Creatively Organized Spaces
What does it take to be organized? Curiosity, Creativity, Commitment-being open to these are the key to getting and staying organized.
It takes a bit of Curiosity, a bit of Creativity and a Commitment to make lasting changes.
Here’s a little secret, wink, wink…
If your curious how it might feel to be more organized, keep reading…
Time after time I go to a client assessment or am talking with someone about paperwork and they say they don’t have a system for storing papers. I get that lifestyles have changed. Most people work on their laptops on the sofa or at a table. Lots of us are trying to go paperless, but realistically we will probably always have certain papers to keep.
One very common complaint I hear is that “file cabinets are ugly.” “If I could just find one that looks like a piece of furniture”…well folks I’m here to help! Here is a beautiful round up of a variety of stylish and functional file cabinet. Not baskets, boxes, binders or bins…we’ll get to those another day because if there is more than one of you with papers in your household, most likely you need a filing cabinet!
Luckily some great companies are bringing stylish filing systems in as furniture so you don’t have to forgo the style for the function! Some, like the cabinet below by Iannone Design is truly a work of art!
Horchow collection has some beauties. I love these two mirror file boxes. They’re not filing cabinets but would work for a specific category or one person with minimal papers.
Wayfair has a lot of options from this more rustic wood, one drawer cabinet filing cabinet to more utilitarian ones.
The Container Store has clean contemporary cabinets in fun colors!
Ikea has basic affordable two drawer cabinets.
There are tons of great DIY options for painting and making over your cabinet with fun colors, chalk board paint (image below from hometalk.com), decorative papers and more! 
Loads of popular furniture and home brands have great options as well like the white credenza-style cabinet by Crate and Barrel below.
With all these stylish and functional options there’s no reason to be keeping your paper in piles or bags anymore! I’ve shared lots of great tips for filing systems on the blog, (search filing, or paper organizing). I hope this stylish filing cabinet roundup inspires you to get your paperwork in order. For more inspiration check out my Pinterest Office Board or my Houzz Stylish Filing Cabinets Idea book.
Some days I STRUGGLE with ideas to write about…SO I want to hear from you! What do you want me to blog about?
Or maybe NOT, I think I’m just stuck in my own head and don’t know what I know! The way I bring ideas together is just a bit different than someone else. How I say something might resonate with you in a way that it doesn’t with someone else. The same goes for how I work with clients to organize their spaces.
I find that a lot of people’s idea of list making is to just keep one big ongoing “To Do”. Do you think about every single thing on your list as a “problem”? This seems to be the normal mindset around items that need to be done. Lists are a way to keep track of all the Problems we need to solve, right?
That may be the case but trying to hold onto all that info in your head is just not a reasonable expectation to have. Your brain is not a storage device, or a warehouse to keep things in! Really! One way I help clients with their productivity is to break lists up by category, just like you would do when filing papers.
Within these categories you could list out the items you want or need to do. List making can be done on paper (post it notes are great because you can move them from place to place), in a notepad, a calendar-using color coding if you like (see photo above) or with a technology list tool like Evernote. However you make your lists, keep track of what you are doing by category and ask yourself if it’s important enough to put onto your calendar? If it’s not worth putting on your calendar is it worth doing?
This can be next to impossible with a mish-mash of hangers. When working to create an orderly closet, having only a few types of hangers will save space and time keep as well as keep your clothes more neat. I admit it, I’m a hanger snob! When I start a closet organizing project the first thing I do is try to eliminate broken or flimsy hangers (wire, warped plastic etc). All hangers are not created equally, some do a fine job for certain tasks.
Below are my six favorite types of hangers, with a little explanation of what I recommend each for and why.
Wood Hangers these are sturdy and easy to find, not to expensive and great for suits, jackets and outerwear. If you are using these you might want to get a few with clips for skirts and pants (if you prefer to hang them long).
Velvet Shirt Hangers you either love them or hate them! They’re great for keeping lightweight, loose garments on the hangers and they are super space saving! They can break easily (brittle) and some people with shoulder/arm disabilities find them difficult to work with. I don’t recommend them for pants, unless they are ultra light weight and I also don’t recommend the “gadgets” they sell to convert these into multi hangers or clip hangers, they tend to make them break more easily.
Non Slip U-Slide Hangers are a great alternative to the velvet hangers. These are more sturdy than velvet (see above) and have grippy sections to keep clothes in place. These are an upgrade to the standard “plastic tube” hangers that deform easily and stuff slides off. The U-shape opening on one side make them easy to put clothes on and take them off.
Space saving pants hangers these are a new favorite, slimline, sturdy metal coated with non-slip rubber and easy to use. Everything you need in a pants hanger unless you like to hang them lengthwise in which case you will want a clip style (either wood above or basic plastic below).
There are a couple other hangers worth mentioning (and loads more to choose from) but there’s a reason most retail stores use these basic plastic skirt hangers. They save space, are inexpensive and do a great job holding onto your skirts and pants. Not everyone loves them but they are study, slim and keep things in place. Finally the padded satin hanger, not just for your grandmom! Although I recommend folding knits, if you must hang some of them these lovely hangers keep the shoulders from looking funny!
The closet above has a jumble of different hangers making it difficult to get clothes in and out and hard to see what’s what. Below hangers and clothes have been streamlined into 2 basic types (wood and U-Slide) to save space and make clothes easier to find and hang back up!
Do you need more tips to create an orderly closet? Sign up for my newsletter and get a free guide to Spring Closet Clean Out.