Happy Independence Day!

Get out and enjoy the holiday!

National Magazine Seeks Organizing Tips from Real Women

Do you have a special organizing tip that helps you get organized and stay organized?
If you have something - a routine, a hint, a method for keeping your home neat and tidy - a national women's magazine wants to know! They are looking for fresh ideas from real women around the country.

Send your submissions to Leslie Pepper at LeslieLido@gmail.com by Friday, July 3rd. (BTW, pro organizers can submit as well, but keep in mind that only your name, city, and state will be included in the article, not your business name or website.)

Once your organizing tip is approved, you'll find out what magazine it is! And it's big…

Don't forget to share your ideas here! We'd love to know the scoop.

Space Treat: Cheer Up Your Closet

Already organized your clothing but still feel like the closet is missing something? All your shirts are on hangers… pants are accessible…dresses are on display… socks are stashed away… work-out clothes and PJs are separated into their own drawers. Everything has a home and everything else has been donated, but the closet still doesn't feel as glamorous as you'd like? Throw up some wallpaper inside the closet or paint it a complimentary color to the room it's in. Use a row of decorative drawer pulls for hanging necklaces and decorative coat-hooks for chunky necklaces, handbags or scarves. Now your closet is not only organized but also looks as fabulous as you do!

Works for Me Wednesday: Zip Ties

Zip ties are amazing! I use them for cord control, and a multitude of other little fixes all over my house.

I thought I was particularly clever last weekend when I fixed a broken toilet chain with my own little chain of zip ties and a binder clip to connect it to the rubber stopper in the bottom of the toilet tank. But I guess Elizabeth over at apartmenttherapy.com and I think a lot alike. Check out her tiolet handle fix. We should team up, Elizabeth!
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Quote of the Week: Gotta Have a Goal

Even if I don't reach all my goals, I've gone higher than I would have if I hadn't set any.

~ Danielle Fotopoulis

Eco Organizing Awards 2009

It's a GOOD day when you do something to get organized. It's a GREAT day when you do something to get organized and preserve Mother Earth at the same time!

That's why the Get Organized Blog is proud to kick-off the Eco Organizing Awards. And I sincerely hope that you'll help me celebrate and promote Earth Day 2009!

How can you help celebrate?
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Quote for the Week: What Do You Think?

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.

~ Henry Ford

'Nuf said.

Last Chance to Win a TV Stand from Bush Furniture

SORRY - CONTEST CLOSED

This time around, I'd like to hear about your favorite media storage solution (or the problem if you haven't found a solution yet).

How do you store your movies or CD's? How about and abundance of books - what have you discovered for that?

Our Grand Prize would be a great media storage solution!

This TV Stand by Bush would give you the perfect place to store movies and CD's, a DVD player or a stereo system!

Other great prizes are:
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Carmen's Favorite Organizers A to Z - Part 3

(3) C is for the Calendar Tin.

Calendars normally contain your reminders, appointments, and important dates. But this calendar doesn't hold words - it holds office supplies!

The Calendar Tin stands 3 "stories" high. (Not literally, silly! That would be pretty big.)

Each story is a compartment…one for tacks, one for paper clips, and one for rubber bands. And all of these supplies are included with the tin, which makes it even a better bargain.
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Quote of the Week

It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow. ~ Anonymous

This quote speaks to a lot of tendencies in my life. Whether it’s that first chocolate chip cookie, my favorite store calling my name, or simply the desire to procrastinate; once I start, it’s hard to stop. Best just to suppress that first desire altogether.

Quote for the Day

“Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching.”

~Satchel Paige

Carmen's Favorite Organizers A to Z - Part 2

(2) B is for Bento Boxes by Plastica.

In Japan, bento boxes have long been used as lunch boxes. The structure of each bento helps to pack a meal based upon the Japanese food pyramid, which includes grains, meats, and veggies. (What?! No junk food?)

But bentos don't just emphasize a balanced diet and portion control, they also keep lunches mighty organized! And so, it's lucky for us that the bento custom has gone international.
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Carmen's Favorite Organizers A to Z - Part 1

(1) A is for Anya Hindmarch To Do Totes.

They haven't even hit the stores yet, and the word is already on the street.

Anya Hindmarch, who started last year's I'm Not A Plastic Bag tote fad, has now moved on to bigger and better things — to do list totes!
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A Few Of My Favorite Things, Part II

Eva threw down the gauntlet last week, and I can't say no to a good challenge! So it's with this in mind that I bring you my list of favorite things (aka organizers).

Of course, in order for an organizer to make THE list, it has to be willing to give me 100%. I'm talking double and sometimes triple duty! I own and have used each of these items for at least 2 years, and each has exceeded my expectations.
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Win a Vanity Set from Powell Furniture!

~Sorry, contest closed~

We've had some amazing give-aways for our contests lately! If you haven't won anything yet, don't worry - you still can!

For this contest, we'd like to hear about your favorite bathroom storage solution. Is it the cute basket for your hair brushes? The drawer organizer for your makeup? Leave us a comment below and let us know.

You could be the winner of one of these fantastic prizes:
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These are a Few of My Favorite Things…

Ooh…kinda makes you wanna burst into song, doesn’t it? LOL!

My friend Marcia at Organising Queen tagged me for this meme. I love these! It gets me thinking and writing even when I feel blocked. So here goes – things that simplify my life:
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Can I Have a Drumroll Please?

Thanks to all of you for leaving such great comments - you have some great ideas on keeping your craft and sewing areas neat and organized! I may even feature some of these in upcoming posts!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for - here are the winners of our Win a Singer Sewing Machine Contest:
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Merry Christmas

Have a beautiful day!!

Contest Closed

Got a storage dilema in your kitchen? Leave us a comment telling us about your storage problem (and if you've found a solution, please tell us that, too!) and you'll be entered into a drawing for this solid rubberwood Kitchen Workstation from Home Styles, featuring locking industrial casters and all the storage space you need!

Or you could win one of these other great prizes:
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7 Things You Didn't Know About Me

B.L. Ochman tagged me on a “Seven Things You Didn't Know About Me” meme. So here goes!

1) In 42 years, I’ve moved 23 times.

2) I love music. Choir was my passion in high school. My friends and I used to go Christmas caroling in four part harmony the middle of the mall this time of year just because the acoustics were so good.
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Congrats to Our Contest Winners!

Ta-ta-da-da! And the winners of our Win a New Bedroom Contest are…

   • Grand Prize of a South Shore bedroom set goes to comment #116 - Judi!

   • First Prize of a goes to comment #57 - Charee!

   • Second Prize of a goes to comment #73 - Fidget!

   • Third Prize of a goes to comment #39 - Robin!

   • Fourth Prize of a goes to comment #113 - Rochelle!

Congratulations, we will be emailing the winners today. And thanks to all of you for entering - this was our best turnout ever! Stay tuned for our next big contest on Monday December 8th!

Last Day to Enter to Win a New Bedroom!

Contest Closed - check back tomorrow when we announce the winners!

One of our vendors, South Shore Furniture, has agreed to provide one lucky winner with this beautiful new bedroom set!

Here are all the prizes:

Grand Prize:
South Shore Furniture "Versa" Full/Queen Bedroom Collection with:
   • 1 headboard
   • 1 6-drawer dresser
   • 1 mirror
   • 2 nightstands
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Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Have an Amazing Day!!

It's Almost Contest time!

Woohoo!

We have our best contest ever starting on Wednesday, November 19th.

The Grand Prize is this five piece bedroom set from South Shore Furniture!

Other prizes include a bath organizer and a cabinet organizer from Organize It All, a luggage rack from Winsome, and a shoe rack from Polder.

Come back here on the 19th to enter!!

Show me your desk - a challenge

I posted this picture of a minimalist desk on my blog recently and people weighed in with their comments - most said it lacked personality but some said they liked it and actually wanted theirs to look the same.

Read all the comments here

So I came up with a wonderful idea!

Let's all show off our own desks - tidy, untidy, inspirational, messy, cluttered, minimalist, etc.
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Now Open: Neat and Simple Living Cafe

Ariane Benefit from the Neat & Simple Living Blog has created an amazing online gathering place called the Neat and Simple Living Café.

This "cafe" is a place to connect with like-minded people and support each other in dealing with common life challenges shared by creative people, ADDers, and most self-employed people. Here is an excerpt from the ‘welcome’ page:
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Stacks and Stacks Helps Canadian Village Go Green

The tiny village of Whale Cove in Northern Canada is finally going to have a recycling program, thanks to the efforts of a young villager named Sarah Igviksaq and StacksandStacks.com. This new program would help Sarah's small community pay for their sports teams to travel through the territories and do their part to save our planet.

Here is the letter we received from Sarah:
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Clutter Control Freak Blog in Top 10 Company Blogs!

Mack over at The Viral Garden
- a highly respected blog that reviews company blog sites according to a comprehensive scoring system - has been reviewing blogs for a year now and he’s placed Stacks and Stacks’ Clutter Control Freak Blog is in his top 10! Go CCFB!

Ten Simple Rules to Help You Avoid Organized Living

I found a lovely post that suits my cantankerous mood today. Enjoy!

Do you think that all the hype about organized living is a big joke? Are you tired of the "clear the clutter" mantra? Would you like to just go on in your own disorganized way?
Follow these 10 guidelines for how NOT to clear the clutter and I can guarantee you will be able to get more and more clutter and disorganization in your life and avoid organized living altogether!
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Back to School Goodies

Right 12, Left 37, Right 16 - that was my high school locker combination.

Back to school season is here! We're surrounded by lots of new notebooks, pens, paper tablets and my favorite… magnetic gadgets for lockers!

Even if you're all grown up, you can still get a bang out of these fun and functional items.
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