FRIENDLY REMINDER: Check Your Expiration Dates

At some point or another we’ve all reached into the medicine cabinet to grab a bottle of Advil or cold medicine just to find out it expired two years ago. Recently, we even found a bottle of Aspirin the expired in 1991 during the clean-out portion of an organizing job, which made us realize how easy it is to forget to check the dates on many household items.

Here are seven items we suggest checking frequently:

1. Medicine

2. Beauty/Skincare Products

3. Sunscreen

4. Spices

5. Oils/Vinegars 

6. Canned Goods

7. Batteries 

Garage Organizing Favorites

Elfa Platinum Utility Track with Three Hooks

Elfa Utility Bike Rack

Elfa Utility Sports Rack

Round Ball Claws

Folding Bike Hanger

Black Weathertight Totes

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The Best Ways To Organize Your Coat Closet

When our clients are faced with the often overwhelming decision of where to start organizing we always suggest that they think about the area in their homes that bother them the most. Is there are certain area that frequently slows them down, or is there something every day that they struggle to find and have to waste time looking for? Once they’ve figured out the answer — which typically doesn’t take very long — that’s where we tell them to start. 

One thing we’ve noticed clients often struggle with is getting out of the door in the morning in a timely manner. Whether you have children, or not, getting out of the house in the the morning can be quite the struggle, especially if you can’t find everything you need to take with you for the day. Being frazzled is no way to start the day. So to help make getting out of the door a little easier we wanted to share a few simple organizing tips focused on coat closets, because that’s the space where we typically go to grab what we need on our way out the door.

1. Take EVERYTHING out of your coat closet. Only keep the items that you need to access quickly on a daily basis in the closet like jackets, bags, and pet leashes. (We only keep the jackets for the current season in the closet and change them out as the weather changes.)

2. Use matching hangers. This is one of the most simple tricks professional organizers use to instantly make a space feel more organized and look more polished. We especially love these non-slip hangers. (For heavy coats we suggest using sturdy wood hangers, because they won’t bend or break under the weight.)

3. Invest in a system that lets you utilize the back of the closet door. If you’ve been following us for awhile then you know how much we love taking advantage of vertical space — especially in areas that have very limited space like a coat closet. We’ve noticed that this space often goes overlooked, but with the help of The Container Store we recently discovered one of the best ways to take full advantage of the vertical space behind any door — the Elfa Utility Mesh Closet Door & Wall Rack.

We use it in our coat closets to hold the items we use every day, plus, a lot of our outdoor items like sunscreen, bug spray, leashes, and umbrellas. The system is extremely easy to put together and install. You can mount it to any door or wall without ever having to drill anything. Plus, everything is adjustable, so you can use it many different ways. While we used it to help organize our coat closet, it would also be great in a pantry or clothing closet to hang scarves or jewelry. Right now the wall rack is 30% off through 2/25.

4. Use baskets with labels to make finding items easier. Categorize baskets with like items and label them, so you know exactly where you can an item without having to sort through everything — no one has time for that in the morning.  We love the Water Hyacinth Storage Cubes with Handles and these sturdy labels.

5. Take the time every day to put your coat up and hang your bag/purse in the same place. It’s a lot easier just to do it a soon as you get in than to lay items somewhere around the house and not be able to find them the next time you need to leave.

We hope these tips will help your mornings go a lot more smoothly. For more tips check out our recent post on Easy Ways To Organize Your Linen Closet.

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Thank you to The Container Store for sponsoring this post. All photos and opinions are ours. We may earn a commission when you use one of our links to make a purchase.

2019 Blue Pencil Home Gift Guide

We all know that the true meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with presents, but we can also admit that it’s a lot of fun to find the perfect gift for someone and watch the joy that comes from opening it. That genuine excitement and joy are something we look forward to every year, which means we’re always on the hunt for fun gift ideas. From the perfect travel bag to the newest technology — and, of course, some of our favorite organizing products, here are our top gift picks for Christmas 2019:

• The Container Store’s jewelry stackers provide a stylish way to keep all your most treasured pieces stored away safely.

• The 11-peg necklace wall rack and the Umbra Gold Jewelry Storage Kit are other great ways to store jewelry efficiently.

• These clear Russell+Hazel Acrylic Collators are one of our favorite products to use to organize anything from clutches and purses to paperwork and makeup palettes.

• Cable clips and cable wraps keep all those annoying charging cables organized and are perfect stocking stuffers.

• Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. This is a fun drink that tastes amazing — almost like drinking a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

• A Tile Mate will make misplacing keys and phones things of the past.

• A Boti Box subscription is perfect for young girls who love beauty products. And this way they get a little every time and hopefully they enjoy all of the previous box before the new stuff comes. If not, you can throw away the old to make room for the new.

• Opt for a Mz Wallace Travel Jim bag for the traveler in your life. The bags are stylish, roomy, and durable. You can also find other incredible MZ Wallace bags at Oak Hall.

• Annual membership to a local zoo or museum, so families can have fun experiences together year-round.

• Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones are another thoughtful gift for a techy or an avid traveler.

• Let your little ones — or the big kids at heart — capture all your fun holiday memories with a Fujifilm Instax Mini 9.

• Not sure exactly what to buy someone, but want to give them a gift? You can’t go wrong with a NEST Holiday Classic Candle. The incredible scent is made from a blend of pomegranate, Mandarin orange, pine, cloves and cinnamon with a hint of vanilla and amber.

• A gift card for a massage. Who doesn’t like a massage? Plus, there is absolutely no clutter!

• A photo book from Shutterfly. This is a great gift for the hard to shop for in-laws, grandparents, etc.

• Canon Ivy Mini Printer — these tiny printers print photos straight from your phone through WiFi.

• Know someone who has a competitive streak and loves card games? This year surprise them with a new game — Dutch Blitz — a family-friendly card game that will test your skills, smarts, and speed. Perfect for parties and family game nights. Also, a great game to pack for a road trip.

• The OLEBR Charging Station charges your phone, AirPods, and Apple Watch in one “organized” spot.

• Consider a Pilates gift card for someone who’s really into health and fitness. You can even go further and include a cute outfit from Lululemon.

• For the man in your life — consider gifting a pair of Lululemon’s Anti-Ball Crushing (ABC) Pants — seriously, that’s what they are called — that have been designed with extra crotch-space, are lightweight, and made from high-stretch fabrics, giving guys the freedom to move around.

• Mini Brands Collectable Capsules, because what’s in each capsule is a complete surprise and who doesn’t love mini anything?

• A Stance subscription box lets your loved one pick out two pairs of fun or crazy socks every month. They have memberships for men, women, and kids!

Looking for more gift ideas centered around organization projects? Visit our SHOP page to see our favorite organizing items. We also have Blue Pencil Home gift cards available. To purchase a gift card e-mail us at bluepencilhome@gmail.com.