What’s Up?
Home Visits
11/27/2021 I just finished my third out of four home visits scheduled for today. I visited two, separate, properties for a client who is on a longer vacation. After walking from the top floor to the basement, I flush a toilet to make sure nothing looks or feels awry. While preforming a home visit for another client, whose cats I was also caring for, I noticed their powder room toilet was running. I turned off the valve and made the client aware. It is surprising how much a running toilet can increase one’s water bill! One of the many unfortunate lessons that I have learned as a...
read moreDowntown Downsizing
11/24/2021 Today I had my second meeting with an older couple who are slowly downsizing the area of their home that they really use. The clients wants to continue to age in place. They are working towards relocating their laundry, up to the second floor from the basement, and bringing their home offices down from the third floor to the second floor. Last week a beautiful China cabinet moved in with one of their children. Most of the contents were adopted by neighbors through a Facebook group. A few of the items needed to be incorporated into the kitchen cabinets. We went through just about every drawer and cabinet letting go of what was:ExpiredNo longer wantedIn poor condition A few treasures were discovered during the process, including a juicer that had gotten buried. 👍🏻The client was just about to buy a replacement juicer on eBay before we found her original! I have a client who has me triage her entire kitchen annually; including wiping out every drawer and cabinet as we go. I think a triage once every other year is sufficient for most people’s kitchen spaces. I take unwanted but unexpired, unopened, non-perishables to the Broad Street food pantry. There are also a number of community refrigerators around Philly that accept many perishable items for those in need. There are a legion of volunteers who clean, organize and restock these...
read moreMinimizing
Nov 23 Follow-Up Appointment in NW Philly Today I had my 2nd appointment with a client and their husband. Their focus is to declutter and minimize the amount of items in their home. The couple managed to triage out two large tote bags of classical vinyl and another bag of books. Sometimes the progress of minimizing seems slowIt’s like putting your house on a diet We don’t put weight on overnight so don’t expect to lose it overnight. I’m thankful that my clients understand and can trust the process. Recently I took a whack at decluttering my own basement where the accumulation of stuff was getting to be overwhelming. I personally let go of three large bags of trash and a few items to donate. I do my best to keep items out of landfills but sometimes they just need to go by any means necessary. When I moved my mother out of her home in NJ I packed everything I thought she would want or need and then had a clean and haul service take the rest. It was the path of least...
read moreOrganization Day
Nov 21 Today I had TWO organization appointments booked in one day – Whew! Appointment #1 Young couple in NW Philly. We focused mainly on organizing their bedroom; then moved on to the linen closet and two drawers in the bathroom vanity. I encouraged the family to Hire a weekly helper to fold laundry for the family, as this is the one task that they struggle with. I thought a teenager in the area that does babysitting would be a good fit. Cut back on their supplies of washcloths and hand towels so that they fit into one area. 💡I do this myself with plastic storage containers. They have one drawer in my kitchen. Once that drawer is full it’s time to weed out the orphaned bottoms and lids. I restock with containers of the same shape so that they will nicely stack and are easily interchangeable. Appointment #2 Afternoon by the Art Museum I spent the afternoon at an appointment with a regular client in the Art Museum area. The client’s garage had become a dumping ground and he wanted to be able to start parking his car there before winter snow came. I carted away a car full of broken electronics and donatable items. We filled empty boxes with broken down boxes. Tossed and recycled outdated textbooks from long ago college classes. I’m holding an old can of paint for the next household hazmat drop off in the spring. 💡 Philadelphia is very generous about the items that they accept at these household hazardous material drop off...
read moreCloset Dreams Come True
Nov 20 Today I tackled organizing a walk-in closet for a client and his husband. He wanted everything to be properly organized: Biz shirts in order by color Existing hangers replaced with felted hangers Clothing in drawers folded and displayed like a filing system (a la Marie Kondo) I then dusted under all the shoes, put watches back into their display box, and organized all ties and scarfs. I finished up by pulling the few items that were ready to be discarded, packaged up all the wire hangers (to be taken back to dry cleaners), bagged up dry cleaning bags and other debris. Surprisingly it took me four hours to accomplish this. As an added bonus; while clearing out the closet, a lost, cash stash envelope was found to the delight of the client! How’s your closet looking? Schedule with us...
read moreDay of Downsizing
Nov 19 – In the morning I worked for Mischa Greenberg of Moves Made EZ. Misha does a great job of helping those who are downsizing but can help with any move. I was glad to pitch in as her main staff member had an unexpected hospitalization and is recovering from surgery. I mainly packed the home office and then moved on to boxing up wine and liquor boxes and glassware. Moving is one of the most stressful life events. In the afternoon I had the pleasure to work with new clients in NW Philly. As an older couple who has spent many years in their home they have acquired many items over the years. We started their deaccessioning journey in their bedroom where many of their books live. They were great about looking at their book collection together and managed to let go of about 200 lbs of books! This allowed the overflow items from the floor to be shelved and some other spaces to be partially decluttered. I had brought a number of large, sturdy, tote bags and loaded up the books in my little hatchback and contacted a local used book seller, Neighborhood Books, make sure he could accommodate a large drop off. We have a second meeting next week and I look forward to continuing this process with...
read morePandemic Coaching
Lockdown is brutal. Are you feeling overwhelmed, depressed or out of sorts? It’s natural, but hope isn’t lost. Use the form below so we can talk about how we can work together to get you organized, motivated and ready for your next steps. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastYour Phone NumberYour EmailWhat is your biggest organizational or motivational...
read more“Antibacterial” Soaps Don’t Work
“Antibacterial” Soaps Don’t Work, Are Bad for Humans & the Environment. FDA Gives Industry Another Year to Prove Otherwise, By John Cronin Years of mounting evidence about the environmental and health dangers of “antibacterial” compounds and repeated calls for increased regulation again point to a profound weakness in federal policy: most chemicals and drugs are allowed in consumer goods, the food chain and the environment until regulators prove them unsafe. Read more At Keystone Concierge, we have been using environmentally-safe cleaning supplies since our inception. We completely agree with the John Cronin’s observations in the...
read moreHome Assistance
House cleaning Organizing Waiting for delivery – furniture, appliances, etc. Waiting on repair/phone/cable people Waiting on construction
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