A year ago: Aprons, dining halls and a book review

My blog posts from the last half of May 2010 covered a lot of ground. I posted my first video blog about the simple genius of using a Command hook to hang up my apron. I recapped a bunch of 2009 blog posts in two separate posts. I shared my techniques for preparing for my college reunion and after returning, shared some memories of the now-destroyed dining hall. Lastly, I reviewed Linda Samuels' book The Other Side of Organized. I still really recommend this book for people who want gentle organizing guidance through a life change. Organizing is a powerful way to regain control over the physical stuff in our lives, and it can empower us to reshape our lives in other areas as well.

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.

Out in plain sight

As nice as it is to have things put away behind cupboard doors and inside convenient drawers, sometimes it's much more sensible to store things in plain sight. For many visual-oriented people, having things visible is necessary in order to remember and find things. Keeping the jar of vitamins front and center on the kitchen counter is how one might remember to take them, or taping the permission slip that has to be returned to the school on the front door might ensure it actual makes the return trip. But sometimes, whether we need them out to remember them or not, front and center is the best place for certain things.

The kitchen is a perfect example. I do a lot of cooking. Within arm's reach of the stove I have pot holders, hanging on the side of the refrigerator on a Command hook. I also have salt, pepper, olive oil and a jar that holds my garlic. I don't put those items there because I'm afraid I won't remember to use them, but because if I had to visit the pantry every time I needed salt, or had to open a drawer every time I wanted pot holders, getting dinner on the table would be a more time-absorbing chore than it already is. My cook's tools aren't in matching containers, but they are functional and easy to clean and refill. Are you making certain tasks more difficult by not storing items out to be easily accessed?

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

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

Customized Command hooks

An organizing product that I've come to use and love in recent months are Command hooks made by 3M. They are instant stick-on hooks that work tremendously well and come off really easily, in case you want to move the hook. I'm experiencing this feature first hand as I pack up my apartment - the hooks are one of the first things that will be put up in the new place.

Here's a wonderful idea a friend of mine hand to customize the hooks she was using to hold keys in her entryway. When she painted the hallway, she painted right over the white plastic hooks, so they now blend right in to her decor. I love this simple but effective idea.

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