Going off to college is an exciting time however organizing and maximizing the space in a college dorm room can be a bit challenging. Most likely you won’t be stepping foot in your room until the day you’re moving in with your belongings in tow. This means planning has to take place without dimensions and feel for the room. Room size also adds to the challenge. Your room will probably (and hopefully) be the smallest space that you ever have to live in. To ease the burden of dorm room planning and organization, I shared tips and tricks on WFMZ-TV’s Sunrise Show. (Click here for TV segment.)

This year while completing my annual “dorm room” shopping trip (I have been staging dorm rooms for the past 8 years) I was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of innovative and reasonably priced products on the market. Shopping was fun and quick with a large selection of colors and styles to choose from.
My goal was one-stop shopping, saving time and stress. I found all the products below at the local Bed Bath & Beyond store with the exception of the refrigerator stand. The refrigerator stand is from our local and online store All Bright Ideas.

During my dorm room shopping spree the following items caught my eye:

Grommet Totes –Totes are great for storing smaller items. Toss items in and store more vertically. The sides of the tote enable you to maximize vertical storage space. The grommet on the front of the bin provides the ability to easily “grab and go.”

Bedside Caddy – This caddy keeps all your bedside needs (water bottle, iPod, tissues, eyeglasses, remote, etc.) within reach. It secures under the mattress. The bedside caddy is a must for a loft or bunk bed dweller.

Backpack Laundry Bag – This laundry bag allows you to easily transport laundry to and from the laundry room. Just slip your arms through the backpack straps. A large compartment holds laundry detergent.

Mesh Shower Tote – Finally a shower tote for the college guys out there. This masculine style tote stores and transports shower needs.

Day/Night Shower Caddy – This innovative caddy includes an insert which can be used separately allowing you to decide how much you need to tote to the bathroom. The middle section pulls out reducing the size of your tote – ideal when you don’t need to take all of your showering items with you.

Bed in a Crate – Similar to Bed in a Bag, this 11-piece crate set was created for residence hall living. You get 11 color coordinating essential items including an XL twin comforter.

Rise n’ Store – Create more storage under you bed by adding bed risers. These unique bed risers have storage compartments built in for your iPod, remote, tissues, etc. Check with your college or university to find out if bed risers are permitted in your residence hall.

Slimline Hangers – The ultra-slim design of these hangers maximize closet space so you can fit more in less space. These hangers are flocked so they hold clothing in place. Hang sweaters and other knits without getting shoulder bumps.

Desk Lamp Organizer – Organize your workspace while illuminating your desktop. The lamp base has built in compartments to store office supplies or items you would like compartmentalized.

Dorm Space Saver Shelving – Make the most out of your small space. Add freestanding shelving to your room with this behind-the-bed unit.

Refrigerator Stand – Add convenience and storage by placing your refrigerator or Microfridge on a refrigerator stand. Gain storage space underneath and you’ll no longer need to kneel to see what’s in the frig.

Large Plastic Drawers (available in store-in at Bed Bath & Beyond) – Maximize the space under your bed by adding drawers or a wire basket system. Store sweaters, sports gear, blankets or off-season clothing.

Command Hooks (available at office supply, grocery, hardware, and craft stores) – These hooks and poster strips are a must for college bound students. Command provides damage-free organizing and decorating. Easily hang a curtain rod with Command hooks. Get a Command coupon.

Most colleges and universities provide a checklist of recommended items to bring. Check your college’s website to see if they offer a checklist. Here’s a packing list for college to get you well on your way.

Wishing you a wonderful college experience,

Image Courtesy BrotherUSA.com

Today on WFMZ-TV’s morning news show Diane shared with viewers tips and tricks on how to regain control after the holidays. She showed how labeling your cords and cables can save you time and stress. The Simply Stylish PT-1090 Label Maker has a special cable labeling feature to make labeling quick and simple.

Diane demonstrated how to keep cords at bay or tucked against a wall or desk buy using Command cord clips by 3M. Command allows you to place the clips where you need without the worry of damaging walls or other surfaces.

Diane showed how to eliminate the cords required to recharge your electronic devices.  Powermat simplifies charging by allowing you to charge over a thousand devices with one Powemat.

Are you struggling to remove price stickers off or have you accidentally put a postage stamp or label in the wrong place? Diane showed viewers how Un-du can quickly solve your dilemma. Un-du is a temporary adhesive neutralizer for non-water based adhesive. Water based adhesives are the type you moisten to stick such as an envelope.

To receive more tips and tricks on getting organized and staying organized, sign up for our free online newsletter, Organizing Made Easy and become a fan on Facebook.

If you live in close proximity to Allentown, Pennsylvania consider attending our free SOAR (Socialize, Organize, Accessorize, and Revitalize) Event on Sunday January 9, 2011 and helps us celebrate “GO Month” (Get Organized Month). This event is free to the public, but we highly recommend registering. Click, for more information.

Wishing you a happy GO Month,

Eve Tannery, Matt Broderick, Diane Albright, Jaciel Cordoba

I recently was invited to join news anchor Eve Tannery on WFMZ-TV’s Sunrise Show to discuss the cost of disorganization in workplace. As always, Eve, Jaciel Cordoba, Matt Broderick, Rick Edwards and the entire Channel 69 news team were warm and welcoming. It is a delight to be among such wonderful professionals. I felt honored to be behind the news desk.

A recent survey completed by Brother International provided us much to talk about. The survey, on the cost of disorganization in the workplace, polled office workers.

I shared with TV viewers quick and simple tips on how to increase organization and productivity in the office. To learn about the cost of disorganization in the workplace as well as the tips I provided visit http://dianealbright.com/blog/2010/11/10/workplace_disorganization
To view the segments on the Sunrise Show go to http://wfmz.com/news/25755056/detail.html

If you or your team is struggling with disorganization or productivity in the workplace, consider applying my trademarked methodology, Work Piles Made Easy™. To learn about consultations or presentations, email or call us at 866.NEAT.911 and organize@DianeAlbright.com

I wish you organizing & productivity success!

This morning on The Sunrise Show Diane enjoyed sharing with the viewers tips and tricks on travel planning and packing.

Whether you are looking to save money on travel or simplify the packing process, you’ll find lots of helpful information by clicking on the links below.

How to Find Low Air Fare

Save Money on Hotel Stays

Car Rentals for Less

Preventing Travel Mishaps

Luggage to Love

Suitcase Packing Made Easy

Packing Checklist

We wish you happy and safe travel!

Diane is on Facebook and Twitter!

Today on the WFMZ-TV’s Sunrise Show Diane provided tricks and tips to simplify the holidays. Viewers learned how to save time, stress, and money during this holiday season.

Diane showed how to send out Christmas cards thru Internet that arrive in the postal mail without ever having to leave your home – you can send one for free. She also provided viewers a free shopping planner and a method to complete all your Christmas shopping in one day. For those overwhelmed with tasks to complete for the holidays, you may want to print out Diane’s communication board for family tasks.

Viewers learned an easy way to organize sales receipts and order postage stamps by mail. They also learned that the products they purchased this holiday season may have an automatic extended warranty included at no extra charge.

Diane demonstrated products to simplify storing Christmas tree lights and hooks to hang decorations from brick walls and fireplaces and hooks that go on walls, mantles, and windows without damaging the surface. If watering your Christmas tree is a struggle each year, be sure to see the product Diane found to make watering your tree simple.

It was an exciting and fun experience working as a Professional Organzier on the show “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” on TLC. “Time to Organize” was filmed in the basement of Jon and Kate Gosselin’s home. The Gosselin kids were adorable! The producers and film crew were awesome. By the end of the filming, I think the crew was in awe of what organizing experts do. This project could not have been completed without the help of my associate, Professional Organizer Paula Davis. Thank you Paula!

Even though Kate Gosselin was already organized and efficiently running her home near Philadelphia and Allentown, PA, she knew she could benefit from working with a Professional Organizer. Organized people do have a need for Professional Organizers, and therefore hire them. My organizing firm and the associates in my organizing store work with organized people all the time. Our clients know we take it one step further and pay attention to the detail, like labeling or researching the best possible products for our clients. These details are what organized people long for but don’t have the time to complete. Kate Gosselin exemplified this best when I introduced her to the label maker, a simple device she didn’t know existed. By her reaction you would have thought she found a box of lost diamonds! Of course we loved Kate’s reaction to the label maker because label makers are near and dear to every Professional Organizer’s heart, maybe the next best thing to diamonds.

Kate also loved the clear card pockets we put on the ends of the storage boxes in the basement enabling Kate to easily read what is stored in the boxes — especially when it comes to storing clothing for her twins and sextuplets. The ability to turn the card around and write on the other side (when the contents in the box change) amazed Kate. We even tucked extra cards in the pockets for Kate so she could change the contents of the box year after year if needed. I, along with our staff of Professional Organizers, want to insure that the organizational systems that we create for our clients last a long time. We also want to make it simple and natural for our clients to maintain it.

We added label holders to her wire shelves that easily snapped around the wire. We established categories (such as electronics, keepsakes, clothing, outdoors, etc.) to provide Kate and the Gosselin household the highest level of organizational retention. We don’t want to just get our clients “stuff” organized. We want our clients to easily and successfully retain the organization we create.

We placed the sextuplets and twin’s baby keepsakes and school memorabilia in acid free and lignin free storage boxes. We selected archival quality boxes to help insure the safe keeping of precious memories. We used a longer box to store and accommodate the children’s art work.

We were selective in the type of wire shelving we installed for Kate. Kate had large heavy tubs of clothing for the twins and sextuplets that she wanted to store on shelving along with a variety of boxes and household items. We knew we couldn’t use free-standing shelving as it isn’t adjustable to fit the height of Kate’s tubs. We also knew that the wire shelving system had to be heavy-duty so it could withstand the weight of the heavy tubs. Lastly it had to be a storage system that could be installed quickly and easily that very same day, a system that a homeowner could install himself. Bottom line, we needed a high quality storage system that is easy to install.

Be sure to visit TLC’s website. They have posted on their site “Diane Albright’s Organizing Tips from “Time to Organize” with Jon & Kate Plus 8. These tips include a few tips that didn’t air but were used during the organizational process. Of course there was much more organizing done than what TLC was able to squeeze into a 30-minute time slot. There also were tips and methods that Kate opted to decline, like the gift wrapping center, which were eliminated during editing. We encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter and blog as we will be posting in detail some of these “never before seen” tips and methods from Jon & Kate Plus 8.

If you missed the episode or would like to see it again, view TLC’s episode guide to find the next airing of “Time to Organize” on Jon & Kate Plus 8 - Season 5, Episode 16.

Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below.