But I got it as a gift

Today I was unpacking and organizing a kitchen for a client. When we got everything out of the moving boxes and I started asking her about certain items, she repeated a phrase I hear all the time... "I don't like it, but I got it as a gift".

As we enter the biggest gift giving season, we will all be faced with this - the gift from a friend, relative or coworker that we just don't have a use for, or that we just flat out don't like.

I am constantly amazed at how much stuff people keep that they don't use or like because someone gave it to them. They drag this stuff from house to house, paying for us to pack it, and the movers to move it and us to unpack it.

So, I am giving you permission to accept the gift, acknowledge the thoughtfulness and then pass the gift on - whether to someone you know who could use it or to donate it to a worthy cause. You do not have to keep things you don't use, have room for or like. And that's the end of that!

More organizing gifts

By popular demand, here are some more of my favorite organizing tools that you can give as gifts and use as stocking stuffers...


My new favorite thing - by Copco, To Go Cup - perfect for the car, BPA free- BedBathandBeyond.com - $7.99


Any P-Touch labeler - Office Depot - prices vary by style


I love these clips for sealing snack bags, from Ikea - Bevara - $2.99 per bag


OXO Good Grip storage containers - from Bed Bath and Beyond - prices vary.


Keep Boxes - with airtight snap lids - The Container Store - $8.99 and up depending on size of box.



Last, but not least, how about the gift of organizing - give me! Call me for a gift certificate and happy holidays!

Holiday chaos, controlled

This time of year our lives are jammed packed with activities and events, which are all suppose to be fun. However, it’s not fun when our organizational systems are stretched beyond the breaking point and we can’t wait for the season to be over. If you’re heading toward overload, here are some tips to help calm the holiday chaos:

Junk mail, especially catalogues, should be tossed immediately. If they are not from stores you usually shop at or from anyone you actually know, there’s no sense letting these things pile up and become a trip hazard on the floor.

Use up all the wrapping paper, ribbons and left over holiday cards before you buy new. Don’t buy anything that is oversized for the container or drawer you store it in. The bag with 1,000 bows is no bargain when half of them have to be tossed because they got crushed on the bottom of the closet floor.

Keep a gift wrap supply box containing pens, scissors, tape, tissue paper and other small items. The box gets stored with the ribbons and paper so you always have fast access to it.

Sending out holiday cards should not be an obligation and you do not have to send out cards to everyone you have ever met. It should be a pleasure to send a card to only those people you choose and who you do not see on a regular basis.

Say, “let me check my calendar and get back to you”, when you are invited to an event you don’t think you can make or aren’t really interested in. This saves you from the automatic “we’d love to” that you regret later.

Prepare a designated space in the pantry or garage before you go shopping to store the party goods. Keep paper plates and party supplies in large plastic bins with tight lids so that they do not get dirty or crushed in between events. Be sure to label the bins so you know what’s inside.

Wishing all of you the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Storing your holiday dishes

Many of us keep special sets of dishes and serveware just for holiday meals. Cute mugs with snowmen for hot chocolate, plates with Santa and all the reindeer, special cutting boards for the turkey, etc.

Unfortunately, I often find these items stashed in the back of closets, tossed in a box in the garage or gathering dust on the highest shelf of a cupboard.

Like everything else we own, taking good care of dishes and silver will prolong their life and make them easier to find and use, when the appropriate holiday arrives.

I always recommend that dishes and glassware be stored in zippered cases, preferably with some kind of protective layer in between each dish. I've successfully used paper plates and coffee filters between dishes when stacking them on cupboard shelves.



Likewise, glassware and stemware can be kept in cases or boxes with dividers between each glass.




Silver should be polished and stored in special silver cloth to keep down on the tarnishing.

Feeling overwhelmed all the time

This week I returned to the home of one of my clients because her home office had gotten completely out of sorts. A remodel had forced her office to be used as the "holding" room for furniture and stuff from other places in the house and she was overwhelmed with having to dig herself out - not to mention the time lost from keeping up with her business.

We live in a very fragile manner these days. I can see this for myself when I am away from my own office for a few days, how quickly it all piles up - the mail, the email, the calls to return, the stuff to check on and order, the blog to keep up, the forms to fill out and the endlessness of trying to figure the computer stuff out. Even I can be overwhelmed, throw up my hands and head out the door to Peet's to run away from it all...

I think OVERWHELMED is the word that best describes us this decade - everyone I know is overwhelmed with just about everything. There's too much coming at us too fast. Too much to do, too much to keep up with, it's just all too much!

For myself keeping up with electronic/computer stuff is my personal torture...everytime I figure Google out they come up with something else that I have to spend countless hours delving into. I am not a computer fan...I use it because I have to, but I still don't understand it, nor do I have time to...

SPEED is another killer - literally - people are dying on the Bay Bridge because they simply can not slow themselves down by 10 miles an hour to travel it safely. Driving the speed limit on the freeway will get you killed because the person behind you is trying to go faster - in the slow lane! Everything seems to be moving at the speed of light. I've lost potential jobs because I didn't get to the phone fast enough and I mean within minutes - not hours.

I don't yet have answers for a lot of this. I can only do what I can do in a day...

A postcard from San Francisco

My niece emailed me yesterday that they had the first snow fall in the Midwest. While I do miss the snow (on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day), I feel obligated to share with all of you do not live here a November 3rd day, in the bay area. It was 73 degrees yesterday, not a cloud in the sky and no wind to interfere with our enjoyment of the day.

I am working with a business client who has an office, at the Ferry Plaza, in San Francisco. So I hop on the ferry here in Oakland and in 25 minutes I am sipping coffee at The Blue Bottle Cafe in SF. So, here's what the day looked like...

For those of you not familiar with SF some background... This part of San Francisco was, up until 1990, almost useless space. It was old, run down and neglected. The reason was because a major freeway had been built running through this entire portion of the city and the area around it was a deserted wasteland, part of the old port of San Francisco, no longer in use by commerical shipping. Then in October, 1989, an earthquake changed everything. Portions of the freeway collapsed and the decision was made to tear it all down. When the freeway came down, we looked at the fantastic unobstructed views and decided to develop and revitalize this entire portion of the city. Now it is the hottest, hippest place to be! The center of this jewel is the rebuilt Ferry Building and Plaza, which is home to the Ferry Plaza Market. The market is a collection of local businesses that revolve around food. (Similar to the Pike's market in Seattle.)

So, this is from the back of the plaza where the ferries from Marin and the East Bay dock.


Here's the Ferry Building clock tower and the front of the building. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, local farmers come and set up booths in front of the building.






Facing Market Street and a view of all the relatively new buildings that sprung up after the quake. This is the city's Financial District.




Inside the Ferry Building, some of my favorite shops and restaurants...


The Blue Bottle Coffee Company.


Miette Bakery.


Il Cane Russo.


The Gardener.


Prather Meat Co.


Cowgirl Creamery. 2,000 cheeses!


The Fungi shop.


Sur La Table.


Crispy Noodles - my lunch at Slanted Door.


Heading home...