You know how much we here at the offices of THE HOME STYLIST love our wall stickers. They are, hands down, the most effortless way to update any room. Just measure, peel and stick, and instantly a wall goes from blah to brilliant, with no muss and no fuss!

But what if a wall sticker could do more? What if it could not just add some style to a room, it could give it a healthy dose of organization? Sounds like a dream come true, right? Well, as we suspected, dreams really can come true at TARGET. That’s where we found this little gem of a dry-erase calendar that is actually a wall sticker. Don’t get us wong, we love the proper, wall-mount dry-erase calendars too. But the idea of spending at least fifty bucks to put more holes in our walls makes us cringe ever so slightly. This particular product not only has all the benefits of a traditional dry-erase calendar (at about one-third the cost!), it also has space for a to-do list and important contact information. And installation is a breeze! Whatever will they think of next?! 

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you’re already a solid 10 minutes late, you’re running out the door (often trying to herd others out the door with you), when everything comes to a dead stop because you can’t find your keys/ your phone/ that permission slip that was sent home weeks ago and you’re sure you signed, you just don’t know where it is? Well, most of us here at THE HOME STYLIST have! In fact, we’ve had more of those mornings than we care to count. So what do we do? We go to our design guru for advice (yeah, working in the cubicle next to an acclaimed stylist does have its perks!).

Here are some great suggestions Julie Dana gave us:

1. Assess your family’s needs. Are important papers always going astray? Is there one or more members of the household constantly doing a last-minute shoe hunt when they’re trying to get out the door? Do keys and cell phones seem to grow legs and wander off? 

2.Create a command central somewhere in your home. Preferably a mudroom, but any place en route to the car will do and get organized!  Install hooks on the wall for keys and bags. Place a bench with some storage underneath (we love this one from Ikea, pictured here) so everyone has a place not only to remove shoes, but to store them. If possible, create a re-charging station cellphones, ipods and other essential devices (There are so many to choose from these days, it doesn’t have to be fancy. We found wall-mount cups, again from Ikea, for about $2.99 a piece that do the trick). Add a paper sorter and a wastebasket (the paper sorter for important papers that have to go with you out the door, the wastebasket for sorting through the junk that comes in your door) and you’ve got a space that could mobilize an army.

3. Stick to it! Make sure everyone uses the space to its full potential and you’ll see that getting out the door on time will become the easiest part of your day! 

Calling all moms out there! Do you have a kid who just can’t seem to settle down and do their homework? Or would you love to be able to set them up with a home office of their own, but just don’t have the space? We have the solution for you! Create a portable office!

Using a tri-fold presentation poster board (you can find it at any office supply store), you can create a mini room divider. That way, they can work anywhere in the house, but are not distracted by their surroundings. We love it because we can keep an eye on our kids while we make dinner, tidy up and when they’re done, we just fold it up and tuck it by the fridge! Also, having a caddy handy (we love this one from target) with all the supplies they’ll need makes life so much easier. No more hunting for that favorite green marker!

"Every woman needs a room of one’s own…"

We couldn’t agree more. From tackling the mountain of paperwork that households seem to produce to running home businesses, every woman needs a place in their home to organize their thoughts and work efficiently. Every woman needs a proper home office. Now, we’re not proposing that a separate room with a lock on it is necessary (though divine), just a well-thought out desk outfitted with everything a girl needs to run the business of her daily life.

According to our head designer, Julie Dana, the key to a home office’s success lies in the desk. There are hundreds to choose from, but an L-shaped desk is ideal for inspiring maximum efficiency. Because of it’s shape, you are able to physically separate the different functions of your home office (i.e.creative vs. procedural). As Julie says, " When you face one way or another, it helps trigger your brain to shift its thinking." So when you have to go from paying bills to, oh, writing a blog (not that we’re speaking from experience!), changing your physical position actually helps change your mental position so you can focus on the task at hand, brilliant! Now you just need an organizer for important papers, a caddy for all your necessary office supplies and you’re done! Now, get to work!

Ok, so you’ve decided to sell your existing home and move into a new space, we know what you’re thinking – why spend any money at all staging the house you’re trying to SELL, when you need all your cash for projects at the new house? Well, it turns out that spending a little money staging your home can actually save you a bundle.

Did you know that unstaged homes often sit on the market three times longer than staged homes? Wonder how much that extra time on the market costs? Well there’s actually a tool that can help! It’s called the staging calculator and just by entering some information about your monthly expenses, you can find out exactly how much it is costing you every month your property is on the market.  Go to  http://www.stagingsavings.com/stagingSavings.html to use the calculator and see how much you can save money by staging your home.

Convinced but have no idea how to stage your home? That’s where we come in! Visit us at our website thehomestylist.com and click on Services Offered or contact our design guru, Julie Dana, at julie@thehomestylist.com for the perfect home staging plan. And start thinking about what you’ll do at your new house with all that money you’ve saved (a gourmet kitchen…new furniture….a pool…..)!