Monthly Archives: January 2011

 Aside from their successful careers, these three beautiful and admirable women manage to achieve a balance between work and family while becoming outstanding homemakers. Active social and civic worker Angela Arroyo, famed model turned jewelry designer Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales and fashion buyer Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat all exude effortless grace while juggling their professional and personal commitments.

While husband Pampanga Representative Mikey Arroyo is busy at work, Angela Montenegro-Arroyo takes on the equally challenging responsibility of being a devoted homemaker. At home, Angela ensures that everything is done neatly and orderly. She shares, “I give each house help a task to do, assign which area they are in charge of and ensure that they have done their work right. “ However, she leaves house designing to herself. “I love to decorate and arrange things at home,” she continues. “I like Asian inspired pieces like Thai and Chinese decorations and accents.”

She firmly believes that spending quality time with her two daughters is important and that being there to raise her children and run the household are the hardest of all professions. Angela shares her secret to maintaining a happy family despite their busy schedules. “We make it a point to always spend time as a family whether we’re just at home, eating out or travelling together.”

Angela’s Organizing Tips:

1. Label and store items orderly.

2. Set aside what you don’t need or use anymore.

3. Always keep things and surroundings neat.

4. Schedule a day to organize and check all the things inside the house or your bag to see which are still useful for you and those are good to go either trash, donate, or yard sale.

Supermodel and jewelry designer Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales could not agree more. Even if Tweetie and husband Mon are busy with work, they spend as much time as they can with their five children. “My kids always look forward to going out as a family. We usually go out of town for the day or just hangout around the house and do barbecue or swimming.” With one daughter and four sons, Tweetie always finds a reason to clean their house. The mother of five is meticulous in keeping their abode clean and homey. She avoids mediocrity and believes that “if you’re doing something, might as well do it right and do it well.”

She expounds, “More than anything, I like being neat and orderly—from my bag to my notebooks to my fashion sense. When I get dressed, I like to look clean and polished.” This mantra is clearly reflected on the organized lifestyle that Tweetie leads.

Tweetie’s Organizing Tips:

1. Organize your belongings according to their use. ex. clothes-for workouts, for casual Fridays, for dressy events, for rainy days, for PTA meetings; for school and office supplies-for cutting, for marking, for binding, for artworks, for labeling, for printing; for note cards-casual, formal, kiddie, etc..

2. Always keep a record book of items that go inside the storage cabinet and/or storage bins. Cross out entries that have been pulled out to keep the inventory updated.

3. Label, label, label!!!

4. I like using the same storage aids per area (in kind, size and color) for a more organized, neater arrangement.

Rustan’s fashion buyer and curator for ladies and young adults Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat says time management plays a crucial role in fulfilling her responsibilities. Even if most of her day is spent at work, she never fails to set aside quality time for husband Paolo and son Xevi. “One of my most favorite things that we do is having mini-concerts at home. We play instruments and sing along to our favorite tunes while pretending to be in front of a huge audience.”

Katrina’s talents extend beyond her rock-star potential. While maintaining good energy between her family and the staff, she also knows how to keep her household organized by making lists and schedules for everyone. “I have a step-by-step ‘how to clean’ guide all over the house for our helps. It’s a bit over the top but it helps everyone in our home as I am typically in the office all day.”

As an icon of style, Katrina mixes up things from fabrics to textures to colors. She prefers a home that is relaxing and easy on the eye and body while mixing in hints of glamour. “The most important thing is that my home should be an escape from anything hectic and stressful.” says this Power Mom.

Katrina’s Organizing Tips:

1. Avoid delaying chores. Fix clutter and tidy up immediately.

2. Buy items for organizing like magazine boxes, nice baskets, paper trays, multipurpose containers that are functional and pleasant to look at at the same time.

3. Allot a place for everything so you know where your stuff is stored when you need it, as they say, “a place for everything and everything in its place.”

4. To easily locate your stored items always label the outside of the box with all the things that is in it.

For these homemakers, no better solution could have addressed their home requirements better than Make Room. Make Room products enliven the home while providing clever and stylish alternatives that aid any busy mom. Make Room offers innovative and stylish home organizing solutions for an easy and clutter-free living. Each piece accentuates any room with sophistication from their crisp linens to their unique dining ware to their different storage boxes to fun printed pillowcases and home decorations. With Make Room, anyone can definitely transform their home with ease and achieve an happy and orderly lifestyle like Angela, Tweetie and Katrina.

Make Room is a store concept by Stores Specialists Inc and is located at at 3/F Rockwell Mall, Ground Floor Alabang Town Center, Block 7 Bonifacio High Street, 4th Level Rustans Department Store Shangri-la Plaza and at the Ground Level of Eastwood Park Promenade.

[email_link]