Lisa is a blogger who writes for a variety of blogs about things like organizing your home, getting the most out of your home’s available storage space, and remodeling your kitchen. She works in the storage industry and helps organize storage units all around the U.S., from storage units in Colorado Springs to storage units in Virginia Beach.

Garages are often the most disorganized areas of homes. Why? It’s easy to throw all of your excess stuff in the garage and forget about it, especially if you park your car in the driveway because your garage is so overcrowded. Messes in garages are often out of sight, out of mind for homeowners. Although a cluttered, disorganized garage may not interfere with your day-to-day life, it’s still not necessarily ideal because it’s just a quick fix to having too much stuff and not knowing how to keep it all organized inside your home. If you have a clutter problem in your garage, you might be wondering how to fix it.

Here’s what you should do:

1. Load up the back of your car with donations – Typically, the things that you store in your garage are things you don’t use very often, with the exception of garage-appropriate items like lawnmowers and tools. Items that you don’t use very often are typically things you can consider getting rid of. So, go through everything in your garage and pick out some things you don’t think you’ll have a need for in the next 6 months or the next year. Once you identify the stuff that you don’t necessarily need to hold onto, fill up some boxes and take it to the nearest Goodwill or other charity that accepts donations of household goods.

2. Bring things back inside – Once you’ve gotten rid of what you don’t need, go through everything and pick out items that don’t belong in your garage. Bring these back inside your home and find a place to store them. If you have limited storage space in your home but still want to hold onto these items, you may have to resort to keeping them in your garage. If this happens, be sure to organize them. Smaller items can be placed in clear plastic storage bins, which you can stack up in a corner of your garage. Larger items like furniture can be pushed against the walls to minimize the amount of space they take up.

3. Try out some smarter storage strategies – Garages often become disorganized because they lack an adequate amount of hooks, racks, and shelves. Without these storage tools, homeowners are left with no choice but to store their items on the floor of their garage, where it’s a lot more difficult to keep things organized. Consider putting up some hooks, racks, and shelves or hiring someone to help you do so. The more available storage areas you have in your garage, the easier it will be to de-clutter and organize in an efficient manner.

So, fight the clutter and chaos in your garage with the strategies above and remember that organization is an ongoing, never-ending process. Once you get your garage organized, you’ll have to continue to work to keep it organized, but you’ll probably find that all the effort is completely worth it.

I hope you enjoyed reading the post, Garage storage organization solutions.

For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Small Space Interior Renovation Services in Calgary visit our services page.

Watch as we take you through the hardware stores to find just the right products to store your most challenging stuff!

I hope you enjoyed reading the post 

For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Small Space Interior Renovation Services in Calgary visit our services page.

Check out our VIDEO tour of this new home office.  From cork flooring to beautifully painted walls, this off is now an inviting, streamlined space to get some work done!

I hope you enjoyed reading the post Home Office Setup Ideas.

For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Small Space Interior Renovation Services in Calgary visit our services page.

Check out VIDEO 1 and meet the homeowner who is very excited to start the creative baking process in her new Baking Nook!

For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Small Space Interior Renovation Services in Calgary visit our services page.

Just wanted to share my latest project …a Baking Station for a talented cake/cookie decorator extraordinaire!

STEP 1…so many tools to find homes for!

STEP 2…the Planning, Decorating, and Packaging Zones are created

Later this week we will reveal the complete Baking Station and find out the homeowners reaction to this transformation!  Don’t miss it!

I hope you enjoyed reading, Baking Station Ideas – Baking Storage Solutions.   For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Small Space Interior Renovation Services in Calgary visit our services page.

Dawn O’Connor is the COO – Chief Office Organizer, and Productivity consultant at Work in Order Inc

Dawn herself is guilty of a ‘multiple note book’ habit and tries diligently to maintain one primary book for all key client notes!  Her favourite is the Blue Line brand ‘NotePro’ – with coil bound spine, sticky tabs, perforated sheets, and a plastic pocket in the back.  It’s not pretty, but it’s immensely functional.   www.workinorder.com

Productivity & the Power of Pen-to-Paper

With so many options to capture information these days – smart phones, tablets, apps galore (my favourites being Evernote and OneNote) – why would we choose the good old-fashioned pen and paper option?

Quite simply, something good happens in our brains when we write things down on paper (or napkins or white boards etc…) There are many studies on this topic, but without citing stats and data, suffice it to say that pen-to-paper is great for the following:

• Exploring ideas in an organic and flowing way – you have the freedom to write anywhere on the paper and then draw arrows or bubbles to connect ideas (Mind Map, anyone?)

• Cementing ideas and thoughts firmly in our brains – as you write, you experience a cathartic release of the idea.  And at the same time, it’s almost like your brain snaps a little picture of that thought as it appears on the paper, helping to reinforce the memory.

• Creating reference points – information is now captured at a point in time and is available for review later.  With an estimated 65,000 thoughts per day, it’s great to get some down on paper before they disappear into la la land.

• Making lists - probably the most common pen-to-paper habit is the ‘To Do’ list.  A simple way to capture your action items so that you don’t forget them, with the added satisfaction of crossing them off when complete.  Ahh, that feels good.

To improve your note taking for increased productivity, here are some tips:

 Use One Primary Notebook (instead of 17)

Perhaps you are a devoted note taker, list maker, or journal writer with a myriad of notebooks for various purposes.  I can appreciate the allure of the beautiful notebook.  The pretty patterns and colours, and the creamy texture of quality paper (like Moleskin note books) is truly delightful.

However, try to maintain one primary note book where you keep all vital and current notes – the one you will take to meetings to capture key information requiring follow-up.

Use Dates and Symbols

• Date the page for future reference (top right hand corner is a good spot for the date).
• Stick to one topic or event per page – so that you can tear it out and file it later.
• Use symbols as visual short forms to indicate next steps.  Here are some commonly used symbols:
  • * actions, tasks, to do’s
  • ?  needs clarification or further research

You don’t need to be artistic to use symbols. Just have fun and be creative.  Symbols will speed-up and simplify the next step in the process….

The Follow-through Factor

The most crucial and often ignored step is to review and process your notes.  At the end of each day or week, be sure to glance through your notes and do the following:

• scan for action items to enter into your task management system
• capture any key contact information, books to read, wines to try etc…
• tear reference information and file as needed
• extract those brilliant ideas so that they don’t languish in your book!

Wishing you happy and productive note taking!

I hope you enjoyed reading, Dawn O’Connor of Work In Order – Simple, effective note taking techniques.   For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Small Space Interior Renovation Services in Calgary visit our services page.

Create Storage for Home Office

Lack of appropriate storage is always the reason office spaces become over-cluttered.  More horizontal surfaces are NOT what you need.  Think through the “categories” of items you need storage for within close proximity and work out from there.  Consider whether you prefer open storage or closed.  The challenge is to create a clean work space without creating “out of sight, out of mind” storage.

How to Organize Desk Space

Your work surface needs to work for you.  Do you have duo functioning spaces, one for your laptop and one to spread out?  There are so many things to consider when creating the right desktop for you.  If you aren’t ready to purchase office pieces, let’s make your current space meet your needs!

Solutions:

1. Wall Pockets
2. Literature Sorter
3. Drawers with Organizers
4. Magnetic Board

Streamline Your Office For Success - Home Office Series; 4 downloadable classes… 20% Off until March 31!  That’s only $10/class…

• Free Introduction Class
• Managing Paper Piles
• How to Be Time Effective
• Digital Clutter

Click here if you’re ready to tackle your Home Office!

Pantry Door – Family Message Center

Magnetic Chalkboard Door becomes a great Communication Tool

Take a look at our new Pantry Door!  When the glass broke on the old one, I decided to utilize this large surface in a prime location to become a fully functioning Message Centre.   When planning a family message board, location is everything! There is no better place to ensure great communication between family members than on a wall space in a high traffic area..  Take control of your busy schedules and create a fun, visible system that will keep your family running smoothly.

What works on our Pantry Door – Family Message Center:

1. Weekly Activities – what is the family up to this week?
2. What’s For Dinner? – weekly meal plan and grocery list
3. Don’t Forget! – Important reminders
4. Messages – family members stay in the loop

** Can’t view this week’s video blog?  Watch this and other videos on our Blog Page and Niche Designs YouTube Channel!.

I hope you enjoyed reading, Transform Pantry Door – Family Message Center. For more DIY Home Renovation Storage Solutions visit our blog. Looking for Custom Design Storage in Calgary visit our services page.

Looking for creative ways to maximize the storage in your kitchen?  This downloadable Kitchen Calm Class has all of the tips and tricks you need.  (Play the free sneak peek before you purchase!)

Kitchen Cupboards – Create More Storage in Your Kitchen

Do your bottom cupboards look like one big “mosh pit”?  Do you have limited drawer space?  Are most of your cupboards too dark and deep to retrieve kitchen supplies easily?  If you answered “yes” to any of these, check out the simple storage solutions below…and watch this week’s video with Guest TV Host, Astrid Kuhn, On Air Media!

1. Roll-Out Baskets
2. Door Storage Solutions
3. Create “extra” Shelves