Today's Organizing Tip

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Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:18 pm

Natural Plant Markers

Unsightly sticks and flags look like trespassers in your herbs. Instead, make tags that appear as though they belong in your landscape. Find several flat, smooth stones, and label each one with the name of a plant using alphabet stamps and dye-based (permanent) ink, both available at crafts stores. Then nestle each stone near its corresponding plant.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:24 am

Bucket Hose Storage

A galvanized paint bucket makes a practical and inexpensive caddy for a garden hose and sprinkler. Drill three holes in a triangular pattern in the bottom of the bucket. Depending on your wall, bolt or screw the bucket to the wall; strengthen the cut edges of the holes with washers.

Hang the hose over the top of the bucket and use the caddy not only for the sprinkler but also sprinkler heads.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:04 pm

Sink Solutions

Don't let kitchen rags and dishwashing gloves clutter the sink area. Instead, hang them from clothes pins glued to the inside of a cabinet door, where the items can stay out of sight as they dry. Place a tray just inside the cabinet to corral cleaning supplies and catch water that drips from wet gloves. Or dry your hands with your gloves on - no need for the drip tray.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:13 am

DIY Corkboard

A corkboard is handy for posting reminders, but it's often difficult to find a suitable spot for one on the wall. Instead, cut one to fit inside a door or a cabinet panel. Measure the dimensions of the space. With a straightedge and a box cutter, trim a piece of sheet cork (available in many hues at home-supply stores) to those dimensions. Affix cork to surface with nails.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Sun Sep 19, 2010 6:36 pm

Folder Facade

Add splashes of color and texture -- as well as more storage space for papers -- to your home office with these fabric-and-ribbon-wrapped accordion folders. Any durable fabric in an eye-pleasing style will do (we opted for linen, woven silk, and woolen tweed). Tie the folders with ribbon or twill tape, available in various colors and widths.

Folder Facades How-To
Remove any ties or flaps from folder. For a small one, cut ribbon long enough to tie around the folder and into a bow; tape its midpoint to the back of the folder. For a large folder, tape a 12-inch-long ribbon to the top of the folder front and another to the back. Cut mat board 1/4 inch larger than the front of folder on all sides. Cut fabric 1 inch larger than the mat. Adhere fabric to mat with fusible webbing. Glue fabric-covered mat to folder with white craft glue. Repeat on opposite side. Weight; dry for at least two hours.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:38 pm

Laundry Room Drying Bar

Cotton button-down shirts, which have a tendency to shrink, are best removed from the dryer while slightly damp, then air-dried. Unlike a drying rack, which holds a few shirts at most, a bath-towel holder mounted on the underside of a laundry room shelf makes a good spot for a row of shirts on hangers. The bar can also be helpful when you're ironing; hang pressed shirts as you work.

Ask Harriet about the benefits of a drying bar.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:39 pm

Dust Jacket

Twenty-inch cloth napkins (or same-size squares of fabric) become protective covers for coats and vests that don't need to be stored in garment bags. Each is pierced in the center and reinforced with a grommet to slide over a hanger.

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Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Harriet » Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:44 pm

Drip drying clothing -

The benefits of drip drying clothing on a drying bar (mentioned two posts above) are longer life for the items, less work doing laundry chores, money-savings on energy usage, and extra household humidity in winter.

If your household can spare the space, another good spot for one is an extra shower curtain rod placed down the middle of the bathtub space, parallel with the curtain rod. This gives a lot of drying space and is out of sight as soon as you close the curtain. Install like any other curtain rod, or in the case of some shower/tub surrounds, it can just be set on top.

To use a drying bar efficiently, the object is to avoid wrinkling. If you like fabric softener, the ones made for the washer can help you cut down on wrinkling, too. Be present when your clothes washer finishes its cycle, with the plastic hangars you need at the ready. Fluff the load in the clothes dryer briefly. Work with just a couple drip dry-able items at a time, starting the dryer tumbling again each time you take a few to hang. Hang slacks from the hem so that the weight of the heavier waistband gives extra pull to further avoid wrinkles. On the bar, space the hangars for air circulation.

There's very little ironing to do when you drip dry as many clothing items as possible - most can avoid the iron completely. Since you are also using your dryer less, you're saving electricity on two appliances. Since the fibers are treated more gently, clothing items stay new-looking longer. When dry they are closet-ready. No more clean laundry in baskets, or lying in the bottom of the dryer, compressing and waiting on an iron to undo wrinkles that didn't have to happen in the first place.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:06 am

Pocket Decorator

How will you know whether the love seat you adore will match the paint and curtains at home? If you have a decorator's folder, it's as simple as checking your swatches. A small accordion file (available at office-supply stores) has a space for each room; tuck fabric, paint, and carpet samples inside, and a list of room and door dimensions. Look for a folder that's compact enough to fit in your purse or glove compartment.

Indiana

Re: Today's Organizing Tip

Postby Indiana » Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:06 am

Growing File

To create an indispensable reference guide to your garden, staple seed packets to index cards and organize them in a recipe box. Staple only one edge of a packet, so you can flip it over to see instructions for growing. On the lined side, note when the seeds were sown, when they sprouted, and any other dates you might need for future seasons.


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