Toluu

Unclutterer

Daily tips on how to organize your home and office.

Unitasker Wednesday: Beehive pizza ovenYesterday

Wood-fired pizza is pretty yummy. Actually, any pizza is pretty good in my opinion, but wood-fired seems to give pizza a delicious taste that a conventional oven just doesn’t achieve. So why not invest in the Beehive Pizza Oven from Williams-Sonoma? Well, the price tag ($2000) may make you reconsider. 

I don’t know, but at this price, wood-fired pizza may be something left to the professionals with their wood-fired ovens in their restaurants. Honestly, ovens in restuarants probably cost less than this gem.

From the product description:

Bring the pleasures of cooking in a terra-cotta, wood-fire oven to your backyard or deck. Wonderful for entertaining, this authentic European oven can bake everything from crisp-crusted pizzas and rustic breads to juicy roast chicken with a crackling golden skin. It’s very easy to use: Start by building a wood fire on the oven floor; when it reaches the desired temperature, push back the coals to expose a superheated baking surface.

Yeah, I know that you can bake other goodies in this thing, but I’m committed to its Unitasker distinction. It is a rather poor excuse for spending $2000 on an “entertaining” way to bake a pizza in your b

Unusual storage spacesDecember 2

I have a secret. See this cookie jar:

Are you imagining that it is filled with scrumptious chocolate chip cookies? Mmmmmm, cookies. Let’s take a peak inside of it:

Wait, those aren’t cookies!

Now you know my secret. I store garlic, potatoes, and onions in our cookie jar. It’s dry and dark in there, and no one suspects that Cookie Monster’s belly is full of healthy vegetables. Plus, I don’t have to sacrifice drawer or cupboard space to store these items that shouldn’t be refrigerated.

I’m not the only one with unusual items in my cookie jar:

Reader Sharon stores all of her chargers in her cookie jar, which sits right next to an electrical outlet. The chargers are where she needs them, and nicely stored when not in use.

Do you have any storage spaces in your kitchen that you use in creative ways? Let us k

Too many flower vasesDecember 2

As I was looking for something in my kitchen, I came across a cupboard that was filled with multiple flower vases. Over the years, my wife and I have received a fair amount of mail ordered flowers and with every order there is always a small glass vase included. Apparently, these vases all found their way into the same cupboard and now I’m trying to figure out what to do with them.

My first thought was to take them down to my local Goodwill, but I always remember seeing an abundance of vases at thrift stores. So, I decided against that. Then I called a local florist to see if they would be interested in reusing some flower vases for their deliveries. They were not very receptive to the idea. Maybe they thought I would return them with some sort of flower killing disease. Then I tried to figure out what I could use them for around the house other than storing loose change. I could use them for their purpose and display beautiful flowers each and every day, but buying flowers every week isn’t going to happen. I’d have to purchase quite a few bouquets just to put all the vases to use.

So what can I do with all of these vases? I’d be happy to receive some feedback in the comments and I’m sure some of our readers have the same issue of flower vases taking up way too much storage space. Lets get a collection of

Bedroom storageDecember 1

My wife and I currently have a rather sparse bedroom when it comes to decor. Since we moved into our smaller house, we have yet to purchase anything for our bedroom. When we downsized our home, we got rid of a lot of furniture and we just haven’t had the chance to make decisions about decorating our bedroom. As it is right now, the room only has a bed. There is nothing else in the room. I have become rather used to such an arrangement since bedrooms are for sleeping, but the lack of storage is an issue.

Like I said, our bedroom is sparse. We only have a bed and even that doesn’t include a headboard at the moment. So the issue of storing extra sheets, blankets, pillows and clothing has been designated to our closets on another floor. Our bedroom doesn’t have closets, so it gets kind of annoying at times. We are eventually going to invest in a dresser, but I’m not exactly sure what else we will need. I’d like to have a bed-side table for each side of the bed. Other than those items, I don’t see much else that we would need for a bedroom. We might want a trunk at the foot of our bed for storing extra sheets and our heavier comforter, but that’s about it.

Excess storage in the bedroom can lead to expanding one’

Rolling along with my ZÜCA bagNovember 29

A couple months ago, an employee at ZÜCA, Inc., e-mailed me and asked if I had ever heard of their line of luggage. I hadn’t.

At that time, I was in a hate-hate relationship with my overnight bag. It was a multiple-pocket duffle bag that had the worst strap configuration known to man on it. When I got it, the bag was empty, and I had no idea how much pain the strap could inflict on my shoulder with even the smallest amount of weight in it.

I decided to check out a ZÜCA bag and see if it might be a nice alternative. I’m glad that I did, because the ZÜCA bag is my new best friend for when I need to travel for a week or less.

These are the reasons why I think the ZÜCA bag is great:

• The wheels. They maneuver better than any luggage with wheels that I’ve ever test driven. Plus, you can order customized ones that look like roller skate or skateboard wheels.
• The built-in chair. The aluminum frame on the bag allows you to be able to use the piece of luggage as a chair. Often times, at the airport, I find myself waiting in lines. Now, I just sit while I wait.
• The TSA-compliant zipper pouch. The pouch has a specialized pocket right inside the bag so that I can easily grab it when heading through security and then pop it back int