Top 5 Tips

A

ndrea Wolf offers advice
for getting started on your
own home and office orga-
nizational projects:
• Pick one area to start. Don't
look at the overall picture, which
can be too overwhelming and
distracting. Focus on one project,
whether it's a drawer or a closet
or a room. Begin by emptying the
contents and moving them out
of the room into another area.
Everything looks different when
you have it out of its usual space;
it will start to look more like junk
and help you think about it realis-
tically rather than emotionally.
• Shoe bins. Shoes often get
scattered everywhere and rarely
get tucked into the individual cub-
bies that hang from a door or in
a closet. Place an inexpensive,
colorful canvas bin or basket in a
mudroom or foyer for a neat and
easy (especially for kids) place to
corral your family's shoes.

• Out of season, out of sight.

Label plastic bins intended only
for seasonal items (hats, gloves,
scarves and boots for winter;

sunscreen, beach towels, bath-
ing suits and bags for summer)
to keep in the basement to make
the seasonal switch simple and
repurpose your closet space. Also,
designate a specific space for
seasonal items. Once you have the
bins and spaces ready, the switch
can be done in five minutes.
• Plastic envelopes. They're
one of my favorite things. Keep
them inside magazine holders to
stash all the bits of paper and
photos that have no home. Each
category can have its own plastic
envelope. When it gets filled, it
can be tossed in a bin in the base-
ment. At least that way you know
exactly where to look for it when
you do actually need it.
• Stick to your list. Once you've
determined what you're keeping
and what you're purging, create
a shopping list and stick to it.
People impulse buy; they see the
pretty things and get them home,
and it just becomes more clutter
because they have no need for
them.

Now scheduling for Spring 2012

Ivan Katz, Owner

248-543-6320 aN .
greatlakeslandscapedesign.com

Serving Southeast Michigan

17419Z - 0

THE 2012 NEW BALANCE 990

CRAFTSMANSHIP -7, w - —c
, an,

ne

REDEFINED

e

Farmington Hills • Troy

Men's & Wo
Available In
le Widths

- Lynne Konstantin

newbalancedetroit.com

The office has very little
storage so Wolf made the
most of every inch by

categorizing every item
- from printer and photo

paper to notebooks and

notes made on scraps of
paper - and stashed each
category in magazine

holders and banker boxes.

Particularly if you have
your own business, keeping
track of receipts is a

I * U S 0 * ** 1

Only at your local New Balance store,
donate $10 with your purchase through
April 30th and we'll send a pair of
American made shoes, like the expertly
crafted 990, to an active duty service
member through the USO.

New Balance calls a shoe "American made" only if the domestic content is at 7053 or more. The maximum
donation of footwear by New Balance will he 5,000 pairs. Any donations beyond 5.000 pairs will be donated
as cash to the USO.
2012 NEW BALANCE ATHLETIC SHOE, INC.

FARMINGTON HILLS

TROY

37606 W. 12 Mile Rd.
& Halsted Rd.
248.324.0506

821 E. Big Beaver Rd.
at Rochester Rd.
248.740.9221

HOURS:
Mon.-Thurs. 10am- 8pm
Fri. & Sat. 10am- 6pm
Closed Sun.

1747750

ASK US ABOUT:
KITCHEN RENOVATION

necessity. Wolf created
bins for each business and
category. "it doesn't have
to be neat," says Wolf.

DESIGN • PURCHASE • INSTALLATIONS

"They can just empty out
their pockets and know

OM Design Renovation

where everything is come
tax time."

248-225-8207
WWW.OMDNR.COM

WE DO ALL HOUSEHOLD JOBS TOO, BIG OR SMALL.

SN

April 12 • 2012

35