Ma-Gyver | Funkidivagirl.com

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly. Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire. From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

I am such an organizing nerd. I was positively giddy when my new Walker bags arrived in the mail. Now I could organize my purse like I’ve always dreamed!

See, organizing nerd.

I bought my first Walker bag at Therapie in New York City, which is sadly out of business. I bought another one at a store on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, California. I always find Walker bags at high-end drugstores, but I bought these online, right from the Walker website. The selection was incredible and I spent an insane amount of time grouping and measuring my items to make sure I got the correct size bags. I owned 2 already and bought 4 more. Look at the fun colors!

The bags are now filled with all the contents of my purse.

I hate digging in my purse to find something. Now the only things not contained in a Walker bag are my wallet, sunglass case and reusable shopping bag. I like to change purses often and this makes it so much easier.

See, organizing nerd.

1 Comment

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly. Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire. From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

The 80′s called and they want those washed out, tired looking jeans back! That’s what I want to say to people. And I do…in my head. Except to my father, I said that to his face. Then I bought him a new pair of Levi’s for his birthday. My mother was so very grateful.

After you’ve thrown away the 80′s jeans (or forced by loved ones, as in my father’s case) and bought a new pair, how do you keep those jeans looking new? (Here in the New Millennium, we like our jeans to stay within the blue spectrum).

I know many people who keep the color in their jeans by not washing them. Ever. I just can’t do that! While jeans may not show dirt, they do come into contact with germs and bacteria and, um, you wear them on your BUTT. So….if you never wash them, guess what your jeans smell like? That’s right–BUTT.

Jeans are a staple in my wardrobe. Unless I’m wearing a dress, I’m wearing a pair of jeans. I have my everyday-on-sale-for-$40 Gap Always Skinny jeans and I have premium Joe’s and Hudson jeans. If the jeans cost $40 or over $100, I want to keep them looking like new as long as possible. So I have a system for wearing my jeans, keeping them smelling fresh, and making the color last.

1. I use Woolite Extra Dark Care to wash my jeans and I don’t put any other clothes in the same load.

2. I use the delicate cycle on my washing machine.

3. I hang dry. Well, I’m lying about that one because I’m too impatient, but I really should hang dry. I do set the dryer on the lowest setting possible.

4. I wear my jeans 3-4 times before washing them. I have a method to keep track: each time I wear a pair of jeans, I put a binder clip on that hanger. When the hanger has 3 or 4 clips, it’s time to wash them. Also, I alternate pairs, never wearing the same pair 2 days in a row. I wear the Gap jeans daily just kicking it around the house and save the premium jeans for Levels 2 or 3 dressing. It’s already been established that I’m kind of crazy, so that may be a bit too much for you, but the point is that I know how many times I’ve worn my jeans.

5. HOWEVER – and this is important to keep them smelling fresh in between wears – I use Febreeze after each and every wear, spraying them inside and out. Then I let them dry before putting them back on the hanger.

me in my jeans

church lobby on Christmas Eve

shirt – Splendid, Bloomingdale’s

jeans – Hudson, Bloomingdale’s

I’m linking up with What I Wore Wednesday , Real Momma, Real Style and Monday Mingle.

*This is not an endorsement for Woolite or Febreeze; I have no affiliation with those companies (I would gladly disclose information such as that). I am merely sharing what works for me.

3 Comments

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly. Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire. From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

Christmastime is here, my favorite time of the year! My tree is decorated, the Christmas cards have been sent off and pretty much all the gifts have been bought.

Ugh, you say, she’s “one of those organized types.” Hey, don’t hate me, learn from me! I want to help you get organized for Christmas; it’s not too late!

This is my secret.

Check out these blog posts about how I get organized for Christmas and I promise you can do it too.

A Ma-Gyver Christmas, Part 1

A Ma-Gyver Christmas, Part 2

Add Comment

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly. Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire. From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

I agree with Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop Prompt (What do the contents of your handbag/purse “say” about you?); the contents of a purse can say a lot about someone. I spilled my purse and this is what I got:

a Hobo wallet
a Walker cosmetic pouch with Rosebud Salve and several Smashbox lip glosses (it says that I am a beauty product junkie).
Bath & Body Works alcohol gel (it says that I am don’t like germs, but yet still a beauty product junkie).
L’Occtaine hand lotion (it says that I have dry hands because I use alcohol gel and I’m a beauty product junkie).
Funkidivagirl.com business cards (its says that even though I am New Media, I realize that the rest of the world may not be).
tissues (it says that I hate sneezes and will gladly give you a tissue for your offending nose).
a reusable bag (it says that I am eco-conscious enough to bring my own bag and that my hands are always too full).
a pen, highlighter and Sharpie (it says that I like to label things). A Ma-Gyver always carries a Sharpie. You will be amazed by how many strangers borrow my Sharpie. Ma-Gyver loves to be of service to others not as prepared as herself.
Tom Ford sunglasses (not pictured)
iPhone 4 (not pictured)

And finally, this blue Walker cosmetic bag is this THE reason that I am Ma-Gyver:

In this pouch I have:

a sewing kit
nail clippers
safety pins
Tums
Peptol Bismol
Sudafed
Advil
Claritin
toothpicks
a Tide stick
a mini disposable toothbrush
Band-Aids
Wet Ones

I am practically ready for anything.

My family makes fun of my Ma-Gyver ways. My kids were recently playing a game where they “take someone’s soul” and then act like them. When they acted like me, it went something like this:

“What’s that Honey? You say that you’re hungry? How about this chicken I have in my purse–organic of course?”

Ha ha, very funny kids. And my husband just laughed right along with them.

Yeah well, they may make fun of me, but who has the tissues for their runny nose? Who has Tums for their tummy ache when they ate a Ann’s Snack Bar Ghetto Burger against my admonishment? Who saves their brand new clothes from permanent stains? Who has the Band-Aid for their feet because they wore those new sandals to walk around Disney World even though I told them gym shoes would be better? Me, that’s who! I don’t even carry this stuff for myself, it’s all for them!

They’ll thank me one day, they will. Until then I will continue to unselfishly save them–and the world–from mediocrity and chaos.

*****************

Visit Mama Kat’s Losin It to write a prompt of your own.

11 Comments

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly. Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire. From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

It’s officially just 1 WEEK until the Disney Social Media Moms Conference at Walt Disney World and the excitement is palatable in my house. As the person who makes sure that we get there with toothbrushes, underwear and socks, I’m channeling my excitement into planning and packing. I’m also a little anxious that I have 2 more trips to Florida planned right after this one. If I’m not organized something will get left behind.

Thank God that I am usually very organized. I have been making packing lists in Word for years. I worked from a master list and cut, paste and added items as I needed for each trip. Then I printed them out and crossed them off as I packed. It was a good system. It worked.

But when I got an iPad, my world changed. Pen and paper lists seemed clunky and outdated, so 2009. I had learned to use my iPad for so many other tasks, surely I could figure out how to put packing lists on there. Maybe there’s an app for that! I thought. There is; the people at QuinnScape certainly had me in mind when they created the Packing Pro app.

It seems a little daunting at first, but it’s really simple to use and customize. There is a huge Master Catalog on Packing Pro that I used to make general packing lists for myself and each of my kids. These are the lists that I will use as a foundation for each trip. So far I have custom packing lists made for 2 of my upcoming trips.

While I use Packing Pro on my iPad because it’s bigger, I also have the app on my iPhone and I was able to export my packing lists between the devices. First I exported the lists from my iPad and they were stored in Contacts. Then I synced to iTunes and imported the lists to my iPhone. Easy.

The photo below is a part of my packing list, the gadgets section, for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference. (This is a screen shot from my iPhone; obviously the screen on the iPad would show more items.) It’s a paid app, but worth every penny–and another reason to love my iPad.

10 Comments