Busy Parents and Organization

February 3, 2012 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

Sometimes as a parent, you always find yourself  rushing out the door, rushing to make breakfast, rushing to do everything basically. Part of the reason is you’re now managing another being. Between school day drop offs and pickups, doctor’s appointments and extracurricular activities, there’s little time  left over for parents themselves.

Plus with each stage of parenthood, form the infancy of your child to teenage years, sometimes it feels you can hardly catch a break. Breathe easy though:- Simple acts of organization can help you sail a smooth ship daily, every day of the year. The Art of Order has helped numerous families shake up the way their homes are set up, in order to get the ultimate organization flow activated.

In addition, our company advises on time management, which coupled with organization, can help parents reserve time in their day for themselves.

Here are a few helpful tips:

  • A Key Holder – Placement in a central place for example, and always remembering to place keys there can save moms and dads loads of time playing treasure hunt each day. This can be applied to coats and an in/out bin for mail.
  • Assign Chores – Delegating different tasks to different members of the household can help ease the work load significantly.
  • Chops of Tasks – Tasks can be done daily for 15 minutes, just as an example. Loading the dishwasher or clothes washer can help reduce the burden over the weekend. The same can be done for wiping the bathrooms and kitchen surfaces daily.
  • A Calendar of Events – These notes can include special meetings or appointments to help kids and parents alike know what’s happening in the near future.
  • Spring Clean Regularly – Donate unwanted items, instead of hoarding, which ultimately leads to junk pile up. Going through closets and drawers at regular intervals can help to minimize the accumulation of old newspapers, old clothes and items that are no longer used.

These simple things can help to bring back order to each day. Plus, moms and dads won’t feel as stressed running around once an organizational plan is implemented. Think of your home as a business – without a plan, productivity sinks. The same applies with all aspects of life. Plus, while we know that all homes are different, these universal tips will certainly help.

If you need an overhaul in the way your home is organized, whether this is your furniture arrangements, or an evaluation to get the most useful suggestions for improvement, The Art of Order can help. Our consultants can help you arrange your home to make it have the best work flow possible.

 


 

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Interior Design Ideas, News and Trends

December 13, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

The Art of Order loves interior design. Mainly because living in a professionally designed space carries an aura of elegance and sophistication. A well-designed space that’s functional and appealing is one thing that many homeowners wish for. The concept of hiring a professional for home interior design appeals to people who:

 a) have just bought a home and b) take a lot of pride in their surroundings. If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your own home, The Art of Order can personalize designs that will adapt to your taste and surroundings.

Creating beautiful space takes patience and knowledge. Interior settings that translate your distinctive style into timeless art are what we’re all about. When an appointment is made for designs, you should expect that suggestions will be fully customizable to capture your personality. That’s the sort of classic service Austin residents have come to expect from The Art of Order. Click here to check out many of our local interior designs.

The Art of Order is focused on decorating rooms, baths, kitchen spaces, organizing and remodeling for the future. It’s also exciting to be connected with our fans on Facebook, Twitter and all the new social media.


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Small Business Saturday Movement

November 26, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

We are partnering with American Express with Small Business Saturday to support local Austin businesses!  Saturday, November 26th we are promoting that shoppers patron local Austin businesses and restaurants in support of our local economy and community.  The Art of Order and many others, encourage you to visit Austin owned businesses for your holiday shopping.  Get to know the small business owners in the various neighborhoods and support what makes Austin such a great place to live!

We are offering a $25 coupon to be added to any denomination gift certificate purchased with The Art of Order.  Our gift certificates can be used for our organization services and consulting, interior design projects and our custom closet renderings!

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How to Organize a Garage on a Budget

October 18, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

If your garage needs an “extreme makeover,” but Ty Pennington has yet to stop by – it’s probably time to tackle the mess yourself. Learn how to organize a garage on a budget, and that junk yard will transform into a useful storage system, a place for your car or your favorite hobby, or all of the above. Here’s how to organize a garage on a budget.

1.    Use your driveway for sorting (just park your car curbside). The first step is to de-clutter your garage. Chances are there’s no rhyme or reason to how your stuff has accumulated over the years. So, this is the time to lug everything out of the garage and put it into piles:

  • heavy “for keeps” items like ladders and bikes
  • tools
  • gardening supplies
  • chemicals
  • other misc. “for keeps” items
  • give away
  • sell (if you’re planning a garage sale)
  • throw away
  • storage (Christmas decorations, etc)
  • belong inside the home (sentimental items are really at their best when they’re on display in your home or are more easily accessible, etc)

2.    Now that the garage is clear of clutter, it’s time to clean that ugly floor! First you’ll want to vacuum or sweep it, and then you’ll want to scrub it down with soap and water or other more powerful cleaning solutions, if necessary. This is also a good time to wipe down the walls, dust the windows, and simply get rid of any cob webs, bugs, grime, or mold that’s been building up.

3.    Do a little space planning. Before deciding how to store everything, ask yourself: what will the garage be used for? Will you be keeping one car in it, two cars? Do you need a hobby area with a workbench? Or how about an exercising space? Will you do your laundry here, or hang out with friends? After you’ve determined the function of your garage, it’s much easier to go about reorganizing it.

4.    Get the right storage. You may already have a lot of great storage containers on hand. If so, delegate them to your sorted piles. Take inventory of everything you’ll be putting back into the garage, and do the math – how many bins do you need, how many built-in shelves, how many hooks? Instead of just putting everything back into the garage in an unorganized fashion, have a plan in hand. There are plenty of affordable storage containers you can buy from your local hardware store or Home Depot, or places like the Container Store. Here are some suggestions:

  • Wire shelving
  • Closed storage bins (great for things you don’t need to see day to day)
  • Pegboards and hooks  -  use bungee cords for hanging heavy items
  • Built-in shelving
  • Hang hooks from the ceiling for storing bikes, ladders, luggage, and other bulkier items – great space saver!

Now that you’ve learned how to organize a garage on a budget, you can take advantage of a room that’s all too often lost and forgotten. However, although you can get your garage back in shape for cheap, the task is definitely a time killer and it has its fair share of frustrations. Remember, for help organizing your home, kitchen, and more, turn to our Austin professional organizing team.

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Closet Ideas for Kids’ Rooms

September 26, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

It’s hard enough to manage your own closet space, let alone your kids’. However, plenty of great closet ideas for kids’ rooms are there for the taking, and they’ll help you learn a thing or two about your own organizing techniques, too. Adults have a way of making things way more complicated than they have any right to be – so, get back to basics, and get your kid on a path to an organized life.

A Down-to-Earth Closet Is a Useful Closet

Don’t think like a parent. A parent is an adult, measuring over five feet tall, and weighted down by emotional baggage and a soul-crushing work load. A kid, on the other hand, is short, and simply doesn’t see things the way you do. A bleak-looking closet with high shelves and hangers can be an intimidating place for a little one. Install hanging rods and shelves at your child’s eye level, so clothes and other items are easily accessible. Tip: adjustable hanging rods and shelves can grow in height along with your child. If there’s enough floor space, use some of it up with open containers and boxes.

For out-of-season clothes, or clothes reserved for fancy occasions, high hanging rods and shelves do the trick. Other items not used on a daily or weekly basis don’t need to be within your kid’s reach, either. Consider the top level of the closet the part you’ll reign over, and the mid to bottom level, your kids’ territory.

Think Outside the Dresser Drawer

We’ll never run out of closet ideas for kids’ rooms, because there are so many different ways to store stuff! Don’t just think in hangers and drawers and boring boxes. Put a pegboard up on the wall with a few hooks, so things like a backpack or a coat are easy to grab on the go. If the door is just another barrier, get rid of it entirely. At the very least, make the most of this real estate – shoe racks and hooks are easy to incorporate into a door.

But more than anything, don’t overlook all your storage options. Make sure each item has a home that makes sense – small toys with pieces (think Barbie and her many shoes) go well in an oversized plastic bag, while clunky solid toys (think Barbie’s car) are made for bins or crates. CD and DVD organizers are easier to tuck away than large racks, and open containers with dividers are a lot handier than dresser drawers or big boxes. An overcrowded toy box is an inefficient one!

Sort through Your Child’s Life

Even the best designed custom closet with the best storage containers can turn into a mess real quick if you don’t have a plan. There should be a rhyme or reason to everything. Each part of your closet should have a clear purpose, so your child can put things away, and also retrieve them, with ease. Toys can be divided into separate bins or containers based on their size, type, and/or usage level. Clothes can be separated by color and/or type (get kids’ hangers of different colors to help).

Put a label on everything! This helps young kids learn vocabulary, and older kids stay organized. It’s hard to put underwear in a drawer marked “socks.”

Make Room for Fun

One of the best closet ideas for kids’ rooms is the most surprising – make organizing and picking up a fun activity. Make sure hangers, storage units, and boxes are vibrantly colored, and illuminate the closet with an assortment of multi-colored lights. For an added touch, let your child decorate the closet with drawings, posters, and other wall hangings that will liven up the space, but not take up room. Your kids’ closet should be an integral part of the whole room. Carry over the bedroom theme into the closet, or create a new one entirely.

Include your child in every step of the process. Ask him or her how they want things organized, and what they would like the closet to look and feel like. This way, organizing isn’t a task their boss of a mom has put them up to, but something they’ll take pride in, day in and day out.

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Clutter and Mental Health: Serious Stuff

September 15, 2011 By

Spring cleaning is a seasonal thing, but your mental wellbeing should be a year-round thing. Clutter and mental health go hand in hand, as a messy home is a messy life. (And that’s a fact.) Ah, so that’s what they mean by “cleanliness is close to Godliness…”

Clutter Kills Productivity

If the dishes have conquered your kitchen counter, heading to Burger King trumps preparing a home cooked meal. Can’t find those important receipts? Maybe you’ll just file your taxes later. Even the simplest task can turn into a heaping headache when you can’t find the items you need. Take this scenario:  you’ve got a pesky tag hanging off the collar of your new shirt, and you’re already late for work … as a bonus, the scissors are MIA. What a silly and stressful way to start off the day! When you’re not doing the things you need to do, and accomplishing the goals you’ve set for yourself, that’s a recipe for depression, and lots of wasted time.

Clutter Causes Anxiety

Is all that stuff staring you down, like Geico’s money stack with the googly eyes? Every time you open that random mess of a closet or cabinet, or dig through a mountain of clothes for that special pair of jeans, you’ve peppered a little anxiety onto your life. Clutter is a constant visual that reminds you of everything you need to do, but haven’t yet done – and we don’t just mean cleaning and organizing. Your mind drifts to that overdue report for the boss, or how you really need to lose ten pounds. It’s a cue for all kinds of guilty thoughts – I have so many obligations I haven’t fulfilled! I can’t believe I missed trash day! Am I a bad mother? Do I have any control over my life? The correlation between clutter and mental health may be a sneaky one, but there’s no denying it.

Clutter Divides the Family

Not only does clutter hurt your self-esteem, it hurts your personal relationships. For people living with a significant other, or kids or roommates, clutter is a big “No No.” A collection of cups and plates scattered about the coffee table can inspire an hour-long argument – Why can’t you just clean up after yourself?! Wars between child and adult are often kick started by a messy bedroom, best friends can morph into enemies over a conflicting philosophy on cleaning, and husbands have driven their wives crazy over neglected dishes, for decades. Hey, as far as planets go, we guess Venus is just a lot more “together” than Mars.

Clutter Hurts Your Social Life

When your house is a wreck, you’re not inviting people over for dinner. And if your mother-in-law unexpectedly drops by, well, it’s time for full on panic mode. Moreover, if you’re feeling down and out at work or at a friends’ house, because of the mess you’ve left behind, you might develop a “keeping up with the Jones’” complex – social poison.

Clutter Can Be a Bigger Problem

In extreme cases (think A&E’s “Hoarders”), out-of-control clutter can hint at a much larger issue. Even for the Average Joe, clutter and mental health are linked. So, it’s no surprise this is especially true for compulsive hoarders. Addressing the issue of clutter addresses the bigger issue of mental illness.

If your cooking utensils have outgrown your kitchen, if the garage has turned into No Man’s Land, or if your unsorted mail’s a giant pile of a “to do” list, it’s time to do some spring cleaning. Never mind the day or month.  Don’t hold off on organizing that junk drawer for the sake of some other so-called urgent task; let us get things in order for you, and help you keep it that way. We are the professional personal organization experts, and can get you on the right path.

We’re not just talking about a clean house, here. Your mental health is at stake!

Filed Under: Blog

Five Ways That Interior Designers Can Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

June 23, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order


Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

Kermit the Frog was wrong when he said, “It’s not easy being green.”  Interior designers beg to differ.  With a vast supply of sustainable materials to work with, “being green” has never been easier.  From making use of milk protein paints to laying down reclaimed wood as flooring, a lot can be done to make your space more eco-friendly.

In fact, if you really want to step things up a bit, you can request that your interior designer do the following things in an attempt to reduce your carbon footprint:

Ditch the carpet. Opt instead to cover your floors with all-natural area rugs.  These items are made from durable, sustainable materials like wool, hemp, or organic cotton.  Easier to clean and maintain, this is one easy way to make your home more earth-friendly.

Rearrange existing furniture. By moving things around a bit, interior designers are able to open up a space and increase the amount of natural light that flows in.  It also gives them the opportunity to inventory what is already on hand before purchasing additional materials to furnish a room or home.

Scour thrift stores or your own art and photography collections for pieces to display. Fill negative spaces with pictures and paintings.  These items can be displayed in wooden or even corrugated cardboard frames.

Add some plants to the decor. Interior designers can add some green in an attempt to make your home “green”.  Live plants of all sizes can spruce up the atmosphere and also remove nasty toxins from the air.  This will help you breathe easier in your newly decorated home.

Decorate with items that are made from recycled materials. Recycling and upcycling are environmentally responsible ways to give regular items a second lease on life.  This helps keep these materials from being thrown into a landfill and it gives you a great conversation piece to keep in your home.

An eco-friendly home is warm and inviting.  It minimizes the negative impact you have on the environment and can be every bit as personal and chic as your prior space.  A popular trend with interior designers around the globe, sustainable designing is where it’s at in today’s world.

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Eco-Friendly Interior Design Is Popular in Austin

May 21, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Sustainable Design Combines Responsibility and Style

Austin interior designers are leaning towards eco-friendly products and materials as a way to reduce their clients’ carbon footprints.  This smart new method of decorating is affordable and better for the environment.  Rather than spend money on costly remodels, they make it so you can maintain a clean, natural look with ease.

There is an upside to environmentally sound interior design.  Not only does your home or office become one of the most comfortable places you spend time in each day, you also have the luxury of knowing that the materials that you have chosen to decorate with are long lasting, classic, and attractive.  This means that you can maintain the appearance of your dwelling or workspace with very little effort throughout the years.

From reclaimed wood to recycled steel, your interior designer will carefully determine the placement of these items in an attempt to maximize space and beautify your home or office.  This helps you achieve more in less time.  Instead of having to worry about replacing dated furniture and blinds, you can simply enjoy your newly decorated space throughout the years and see it for what it is worth.  You will create less waste because you will consume less with sustainable furniture, decorations, and flooring.  These incredibly chic items seldom lose their appeal because they are created in a way that is appealing from every angle.

Sustainable design is essentially responsible design. In today’s world, being green has its advantages and who doesn’t want to be environmentally conscious?  Saving money, reducing dependency on limited goods, and shedding light on a new style of decorating that is modern and exciting is the goal of Austin interior designers.  Where else can you seek the advice of talented professionals as they go to work to make your home or office green?

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What to Look For When Building A Custom Closet

May 5, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

Lori Martin, Founder of The Art of Order

Custom closet building eludes you.  You simply don’t know what to look for.  Never fear!  The Art of Order offers you this handy guide which is designed to help you know what to look for in regards to closet design ideas. As a professional organizer and space planner, I know a thing or two about effectively using every square inch in your home.  My home organization tips save you time and money.  With that in mind, here are some things to look for when choosing custom closet design:
Experience. Who better to design your closet than the Art of Order?  My business revolves around professional organizing, interior design, space planning, and custom closet systems.  That means that you get the closet of your dreams and our expertise to boot.

Customization. Cookie cutter closet designs don’t benefit us and they won’t benefit you.  Austinites looking for solutions to their crammed and cluttered living spaces will appreciate the time and effort we put into their custom closet design.  A free initial consultation will help us better understand your needs and create a design that fulfills both the aesthetic and utilitarian needs.

Proven solutions that work. Closet planning identifies problems and provides verifiable systems that work.  Keep your clothing at bay and maintain more of your sanity in the meantime.  Let the experts at the Art of Order take care of you with closet storage solutions.

Prices that you can afford. We offer options to fit every budget.  While offering custom closet solutions, never prefabricated, we can still create an efficient closet upgrade while staying consistent with your budget. In fact, you can even look under the Promotions section on our homepage to see what types of discounts are available on closet organizing systems.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to put order back into your home.  Start by building a custom closet, then let us help you with other areas of your life.  Once you start making space in your life for change, the happier you will be!


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How Creating a Custom Closet Can Help You Get Organized

April 25, 2011 By

By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

In today’s world, it’s easy to get buried under a mountain of stuff.  If you’re not careful, you’re liable to never get out from under the clutter.  That’s where having a custom closet built comes into play.  Not only will it give you the space that you need to house all of your clothing and footwear, it will also give you the peace of mind of knowing that everything is in its own place.
Gone are the days of rifling through piles of shirts and sweaters to find something to wear to work.  Having a professional organizer come into your home and set up a closet system for you will be a blessing.  The reason behind the statement is this.  A custom closet in Austin is worth its weight in gold.  It will keep you from stacking your purchases on a chair or the top of your dresser.  It will help you control clutter by eliminating it in the first place.
If you share a closet with other members of your household, you know how frustrating it can be to find their belongings mixed in with yours.  You don’t have to worry about your spouse hogging your side of the closet when you have an interior designer Austin evaluate your space.  He or she will come into your home armed with knowledge and ideas on how to make the most out of your current closet.
Implementing a custom closet into your home can be one of the best gifts that you give yourself.  Being the type of person who is pressed for time, it can be very beneficial to you to have everything you need to wear right at your fingertips day in and day out.

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