With school starting up again, the chaos begins and it gets harder to keep up with your children’s busy schedule and keep the house clean and organized. With a hundred things going on at once, here are a few tips to keep you sane and your house looking clean:

-Prevent children from scattering their belongings everywhere by designating a specific drop off zone for their backpacks, shoes, coats, etc. The entryway is the ideal place to create specific stations with hooks for coats, a bin for backpacks, and cubby holes for shoes. Keeping everything in its designated location not only keeps things clean and organized, it saves you time from having to look for missing shoes or backpacks.

-Workspace Design. See how your child prefers to work. Do they like to sit on the floor, at a desk, or lying in bed? Once you’ve determined how they prefer to work you can begin to design a comfortable workspace around their preferences. For those who like to work in bed, try a lap table. This will keep them productive and better engaged with their work. Also, stock up on basic supplies like pencils, rulers, markers, and erasers and keep them in drawer or cabinet nearby.

-Designate a specific box to put all items that are out of place. This is an easy way to reduce clutter around the house, and at specified intervals, you can task a family member with putting away all the items. You can make a general box or even one for each family member that they are personally responsible for.

-Meal Preparation. Keep your children’s lunchbox supplies in a separate box or area in your refrigerator as well as your pantry. That way you won’t have to dig around in different areas when packing their lunches. Now, everything will be in one place.

-Clear Storage. Use clear containers for things like cereal, oatmeal, or sugar. That way you always know how much you have left and there won’t be any surprises in the morning.

Back to School: Easy Ways to Keep Organized is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

As parents, helping a child move into their college dorm is one of those milestones that it seems you’ve worked for your entire life. With the move-in date quickly approaching, here are a few handy tips for helping your son or daughter make their dorm room more comfortable.

Storage space is a premium. Unfortunately, most college dorm rooms are tiny which means that finding efficient places to store things is critical.

1. Use hooks to hang up jackets, bags, towels, or other items. These are a great way to maximize space behind doors or on walls.
2. Stackable storage. Use plastic bins that can be easily stacked and offer convenient access to what’s inside.
3. Underbed storage. Loft the bed to create extra room for your belongings underneath it.
4. Hanging closet organizers. These are great solution for making more room in a small closet with separated compartments for shoes, clothes, and other accessories.

Don’t bring so much stuff. An honest assessment of how many things your child needs to bring is absolutely necessary. Ask them, do they really need that 72 inch flat screen, drum set, entire book collection, all of their dvds, and every single clothing item they own? Probably not. The key is to pare down all the unnecessary items that will just clutter their lives and pare back to what they need and really love.

Use what you have at home. Rather than buying all new costly items for the dorm room, see what you have at home that can be shipped or moved.

Multiple purpose furniture. Fortunately, furniture designers today have made all kinds of handy items that also double as storage devices. Make sure to select items that serve two functions. For instance, that ottoman should also open up and serve as a storage bin or the couch should fold out into a bed.

Lighting. The lighting in dorm rooms is often weak, so adding desk lamps or stringing lights over the bed are a great way to literally brighten the room and add a touch of style.

Rugs. Dorm floors are often cold, hard, and barren. Adding a rug will instantly soften the room, add different textures, and give it a bold accent. It’s also the perfect way to give it a homier feel.

Back to School: Interior Design Tips for Dorm Rooms is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

Whether you choose your favorite superhero, a classic Sunday cartoon, or a sleek brushed metallic lunchbox, these are a cheap, stylish, and stackable alternative for storing anything from notecards to toiletries or electronics to toys.

Vintage Lunchbox Storage is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

I was browsing through Eddie Ross’s design blog recently to see how he remodeled a drab 1920’s-era room replete with barren mold eaten walls into a bright, beautiful, and comfortable bedroom. What’s even nicer about his work is that while it looks very modern and chic, he and the couple actually did most of the work themselves and actually repurposed most of their furniture or accessories like lamps, art, and furniture from flea markets and antique sales saving them loads of cash.
What really caught my attention was he gave new life to the existing chandelier. Originally (photo on the left) the couple wanted to get rid of the chandelier all together, however Eddie had the brilliant idea to repaint the whole thing in a vibrant red, punch up the crystals with an opaque white color, and added chic black shades (photo on the right). What a fantastic way to go from drab to fab, and for virtually no cost and a little bit of elbow grease.
So next time instead of throwing away an old piece of furniture, lamp, or whatever stop and think if you can actually turn it into a modern marvel with a new coat of paint and some other creative accessories.
Check out the rest of the room here.

From Drab to Fab: Chandeliers is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

It’s that dreaded time of year again: Back to School. The morning rituals of wrangling one child or multiple children into their clothing, making sure they are properly fed, making their lunches, and getting them their backpacks with all of their homework and school supplies ready all in time to get them to school punctually begins once more.

Naturally, anything to make this process easier is a welcome boon in any parent’s life, so here are a few great closet organization tips from HGTV.

1) Color code their closets. Arrange everything by color, that way they can quickly match tops and bottoms.
2) Pick out the week’s outfits in advance and place them on 5 hangers over the weekend. This saves time and lets them do all their decision making beforehand so they won’t be late in the morning.
3) For those that like to accessorize, hanging containers for shoes or jewelry are a great way to have them readily accessible for faster decisions.

For more great tips on getting ready to send kids Back to School, head over to HGTV.

Back to School Closet Organization Tips is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

The Klubb has a great example of a DIY project to recycle denim and give new life and character to an old furniture item.

In this project, they replaced a 10 year old Ikea chair’s slipcover with a brand new homemade one comprised entirely of old jeans. In a clever move, they used the pockets from the jeans to house useful items like the remote. They were even so kind as to catalog the whole process with a nice picture spread. Check out the full process here

Great Way to Recycle Denim is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

So you’ve labored tirelessly to design your home and paid attention to every detail, however there is always that seeming unsolveable task of what to do with those bulky out of place looking printers, computer monitors, or other electronic devices. Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy fix for this. I just came across a brilliant and creative solution to hide some of those ugly electronics that might be marring the design of your home. Thanks to Little Housing In The City, we can now hide those ugly electronics by simply sewing a slip cover for them. What a fantastic DIY solution that’s completely customizable.

Hiding Ugly Electronics is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

Beautiful and Functional Radiators is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

Quick Links… Our Website Products Our Blog Twitter

In the foyer, at the dining table or in place of a window seat, my Go-Go Settee does just that!  It goes anywhere and everywhere and I’ve designed it in a fun dog print with a contrasting welt.  Or choose our updated  damask in large scale print.  Can’t choose?  You can order both! Why Buy Slobproof? Customers Enjoy Slobproof! Click here to watch the Video! Designing Solutions Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Debbie-Wiener/85051642951 Twitter: www.twitter.com/debbiewiener Blog: www.debbiewiener.com

Go-Go Settee Introduced at New York Show – April Newsletter is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog

It’s the Fabric! Each fiber is encapsulated with stain protection, making our furniture moisture proof, anti-bacterial and virtually spot free. Even old spots clean up in a snap. It’s the Styling! Our furniture is sized to fit in any home, in classic and contemporary shapes, with lasting comfort and durability. Made in the USA.

What makes our “Slobproof! with Crypton” furniture so special?

Resolve to slobproof in 2010! – January Newsletter is a post from: Debbie Wiener's Blog