This blog has moved...

I thank all of you, my friends and blog readers.  The All Things Home™ blog can now be found on my website at http://allthingshome.com/blog/ .  I hope you will all continue reading and commenting.  Please say hello when you get there...

Your projects or your life...

I've been working with an east bay Realtor, organizing and filing masses of paper that got tossed into boxes during a recent move.  Needless to say, most of the stuff in the boxes was pitched when she really got to look at it.  She's amazed at how much useless paper had accumulated.

Of the paper that is left, a great deal of it is projects.  The business cards to scan into the computer" project, the "read over the notes from a class she took 2 years ago" project, the "create a new brochure" project, the "photo album" project, etc., etc.

When I asked her if she realized she was trading the last moments of her life for these projects, she was a bit stunned.  But in fact, that's the truth.  Every time you add a project to your list, you are choosing what you will do with the precious hours of your life. Projects are a necessary part of both our work and personal lives, however, some of us take on more projects than we have lifetimes to complete. 


Remember the bumper sticker "I'd rather be sailing"?  Well, I always use that question to measure against any project I start to think about taking on...

Fortuna Major...

Passwords have been around for a long time.  Every kid who has a "box fort", tree house or other such secret meeting space, knows that you needed a password to enter.  Even the boy wizard at Hogwarts needed a password to get passed the "fat lady" portraits in the house of Gryffindor.

Last week I wrote about my dear friend Beverly, who passed away unexpectedly.  While Beverly and I had her paper files in order, her computer files were totally under her control.  Sure enough, no one has been able to figure out the passwords to her most important financial documents kept on line.  This means a headache for her children, more work for the attorneys, and a longer time before her estate will be settled.

Of course, if they can find a 12 year old who knows how to hack the system, they'll be in business. For most of us, that 12 year is busy doing other things.  So, it's important that someone know your computer passwords, or know how to find them in case of an emergency.

I thought I had devised an ingenious system for keeping the 47 (yes, that number is correct) different accounts I have with passwords.  Then I discovered quite accidentally one day that using the word "password" in my secret password locator, meant that anyone could find the data by entering "password" into finder on my computer.  Not what I had in mind.

There are whole companies devoted to assigning and keeping passwords and there are password books, similar to address books, and I am sure many other methods devised for keeping passwords - I am open to suggestions here.  Just find some method of giving that information to the most important people in your life.

With a heavy heart...

As a professional organizer, I've had the privilege of working with many, many wonderful people through the years.  But every so often a client comes along who becomes a good and trusted friend.  Such was the case with Beverly Wunderlich, a fantastic woman I moved into a senior community a number of years ago.  Beverly has just left us, and I will dearly miss her.

Beverly had a "thing" about paper.  Once a piece of paper crossed the threshold of her door, it was nearly impossible to get it out.  Our monthly sessions were often an arm wrestling match over some bit of paper or another.  No matter what system I devised for organizing her paper, she would find a way around it.  Though interestingly enough, she felt that she was making progress with her paper addiction, and I have many an email from her describing how helpful she felt working with me was for her.

Beverly lived at the beautiful Cardinal Point, in Alameda.  She would always schedule our sessions so that we ended with lunch in their beautiful dining room.  We would hash over the goings on at CP, discuss politics, and she would often give me excellent business advice.  She introduced me to her children and would include me at celebratory events.

Beverly and I shared a love of good chocolate and ice cream.  I will think of her whenever I order a hot fudge sundae!  Thank you, Beverly, for being my friend.

Life on the balcony...

My little condo has a little balcony, which I love.  Sitting outside on a Sunday afternoon, with a cookbook, and a cat on my lap is my idea of a good day.

Recently, I decided it was time to upgrade my balcony decor. I have a nice small set of teak chairs and table, and a baker's stand that I keep my plants on.  As you know, all my plants are fakes, so this stand is actually full of artificial grape ivies and a garland of fake leaves draped over the top.  It all looked great for the first couple of years, but now it's tired.

A trip to Pottery Barn during their summer sale, and voila, instant beautiful balcony...again, all these plants are fakes.  Everything is washable and indestructible to squirrels.

Now, if it EVER stops raining, we'll be able to sit out and enjoy it!

Moving...with or without you

Earlier this month, All Things Home Organizing™ had the assignment of moving a family in the east bay.  What was special about this move, was that the clients handed us the keys to their old house AND their new house, and then they left town for 10 days.  ATH handled the entire project from planning the move, supervising the packing, moving and then doing the unpacking, all on our own.

I chose to have one of my favorite moving companies, Moovers, pack and move from the old house into the new.  This was not an easy move - 45 steps from the street to the truck.

First, I prepped the entire house, taking note of all the contents, putting like things together and making sure boxes would be labeled correctly for easy unpacking. Then the guys from Moovers, Inc. packed according to my instructions...

Schlepping all those boxes, and all that furniture down 45 stairs...then coming back up the stairs for the next load.

Arriving at the new house, no stairs!

Empty house - living room to dining room to beautiful deck and view...

The new family room off the kitchen...

The new upstairs office...

And now the unpacking in progress...Michelle unpacking the bar and checking all the paper to be sure nothing is lost.

Tiffany cleaning the furniture...

 Charlotte unpacking the kitchen...

Teri working on the dining room...

The new built in bookcase being unpacked...

I supervised the installation of the new phones, cable TV, water and washer/dryer hookups.
After unpacking, I went room by room and completed the organizing and decorating.

And the final results, the new living room...

Dining room...

The completely organized kitchen...

The bar...

The family room...

The deck...

The built in bookcase...

The new home office...

Master bath...

Master closet...

Our family arrived home and they were thrilled with the results - nothing to do, but unpack their luggage, and watch cable TV.  We even did the grocery shopping, so they had dinner ready to eat.  How easy could a move be???

In the kitchen...

We're moving a wonderful family in the east bay, and during the pre-move preparations, I went through their kitchen cabinets to see what would be packed and what would be tossed.  In the toss pile went a half dozen bottles of various oils that have gone rancid, along with dozens of bottles of herbs and spices that are several years (if not decades) old.  And bags of opened crackers, chips  cookies and cereals that have gone stale.

All cooking and salad oils go rancid.  Some faster than others.  Nut oils turn the fastest, but olive oil and seed oils also turn fast if not properly stored.

Store nut and seed oils, especially walnut, avocado and sesame seed, in the refrigerator.  They will thicken and sometimes turn cloudy, but that does not affect the flavor in use.  Otherwise, store oils in a cool and dark space.

Buy the smallest sized bottles, not the giant ones, of oils you do not use every day.

Bottled or boxed herbs and spices lose their flavor in about 3 - 6 months.  Store ALL nuts and seeds in the freezer - especially sesame seeds.  Buy these items in the smallest quantities you need and store in airtight containers, preferably in a drawer.

Have you noticed that your family will open a bag of chips, eat some and then toss them in a cabinet, only to then open ANOTHER bag of the same thing, rather than finish off the previous one?  Snack foods, crackers, cookies and cereals need to be sealed and put in airtight containers after use to keep them crisp.  I use these clips from IKEA to close up bags before putting them in my airtights.

Sending your stuff off to Purgatory...

I just did an organizing consultation with a wonderful woman here in the East Bay.  While the upstairs portion of her house, what I call the "public" spaces - the living room, dining room, kitchen, etc. - are neat, tidy and very attractively arranged, it's another story in the downstairs area of the house.  "Downstairs" is where things she no longer wants, but can't seem to bear to get rid of, go to suffer and await their eventual fate of final disposition.

Many of us have this place in our house or garage, the place where objects go to gather dust - we feel that because someone gave us that vase, or someone made us that pillow or something cost us X number of dollars or something belonged to another member of our family - we just can't send it on its way, it just has to sit and wait...

This client collected some of those things in her garage.  Somewhere there's a silver tea set that belonged to a relative that's been banished...

Finally, found the tea set...how useful is this?

And finally...tossed into a donate box...hopefully someone can clean this up and still use it.

What things have you banished and why?  Couldn't someone else use those items before they are too dirty or rusty or outdated?

Look around you, choose ONE thing to send off to someone else...I know you can do it!

Liquidation...

What do you do with a house or apartment full of furniture, collections of things, kitchen items, bedding, books, art and a garage full of tools?  The family has taken out those items that they want, and now there are rooms full of the left overs.  Some things are valuable, most things are not, and a lot of it is just plain junk...


In the bay area, I suggest my clients call a Rick Hudson, of Hudson's Estate Service and Liquidation. 
Hudson's is a family that has been in the antique and estate liquidation business in the Bay Area since the 1960's.  They conduct on-site estate sales and warehouse (consignment) sales to maximize the value of estate contents while minimizing the efforts of the family, executor or beneficiary.  Their approach to estate liquidation leaves the residence ready for sale or rent in a timely manner after generating maximum revenue for the beneficiaries.

One great advantage of using a liquidator, like Hudson's, is that they take EVERYTHING away.  It means you do not have to deal with scheduling charity pick ups or pay for a junk hauler.  This works extremely well if you are on a tight schedule or you are managing an estate from a distance. 


Using a liquidator is not just for clearing out estates.  If you are moving to a smaller home or apartment, a liquidator can take those items that no longer serve or fit into your new lifestyle.


Here's my advice for getting ready to close out a home or estate:


1.  Distribute items to family and friends according to everyone's wishes.   Distribute to charity anything you want them to have.

2.  Discard useless, broken or unsellable items, like paper or the broken toaster that has been in the back of the garage for years.

3.  Check EBAY or with an appraiser to get an idea of the value of art and antiques.

4.  Make sure you have the proper agreements from all beneficiaries before giving anything away.


Planning and managing the distribution of an estate, or downsizing a home, can be time consuming and stressful, so being as ORGANIZED as possible can be a life saver. 

Thanks for the memories...

Today is the last Oprah Winfrey show, and I'll be waving goodbye along with everyone else.  Oprah did a lot for the profession of professional organizing.  She featured organizers on her show, in her magazines, and has even given them shows of their own.

I believe that she is single handedly responsible for bringing professional organizers into the consciousness of our everyday life.  Starting with Julia Morganstern, Oprah did shows on organizing homes and offices, offering Julia the opportunity for national exposure, as well as the rest of us.

More recently, Oprah teamed with Peter Walsh and they have focused not only on home organizing, but on hoarding. Peter now has his show on Oprah's OWN network.

I love Oprah's quote, "Your house should rise up to meet you."  Absolutely true, if your home is not the place you would most like to be, if it does not inspire you or make you feel good about yourself, then you need to take action and fix it.  And if you'd like the help of a professional organizer, you know where you can find one.

The French Laundry

On Sunday, May 15th, I celebrated my birthday with friends at The French Laundry.  I've been wanting to go for ages, and finally the stars aligned so that it was possible.

It's an experience, sort of a trip to Disneyland for grownups.  Everything was perfect, the weather was lovely, it's before the season starts in wine country so it wasn't too crowded, all the roses are in bloom everywhere, the vines all have foliage, so everything is super green everywhere.  Just a lovely, lovely day to be in the wine country.

The restaurant's exterior is understated and elegant.  The grounds are beautiful and the kitchen is  unlike any other restaurant kitchen I've seen.  So many people working quietly and efficiently to put out spectacular dishes.  

The interior is also elegant and understated and the first thing that you notice is how quiet it is...all the tables are full, people are eating, but there's no loud conversation or clanking of glassware and utensils - it's amazingly quiet.  

As there were 10 in our party, we had the private dining room, a large round table with a gorgeous flower arrangement in the center, lovely place settings and the famously folded napkin with clothes pin.  (Photos were taken by others and haven't been circulated yet, sorry...).

Service is out of this world, there is someone quietly refilling your glass or refolding your napkin without your realizing that they are there.  All plates are served at the same time, so it's like a ballet throughout the entire meal.  Each dish is explained in detail after it is set down for you to admire.  Wine is paired with each dish.

There were 9 courses and several "extra" surprises...

 "Beets and Leeks", Maine Lobster Tail "Pochee au Beurre Doux", French Laundry Garden Leeks, Baby Red Beets and "Mousseline Raifort"  (This was my favorite.)

Milk-Poached Four Story Hill Farm "Poularde" Hobbs' Bacon, Morel Mushrooms, English Peas and Tokyo Turnips

Andante Dairy "Nocturnes" Black Truffle Tart, Royal Blenheim Apricot, Fennel and Piedmont Hazelnuts

A special treat for the birthday girl... Chocolate and a light peanut butter whip...plus small handmade chocolates.

"Mousse Au Chocolat Blanc", Morello Cherries and Marcona Almonds

We were there for 5 hours!  Our parting "gift" was a beautiful bag with cookies, chocolates and our menus.  

I highly recommend that if there is anyway you can, it's worth experiencing this kind of dining at least once...

My thanks to Ruth and Yasuo for making this day possible for me!  And to my dear friend Peggy for sharing the day and doing the driving.  

Time for laundry...

There's a lot for an organizer to blog about in May...however, all I can think about is food. My birthday is coming up, and I've finally whined and begged enough to get my one big wish...The French Laundry. I'm counting down the days and I'll share everything with you in next weeks post.

Happily ever after...

Just a week ago we moved a friend's 80 year old mother out of her Santa Rosa double wide trailer home, and into a lovely one bedroom apartment, in a beautiful senior community, in Marin.  The move went smoothly and we settled her into her new home in one day.  

Packing up the old livingroom...

My assistant, Michelle, helping our client choose which clothes to take...

The new bedroom...

The new livingroom. Looks like a comfortable place to be...

Today the phone rang..."Mom wants out, she wants to return to her trailer."  So, we'll do it all over again.  My friend is heartbroken, knowing that her mom should not be living alone, and so far from the rest of the family... 

How much is enough...

I've been getting a lot of questions about TLC's Extreme Couponing show.  What's the story on this?  Are these people hoarders?  How many bottles of shampoo and boxes of pasta does one need?

I finally watched an episode, and while I am not Dr. Phil, I can see some obsessive/compulsive tendencies at work here:  The couponer's excessive attention to the search and finding of the coupons, then the high of the planning of the attack on the store, the frantic move through the store to gather all the products, their glee going through the checkout line, and finally, standing over their latest haul while they turn their spare rooms, attics and garages into mini-grocery stores. 

From a Professional Organizer's stand point, there's not a lot of difference between a garage full of Christmas decorations, a million past issues of National Geographic, or one full of boxes of cereal.  The extreme collection of items, the attachment to the process, and unwillingness to let go or even use the items, and the loss of the use of the space for what it was intended - all point to something that I am asked to deal with on a daily basis.

Of course, what you choose to keep in your garage is totally up to you and it doesn't make you subject to being strait-jacketed because you don't choose to park your car there.  It's only a problem is if it's a problem for you or your family. If one day you find yourself standing in the garage entry and saying "this has got to stop", and then you head for the local A&P for more...then you've got a problem.

The photo above is from TLC.  I wonder who thought plunking ONE green thing in a plastic bag on the top of the potato chips, hot dogs and bottles of peanuts, would make this all okay?