Great class tonight. Thank you Missy!

This was week TWO of my "Decorating Divas" class at PCC.  Week one we cover the basics of design.  Week two, we get ready to begin our projects by making space by clearing out the clutter.  Since I'm SURE the class gets tired of my face, I asked Missy Gerber, of Organizers NW to guest speak for this class.  She offered us GREAT information and practical advice (below)!  Thank you very much, Missy for giving up a bit of your evening.

Visit her online @

Missy Gerber, Organizers NW

Organizing your space (and feel free to comment here, Missy!) can be broken into a five step process, easily remembered by the acronym:  SPACE (create more)

• Sort - when organizing your space, say a clothes closet, sort like items together...do you really need 6 white blouses? Sort:  To Keep/To Sell/To Toss
• Pare down/Purge - get rid of things that don't fit, that you don't love, that don't suit your life, don't nurture your heart
• Assign - a place for it to go...WHERE exactly are you going to keep that oh so fascinating object d'art?
• Contain - NOW you can run to the store (or the garage?!?) and organize what's left
• Evaluate - periodically, revisit the organized area...evaluate what's working, re-work what's not

Many questions were posed by the class including organizing a pantry, jewelry, dealing with spouses with habits ... different... than ours.

We also heard some great quotes that I thought expanding on for upcoming articles would be fun:

• "Horizontal Surface Abuse" (loved this one).  Picture it.  Dining room table.  You've come home (mail on the table).  Kids come home (school papers to sign and homework...on the table).  Sweetie comes home (keys, wallet, glasses, tie, pocket schrapnel, receipts, parking stubs, dry cleaning ticket, spare change...all on the table). 
• "Postponed Decisions" (guilty)  Go visit the dining room table.  Or the "inbox" or the "To Do" folder.
• "Paralyzed by Perfection" (again, guilty)  You absolutely, positively can't even THINK about getting organized until you've visited Storables, The Container Store and Office Max for the perfect organizing system, consulted your interior designer on the floor plan, selected the perfect paint color, purchased and installed your perfect new, ergonomically correct desk AND re-carpeted your office.  Phew.  I'm tired just typing it, let alone doing it.  Soooo, just do it!

And several suggestions you should try for immediate gratification:


The Useful Drawer

A few other notes...a pantry that isn't super functional can benefit from retro-fitted drawers installed in your cupboards:  Frank Morgan - Pullout Shelves