New shower head

Due to the old one shooting off randomly one afternoon, my husband and I were compelled to install a new shower head in our shower last week. Here's the photo diary.

Rubber bands hold the front of the head on so we could shower before the new one was installed. It worked really well!

We had a really hard time getting the old head off. Who knows how long it had been on there? First, we soaked it in CLR.

We then resorted to the foul-smelling but effective Liquid Wrench and powerful pliers.

An hour later, success!

The new one screwed right on and works great. The CLR also worked wonders on the lime scale, so I used it to spruce up the rest of the tub fixtures.

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com. Sign up for Lelah's News, a once-monthly newsletter.

A little painting project

One of things I love about my apartment is two glass-front cabinets that separate the kitchen from the dining area (which I turned into my office). They are the perfect storage place for all the beautiful glassware my husband and I received as wedding presents. A few days ago an idea just popped into my head. The glassware is so pretty, but it sort of blends in to the cabinet since it's clear. What if I painted the back of the cabinets the same robin's egg blue (actual name of the color) that my office is painted? I thought it would show off the glassware nicely and add a spot of color to that part of the room. Here's the photo diary of my project:

Before through the glass door.

See how the glasses are barely visible?

First I taped the shelves with painters tape and newsprint. I didn't bother doing the undersides of the shelves, because you can't really see those edges and I have a fairly neat painting hand.

I gathered my tools. The paint, leftover from last September when we painted the office room in the apartment, a stir stick (also leftover), a paint can opener, a paintbrush - new (I left our old one in Ojai when I painted my desk white in December, oops), a rag for catching drips, which I didn't end up using, and more painters tape.

Painting in progress...it goes on so much lighter than it dries!

Paint drying.

Once it had thoroughly dried, I removed the tape and paper carefully. Not all the edges are perfect, but that's okay by me.

With the glassware added back in. I think it looks much better, don't you?

The finished project through the cabinet door. Pretty!

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com. Sign up for Lelah's News, a once-monthly newsletter.

Helpful hooks

Last weekend my husband and I did a small DIY project. We installed new hooks on the back of two doors in our apartment. If you don't count the three times my husband went to the hardware store to exchange our original choices for the ones we ultimately installed, it didn't take any time at all.

We got bright brass (ie: gold colored to match the rest of the hardware in the rooms) Stanley hooks. They are sturdy and well designed with screw holes offset so you can easily screw them in without battling the hook itself.

We measured and marked where we wanted to put them, and drilled pilot holes with our drill.

Then I held the hook in place while my husband installed the screws.

Ta-da. Very simple and they will be very useful for guests towels and robes. We did this project together, but if you have a modicum of dexterity, you could easily do it alone.

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

DIY desk, completed

I wrote a few weeks ago about my reasons for wanting to build a new desk for my office in my new apartment. Over the Thanksgiving weekend my dad and my husband and I worked together to cut and build the two bookcases and desk top that make up the desk, then last week I painted it and transported it from our work area to my apartment.

I was so excited to install it, and was momentarily confused when the desktop didn't fit it into the space as planned. It was about two feet too short. Then I realized that when I went back to paint the pieces, I had inadvertently painted the wrong table top piece. There was an eight foot long piece (the correct one) and a shorter one that we had cut the ends off for a different part of the desk, and since I hadn't labeled them, I just picked up the first one, thinking it was the right one.

Oh well. It meant I had to wait another few days before I could go back and paint the correct piece and switch it in for the wrong one. But now the desk is in, it looks great and I'm about 80% done with putting away my belongings in the new space.

What's great about the long surface area is that is gives me so much more workspace than before, plus it hides the boxes and bins that I use to contain my files and supplies. The bookcases hold a ton of books, and I have space to stow my camera bag, purse and organizing work kit neatly, which I love. There's more refining I can do, and I have yet to hang a big piece of art on the wall above the desk, but I'm very happy with the results. What do you think?

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

DIY desk

I have a much bigger space for my desk area in my new place than in my old. The desk I've been using for over five years swims in this space, and I have plastic file boxes just hanging out beside it, looking ugly, that hold the majority of my business papers and office supplies. I also have a lot of books that became homeless when the most of the bookshelves landed in my husband's office, and he decided, quite understandably, that he didn't want a ton of romance novels in his work area. 

I decided I wanted to upgrade my desk and incorporate bookshelves. I've often wanted just a simple large surface for my computer, inbox and printer with some space for writing or other small projects. I sketched a design and ran it by my dad and my brother, who are pretty handy. They also have saws and other tools and a workspace; I have a semester of woodshop under my belt. Granted, that was in 1996, but I think the principles still hold. By the way, practical classes in junior high and high school are not always required, but they are really invaluable, especially for kids who read a lot. Anyway. Here's my sketch of the bookshelves, which will support desk surface. We're going to take a team approach to building this thing when I'm home for Thanksgiving. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Taking the time, saving the stress

Sometimes life presents you with inconveniences. The check engine light comes on in your car. The hall lightbulb burns out. A bill arrives and it is for completely the wrong amount. Since we aren't expecting these things to happen right when they do, usually our reaction is to fix them later "when we have time." We don't want to fix the problem now, because what if the car needs an expensive repair, or we find out we don't have any lightbulbs and have to make a special trip to get them, or we simply don't have the energy to get a customer service representative on the phone and get the company to fix the bill. We tell ourselves that in some future time, maybe tomorrow or next week, we will have the time, energy, money to fix these problems. In the meantime, we live with a nagging check engine light (and the worry), we stumble around in the dark, and we add the bill to a stack of papers already waiting for our attention.

I had something like this happen to me on Sunday afternoon. The plastic lever that connects the toilet handle to the flush valve snapped in half. We could still technically flush the toilet by opening the flush valve by hand every time. I was just about to relax and watch a Netflix when I was notified about the problem. I thought, hmmm, I won't be able to fix this tomorrow, but maybe I'll have time Tuesday...wait a minute, I can just go get a replacement part right now and fix it. Luckily, we live within walking distance of a great independent hardware store. So I figured out how to unscrew the old handle, took it with me to the hardware store, found the $5 part in 30 seconds, and was back and had the thing installed in about 4 minutes. Then I started the movie and watched it in peace, not worried about figuring out how to fix this problem, but rather proud of myself that I'd figured it out.

More often than not, these inconvenience can be attended to very quickly. If you look under the sink, maybe the right lightbulb will be there and you can replace the old one. The check engine light might mean nothing, and you'll have the peace of mind that comes from knowing your car isn't going to fall apart on the 405. Sometimes these problems seem insurmountable, but they aren't. You can save yourself the mental stress caused by putting off dealing with them by taking action now.

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by thetejon

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Why should you hire a professional organizer?

Americans are a can-do bunch. We’re independent, hard working and some of us embrace a Do It Yourself attitude about everything. I think it’s great if you want to make your own jam or end tables and change your car’s oil all by yourself. There’s a lot to be said for taking care of things yourself instead of hiring them out. Then again, there are times when hiring an expert is not only called for—it’s smarter than trying to do it yourself (e.g. complicated taxes, a brake job, surgery).

When it comes to getting organized, a lot of people think they can do it themselves. And a lot of them can. If you have a good attitude, some time and maybe a friend or family member to help you, you can make your space more livable by getting rid of stuff you don’t need and finding homes for everything that’s left. However, there are certain times when it’s important to call in an expert. Here are some examples. 

• You’re dealing with an estate or a lot of inherited objects from a recently deceased relative. Going through someone you love’s possessions is trying under the best of circumstances. If you are also trying to prepare a house for sale or deal with a complicated will or a lot of other family members’ interests, getting a professional to organize the details and to help you decide what to keep and what to get rid of can be invaluable. 
• You are ready to get organized but other people in your household are not. Sometimes having an impartial third party on the scene can make a difficult family situation easier to deal with. Since no two people approach organizing the exact same way, you can be in for a lot of negotiating when a lot of family members all want a say in how things are organized. A professional can help by offering options and a neutral point of view.
• Sometimes you just don’t have anyone else that can help. Going back to the spirit of DIY, some people don’t want to impose on a friend or family member to help them get their lives in order, or don’t have anyone to impose on. Hiring someone gets the job done faster, with a minimum of fuss and there’s less tendency for you and your cousin to start reminiscing over every item that comes out of the attic.
• You’re on a deadline. You’re moving in two weeks and haven’t started packing. Your lease on the storage unit is up and you don’t want to renew it for another year, so you have to find homes for everything inside fast. You’ve got a dozen people coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, but you still have newspapers from last November cluttering your dining room table. There are a lot of situations where it pays to hire a professional to get things done quickly.
• You want it done right. Even disorganized people can be perfectionists. You might be someone who believes in doing something right or not at all, which is one of the reasons you are drowning in paper and objects. Even though there is no one “right” way to organize, hiring someone with professional know-how to bring experience and specialized techniques to your space will make feel confident about the changes you are making.

 There are hundreds of other logical reasons for hiring a professional organizer. One important one is that sometimes we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. The simple of act of sharing our burdens and problems with someone else makes us feel a great deal better. By sharing an organizing or clutter problem with me you can get instant suggestions and a path to change. You’ll love the feeling of empowerment that taking control gives you. Bringing in an expert might be just the thing you need to empower yourself, rather than just doing it yourself!

If you are in Los Angeles or Ventura County and looking for a professional organizer visit my website at http://www.lelahwithanh.com