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.

Dear friends and clients,

As many of you know, tomorrow (January 5, 2011) I am headed to Haiti, forgoing a typical winter vacation, so I can distribute shoes to orphans.  I’m traveling with the amazing organization, Soles4Souls, an international shoe charity that collects, recycles and reuses shoes from footwear companies and the general public.

While in Haiti, we will be staying at the Haiti Outreach Ministries (HOM) compound in Port-au-Prince (PAP).   We will visit Cite Soleil, a suburb of PAP, noted as the poorest slum in the entire Western Hemisphere.  Poverty here is indescribable.  There are no public services, and the roads are barely passable.

Nearly 300,000 people live in the area of approximately 2 square miles.  The area is viewed as a difficult place to work; hence few non-government organizations, or other services are available here.

This is a typical street in Blanchard

Next we’ll visit Blachard (“New Land”), another suburb of PAP, located directly north of Cite Soleil closest to the PAP airport.  It is the home to about 200,000 and is growing.  We’ll also visit Ibo Beach, a small rural community of about 15,000 people, located 25km northwest of PAP.   Finally, we’ll visit Repatriote, the newest community being built on former cropland, with the primary intention to house Haitians returning (displaced) from the Dominican Republic.

While at HOM, we’ll have about eight hours of electricity each day, powered by 23 solar panels.  There is no refrigeration, air conditioning, indoor bathroom, or hot water.  We will stay in the second floor of the school building, which was not damaged in the earthquake, which occurred on Jan 12, 2009.  Although the conditions will be different than what I’m used to, I’ll have no room to complain.

Our itinerary will be as follows:

Day 1 – I leave DC at around 7 AM, fly to Miami where I’ll meet the other volunteers.  Together we’ll board a flight to Haiti, arriving at 4 PM.  We’ll board a bus, travel to HOM, eat dinner, gather for a team meeting and crawl into our bunks for bed.

Day 2 – After breakfast, we’ll have our first distribution in Blanchard for school-aged children.  Following lunch we’ll have a second shoe distribution, but this one will be for infants.  We’ll board a ‘tap-taps’ for a ride through downtown PAP and to view the Presidential Place.  Following dinner and a team meeting, I’m sure our volunteer team will pass out from exhaustion.

Tap-taps are basically, local public transportation on four wheels.  It might be a former school bus, or a pick up truck.  They can be painted with beautiful exteriors, religious slogans, or have loud sound systems inside.  I wonder what we’ll be riding on.

Day 3 – Following a breakfast of muffins, fruit and coffee, we’ll travel to Cite Soleil for our third shoe distribution.  We’ll be working with kids in first – third grade.  After lunch, we’ll give shoes to adults in Cite Soleil.  Following the distributions we’ll take a bus trip through the mountains and have the opportunity to buy some gifts.

Day 4 – We’ll actually visit the beach community where we will have lunch and spend time playing with the orphans.  I’m taking several toys I can leave for the children.  I’ve heard from many people the beaches in Haiti are breathtaking.  This will be the first time I’ve been to a beach other then one in Florida, California, or Delaware.

Day 5 – We’ll conclude our trip early in the morning and depart for the airport around 8 AM.  I’ll be back in DC about 12 hours later.

I look forward to sharing more of my experience with you.  It’s through the generous donations of friends, family and my clients that I am able to take this trip and provide shoes to so many people in need.

Shoes stored in the Soles4Souls Warehouse

If you’ve not donated you can still help. First, a simple click here will take you online where you can donate any tax-deductible amount you see fit.  For every $1 donated = 1 person will receive a pair of shoes.  Maybe if you have 10 pairs of shoes, you donate $10.  Or perhaps you donate the amount of your most expensive pair of shoes in your closet?  Visit this fund-raising page to help me reach my goal of touching thousands of souls.

Shoes stored in my condo - You might think I was a hoarder.

Finally, I officially kick off a Soles4Souls shoe drive in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area in late January. I’ve started collecting from clients and friends, and as you can see my condo is overrun with shoes. I hope you’ll donate your unwanted footwear to my collection and volunteer if you’re able to assist.

Thank you for your support of this mission. I couldn’t do it without you.

Warm regards,

Scott

Soles4Souls distributes usable shoes to people in need around the world. Since being founded in 2005 by Wayne Elsey (CEO), Soles4Souls has given away more than 12 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently distributing one pair every 7 seconds). The shoes have been distributed in 125 countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nepal and the United States.

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.

Perhaps it has happened to you.  After waiting in the long line to check your bag, you finally reach the airline ticket counter. It’s 10 AM and you’re already tired from getting up early to pack since you waited till the last minute.  The not-so-chipper ticket agent tells you to place your suitcase on the scale.  You begin to sweat, because you dread this moment each time your travel.  Will your bag be too heavy?  You struggle to place your overfull suitcase on the scale and cringe as the digital numbers read, 57 lbs.  At 7 pounds overweight, that’s a $50 one-way service charge.  In the old days, you might occasionally meet a nice airline ticket agent who would have let it slide.  But in the days of restrictive policies and baggage fees, this is not likely to happen!  Don’t let the airlines rip you off.  I use a digital scale to weight my suitcase at home if I plan to check my bags.

With the onset of baggage fees, more people attempt to carry on their bags.  If you’re traveling this holiday season, that means there will be a lack of overhead storage space.  Carrying on is great, but you don’t want to fight with a bulky bag.  Be sure to start with a light suitcase.  My favorite suitcase is the 22″ Hover Craft by Eagle Creek – it’s light, compact and easy to maneuver through crowds.  The matching Travel Tote has a sleeve that slides over the handle of a rolling bag making it the perfect, personal carry on bag.  Be smart by packing light, packing efficiently, and by planning ahead when you travel.

Packing Tips

1. Limit the amount of clothing you take.  Lay out what you think you’ll need and then put half of it back! Pick colors that you can mix and match to maximize your wardrobe.
2. When selecting clothes for your travel, know that cotton, wool, and knits wrinkle less when transported.  Also think about all purpose shoes that you can wear for multiple outfits.  Shoes should be placed in bags so they don’t get your clothes dirty. I love the ‘Shoe-Ins‘ shoe bags from The Container Store.
3. Roll you clothes and place items that won’t wrinkle on the bottom.  Next, drape long items on top.  Smaller items like belts and accessories should line the side of the suitcase.
4. Carry or wear your fine jewelry.  I recommend a film canister with tissue for earrings, rings or other small delicate items.
5. If traveling with small family members, make a checklist so you can use it to remind yourself of what you need.
6. Be aware that flying with a car seat or stroller may cost you more.  Most airlines still allow parents to check car seats and strollers with no additional fees.  Double check with your airline to make sure they don’t count a car seat as a second piece of luggage.
7. Pack early!  Whenever you think of something to take – put it in the bag.  Keep a running list so you don’t have to unpack to see if you’ve already tossed it in the suitcase.

Bonus tip – Never carry full bottles of product with you.  Create your own travel size bottles of lotions and makeup.  Checkout these 2 oz. clear jars, or these 3 oz. flip top bottles to make your own travel size products.  Drop them in the clear zippered cube (size B) and you’re set to fly the friendly skies.

There are many benefits to traveling light and carrying on your bags.  Your bags will likely will not get lost or damaged because they’re being handled by you.  When you arrive at your destination, you won’t have to fight the crowds at baggage claim.  That alone is a great incentive to carry your bags!  If you live in a city with mass transit at the airport, you’ll beat the crowd to the Metro or be in the front of the taxi line which can be very long during the holiday rush. And, if you have someone picking you up, you won’t have to worry if their trunk is full of clutter.  You’ll easily be able to place your bag in the back seat.

Wishing you a safe holiday travel season,

Rubbermaid’s Manager of eMarketing and Brand Communications, Jim Dietzel is on Twitter, a social micro-blogging website.  I’m one of 18 professional organizers on Twitter they’re ‘following’.  On Twitter, Jim’s user name is @Rubbermaid and you can find me on Twitter as @DeClutterYou.  Jim asked if I was willing to be interviewed in a “Question and Answer” post on Rubbermaid’s Adventures in Organizing blog.  With so many organizers to choose from, I was excited to be one of the first Certified Professional Organizers® (CPO) to be interviewed.

In the Q & A Jim asked why I wanted to be certified as an organizer, he was curious about what types of projects we experience with our clients, and what are typical challenges most people face when trying to get organized.  His zinger of a question was when he asked me what is the most difficult thing for ME to keep organized.  What do you think it is?  I’ll tell you that it is not shoes, clothes, my kitchen cabinets, or tools.  Visit their blog to read the entire interview and find out how easy it is for the organizer to be disorganized.  Check it out here.

Thanks to Jim and Rubbermaid for including me on their blog.  If you want to subscribe to their blog, click here.  If you don’t subscribe, be sure to check out Jim’s Five-Part Series on Garage Organizing.

I received a call from Lesli Foster, weeknight anchor on WUSA9.   She asked if I would join her live on the 5:00 PM news to discuss getting organized for the Fall.  Excited by the opportunity, I had just a few hours to pull something together and pitch the idea to Lesli.  Thanks to the Container Store, Rubbermaid, and HomeRule for providing the products I’ve suggested we feature.

Starting off, check out these amazing new food storage containers Rubbermaid provided.  They’re called Easy Find Lids.  After you’re done with those large, home cooked holiday meals, you’ll need some quality food storage containers for the leftovers.   Why not pick up a set that have lids that snap to the base of the containers so you can easily find the right lid.

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.  They’re also dishwasher safe.  Now all I need is a dishwasher!  Buy these awesome containers at your local Target or most grocery stores.

The Container Store has introduced numerous eco-friendly storage products in their collection.  I’m loving the rich plum color of their Library office collection.  The Office Storage Boxes, Magazine Files, and Desktop File box would make a wonderful set for your home office.

They’re constructed of recycled
heavyweight fiberboard, have a linen weave fabric exterior, and a white paper-lined interior.  They’re excellently crafted and have a nice metal label holder to easily identify the treasurers you’re storing inside.

I challenge you to think “outside the box” about how you can use this collection outside the home office.  Perhaps the Office Storage Boxes would be good to store paper keepsakes, or one of those numerous art projects elementary-age children bring home, or a needlepoint or craft project on the sofa table.

The Magazine File would be a nice option to store papers to take to work or for outgoing mail you want to drop in the mailbox on your way out the door.  I also recommend a File Box for your kitchen counter if you need to have quick access to school papers, sport schedules, tickets, gift certificates, phone directories, and so forth.  Do you have any other ideas?

My church, uh, I mean The Container Store also has these awesome, multi-functional Feathergrain Bins.  I’ve used these with many clients who love their size, the light weight and nice quality. We’ve stored everything from pet supplies, toys, and magazines to craft items.  They come with handles or with lids.  I recommend you check these out A.S.A.P.

I have a few other suprises I’ll be sharing on the news segment, so tune in or set your Tivo.  The segment will air at approximatley 5:30 PM on WUSA9.