Corralling loose tea

My husband and I have recently developed a love of loose tea. We've always been tea drinkers to some extent, but we've really enjoyed thinking"outside the tea bag" and exploring the different varieties available. Switching to loose tea over bagged tea has cut down on tea-related trash at our house too (the bags and their wrappers can add up!) but presented us with a new challenge. How do we store this beautiful and delicious tea so we can easily use it?

Well, we've stumbled across a great solution that's working so far. We purchased clear-lidded, magnetic containers at IKEA usually meant for spices and such. You can purchase metal strips to put on your walls and then stick these containers to the strips (they also make larger magnetic bins you can put utensils and other items in). This is a great way to store things within sight and reach without taking up valuable counter space!

Instead of using the magnetic strips, you can use other metal objects such as a range hood or refrigerator, which is what we're doing. Now we have our 6 favorite teas within quick and easy reach right above the stove. I even used our label maker to indicate which is which. Check it out!

And now to enjoy a hot cuppa...
-amy

Keeping it together in the kitchen

So I think we all know of the "chip clips" you can buy at kitchen stores, to help keep already-opened bags of chips, crackers, flour, etc. from going stale. They are overpriced in my opinion and most of the time don't do the job. They're either not tight enough to keep the bag closed all the way, or they break.

Instead of using chip clips, my hubsand and I have started using "binder clips" you can find at office supply stores. Not only are they cheaper, they're usually made of metal and stand up longer to use in the kitchen (or office, for that matter). I like having multi-purpose gadgets as that means I need fewer of them!

In a quick online search, it's $2.99 for a 6-pack of Large binder clips or a 12-pack of Medium binder clips (at Staples) vs. $6.99 for a set of 10 assorted plastic chip clips (at Bed, Bath, and Beyond). In other words, I can get 18 binder clips for the price of 10 chip clips, and I can use the binder clips for more things, including their actual purpose of holding papers together!

And speaking of, I also use binder clips to hold my coupons together, organized in date order of when they expire, soonest on top. You can even super glue a magnet to the back of the binder clip, if you like the idea of mounting to the refrigerator (which is what some chip clips have, but the magnets are never strong enough).

While there are some really cool kitchen gadgets out there, always think through other options before splurging. There are often other ways you can accomplish the same task without having to purchase yet another gadget that you then have to find a home for in your home. Less stuff = less clutter!

Happy clipping,
-amy

Great Tip for Stacking Linens, Sweaters, etc.

From Complete Organizing Solutions earlier this week - another tip from a Professional Organizer's home on keeping linens and sweaters stacked neatly (I'm sure you've experienced the leaning tower of towels before, as it comes crashing down as you open the closet! Well this tip will stop that from happening. While it might not hurt to have towels fall on you, it's annoying because it makes a mess and often times other household members don't have the patience to refold everything nicely...)



Happy Organizing!
-amy

Wonder Hanger is Pretty Wonderful

Last night while shopping with my husband, I was compelled to buy the "Wonder Hanger" in the As See On TV section. I decided it would make for a fun experiment I could do in my own home and blog about (I've been curious since I first saw the commercial!), while qualifying as a business expense. Win-win :)

It cost just under $10 for 8 hangers you get to assemble (which was harder than I'd anticipated, but nothing difficult). They are made of very sturdy plastic, and once put together, they do not come back apart.

After I assembled the hangers, I tried them out in several closets and am pretty darn happy with the results. They made so much extra room in our coat closet (see pictures below) and the closet in my husband's office! I'm excited that we actually have room for guests to hang their coats now - just in time for the holiday season. The Wonder Hanger would also be useful in a guest bedroom or seasonal clothes closet. They are surprisingly strong - I have one holding up 5 winter and leather coats and it's handling it just fine.

However, I couldn't use them in half of our master closet because of the height of the bars - it makes things hang much lower than a standard hanger, so I ended up with dress shirts resting on the bar below and getting in the way. Another downside is that you need enough room to move both hooks onto the bar in order to remove an item from the hanger; so it's not advised to cram a small closet full of these or you'll run out of room to actually get things out!

Overall, I recommend the Wonder Hanger - a quick and easy fix to make closets less cluttered and more usable. I am especially thrilled with the results in our coat closet (Left: all coats hanging across, Right: Wonder Hangers activate!) .

Happy organizing,
-amy

Spicy Kitchen Update

I hate to admit that I haven't had much time to devote to my kitchen organizing project. I am currently taking an interior design class at PCC and our end-of-term project is due tomorrow, so all of my energy has been focused on that for now.

That said, I did have a minor epiphany -- I'm going to add some shelves to the only empty wall and move my canisters there. Thankfully I already have fairly decorative canisters to hold flour, sugar, etc. and I think they'll look nice on the shelf. And that frees up much-needed space in my cupboards for snack foods (that currently reside haphazardly on top of the fridge and make me frown each time I see them!) and my "Tupperware" and reusable containers.

Also wanted to show off this great shelving item for organizing our spices that makes use of a shelf I can't usually reach. We put this in a few months ago and it's been a great space saver. I just pull down when I need access; push back up when I'm finished.

Note that we've decided to keep our spices, for the most part, in their original containers. While there are nice looking spice systems out there with matching jars, I've found them to be a pain because they usually hold less and then you have to store all of the back-up spice containers somewhere as well. How is that helpful?! Just because something looks organized, doesn't mean it's a good system that you can maintain. Always keep that in mind when buying gadgets that promise the world!

Thanks for reading,
-amy