Product of the Year – Decor realseal range

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Décor’s range of Realseal products have been named household Product of the Year for 2012!

Product of the Year is the world’s largest consumer-voted award for product innovation. The award serves as a guide to shoppers as it’s backed by the votes of 7,000 consumers in Australia.

Lunch box system

Many lunch choices. One lunchbox system.

The items in the modular Realseal™ lunchbox system can be combined in different ways and packed up neatly in one of the specially designed, insulated cooler bags.

Realseal storers

These storers with Realseal™ lids are ideal for storing food in the fridge, freezer and pantry, and perfect for work and school lunches. They can also be used in the microwave for reheating.

The Realseal™ lid has a soft silicone seal that makes the storer really airtight, really leakproof – and really nice to use.

Five, five minute mess busters

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Short on time? Get organised with these 5 five-minute mess busters you can complete while the kettle boils.

We all want an organised home, but when to squeeze in all the little jobs that need doing? The answer is as simple as embracing the five minutes it takes for the kettle to boil. Next time you’re standing around in the kitchen, why not think about tackling one of these tasks?

1.  Sink to new levels
A messy sink can be instantly organised with a Simple Human Sink Caddy. Four suction cups provide a secure grip to your sink while removable plastic dividers store and organise sponges separately for faster drying. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s so neat.

  1. Quick on the drawer
    The kitchen drawers are a great little project – try to do one a day for a week, starting from the top and working down. The bottom drawer tends to be the most difficult, so once you get to this drawer, be ruthless. Think about what actually belongs in there and stick to your plan as you sort and store. The rest can be redistributed or thrown out – after all, who really needs 500 twisty ties?
  1. Frozen assets
    The freezer is a surprisingly quick project. Get rid of anything that’s out of date, unsealed or not properly labelled. Invest in a couple of Linus Fridge Binz and group like items together.
  1. Nail the mail
    Create a mini distribution centre for incoming mail with Dreamfarm Grip It Magnetic Strips and have a bin on hand for instant recycling of junk mail.
  1. Basket cases
    Tackling the cupboard under the sink makes a huge difference. Baskets are the key to making this one really easy: simply put all your cleaning products in one basket and your sink items in another.

Get the kids organised for School

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It’s one thing to get your home organised for the year ahead but it’s a completely other thing to get the kids ready. We’re on the eve of another school year and while there is a lot to organise, we’ve made it easy for you (and them!) with our huge range of back-to-school essentials. Try these…

Sandwich Crust Cutters: Fancy a train sandwich? Make lunchtime fun with these gorgeous sandwich cutters. They’re child friendly, dishwasher safe and BPA, Phthalate, PVC and lead free!

Lunch Bag: Pack them off with a portable fridge (of sorts!). This lunch bag is easy to use and clean, includes an ice brick, is BPA and PVC free and has an adjustable soft shoulder strap.

Bedroom Storage:Great study habits start young so cut the clutter and create a calm environment for them to focus and to do homework. The key is simple, practical bedroom storage such as:

  1. Storage and File Boxes: great for archiving work, craft, photos and projects.
  2. Large Notice Board: keep important notes on display.
  3. Divided Laundry Cart: teach kids to presort their own laundry from a young age.
  4. Compactor Compressible Trunks: store last season’s clothing out of sight.

Labeller: Label their books, school clothes, sporting equipment and musical instruments with the Brother P-Touch Labeller. Once you’ve finished labelling their school gear, the labeller is the perfect way to keep your office organised!

Checklists for an organised home

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Getting your home organised now, will save you time throughout the year and lead to a more organised life, which mean less stress! As part of Organising Month here at Howards, we have put together some checklists to help you sort out different areas within your home. Click on the relevant area to get started:

Kitchen

Garage

Bathroom

Bedroom

Laundry

20 Organisation Ideas and Clever Buys

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You need organisation ideas? Well we’ve got them. In fact, in-store we’ve got over 3000 ideas for you to choose from, but for the purposes of this blog, we’ll stick with 20…enjoy…

Bathroom

  1. Hideaway the kids toys or extra towels in a Utility Box.
  2. Short of space? Use a shower caddy that hooks over your screen and doubles as a place to hang your towel.
  3. Stop the morning rummage and restore order behind the mirror by grouping makeup in special organisers.
  4. Consider bamboo; it has the warmth of timber and is a renewable resource.

Kitchen

  1. Double the space in your pantry with shelf helpers.
  2. Create an archive zone for bulk food that you access occasionally; use storers with handles for safe/easy access.
  3. Extend the life of your refrigerated foods with the right fridge containers.
  4. Use a food safe turntable in your fridge; they’re ideal for seeing and accessing condiments.

Bedroom

  1. Don’t ruin your precious clothes with wire hangers. Invest in a set of new timber hangers.
  2. Indulge in your own shoe library; you will find shoes faster and keep them protected.
  3. Claim the space under your bed with practical Underbed Storage Boxes.
  4. Triple your storage space with Space Bag Storage Totes.

Office

  1. Labeled file folders and boxes will keep papers organised and protected.
  2. Prevent identity theft; place paper for shredding/recycling in a compartment pedal bin.
  3. Keep reference materials in magazine holders. Assign one to each family member.
  4. Store files that are rarely used in archive boxes. Don’t forget to label them!

Laundry

  1. Save time – pre-sort darks, whites and colours easily with a laundry divider cart.
  2. Save space in the laundry with an iron organiser; mounts on the wall or over the door.
  3. Cut your laundry time by creating a distribution zone; assign a Hampton Basket to each member of the family and ask them to put away their own clothes.
  4. A Slim Trolley will take advantage of tight spaces beside the washing machine.

 

The Howards Simply Organised Insider Team.

Make Car Travel Stress-Free

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Whatever your holiday style, whether it be relaxing by a resort pool or outdoor adventuring, getting there should be as enjoyable as the destination. In fact, for many, the road trip is the adventure, so make sure it’s stress-free, well-planned and designed to work with your needs.

  1. One of the first basics of a good road trip is keeping everyone cool and hydrated. The Fridge to Go holds 12 cans – or, if you prefer, a selection of sandwiches and choccy bars! If you’re partial to water, try a Bobble. You can fill it anywhere and let the built-in filter do the rest.
  2. Keeping things tidy in the car can be problematic if you don’t have the right tools. One good solution to this problem is a Large Sticky Gel Mat which sticks to the dashboard and holds everything from sunglasses and mobiles phones to iPods.
  3. Keeping rubbish contained is an essential; try a Litter Shute for an elegant alternative to a garbage bag.
  4. Entertaining the kids is another key to maintaining a relaxed atmosphere, so divert them with interesting items stowed away in an Emele Portable Desk.
  5. A fabulous way to keep your suitcase under control is with Packing Cells. Try having one for each day for each child. The kids love it and you know they’ll stay organised!

Our Tips for Food on the Move

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With a lot of time spent in the car visiting relatives or getting to your holiday destination over the holiday season, feeding the family can often be a challenge. This is when fast food outlets present a quick and easy solution. However, with a little forward planning you can prepare healthy alternatives and keep your family fuller for longer.

Breakfast

  • This can be as simple as a muesli bar and tub of yoghurt kept cool in a Fridge To Go
  • Fruit is a great healthy option and bananas, apples or grapes are easy to eat and relatively mess free

Lunch

  • Premade sandwiches are a satisfying lunch option that can be kept cool in an EZ Freeze & Lock lunch box. Keep it simple for the kids with some peanut butter or vegemite and make them slightly more special by using a nice roll or bagel

Snacks

  • For easy and healthy snacks pack some cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, nuts or dried fruit
  • Keep your water cool with a couple of Freeze Stick drink bottles

Handy tips

  • If you have the room, pack individual lunch boxes for each person, that way they can put their rubbish back in their box once finished
  • Wet wipes are always handy and keep those sticky fingers at bay
  • It’s also a good idea to pack some napkins and plastic cutlery

Product Spotlight: Décor Lickety Sips

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School holidays are just around the corner and keeping the kids entertained, without blowing the budget, can be tricky. As well as keeping them entertained, they’ll probably be bugging you for nice snacks and as it’s summer, they’ll want icy poles!

With the Décor Lickety Sips you can keep them busy by getting them to create their own icy poles. Just fill them with juice, cordial, yoghurt or try something different, you’re only limited by your imagination!

The ability to control exactly what ingredients are used makes this a healthy alternative to store bought products. They come in sets of 4, in assorted colours.

Lickety-Sips are free of BPA, PVC, lead and phthalates, so they’re completely safe for using with food.

Make Air Travel Stress-Free

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Being an organised traveller isn’t just about packing; it’s about planning, being realistic and having everything where you need it to be.

Taking to the skies sounds glamorous but the reality for many is a sore neck, lost baggage and endless security checks. There are, however, some simple solutions.

  1. Start with a clear toiletries bag and small travel bottles. This allows you to instantly show security what liquids you are carrying – we love Borne Naked for this
  2. Next, clearly label all your bags with glamorous Rhinestone Luggage Tags
  3. Make sure you don’t get stung for excess baggage charges by making a wise investment in an Accura Travel Scale, which can weigh any bag up to 40kg
  4. For on-board comfort, take along a Neck Squidgy from Annabelle Trends
  5. Get our passport and foreign currency safely out of the way in a Travelling Light Money Belt

After that, close your eyes and let the holiday begin!

How to organise your work space

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The average person spends almost 2,000 hours at work every year, so it’s important to ensure it’s a pleasant and organised environment.

Often, we’re too weighed down with work to realise our systems are failing. But there’s always a solution. Using the Stop, Sort, Store method, we transformed Ricky’s crowded and dysfunctional workstation into an organised system.

Stop

We started by reviewing the problem. Stop, look at the situation, and think about how it could be resolved. What items should be immediately at hand? How can the workspace be more efficient? For Ricky, the best solution was to create a clear workspace by getting the storage off the desk.

Sort

Next, we separated Ricky’s work material into components based on priority: jobs in progress; jobs pending approval; and reference materials and CDs. These categories could be translated to any situation. Take your home office; “Jobs in progress” could equate to bills that must be paid; “jobs pending” might be receipts; and “reference material” may be recipes and clippings.

Solve

Now for the fun part. We used the Easy-Build System to create a three-shelf storage area with hooks and shelf dividers to keep everything in place. Next, we filed Ricky’s jobs in order of need in a set of eight Viola File Organisers. These look great and allow him to shift a set of files on and off his desk, depending on the job. The CDs were stored in a One Touch Box that holds up to 120 CDs, looks smart and makes finding the right CD much easier.

Make getting organised for the year ahead easy

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To get you started on your new years resolution to “get organised”, here are some great products for making five-minute projects a breeze.

  1. Make finding the right earrings easy with an Allure Folding Earring Screen.
  2. Organise those winter parkas and quilts into neat stackable storage with a Space Bag.
  3. 22 Pocket Organisers are fabulous for storing packet spices or sewing bits and pieces.
  4. Create a key home with funky Mastrad Large Suction Pods.
  5. The York Tension Shower Caddy will sort your shampoo, soap and loofah in a minute or less.
  6. Stack your baking trays and chopping boards in style with a Bamboo Plate Stand.
  7. Marie Fridge Baskets make the most of every bit of space in your fridge.
  8. First impressions count, so organise your hall with the Umbra Flapper Coat Stand.