Professional Organizer Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland Scott Roewer’s organizing blog DeClutterYou

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

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 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.

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:

• Shoe Organizing With Style – Every Summer
• Closet Organization – Five Quick & Dirty Tips

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!