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Helpful Resources
Next Clutter Support Group
Upcoming Classes
Getting Holiday Baking Organized


Helpful Resources: 

 

Have a Keurig Coffee Brewer? (or maybe it's on your list?)

The Keurig Coffee Pod Drawer Holder is a handy storage unit that takes up no more counter space than the brewer itself. The brewer rests on top of the drawer holder! The carousel is handy, too, but if you're limited on counter space, this could be just the thing! It's easy-to-wrap, and maybe "someone" can fill your stocking with coffee pods! Wow! What a Christmas!


Clutter Support Group

  

When: Monday,Jan. 14

Time:  6:30 - 8:00 pm

Where:  Downtown Allen County Public Library

Email: nikki@OLSinfo.com
Fee: $5 for room rental  
 

 

One attendee says, "I have learned so many amazing things...and made some small steps and at times giant leaps (of progress)". 

Upcoming Classes

Clutter Control: Paper Management and Home Organization at IPFW

 

January 23 & 30

6:00-8:30 pm

 

Call Division of Continuing Studies to Register:

481-6619

 

Fee: $59 or attend with a friend for $47

 

Emily in her office 

 
Emily Fitzgerald is a Certified Professional Organizer and founded Organized Living Solutions in 2003.  She helps her clients manage their information and stuff by creating personalized systems for the way they work.
 
 

       Nikki headshot

 

Nikki Fingerle works for OLS as a Professional Organizer specializing in Residential projects.  She enjoys working with clients to improve the look, feel and function of thier various living spaces.

 

Quick Links

 

Organized Living Solutions Newsletter
 
Warm up to Holiday Baking with these Organization Tips!

Greetings. Friends!

 

The holidays are here and they often come with the desire to bake up some yummy treats.  In order to make this process as enjoyable as possible, check out some of these organizing tips to streamline your kitchen. 

 

And if you happen to pare down some kitchen or household items in the process, please keep the Mustard Seed in mind (3636 Illinois Rd, Fort Wayne (260) 471-5802).  Their inventory is running very low right now due to a number of house fires they have assisted in.

 

I hope that your holidays are enjoyable and you have time for what matters most-the people in your life. 


Warmly,
Emily 
choc dipped pears

Getting Organized for 

Holiday Baking

 

 

Kitchen Layout--ideas that help year-round

Your everyday dishes (plates, bowls, drinking glasses and silverware) should be stored as close to the dishwasher as possible. Fewer steps to unload and put away dishes saves time and energy.  Special dishes, or even just extra place settings, can be stored in a china cabinet, hutch or the back of a corner cabinet when not in use.  For example, if there are only two of you, store a portion (1/3 to 1/2) of your everyday dishes away like you do with Christmas sets, Halloween centerpieces, and crystal wine glasses.

Since you cook at the stove, store all your spices, seasonings, oils and vinegars in a cabinet to the right or left of the stove. (It's nice to use a cabinet where the door opens away from you as you stand at the stove so you're not constantly dodging the door or having to step around it to reach what you need.)  Use a lazy susan (inexpensively purchased at your nearest discount store) and lower the cabinet shelf to adjust for lots of extra inches as well as tall bottles of oil and vinegar.

To clear the counter, find a magnetic sorter box to attach to the side of the fridge for coupons, takeout menus, a notepad (for your grocery list) and a pen.  As you run out of things, make a note right then and there on the notepad so you can maintain supplies as you dive into the holiday baking season.

The Yummy Part!

The best work space for holiday baking is the longest, uninterrupted countertop.  Try to store all baking items (tools, bowls, tins, sheets, and staple ingredients) in one cabinet along that stretch of work space.

As part of your kitchen-wide organization, use clear containers like shoeboxes or recycled, cleaned-out peanut butter or mayonnaise jars to store food coloring bottles, various-colored sprinkles bottles, and packets of mixes.

Finally, who doesn't want a cup of hot coffee to go with taste-testing the cupcakes, cookies, and pies? Dedicate a cabinet to all the related coffee-making accoutrements--a shelf or two for coffees, filters and teas, and another shelf for favorite mugs (travel mugs can go here, too). Use a cabinet near the sink so it's easy to fill the coffeepot--which you'll want to locate directly under that cabinet.

A happy baker makes delicious cupcakes!

 

 


When I cannot bear outer pressures anymore, I begin to put order in my belongings . . . . As if unable to organize and control my life, I seek to exert this on the world of objects.
-Anais Nin, from The Diary of Anais Nin
 
 
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