Testimonials: Columns
“Angela Hoxsey is an organizational Maven. She is fast, efficient and a pleasure to work with. Angela makes getting and staying organized easy with her helpful tips, tricks and knowledge of organizational products. I hired Angela to help me prior to and after a large home remodel. She helped me to declutter, purge and organize multiple rooms in my home. I loved working with Angela, she helped me streamline my home and I enjoy the organizational benefits everyday! ”
Susanne Hudson, Napa, CA
“I’m thrilled with what you helped create. It totally blows my mind how quickly you work and I love your thought process. Fantastic!!”
Dona Bonick, Kopol Bonick Photography, Napa CA
“Angela is always thinking about my organizing issues and often sends suggestions and helpful advice and ideas, even when she is not physically on the job with me. She comes up with unique solutions completely customized to my business, home and personal style—things that I never would have thought of on my own...”
“I can totally trust Angela’s taste and rely on her honesty about what’s working and what’s not with regards to my wardrobe. That said, she is always respectful—if I say I want to keep something, she respects my wishes...”
“I have a lot of “stuff”, and Angela has always been non-judgmental about my collections, while helping me to make smart decisions about how to lose things that I do not need. I value her wisdom, her experience and her perspective. She is a joy to work with, I look forward to our time together and dread to think what my home, closet, garage, life would look like without her expert guidance!”
T. Beller, Verve Napa Valley
“Angela is my dream girl! I was referred to her to help me prepare to move after living in one house for 27 years. She was fantastic in helping me get organized and declutter years of gathering too much of everything...!”
“Angela took me from panic, and an overwhelming moving experience, to an organized new home. She is a pleasure to work with, has lots of energy, while always maintaining a positive attitude. I think she is "THE BEST"!!!”
Sheila Sosnow, Piedmont, CA
“Have you ever accidentally run across someone who just COMPLETELY changed your every day life for the better? And you couldn't imagine your life without them? That's how I feel about Angela. Angela came into my fairly organized but slightly hectic life completely by chance. I wasn't looking for anyone to help me organize or streamline my life because I didn't really think I NEEDED it. And just in the same way that she seemed to just quietly float into my life, she helped me with such kindess, grace and ease.”
Lindsey Wiseman, St. Helena, CA
“Angela has a real gift for seeing what needs to be done and pulling it all together. I have worked with many organizers in the past, but none as efficient and focused as she. From my office to the garage, Angela has helped create a system that works
for the long term!”Karen Schuppert, Napa, CA
“Angela Hoxsey was the best referral that I have ever gotten. Needing to get my house ready to sell and declutter the 20 years worth of accumulation was no easy task. She was fast, efficient and a joy to work with. The best part of working with her was her cheerful yet no nonsense way of getting you to decide 'keep, trash or donate'. . . Love it!”
Cherie Melka, St. Helena, CA
“We spent four hours organizing an enormous amount of paperwork and I feel like I just got a massage!”Joanne Maher, St. Helena, CA
“Whether you are prone to chaos, pretty organized yourself, or a combination of both, Angela Hoxsey can help you bring order to your home. Yes, you could do it yourself, but most of us have so many competing demands on our time that organizing tasks easily fall by the wayside. Angela has brought her professional touch to my home, demonstrating every time
the lasting value of an expert.”Karen Saeger, Ph.D., Berkeley
“You can smell the sanity. Angela is worth her weight in diamonds.”
Masako Takahashi, artist;
San Miguel de Allende/San Francisco
Columns
Top 10 Tools
It’s nearly impossible to get seriously organized without a little capital outlay. Beyond the absolutely necessary, like manila file folders, an in-basket and a trash receptacle, here are 10 items that are this organizer’s delight.
The Brother P-Touch Labeler
The difference between handwritten labels and labels printed by the Brother P-Touch labeler is remarkable. Something about the clean, easy readability of these labels makes anything more organized; it’s just easier on the eyes. You won’t believe that it’s worth the time and expense until you try it for yourself. I use my labeler for my clients who don’t have one as part of my services (within reason — I don’t relabel an entire file system) and about 90 percent of my clients run out to get their own labeler once they see the results.
Sterlite six-quart and 16-quart
clear plastic containers
Inexpensive and durable, these clear plastic containers serve to hold a wide variety of items. The six-quart is shoe-box sized, but I never use them for shoes. They are great for gloves, belts and other accessories in the closet and have many different uses in other areas, such as the garage. The 16-quart is great for larger accessories, or they work well outside the closet for light bulbs, rags and cleaning supplies.
Binder clips
I use binder clips all the time. I close bags of chips with them and I clamp stacks of business cards together with them. Tiny or jumbo, you’ll find a bunch of uses for them.
Tiny zip bags
These tiny plastic bags from the drug store are usually used for meds, and I do love to divide up my vitamins for vacation and use them that way (rather than use those Monday through Sunday plastic cases). But my favorite use for these is earring storage — each mini bag is the perfect size for earrings.
Eagle Creek packing cubes
I love traveling with these black mesh bags. You can buy rigid ones or soft, flexible ones. They come in a variety of sizes, but I really use the 8-by-10-inch size the most: They are perfect for separating socks, underwear and workout wear and make packing and unpacking so much easier (for more visit www.eaglecreek.com).
Magnetic bamboo boxes
My favorite of these bamboo boxes is meant to fit magazines. They are great looking and make use of vertical space (as long as it’s magnetic). I use one on each side of my metal desk, one for incoming bills and the other for reading material. That way, my in-box doesn’t get jammed. They also make shallow, longer versions that would be great to hold spices on the side of a fridge for those whose kitchen storage is lacking. Check them out at www.organize.com.
Drawer dividers
A junk drawer becomes picture-perfect with the addition of these white, inter-locking containers in a variety of sizes. Separate the spare change, paper clips, pens and Post-Its. Find them at Target or the Container Store.
File cabinet
A filing cabinet is the foundation of any organized office — fill it with manila folders and army green hanging files, label them with your nifty labeler and go crazy! I love the heavy-duty, built for a lifetime models from HON.
Metro shelving
Available at the Container Store, Metro shelving is quite expensive, but lasts virtually forever and is attractive, as far as shelving for the garage or basement goes. It would look great in an industrial-style kitchen as well. The chrome-coated steel shelves are easy to put together and come in a variety of heights and shelf lengths. A less expensive version, called InterMetro, is fine for indoor use. I have one large unit in my storage area for bins of Christmas decorations, costumes, and archived files and another in the garage to hold luggage and sports equipment. Each shelf can hold 300 pounds and I have them on casters for easy maneuvering.
Sticky Velcro
There are myriad uses for sticky Velcro. My favorite is to hold those junk drawer organizers in place. I also like to put them on the back of remote control devices and have one on my treadmill and one on my stationary bike, so that I don’t drop the remote when I’m working out and want to listen to music or watch TV.