Hi there, let's make up

Kate here, also known as Webmaster General. You can just call me Kate. I've been consulting with Jenna behind the scenes here, serving as a sounding board for the blog setup and for general ideas. Although I am no professional, I am something of a student of the organizing. Jenna has been the Yoda to my Luke, as I sit at her right hand and try to learn from the master. I was just a newbie when I first saw her recipe books in 2001, when she goaded me and another friend into helping her with her first re-organization. I think there were only 4 binders or so then, easy enough to do in a weekend with a couple bottles of wine. I was inspired then to start my own recipe binder, which I recently updated and split into two -- one for cooking and one for crafts/shopping/household, etc.

With that update out of the way, I turn my attention to other places I can streamline and improve. The latest issue of Real Simple had two articles that turned a lightbulb on over my head. One article was about general bathroom organization, the other was a make-up review by some green woman (environmental architect? something). Combining the two, I've decided I need to re-org the make-up. I have been sort of organized—clear vinyl bags hold different types of makeup: nail polishes, lips, eyes and the rest—but I realized that there are items in there that are not just past their prime, but should have been thrown out like 7 years ago.

So I'm going to purge all but the newest and start over. Honestly, I'm a little dim when it comes to make-up, I wear only tinted lip balm daily, and even getting gussied up only includes mascara and eye shadow. I know nothing of skin make-up, and as much as I love what mascara does for my face, I have yet to figure out how to wear it without smearing it everywhere after an hour. To start, I'm using the Real Simple green woman's list of her favorite, natural cosmetics. I may go back through old articles I've clipped over the years and see if anything I pulled applies

I have a confession.

Even as a professional organizer and someone who enjoys organizing, I have a project that stops me in my tracks. I have about 10 binders that hold years of recipes, crafts ideas, menu plans, decorating and gardening tips. I used to keep every Martha Stewart, Cooking Light, Real Simple and Bon Appetit magazines I ever purchased but one day decided that was ridiculous (I was moving across the country at the time) and went through about a 100-plus magazines and ripped out the articles/recipes and tips I liked, organized them and put them in binders. The books are sorted by general topic headings: meal type (brunch, dessert), major food group (meat, fish, etc), or by sections of interest (crafts, gardening, decorating etc.). It was a project I was very proud of once upon a time.

I find that I haven't been using them but I do manage to add to the stack of new inserts that I need to file so I asked myself why this is happening. I think it is because I have a great number of topics/recipes that are out of date or that I have never used, and the binders need to be purged before I can add any new topics/recipes. So, I have started the process and to make sure I keep going I am coming clean publicly that this is a challenging and tedious project for me. I encourage all of you to think about a project that you have been putting off for months and revisiting it. If it would help you push yourself forward send it to me and I will post it on the site and we can work on it together!

I am going to treat myself just as I would a client: I will create a timeline for completion, a summary of action, a skeleton of what it will look like and a maintenance plan. Once I have completed this overview for myself I might start with a portion of the project that will inspire me the most—the look of the new binders. I think I want to organize everything by season rather than how I have them now. I live my life by season so why not categorize my information that way? Originally I wanted to buy these super fancy binders from Paolo Cardelli that are so amazing but very pricey but then I came back to reality and decided that I need to use what I already have, warts and all. To dress up the old binders a little, I want to take some photos of items that remind me of each season and then blow them up for the cover and spines of the binders. If you have a link to some perfect autumnal feast image, feel free to post it here to share. Stay tuned to see what I get done next and how quickly or slowly they move along!

A few of my favorite things

There are a few websites that I really love. I love to window shop, purchase things and get ideas from them. I hope you too will find that special little secret for yourself in them.

See Jane Work
Jane has everything for your life organization that you need from file folders and binders to Smencils! They have really sophisticated taste so it makes it even more fun to scout out office products.

West Elm
West Elm is the best store for furniture that looks great but is not overpriced. I can always find great furniture solutions for my clients from West Elm. What makes them even better is their customer service - top notch! If you have a passion for decorating it is also a great place to browse for new and creative ideas for your own spaces.

The Container Store
Well I don't think I need to expand on this any more than the name do you???? I think about The Container Store the way some people think about Lays potato chips - "Bet you can't buy (lays says eat) just one!"

Mom Agenda
These ladies have developed the best agenda I have seen for busy moms. I still want to design my own because I have a few additional ideas I think woudl be really useful to have at my fingertips; but until then these are awesome. And you can personalize them! They have just recently created a kids school book which is terrific too.

Levenger
This company has a fabulous very cult-like following for their Circa materials, an incredible line of agenda materials. You can create your own agenda filled with the sections you want. Their leather products are fabulous too. I want one of their bags!

If you go shopping come back and let me know what you found - I love a good "product chat!"