!) where everyone can afford to join the club. Can it be any better?

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

If you think the music is not main stream enough, check out the duo on The Ellen Degeneres Show earlier this month (scroll down to the January 18th entry).

What bargains have you found in your local thrift store? Please share in the comments below or tweet us at @JohnTrosko

Image courtesy XXL Mag.

Like this Topic?

Want
to learn smart and practical organizing tips for your home,
office and life? Save time by signing up for free topic
updates and receive them as soon as they're published. Plus, as a
gift receive our exclusive Martha Stewart Living Radio
recorded radio interview and transcript, chock full of
strategies, tips and resources direct from John.

Enter your Email Address

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

January 22, 2013

Celebrity Organization, Home & Home Office Tips, Organizing Industry News, Techniques to Tackle
October 23, 2012

Crush Your Clutter With PepsiNEXT and Task Rabbit

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

People are busier than ever. Recognizing that, Pepsi NEXT has partnered with productivity startup Task Rabbit to add an extra hour to your day.

How the Extra Hour Sweepstakes works

Through November 12th 2012, Pepsi NEXT fans can enter for their chance to win an “Extra Hour” at https://www.taskRabbit.com/pepsinext. Every week, 50 winners will be randomly chosen to receive a dedicated TaskRabbit to tackle errands as diverse as waiting in line for concert tickets, picking up the dry cleaning, walking a needy pet, gardening, handyman services or personal organization (organizing clutter). The TaskRabbit will even bring a Pepsi NEXT for each winner to enjoy with their new found time.

"A cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind. The Task Rabbit – Pepsi NEXT extra hour package includes 1 hour of organizing pantries and closets plus a PepsiNEXT."

About Task Rabbit

Task Rabbit operates a website and mobile app enabling people to outsource jobs and tasks to fully-vetted folks in their neighborhood. Services are currently available in Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Orange County and New York City.OrganizingLA is not affiliated with Pepsi or Task
Rabbit but we thought this was a fun clutter busting program to get
involved in. We know they're using highly vetted individuals but not
necessarily a National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)-affiliated professional organizer.

Like this Topic?

Want
to learn smart and practical organizing tips for your home,
office and life? Save time by signing up for free topic
updates and receive them as soon as they're published. Plus, as a
gift receive our exclusive Martha Stewart Living Radio
recorded radio interview and transcript, chock full of
strategies, tips and resources direct from John.

Enter your Email Address

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

October 23, 2012

Demystifying the Professional Organizer Experience, Home & Home Office Tips, Organizing Industry News, Technology
September 26, 2012

Transform Your Hidden Coins Into Fall Savings!

At any one time, approximately $10 billion worth of change is sitting idle in American homes through piggy banks, pickle jars, and unknowingly dropped in sofa cushions, junk drawers, under beds, stuck between car seats and in suit jackets.

Collect that lose change and forget about sorting, rolling and counting it all yourself. Save time this fall having your local self-service coin collection machine automatically do the dirty work. The machines (aptly named Coinstar, CoinMax, Penny Arcade) are located inside local grocery and drug stores, credit unions, banks and selected Starbucks nationwide.

Bring them your bags or jars and simply pour the coins into the counter. Once processed, the machines issue a voucher to turn in at the retail register. While there's a fee (9.8%) if you insist on cash back, you'll save a lot of time not having to roll coins yourself.

Money Saving Tip:

Save the counting fees entirely by opting for a gift card from national retail brands, an eCertificate for online purchases or you can even choose to donate your counted coins to charity.

What have you done with your spare change? Tweet your answers to @johntrosko !

Sofa image from personal collection-Deco Home fabric store on La Brea in Los Angeles.

A different edited version of this piece above originally appeared
on FitPerez, Perez Hilton's site featuring celebrity fitness and
personal trainer expertise, diet, nutrition and advice lifestyle
experts. Click here to read this piece on FitPerez.

Like this Topic?

Want
to learn smart and practical organizing tips for your home,
office and life? Save time by signing up for free topic
updates and receive them as soon as they're published. Plus, as a
gift receive our exclusive Martha Stewart Living Radio
recorded radio interview and transcript, chock full of
strategies, tips and resources direct from John.

Enter your Email Address

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

September 26, 2012

Fabulous Finds, FitPerez, Home & Home Office Tips
January 2, 2012

Boost Your Productivity By Using New Year’s To Get Organized At The Office!
A lot of our clients tell us they have no time to spend “getting organized” at their jobs.

With messy desks, cluttered credenzas, long-forgotten files, desktops littered with now-useless icons, they find their time these days are just spent putting out fires and trying to keep up.

While there is no “best” time to get your office organized, there is a “better” time: early January.

Unless you work in retail, American business slows down between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for some, the time between Christmas and New Years is dead quiet. That quiet period continues through mid-January.

Why not spend some time each day this January to catch up, clear the clutter, and start the New Year fresh? Here are some easy, simple 15-minute mini-projects to do around your office, home office or cubicle this month of January. What projects can you think of?
- Décor – re-evaluate and (if necessary) remove old personal memorabilia, toys and knick-knacks
- Desktop – remove anything that you do not use every single day and place away from your workspace
- Storage – use containers to house infrequent extra supplies or tools
- Cleaning – Wipe down your desktop, phone and keyboard
- Delete – Clear old files, pictures and projects from your computer desktop
- Dated – Clear 2011 announcements from your bulletin board, move dated files
- Return it – Review and relocate unnecessary supplies back to the supply room
- Purchase – Shop for a new 2012 desk calendar
- Scan it – Consider what can be scanned for easier access
This is the part of our blog topic where we ask you to comment.

How will you use January to get yourself organized for the New Year?

Tweet your ideas and office organizing questions to @johntrosko or leave a comment below. If you need more help, check out our resource page for office organizing.

A different edited version of this piece above originally appeared on FitPerez, Perez Hilton's site featuring celebrity fitness and personal trainer expertise, diet, nutrition and advice lifestyle experts. Click here to read this piece on FitPerez.

image above courtesy Best Modern Furniture Online.

Like this Topic?

Want to learn smart and practical organizing tips for your home, office and life? Save time by signing up for free topic updates and receive them as soon as they're published. Plus, as a gift receive our exclusive Martha Stewart Living Radio recorded radio interview and transcript, chock full of strategies, tips and resources direct from John.

Enter your Email Address

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz
January 2, 2012

FitPerez, Home & Home Office Tips, Offices
November 29, 2011

How To Organize The Office Supplies

This week, Staples-owned Quill.com rolled out Dunder Mifflin paper, an actual physical product based on the popular NBC television show The Office.

For $34.99, you can purchase up to three reams of paper (any quantities over that the price jumps to $39.99.) The Hollywood Reporter notes that the licensing deal with NBCUniversal is set for two-years and as part of the agreement the company will get approximately 6% of revenue.

Recent statistics show that paper sales have been down about 3% each year for the past few years due to emails and the Internet. Are we getting closet to the paper-less society?

Formerly starring Steve Carell, the show is a mockumentary, depicting the everyday lives of office employees in a Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

How to organize all The Office paper:

Need help with office organization technique? Check out our how to organize your office video. To create usability and visual access, we suggest the following organizing accessories, all available at Organize.com.

Bamboo file organizer $39.99. Great for your desktop against a wall, or on a credenza. Use this organizer for your daily use paper.

File storage box $39.99. For effective use of space, keep your bulk paper stored away from your main work area. We like these boxes from Cargo. While the khaki color may be too army-and-navy for you, they have other options.Black Metropolitan document storage box $24.99. There are many options for storing memorabilia and paper in stylish, stackable boxes. Not only do we like these black document boxes because of their elegant look, they have a label holder on the front, great for identifying contents without having to look inside.

What do you think?

Here is the section of our blog topic where we ask you leave a comment.

Are you planning on buying some Dunder Mifflin copy paper from Quill.com? How do you organize your office supplies?

Like this Topic?

Save time by not having to check back again and again for our newest blog topics. Enter your email below and our topics will be delivered to your in-box as soon as they're published.

Enter your Email

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

November 29, 2011

Celebrity Organization, Home & Home Office Tips, Offices