How To Help Your Child Be An Organized Student

The start of the school year is the perfect time to help your child develop skills that will lead to a successful school year.  One of the most beneficial skills a child can learn is organization.  Not only will learning how to be organized help your child do better in school this year, it is a life long skill that will benefit them in adulthood.

So, what can you do to help your child learn to be organized?  One of the biggest things you can do as a parent is to help them set up an environment and routines that encourage organization.

Creating Routines That Work
Most children thrive in a structured environment.  Routines provide predictability and stability that help a child feel safe and in control of their environment.  Creating and following a before school and after school routine will empower your child to take responsibility for their school life and make the transition to and home from school much smoother.

A routine will have a much better chance of succeeding if you solicit your child's input and preferences so involve your child in decision making process of a establishing a routine. 

Ideas to consider for a before school routine include putting out clothes, making lunch and packing their backpack the night before and deciding in what order they get ready in the morning.  Having a routine will make everything run smoother, discourage last minute morning chaos over what to wear and help your student to remember homework. 

The same goes for the after school routine.  Ideas to consider including emptying their backpack each day when they get home and putting important notes and homework in a designated spot.  Encourage them to do their homework at the same time each night and place it in their backpack when done so it doesn't get forgotten.

After coming up with the routines, help your child stick to the new schedule for the first couple of weeks until it becomes routine. 

Creating Environments That Foster Organization
Having organized areas to do homework and store school items are another way to encourage your child to be organized.

Mudroom Organization

For example, when you child walks in the door, make sure the mudroom or area where they take off their jacket and backpack is set up to help them easily follow their routine.  Ideas to consider include installing child-height hooks, cubbies or open lockers to store jackets, backpacks, shoes, hats and gloves.  Nearby, install wall mounted file folders and label one folder for parent communication, one folder for homework and one folder for artwork.  This will make it easy for your child to empty their backpack and will mean no missed permission forms for you and no forgotten homework assignments for your child.


Kitchen Office Space

Your child should also have a designated area to do their homework.  Depending on your child and your family, this can be a small office area right off the kitchen or in a quieter location of your home.  Set up the desk area with all the supplies they will need to complete homework assignments and color coded folders to hold homework assignments not yet started, in process and completed.

Off To a Great Start
Establishing routines and creating areas to foster organization will help your child have a successful school year and more importantly, help them develop organizational skills that will continue to benefit them for years to come.  Good luck and have a great school year!

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Do you have a mudroom designed to make your child's after school routine a success or a designated homework space designed to encourage organization?  If not, contact Closets For Life for a free in-home consultation.  We will meet with you at your home to assess your space, brainstorm design ideas to best meets your needs and create free custom 3D design of your project for you to review before ordering and installing your project.

Closets For Life is a custom closet company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including mudrooms, closets, office spaces, garages, laundry rooms, pantries, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business. 

Contact Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com. You can also visit our website at www.closetsforlife.com.

Enjoy The End of Summer - Closet For Life Style

Sure, we could be writing right now about some great project idea meant to inspire and motivate you into starting your next organization project. We could, but we're not going to because......

We are down to the last few weeks before Labor Day weekend people! The official end of summer.  We say go out and enjoy it! 

Have some friends over for a barbecue and relax.  We'll even provide you with some closet humour to amuse your guests with.  Who doesn't love a good closet joke?  You'll be the hit of the party (well, maybe) and when your done relaxing you'll be refreshed and ready to tackle your next organization project.

Joke #1:

Chuck Norris doesn't check his closet for the bogeyman. The bogeyman checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Joke #2:

What do you call a skeleton in a closet?
The winner of last year's game of hide and seek.

Joke #3:

Any closet is a walk-in closet if you try hard enough.

Joke #4:

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoebox in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about. For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoebox and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $25,000.

He asked her about the contents. "When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving.

He almost burst with happiness. "Honey," he said, "that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling the dolls."

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When you ready to tackle your next organization project, contact Closets For Life for a free in-home consultation. 

Closets For Life is a custom closet company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including closets, offices, garages, laundry rooms, pantries, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business. 

Contact Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com. You can also visit our website at www.closetsforlife.com.

Laundry Room Organization - 5 Ideas For Sorting Out Your Laundry Room

I recently saw a sign in a store that read 'Sorting Out Life One Load at a Time'.  Isn't that the truth?  With five people in our family, I spend a ridiculous amount of time in my laundry room letting my mind wander over the tomorrow's task list or a recent conversation with a friend while I sort, switch and fold laundry.  However, for all the time I spend in there, it was the last room in my house that was painted, decorated, and organized. 

Let's face it, no one wants to spend time in their laundry room but we really don't have a choice.  So why not put some effort into making your laundry room a more efficient and pleasant place to be in?  Here are 5 ideas to get you started.

1) Spice up your laundry room with color and pattern:
Your laundry room is one of the few rooms in your house where you can get away with something outside your normal color range and theme so have some fun with it!   That may mean a fun eye-popping color scheme or something tranquil and serene.  It's up to you.  Whatever you choose, make sure your choices make you happy to enter the room.

2) Short on space?  Here are three great space saving ideas to maximize your laundry room storage.

• Install a Pull Down Closet Rod like this one from Rev-A-Shelf.  A pull down closet rod will give you space to hang clothes right out of the dryer and then easily folds out of your way when you don't need it.
• Add a counter above your washer and dryer.  If you have a front loading washer and dryer, installing a counter over the top of your units will provide an ultra convenient folding space exactly where you need it.
• Utilize the space between your machines.  There are storage shelves designed to fit perfectly between your washer and dryer. This is a great place to store laundry supplies that stays out of sight when not in use.

3) Have a large laundry room? Add a laundry room island.
If you have the space, a custom designed island can feature pull-out laundry sorting bins, custom sized shelves designed to hold laundry baskets and a great laundry folding surface!

4) Add wall cabinets for storage.
Install wall mounted cabinets to store cleaning supplies.  The laundry room is a perfect place to store all of your cleaning supplies.  Cabinets keep them out of sight and away from little hands.

5) Designate spaces for everything!
Use bins and baskets to keep everything in its designated area.  Clearly label or color code the baskets to make it easy for everyone in the family to keep the laundry room in tip top shape.

Closets For Life is a custom closet company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including laundry rooms, closets, offices, garages, pantries, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business. 

For a free in-home consultation, contact Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com. You can also visit our website at www.closetsforlife.com.

Shawnessy Schwartz
Closets For Life Aficionado

Inspiration is Just a Click Away

Now a days home remodeling inspiration is just a click away.  Being an informed and educated customer about the choices available for your home project has never been easier.   Online resources like Pinterest and Houzz can be an excellent source for ideas on layout, color, features and extras.  Online sites have photos of just about any home project finished in a hundred different ways, giving homeowners a chance to dream about project ideas and think about questions to ask their contractor.

As a custom organization company that regularly works with homeowners, we love to see homeowners using the web to empower themselves in the home remodeling process.  Just last week we met with a homeowner, Jane, at her home for an in-home consultation.  Jane was looking to have a custom closet organization system designed for her master bedroom walk-in closet.  Prior to having us come out she had looked at several online sites, including Pinterest and Houzz, for ideas regarding what layouts and features she liked. 

Her research was very helpful.  Jane had a clear idea of what finish and features she liked and had discovered several ideas she loved and wouldn't have thought of otherwise.  Based on her research and our meeting, we were able to easily design a very specific plan custom tailored to her space that incorporated many of the ideas she had seen and ultimately exceeded her original goals.  

As a homeowner today, you are more empowered than ever before.  When considering a custom organization or any other home improvement project, take some time before meeting with your contractor to look on the Internet to get inspired.  We guarantee you will be happy you did.

Check out Closets For Life on Pinterest and Houzz.  Closets For Life is a custom closet company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including closets, offices, garages, pantries, laundry rooms, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business. 

For a free in-home consultation, contact Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com. You can also visit our website at www.closetsforlife.com.

Kitchen Cupboard Makeover - Pull Out Shelves

Want more functionality and storage capacity in your kitchen without a full kitchen cabinet remodel?  We have a great option for you.  Pull out shelves can easily be installed into existing kitchen cabinets and are a budget friendly way to make your kitchen a more enjoyable place to cook in.  We are here to tell you why a kitchen cupboard makeover will have you wondering why you didn't do it sooner!

The advantages to installing pull outs are numerous.  Pull outs can be utilized in many different ways to increase storage capacity or add better functionality to your kitchen.  For example:

• Installing pull outs for pantry item storage means an end to the black hole in the back of your shelf where canned items go to retire in peace, away from hungry people.  
• Roll out shelves installed near your stove for pots and pans can add storage capacity and make them easier to access by eliminating the 'leaning tower of pans' problem.  
• A pull out garbage can makes your garbage easily accessible and, more importantly, easily hidden.

  
These are just a few ideas.  Where ever you install your kitchen pull outs, they are guaranteed to deliver a more efficient kitchen, all without major remodeling.  

If you are interesting in seeing how Closets For Life can give your kitchen a cupboard makeover, contact us by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com for a free in-home consultation.  We will come out to your home to discuss your needs, assess your existing cupboards and then design a custom cupboard makeover tailored just for your kitchen.

Closets For Life is a custom organization company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including closets, offices, garages, pantries, laundry rooms, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business.

More Options For Your Custom Wine Cellar

Closets For Life is excited to announce that we are now a local independent dealer for Apex Wine Cellars.  Based in California, Apex Wine Cellars produces custom designed cellar creations that are handcrafted to match design and bottle capacity goals.  They offer several different collections in a wide array of finishes and materials that can be made to fit into the smallest closet space or up to large walk-in rooms that hold thousands of bottles. 

As a local independent dealer of Apex, Closets For Life will be able to offer our customers a bigger selection of wine cellar shelving options.  A wider choice of styles and finishes means we can design a wine cellar that perfectly matches a customer vision or better match an existing environment.

Apex Classic Collection Wine Cellar

Thinking about adding a wine cellar to your home?  Get inspired by going to the Apex Wine Cellars website and peruse through their huge photo gallery. 

Then, contact Rick Lyrek at Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com for a free in-home consultation where we can look at your wine cellar requirements and the designated space to begin designing your custom wine cellar.

Closets For Life is a custom organization company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including closets, offices, garages, pantries, laundry rooms, wine cellars and Murphy beds.  Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business.


Shawnessy Schwartz
Closets for Life Aficionado

Spring Cleaning Your Garage

We understand that the idea of cleaning out your garage probably sounds as exciting as going to get a root canal.  However, after a winter of cold weather induced neglect, our garages can get pretty dirty and cluttered.  Items left over from home projects such as paint and wood scraps get shoved in a corner because it seems the easiest place to store them.  Random boxes end up stacked next to the garbage can because it is cold and we don't want to deal with them.  And on top of all of this are the lawn mower, snow blower, rakes, shovels, tools and bikes that most of us have stored in the garage.  It is no surprise that by spring, we can barely pull our car into our garage without running into something!

We ask our garages hold a lot.  A little bit of time invested in taking care of your garage and the items inside it will have you feeling more organized and give your vehicles some much needed space.  Here are some helpful tips to get you started.

1) Recycle hazardous materials -
Do you have old paint, oil or other hazardous materials stored in your garage that can't be thrown in the garbage?  There are many businesses and other facilities that will accept and recycle hazardous materials.  To find out the options in your community, go to http://earth911.com/.  Simply input the item you want to dispose of and your zip code and the website will provide a list of nearby options.

2) Look up for storage -
Most garages have ample overhead space so why not utilize it?  Install suspended shelving from the ceiling or a high shelf along a back wall for extra storage that it out of the way yet still easy to access.

3) Garage door tune up -
Can you believe that along with getting up to change the television channel, you used to have to get out of your car and open your garage door?  Oh, the horror!  Along with the TV remote, the garage door opener has to be one of the most highly utilized and under appreciated household inventions.  To keep you garage door working on command, look to this article from Handyman Magazine that describes a handful of maintenance tasks, each requiring less than 10 minutes.

4) A good sweep -
Although it sounds like a big task, removing all the items from your garage and sweeping it out is a great way to force yourself to analyze its contents.  Don't worry, it will go faster than you think and the results will be amazing!  So drag everything out, give your garage a good sweeping and then analyze each item as you put it back in to decide if you still need or use it.  If you haven't touched it in a couple of years or if you can't even remember what it is for, you probably don't need it anymore.  You will be surprised at how many items you end up disposing of and, when you are finished, you will have gained back a lot of garage space. 

Looking for more?  Check out the Closets For Life website for garage organization solution ideas. Closets For Life is a custom closet company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including closets, offices, garages, pantries, laundry rooms, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business. 

For a free in-home consultation, contact Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com. You can also visit our website at www.closetsforlife.com.


Shawnessy Schwartz
Closets for Life Aficionado