Some people dread the due diligence of home ownership, but for me, organizing and caring for

 one’s home is one of life’s simple joys.  That’s not to say I don’t suffer from a messy garage like

everyone else, but given limitless time and resources, I would trick out my garage until it looked like

 a feature in Martha Stewart Living magazine.  Honestly, I think being organized is a lifeline to sanity.

Sometimes, in fact, when my life gets too chaotic and I feel like I’m losing control, I find one small

 project – like organizing the kitchen junk drawer – and suddenly life feels much more manageable. 

It seems I’ve been tackling a lot of small projects lately.  Upon the completed renovation of the new

Huntley & Co. office space, we were besieged by three floods in 6 weeks.  Furniture was damaged,

walls warped and the carpet had to be ripped out and replaced on all three occasions.  2011 has

certainly been a bit stressful thus far.  The silver lining?  I have the most organized design studio in

the city.  Every container and every drawer is labeled.  The office supplies are sorted, the tools are

sorted, the light bulbs and cables are sorted.  We even created thumbnail “cheat sheets” for the

boxes containing our accessories.  Aaahhh.  Type A?  Definitely.  A little neurotic?  Probably. 

I may have gone a little “Martha”  in the past few months, but it’s better than going postal!

The aforementioned – and now organized – kitchen junk drawer.

What woman doesn’t want her beauty supplies in order?  My new house came

equipped with a long vanity and lots of drawers in my master bath – a rarity for

many residences in Georgetown.  I delighted in sorting and organizing my products

after years of stashing them away in closets and in baskets under the sink.

 The Huntley & Co. library is much more pared down these days because we

do so much work on the internet, but there is still a lot to keep organized.  Elfa

shelving, storage boxes, magazine caddies and plenty of hooks make it possible.

The “handyman” storage area in my office complete with tool belt, drill, toolboxes, light bulbs and cords.

Love me my toolbox.

We can’t keep everything in our toolbox, nor do we need to.  This

2-tier drawer caddy sorts all the miscellany in our designer bag of tricks.

This 8-drawer Bisley cabinet is great for sorting small and/or thin items

that can get lost on a shelf – labels, stamps, file folders, photo sleeves, etc.

The label maker.  Whether you love or hate this machine will tell you a lot about

what kind of person you are.  Perhaps a good litmus test for potential hires?

For my own office, it’s important that things are organized, but I also need the

space to be bright and cheery with personal touches that have meaning for me.

And perhaps the biggest challenge of all – my desk.  I like to have things visible and at

my fingertips, but my desktop can become cluttered quickly.  I rely on a vertical file divider,

small dishes and bowls for small items, and the all-important tray to contain the chaos. 

While in my sort-file-purge mode, I’ve clipped several articles and made note of other ways I can keep 

the “Martha-train” going and fine tune it even more.  Check out the resources below for helpful tips. 

– MARCH, TIME TO PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER –

article, The Washington Post

– PAPER: FILE THIS STORY UNDER ‘GETTING ORGANIZED’ –

article, The Washington Post

– RACHEL STRISIK, LIFE STYLIST –

daily deal, Living Social

I just purchased a 2-hour professional organizing session for my boyfriend

as a gift.  Check out Rachel’s website to see what services she offers.

– A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING: ORGANIZING THE STUFF OF LIFE –

– REAL SIMPLE: THE ORGANIZED HOME –

 books

I own these two books and love to flip through them for clever ideas.  Both

offer stylized solutions for a simplified, beautified home/office/garage, etc.

Good luck and happy organizing!

 Tricia xo