Blog Posts by Alicia

by Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

The lazy, hazy days of summer are wonderfully slow, but if you're heading to college in the fall, the time to move-in to your campus housing will be here before you know it. If you thought the blood, sweat and tears you expended preparing the application last fall was the hard part - think again! Making the physical move to college can be as stressful as writing the perfect essay or even picking the right college, especially if you ignore your mom or dad's entreaties to get packing, and wait until the last possible minute to get yourself organized. Take it from two who have been there, you do not want to start off your college career in a discombobulated state, or have your last day at home be one spent with parents furious at your lack of preparation.
Getting ready involves much more than going out to buy a shower caddy from Bed, Bath & Beyond. To help you get through it without too much fuss, we've put together five simple steps that'll have

by Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

Small is beautiful. It's also hip these days, especially when it comes to living spaces. Hung over from decades of consuming like it was going out of style, millions of Americans are embracing the simplicity movement with both arms. They're often starting at home, downsizing to smaller, more modest homes rather than sprawling McMansions.

The beauty of a small home is precisely what makes it an organizational challenge: there is just not much room for stuff. Thus, a key to successfully navigating this constrained space is the adoption of a "curator" mindset. A curator typically works for a cultural museum and is someone who makes careful, considered decisions about what objects to collect and how to display and care for them. But we think it's also an excellent description for those who live in small spaces. When you're square footage is limited, you must carefully consider what items are truly important to you and how they will fit in your

by Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

There's a reason why those home design shows are so popular. It's fun to drool over glamorous walk-in-closets and well-appointed kitchens, imagining "ah…what if." Alas, most of us don't have the luxury of a 600 square foot closet fitted with custom cabinetry; we have to make do with whatever limited closet space we have. That's probably why closet organization consistently ranks as one of the top issues, if not the top one, when it comes to getting a home buttoned up.

Now we're all for organized closets, but if you've read our column for a while, you'll also know that we'd rather you have a messy closet and the really important things buttoned up (i.e. medical/legal/financial information) than vice versa. There's absolutely no point in having things look nice if you're a mess where it really counts. In fact, it can be counter-productive, giving you a false sense of security that you've got things together when you really don't. If you haven't

by Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

What ever happened to the "come over for a slice of cake" birthday party? Remember when it was perfectly acceptable to have a few toddlers over without an entire petting zoo in your backyard? From kids who hear "Happy Birthday" sung by the cast of a Broadway musical to sweet (or not so sweet) 16 parties that equal the cost of tuition for a year of college, kids' birthday parties seem to us to have gone well over the top. To a lot of people, it's not just about keeping up with the Jones', it's about crushing them when it comes to throwing the coolest birthday party for your perfect little Dinosaur-lover or princess fairy. And don't even get started on the favors. That idea should have trashed (along with all of the junk) a long time ago. It's not that we're haters - we love parties. It's just that we're advocating a simpler way. You know the old story about the kid who gets piles of gifts but plays with the box instead of the shiny new toys? It's

By Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

Are you moving this summer? If so, you're in good company. The end of June through the beginning of September is considered the "high season" for moving. That's likely driven by recent graduates striking out on their own and families with children looking to minimize school-related disruptions.

If you are moving, are you stressed about it? If so, you're in good company there too. According to researchers, moving is one of the five most stressful things you will ever do in life. Whether you move across town or across the country, you have to figure out how to organize your possessions, pack them up, and then unpack them on the other side - and that is just plain hard. Especially when you have a million other "regular" activities to tend to. It's not as though everything else comes to a standstill just because you are moving. No, you have to fit it into already bursting-at-the-seams schedules.

So, how do you cope without going totally

By Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

Who doesn't salivate at the thought of a sparkling new kitchen or a luxurious new bathroom? We both do! I (Sarah) even have three scrapbooks chock-full of clippings from shelter magazines like Veranda and House Beautiful with her "dream" kitchen, bathroom, and home office. A girl can dream, right?

But let's get real about home improvements for a moment. Ogling over pretty pictures in a magazine is one thing. Committing to and then living through a renovation is another thing entirely. There's a reason all those home makeover shows do so well in the ratings. They let us enjoy the visual payoff of a total room transformation without actually having to lift a finger. The fact of the matter is, taking on a home improvement is no small feat; it requires time, money, and, if you want to conserve those first two elements, organization. If you're busy, and who isn't these days, adding managing the dozens of details of a home improvement project to your

by Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

As we ushered in the month of June, Alicia and I thought it was the perfect time to check in with each other about just how we were doing on our New Year's Resolutions. It's one thing to make grand proclamations about what you'll accomplish when you're wielding a glass of champagne and quite another to actually do the hard work to achieve your goals. While neither of us had given up on our resolutions, we both agreed we could use a kick-in-the-pants to make sure we either got back on track or made better progress.

Have you been eating more vegetables, calling your mother more than once a week, and/or cleaning out the basement? If you're not, it's ok. You still have half of the year left to reboot and recharge. Here are some quick tips to help you get back on track.

#1: Establish a Sunday Night Power (Half) Hour

You can set yourself up to succeed by simply setting aside a half-hour to an hour on Sunday evenings and, rather than vegging

By Sarah Welch and Alicia Rockmore

Have you ever walked into your child's classroom and thought, "Wow, I wish I thought of that!?" Have you ever felt a tinge of envy on Back-to-School-night when you saw the clothesline displaying all of those little masterpieces or viewed the perfectly organized cubbies holding supplies and books? We love our teachers. They're patient and creative and fill our children with a sense of wonder. They impart knowledge and encourage our children to question, read, and explore new worlds and new ideas. But, yup, we're a little jealous too. How is that they are able to keep the classroom perfectly tidy with more than 20 kids and we can't get a handle on the drawings and stories of just our own? And we won't even go there with that perfect teacher handwriting. But wait, teachers teach, right? So, maybe we can all learn a little something from their organizational style.

Four Ways to Organize Like a Teacher:

1. The Power of Containment.

Every