The Final Countdown (to the Olympics)

By Nick Light

The Olympic Games are fewer than 100 days away. That’s quite the accomplishment, considering what they went through to make it to 2012.

According to lore, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (or Hercules, in Latin). Though most think that they had been occurring regularly for years before, the first games recorded in the annals of history took place in 776 BC, and had one event – the 200 (or so) yard dash. The games continued to grow for another 1,200 years until 393 AD when the Roman emperor Theodosius I ended them because of their pagan roots. CONTINUE READING

The Return to Organization

By Brooke Winebrenner

This year’s dreaded Tax Day has quickly come and gone. The day on which individual income tax returns were due to Uncle Sam. Hopefully you made the deadline this year, and can soon reap the benefits of a plentiful refund.

This year, the Internal Revenue Service reports that tax refunds are averaging about $3,000. That’s a good chunk of change! Knowing that this windfall is en route to your mailbox or already in your hands, the next step is the best part — what to do with all that money?

The options are limitless, really – some might choose to save, donate it to charity or take part in a guilty pleasure shopping spree. But, for me, it’s going to be all about home organization this year. By giving back to my home, I’m also giving back to me, and investing in making areas in my home more serene by creating organized space – something that’s often an afterthought throughout most of the year. Plus, spring is the time to prepare for all of the awesome things we all do in the summer. Think BBQs, beaches and baseball. CONTINUE READING

Gladiator® GarageWorks and Spring Training

By Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds’ Pitcher

As you might expect, there are many similarities between spring training and spring cleaning. With both, it takes a little while to get warmed up, and there can be a couple of hitches along the way. But once you get going, things start to fall into place. CONTINUE READING

Leap into Organization

By Blase Mnich

When spring fever hits, there’s no stopping it. You’ll want to jump in and do it all. After being cooped up inside all winter, who can blame you? But before you seize the longer and warmer days, you might want to take a day or two to get your spring gear nice and organized before you leap in to your hobbies.

A little extra time getting reorganized now could save you a lot of time looking for your gear. So pick a weekend for organization and start by pulling all of your stuff out of the garage. Donate or throw out everything you don’t want or need. You’ll be surprised how much room you’ll gain.

Next you’ll want to gather your stuff in piles based on categories so you can organize by hobbies and interest. Once that’s done, you’re ready to organize. Below are some tips for getting your spring sports stuff, tools, and gardening gear set for spring go time. CONTINUE READING

Streamline Your Household & Get Organized

By: Alicia Boltach, Peppercom

As a working mother of two rambunctious boys, (both under the age of five) having an organized and clean house is closer to a dream than a reality. Often times, my home resembles a maze of couch forts peppered with monster truck speedways and dinosaurs. Needless to say after working a long day, the last item on my priority list is to get organized. And as much as I enjoy the fact knowing that my boys are enjoying their youth, building their imaginations and having fun – I desire and yearn to have my living room back in order, where I can relax. Yet, history has a tendency to repeat itself, and I give way to the toys and have another reason to do something other than clean or declutter my home. And I am not alone.

In fact, a 2011 Gladiator® GarageWorks study* found that the top three reasons why people feel overwhelmed when attempting to organize are:

1 – Getting others to cooperate

2 – Having no help

3 – Lack of time

I can attest to all three, and I am culprit of giving every single excuse and then some! So to continue my efforts of my pledge to get organized for 2012, I have found the following tricks extremely useful to rallying the troops of my home and creating a streamlined process to cleaning up:

If you have young kids, create a chore time “High Five” chart – This will help to create expectations for your family and assist you to maintain a schedule. Simply trace child’s hand on a piece of paper, label each finger with specific chore and once chores are complete, the child receives a high five. You can even tailor the charts to specific times of the day, for example: Bed Time High Five.

Hold Family Meetings. Keep in close contact with your family by setting aside some time each week to discuss upcoming plans, fill in the family calendar, review upcoming events and appointments, decide on weekly meals and assign cleaning days, times and chores. Make this mandatory, even if it brings about complaining from your family members. Try to keep the meetings short, concise and to the point. This will help to alleviate some miscommunication and set the schedule for the week.

Talk to your significant other. Families need consistency. If one person is always telling the kids to pick up after themselves, and the other lets thing slide – it sends mixed messages. If both parties agree and stick with the decision made, there will be a less chance of resistance and frustration for everyone.

Have fun. Make cleaning up around the home rewarding. Once chores are complete, the reward can be as simple as a sticker or as elaborate as a pizza party. If there’s never a reward for doing something, people are less motivated to complete a task.

By implementing the tips above, I have been more efficient by completing my projects faster and am able to have additional time in my day. This has created more time for me and my kids for the things I love to do, even if it is messing up the living room one more time to ward off the evil monsters by building a couch fort for the 100th time.

*This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation from May 18-20, 2011 among 2407 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact media@whirlpool.com.

About the author: Alicia is a Gladiator PR Pro who was raised in Dallas and has spent her teen and adult years in the Midwest, but is a southern Texan girl at heart. She is a wife, mommy of two boys, lover of Mexican food and a true believer that organization is key to keeping her boys in line. In her spare time she loves to spend time near the water – boating, swimming, sunbathing, and reminiscing of the times she spent in her garage roller skating as a kid aspiring to become the next Olympic gold medalist in figure skating. 

Winter Maintenance — For the Garage

By Blase Mnich, Interactive Brand Writer

In preparation for winter you cleaned, disposed and turned your garage inside-out organizing. You winterized. There was enough room to fit your ride, snow blower and all your winter essentials.

Then winter happened…

Slowly things started to get messy and dirty again. Snow boots, winter toys, and tools all started to claim garage space. And with each wintery commute, your car brings more snow and salt in to the garage.

No matter how hard you try to plan for the winter, it can still end up taking you for a ride. That’s why Gladiator® GarageWorks helps you get organized and stay organized. If winter is getting the best of your garage, here are a few tips to help you get organized.

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The Takeover Campaign Continues

By: Jonah Bromich, PR Pro

In 2011 Gladiator® GarageWorks debuted its Takeover Campaign in Indianapolis, and for the second year in a row, we’re excited to kick-off 2012 with our participation in the Indianapolis Home Show. From Jan. 20, 2012 – Jan. 29, 2012, patrons of the show will have the opportunity to be the first to check out our new Rack Shelving and smart home storage solutions, designed to help create more organized spaces in the garage and home, adapted to fit homeowners’ ever-changing needs.

Among the mix of versatile products featured in booth #422, Gladiator brand will showcase its signature line of tool chests, cabinets, wall systems, flooring, workbenches, and appliances. Also at the show, Gladiator brand is displaying a suite of products in the exquisite Centerpiece Home constructed by Fischer Homes. Be sure to stop by the Home to experience home storage solutions that will have you showing off your garage to your guests before they even set foot inside your house!

Take a look at our sleek system featured inside the booth and learn more about some of the exciting products we’ll be showcasing: CONTINUE READING