Here’s a fun opportunity for a qualified Shelterrific reader: A friend of mine who is an editor for a major national magazine is looking for a super-organized homeowner in NYC or the nearby burbs. Must have a photogenic house AND great organizing ideas. Email me (angela at shelterrific dot com) and I’ll give ya the details if you think you’ve got the goods! — Angela M.

Last week The New York Times House & Home section had funny story called Brushes to Set the Teeth on Edge. It was about how ridiculous it is that toothbrush handles have become so wide and unruly, while the holes in toothbrushes holders have remained the same. Now they’re all too small! This has caused quite a quandary among the design set: What to do with toothbrushes? Place them in a cup (they can get yicky on the bottom)? Balance them on the top of the holder? The Times offered up a few solutions — including this using this nifty thing from Umbra: the Grassy organizer. Above, Angela M. has some suction cup holders that do the trick, albeit, not so beautifully. Perhaps you have a better solution? How are toothbrushes stored in your house? Send in photos and we’ll post them!

We can’t imagine having a party these days without sending out electronic invites. But the designs at the traditional sites do leave something to be desired. That’s where pingg.com comes in. Their gallery of images are so vibrant, they’ll pop in any in-box. Best of all, you can upload your own image and customize the invitation to reflect your own creative ideas; you can send the invites via cell phone, email, Facebook or even on a personalized web page. We’re so inspired, we may have to throw a party soon just to use this site. Memorial day cookout, anyone? Like any good e-vite site, Pingg allows you to manage your invites and keep track of responses. Click here to visit pingg.com.

So I finally purchased Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure, thinking I would be a late joiner to the 2008 Spring Cure. I’m reading through the book slowly, and there’s a lot of discussion of how important it is to make your bedroom feel like a sanctuary. While TVs aren’t explicitly mentioned (well, maybe they are eventually — I haven’t read it that closely yet) there always seem to be to be news stories on how bad it is to have a TV in the bedroom. Of course, not everyone feels this way: witness “Hi-Can, the Ferrari of Beds” — it pretty much is a TV! We don’t currently have a TV in our bedroom, but I confess: I love to watch movies in bed. What about you — TV in the bedroom, or banned from it? –Mary T.

Above image from Apartment Therapy.

I have a lot of purses and not a lot of storage space. Until we get organized enough in our new house to add a built-in or two, I’m loving these over-the-door purse organizers from Bed Bath & Beyond. I have a sneaking suspicion that there are those who would lecture me that hanging purses by the strap isn’t good for them, but like I said — these are a great solution for now. And just ten bucks for the two of them! –Mary T.

What better way to start the week than with some inspiration? Flickr group The Annotated Work Spaces Pool is a place where you not only get some interesting organizational designs, you can gain a glimpse into the workspaces of others, from office cubicles to artist studios.

Ever painted a wall, stood back, and had that sinking feeling when you realized the color you chose looked vile against your rug, or couch, or adjacent room? This new digital handheld wants to help you with that. The Color-Helper helps you match and harmonize colors using what the manufacturers call “proven color ’science.’” Position it over a wall, carpet, or fabric, click it, and it will instantly supply the three closest color chip matches from a database of more than 13,000 shades from major paint manufacturers, plus recommend coordinating colors. While right now colors are limited to interior paint, they tell us that palettes of siding, shingles, and exterior paint are in the works. You can also buy a cord so you can instantly upload new paint colors when added. The Color-Helper is $229, but right now you can save $40 by participating in a survey at color-helper.com. See the Color-Helper in action here.

We loved the idea of these Oxo ice cube trays so much, we put them on our wedding registry. But alas — the reservoirs are so shallow, we tend to spill more water on the floor than we freeze. And while we thought the lid would allow us to pop out a few cubes at a time without getting a bunch on our laps, you can’t snap it on before the water is frozen, or you end up spilling more water everywhere. And when the lid is on, it’s not that easy to get individual cubes out. (Looks like a few Amazon reviewers have had the same issues. And some suggest that maybe I’m just ignorant in the ways of ice cubes.) So what item were you hoping would work great, but it ended up just taking up space? –Mary T.

This Ben Katchor cartoon in the most recent Metropolis Magazine made me laugh, but it also got me thinking about household safety. (Maybe I’ve been watching too much Jericho.) We have the standard smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, but other than that, we haven’t given it much thought. So I’m curious: how extensive is your emergency plan — do you have a three-week stockpile of nonperishable food items? Or, like me, do you not have one at all? –Mary T.

P.S. A good place to get started is American Red Cross: Be Prepared. There are also lots of emergency supply kits online. And just because it’s interesting, Boing Boing recently shared some information on emergency survival for vegetarians.

Photo copyright Ariel Meadow Stallings.

Seattle author and self-confessed internet addict Ariel Meadow Stallings has come up with an idea so simple and yet so brilliant, she was featured on The Today Show just three weeks after posting about it on her blog. 52 Nights Unplugged is just like it sounds: “One night a week, I am going to completely unplug from anything with a screen,” Stallings writes. “This means no computer, no cell phone, no movies. I plan to focus instead on the other things I like doing like writing letters, crafting, organizing, dancing, going for walks, cooking and making tea, writing in my paper journal.” I’m someone whose day starts and ends on the computer, so this idea struck a chord with me — and obviously I’m not the only one. So starting tonight, we’re adopting 52 Nights Unplugged in our household. If you’d like to try it, there is a place you can track your progress and share your thoughts — online! Join 52 Nights Unplugged here. –Mary T.