Neater Stuff – Professional Organizational Services

Working from home with a little man has posed all sorts of challenges (it’s a wonder I get anything done) but the biggest challenge to date, has been baby proofing. The new boss-man gets into EVERYTHING.

My studio is ripe with sharp, toxic, messy, dangerous, and costly things.  Even before Elliot arrived, I had been feeling as though the walls were closing in on me.  So overwhelming it seemed, I enlisted the help of Susan Brun, owner of Neater Stuff.

First off the list….PURGE!  Susan, being a third party (and a reasonable one at that), had no personal attachment to my stuff.  She pointed out that I didn’t need every single blue bird from my wedding or bins upon bins of supplies that rarely, if ever, got touched.

It was a truck full!  Most of which was donated to local school art rooms or goodwill.  To think I had all this unnecessary stuff packed into my closets…no wonder the walls were closing in!

Now onto a bigger problem.  I had been using two rickety old bookcases to house all of my inventory.  I was terrified that my little explorer would pull them down on top of himself and there was no safe way to anchor them to the wall.  (not to mention how unsightly they are….they aren’t even twins) I like to be able to see my stock of paper goods, so Susan suggested a china cabinet or furniture piece with cabinets on the bottom to keep the toxic paints locked up and open storage up top.  We both spent a week hunting garage sales, antique stores and the like, and both of us kept coming back to this 1950’s piece from Two Women & a Warehouse.  It was already painted, solid and a steal at only $220.  Checkout that bakelite hardware!

The closets followed suit…

My packaging newsprint is now easy to reach and doesn’t require me pulling half of it out onto the floor for a few sheets.

Why I ever thought using hangers to organize was a good idea, is beyond me!  I managed to purge 2 whole bins of useless supplies, which allowed for me to move my packaging supplies off the floor and into the closet.  My wrapping paper is now neatly contained in a corner bin, and Nick built me this super awesome ribbon holder…

Susan is really great at re-purposing old items and working within a tight budget.  During the great purge, I was tempted to completely discard an old scissor caddy.  It was home to about 12 different fancy scissors, that maybe got used twice a year to make gift tags.  Instead of throwing it out, we packed the fancy scissors away and moved the round caddy to my drafting table.  It’s the perfect way to store the scissors and tools I use regularly.  (I’m a total scissor snob, can you tell?)

The overall transformation is HUGE!  I can see the floors, Vayda and Elliot can look out the window, I can allow Elliot to play at my feet in the studio without fear that he’s going to guzzle a pint of toxic paint when I’m not looking.

If you’re local to our area, I highly recommend Neater Stuff.  I don’t think there’s an area, be it kitchen pantry, garage, commercial or residential that they couldn’t get organized.  They can work with any budget and help you maximize your space.  I finally feel like I can breathe over here.  My space is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and most importantly, BABY PROOF!

Though he still likes to rummage through the mailers and recycling bin!

Find Neater Stuff on Facebook!

 

 

Be Merry!

The Factory Life

Elway Underpainting

Can’t wait to paint my own “mushed face” dog! I love pug wrinkles!

Only the Acrylic underpainting here (patriotic feel, no?)  Many washes of oil to go!

Savannah Stamp

It’s been an unusually busy January.  Lots of ideas running through my head, all fighting for a chance to make it onto paper.  Just sent this stamp to production.  Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

©2011 Heather L. Young

Guest Blog for Be@Home

I was recently approached by the fine folks at Be@Home to do a  guest blog on gift wrapping.  So if you ever wanted to know how to make that paper rosette, here’s the step by step!

 

Print Sale!!!

A little thank you from me to you (I’m soooo grateful to be a working artist!)  From Black Friday through Cyber Monday (Nov. 26-29) enjoy 40% off ALL PRINTS! Crazy right?!  If you’ve been itching to get your hands on a Hand-Watercolored Savannah Print or Live Oak, now’s the time to scoop them up!  How about a collection of Mini-Savannah Prints for the art lover on your list?

I’m also offering 40% off ALL Foodie Prints! Stock your kitchens (or those of your Gourmet friends)!

AND 40% off prints at  heatherlyoung.etsy.com Madness I tell you!

I am so grateful to all of you who have supported and continue to support my work!  Hope you all have Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Self Portrait #8 (late)

This just about sums up my tardiness, and brings an end to the series.

110 wedding invites to delicately piece together.  Prints to package and ship.  I’ve been right here…a lot…but no complaints.  It’s a happy place.

Studio Overhaul…

After living here for the last 8 months or so, It’s about time I got this studio in working order…Bulletin boards and calendars are pretty well useless if not hanging on the walls.  So this weekend, I painted the studio a fresh February Frost color.  Something punchy to get me motivated.  Here’s a sneak peek…I still have a long way to go, but I think my Blushing Mona will fit right in.

If you want to see a super cute picture of Vayda trying to steal my curtains, become a fan on Facebook…

Oh and don’t forget!  Today is the LAST DAY for 1/2 Price Kitty Portraits!

Wishing you all a lovely Monday ~ xo

It’s here! It’s here!

Quicker than I thought even…Did you see it? We hope you’ll enjoy the layout…I’m most excited that you can now view the murals full screen (it did them no justice to have them at 400 px wide, when some are 24 feet  in real life)…Oh and speaking of which, we finally added my Anne Bonny Mural to the site.  Now that it’s all rolled out, I owe Nick about 1000 sketches, so it’s time to get back to work…but in case you’ve forgotten the old layout…here are some before and after shots..

Before on the left…after on the right…