Oprah has once again teamed up with the awesome folks at The Container Store to offer you 25% off everything in the store now through, Sunday, July 12. You’ll need to download this coupon to take in to the store or to use online. Be sure to measure your spaces and make your shopping list before you go. Know what you’re shopping for so you don’t buy items that clutter your living space.
I’m a huge fan of Goodwill for many reasons. Mainly because it’s a convenient way for my clients to donate items that have outgrown their home. And by doing so, they support Goodwill’s mission to educate, train, employ and place people with disabilities and disadvantages. By supporting Goodwill of Greater DC, we’re assisting people right here in our own area.
Goodwill will be hosting a Trunk Show in DC and is calling all fashionistas, designers, and eco-friendly shoppers to attend and shop ’til they drop! Goodwill of Greater Washington’s Travelin’ Trunk Show will be returning to Greater Goods on Saturday, June 27th from 12:00 – 3:00 PM.
Greater Goods is located at 1626 U Street NW in Washington, DC 20009. If you’ve not had the chance to visit this very cool, eco-friendly store, now you have two reasons to check out the Trunk Show! While at the store, be sure to checkout and register for one of their ‘Green Living’ classes.
Goodwill will have racks and racks of contemporary and vintage fashions along with donated fabrics and buttons. So, if you’re in the market for some vintage fashion or some fabric to make your own creations, please check out this event on June 27th.
Goodwill also will be accepting donations from your home or closet. All proceeds from this event will support Goodwill’s mission to educate, train, employ, and place people with disabilities and disadvantages throughout the greater DC area. For more information on Goodwill’s mission and fashion events, visit this website, or read their fashion blog.
I recently attend the National Association of Professional Organizers Washington, DC – Metro Chapter’s June meeting. Members featured new products and resources from the NAPO Conference in Orlando, Florida which I attended this past April. One by one, members demonstrated various products and explained the highlights of some new services. Everything shown was new, unique or a great resource. Below is a list of eight items featured. I’ll blog about the other five items in a future post. Thank you to all the companies who donated their product. Each product was given away as a ‘door prize’ at the end of the meeting! Read on to discover which item I won.
Shelf Improvement Rollout Shelves
Shelf Improvement makes glide out shelves which only require four screws to mount and have a “2 minute” estimated installation time. They were very solid in construction and had beautiful dovetail corners. I was very impressed with the quality and price. The glide out shelves are $79.00 plus $10 shipping for any size. The widths available are: 10″-30″ wide increasing in 1″ increments and the depths are 21.5″, 18.5″, or 16.5″. If you’re a do-it yourself type, check out these glide out shelves.
Clearly Noted
These designer note cards were created specifically for Professional Organizers. They are the concept of my friend and colleague, Jill Revitsky of Discover Organizing from Pittsburgh, PA. The designs are fresh, unique and feminine in style. They’re also very reasonably priced at $15.30 for a 6-pack. If you’re an organizer and need stylish stationary to stay in touch with your clients, buy these cards!
SaveMyPix.com
The owners of SaveMyPix.com, Maxx & Monica attend the meeting as guests. Their unique service will scan your precious photos, old slides, and convert your old VHS Tapes and 8 mm film to DVD. I love the idea of their service called – Stuff ‘n Send. A prepaid box which will hold up to 1600 photos. The photos are scanned at 300 DPI and returned on your choice of digital medium for the current sale price $99.95. They really couldn’t make it any easier. Make this your Father’s day gift!
Brother P-Touch 1230PC
This easy to use label machine connects to your PC via USB. You do not have to load software on your PC because it’s preloaded on the machine. You can conveniently design durable, laminated labels up to ½” wide using your PC keyboard and monitor. The labels print on their TZ label tape which comes in white, clear, and various other colors. You can load additional logos or any True Type Font on the machine. Brother says it’s “Perfect for home or home office labeling needs.” I won this label machine in the ‘door prize raffle’ at the end of the meeting but I’m a Mac user – so, it’s not so perfect in my opinion. For PC users, at $49.99, you could use this label machine – a bargain in my opinion.
List Planit
Jen Tankersley has branded her company as “List to Put Your World in Order”, and I agree! List Planit has over 400 attractive, printable lists and planning pages for you to manage life. They’re conveniently organized on their site by categories – life, business, kitchen, finance, etc. They have three types of membership – print, download, or professional ranging from $20 – $50 yearly. That’s If you like paper lists, I highly recommend this service.
Time Timer®
If you saw the episode of Time Makeover on The Fine Living Network when I worked with the Lucchesi family, you would have learned about the very cool, Time Timer®. Their products demonstrate how much time has elapsed. If you see the color red on the face, that shows you how much time remains. If you have trouble managing time or if you’re teaching the concept of time, there is no better tool than a Time Timer®. Their website boasts “This innovative tool constantly reinforces the sense of elapsed time in order to promote better time management.” You can buy the 3″, 8″ or 12″ version or their handy wrist watch style. They even have a new PC/Mac software that runs on your computer screen. I’ve been using it since April to help manage the time I spend on Facebook and Twitter. Prices start at $30 and I recommend you purchase the timers with the optional audible signal.
Recipe Nest® by Recipe Relish
I’m in love with this concept because I frequently tear recipes out magazines, dreaming of the day I’ll learn to cook. The Recipe Nest® is perfect because it’s designed to store full-page recipes from your printer or from magazines. They’re organized with tabbed dividers. No more trying to punch holes in the flimsy magazine paper! The built-in easel easily folds out and works with the clip-on the front to display the recipe you’re using. This keeps my dirty hands off the recipe when cooking and I use a plastic sheet protector, or you can buy the specially designed ‘Recipe Sleeve,’ to keep the recipe clean as you cook. The surface of the Recipe Nest® is also spill proof, so you can splash and splatter all you want! There are great colors to choose from and the Recipe Nest® easily fits inside most kitchen cabinets or on a bookshelf. Choose the color that matches your unique style. Mine is Kiwi Green! This is perfect for anyone who likes to cook at $38.95.
Easy Find Lid Food Storage Containers by Rubbermaid
I blogged about these Easy Find Lid Food Storage Containers by Rubbermaid back in September 2008 which I featured them on a WUSA 9 TV Appearance.
Their unique design allows you to snap the lid to the base of the containers. You’ll never lose a lid again! They come as small as .05 cup up to 2.5 gallons and all sizes in between. With this graduated size design, they easily nest together. I’m a huge fan of square storage containers because they optimize your storage space. Yes, you can microwave and freeze meals in these containers. A 20 piece set is around $15.99. I’ve seen them for sale at Target, Harris Teeter and Giant. Click here to download a coupon for $1.00 off your purchase.
We had five more products featured at the meeting which I’ll feature in a different blog post. Did you find anything above that would be helpful to you at home or that would make the perfect gift for anyone? Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts and ideas.
Thanks,
Oprah has once again teamed up with clutter expert Peter Walsh, to help America “clean up your messy house.” This time, they’ve partnered with my church favorite store, The Container Store and they’re coming to the nation’s Capitol! They are looking for the messiest LIVING and FAMILY ROOMS and BEDROOMS in Washington, D.C.
The Oprah crew is looking for a willing DC area resident to show their clutter on National television and let Peter Walsh solve all your troubles. If your home isn’t messy, you can turn someone in. If you’re the one who needs help, what space in your life needs a MAJOR decluttering makeover?
They will be making our decision ASAP, so the sooner they hear from you, the better your chances!
For complete application instructions click here. Who knew there would be a music video about cleaning your house! Watch the clutter bug kick-off tour video.
Peter Walsh is best known for his on TV decluttering on TLC’s Clean Sweep and his books, most recently Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat.
On Oprah’s November 12 episode, The Container Store offered a 20% off your purchase coupon available for download from Oprah’s website. It’s good until November 19, 2008. Click here to download.
On the same show, Peter suggested you take photos of your child’s artwork, upload it to a website like Snapfish.com and have them create a scrap book. If you’ve ever worked with me, you’ll know I’m often making this suggest too. Especially for 3-D artwork or any craft projects created with food. I also recommend making these scrapbooks of keepsakes you don’t necessarily have space to keep, but you want a visual cue to trigger the memory. Snapfish has offered a free standard 20-page 8″ x 11″ custom-cover photo book per household. Offer expires soon, so click here to redeem.
I wonder if Peter will need help when he’s in DC? Peter, you’ve got my number – give me a call.
Julie Morgenstern
Famed author Julie Morgenstern was recently in Washington, DC to speak at the National Book Festival. The National Book Festival is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush. Morgenstern was one of over 70 authors, poets, and illustrators presenting at the National Mall on Saturday, September 27, 2008.
Julie was speaking about her latest book, When Organizing Isn’t Enough – SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life. She spoke at the Festival and signed books for the swarms of fans she has garnered since her NY Times Best Selling Book Organizing From the Inside Out made Julie Morgenstern a household name. To read Julie’s complete biography, please visit her website. 
I meet weekly with two organizers, Judy Parkins of Gently Organized and Lauren Halagarda of The Organization Connection, as a mastermind group to develop ideas, problem solve, hold each other accountable for projects, and to simply chat about organizing. Judy had the brilliant idea to invite Ms. Morgenstern to dinner with the three of us while she was in Washington, DC. Much to our surprise, she accepted our invitation. We agreed to meet Julie and her assistant, Ellen at 5:30 PM so Julie could catch the 7:30 PM Amtrak back to her home in NYC.
Laura Bush's Opening Address
Julie is a delightful person and a wonderful conversationalist. Although she wanted to know more about our businesses, we first inquired about her experience as an author at the Festival. Julie arrived in DC on Friday night to attend the gala held at the Library of Congress. The black tie affair was for authors, sponsors, dignitaries, and Washington socialites.
First Lady Laura Bush was the host for the evening, and even on the night of the first presidential debate, President Bush was in attendance. Julie commented how impressed she was he was there supporting the First Lady. The Festival, in its eighth year, is Laura’s baby and it was the last major public event she’ll host before Bush leaves office. So even after a day of discussions on the financial crisis and on the night of the debate, he was there to support her. Ok–I actually give him props for one thing–being a good husband. (My words, not Julie’s.)
Presidency For Dummies
We enjoyed hearing about how Julie began her day on Saturday with breakfast in the White House. I’ve been in Washington, DC for five years now and I’ve not yet been in the White House. I want to go on a spy mission and see if the President lives a cluttered lifestyle. Are Barney’s toys lying around everywhere? Do people have messy desks? Are there magainzes in the bathrooms? is the Presidency for Dummies book on George’s nightstand? Anyhow, I digress. The brunch sounded beautiful and it was an event I’m sure she’ll never forget. She’ll never forget our dinner, either!
After Julie’s speech and festival appearance, we dined at Todd English’s restaurant Olives at 1600 K ST NW in downtown DC. 
They have a great menu and I was looking forward to dining there for the first time. I ordered the Potato Gnocchi, Lauren and Judy both had the Butternut Squash Tortelli, Ellen had the Herbed Ricotta Ravioli, and Julie Morgenstern went for the local flavor enjoying the Wood Grilled Maryland Rockfish.
Click image to see full size.
While waiting for our baked vanilla soufflé for dessert, tragedy struck. I had requested a private table, so they placed us on the upper level near a large window. The wall-sized window spanned 5′ wide by a towering 12′ tall. Normally it would have been a lovely place to dine, yet suddenly, we heard a loud frightening sound as 60 square feet of glass shattered and rained down on our table as if it was a giant web trying to capture each of us.
As the window made impact, first on Julie, it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. We each dove for cover, sprawled across the dining room floor, which was coated in glass. Dinner went from lovely dining to a scene out of a war movie.
In complete chaos everyone was talking and shouting. “Were we being shot at?” “Did you hear a gun?” “What the hell just happened?” “Is everyone OK?” “Are you hurt?” “Oh my GOD, you’re bleeding, call an ambulance!”
This was where Julie sat during dinner. Click image to see full size.
There was no car that raced away, there was no masked man running down 16th street. How did this happen? Julie’s and Judy’s clothes were torn from the glass, individuals were bleeding, everyone was covered in fine glass dust. Judy somehow lost a shoe in the commotion and Lauren found it nearby. Before Lauren had picked out the glass, the restaurant bus staff was there with brooms and dustpans cleaning up the disaster. Although I was covered in glass dust, I was not injured by the flying glass. I collected everyone’s belongings from our crushed table and moved to a safer area. The women went downstairs to tend to their injuries while waiting for the paramedics.
Before the police arrived and before the paramedics sauntered in, the glass was swept away. The general manager of the restaurant brought me incident forms to complete. I was filling in the blurred details when one of the dining room staff tapped me on the shoulder. He was there with two other staff each carrying the baked soufflés we ordered with our dinner. I was dumbfounded. I told them to get out of my face, I had friends scraping glass out of their wounds, I’m filling out injury reports and you want me to eat dessert? Please!
This was the view from my chair. Click image to see full size.
They swept up the glass immediately and cleaned up the blood.
The Metropolitan Police Officer showed up finally, spoke only to the manager and left. The manager said he left because there was no crime and nobody went to the hospital. How could the officer determine there was no crime without speaking to any of us directly or investigation what happened?
The manager wasn’t even in the dining room when the window imploded. We insisted the policeman return to take a report. Was the restaurant trying to cover up something? Does Todd English have a hit out on him? Is someone lashing out against Olives? Why was the millions of pieces of glass cleaned up so quickly? Why did the police officer leave before talking with the injured parties? Something very fishy was going on, and it wasn’t Julie’s Rockfish.
Meanwhile, Julie missed her train, the police still had not returned, and Ellen had to return to the hotel to obtain new clothes for Julie that were not shredded and covered in glass. About an hour after his first appearance, the cop returned. He acted put off that we were asking for a report. He said windows blow up all the time and that there was no crime. Even an incident report was asking too much. We were lucky, someone could have been seriously injured – yet he couldn’t be bothered by filling out a few forms. Perhaps it was close to the end of his shift?
"Dear Scott, So, okay, next time we dine in Little Italy - It was truly wonderful to meet you. Warmly, Julie"
After some discussion, we decided it was smarter for Julie to catch the 8:45 PM train back to NYC instead of twisting the the arm of the officer and getting the restaurant staff to cooperate. Neither Judy, Lauren or myself looked presentable for the group photo I had hoped to capture with our VIP dinner guest. Standing in the rain under an umbrella, Julie insisted she sign our books. Stilled dazed from the entire ordeal, Julie was extremely gracious and kind. My only regret is we didn’t hear more from her directly about her books. Since Maybe our mastermind group needs to meet in NYC one week to finish our conversation!
The best one liner of the evening goes to Judy Parkins, who said it was a good thing she wore Spanx, they saved her ass twice because they kept the glass out of her ass.
I went back to the restaurant the next evening to give the waitress a tip. Unfortunately they were closed; they are normally open on Sundays. Judy called me on Monday with her theory on how the window broke. She remembered the front door slammed shut each time it was opened. The entire entryway would shake. She believes the constant vibrations finally compromised the window and it just happened to shatter while we were at dinner. On Tuesday I was booked solid with clients, so Judy went to the restaurant to try to give the waitress her gratuity. The front door was propped wide open. After a bit of investigating, she learned from the restaurant manager from Olives that previous attempts had been made to repair the door, yet it still wasn’t fixed. Something about there “not being money in the budget.” I have a feeling now that five people suffered emotional trauma and two received serious injuries, they’ll cough up money to repair the door properly. Someone could have easily loosed an eye, had a serious concussion or even been killed by the impact caused by their negligence.
All in all it was a very stressful evening. I knew we might have some lively conversation, but I never imagined there would be blood! I’m very relieved no one was seriously hurt and I’m grateful for Julie’s patience and good humor. I hope the restaurant is permanently fixing the problem. It’s certainly a lesson in the importance of regular maintenance, good design and quality workmanship.
Fortunately I have an excellent system for keeping track of my receipts. I’ll be delivering a dry cleaning bill in short order! After ruining our important dinner meeting, don’t you think Olives or Todd English owes us some compensation? I’m thinking three round trip tickets on Amtrak to NYC, dinner at Olives NYC, and a night’s stay at the W Hotel Union Square where the restaurant is located. Leave your comments below and tell me what you think. So far, we’ve not been offered any compensation for our troubles. If you know Todd, please tell him about this disaster! I’m sure he’d like to know. I’ll keep you updated.
On Sunday, June 29, I had the 
pleasure of attending the VIP Grand Opening of the new 5th Street Ace Hardware at 1055 5th Street NW. It’s located in the CityVista project in the heart of DC.
In addition to over 9,000 square feet of retail space on two levels and more than 20,000 items in stock, the store is launching two product lines new to Ace Hardware–Mythic Paint and Schulte Storage Systems.
Mythic Paint is one of the first environmentally friendly, zero volatile organic compound (VOC) paints on the market, which should please homeowners who want to “go green.”
However, I was most excited to check out the Schulte Storage Systems. I have worked with Schulte’s closet line named FreedomRail system (previously I found it at Organized Living in Fairfax), so I know the system is easy to install, durable, and perfect for condo dwellers or anyone who wants to get the most out of her storage space. Organized Living closed a few years ago. Because 5th Street Hardware is located below the new CityVista condos, I anticipate this product line will be a huge seller for store.
FreedomRail has a basic ‘Profile’ system which is very similar to the Container Store’s elfa®. There is one additional step when installing FreedomRail as opposed to elfa®. The extra step involves screwing the upright into the wall for stability, which is not a drawback for FreedomRail, in my opinion.
I love the new tiered profile shelf (pictured to the left), which has a built-in stair step that maximizes visibility of items on the shelves. It can be installed level or at an angle, depending on your needs. I didn’t see this in stock at 5th Street Ace Hardware, but Gina Schaefer, the store’s co-owner, said they can fill special orders and requests, usually within a week.
Another item that 
sets FreedomRail apart from elfa® is the option of enclosed cabinets and drawers. I have several clients who have passed on elfa® because they did not like the mesh or grid wire baskets which make up the drawers. This could be the perfect alternative.
As expected, the store also has all the offerings of an old-fashioned hardware store: paint, tools, cleaning supplies, house wares, storage items, plumbing, electrical, a lawn and garden section, and more. If you can name it, this cool hardware store probably has it!
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance estimates that 75% of obsolete electronics are <
currently being stored, which will one day result in a massive disposal issue for the country and the world. Perhaps that’s why Mayor Adrian M. Fenty kicked off this new program.
Mayor Fenty announced the District began its first permanent free, weekly Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and electronic recycling (e-cycling) drop-off site, at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station on May 17, 2008. In addition to the HHW and e-cycling collections, the District will also offer the metropolitan area’s first permanent weekly document shredding service for residents at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station, which began May 24. The Benning Road Trash Transfer Station will be open every Saturday, excluding holidays, from 8 am to 3 pm. Weekly HHW and e-cycling collections will begin this summer at the Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station.
Items will be removed from your vehicle and placed in roll-away containers for disposal.
Acceptable HHW items include:
All electronics will be broken down into parts and recycled or disposed of safely. The computer hard drives will be wiped clean three times using US Department of Defense high-level security wiping procedures.
Sorry, but they don’t want the following items:
For information about this exciting new HHW and e-cycling program, visit DPW’s website or call the Mayor’s Call Center by dialing 311.
Happy recycling,
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