Category: Tips and Ideas

Finding You Order, Peace of Mind & Beauty

Peace of Mind

Finding You Order, Peace of Mind & Beauty

As 2020 draws to a close, the Changing Places team reflects on the year that was. Gratitude is the first word that occurs to us. We’re grateful for our clients, partners, hard-working staff and our collective health.

We’re grateful for the very mission we serve: to create order, peace of mind and beauty. Throughout this difficult year, as we’re spending more time at home, it is so gratifying to help our clients make order out of clutter, simplify and beautify their homes.

In this issue, we offer solutions to some of the nagging items on your “home to-do list” and expert tips to create more space.

Read more

Distance Learning & The Organized Home

Distance LearningPhoto: New York Times

We at Changing Places have run out of adjectives to describe life in the “new COVID-19 era”–different, challenging and uncertain are a few. Adding a layer of stress to our lives here in Northern California? The wildfires that are still raging in several counties, threatening homes and life and sanity. Oh, and school just started for many of our kids.

We know this much is true: Your home should be your haven. It should be a place where you find refuge, calm, peace and comfort. The dynamic and stressful world outside should stay outside.

The Optimal Kid’s Workspace

For most American families, the new school year has begun remotely from home, aka “distance learning”. We’ve collected several great tips to optimize the calm and order in your home, while also creating a productive learning space for your kids.

This New York Times article provides awesome tips for setting up a great, productive remote learning space for your kids:

  • Carve out space for schoolwork based on your child’s age and learning style.
  • Consider a rolling cart for moving school supplies from room to room on the fly.
  • A label maker can transform any workspace into one that feels neat and organized.
  • Hang a large white board in your kids’ work area and, depending on their age, use it to help them chart their various meetings and tasks, or do so for your entire family.
  • Headphones are not so much an organizational tool as they are a sanity tool. If you’re trying to work while one kid watches Khan Academy and the other enjoys Sesame Street, you’ll be glad for a set of headphones.
     

    Read more

Kitchen Organizing Tips

Kitchen Organizing

Help your kitchen live up to its full potential with the right organization tricks. Our area-specific ideas will get your most essential room in the house organized—and rid yourself of “clutter anxiety” for good.

1) Sort:

Tips before you start to sort “Like with like” is the key. As you review items in your kitchen, edit out anything that is:

  • broken/chipped
  • outdated
  • stained/torn
  • duplicated too many times
  • starting to take up space instead of being useful

2) Do:

Shelf lining: This will help preserve the condition of your shelves and drawers from accidental spills and rubbing from metal and/or plastic. This is especially helpful whether you’re a new home owner or renting. Assess current lining; if you’re reusing, clean and reinstall. This is a good time to switch out shelf lining if you don’t love your current product. We recommend lining under sinks throughout home as well as any high “traffic” area (e.g. mudroom cubbies, pantry shelves, laundry room detergent shelves, etc.). No liner is needed for glass shelves.

Read more

Unpacking & Organizing Strategies for a Fresh Start in Your New Home

You’ve probably heard the thoroughly researched data that moving is one of the most stressful of life events, ahead of divorce or a break up. Finding the best moving company, coordinating packing, and then dealing with a dysfunctional home for weeks after moving day are huge contributors to this stress.

Fortunately we’re here to help get your home organized as fast as possible. If you’re looking for some practical, easy-to-understand tips for stress-free unpacking, take a look at this unpacking article from lifestyle website thespruce.com. Some highlights:

  • Get the essentials unpacked first, then take your time with the rest of the house.
  • Plan each room before you unpack too many boxes.
  • Anticipate future needs. Rather than putting off work—such as lining cabinet shelves or installing closet organizers—do it now, when it is most efficient.
  • Let each member of the family unpack their own bedroom, as applicable. This allows kids to participate in the event.

Spring Home Organizing Tips

Spring has sprung! Are you organized?

Start by studying how you and your family move about your house. Recognize how you utilize each room, and how often you’re there–this will help prioritize your organizing. We’re offering some basic and clever tips for overall home calm: 

Spring Home Organizing

1. RESIST THE PILE HABIT
Most of us walk into our house with purses, groceries, keys, and more. An intuitive “drop zone” off your main entryway creates a home for essential items. It may include a key rack, an inbox for kids’ artwork or bills, or an attractive container for everyday items.
Bonus: Find space in your entryway for a custom–or makeshift–mudroom area.
 

Read more

Ultimate Holiday Gift

Ultimate Holiday Gift

Looking for a holiday gift for someone special?
Give the ultimate gift of organizing:
A Changing Places Gift Certificate

Give Yourself the ultimate gift of organization this Holiday Season Between planning a holiday party, shopping for gifts or hosting company, it feels like your to-do list never ends. Changing Places can help keep you organized and on track during the craziness of the holiday season.

How we prepare you for the holidays:

  • clear clutter throughout the house
  • organize your most-used rooms
  • install lights and decorations
  • organize and stock your kitchen for holiday cooking
  • prepare guest rooms to welcome family and friends
  • arrange furniture to allow socializing
  • donate unwanted items to charities
  • create room in your garage for holiday overflow

Contact us for help this holiday season and beyond.
415-461-6256    |   Info@Changing-Places.com

 

Condo Renovation Project

This 1,200 square foot condo was constructed in 1975. Until renovation, nothing in the condo had been updated since it was built. From start to finish, the renovation took only 2 1/2 months.

Renovation Details:

  • 160 hours of wall plastering
  • 9 hours of electrical upgrading
  • Popcorn removal
  • Fireplace mantel installation
  • Kitchen gutted and replaced with an ecological chief’s kitchen
  • Kitchen storage increased by 35%
  • 3 pocket doors and 1 barn door – 4 new installations
  • Molding throughout
  • New carpets
  • 2 new bathrooms

Retail Cost: $145,000

Office Renovation Before & After

 

Downstairs Renovation Before & After

 

Kitchen Renovation Before & After

 

Family Room Renovation Before & After

 

 

 

 

Don’t Leave It To Your Heirs: Decluttering Tips For The Senior Community

DownsizingGiven the growing aging baby boomer population around the country, senior decluttering is a HOT topic.

More often, heirs are left with the daunting task of clearing a house that contains decades of clutter. Here’s how to avoid leaving the workload – and the stress – to your heirs.

START IN THE ATTIC
When you’re up against your memories, remember that you are simplifying your life NOT erasing your past.

Read more

15 Tips for a Stress-Free Move

It may be a happy occasion, but a move is still a disruption of your routine. And any disruption of your routine causes stress. Moving disrupts the entire family.

Moves are considered one of the top five biggest stressors in life (alongside job loss, divorce and major illness).

If moving is so stressful, why do we do it? According to Forbes Magazine we move for positive reasons: to start a family or a new job; to live on our own, be closer to work or retire; to have a yard for a dog.

When the tasks associated with the move start to seem unbearable, take a deep breath and remember why you’re moving. This alone will reduce stress.

Read more