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

The Before Picture

The makeover recently continued at the Dress for Success Boutique in Washington. DC.  Solutions by Scott joined forces with multiple local organizers, all volunteers and members of The Washington, DC – Metro Chapter of The National Association of Professional Organizers to complete this phase of the makeover. The makeover team included: Andrea Hancock, Professional Organizer and owner of B Dexterous, LLC ; Denise Sintetos, Professional Organizer and owner of Declutter, DeStress; Helena Alkhas, Professional Organizer; Janice Rasmussen, Professional Organizer and owner of Executive Order; Katie Mazzocco, Professional Organizer and owner of Visions Organizing, Julie Langsdorf, Professional Organizer and owner of The Pick-up Artist; and Nina Muscato, Professional Organizer and team member of Solutions by Scott & Company.

New Paint, New Carpet, No Broken Cabinets

The three-phase makeover of the Dress for Success boutique began in December 2010. Scott Roewer of Solutions by Scott & Company 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 stylists from Style for Hire performed clothing edits on December 9th and January 28th. In mid-January, the boutique was freshly painted and new carpet was installed. Once the studio is completly reorganized, Scott and his colleagues from Style for Hire  will return and give the Dress for Success clients a personalized styling experience, readying them for interviews and career success.  In the photos posted in this post, you can see the makeover from the beginning to the end in one of the five rooms they organized.

Two Volunteer Organizers Hard at Work

This portion of the makeover was made possible by the generous support and donations of elfa® the awesome organization systems from The Container Store.   The Container Store sent two of their awesome employees to help install the shelving.

Solutions by Scott & Company 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.

Professionally Organized & Ready to Go!

If you ever have any professional business attire that is  current fashion, and in great condition, please consider donating to Dress for Success.  Men can donate their dress clothing to Career Gear.  Find a location near you.

Do you have a favorite place to donate your gently used clothing?  We’d love to hear about it.

Many of you know that I traveled to Haiti in January with the amazing non-profit charity Soles4Souls to help distribute shoes to children.  Experiencing life in Haiti with these beautiful people was truly heartbreaking.

It was also a life changing experience.  Upon returning to DC, I started collecting shoes for Soles4Souls.  It was my hope to do a city wide shoe collection and involve schools, churches and neighborhood groups.  However, my massive  shoe collection has come to a screeching halt because neither myself or Soles4Souls were able to secure a storage location where  community groups could drop off the shoes they collected.

Wait, where's my living room?

Please watch the news video and leave a comment if you have any last minute connections that can help secure a drop off location.  If not, I’ll be shipping the shoes off to the Soles4Souls warehouse before the end of March.

To see the full news story, please visit WUSA9

I was featured on 9NEWS NOW in August 2010 when I collected more than 650 pair of blue jeans to make insulation for Habitat for Humanity.

So much for a dining room table!

Last week, I wrote about a professional organizer in Washington, DC who happened to also be a hoarder – a hoarder of denim.  I’ve been collecting denim for Habitat for Humanity since April.  I wanted to share this update with you.  As of May 17, 2010, I’ve collected 376 pairs of jeans.  In my last post, I mentioned my goal is to collect 5oo pairs total.  It takes 500 pairs to insulate one entire Habitat Home.

If you live in the Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, Montgomery County or Prince Georges County in Maryland and you have jeans to donate, please leave a comment below.  I’ll make arrangements to pick up the jeans or provide you my postal address for delivery or mail. You can also drop off jeans before May 23 at Vastu located at 1829 14th ST NW, Washington, DC.

Thanks for supporting this worth while adventure.

Special thanks to Steve Oatmeyer, a friend and talented graphic artist who created the denim graphic for this Declutter Your Denim Drive.

Many of my Facebook Fanpage followers are already aware that I’m a hoarder.  That’s right!  I’m a  professional organizer and I’m a hoarder!  Wait – don’t get the wrong idea.  I’m not living among piles of stuff like you would see on A&E TV’s hit series Hoarders, I’m only hoarding denim.  I’m collecting jeans for Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County, Maryland and I’m trying to collect 500 pairs of your used denim.

Habitat for Humanity is collecting denim for the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN® denim drive.  All donated denim will be recycled into UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes.  What I love is that UltraTouch™ contains no chemical irritants and requires no warning labels compared to other traditional products. There are no VOC concerns when using UltraTouch™, as it is safe for you and the environment.  This makes it very easy for the volunteer Habitat home builders to install the insulation.

What recycled denim insulation looks like.

So why am I trying to collect 500 pairs of jeans you ask?  It takes 500 pairs of jeans to insulate one Habitat for Humanity home.  As a professional organizer who encourages people to declutter their closet, I thought, why not turn the unwanted denim of my clients into something good.  I began telling clients and friends about my idea right before Earth Day.  I started my efforts by posting notes on Facebook, on my Twitter profile, and emailed other members of the National Association of Professional Organizers asking everyone to donate jeans and to help me spread the word.  Now I’m taking it to you, my readers.

I’ve been blessed so far with my collection efforts, but still need help to reach my goal of 500 pairs of jeans.  One client donated over 50 pairs from her family. Real Estate Agent, Hub Krack told his friends and clients and dropped off 18 pairs of jeans. At the NAPO Conference in Columbus, Ohio, 67 pairs of jeans were donated by numerous organizers attending the conference.  Professional Organizer Tanna Clark of Nashville, TN wrote a check to Habitat for Humanity for $125.00 to help cover the cost of shipping of the jeans and many others donated cash.  One of my favorite local furniture stores, Vastu is currently accepting donations of jeans on my behalf until Sunday, May 23rd.  Read more about that on their blog post, Declutter Your Denim.

Currently I have 338 pairs of jeans, but it is not enough.  Can you help spread the word?  Please announce it on your Facebook status.  ReTweet this blog post on Twitter.  Clear out your closet and donate your denim to Habitat.  Comment here about recycling efforts in your community.  Or, if you’re a fan of Habitat for Humanity, tell us why.  If you have jeans to donate, tell me how I can reach you and I’ll schedule a pick up date or you can drop them off at Vastu.

The current denim collection in my kitchen.

I will be collecting denim until I reach 500 pairs or until August 20th, which ever comes first.  Officially denim is being collected through August 20th at the following locations:

Habitat for Humanity ReStore
9100 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301-947-3304

Amicus Green Building Center
4080 Howard Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895-2465
301-571-8590

Self Storage Plus
851 E. Gude Drive, Rockville, MD 20850
301-637-2598

Learn more about the recycle process in this past blog post on denim recycling.

The National Association of Professional Organizers for years has celebrated January as Get Organized Month, and this year is no different!  You likely  know someone who’s proclaimed that in 2010, they would finally get organized.  Or is this your year to banish the clutter for good?  Either way, free tips and suggestions for get organized and staying organized are always desired.  So, together with Rubbermaid I’m here to help.  Rubbermaid is hosting a Get Organized Month – 5 Day Twitter Chat.  I’ll be guest tweeting for Rubbermaid on the topic of “Too Much Stuff”.

Join me on Tuesday, January 12th from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST time. I’ll be tweeting about your organizing problems and offering solutions.  Also, the nice people at Rubbermaid will be giving away products each day to help you get organized!  How cool is that?  In order to win you simply need to participate in the discussion on Twitter.  They’ll randomly choose four people  to receive prizes.

To join the Chat and win:

1. Create a Twitter account (if you do not already have one). Go to www.twitter.com to sign up for a free account.
2. Follow myself and the two Rubbermaid hosts
   You can find me on Twitter – Scott Roewer @Declutteryou
   The Two official Rubbermaid hosts are:
3. Jim Deitzel: @Rubbermaid & Erin Gentry: @RubbermaidErin
4. Remember when you are referring to us or asking us a question on Twitter to either reply or use our entire Twitter handle (i.e. @DeClutteryou)
5. Use the hashtag #Rubbermaid for the contest. You must use the #rubbermaid hashtag in your tweets to qualify for prizes. Also, search for the #rubbermaid hashtag to follow along with the conversation.The chat continues on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Check out the schedule and the hosts below.

• Day Three – January 13th – Kitchen Organization: Guest Host  – Julie Verleger (@organizedhome) – organizedhomeinc.com
• Day Four – January 14th – I Can’t Find Anything to Wear!  Closet Organizing: Guest Host  – Krista Colvin (@kristacolvin) – organizeinstyleblog.com
• Day Five – January 15th – Fitting the Car in the Garage Host Jim Dietzel (@Rubbermaid) & Erin Gentry (@RubbermaidErin) – Rubbermaid Blog

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

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,