Are you embarrassed about the clutter and mayhem in your house? Does that stop you from having friends and family over? We see this all the time. It's true we help people restore order, but we also work with clients to create realistic expectations for what's important. A little mess is absolutely fine.
We've just completed a large Los Angeles decluttering project and was asked to stage the house with the furniture and decor the clients already owned so that the home could be listed for sale. With the plan in mind and some muscle, we started reworking furniture, art, accessories and decor so that potential clients could envision themselves living in the house.
What did we do to make the home more welcoming?
If there is one thing we've learned running a professional organizing business it's that the right tool can get the job done. And an even better tool is one that you can leave out for display, or hang up in plain sight for easy access so it no only looks good, but functions well too.
This week I fell in love with this bamboo ironing board from Welm Elm on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. If you know me, I pretty much hate ironing anything other than pillow cases, cocktail napkins, tea towels, shams and placemats (anything flat and manageable). But I think this board will want to make me want to iron more and more. And it's a relative bargain at $79.99. If you add a chef's stripe ironing board cover @ $19.00 – you will have a look that adds affordable functional style in traditional homes, Victorian-style, Spanish Renaissance, beach home, Colonial, Craftsman (you get the point).
West Elm continues to stock great organizing and homekeeping products that they inherited when Hold Everything home organization store closed down in 2006. Check out these pictures.
When working with clients we try to incorporate some style in the client's necessary functional activities and storage. And all the better if we can move away from plastic containers into wood (yea, I am obsessed with wood organizing boxes and storage pieces).
Take for instance my own bathroom. I repurposed these 1970's Maxwell House freeze-dried glass coffee jars in the bathroom to hold wooden Q-tips, cotton balls, cotton pads and wood toothbrushes (the last container was empty so I added some sea shells). The canisters sit on the shelf and they're not only maritime chic, they're are functional (and yes, we had to scrub these jars for an hour, they were previously used in a garage in Sierra Madre to hold nuts, bolts and drill bits!)
So you can see from my Instagram picture post, when you incorporate looks and function, you might get a bonus: a burst of extra energy to tackle life's little details and complete your ironing (or any little chore) faster. And then we can move on to more important things like friends, family and Spring time fun.
Now is your chance to sound off:
What products do you like to have around you? Do stylish products really help you get the job done more efficiently? Let us know here in the comment section or you can tweet us @johntrosko on Twitter. You can also check me out on Instagram.
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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.
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.
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From time-to-time we feature reader questions. Here is one which is particularly compelling. Have a question? Subscribe and talk to us.
Dear John and OrganizingLA,
"I have chosen the daunting task of getting my house and my life in order. I feel paralyzed and I don't know where to start. I start and stop and feel frustrated at lack of results. I know to my friends I make life look easy, and I am a fairly successful person in real life. But this is tough! Can you give me some pro-encouragement?"
Patricia from Providence
Dear Patricia,
Here are a few guidelines we suggest to our Los Angeles professional organizing firm clients who are stuck and need some encouragement. This list comes from our 7-8 years in business. Each client is different. We would be doing a disservice to clients if we thought they were one way, or another. Everyone is different.
Encourage yourself:
Need more inspiration? Check out:
10 Commandments of Clutter – if you're more spirtual, with an edge.
The 80/20 Pereto Principal – scientific usage guidelines we wrote about for Perez Hilton's Perezitos.
What encouragement would you have for Patricia?
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Out of the Closet Thrift Stores may be the most famous thrift "chain" store in the World. Not only are their ads pushing items donations super sexy, they even have a Hall of Fame page on their website (celebrities who have donated their unused wares to their cause).
Locations:
The chain includes dozens of well-run locations around its headquarters here in Southern California (Los Angeles), Northern California (San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley) and the State of Florida (Miami, South Beach and Ft. Lauderdale).
Who benefits?
Many of their locations offer confidential, free HIV testing and proceeds benefit AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest specialized provider of cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay. That attracts a lot of passionate givers.
Celebs who donate:
Renowned for donations made by today's most popular celebrities and major television and film studio production houses, droppers off of gently used items include Elizabeth Taylor, Ron Howard, Bruce Willis, Ellen Degeneres, Carol Burnett, Richard Gere, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and Elvira (Mistress of the Dark).
Out of the Closet is one of our favorite charties and we've mentioned them on this blog through case studies and a story about Kate Olsen donating her clothes to the West Hollywood location. They've even been nominated for several Los Angeles Organizing Awards in the "Most Supportive Organizer-Friendly" category.
How to pick a donation charity:
We encourage our organizing clients to pick a thrift store charity for the year, and use that relationship to feel good about their giving. So why not develop an sense of organiziation with heart?
There are a lot of choices for your donations, pick the charity that you identify with for religious, social, or political reasons. Items should be in clean and saleable condition. Depending on individual policies, some items are subject to refusal. If you drop off junk, they may have to throw it away, and your "good deed" becomes an unnecessary expense to the charity management.
Share your charity:
What is your thrift store charity for 2012? Share your charity with your friends. And, why not post a link to their website, below. What tips do you have for thrift store donations?
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“John Trosko offers creative solutions for clearing cluttered spaces while spilling Hollywood habitués’ domestic obsessions.”
– Cristina Tudino, Self Magazine
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Organization With Heart: Our Company’s Charitable Activities
Try This System for Organizing Yourself
Thoughts on Effective Decisions – Why are People So Prone to Clutter?
How to Keep Yourself Organized
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What Sets Our Organizing Skills Apart?
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