Monday, February 17, 2014

Simple Solutions Series: Kitchen Utensil Storage

I have a spacious kitchen, but limited storage space in the area of "primary real estate". I qualify that because I am a "petite" woman and the cabinets that are in my reach are limited, without getting a stool. I am willing to get a stool occasionally, but not for everyday needs.  So, I only have one drawer available for utensils and it is pretty shallow. I have purged this drawer several times and use everything in it, although admittedly, not everyday.

I decided to give a utensil caddy a try. I really don't like them as a rule, because they tend to get dusty and take up important counter space (another thing I am limited on). But, given my tight quarters in the drawer, I thought it was worth a try.

I had been given this beautiful cut glass vase and thought it might be perfect as it was really bottom heavy and stable. I chose the top 6 or 7 utensils that I use on a daily basis (ladle, thin spatula, large spatula, small spatula, spork, slotted wooden spoon and flat ended wooden spoon) and stuck them in. Any more would not have fit and I wanted them to come in and out with ease. My husband immediately told me how handy it was and how much he liked it. We both really appreciated the extra space in the drawer, making it so much easier to put away, open & close.

This simple reorganization and re-purposing of our utensils has made such a difference in our kitchen. Would it help you in yours?

For help with any organizing project,
simply call Linda, 716-631-5619.

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Organizing the 2014 Photos & Videos

As I mentioned in my last post, I have LOTS of digital photos; 18,856 to be exact. While I view, edit and organize them through Picasa, my basic file structure is a folder hierarchy that is based on year/month. (My folders have a little, green check mark because I sync/backup my files using Skydrive.)

My instructions depend on the prerequisite that you know how to make a folder on your computer. I have included three links to Youtube videos to help you with this. Even though you may know already how to do this, you may want to view all three as they are brief and they have handy tips- I even learned some new things!

Create a new folder - Windows 1

Create a new folder - Windows 2

Create a new folder - Mac

After you have viewed the videos, first go to your Pictures folder (or create one in your Finder if you are on Mac) and create a folder named @Yearly Photos or 1. Yearly Photos. The @ sign or 1. merely prioritizes it so it sorts to the top automatically when alphabetized.

Next, Create a Folder named 2014, then create 12 more folders that name the months of the year, as follows. If you mimic my name labels, then your year will sort in order, like mine does. If you just use the month name, it will sort alphabetically unless you number them in the name, i.e. 1. January.

 If you have other photos & videos from previous years that need filing, follow the same procedure for each year. You can simply highlight and drag the files (copy & paste) into your new folders, as shown in the videos.

As you download photos & videos from your phone, camera or emails, search for the appropriate month's folder and save them in it. You can certainly make sub-folders within the month, such as First Day of School, Trip to China, if you want to. I do this for some, but not all of the photos.

I keep most of my photos this structure, however, I have other topic titles for certain ones I like to keep separate. School Portraits, House Photos and Business Photos are all examples of additional folders I keep in my Pictures folder, in addition to Yearly Photos.

Good luck with your photo sorting. Let me know how it goes!

For help with any organizing project,
simply call Linda, 716-631-5619.

Comments Welcome!
If the comment box is not visible, click on the "(No) Comments" link
~ Counter-intuitive, I know, but it's a Blogger quirk!