Garden Storage – Fall Ideas
October 25, 2016
Garden Storage Ideas to Give You Peace of Mind for the Holiday Season
An organized garden gets you set for the winter and I have lots of seasonal garden storage ideas for you. Patio furniture, gardening tools and other garden accessories all need to be protected from the elements, whether stored outside or inside garages and sheds.
You probably paid a lot for your outdoor furniture and want to protect your investment, as improper storage diminishes its life. Patio covers keep your furniture dry and protected from the elements. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have room for garden storage in your garage or shed, dust and other debris tends to accumulate on stored furniture pieces, leaving a mess to clean up come spring. Patio covers are an inexpensive way to extend the life of all your outdoor furniture, while keeping it clean for the next season.
Even if you don’t have a storage structure to keep them in, our weather-resistant outdoor furniture covers will ensure your furniture is clean and usable come spring. Barbecue covers, chair covers, outdoor heater covers, and table covers are a few of the garden storage accessories we carry. All are made of durable polyester with waterproof PVC liners, and include fasteners to secure them in the wind.
Deck boxes are an excellent solution to garden storage and are great for your hoses, gardening tools, watering cans, and other necessities. Made of durable, fade-resistant resin, they come in a variety of sizes for your needs and some double as benches. A 22-inch one is ideal for storing hoses and small tools, longer, 46-inch boxes are available for bigger storage needs. Whether you relocate them to the garage, or leave them out on your deck, they provide year-round garden tool organization.
If you own a shed or garage, you have even more options for garden storage and we carry almost anything you need to get your space organized, from hanging, gridded wall storage systems to cabinets to overhead storage solutions. Bike racks keep unused bikes out of the way and overhead bike racks make great use of unused space while keeping your floors clear. Check out our garage category for everything garage-related and read this shed storage post on our Clutter Control Freak sister blog for even more ideas!
Once you complete your fall garden storage chores, you can relax and enjoy the holidays knowing you’ve prepared for the colder months. Also, be sure to pat yourself on the back for getting your outdoor living space organized. You rock!
How to Repair Holes in Drywall
October 24, 2016
Are your walls damaged from hanging up pictures, shelves, and other items on the wall? Don’t worry, you’ll get your security deposit back! Repairing small holes in the wall is almost as easy as it was to create them in the first place. Simply repair the small holes or dents in your wall and your landlord will never be the wiser.
Getting started. Gather the following supplies,
- Scraping tool
- Spackle
- Sandpaper
- Paint
How to repair small holes in your drywall.
- Scrape away any loose debris to create a smooth area using a scraping tool.
- Using the same scraping material, apply lightweight Spackle over the hole and smooth down the area. Allow to dry according to instructions.
- More Spackle! If the hole is not fully filled, repeat step 2.
- Sand the surface smooth when the hole is completely filled with Spackle.
- Paint the area using matching paint to hide the repair to the drywall.
There you have it! In five steps or less you have a fully repaired wall that will look just like new.
Interview with an Organizer – Jonda Beattie
October 17, 2016
Organize-It is pleased to welcome Jonda Beattie as our second guest in the Interview with an Organizer blog feature. Jonda is a former teacher with a master’s degree in special education and the owner of Time Space Organization, a consultancy in metro Atlanta. She has have been featured in a Women’s World kitchen organizing article, and has appeared (with an organizational team) on both the Buried Alive and Hoarders television shows. She was also interviewed on the Local Friends and Neighbors Show, Fox 5 – Good Day Atlanta, and on Book Your Success. Her organizing credentials are impressive and include memberships in NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers), ICD (the Institute for Challenging Disorganization), and as CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
LH: Can you tell me a little bit about your history? What was your path into professional organizing and how long have you been doing it?
JB: I was a special education teacher for 30 years. The last 3 years I was a Lead Teacher for Special Education. When I received the position of Lead Teacher I intended to do that job until I died. About a year and a half into the job, I figured that would be pretty soon – so I retired and moved on to start my own professional organizing business. I had read about professional organizers in a local magazine and felt the profession would be a perfect fit for my skills and background education. I have been working as a professional organizer for 11 years and am loving every minute of it.
LH: Do you offer one-on-one services, virtual services, or both?
JB: I offer one-on-one services, virtual services, workshops, and an ongoing teleclass.
LH: Do you do both business and personal/individual organizing?
JB: I do small business but mostly personal/individual organizing.
LH: Do you ever have people relapse into former bad habits or “fall off the wagon?” If so, how do you deal with them?
JB: Backsliding is not uncommon. Each situation is dealt with individually as there is not a “one size fits all” answer. Encouragement, normalizing, analyzing the reasons why this happened are key.
LH: I noticed you are also an author. Could you tell us a bit about your books and what inspired you to write them?
JB: My first book, From Vision to Victory: A Workbook For Finding a Simple Path to an Organized Home, came out of worksheets I had developed to help my clients on their organizing journey. My Goals Group encouraged me to develop my Zone Plan program and make it into a workbook. This book is the basis of my ongoing teleclass, The Zone Plan.
My last two books, Suzie’s Messy Room and Benji’s Messy Room, were co-authored with Diane Quintana. They are delightful children’s books that show parents through the children’s eyes how to teach the basic organizing principles necessary to complete a project like picking up a room.
We wrote these books because of a dare. Judith Kolberg, Diane, and I have a booth each year at the Decatur Book Festival. Judith noticed all of the children who attend this festival and told us that by next year we should have a children’s organizing book to sell. Diane and I went right to work on the project and while we did not quite have the books ready in less than a year, we did have the prototype by that next festival. Diane and I had a great time with writing these books together. We plan to do more.
LH: A lot of people find the time constraints of modern life at odds with their ability to organize. Do you have suggestions for people who are short on time?
JB: I work a lot with time management issues. The first thing I have people do is to track how they use their time now. This is often an eye opener. I also have them realize that when putting together their calendar, they need to factor in transition times. They also have to get real about how long certain tasks take. We also work a lot with breaking down big projects into small, doable bites and then prioritizing and scheduling the tasks.
LH: What would you suggest to the organizationally-challenged person as a first step towards getting their house/life/everything in order?
JB: First I would have them look deeply into their motivation and creating a vision of what their end product would look like.
Thank you much for sharing your work with us. Please find out more about Jonda and her services at Time Space Organization.