From Booze to Makeovers: 12 Things You Didn’t Know Could Be Delivered

1. How is it running a business as a wife-and-husband team, with five children no less!

We capitalize on each other's strengths, and we help each other grow in our respective areas. I try to get comfortable with the things that he's good at and he tries to get comfortable with the paperwork – and the things that I'm a little bit more good at, and being aware of those responsibilities. So as long as we do that, things work out well.

2. What’s a recent small win for you and your business?

My husband recently learned how to repair a lot of different things. He paid attention to what the repairmen we hired to do the work were doing. Our top loaders, our most popular washing machine, takes a lot of wear and tear. They're not the easiest to maintain. My husband has learned how to fix them. That's a small win.

The second one, because I said I capitalize on his strengths and my strengths, is I've been much better about working with accounting software. I used Verizon Small Business resources to learn how to make our books easier.

3. Who is a woman in business that you look up to and why?

My husband and I both agree that the women who contract with us for our wash/dry/fold – who we were able to springboard with support from the Verizon grant program – have inspired us because they were homeless coming out of the pandemic. They were able to come into our establishment and start their own small business, and that's something that we are super proud of these women for, for taking the steps that they did to start their own small business.

4. What's a book, podcast, or resource that has made an impact on you as an entrepreneur?

Before 2018, my husband bought this DVD set by Danny D'Angelo, the KING of Laundry, and we were able to learn about the business just from sitting down and listening to him. A few years later, my husband was on his podcast! He was really, really inspirational to us.

5. How has the Verizon Small Business program helped propel your business forward?

The free resources are always a benefit because you're not obligated to do anything other than taking the time to seek out information. We're just real people and I feel like Verizon is a partnership with us in small business, supporting us, and believing in us. We've been able to expand our business because Verizon gave us a shot to do that. And that's amazing.

Learn more about the free Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program and Team J&S.

Illustration by Daniela Jordan-Villaveces.

Prior to buying this clothing rack, I had a larger one that featured three shelves and matched my former office's aesthetic. Unfortunately, it was damaged when we moved to our current apartment, so I took it as a sign that I needed to downsize.

After doing a ton of research on Amazon, I came across my current clothing rack — a simple, yet aesthetically-pleasing design that would match my white and gold desk perfectly!

Besides that, this clothing rack makes it 10x easier for me to wash clothes because I'm able to truly see what I want to wear for the next week or so. If you would've taken a look at my closet before I decided to find this more organized solution, you honestly would've screamed. There were clothes, shoes, and accessories covering every inch of it...to the point I'd often get overwhelmed by own my stuff. That used to make laundry day a pain in the butt, but I've put that behind me with this clothing rack!

But aside from the aesthetic, more obvious functionality, and the price (let's be real), the cute little features are truly what sold me on it more than anything. Let's get into the features and how they help me truly keep it together during laundry day.

My Favorite Features on Amazon Clothing Rack

Side Hooks

My hat obsession is real, so the first thing I knew I needed in a clothing rack is an area to store the ones I typically reach for on a routine basis. Though this clothing rack doesn't have built-in shelves on the side, it does feature two hooks that you can hang your lightweight coats, bags, or hats on.

Depending on my mood, I alternate between which of them I'll hang on the hooks. My goal is to never place more than 50 pounds on each hook, so if I have a coat on one side, I'll keep a hat and a bag on the other hook. Organization aside, with these hooks, I don't have to scramble to look for the coat I've been wearing regularly when I can easily see it hanging on the clothing rack.

Though it's under $30, the hooks on the clothing rack are pretty sturdy and haven't popped off in the year I've had it.

Sturdiness level: 5 out of 5

Two Anti-Slip Beads

My former clothing rack didn't have anti-slip beads ,so I'm going to be 100% honest when I say this: I don't think they really help me minimize the chaos of laundry day. They're nice if you're afraid your clothes are going to slide up and down your clothing rack, but I don't feel like they do anything that's groundbreaking.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Bottom Shelf

This clothing rack only has one shelf, so I use it to home the heels I tend to wear the most. I actually have a separate shoe rack that stores my sneakers and sandals, but it was mandatary to have something with a bit of extra storage — I can't help it that Carrie Bradshaw taught me how to love a shoe! Jokes aside, I'd say that the wire port of the bottom shelf isn't as sturdy as what I'm used to, but it's ability to hold platform heels upright and well definitely says a lot.

Before I actually started placing my overflow of shoes here, I used the bottom shelf as a place to store my dirty clothes so I'd know what needed to be washed. I'd fold them so they weren't thrown haphazardly in my laundry basket so I could see what was being washed in case I wanted to do an outfit repeat (no judgement!).

Rating: 4 out of 5

Sywhitta Clothing Rack on Wheels

Overall, I think this is a great clothing rack that budget and space-friendly! It's not going to give you all the features that a more expensive one will, but don't count it out! It'll help you keep track of your favorite clothes and accessories while making laundry day less chaotic.

So let’s start from the beginning. Paris Geller (played by Liza Weil) joined the GG crew in Season 1, right as Rory Gilmore (the show’s sort-of protagonist) walked into Chilton Academy, a private school where Paris was attending, for her first day. A far cry from Rory’s relatively timid and soft-spoken personality, Paris tore up the screen with her high-strung personality and immediate rivalry with Rory (Rory did not feel the same), who Paris viewed as the only candidate who could possibly challenge her spot at the top of the class standing. As the year progresses, the two become friends, which of course Paris still highly questioned.

The rest of their high school experience is plagued with repeated ups and downs, from Paris’s parents’ highly publicized divorce to their joint student government campaign and, most notably, Paris’s C-SPAN meltdown, courtesy of a Harvard rejection fueled by what she can only assume to be wide-spread knowledge that she lost her virginity. Despite losing the Valedictorian slot to Rory (which Paris comes to terms with after finding out Salutatorians tend to be more successful), Paris walks across the graduation stage and accepts her diploma from the school’s headmaster, to which she iconically quips, “no hard feelings.”

Fast forward to Paris’s first year at Yale, a school she knew Rory was attending but had no intention of ever seeing again. Not to the surprise of Paris’s life coach, the two frenemies were placed together as suitemates, a pairing that ultimately served as a catalyst for lifelong friendship. Throughout college, Paris pursues pre-med and pre-law degrees, joins the Yale Daily News alongside Rory, dates an elderly professor (he passes away, leaving Paris to grieve), moves on with the editor of the Yale Daily News, Doyle McMaster, and potentially saves Rory from abandoning Yale forever by admitting to Lorelai that Rory is the only person who ever listened to her, challenged her and motivated her.

Paris then proceeds to become the editor of the Yale Daily News, a position in which her power-hungry tendencies took full-force, resulting in a forcible resignation, kick Rory out of their shared apartment, let Rory move back into their shared apartment (now with Doyle), be accepted to a slew of prestigious medical and law schools. She ultimately chose to attend med school and break up with Doyle, to which he refused, and tells Rory that they’re on their own but she can still do great things (Of course this doesn’t last, the two are meant to be best friends.)

Somehow this doesn't even scratch the surface of the character of Paris. As you can tell, Paris is a fiercely loyal, protective woman who fights for herself to no end. She (literally) doesn’t care what other people think (so long as they’re not within her immediate circle) and never stops pursuing her dreams, no matter how many times she probably should have. She is the epitome of feminism in modern television — perhaps taken to an extreme — and serves as a necessary counterweight to Rory’s floundering sense of self.

So long as she keeps her need for perfectionism in check, Paris has one of those few personality types whose wild ambition and outspokenness is directly beneficial to her success, a success that she, and only she, can define. Sure, she has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, but when balanced by Rory’s soft-but-straightforward approach, Paris can quickly reset, reevaluate and move forward.

That's the thing with Paris — she’s always moving forward. She doesn't get into Harvard? Tough. She takes a few days to wallow before considering her other options: Yale, Columbia and Princeton. She doesn’t know whether to choose med school or law school, so she takes stock of her bearings, reflects on her past dreams, and makes a clear, concise decision that she moves forward with.

Her brutally honest nature (both internally and externally) is exactly why Paris works. She’s generous when needed, comfortable with giving tough (and oftentimes tougher) love, is able to express vulnerability with the people she loves, doesn’t allow outside influences to affect her path and never let’s someone (especially a man) tell her she’s less than (*cough, cough*—Rory). For an early 2000s show, she showed women that there is power in education. There’s power in stepping away from a caretaker role. There’s power in expressing your opinion, no matter your age.

There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s inspired countless women over the years — after all, she’s inspired me! Even though she’s had her controversial moments, she’s always been a cheering voice for women, even if it’s behind her resting grimace. For these reasons, and so many more, I am hereby deeming Paris Geller the best of Gilmore Girls — the heroine, perhaps, and a feminist icon to all.