Do you deign to decorate? Make it fun again...

Do you love to decorate for each season or holiday, but find it's becoming more trouble than it's worth? Do you have to go through every bin to find what you're looking for? Do you find yourself asking, "Where's that bunny-shaped cake pan?" or, "What is in that blue bin way up there?"


Keep yourself and your items organized by color-coding or decorating separate bins for each holiday/season. Gather the cookie cutters, tableclothes, placemats, decorative serving pieces, etc. associated with each holiday/season and store them in their new home. This way seasonal items are not taking up space in your kitchen cabinets or drawers for the every day items that you use most.

If your kids are stuck at home on a snow day, this is where those old magazines or catalogues and glue come in handy for bins decorated with flair! If you prefer a more streamlined approach, a Dymo labeler works just as well. Just make sure the font is big enough to read easily if you prefer to store items up high. Ideally the bins would be labeled on 3 sides, making them readily identifiable. Depending on your storage space though, make sure at least the front and the top of the bins are labeled.

Here are a few bin decorating ideas:

(Ahem), if you still have Christmas or New Year's decorations out:

• Red and green for Christmas
• Gold and silver for New Year's
• Blue and white for winter

February fun:

• Red and pink for Valentine's Day
• Black and white for President's Day
• Purple and gold for Mardi Gras
• your team's colors for the Superbowl Game Party supplies

Marching ahead:

• Green and gold for St. Patrick's Day (March 17th)
• Pink for International Women's Day (March 8th)
• Easter (March 23rd)
• your favorite NCAA Basketball team colors for March Madness
• and if Punxsutawney Phil was accurate, we'll need those Spring decorations about now!

However you decorate your home or place of business, keep it simple and easy to do. That way it won't become a chore. You can go right to the bin, bring it to your decorating space and have a great time! When the last hoorah is done for the holiday/season, all those items now have a designated home where they can live organized and happily ever after until next year.

At the Discover Organizing Store in Mt. Lebanon we have a great variety of bins available. Come in and see which sizes work for your decor storage needs.

Happy decorating,

Lead Professional Organizer
Discover Organizing
672 Washington Road
Pittsburgh, PA
412-344-3450

Getting "clothes(er)" to Spring!

Now that the sun has been shining for a few days, it's time to start thinking about those winter clothes you haven't worn yet. I'm sure there are at least 5 articles of clothing that you haven't worn this winter, or maybe even last winter. Ask yourself these questions about those clothes:

• I wore these before, but do I still need them? Do I have something similiar that I enjoy more?


• I loved these ______! Do they still make me feel good when I put them on now?

If the answer is "No," then it's time to let them go. While you're at it, find those 1 pair of shoes or boots that hurt your feet and let someone else enjoy them. Found 2 pieces of jewelry you no longer wear? Pass them on as well!

I know there are a lot of sales taking place right now at stores looking to off-load their winter items, so before you buy anything ask yourself if you really need it. If your winter jacket has fallen apart, by all means take the 75% off and get rid of the old one!

But, if you just want it, then make sure you can follow the "One In, One Out" rule: when you bring One item into your home, One must go out. You can give it to your friend who's always admiring it, or donate it to your favorite charitable organization. If it's stained or otherwise unwearable, please donate it to the trash.

**If you want to really be diligent about it, try establishing a "One In, Two Out" guideline. If you have to find two items to let go of for every new item you buy, you'll definitely begin to evaluate whether you really need that new item.**

Now that you're ready to let go, I've listed a few donation places here for ideas:

• Dress for Success: Clothing for women re-entering the workplace; currrently in need of the following items:

Medical scrubs
Non skid shoes and "Crocs" (larger sizes & wide widths a plus)
Black and khaki casual pants
White collared shirts
Plain colored ladies t's and long sleeve shirts
Steel toe boots
Maternity clothing for work

• Goodwill


• Salvation Army


• St. Vincent de Paul


• Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh (multiple locations)

Your local churches and synagogues may also welcome donations to serve the community. Give them a call; they might even pick-up!!

Here's to living with the clothes that make you feel good,

Looking for the perfect organizing product?

If you are fed up with driving to all the big box stores (Target, Walmart, and Bed, Bath & Beyond to name a few) only to realize that the dozens of aisles are filled with the thousands of products you aren't even sure will work for your situation, then Discover Organizing has the solution for you.

Locally, the Discover Organizing store in Mt Lebanon, Pittsburgh, is the one-stop shop for all your organizing project needs for every room in your house or space in your office! The items we carry are hand selected by our staff of Professional Organizers who use the products with their clients and in their own lives. Even better, all of the items are competitvely priced with the big box stores so you don't waste your time, or the gas in your car, driving from place to place!

If you live outside of Pittsburgh, you'll be happy to know that you can currently get some of these same products over the internet through our main website at www.discoverorganizing.com by clicking on the "Shop @ Our On-Line Store" tab in the top, right-hand corner of the page.

What are some of these awesome products? Check out a small sampling below!

• Bedroom organization items
  

• Kitchen organization products
  
  

• and many many more that will be featured here!

Stop by the Discover Organizing store today to find your organizing solution! Our hours of operation are currently:

Monday -Friday 10am-6pm

Thursday 10am-9pm (for Closet Solutions with Tom Ferri's Closet Make-Overs)

Saturday 10am-4pm

Closed on Sundays except for the Scrapbooking Sundays workshop in the Productivity Center.

There is convenient metered parking along the street or in the 2 city garages just a short walk from the store with reduced fees on the weekend!

Here's to Happy Organizing,

In case you missed it...

In case you missed it, the Grand Opening Celebration for the Discover Organizing store went off with a bang. I was there Saturday night and had a blast! The store looked great, people were mingling, purchasing organizing products and winning really cool prizes. Kim Lewis from PNC Bank won the $1000 Tom Ferri Closet Make-Over and I am sure she'll be soooo excited when it is completed! Lots of other fun items were won including original art that was custom framed by Steve nextdoor at Create-A-Frame, Mary Kay products from Camille Huzzard and more!

Foodwise, the evening started off with a selection of crackers and a wonderful assortment of cheese, along with buttery cashews and a variety of wines. Dave the Chef catered scrumptous meatballs, yummy creamy-veggie filled puffed pastries, crispy bruschetta and melt-in-your-mouth beef pinwheels. To complete the meal we enjoyed delicious home-made cookies and other dessert goodies created by the mother of Laura and Jane of Tom Ferri's Closet Make-Overs. Way to go mom! The cannoli were to die for!


The entertaining duo of Greg Yesko and Renee Pokora with The Flashbacks was phenomenal as usual! Between his piano playing skills and her voice, it was wonderful. I sneaked a peek and saw local artist extrodinare M.A. and her husband dancing to one of oldie but goodie hits by Blue Eyes himself.


Vicki Hauptmann represented her family-owned and locally operated Jake's Java with several varieties of coffee blends. They were all delicious, but my personal favorite was the Brazil, Coromandel, "Fazenda Sao Joao". It was so flavorful, it didn't need sugar or milk!

Jake's Java will be supplying the freshly roasted coffee served in the Productivity Center at the store, so while you're attending a scrapbook session or learning how to organize using the principles of Feng Shui, you can enjoy the extra "perc" of drinking great coffee. Stop by the store today for the latest Calendar of Classes and sign-up now.


Regular hours of operation are M-F 10-6pm and Sat. 10-4pm. Currently we are closed on Sunday except for private Scrapbooking Sessions.

All-day parking on Sat is $2 in either lot and only $1 on Sunday (can't beat that). Either lot is only a short walk to the store!


I'll be there most days, so pop in and say hi!