A graphic of declutter hub's favourite organising products for example, boxes, trays and files

Episode 109 – Our favourite organising products

In this episode, we are discussing the organising products we love and cannot live without. We get asked all the time by our friends, colleagues, clients and members in our VIP membership what our favourite organising products are! So Lesley and I have decided to create a list on our website with the items we go to time after time.

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Transcript of this podcast episode

Intro  0:07  
Welcome to today's episode of The declutter of podcast, your channel for super easy, no nonsense advice on how to declutter and organise your home. Please welcome your hosts professional organisers, Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman.

Ingrid  0:32  
Hello, and welcome listeners to Episode 109 of the declutter hub Podcast. I'm Ingrid. And I'm Lesley. If you have clutter and want to sort it out, this is the show for you. And in today's episode, Lesley and I are talking about our favourite organising products.

Lesley  0:50  
I know it's not something that we talk about that often is that you know, we don't talk about bringing things into the house. But today we're going to talk about things that you can buy, they're going to help you on your organising endeavours, aren't we? Ingrid?

Ingrid  1:02  
Yes, Lesley, we get asked all the time by our friends and colleagues and clients and members. He would allegedly What do you use when you're decluttering? And organising? We know you love decluttering. But surely there must be some stuff that you buy to get decluttered and organised,

Lesley  1:19  
either. Absolutely. I mean, I'm going to be really honest, there's a lot of organising products out there that look amazing and look as if they're going to change the world and change your life. And they just don't. And so the amount of things that I use is actually really quite minimal if I'm honest with you. But these are some for me that I've really that I do really feel are worth their salt as it were

Ingrid  1:40  
worth their salt. What is that? I've never heard that.

Lesley  1:44  
I'm wondering now whether I've actually made that up with the salt. Feel like that same might be worth I think it's worth their salt. But you said it was good anyway, and people know what I mean, don't they? Well, I

Ingrid  1:59  
hope so. Because I'm always normally the one making up weird words and things like that. So I'm like, I've never heard this before. This is interesting. Anyway, going off track. Let's go back to the things yet because it is true. We are all about decluttering and organising. And we know a shoebox is a perfect container to use when you're trying to sort out a cupboard or drawer. But there are some stuff that we think you know what that is really worth to make an investment in. If you want to kind of move on you're decluttering So what is our first one then what do we use all the time in the bedroom, Lesley?

Lesley  2:33  
Well, we've definitely spoken about this before haven't weighed but we love a velvet hanger, don't we? We think they are absolutely a game changer in the wardrobe world really, aren't they? So what we're talking about is not wire, not Ward, not the plastic ones you get from the shop, not the ones you gather along the way. Obviously one needs different types of hangers for different purposes. But in terms of a general multipurpose hanger, those black well, they can be any colour. They don't need to be black, but I quite like black. Those velvet hangers really are fantastic because they save space. They look good. They do the job. They're non slip. So we absolutely love them, don't we? If you've got money to invest in hangers for your wardrobe, those are the ones to invest in. Yeah,

Ingrid  3:20  
and I've got to be my own house. I think I have like five different colours I ended up because every time I wanted to get a couple more they change the colour so I wasn't clever and got them all in one go. I got them over time. But yes, the black velvet hangers do look great. And they're just so perfect for you know, tops and T shirts and fabric that's really slipping really easily slides of hangers and these velvet hangers are just so brilliant. And we absolutely love them. We talk about them all the time, don't we that we really liked them?

Lesley  3:49  
We absolutely do. And so velvet hangers number one not quite high on the list. Generally I'd say like really high on the list. I don't like that. My number one. Maybe we should have done a number one to number 12 Or I know whatever but we'll just have to make it up as we go along. But it's quite high on the list. Yes, in the bedroom as well. One of the things that I absolutely love for jewellery now jewellery is a nightmare, isn't it to store because you know how much I loathe to retrieve. And I know there's lots of people in our group who completely vehemently disagree with me as well. And they do serve a purpose. Sometimes you've got a few things but if you've got quite large volumes of jewellery, you're going to need some decent storage for it. And one of the things that I love is a thing that I've got in my daughter's bedroom. We'll post a link in the show notes so you can see it visually as well. But it is a kind of almost like a tall, long mirror and hidden behind it is all the jewellery storage. It's got space for necklaces, earrings, bangles, rings, it's got space for absolutely everything and it looks absolutely beautiful. You can hang it on or it can be free standing, I have got a free standing version because I know that my daughter will be on the move. So she took it to a student house. She's brought it back here, when she moves out eventually she'll take it with her. But if you are tight on space and you can wall mount it, then that's a great solution as well, because it really takes up very minimal space. So yeah, in terms of a bespoke tool, organiser, it's a fantastic solution.

Ingrid  5:24  
Right, unless you so those are two things that we really like about organising for the bedroom. We also have a favourite in our kitchen for the kitchen, haven't we?

Lesley  5:33  
Yeah, and I think the kitchen is definitely the place where you go looking for some kind of thing like land or Amazon or wherever, and you find all these fantastic solutions. And some of them will be good, depending on the space that you're working with. But one that I have found that has real universal appeal is a kind of baking tray, upright rack, would that be the same for England?

Ingrid  5:58  
I know it's a bit difficult to explain, isn't it? But so it's for it's for lids of pans, is that what or like baking trays or what is that it's

Lesley  6:07  
for baking. So I've got baking trays, muffin trays, anything that's kind of a tray that I would put in the oven and you can stand them upright, and then they don't go away with in your cupboard. It's a really nice solution.

Ingrid  6:19  
I'm assuming you could also use it for like chopping boards, right?

Lesley  6:22  
Yes, absolutely could use it for chopping boards as well. And they do they do fall over, don't they. And if you've got a lot of them, it's quite nice to have them vertical rather than horizontal. So you can take them out one at a time, rather than going back to the bottom and everything collapses. So I love them. And I definitely use them all the time. So I think that's a nice solution. And you can get those from lots of places.

Ingrid  6:44  
Okay, Lesley, let's go move on from the kitchen into the home office. And I do love my paperwork, declutters, don't I. So I of course have a few favourites that I use all the time. And very high on my list is an ID stamp roller. And it's just such a nifty little kind of piece of equipment. And you can just basically roll the roller over any address or any personal details, and you kind of erase all the information you don't want anybody to see. So if you have a letter with an address, and you think I can actually recycle the letter, but I don't want my address to be on show in my recycling bin, you just rolled over it with an ID steamroller. And that it's no longer visible. So it's just absolutely great. And I've talked to my clients all the time. And they're like, oh, my gosh, what is this, I love this, can I have one. And I always order a couple extra because I always end up handing them out because my clients love them. And also you can use them on like, boxers or Amazon boxes, or you can use them on padded envelopes. It's just so easy to roll out your address. And it just says all that peeling off of stickers of the boxes. I think it's fantastic.

Lesley  7:58  
So definitely, because one of the barriers that we have in our way all the time when we're doing paperwork declutters is the idea that we've got to sit there and do all the shredding afterwards or drawing a law shredding machine might not be working quite well. And so that can be a real barrier to getting the job done. So an ID roller is definitely a great solution. Now if you've got large, very, very large volumes of things, it's not going to work. So it's only going to work for the odd piece of paper here and there, isn't it? You know, if you're throwing away 75 bank statements in one go, then you're better off shredding and using an ID roller. But the ID rollers are fantastic. And I'm not that much money either. Are they? So definitely something to have to hand in your house that are going to that's going to be really helpful.

Ingrid  8:43  
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I absolutely love them. I think they're fantastic.

Lesley  8:48  
I know you do. I know. She loves an ID roller. I think the first time I came across it was when you had posted about it somewhere on a group like eight years ago or something. I'm like, I need to have one of those two, and you're still going on about the ID roller. But you do love it. To be fair, that was number one on your list. Yeah, I mean, we were lucky that we've got to number five here on the list before I want to say first I want to say the ID will have fast

Ingrid  9:16  
Shall I tell you another thing that I love to use when I'm doing a paperwork, declutter and organise you may I do love an L folder Lesley an L folder is very, very high on the list of things that are I think essential when you are trying to sort out your desk when you're setting up a filing system in a filing cabinets. l folders are just so practical, because they're only open on the top and on the side and so they're open on two parts close on two other parts and it's just so easy to slip paperwork in and out. You can put a label on the on the L folders because they're plastic. They they stay really neat and tidy. What I do really like is to use ones that are a bit thicker are not the very thin micro ones, the ones that are super floppy, I like to use ones I have a bit more micron in them. So they're a bit sturdier. But I use them all the time. I mean, I've got them on my desk now and has separate projects that I'm doing and l folders, you can have them in different colours. I think it's an absolutely amazing thing to have an L folder.

Lesley  10:20  
It definitely isn't again, the same thing that we were talking about with the shredder the reason why the L folder is so good compared to a Polly Pockets, which is the ones that are closed on three sides. So we're talking about a plastic wallet here, um, because people sometimes what is it what is it, it's like a plastic wallet that you're going to store a small amount of papers maybe up to five or 10 pieces of paper. And sometimes people might use poly pockets and they're quite useful when you lose when you are using a lever arch system. But if you're talking about a loose filing system, like a hanging file system or things that are going to go into intro, that's where an L folder is going to come in. The reason why it's so good is because again it takes away that barrier a poly pocket with which is one that's closed on three sides can be quite cumbersome to work with the paper doesn't quite go in quite right and I don't really like Polly Pockets.

Ingrid  11:15  
I know I know because you have given me grief that I use Polly Pocket similar because I'm a lever arch system girl. So I do use Polly Pockets on a regular basis. But again here you need to use a little bit better quality, but l l folder definitely wins from a Polly Pocket, that's for sure. But I know you really don't like Polly Pockets at all.

Lesley  11:35  
The reason why I don't like it's not because I don't you know I don't really have a big problem with a poly pocket per se. If it's like I hate Polly Pockets, be damned do Polly Pockets. It's not like that. It's just that I see that they don't always you know you're an organised person in wood and you will put things away. There are so many people who won't do that because it's awkward because it's cumbersome because it's difficult, because it takes time. It's another thing that you have to do when you're working with a lever arch file system. And so just think about those barriers. Because quite often that's the reason why things get put. I'm going to do that later. I'm going to do that later. It's procrastination, and a Polly Pocket definitely makes procrastination worse. And so yeah, in the kind of battle of Polly Pocket versus l folder. We're definitely in the L folder camp, aren't we? Yeah, yeah,

Ingrid  12:24  
absolutely. Absolutely. And it's such a fantastic thing to categorise your paperwork as well. So when you're embarking on a paperwork project, it's just so easy to put a sticker on, or even a post it notes stuck on the inside on the other way around. It's just it's so versatile. And it just we love it. We love it love Adele folder. Now I know there is something in the home office that you like to use a lot, don't you Lesley?

Lesley  12:52  
Now we've been talking about Polly Pockets versus l folders, we're going to bring a third plastic wallet into the mix here. This is getting complex, isn't it? And so I love a pop wallet. I don't actually know whether that's the correct terminology for it. Is that the correct terminology for it? What do we think? I think it is. So basically it's like a almost like an envelope isn't it with a little pressed hood on it. And so then this does close on three sides in the same way as a Polly Pocket, but it's got more space and it allows more pieces of paper to go into it. So this would be more of a temporary solution. I think if you are using a drawer system for your filing, so a lot of people use like a busily drawer filing system that a pot wallet can work quite well for that kind of thing. If you have to go to visit a doctor or medical appointments and you have to take paperwork with you regularly a pot wallet system works really well definitely not a concertina file system which are beyond awful in my opinion. So definitely use multiple pot wallets rather than a constitute concertina wire, is that what they call? I feel like I'm making loads of stuff up today. Making words up and terminology up, you know talking about you know, everything we think in the same way. So we we've finished each other's sentences so you know exactly what a pager a lot of the listeners have are like, What is she talking about? Now, I'm talking about pot wallets been a useful thing for you to store 10 or 15 pieces of paper and you can label them, you can have them in different colours, they can be really, really useful and they're quite cost effective as well. If you have to take paperwork from one place to another, the things that I really loathe are those concertina filing boxes where they're kind of open outwards in a concertina style. Do you think they're called concertina file boxes in grid?

Ingrid  14:43  
Yes, I do, and they're my least favourite. We're talking about our favourite organised roads, but actually a concertina file is my least favourite organising product man will tell you why. Because people always overfill them. And then the lady that goes Over too close, it doesn't close any more, or the little elastic band snaps off, or the little clip breaks. And then it kind of gets this massive harmonica of it's like they become huge. And it's always like, had that that's so handy and I'm like they shouldn't have never ever been made. Why? Why do people sell them in the shops that should be banned? This is not there's not a good organising system at all. So I'm with you on the concertina files definitely, by now you brought in

Lesley  15:30  
something else into the mix. Now you brought in a harmonica definitely. I don't know how a harmonica fits into a constitute sounds good. I think

Ingrid  15:44  
it's like an harmonica it kind of goes bigger and bigger and then you kind of get smaller and smaller if you take the paperwork out. But

Lesley  15:50  
oh, I'm thinking about I'm thinking I'm not thinking oh, that's a harmonica. Harmonica. Harmonica was one of the things that you know those little metal sort of instruments whilst on calm then

Ingrid  16:02  
have no Lesley do we do actually have nuts stop pause recording. So I can actually look this up on Google and take it back to you because we need to tell our listeners that there'll be so hold on just a second listeners. I'm going to I'm going to look this up for you because we want to give you the right information. Right so listeners I have to eat my words, because it's not an R Monica. It's an accordion. So I actually had to stop this recording. Pause it. Look it up. Lesley's like laughing so hard. Try not to laugh really hard, but I can see you're laughing go. This is Ingrid cutting things confusing again. Anyway, so I feel a oh my gosh, I'm so confused. I've got a concertina file is like an accordion you kind of it pulls out it becomes bigger. And then you have to kind of try and squish it all together to close it up. Why are we talking about concertina files? We don't even like them. We need to go back to a pop wallets because that's what we were talking about. Lesley,

Lesley  17:06  
I think we're getting a bit delirious this morning. We need to get back on task here. Don't we need to get back on task. We're talking about all kinds of musical references. This is all going when I've been talking about musical instruments. Right? Okay. So we're in the home office, we've talked about L folders that we love. We've talked about an ID roller, which you really love. Yeah, we're talking about pot wallets, which I love for certain uses. There's one final thing that we wanted to mention isn't there in a home office.

Ingrid  17:33  
Yeah, I do love a desk in tray. But you have to be really clever in what you get. Because, for me, what I really like about a desk in tray is that paperwork that is coming in, has got somewhere to go. Because what we hear all the time is people you know, coming through the door, grabbing the post and just putting it down somewhere, there needs to be a place in the home where some sort of in-tray and in this case, I call it the desk in tray has to live. Now, I do not have a home office, Lesley has a really nice home office. I'm very, very jealous. I'm just here at the desk in my spare bedroom. So I'm not going to make it any prettier than it is. I have been in here on a desk with a makeshift kind of setup. But I do have a desk in tray because it's just super helpful. And then immediately, paperwork has a place to go. And I like the ones that have kind of just three little cubby holes to put things in. So you can actually divide it out and maybe use one for incoming posts, the other one for things you have to do and another tray to stuff that needs to be filing away. Or maybe you're like, Okay, I need a lot of white paper all the time in my printer, I'm going to use the bottom of the three in my desk in trade to put white paper and the other ones just to put a notebook and a pen and if you start to just organise yourself instead of having piles and piles of stuff lying about and that's what I like about it a desk in tray.

Lesley  19:04  
Well I definitely couldn't live without without my intro and it's definitely something that I encourage my clients and our members then to have in there, wherever that might be wherever you do your paperwork wherever your mail comes into the home or where you work with it.

Ingrid  19:17  
Yes, it's definitely I think for us in our favourite organising products to start to a more organised life. Now Lesley, there are some other kind of more random bits that we also love REITs and products that we think absolute no brainer. That is great. You need to have this if you want to become more decluttered and organised. So let's talk about probably our it's maybe this is our number one Lesley, our label maker.

Lesley  19:48  
And we love a label maker, don't we? Yes. And you've got to get the right label maker as well, haven't you because some of them are not as good as others. And so there's just something very sad He's fine about a label isn't there. So it's not just satisfying, because that makes it sound as if it's all about aesthetics form over function. And that's not the case. But there's something very functional and very useful about having a label. I don't use labels everywhere in client's homes. But we do use them in things like that, possibly the inside of cupboards, we use them in toy rooms and play rooms for kids, garages, lofts, anywhere like that labels are absolutely critical and really, really helpful. And the reason why they are so helpful is it means that it's not just you, that is managing that system, other people can work with your system as well.

Ingrid  20:39  
I know I did a kitchen, a massive kitchen, declutter the other week. And we actually in the kitchen, put up a lot of labels. Because it's, it's you know, there's a lot of people in and out of that house, everybody's kind of loading and unloading dishwashers and trying to cook and put stuff back. And it all completely got out of control because nobody knew where things had to be returned. So then, of course, what happened, people started to buy, especially herbs and spices, I think I found eight or eight or nine pots of black pepper, because they were scattered all over the kitchen. And that's when a label really helps as well. This is where the glasses go. This is where the dried food goes. This is where the breakfast items go. This is where the plastic and the foil goes. And everybody who's working in that kitchen knows where everything is going. And it's much easier to manage.

Lesley  21:28  
Yeah, definitely. And you know what a label maker is not as expensive as you might think. I think a lot of people think it's a really expensive piece of kit. So in the UK, there are around the kind of 25 to 30 pounds Mark heartless, that's kind of first for 30 to 40 American dollars. And then which one you get, obviously, I'm sure there are much more but you get a decent one for that. The thing that you've got to be careful about with a label maker is the the tape which can be expensive if you don't manage it well. So it's kind of designed, you know, the big, big, if you have got a label maker, beware the extra white tape that comes out. So if I'm making labels, I make several levels at once. And so there's not as much whitespace in between each label. So that's the thing that you've got to be really careful about with a label maker. I think when I've been working with clients, I bring my label maker out at the end of the project. Nine times out of 10, particularly if that person's got children, they're like, I'm gonna get one of those myself. Because if you've got kids, you can label everything, can't you? And it's so important. You know, you can label schoolbooks and bags and loads and loads of different things. So they really are a game changer for a lot of families, aren't they? Yeah, I

Ingrid  22:38  
absolutely love it. I mean, I've had a label maker from the start. And I think my label maker, my old one gave the ghost after 10 years of heavy duty use and I recently went to a new one. And I've basically taken the same one. But you know, the upgraded version at the moment. But I do love the Qwerty style keyboard because it's just so easy to find where the buttons are on the label maker.

Lesley  23:05  
So we love a label maker. Do you think it's number one? Do you think label makers number one?

Ingrid  23:09  
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Higher than

Lesley  23:13  
a velvet hanger. If you could have a velvet hanger, or a label maker, not us and not you because you're different. If you could introduce a client to avail for hanger or a label maker, what would it be?

Ingrid  23:30  
Or you're putting me on? Oh, maybe. This is a tricky one. Maybe it has to be the velvet hanger. Of course. That's

Lesley  23:37  
the velvet. Velvet hanger. Can't believe you will have time to think about it.

Ingrid  23:44  
I do love a label maker Lesley. I do do really enjoy it. It's so great for paperwork as well. Oh my gosh, it's so versatile. But yeah, I think maybe Okay, second place and second place after the Velvet hanger. Oh my gosh, listeners were. She's putting me on the spot. The reason she she isn't? Oh, well. Let's talk about boxes then. Because one box is not the other box. Is it? So there are two types of boxes.

Lesley  24:12  
One box is not the same as another box. Is that what you want it to say? Yes,

Ingrid  24:16  
yes. So we have boxes that we really like for kind of storing things for like garages and lofts and basements and kind of more heavy duty. Let's talk about that first. So let's talk about the really useful box because we really like a really useful box, don't we?

Lesley  24:33  
We do because of the quality. And so what we what we see a lot is that people buy cheap boxes, particularly for places where they're going to there's a lot of traffic so garages or lofts where the up and down going through awkward spaces. In damp environments, things piled on top of each other. If you use a cheap box, they snap very easily. So the more money that you can invest in a box I wouldn't say the more money. But if you can invest as much money as a really useful box costs you, then it's definitely worth the investment because you will have those for years and years and years. So there's just different qualities of plastic and plastic boxes, even though we don't like plastic are undoubtedly the best type of boxes to store things in garages and lofts for the most part, aren't they?

Ingrid  25:21  
Yeah. And what we really like is that they, they're really useful box boxes, they stack really well. They've got really sturdy lids with really good clips. So the lids stay attached to the box and you don't kind of lose them as soon as you touch them. They're really good sizes. They've really thought about what there's there's different kinds of sizes in litres. And there's, I think the 64 litre we really like it's kind of a square box. It's tax properly. It's just a fantastic box. And they've got a very special size as well, specifically for wrapping paper. And I know wrapping paper does a lot of people's heads in, like, how do you store this, they've got a wrapping paper size box. And it's just fantastic. It's fantastic box,

Lesley  26:06  
the one that I really liked Ingrid is the one where you can put hanging files in. So if you've not got a hanging file system, you can actually use a really useful box. And you can put their hat full SCAP size hanging folders in there. So you can use that as your filing system, which I certainly do it a lot of my clients, if we need to then put that into a cupboard or into a wardrobe or something like that to store it or into a loft. So yeah, those are really good alternative to a standard filing cabinet as well.

Ingrid  26:33  
Yeah. Yeah, really, really like them. And then let's talk about the other boxes that we like Lesley because curver have got a really nice range of boxes, don't they?

Lesley  26:44  
Yeah, they do. And so we're talking now about boxes that need to be a little bit more ornate, perhaps so not not a really, you know, so they're really useful boxes, or functional boxes that are ugly, but they're not really aesthetically pleasing. They're just functional boxes, whereas curva do lots of different styles that actually look quite nice. So they do a lace version and a kind of lattice version of Victorian antique version, a wool version. So there's lots of different types of things. They are plastic, which is useful for things like bathrooms and kitchens, but they look as if they're not plastic, if that makes sense. Yeah, they're designed not to look like plastic, but they are plastic. And one of the things that I really like about a curver box is the quite sort of rectangular if you know what I mean is that what that means is the sides don't slope in too much. Because sometimes you lose so much storage, don't you if the sides sloping and it becomes really awkward to store things. And so I think that the Curva boxes will be worth worldwide, the certainly available in the UK, over in the states, The Container Store will certainly have an equivalent as well. But the kernel boxes are not expensive. They're a nice, cost effective solution out there for things like bathroom storage in particular. Yeah, and

Ingrid  27:58  
I think they've they've got what I like is they've got him in different heights, in different sizes, they've got him a different colour. So you can really kind of go for that nice look of things that that work really well together, we would always choose a rectangular box over a round box, because around box just takes up far too much space. So we really, really liked those Grivel boxes.

Lesley  28:22  
So we have talked about boxes, there's one more thing that I do want to say about boxes, we are all about decluttering. We like an organising products, we like a box, absolutely. But do not go out buying boxes before you know what you need to keep. So buying boxes, buying storage boxes is quite critical part of the process because you need to measure what you've got, you need to make sure it fits the space that you've got, you need to make sure it's going to be fit for purpose. So one of the big mistakes that a lot of people make when they go out there and start to declutter, is go out and buy boxes before they've even started the project. Use temporary boxes, use shoe boxes, you can use shoe boxes and temporary boxes for the whole project. There's no reason at all to go out and buy new boxes if you don't need to. But if you want to these are our favourites cover boxes and really useful but just be careful at the point at which you buy a box. That's critical. Don't buy them too early.

Ingrid  29:17  
No, you have to. I know and and that's the tricky part, isn't it? Because people kind of get excited about being able to buy stuff that's gonna go into their home and we're like, no, no, no, you can't buy anything yet. You can't buy anything, you have to wait until later because that decluttering is so important and assigning the home of where the item is gonna go. And once you know that, then you can go out and buy some new product if you want to.

Lesley  29:42  
This is quite difficult for us anyway because we we really aren't about buying things. For the sake of it. We're definitely all about using what you've got. But this podcast is really all about some of the things that we have found to be of universal appeals people Are, are actually quite useful if you need them. Does that make sense? So we're not saying go out and buy everything on this list? Absolutely not, we're saying sometimes these things can be really useful and they are worth the money if you need them.

Ingrid  30:14  
Now, if you're listening to this podcast and thinking, Oh, I really want to check out all these things that are listed in your dimensioning, we will put them in the show notes. So you can have a look at what we have in mind. And we have a products we love page on our website, so you can check them out there too. So don't worry if you're driving or in the shop or in a shop, doing your grocery store or doing your laundry at the moment. We've got them all in a list for you so you can have a look at the ones that we really love. So, listeners, we hope that's helpful. That's it for this episode, and we hope you've enjoyed listening, and we hope you had a laugh as well about the harmonic cars and accordions and me getting all confused with concertina files. So we just appreciate you being here. And if you enjoy this podcast, please share it with other people. Maybe you know somebody who needs a bit of decluttering advice and some decluttering laughter too in their lives. On the show notes page on our website, you can find all the sharing buttons. If you want more handy tips and advice from last Sunday night. You can find this in lots of places. We are an Instagram we have a Facebook page, and we have our lovely group, the declutter hub community on Facebook. And if you'd like to know more about our membership, have a look at members dot declutter hub.com. If you don't want to miss the next episode, subscribe to the declutter hub podcast and it will pop into your notifications each Friday. And we've been asking you to write your review and we absolutely love reading your review. So if you've enjoyed this episode, do leave us a review and let us know what you feel about the show. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll see you next time.

Outro  31:53  
Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the declutter hub podcast. Check out declutterhub.com for more inspiration, and don't forget to tune in next week.

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Want to hear more about a product we swear by? Check out our blog on why choosing the right hangers can be a real game changer...

WHY CHOOSING THE RIGHT HANGERS CAN BE A GAME CHANGER

Hangers – I bet you’ve never given them a second thought. They are just there, they just exist functionally to hang your clothes in your wardrobe or closet. It’s not the number one thing on your agenda, what’s the big deal?

If you are not 100% happy with your wardrobe, if you struggle to manoeuvre things around because you don’t have much space, or if your wardrobe always looks plain old messy, your coat hangers may just be the culprit.

Where Do We Get Our Hangers From?

I’m going to wager that you have a mish-mash of hangers that you have amassed over the years. But where does this mishmash come from?

Well, first things first, they come from shops. You struggle to say no when you buy something new. It’s free so why not take it, right? You get a hanger or 5 every time you pick up dry cleaning and that mounts up.

You might have inherited them from your parents or grandparents, and they have almost become heirlooms (or they might just be very old hangers!). And then there was that time that you ran out and had to go searching in your daughter’s wardrobe and so there are a few children’s size hangers with a blouse precariously hanging off them.

There are the ones that you saw on TV that promised to revolutionize your hanging space by being multi-tiered. I could go on and on.

When Hangers Become a Problem

In my 11 years as a Professional Organiser I have seen a hanger collection or two and the hanger mish mashes I’ve just mentioned have one thing in common – they don’t do your clothes or your wardrobe any favours.

Some are too small and your clothes slip off and end up on the floor so you have to wash them or iron them again. Some are too big and create weird indents in the sleeves of shirts and blouses. Some snap easily and you get snags where you don’t need them.

Some are too big for your wardrobe so you can’t easily move the clothes around to see them. And don’t get me started on kids’ hangers used for adult clothes and vice versa.

Simple Solution? You Bet!

Hangers can be a problem, that’s for sure and there’s an easy solution that can be an absolute game changer. Use a uniform style of hanger. One type will work for 90% your clothes. My absolute favourite is the velvet or flock hanger.

I have been revolutionising clients’ wardrobes with them for years. Why do I love them so much? The biggest benefit is that they are space saving. You just won’t believe how much space you create just by using a thinner hanger.

As well as that, they are non-slip so you avoid the issue of clothes ending up as a floordrobe. The clothes stay put – it’s as simple as that. And finally, they look good, they are aesthetically pleasing and your wardrobe immediately looks neater, tidier and organised. They even come in lots of different colours. They win the hanger competition on so many levels.

There are a few things that don’t work well on velvet/flock hangers – coats, suits, silks and woolens. For these a wooden hanger works well but you will need the space to house them.

Proceed with Budget Caution

Now, to do a hanger swap over of all your clothes can be a big and costly job so if budget is an issue, think about doing it in stages. Buy a pack of 50 and swap out all your tops first, then trousers next and so on.

And one final tip. However many hangers you think you need, double it or better still, take the time to do a big declutter and count EXACTLY how many clothes you have left.

Do you have velvet hangers that you love? Is your wardrobe in a pickle? Have you got a hanger that has been passed down through the generations?

This article was first published on Sixty and Me on 4th May 2021. It can be found here.

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Episode 260 – How to get things done with a list

Episode 259 – 10 Organising products worth investing in

Episode 258 – The transition from young adult to home-maker with guest Penny Moyses

Episode 257 – Dealing with friends and family on your decluttering journey

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Carol O says:

22 October 2021 at 9:27 PM

What is a pop wallet?

Reply
1. Lesley Spellman says:
  
  25 October 2021 at 8:45 AM
  
  Hi Carol,
  
  I saw that some lovely person had showed you win the Facebook group so hope you are all sorted now. Thanks for listening!
  
  Reply
Marion Skinner says:

3 November 2020 at 9:48 PM

Great podcast today. I wasn't sure what a concertina folder was but as you discussed it I thought it was an expandable folder then Ingrid said harmonica and I laughed. Good to laugh….

Great information. I learn something from each of your podcast. Thank you.

Reply
1. Lesley Spellman says:
  
  4 November 2020 at 8:04 AM
  
  Thank you Marion! Glad you are enjoying them. Concertina/harmonica/accordion – it’s all then same isn’t It – ha ha!!
  
  Reply

Episode 109 – Our favourite organising products

WHY CHOOSING THE RIGHT HANGERS CAN BE A GAME CHANGER

Where Do We Get Our Hangers From?

When Hangers Become a Problem

Simple Solution? You Bet!

Proceed with Budget Caution

Episode 260 – How to get things done with a list

Episode 259 – 10 Organising products worth investing in

Episode 258 – The transition from young adult to home-maker with guest Penny Moyses

Episode 257 – Dealing with friends and family on your decluttering journey

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