FIND: A diamond in the rough

I love garage sales. There, I admitted it. The last place you'd think you'd find an organizer - a person who spends her days making people get rid of their stuff - is pulling her car over to look at another person's 'treasures' (or as my husband calls it - junk). With a short garage sale season in Vancouver, I sometimes need to go elsewhere to fill that need. Enter Value Village. As I perused the store I found lots of great clothing labels and awesome buys. Stopping to check out the shoe section, I happened upon a section in the back with shelves filled with summer sandals. A pair of pink striped sandals caught my eye and I realized the label read Coach. Knowing that everyone and their sister is knocking off the designers, I got closer to inspect them. Looking brand new and boasting all the right logos, I read inside and saw the name Rikki. Not sure what it is about designers, sunglasses and shoes... but they've taken up naming them. With the price tag reading $14.99 and a perfect fit, how could I go wrong? Upon returning home, I googled Coach Rikki sandals and sure enough they popped up on the official Coach website... my cute, little pink striped sandals with their price tag of $90. Like I always say... one woman's junk, is another woman's treasure.

FAVOURITE: Love it

Have you ever found that 'perfect' something? Be it the perfect fitting pair of jeans (best to buy two pairs) or that colour of paint that just makes you smile every time you see it on the walls in your bedroom. As an organizer I'm always on the hunt for the 'perfect' organizing tool and I think I've found one I'm in love with. Why? It has clean lines, it's colourless so can discreetly fit into any space and the best part - it costs next to nothing. It is IKEA's Antonius basket insert $2.99 - made with a purpose by the Moose (to fit inside the Antonius basket system) but in my world... it means so much more. In my home right now: it has my son's Pokemon cards sorted into one, it's responsible for keeping my kithen junk drawer organized and it's tucked neatly into my bathroom drawers (keeping my lipsticks with lipsticks and my Q-tips perfectly aligned in their section). And to keep the Moose happy, I've got them inside my Antonius drawer basket system in our workshop housing tools and all those things that you need in life - nuts, bolts, packing tape, etc. I think it's true love.

REALIZATION: Disneyland is not just the happiest place on the earth

Walt Disney was a wise man. Disneyland is much, much more than Mickey Mouse ears, cotton candy and magical rides - it is VERY organized. After my token ride on Space Mountain on a recent family holiday, I took my place on a bench to take it all in. Disneyland has mastered the art of organizational zones. To effectively organize a room or space, you want to create zones. Your family room might have these zones: games, tv/movies, computer and reading. Each zone is defined and only those items required in each zone are housed there. Zones allow for both order and clarity - making them easy and stress-free to use. At Disneyland, Walt has taken this theory to a whole new level. Each zone has a name or theme - Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, etc. Within each zone are matching uniforms, rides, merchandise and food - all defined and marketed to match their zone. You'll never see Buzz Lightyear wandering through Frontierland, so finding your way at Disneyland is entertaining and easy to do. So when you embark on your next organizing project - define your space e.g. bedroom and within your space create your zones - sleeping, reading and dressing. You could be like Walt and take it one step further with matching outfits for each zone and even give them names... but hopefully your bedroom won't be named Neverland! Disneyland is definitely a magical, organized and happy place.