Organizing Products I Use - Steel Shelving

     
We moved over the weekend, downsizing from 2200 square feet to 1550 square feet in what we are calling our retirement cottage. So I am trying to maximize every square inch of storage space! We are excited to live efficiently and simply in our new home.

We lost a lot of garage space, which we are mourning! It's a tight squeeze to get both our cars into our garage, but there are 18 inches between the wall and the garage door, which allows for some steel storage shelves along the walls where they don't interfere with the opening of car doors.

With the expense of a move, we didn't really want to spend the money on an expensive garage organizing system. So this was our solution.

I told you about these steel shelves from Lowe's in a previous blog post. They are 48 w x 74 h x 18 d with adjustable shelves and must be put together. They come in other sizes as well. The units we bought cost about $70 each and come in black or silver.

Here they are in operation, holding seasonal items. We have chosen clear storage boxes to contain those things we know we are going to keep for a long time but don't use often. The containers are less than 18 inches wide so two of them fit on each shelf lengthwise without sticking out more than the 18-inch clearance.

Each shelf holds up to 350 pounds, so I can get a lot of mileage out of these shelves! We have four shelving units in our garage to house keepsakes, seasonal decorations, etc.

My husband cut down another one of these shelving units to fit into the closet in our laundry room, turning it into a pantry. This created an amazing space to store food, appliances and cookware. The appliances (bread maker, food processor, slow cooker, and waffle iron) are on the floor , and the food is organized according to categories on the upper shelves.

This unit allows me to see everything and reach everything easily without having to create stack-upon-stack storage. I placed mesh shelf lining on the wire shelves so things don't fall through the wires.

These five shelving units were set up before moving day, and as we brought things over during the week, we had a place to put them! They expanded our storage greatly while using only 18 inches of depth. And they're economical and strong. We had used some cheaper but sturdy-looking plastic shelving in our other garage, but the shelves started sagging over time. Springing for the steel shelving was definitely worth it to us.

More on organizing products:
Organize Toys Using a Wire Garden Hanger
A No-Cost Organizing Solution for Your Pantry
Repurposing My Shoe Organizers in the Pantry

Organizing for a Move - What to Move First

 
We close today on our new house! We are so excited! We have both cars packed and will go directly to the house after closing.

We thought very carefully what we wanted to move first. We are planning to move our furniture and big stuff next Saturday, a week away. We decided to pay an extra month's rent so we could move gradually. I realize not everyone has that luxury, but if you can do it, it takes a lot of stress out of moving day. We will be able to place the large items and won't be faced with stacks and stacks of boxes to unpack.

So what are we going to move first? Items that will help us get organized:

- Shelves for the garage. We purchased 48 x 18 x 74 steel shelves that will line one wall of our garage. One will go in the front of the garage for tools, etc. One will in the laundry room closet to create a pantry. We found these at Lowe's on sale last week, saving us $50! Each shelf holds up to 350 pounds and is adjustable. We felt like this was an inexpensive and relatively easy way to create garage storage. When we start bringing our boxes over, we'll already have a place for those things that will live in the garage.

- Shelf and cupboard organizers and expanders. As you can imagine, I have all kinds of organizing units that expand storage capacity in kitchen cabinets, under the kitchen and bathroom sinks and that hang on the wall. (I'll do a blog post or two on these - I got some new ones to maximize our storage in our little retirement cottage and I LOVE them!.) By setting these up first, we'll only have to unpack once because they'll be in place when we put away dishes, toiletries, and other items.

- Shower rods and shower curtains. Since our house is new, we didn't have shower rods in our bathrooms. It will be nice to have the shower ready so we can use it the first day we actually move in, without a lot of hassle.

- Tools. To put all these things together, we'll need screwdrivers, drills, and more. One of our shelving units will need to be cut down with a hack saw to fit into our pantry closet.

- Miscellaneous essentials - disposable cups/plates/silverware, paper towels and toilet paper, and some food so we don't have to stop unpacking to go get food. I've doubled a couple of recipes the last two days and will take those over for easy meals.

Once we get these organizational items in place, we'll be ready to start bringing over boxes to unpack! The process should go smoothly with all this prep already done. Hopefully, we'll have all the small stuff unpacked and put away by next Saturday. Can't wait!

More on organizing for a move:
Getting Organized for a Move - Measure, Measure, Measure!
Ruthless Closet Purging - Getting Organized for a Move ... Or Not
Three Steps to Downsizing to a Smaller Residence

Getting Organized for a Move - Measure, Measure, Measure!

As you may remember, my husband and I bought a house a couple of weeks ago. While waiting for closing, we are organizing ourselves so our move goes smoothly. A key to making this happen is to measure, measure, measure.

- We initially measured the rooms so we could determine what would fit in our new house. With those measurements at hand, we have been able to mentally place our furniture in each room. We didn't have to do it this time, but in the past, we have made floor plans on graph paper and scale models of furniture on graph paper. It's a lot easier to move graph-paper furniture than the real stuff! And sometimes you come up with configurations you would never have discovered otherwise.

- We measured windows to see if our current curtains and window treatments will work.

- We measured the garage.   

• There are 18 inches between the garage door and the wall - just enough room to put in shelves to store some of our seasonal items.
 
• There are 4 feet between the door from the garage into the house and the door to the water heater closet. We hope to find a bench to house shoes and to sit on while taking off and putting on shoes.
 
• To complete our little mud room area, there are 19 inches from the other side of the door to the house and the garage wall where we hope to put up hooks to hang coats.
  
• On the other side of the water heater closet, there are 5 feet, where we hope to put in a workbench for my husband's tools.

- We measured the closet in the laundry room off the kitchen, which we plan to turn into a pantry. By knowing the dimensions of that closet, we were able to choose storage options that fit perfectly!

- We measured under the sinks so we can improve storage there.

By measuring, we can plan ahead and purchase now some of the items we will need - like those shelves for the garage and pantry. When we get the keys to our house, we'll be able to put several things into place to streamline our move. Can't wait!

More on organizing for a move:
Ruthless Closet Purging - Getting Organized for a Move ... Or Not
Organized Home Buying - Know What You Want
Getting Organized for a Move - Clearing Out Your Kids' Stuff

Ruthless Closet Purging - Organizing for a Move ... Or Not

   
We have about a month before the closing of our house. In the meantime, we're going through every inch of our home to purge those things we don't use, want or need.

A few nights ago, I went through my closet and dresser. I looked at every item and asked myself if I love it and wear it. For those things I wasn't sure about, I tried them on to see how they looked. I got rid of several things I had only worn once or just a few times. I've lost some weight and some of the things just don't look good any more. Or I just don't like them well enough to wear them.

In one sense, I feel wasteful, but in another sense, I feel efficient. Now everything in my closet and drawers are things I use and like. And I know someone else can get some use out of the items I never wore. And I've reduced the footprint of my clothes.

I also noticed a couple of items that need mending. I'll try to remember to mend them while watching a movie or the news.

And it became obvious that some of the clothes I wear frequently are getting faded. I identified a couple of things I need to buy to replace those faded ones. When I went shopping a couple of days ago, I knew exactly what I needed to buy and was able to take one item off my list in a very short amount of time.

You don't have to move to purge your closet! As you get ready for spring, look over your winter clothes and get rid of those things you didn't wear over the winter. As you take out your spring clothes, try them on and get rid of those you don't like. You'll see what you have, what you need and bless someone else with your discarded items.

More on purging your closet:
Declutter Sentimental Clothing - Turn Them into a Quilt
Efficient and Clothes-Lean
Donating Business Clothing for Job Interviews

Organized Home Buying - Know What You Want

My husband and I bought a new house last week! It all took less than 36 hours. We had done our homework, though, which streamlined the process. What did we do?

1. We identified our absolute "must haves." We decided we must have at least two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. Since we envision this being our "retirement cottage," we can't see ourselves cleaning snow off our cars when we are 80! By identifying our non-negotiables, we eliminated a large number of properties.

2. We determined a price range. We initially wanted to look into foreclosures to try to get a good deal. It didn't take long, though, to discover that at least in our area, those great deals are non-existent. We looked at one foreclosure property that would require at least $20,000 to update it. We found a new property that was only $10,000 more than the fixer-upper. And we'd have a new house with a one-year warranty! No brainer!

3. We chose a location. Even though we could have gotten more house for our money in a small town a few miles away, we wanted to stay in Bozeman, where our daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter live. They are, after all, the reason we moved to Bozeman!

4. I had looked at online interest rates, so I knew what interest rate we hoped to get. By paying some fees up front, we were able to get a 3.3% interest rate instead of a 3.6 interest rate.

I have been looking at properties since we moved to Bozeman in 2011, but we have not been in a position to buy until recently. Housing prices started going up at the same time we realized we might be able to qualify to purchase a house. So we got to work!

We identified houses we wanted to see and our realtor did the same. After two days of looking, we narrowed it down to the house we preferred.

A few days before, our realtor had told us we needed to be pre-approved for a loan to speed up the process. So we applied online for a loan with our bank. Our in-person loan appointment happened to be the day after we saw "our" house. The loan officer had told us what documents we needed to bring, and we were careful to have everything in order.

Shortly after seeing "our" house, our realtor called and told us that there were two or three others who were interested in the house. She emailed us the real estate forms. We filled out the forms and took them with us to the bank, hoping we would be pre-approved and would be able to take our forms with a pre-approval letter straight to the realtor's office from the bank.

Amazingly, everything went smoothly, and we submitted our contract that afternoon. About an hour and a half later our realtor called to congratulate us!

What a ride! Because we were clear on what we wanted, it streamlined a potentially weeks-long process down to a couple of days! And as an extra bonus, we found out the next day that the same house being sold next door to ours had increased in price by $3000. Our house has already appreciated before we have closed!

We will close April 5, and we're already measuring and pondering! More on that later.

More on buying/selling/moving:
Downsizing - Factors to Consider When Choosing a New Residence
5 Reasons to Declutter Before You List Your Home for Sale
Moving Tips
Short-Term and Long-Term Moving

Getting Organized for a Move - Clearing Out Your Kids' Stuff

As you may know, we purchased a house last week and we are starting to get organized for our move. The first item on our agenda was clearing out our kids' stuff. That will give us more room in our garage to house our things that are ready to move.

When we moved to Bozeman, we still had some of our girls' things. Our daughter here in Bozeman recently moved into her own home, which has tons of storage space. We just never got around to taking her stuff over to her. And our other daughter who lives overseas has just a few containers of memorabilia here, which will also live at her sister's.

Much of their stuff was in cardboard boxes, which we swapped out for plastic totes since they will be housed in a garage or storage building. While we were at it, we consolidated like things together and labeled the plastic containers to make it easier to find things.

It took an afternoon and evening, but we feel good about transferring organized, labeled containers to our kids.

More on moving:
Three Steps to Downsizing to a Smaller Residence
Moving Tips
Three Steps to Decluttering

Packing for College

          
Each year with school approaching, I usually repost some of my previous blog posts on getting ready for school and college. Here's one for college students packing up for school. I wrote this one last year when we were still foster parents for teenage girls ...
 
We have yet another foster daughter going to college this fall. She has begun the process of packing and is doing very well.

- She has gone through her possessions several times to get rid of excess.

- She has already packed things she won't need for a while - winter clothes, etc.
 
- She has packed like things together - school supplies, etc.
 
- She has shopped for items she needs - linens, a coffee maker, a fan, etc.
 
- She has left out only those things she needs between now and then.

If you have a child going to college, check to see his/her progress. If you or your student are overwhelmed, make a list of remaining tasks to be done. Prioritize and start tackling them! 

Your child may need some help - going to college is both scary and exciting. He/she will need your support!


More on college:

Cutting Costs on College Textbooks

Beyond CliffsNotes - More Help for College Students

Great info for college students, their parents, and college professors

Declutter As If You Were Staging Your House

       
I found the following article by Pat Jeffries to be inspiring. How fun to pretend you're putting your house on the market and stage it accordingly! See what you think: 

"When you're preparing to put a house or condo on the market, you can find a slew of advice on how to make your home look its best for potential buyers. Most of the recommendations can be boiled down into a single word: Declutter. The idea is not just to make the home seem more spacious and inviting -- though streamlining certainly has that effect -- but also to clear out all the distractions and off-putting elements so that home shoppers can more easily picture themselves and their own possessions there.

Often, when a house is ready for sale, the owners realize it feels more beautiful and spacious than it's felt  for years. In fact, at least one couple in that situation (according to their home stager's account at MercuryNews.com) decided to pull their house off the market, just because it now looked so much more appealing.

 'When the job was done, they couldn't believe it was the same home they had been in for 20 years,' Toni Berry writes. 'They liked it so much that they backed out of the deal on the new place and decided to stay put.'

This suggests that one good way to approach decluttering is to look at your home as if you're staging it for sale. True, you'll want to keep it looking more personal than if it were really for sale, and there's a sharp line between serene and sterile (though any two of us may disagree on where that line runs). Still, when dealing with stuff, a change of perspective can help. And when you've finished staging, you can breathe a big sigh of relief that you're not really moving after all."
 
More on staging:

Tips for Staging Your Home for Sale

Realtor: Key to Selling Your Home

Three Steps to Decluttering (print or Kindle)

Wheels - The Best Invention Ever! (Close Second: Long-Lasting Lipstick!)

         
Aren't wheels wonderful? I often say that wheels are the best invention ever - they make our lives so much easier! And when it comes to moving heavy objects, wheels are essential. 

But what if the object we need to move doesn't have wheels? Self-adhesive wheels come to the rescue! And who carries these? The  Container Store, of course! For $14.99 you can get a set of four. Now these wheels are permanent, so be careful what you attach them to.

You can rent wheels that are non-adhesive from BungoBoxes, along with rentable recyclable boxes and other supplies.

 

And there are always rolling carts (like small dollies). Stacking boxes on these instead of carrying them, saves your back and makes hauling much more pleasant. 

I got my rolling cart at Staples. They are sold as luggage carriers for around $55. Make sure to take note of how many pounds they hold. The one I use holds 250 pounds. There are cheaper ones out there, but they carry less weight.

More on hauling:

April is National Tackle Your Clutter Month

A Green Moving Soluton - Now You Can Rent Moving Boxes!

Finding Charities that Will Pick Up Your Clutter

 

A Green Moving Soluton - Now You Can Rent Moving Boxes!

            
Don't want to purchase moving boxes? Rent instead! Yes, BungoBoxes can be rented and returned after your move.

 

These sturdy plastic boxes hold up better than cardboard and protect against rain. And they protect your valuables better than cardboard when stacked. 

They come in large (27 x 17 x 12 = 2.5 Cubic Feet) and extra large (28 x 20 x 15 = 3.8 Cubic Feet), and be rented separately or in packages based on the number of bedrooms you are moving. 

Also available are wardrobe boxes, dollies and straps, and wheels that fit under the boxes.

BungoBoxes are delivered to your door and picked up after your move. Call to see if BungoBoxes are available in your area. What a green moving solution!

(Disclaimer: I don't receive a commission from BungoBoxes. I just think it's a great idea!)

More on moving:

Short-Term and Long-Term Moving

Moving Tips

10 Tips on Preparing for a Long-Distance Move