November 2011

Wednesday 11.30.11

4 Gifts Guaranteed to be at the Top of Everyone's List

'Tis the season for holiday parties galore! For an organized person, going to a party empty handed is bad, but giving something that the host will not use is worse! We often arrive at client's homes that are full of hosting gifts from parties that are truly going to waste. Giving gifts can be tough for sure, but NEAT's suggestions below are sure bets to give your favorite host.

Modern stationary, organized, Monogram, NEAT Method

You cannot go wrong with simple stationary. This time of year, people write tons of thank you notes and when the cards are this adorable, your hostess will be sure to use them up!

Veuve Clicquot Champagne, pink champagne, NEAT Method, good gifts

Wine is great... but bubbles.... now that's special! Give your host a reason to break out the bubbly at their next special occasion and with packaging like this, tie a bow on it and you are done!

Fraser Fir, Thyme products, Christmas scents, holiday

Between cleaning for the party and the dry weather that winter brings, your host is sure to love a treat for their hands. This set is perfect to put by the kitchen sink and the smells of frasier fir will undoubtedly get them in the holiday spirit!

Frango Mints, Chocolate, gifts, NEAT Method

You couldn't possibly think that two Chicago girls could give suggestions for gifts without doing a shameless plug for Chicago did you!? We're sorry but even if your host does not have a sweet tooth, they are bound to eat these up in a day. Seriously, Melt.In.Your.Mouth Delish!

What are your favorite gifts to give?

xx

Molly & Ashley

by Molly | posted in Storage | tagged HolidayGifts

Monday 11.21.11

A Thanksgiving Treat From NEAT

NEAT is just thrilled with Thanksgiving only 2 days away! Thanksgiving not only means spending time with family and friends, it means planning!! As you can imagine, list making is one of our top guilty pleasures ;) When big holidays come around, it can be hard sometimes to know where to start your planning. We wanted to give you some tips as well as a little gift from us for the holiday season.

Tip #1:: Be Inspired

The best way to get in the mood for the season is to be inspired by people who are doing it right. Here are a few of our favorites...

Thanksgiving, Table, Thanksgiving table, traditional, NEAT Method

Thanksgiving Decor, green apples, holiday, NEAT Method

Tip #2:: Be Prepared

After a Thanksgiving meal, it is easy to just throw things in containers, put them in the refrigerator and forget about them. Neat made these adorable stickers to put on your leftovers to help you remember when the food was prepared. These are great to give to your guests if you are sending them home with extra food as well.

NEAT Method, stickers, calendar, organizing,

Happy Thanksgiving

xx

Molly & Ashley

photo 1 :: photo 2 :: photo 3 :: neat stickers ::

by Molly | posted in NEAT Labels | tagged ThanksgivingStickers

Wednesday 11.16.11

'Tis the Season...For Babies!!!

It seems like everyone we know is calling to tell us the good news that they are…EXPECTING!!!! Always wonderful news to receive from close friends and family…but, seriously is there something in the water? Please let us know. NEAT is not quite ready for any NEAT-O’s just yet!!!

With such exciting news from so many moms-to-be, we thought we would share our favorite tips on preparing a baby’s room in the most organized and efficient way possible. We may be no experts with babies, but we’ve got the nursery setup down.

Baby Closet, Organized, Clothes, NEAT Method, Pink Closet, Closet Baskets

Tip #1::

Bins & Baskets. You MUST have lots of small bins and baskets for all of the baby’s little items. We recommend placing smaller ones inside of the individual drawers, in order to easily separate each item and larger ones in the closet filled with blankets, linens and extra supplies. The good news is you can reuse them for toys and art supplies, as the baby gets older. This is one of our favorites from the Container Store!

Organized Baby Room, Baby Room, Green Room, NEAT Method

Tip #2::

Location. Location. Location. Make sure to place all essentials within reach of where you will be using them. For example, your changing table area should contain diapers, wipes, diaper cream, q-tips, nail clippers, pacifiers and our all time favorite, the laundry basket since this is where you will be changing the baby. Oh...and make sure to have a basket filled with burp clothes near the space you feed the little one.

Drawer inserts, organized drawer, NEAT Method

Tip #3::

Fold instead of hang- Due to the amount of clothing your child will go through in a day. It is so much easier to maintain a drawer of folded clothing (or hide a drawer of un-folded….wink. wink.) Obvioulsy having the individual drawer dividers always makes it easier to keep items categorized. We recommend leaving the hanging space for special occasion clothing or coats.

organized shelf, baby room, baby, NEAT Method, green bins, white shelf

Tip #4:

Buy extra storage- Make sure you have a few extra storage containers for when the baby starts to out grow it's clothing. This way you are able to easily label those bins (0-3 months, etc.) and place them in storage for a future bambino or for donation. Again, one of our favorites from the Container Store.

We wish all of you who drank the water the BEST and please let us know if would like our help getting ready for your little NEAT-O!

xx,

Ashley & Molly

by Ashley | posted in Kids's room | tagged Kid's roomStorageContainer StoreBaby

Thursday 11.10.11

We're Hot for Your Drawers!

Seriously, we are hot for your drawers.... IF they look like this! We can't stop gawking at the beauty of Real Simple's organization in small spaces! Here are a few of our favorite photos:

organized drawer, bamboo organizer, junk drawer, NEAT Method, office supplies

Organized electronics, cords, arranged drawer, drawer inserts , NEAT Method

Organized tupperware, organized drawer, kitchen, organized kitchen, organize, NEAT Method

Send us a photo of your best drawer! (Keep it rated G people...)

xx

Ashley & Molly

** To read the full Real Simple article, click here.

by Molly | posted in Storage | tagged DrawersStorageReal Simple

Tuesday 11.08.11

Travel Essentials - How to Successfully Travel This Holiday Season

Traveling during the holidays can be an absolute disaster if you are not properly organized for a trip. Nina Garcia once tweeted that the key to good packing was to start a day or two early. Although we totally agree with this statement, there are a few more things that you can do to ensure stress free traveling. First, take a page out of Brad John's book. This co-founder of Flight 001 makes packing for two weeks look simple with this "how to" video.

How to pack for a 2 week trip with Spacepak from FLIGHT 001 on Vimeo.

three fluid ounces, travel, toiletries, organize, organizer, neat method

Since we both feel that we are experts in organizing for travel as well, we wanted to share with you our number #1 travel tips... consider it an early Christmas gift! Ashley cannot live without 3floz.com when she travels. Daily beauty regiments should not be discontinued while traveling. This amazing site lets you choose tons of luxury beauty products in... you guessed it... 3 fluid ounces. It is simply a dream come true!

modern desk, organized, home organization, NEAT Method, blue chair

Molly cannot travel without her wireless card. Nothing is a day ruiner quite like no internet on the plane, in your hotel or at your favorite coffee shop. Wifi cards are a small item to pack that can make a big difference while traveling. There are many options to choose from so it is best to go with a provider that is reliable... we will leave that decision up to you... :)

We would love to hear your packing tips too - let us in on your best kept secrets!

Safe travels!

xx

Molly & Ashley

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by Molly | posted in Storage | tagged TravelPackingOrganizedStorageTips

Welcome

We're Ashley and Molly, the founders of NEAT Method. Lets face it - we obviously love to organize and are a little...or maybe we should say a lot type-A. This perfect storm created The Neat Life. Welcome! We've seen it all, heard it all, organized it all, and are always obsessed with the outcome of our work. Even if a clutter free space doesn't tickle your fancy as much as ours, we guarantee you will be entertained by our antics and will enjoy following the lives of a couple NEAT freaks.
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