thank you daily candy!!

duuuuude. words cannot describe. i'm beyond thrilled and honored that daily candy featured us yesterday. if you missed it, click here.

Shred Or Go Home!

Look at my fun new toy!!! Nathan at AIM Mail Center in Glendale made this fun new license plate holder for the Bneato automobile (aka a Scion). I'll have to start practicing on being a better driver (I have been known before to get a little impatient behind slow drivers...). How fun (and totally ridiculous is this)? I would have never spent money on one before but I won a gift certificate to Nathan's store and he suggested I get a personalized license plate holder--and I thought, why the heck not?!

Organizing Receipts

Having a simple way to handle receipts will save you tons of time
1. Just say no. Grocery store receipts are rarely needed so just say no at the check out line and decline the receipt.
2. If you use your credit/debit card at Target, they're able to pull up your receipt (so again--you can feel confident declining the receipt at the register).
3. Have a place for your receipts to go in your purse or wallet. Go through them when you get home and transfer them to an active storage spot.
4. Your active storage spot might be a small drawer or an accordion file folder. Each week (or as often as needed) go through your active file spot and recycle or shred receipts that you no longer need.
5. If you're going to hang onto your receipts long-term, think about scanning them in. Most receipts are printed on thermal paper (which fades over time). Plus, the IRS prefers scanned in paperwork (which means less clutter)!
6. Fijitsu SnapScan and Neat Receipts are great products to invest in for scanning paperwork.

How To: Organize A Purse

Not being able to find an item when we need it is a big cause of frustration. Not only can we not find the item, it usually happens when we’re already running behind or just about to leave the house. To prevent wasting time looking for items in our v. large purse, we’ve organized our purse to suit our needs. Because our big ‘ole red purse (thank you Jessica Simpson) has 5 smaller compartments and one big compartment--we’ve assigned each space a specific function. For items we use all the time, the outside compartments are homes for things like business cards, a cell phone and chewing gum. The inside pockets hold items like pens and our sunglasses with the biggest compartment holding our wallet, notebook and bigger ticket items. Now, when we go to use our cell phone or put on lip gloss, we know just the pocket to look in. When we’re done, back it goes. How do you organize your purse? Is it a big one like ours or do have an extremely organized smaller purse?

Organizing Studio Space

A majority of clients that turn to Bneato for help are business owners whose businesses have become swamped overnight (and need help with creating new systems to keep their workflow organized). A new client of ours that fits this bill is Suzy Yun, creator of fashion forward clothing line, Unhee. Suzy, like many of Bneato’s clients, has an organized mindset but became overwhelmed when the clothes she was making starting flying off the rack. It’s no wonder with clients like Selma Blair and Tyra Banks wearing your line, fashionable women take notice (and want to buy an outfit or two). Enter Bneato--we’re working with Suzy’s current work style and taking it to the next level (without making it hard to follow). We love creating systems that are accessible to each client’s lifestyle (so the systems can grow with them as their business keeps thriving). Check back next month to see our process in action (plus the “after” pictures).

Jenn's Organized Closet

Hello Beth-

I did my closet this weekend and it was GREAT!
Your suggestions were wonderful and made it easy to accomplish. I used the bed as you noted, it is a great space to be able to rummage through the piles easily without getting up and down off the floor. I also used bins like you suggested... I now have enough room to fit my HUGE yoga ball and ALL my exercise stuff and clothes ALL in the closet. WOW! I spent under $30.00 for the neat stripped bins, hanger and curtains (garage sale find) and a new upright clothes hamper. I utilized the shoe rack and shelves that I already had but arranged them in a better way to fit within the closet nicely. The best thing was that I found clothes that I love and have not worn in a long time because they were too hidden and now they are out and easily accessible to wear. I also found clothes that I tried on and NOW they fit.... Thanks to All About You Exercise Boot Camp! In total, I got rid of 4 bags of clothes and shoes etc. from my closet. 
It is such a difference without the cluttered look and it is calming and peaceful in my bedroom now! 

P.S.; I wanted to say that I also went to the web for images of organized closets for inspiration--it made it so much fun to get started!

Thank you Beth so much!

The Cluttered Closet

Dear Bneato,

I have a closet that is filled to the max! I don't have much space to hang clothes because the shelves I put in for folded clothes occupies half of my closet space. I am at a place now where I'm ready to clean out my closet. I was folding laundry the other day and noticed that I was folding a shirt that is in the wash almost every week... When I looked at the rest of the clothes in the pile I realized that these are the same clothes I wash almost every week. Then I went to my closet...which was full of all the clothes I hardly ever wear! Not to mention, I have no space to store seasonal clothing. So what to keep and what to toss? As a frequent exerciser, I’ve been shedding the pounds recently, and am still losing weight--so I know the bigger clothes that don't fit can go out (I never want to fit into those again)! Are there any tips or tricks that can help me tackle the closet clutter?

• Have a time sensitive goal before you start. Most folks tend to just start organizing without planning first. In order to avoid frustration and running out of time, it’s best to round up supplies, clear a space and have a vision for how you want your space to function.
• Once you have marked out a time to start, you’ll want to round-up supplies and clear a space. We like to have sorting bins on hand (the Container Store makes easy to use collapsable bins). But feel free to keep it simple and use paper grocery bags or cardboard boxes for sorting. You’ll want to label your boxes with post-it notes. When we organize a closet, we typically use the bed as a place to sort clothes. You could also take a sheet and lay-out extra sorting space on the floor.
• Label your sorting bins according to your clothes categories. Some categories you’ll most likely have are SWEATERS/JEANS/PANTS/DRESSES/SKIRTS/SHOES, etc.
• Start with the items on the floor first and make your way through your closet. Once you’re done pulling everything out of the closet, it’s time to process your first category of clothes. (If you’re tackling your closet in smaller chunks of time, instead of pulling out everything at once, focus on only one category at a time).
• Let’s pretend you’re processing the blouse category first. I like to further sort items by color. That way, if you realize you have 10 black blouses, you’ll feel less guilty about letting a few go.
It’s also smart to have a limit of how many you’ll keep. You might set a rule of only 3-5 items per color category (4 black blouses max) or 10-15 items total per category (14 blouses max). Make the rule realistic for you.
• For each blouse you pick up, ask yourself--When did you wear it last? If it’s been over six months to a year, you can safely (and without guilt) let it go. Do you love it? Does it have holes? Does it fit (here’s your chance to try it on). If it doesn’t fit properly--let it go!
• Continue with processing each category until you’ve gone through your entire closet.
• Since your closet is clear, now is your chance to vacuum, dust, paint, alter shelving or add shelving depending on what clothes you’re hanging on to.
• If you notice that you need extra bins for belts or new hangers for a more streamlined look--now is the time to pick up those items.
• Put clothes back into the closet by function. Whatever you wear the most, make sure it’s the easiest to access. I like to color coordinate items by category (but make sure to use a system that will work for you)!

Maintenance is a must to keep your closet organized.

• Set up rules for shopping. Each time you buy a new item--donate an item.
• Attend clothing swaps with friends in order to keep your clothes current and it will give you the opportunity to go through your clothes and know exactly what you own.
• Hang your hangers facing the door. Each time you put an item back, face the hanger in the opposite direction (towards the wall). At the end of a 3 month period, you’ll know exactly what you never wear (and feel less guilty about donating those items).

Apartment Therapy; Los Angeles

Wow. It’s been a busy 2008. We’ve traveled quite a bit, helped a bunch of clients get their lives (and paperwork) organized and just secured our first business loan! Whoo hoo. Oh--and we’ve also been freelance blogging for Apartment Therapy for almost 2 months now (such a challenging job but oh, so rewarding!).
The mission of Apartment Therapy is “Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.” While I do write about what I think is cool and well designed I love to write about organizing. Whether I’m blogging about an antique mail caddy that has been turned into a shoe organizer or I talk about the 3 best organizing tips that i tell my clients--it’s all in the name of organizing. You can click here to read all of my previous posts on apartment therapy; Los Angeles that relate to organizing and be sure to check back often for more great tips and tricks to help you reach your organizing goals.