Professional Organizer Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland Scott Roewer's organizing blog DeClutterYou » Closet Organizing

Dress for Success Receives Makeover by Professional Organizer Scott Roewer

DeClutterYou — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:28:49 +0000

Solutions by Scott has joined forces with Style for Hire to take part in giving the Dress for Success Washington D.C. Boutique a professional makeover! Dress for Success is an organization providing suits and professional attire for underprivileged women with the goal of spurring their professional success. Scott Roewer, of Solutions by Scott, is also a stylist for Style for Hire, a style-consulting firm operating as a division of Solutions by Scott and Stacy London’s Style for Hire which aims to boost clients’ morale by allowing their own spirit and confidence to shine through by styling their wardrobes and organizing their closets.

Scott inspecting the clothes in the DFS closet.

The three-phase makeover of the Dress for Success boutique began in December 2010. Solutions by Scott is orchestrating the design and layout of the new Boutique giving each room its own feel and providing an organized shopping experience for Dress for Success clientele. Scott and several stylist from Style for Hire performed the first clothing edit on December 9th, with a second clothing edit performed on January 28th. In mid January, the boutique was freshly painted and new carpet was installed. Upon completion of the remodeling, Scott and the Style for Hire consultants will return and give the Dress for Success clients a personalized styling experience readying them for interviews and career success.

The boutique makeover was made possible by generous support and donations from The Container Store. Scott added, “We’re so very lucky to have a partner like the Container Store. Their elfa® closet system is perfect for the unique space found at Dress for Success. We were able to design a custom space that will last forever.” We recommend you visit The Container Store nearest you to receive 30% off of their elfa® organization solutions through February 15, 2011.

Scott and a crew of organizers from the National Association of Professional Organizers – Washington, DC Metro Chapter will complete the reorganization of the space in February.

Solutions by Scott firmly believes in giving back to the community which is why we have volunteered our time, expertise and care to provide the boutique at Dress for Success a complete makeover, enabling the organization to better serve the individuals in the community.

Closet Organizing – How to Install an elfa® Closet

DeClutterYou — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:35:29 +0000

I work with elfa® frequently and find it rather easy to install. The product is affordable, very sturdy, and flexible enough to use in most any space. If you enjoy simple, do-it yourself type projects, this how-to video demonstrates how you can install your own elfa® closet system from The Container Store. This is the eighth video in a nine-part series on how to organize your closet like a pro.

Be sure to review the seventh video in this series, where I explained the closet parts, tools, and important safety considerations.

What’s your biggest challenge in your bedroom closets?

Here are the previous videos in this how-to series.

Organizing Your Closet – A How-To Series
Organizing Your Closet – Measuring and Planning Your New Closet
Closet Organizing – Removing the Old Closet
Closet Organizing – How to Sort & Downsize Your Closet Clutter
Closet Organizing – Sorting & Storing Your Linens
Closet Organizing – Sorting & Organizing Your Clothes
Closet Organization – Steps to Install an elfa® Closet System

Closet Organization – Steps to Install an elfa® Closet System

DeClutterYou — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:50:45 +0000

We’re excited so many of you have been following this how-to closet organizing video series. Now that we’ve sorted all the ‘stuff’ from the closet, and removed the closet system that wasn’t working, we are ready to begin installing the new elfa® system from The Container Store.

In this video, I’ll show you the tools necessary to install the closet, explain the various hardware pieces, and share with you a few safety concerns. This is a 3 minute video and it is the seventh in a series of nine videos.

If you have questions about any of the tools, or hardware, please do let me know. The eighth video will actually show the step-by-step process to install the closet. Installing an elfa® closet is an easy, DIY project for most anyone.

If you’re considering purchasing an elfa® closet, you can download this coupon and use it before July 12, 2009 to save 25%!

Here are the previously posted videos in the how-to organize your closet series.

Organizing Your Closet – A How-To Series

Organizing Your Closet – Measuring and Planning Your New Closet

Closet Organizing – Removing the Old Closet

Closet Organizing – How to Sort & Downsize Your Closet Clutter

Closet Organizing – Sorting & Storing Your Linens

Closet Organizing – Sorting & Organizing Your Clothes

DeClutterYou — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:47:45 +0000

How many times have you said, “my closet just isn’t big enough”? Well the truth of the matter is, your closet is probably large enough, you simply have too much stuff! I’ve worked in a few hundred closets, and I find people use the wrong accessories to store their clothes, and don’t take the time to fold or hang items. Instead, they shove the clothes on shelves and expect their clothes to not be damage, wrinkle free, and they expect to find a ready to wear outfit in a timely manner.

In this fifth video of my “how to organize your closet like a pro” series, I’ll demonstrate the steps you can follow to sort your clothes. I also talk about the proper types of hangers to use, and how to avoid some common mistakes people make in their closets. Watching this video may just save your favorite outfit from damage!

I’ve previously posted five videos in this series. To view the other posts, please visit the links below. If you have any clothes storage tips you’d like to share, please comment below.

Organizing Your Closet – A How-To Series

Organizing Your Closet – Measuring and Planning Your New Closet

Closet Organizing – Removing the Old Closet

Closet Organizing – How to Sort & Downsize Your Closet Clutter

Closet Organizing – Sorting & Organizing Your Linens

Organizing Your Closet – Sorting and Storing Your Linens

DeClutterYou — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:36:52 +0000

This is the fifth video in a nine-part series of “How to Organize Your Closet Like a Pro” and we’ll take a look at organizing your linens.

I love living in the city. However, with city life, you often find a lack of storage space. In this home, there was a lack of closet storage. So the homeowner decided to store sheets, towels, blankets, tablecloths, and material in his master bedroom closet. As you can imagine, the closet was over flowing!

In this 4 minute video, I demonstrate the basic steps you can follow to sort your household linens. Because this homeowner was short on space, we had to find a new home for the towels. In order to redistribute them to another area of the home, I suggested we add a shelf in the linen closet/laundry room conveniently located outside the main bathroom. By adding a shelf here, we were able to move the bath towels closer to the bathroom. Several old blankets were donated, and we used large sweater bags from The Container Store to keep items clean and organized in the closet. Finally, we made use of the space under his bed and stored some of the linens that were not frequently used in the Underbed Containers from The Container Store.

Do you have a creative way you store linens? How many blankets and sheets do you think you should have for each bed in your home? Please share your comments below.

If you’ve missed the first four videos in this how-to video series, please review these posts. If you have any questions about the process, or if you get stuck, please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Organizing Your Closet – A How-To Series

Organizing Your Closet – Measuring and Planning Your New Closet

Closet Organizing – Removing the Old Closet

Closet Organizing – How to Sort & Downsize Your Closet Clutter

3 Tips to Turn the Bedroom into an Organized Retreat & Beat The Bedroom Blues

DeClutterYou — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:42:05 +0000

A cluttered home adds to the stress of daily life, and most often when we tackle organizing our home, we focus on the public rooms, such as the kitchen and family room, because we fear the dreaded unannounced guest. We often neglect the bedrooms. It’s easy to close the bedroom door, but at the end of the day, we are restless in our cluttered bedrooms.

Do you find that when you enter your bedroom that you are faced with a mound of clothes, a mess on the nightstand, and a pile of shoes on the floor? And each day you finally force yourself out of bed, are you rushed in the mornings searching through piles for something clean and wrinkle-free to wear? If so, here are three easy, cost-effective tips to help you organize your bedroom.

Art of Storage, Clothes Valet

Get clothes off the floor. If you find yourself throwing clothes on the floor or using the treadmill as your closet, then add a bedroom valet or garment holder to your room. The accessories provide an easy way to preserve and organize your clothes until you are ready to put them away. The racks in The Art of Storage collection are affordable and stylish. These storage pieces features six loops at varying heights to allow for versatile garment draping options and the valet also includes a non-slip pants holder and coin tray.

De-clutter every surface. Overcrowding the surfaces of your dressers and nightstands with knick-knacks presents a cluttered look and makes it more difficult to dust. Select the top two or three non-essential items that are special to you to feature in your bedroom. The others can go into storage, be displayed in another room or maybe be rotated every few months. Remember – less is more.

Use under-the-bed space. Store out-of-season clothes and other items in containers made of plastic, canvas, or wood. Plastic containers are ideal if you have the ability to stack them. If you store linens in wood boxes, opt for cedar, which helps deter moths. Line the containers with plain unbleached muslin to counter the wood’s acidity and protect your linens. Use canvas bags that zip shut for delicate items such as cashmere sweaters, which need circulating air. Make sure all clothing and blankets are cleaned before storing.

A peaceful, clutter-free bedroom is ideal for a restful night’s sleep and piles of clothes don’t create the relaxing oasis you desire. A basic rule of thumb for clothing is if it is clean enough to wear again, it’s clean enough to hang up. Using The Art of Storage valet is a perfect way to store the clothes you’ll wear again soon and the coin tray is a convenient place to empty your pockets at the end of the day.

Beating the bedroom blues is possible – and once you tackle this task, you’ll feel the results immediately. Everyone deserves a calm and peaceful place to relax and re-energize.

Closet Organizing – How to Sort & Downsize Your Closet Clutter

DeClutterYou — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:00:45 +0000

This is the fourth video in a nine-part series of “How to Organize Your Closet Like a Pro”. In this 5 minute video, I’ll show you how a professional organizer sorts through clutter found in a closet. Treasurers buried in this closet include an old “Born To Kvetch” desk calendar, tons of stationary, $150 of new gift cards, unopened mail, magazines, unused electronics, trash, you name it! We’ll sort these items into suggested three categories; Keep, Donate, and Trash. The homeowner will need to review the piles we’ve sorted and make the final decisions on what items he’ll keep. The bottom line, most of what we found in the various bins did not belong in his bedroom closet.

Additionally, in this video, I highlight a photo scanning service called, Scan My Photos. They’ll scan approximately 2000, 4″ x 6″ photos at 300 DPI and return them to you with a DVD of the images for $124.95. Check here for the full details on this service. Scan My Photos isn’t the only memory preservation company available online. In a future blog post, I’ll do a side-by-side comparison of this company with similar vendors.

I hope you’re enjoying this how-to video series. If you missed the prior three videos in the “How to Organize Your Closet Like A Pro” series, you can view the following posts.

Organizing Your Closet – A How-To Series

Organizing Your Closet – Measuring and Planning Your New Closet

Closet Organizing – Removing the Old Closet

Closet Organizing – Removing The Old Closet

DeClutterYou — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:14:26 +0000

This is the third video in a nine-part series of “How to Organize Your Closet Like a Pro”. In this 2 minute 40 second video, I’ll cover the tools necessary to remove the existing shelf and pole. We’re prepping this closet for a new elfa® system from The Container Store. The video show you step-by-step how to remove the basic shelf and pole system found in most homes and to patch the holes. Additionally, I cover the tools you need to do this quickly and safely. This is a must watch for any person who wants to install a new closet system them self.

If you missed the first two videos in this series of “How to Organize Your Closet Like A Pro”, you can view them here.

Organizing Your Closet – A How-To Series

Organizing Your Closet – Measuring and Planning Your New Closet

Organizing Your Closet – Measuring & Planning A New Closet

DeClutterYou — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:26:29 +0000

Organizing your closet is possible for you to do at home. However, knowing how to measure and plan your space is the difficult part. In this how-to series, I’ll show you how to measure your space, measure your clothes and how to come up with a custom closet design for yourself. This is part 2 of a 9 part series on how to organize you closet like a professional.

I’ll be sharing one video post per day until all 9 videos are shared here on declutteryou.com. Please leave your questions and comments below. I look forward to our conversations.

If you missed the first video, please view this post.

Organizing Your Closet, A How-To Series

DeClutterYou — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:02:17 +0000

Recently I filmed a series of how-to videos for MonkeySee.com, a website where you can learn how to do, just about anything. They contacted me to film a series called, “How To Organize Your Closet, Like a Pro“. This nine-part series, shows all the steps I take when organizing a closet. We event show you how I ripped out the existing closet, and installed a new elfa® system from The Container Store. This is a must-watch video series for the DIY organizer.

Today, I’m sharing with you, Part One of this series. You’ll see how I turned this cluttered closet into a space perfect for this home owner. Watch out for falling ironing boards, closet organizing is hazardous work! This video is only 2 minutes and 15 seconds. The others are only three to five minutes in length. I encourage you to watch the videos and leave your comments and questions below. I’ll be posting the rest of the series here on DeClutterYou.com soon.

For more information on closet organizing, please check out these two previous posts: