Remember as a kid doing “paint by number”?  Wasn’t it fun to follow along the pattern of red in all the spaces where there was the number 1, blue in the 2’s and so on?  Well, what if you could do that on a larger scale?  Check out Paint by Numbers Wall Strips http://www.2jane.com/searchresult.aspx?categoryID=167 . These designs are so beautiful that you don’t have to color them in if you don’t want.  But if you do, you can do as little or as much as you want, depending on how much color you want in the room.  You can use paint, markers, colored pencils – whatever medium is your passion.  They even come with suggested color palettes.  I think this would be great for a kids room, how much fun for a child to color on the walls and not get in trouble for it!!!

One of my favorite tips is to keep all of your gadgets that need to be charged in one place.  There’s nothing worse than finding your cell phone in a pot of stew, and with no power left on top of that.  We usually end up leaving our cell phone, PDA and cameras lying around and then can’t find them when we need them.  What if you dedicated an area as your “charging station” – all your gadgets live here when they are not being used and the cords that you need to charge them are right there so it’s easy to charge when not in use.  Luckily there are a lot of products on the market that are designed just for this.  Here are a couple that I have found.  Stelton Super Charger from Lekker Home is a sleek round design with stainless steel accents, check it out  http://www.lekkerhome.com/Detail.asp?ProductID=16340. 

Pottery Barn has the Bedford Smart Recharge Station which allows you to not only dock & charge your gadgets, but also organize household items - http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p9171/index.cfm?pkey=gthmstt&cm_src=sch

Another I found allows you to get everything off the counter top, it mounts on the wall which is great because counter space is always at a minimum – this one is from KangaRoom Storage - http://www.kangaroomstorage.com/product/office/152/kangaroom-phone-pda-charging-station.html

The bottom line is get something that will make it easy for you to find your gadgets and know they be charged and ready to use.

Happy New Year!!!  Hope you haven’t broken too many of your resolutions yet.  If one of them was to clean out and organize your closets than I’ve got good news for you!!!  Two of my favorite organizing stores are having closet sales right now.  The Container Store http://www.thecontainerstore.com/ is offering 30% off their Elfa Shelving & Drawer System.  And you can save 25% on closets at Storables http://www.storables.com/.  You’ve got a 3-day weekend coming up, use it wisely and clean out those closets – and remember, if you haven’t worn it in the last year – GET RID OF IT!!!!

These days’ people are looking for more eco-friendly products in all parts of their lives – everything from organic foods, skin products, hybrid cars and even furniture.  Luckily there are some furniture manufacturers that are doing just that and with great style.  I recently came across a list of companies and want to share them with you.

Lee Industries – with any of its classic offerings you can request the Natural Lee package for a bit more money and get a piece with soy-based cushions, reclaimed-plastic backs and water-based finishes.  www.leeindustries.com

Cisco Brothers – all the wood this company uses, even the beams in its showrooms, is certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  www.ciscobrothers.com

Palacek – from day one the company has relied on a farmed wood and fast-growing materials like rattan and sea grass.  www.palecek.com

Q Collection – cofounded by a designer expressly to produce high-end, earth-friendly furniture, Q collection offers minimalist takes on historical pieces.  www.qcollection.com

Furnature – this company’s goods are 100% chemical-free – no foam, no vinyl, no formaldehyde – and fabric options include a range of organic cottons.  www.furnature.com

Summer is officially here, kids are getting out of school, weather is enjoyable again and it’s time to get those grills going.  There’s nothing like gathering family & friends together for a BBQ, however, I know one of the things I don’t like it is all the ‘waste’ that is involved with paper products.  Luckily I found 2 products that will help you entertain with style and do your share in helping the environment at the same time.

First product is from Paper Table www.papertable.com they have new collection of place mats, coasters and napkins.  Check out their web site as it has a nifty mix ‘n’ match feature.  Best part is everything is recyclable or biodegradable – so you get to be earth friendly and super chic at the same time.

The next product definitely takes it up a notch, this is for the dressier BBQ or inside entertaining that needs a pick me up.  They are melamine plates that come in colorful, kitschy designs that look best when mixed and matched.  They are a product of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Working Class Studio’s and you can check them out at www.shopscadonline.com.  Have fun with the different sizes, colors and prints, these plates will definitely make entertaining an art show.

Let’s face it, now days most of us live in our car.  Whether it’s for our job and/or carpooling kids around – this vessel which once was merely a way of transportation has become an extension of our home.  But it doesn’t have to be the endless mess & clutter you may be living with currently – organization help is on the way.

First try to designate certain areas of the car for specific functions.  Most likely while you are the driver there is no one in the front passenger seat, so you can make this your “mobile office”.  What you want is a compartmentalized container on the passenger seat which can house your office supplies, files and electronics.  One that you may want to check out is Case Logic Front-Seat Mobile Office www.caselogic.com.  And to keep all your electronics charged check out the IGO Juice70 Notebook Adapter Plus Dual Power Accessory www.igo.com

If you are carting kids around, and with summer coming up there will be even more of that, than you may want to make the back seat the “entertainment center”.  Kids always have “stuff” they need or want in the car, whether it’s homework, CDs, toys or snacks and without somewhere to store it all it can become a real mess back there.  Check out Case Logic Backseat Organizer www.caselogic.com and for snacks Mountainsmith Modular Hauler 3 System Delux www.mountainsmith.com.

And for the sports buffs out there, designate the trunk or back of the van for all your sports equipment, sometimes it’s easier to keep it in the car so you always have what you need.  Try the Folding Trunk Organizer www.thecontainerstore.com – here you can keep balls and uniforms from flying around.

Schools out, summer is here – let the good times roll in your car this summer!!!!

Sometimes you want to add just a little ’something-something’ to a room, but don’t want to go the lengths of actually painting.  Well here’s an easy fix - give your walls some color with stickers!!!  No, I’m not talking about your kids stickers that they love to put on the walls, I’m talking about stickers full of color & excitiment.  I have found these at two different places, the first is Wall Candy Arts www.wallcandyarts.com - they have lots of fun colors, shapes, designs and even ones that are chalkboard!!!!  I also found a similiar product at Target www.target.com of all places (gotta love Target!!!), the ones there are called Wall Pops.  Their selection isn’t as large but they still have lots of colors and patterns.

There are so many ways you can use these stickers - you can make a border around the room, you can make a design on one wall to act as your ‘accent wall’, you can frame a window with the stickers - the possibilities are endless and the best part is if you are ‘committmentphobic’ you don’t have to worry as these are not permanent!!!!

So go have some fun with color!!!!!

Hope you don’t mind me taking a break from my usual design/organizing tips and tricks.  I’d like to share with you a wonderful event I was a part of last Saturday.  It’s a brand new group that is forming called Northwest Enterprising Moms www.northwestenterprisingmoms.com ,  we are a group of women who all own our businesses and are Moms as well.  The organization is designed to promote, network and mentor mother owned businesses.  Last Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day, we hosted an event where about 20 of us set up “booths” displaying our business goods and services.  We had a great flow of traffic, mainly other Moms coming to check out the goods that were there as well as some who are thinking of starting their own business.  Here’s a sampling of some of the businesses - Red Pennies www.redpennies.com,  beautiful and creative jewelry,  Blue Dress Press www.bluedresspress.com - custom stationary, annoucements and cards, These Two Girls www.thesetwogirls.com - makers of the fabulous Woobee blankets & bibs, Salmon Bay Community Lending www.salmonbaylending.com  - which is a mortgage company owned & operated by Moms, and Della Chen Photography www.dellachen.com incredible photographer specializing in children and families.  I must say, it was incredibly empowering to be there with such an ambitious group of women and I know the organization is going to continue to grow to be something truly amazing!!!!   Will be sure to let you know when we pick our dates for our holiday show - that one will sure to be a “must see”!!!   And for all the budding entrepreneurs out there reading this - another great event coming up: Biznik - www.biznik.com  - is hosting Seattle First Indie Business Conference called BizJam - www.seattlebizjam.com - on June 9.  Hope to see you there, it’s sure to be an event unlike any other and packed full of great information and wonderful networking opportunities!!!

Is your house feeling cramped with ‘stuff’?  If it, is then it’s time to ask your garage to start multi-tasking.  Many families enter their house via the garage, so why not make space in the garage for things that don’t need to live in the house and at the same time make it look nice?  For instance, if you or your kids are involved in sports, no need to keep the sports equipment in the house, make a space where all the equipment lives so that way you can grab it when you need it on the way out.  There are several places you can get great modular systems that allow you to customize to meet your specific needs – The Container Store, www.containerstore.com, Home Depot, www.homedepot.com, Storables, www.storables.com, and many more.  The major thing to keep in mind is if you add generic storage without thinking through activities and functions first you will end up with a space that doesn’t work.   Oh yeah, and the car will have to learn how to share it’s room.

We all have spaces in our houses that are cluttered and constantly nagging at us, some have more than ohters.  Most of us know what needs to be done to unclutter those spaces but for some reason we just never get around to it.  Sound familiar?  Does it also remind you of how we are with working out?  We know we should workout 3-5 times per week for at least 30 minutes - but do we?  If you are like me, you go through phases in your life of working out, but I’ll admit the best phases were when I had a personal trainer.  The funny part is, if you stop and really think about a personal trainer what they are really there for is motivation, support and keeping you focused on the task - they are not working out for you. 

Well, the same can be said for a personal organizer.  As an organizer, I’m there to motivate, support and keep my clients focused on decluttering their space.  Most of the time I can’t do it for them, as there are too many personal decisions that need to be made - however I can help them make those decisions and keep moving forward towards the end goal of having a space they feel good about.  So the next time you look at a cluttered area of your home and get discouraged, consider hiring a personal organizer to help you clear out the ‘nest’!!!