January is National Get Organized Month: Check out Our Top 10 Organizing Products
By Lorraine Brock
For those of us in the professional organizing industry, January is an exciting month. It is National Get Organized Month, and with it comes new and interesting products displayed front and center in the stores to help people just like you get organized. Although the new products often have fancy patterns and cool advertising slogans that encourage impulse buying, remember that the products alone will not get you organized. You should purchase products that solve your organizational challenges and compliment the organizational systems you have in place or that a professional organizer puts in place for you.
To help you with your organizing product purchases, I am excited to share my first Top 10 Organizing Product Recommendations, a tradition I look forward to continuing each January at NorthTexasKids.
For this list, I went straight to the professional organizers that work with our clients and asked them to share with me their favorite organizing products. Here are their responses (in no particular order of importance) and a few of my own favorites:
1. Our physically strongest organizer, Stephanie, has the endurance to get any job done. She likes the Tall Shelf Dividers. She says, “These are perfect to put on a high shelf in a closet. They keep purses and bags upright instead of falling over. This makes it easier to see all the different bags one may have”.
2. If your space is limited, try the Small Shelf Divider, which solves the problem of shelf organization like #1, but with a shorter height.
3. Stephanie also likes the Over-the- Door Shoe Organizer . “It can be used to not only organize shoes but scarves/gloves, office supplies, small toys like play cars, Barbies, and more”.
4. If she had to pick her favorite organizing product, Stephanie would say, Eco-Strip Drawer Organizers. “These are probably my favorite products just because they keep your drawers looking nice and you are able to find what you need”.
5. Kate, who has been with Get Organized! the longest and loves to organize craft spaces and has a crafty side, likes two products she uses herself: “My label maker is my favorite as I label everything in my home with it – pantry, garage bins, files, etc.”
6. Kate also tells us: “I also love my fridge menu planner and use it every day for our dinners.” This is a great way to plan and execute your family meals for 2013.
7. Rachel, our organizer that works mostly with ADD and business clients, shares her top two products. “The Expedit from IKEA because it’s practical and can be used in a variety of ways (baskets, drawers, or open shelving), and in different rooms to contain a wide variety of household items”. It is more of a furniture piece but will give you the creative space to get organized.
8. For a smaller product, Rachel likes the IKEA scarf holder (Komplement) at IKEA. This product can be used to keep winter or fashion scarfs organized and tangle-free.
For our final two favorite organizing products, I wanted to share my personal favorites. Keeping it to two is challenging as there are truly so many products that not only look good, but function well in a variety of spaces. I decided to go with organizing products that you might not see advertised or on store shelves.
9. For my first favorite, I am going to suggest a product that will help those that might already have Elfa or Closet Maid shelving in their home or business (white coated metal shelving). Did you know that you can go to any Container Store and ask them for a plastic shelf liner that is cut to measure and sold by the foot? This shelf liner comes in different shelf depths, (12”, 16” and 20”). The Container Store will cut the amount of length you need and when you get home you can cut it to fit your shelf length. You won’t find this product on the store floor, but you can ask a salesperson to cut you some in the back. I think it is a great product because for little cost it allows you to create a solid surface so small items on the shelves don’t fall through or fall over with the open bars.
10. My second favorite product, which is more on the technology side of organizing is OneNote. OneNote is a Microsoft product that comes free with your Microsoft Office suite. In fact, you might have it on your computer and not even know it. If you don’t have it, you can purchase it in any computer supply store (look for the 2013 version). The Home and Student version allows up to three people to use on their devices and runs about $75. This is an excellent way to keep your notes, lists, and projects organized; track your business mileage, and more. You can access it on your computer or your Windows phone, as well as through Cloud based technology.
Good organizers love suggesting products that will do the trick for their clients. Our Get Organized! team has used these products personally and for our clients. If you can’t wait for my 2014 list, you can subscribe to our monthly “GO” Newsletter on our website and get great ideas each month, or follow me monthly here on NorthTexasKids.
Lorraine Brock is a professional organizer, family coach, speaker, and founder and owner of Get Organized! Get Organized! is a professional organizing company in the Dallas, Texas area. Get Organized! specializes in organizing and de-cluttering homes as well as implementing systems in the home for better family management. A popular media guest, Lorraine has appeared on Dallas’ two top morning television shows: Good Morning Texas and Good Day Fox, and has been featured on various radio outlets. She has been hallmarked in many local, regional, and national print and online magazines, such as the Dallas Morning News, The North Texas Kids Magazine, SheKnows.com, and Daily Candy Kids. To get more information about Lorraine, visit www.GetOrganized.ws.