Label Twice, Find it First

“Measure twice, cut once.” I’m not sure where this phrase originated, but I remember seeing it on a coffee mug from the PBS show, This Old House. The idea is sound: measure whatever you are cutting twice, to be sure you have it right, before you cut it.

While working on organizing my own basement with my husband, I thought of a twist on the phrase: “Label twice, find it first.” By this I mean: label your container on at least two sides, and you’ll find it easily.

My husband uses clear, plastic containers, of the same size, for storage in the basement. The containers are arranged nicely in one area of the basement, but I couldn’t always figure out what went in each box. My husband said, “but the containers are labeled.”

Yes they were, but the containers were often put back into place without the label facing out. I decided to label both sides so no matter which way the container was put back, the label would be clearly visible.

Thus my advice, “Label twice, find it first.”

Change Is Good

Change is good for us, or so the conventional wisdom says, and sometimes it takes our organizing systems a while to catch up.

Case in point: my own personal projects filing system. I used to have an accordion file from The Container Store that I loved. It was a way of taking the stack of pending papers on the corner of my bedroom dresser and getting them into a more organized state. Poof, they were in the file (in labeled sections of course) and I didn’t have to see the stack any more. I was good about going through it periodically and taking out what I was working on, and purging what was outdated.

Now that I’ve created my office on the second floor next to my bedroom, I don’t need to keep papers on the dresser anymore. Plus as I’ve been reading more about feng shui, I want to keep as many papers and projects out of that room. Only restful and peaceful energy allowed.

It’s taken me a while to figure out how to organize my non-business projects in the new office space. The accordion file just didn’t work on my desk. I also tried a tiered in-box, no in-box, and a vertical file sorter. Finally I found a solution: a desktop file.

This is one of my favorite solutions for clients, so I’m not surprised it worked for me. I can see the categories on the hanging folders easily, and the folders provide a home for pending projects and all those little bits of information that tend to accumulate. My categories include, “To Buy,” “Current Projects,” “Health,” and “Financial.”

I think I may have figured out a solution that works for me (at least for now). So don’t despair: if one system doesn’t work, try, try again.

And if you need help, call That’s Neat! Organizing.

Dropped, Plopped and Stopped!

Great tips to organize those important drop-zones by guest blogger, Janna Lufkin. 

Let’s face it, we all have those unsightly areas in our homes that seem to catch everything as soon as we hit the door. The kids drop books, backpacks and lunch pails. We adults plop down our briefcases and/or purses, our shoes - even our mail. These spots grab it all and often not in a very orderly manner. You might have a mudroom for this purpose but a good number of us carve a “drop zone” out of hallways, overstuffed closets, stairways, laundry rooms and sometimes even valuable kitchen countertop space.

This summer (before the new school year starts) why not create an organized, efficient area for all of these daily essentials?

Here are a few ideas:

• Mudrooms. If you’re fortunate enough to have such a designated space, make it work for more than just your shoes, boots and coats. Add hooks for each family member and encourage them to hang backpacks, purses and briefcases. If your mudroom has a bench, slide labeled bins underneath for each family member to hold books, sports equipment even pet supplies. Hang a simple file organizer for mail and add a key hook underneath so you won’t spend valuable morning time searching for your keys.
• Hallways. If a central hall area space works best for your family, add a bench and use the space underneath for storage. Labeled bins or baskets work well. Add a coat rack or install hooks. A simple tall container (clear glass cylinder, vase or galvanized flower bucket) makes a great umbrella stand. A basket to catch the mail, and another for pet supplies (leashes, collars, toys, towel).
• Hall Closet. Install efficient, adjustable shelving and a hanging coat rod. My favorite system is by Elfa. It adjusts by the inch! Measure typical items that would go into the closet (how long are your coats for example?) and adjust accordingly. Sort and stack hats, gloves, scarves, shoes and other daily essentials and purchase bins for each family members stuff. Slide a basket or two onto the floor and use for backpacks and sports equipment. Don’t forget to use the inside of the closet door for storage too. Small hanging shoe bags work great for keys, glasses, sunscreen, etc. and a file holder for the daily mail.
• Kitchen Area. If you must use valuable kitchen space for these items, try to designate a cupboard close to the door. Purchase bins for books and backpacks; label them and place on the cabinet shelves. On the countertop above, place a letter basket for mail and a free-standing accordion file labeled with each family member’s name for important papers (homework, bills to be paid, etc.) If space allows, add a bulletin board for notes and a calendar. A cute flower pot holds keys and another for pens, pencils and stamps.

So stop the morning chaos. Spend a little time this summer carving out an efficient drop-zone in your home. Before you know it, you’ll be spending valuable time enjoying an extra few minutes of shut-eye or another cup of Joe.

-Janna

Quick Tip: Labels for a Sunny Day

I’ve been trying to remember to put sunscreen on my daughter before she heads out each day. We’ve left the sunscreen on a shelf by the front door, and we often remember…but there are many hectic mornings when we forget.  With the weather getting hotter I wanted to have a reminder for myself.

So I did what I would tell my clients to do: label it! I made a reminder that hangs on a door knob in a fun sun shape. (A post-it note would work just as well.)  I made one for the front door and the back door, and now we never forget!

TAG (Sale) – You’re it!

'Tis the season for tag sales. Read these tips from guest blogger, Janna Lufkin. 

Garage sales, tag sales, yard sales - whatever you call them – they can be fun, profitableand give you your garage back.

Summer is the perfect time to tackle this project. If you encourage your family to pitch in, by the end of the day you’ll not only have a few extra dollars in your pockets, you will have cleared some much-needed real estate.

Here are a few tips and tricks to organizing these weekend money-makers:

• Give yourself time to organize. A month before your sale, clear your house and garage of saleable items, go room by room clearing out closets and drawers and don’t forget to look under the beds! Box and price as you go.
• Choose a sale date that is NOT a holiday weekend. Families often leave town during these typical summer holidays. You’ll want as many people around as possible to attend your event.
• Purchase tags or stickers in different bright colors. Assign each family member their own color. When an item sells, keep the tag (stick or staple it to a sheet of paper so you don’t lose it.) At the end of the day, each family member will know just how much they sold.
• Make sure all electronics are in working order. Have an extension cord handy for potential buyers. Nobody wants to purchase something only to get it home and find it doesn’t work.
• Group items together. Set up tables for smaller items such as vases, knick-knacks, dishes and glassware. Group larger items as well, tools, garden items, furniture, kids toys, etc. Make sure everything is clean and in working order.
• Advertise your sale. Craig’s List is a great way to get the word out. Bright colored, large, neatly printed signs work well to grab a neighborhood passerby as well as a classified ad in the local newspaper.
• Have enough small bills and loose change on hand when the sale starts. Wear a carpenter’s apron to keep money handy and safe. Every few hours, stash the cash you’ve made in a secure place away from the sale site.
• Set up a free coffee table in the morning. Turn it into a .25 cent lemonade stand in the afternoon and get the kids to help. They make a little money – or – you could donate the proceeds to a worthy cause.
• After the sale. Immediately pack up and donate unsold items. Don’t put them back in the garage!
• Last but not least. Park your car in the garage – it’s a great feeling!

-Janna

Knickknacks in the Attic

Recently I was sorting through things in in my attic and came across two boxes nicely labeled “knickknacks - attic.”  This ranks in my top 3 labels to NOT use for boxes, #1 and #2 being “miscellaneous” and “stuff.” 

I caution clients to avoid these labels, but when I last moved five years ago I had labeled two boxes “knickknacks” and shoved them in the attic. Good place for them, right?

I had no idea what I had packed in there, so I decided to take a look. I also “decided to decide.”* That is, I’d make a decision on this stuff, once and for all. No more knickknack boxes in the attic!

What was in there? I found my wooden animal and small box collections from when I used to travel often to Africa and Latin American. Also lots of drink coasters. Why did I have so many coasters and how had we possibly lived without them? (Just kidding). Also inside was my husband’s model (I mean die-cast replica) 42 Ford pick up truck from his days as a Product Manager at the Danbury Mint.

While I found a few treasures, like a favorite wooden elephant named Stampy, and a few nice framed photos, many of the items didn’t “fit my life now.”* 

Following my “decide to decide” strategy, I immediately sorted out the things I knew I wouldn’t use and put them in a pile to donate. I found a place for Stampy and returned to the 42 Ford pick up to my husband. I also set out a few new photographs.

Then I was left with the dreaded “maybe” pile. Clients: I know first-hand how hard it is to decide on the maybes. For me, the maybes represented my past life when I regularly travelled internationally as part of my non-profit career.

It was hard to part with this pile, but I decided if I couldn’t find a way to enjoy these things, I’d donate them. (I certainly wasn’t enjoying them packed away in the attic.) So now I am looking for a way to display some of the wooden animals, and have let a lot of the little boxes go into the donate pile. Whew!

Although it was hard to decide on some of these items, I feel better and lighter knowing that I unearthed these things from the attic. Now on to find any boxes I’ve marked “stuff to save!”

*From The Organizing Sourcebook: Nine strategies for simplifying your life by Kathy Waddill. For this organizing project I used Strategy #1 and #7.

30 Minute Organizing: Bedside Table

Calming or chaotic? Which best describes your bedside table?

Now think for a moment, how would you like it to be?

I hope you answered calming! According to the principles of feng shui and the National Sleep Foundation, a bedroom should be a calming and relaxing space. Fewer distractions—and clutter is a distraction—promote better sleep and improve your energy.

Spend 30 minutes de-cluttering your bedside table as a first step towards creating a more peaceful bedroom. 

First, clear off everything that has accumulated on the surface of your bedside table. Throw out the trash and recycle the catalogs and magazines you aren’t reading any more…or haven’t had time to read. 

Be ruthless and realistic with your reading material! Make a rule for yourself: keep no more than 5 items to read…or use the one-in one-out rule: as soon as a new issue of a magazine or newspaper arrives, recycle the last one even if you haven’t read it.

Next, remove anything that has to do with work. Put work in your office, briefcase or create another area out of the bedroom for work-related papers and projects. (Also check out this blog entry, Don’t Take Your Work To Bed With You, on www.organize-office.com.)

Don’t forget to look in any drawers or shelves of your bedside table. What’s in there? Kleenex and cough drops? 15 bookmarks? Expired medicine? Old glasses? Only keep easily accessible what you use most often.

Now put back your reading material (see rules above).  Maybe add a small dish or basket to catch your jewelry or watch. You can also add something you’d enjoy looking at every morning like a photo, special piece of artwork, or other memento. Keep a pen and paper (or PDA) to jot down quick notes. 

In just 30 minutes, you’ve cleared a space and improved your bedroom. Enjoy your de-cluttered bedside table, and have a good night’s sleep!

Spring Fling: 3 Seasonal Organizing Projects

Spring has come to New England and with the warmer weather, we can say good-bye to snow shovels, boots, scarves, and wool sweaters. This month I’m working on a few seasonal organizing projects of my own.*

For each of my projects the key strategy is rotate: I put what I’m going to use now easily within reach, and put the off-season items away.

Hall Closet: I use an over-the-door shoe bag with pockets in my closet. In the winter the  pockets are filled with hats, gloves, and pocket-size Kleenex…but for the summer, they are replaced with sunscreen, sunglasses and summer hats. I also pull out all the winter things that have drifted to the bottom of the closet, and sort into piles: to donate, to wash, or take to the dry cleaners. Once everything is clean, it all gets put away in a basket at the bottom of the closet, or hung in the back of the closet. The spring jackets get rotated to the front of the closet for easy access.

Clothes Closet: Same strategy for my closet—take out the winter things for storage in the attic, while checking to see if there are any clothes/shoes that I haven’t worn and can donate. I also make piles for dry cleaning and mending. Then the summer clothes go in and I’m ready for warmer weather.

Basement: This is another area to rotate items: the snow shovels go to the back of the basement in one corner, making it easier for me to reach the gardening equipment. The ice skates and sleds get put away, while my daughter's bike comes out.

*If you live in an area that doesn’t have such drastic weather changes, you can still use the Spring and Fall as reminders to do a sort and purge of the closets, basement or attic.

Preserving Treasured Photos

Here's the second post in my Preserving Treasures series…I'm pleased to have our guest blogger, Gabriela Burgman, a trained archivist and professional organizer, back to share her tips for preserving special photos.

In the summer of 1999, I had the wonderful opportunity to work in the photograph archives at the San Diego Historical Society. My duties included describing, dating, and preserving postcards and photograph collections gathered from businesses and families that had lived in San Diego for the past 100 years.

As I handled hundreds of unidentified images and photos that were disintegrating from poor storage, I realized that we, as archivists, needed to teach the public about organizing their photos so that when we received them as donations several generations in the future, their value would not be lost. So I am here today to give you a quick lesson on photo preservation.

Why are photos so sensitive? Print photographs are made up of many layers that come together to form the image. Since photos are more complicated than pieces of paper, they tend to need a little more TLC if you want them to last more than a few years.

Preserving Photos

There are three main things to think about if you want your photos to be around to show the grandkids (especially the really embarrassing photos of their parents).

1. Treat your photos like a living thing. Photos are sensitive to heat, light, humidity, and even air pollution. All of these things can fade, warp, scratch, melt, and disintegrate your photos.

So how do you keep them in good health? Store them in conditions that humans like to hang out in: low humidity, steady in temperature (a bit on the cool side), absent of rodents and insects, and in an atmosphere low in pollution - no smoke, no cleaning solvents, and no paints or varnishes (this includes newly painted rooms or furniture).

Some basic Do’s and Don'ts:

• Don't store your photos in your attic, basement, garage, or "beneath or in close proximity to water sources like washing machines, bathrooms, or air-conditioning equipment. Be sure to consider what is in the room above your collections." Also avoid storing near fireplaces, radiators, or heating vents.

• Do keep photos out of direct sunlight and away from unprotected fluorescent lighting.

• Do keep the area where you store your photos clean.

If you ever want to see a demo of what can happen to your treasured objects depending on what room you store them in, visit the Image Permanence Institute website.

2. Store your photos like prized possessions. Now that I've impressed upon you how delicate photos are, let me show you great ways to preserve and organize your images.

First, some important Don’ts:

• Don’t think that papers, albums, envelopes, and adhesives labeled “archival” or “acid-free” are automatically safe for your photos. The Northeast Document Conservation Center explained it best: “There are [no] scientific standards defining the term archival-quality enclosures, and this term in catalogs can be misleading…Boxes, mats, folders, and other paper enclosures for preservation use at home should be low-lignin or lignin-free, and buffered throughout.” 
• (Find a thorough explanation of terms like “buffered” and “lignin” from the Northeast Document Conservation Center here; scroll down to “Storage Enclosures.”)

• Don’t stuff your photos tightly into drawers, files, envelopes, or plastic containers. When you compact the images they have a greater chance of sticking to each other.

• But don't go to the extreme and store your photos too loosely in an oversized container. When you do that, they tend to slump, curl, or even bend from being jostled around.

Now for what you’ve been waiting for: how DO you store photos? There are two levels of “armor” to consider:

1) Paper or plastic?  Ideally, photos are stored in either a paper envelope or a plastic enclosure. Deciding which one to use will depend on how many times you will look at the photo, the state of the print (is the emulsion flaking off?) and how big the photograph is.

• If you are going to look at your photos often, use clear plastic enclosures made of polyethylene, polypropylene, spun-bonded polyolefins, or polystyrene (avoid anything frosted, made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or glassine).

• Look for enclosures noted to be “PAT.”  This means they’ve passed the Photographic Activity Test (PAT) and will not react with your photos.

• If your photograph is flaking, is glued to an acidic board, or just needs more support, you can store them in buffered paper envelopes (unless your photo is a cyanotype).

• Store photographs larger than an 8x10 horizontally in special folders.

• The same rules pretty much apply to your negatives. You can store them in plastic unless they are larger than 4 x 5 or are nitrate negatives. Then you need to store the negatives in paper envelopes.
• If you prefer to put your photos directly in albums, make sure the pages are also made of the appropriate plastic and that any paper used is non-acidic. Do not use albums with "magnetic" pages, black paper pages, or ones made with vinyl.

2) Box or album? After your photos and negatives are in their proper first enclosures, now you can do one of two things: store them in boxes or put them in albums.

• Boxes: Try to store your photos vertically, supported within the box so they don’t slouch over. Make sure the box is the appropriate size; use shoe boxes for 3x5 or 4x6 photographs, and document boxes for folders. Your oversized prints should be put into flat boxes and stored horizontally (never vertically).

• Several companies which sell archive materials also offer photograph Box kits that you can purchase, including Archival Methods, Hollinger Metal Edge, and Light Impressions.

• Albums: If you chose to put your photographs in albums, make sure to buy both the inserts and covers from reputable dealers.

• If you decide to save your photographs in the form of scrapbooks, I highly suggest you visit the Scrapbook Preservation Society to find out how you can preserve all the hard work you’ve put into making these family heirlooms.

I recognize that you can’t put your entire photograph collection into museum preservation order. At minimum, you really should group photos together in small stacks (say 36) and put into buffered folders or envelopes (as shown in this kit sold by Light Impressions).

3. Handle photos with care. Whenever you are going to sort, view, or handle your photographs, make sure that you are first working in a clean, uncluttered area, and have clean hands. (If you are sitting down to do a large project with treasured photos, you might want to even wear clean, white cotton gloves.)

If you are going to try to label your photos, do not use ink or felt-tip pens. You can either write lightly using a soft lead pencil or purchase a special blue photo marking pencil.

I hope you find it useful to preserve your most special photos for years to come!

Gabriela Burgman, owner of Claiming Space, holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters Degree in Information Science from the University of Michigan. She has worked in colleges and universities for six years as an archivist and a records manager, assisting academic offices, administrators, and retiring academics sort through their files for preservation or disposal.

Tornado Season: Spring Cleaning

Feeling ready for Spring? Here's some inspiration from guest blogger, Janna Lufkin.

I grew up in Idaho: we don’t have tornadoes but you’d think one hit the house every March or April. It was time for the annual Spring Cleaning. My mom would take an entire weeks vacation from work and whip herself up into cleaning frenzy!

Personally, I look forward to spring cleaning, but like most, I can’t spend an entire week on the project.

Over the years I have learned not to try to do too much all at once. Here’s how I go about it: my system is to break down the tasks into smaller tasks.

I take a day to clean and reorganize each drawer in the house. I start by setting up some boxes marked toss or donate. I’ll go from room to room to sort, reorganize and clean each drawer. I take the items that are no longer needed or wanted and toss them into the right boxes. I finish my day with a trip to the Goodwill.

When I have another day I do closets, then onto cupboards (including the pantry) and so on. Again, I have my boxes in tow and finish with a trip to Goodwill.

I call this cleaning from the inside out.

After about three days of cleaning and sorting throughout the month I move on to other tasks like wiping walls and woodwork, which usually takes a day. Next up: vacuuming furniture, drapes or blinds, and having the rugs and carpets cleaned. I’ll take one day and thoroughly clean all of the bathrooms and another day to get down and dirty in the kitchen. Finally I clear out winter blankets and bedding, wash everything and store for the summer.

And, you know what I discovered? By tackling my cleaning in this way I found I really enjoyed it! It wasn’t so much of a ‘big’ chore as it was a series of smaller chores done over a month or so.

So, throw open the windows and doors and let the fresh air and sunshine in while you work. Take joy in the ritual – just do it a little at a time.

-Janna

Bag It!

Bags are an excellent and inexpensive organizing tool:

• Use different bags to designate different activities; for example, my daughter has a school backpack, ballet bag, ice skating bag, and swim bag.

• Bags can also help in other ways. We have a bag with stickers, paper, and small toys and games that we take in the car for short trips (when the DVD player seems like too much). I add things to this special "car bag" at random times so that when it comes out it holds some surprises. (This could be a good use for those small plastic toys from restaurants and birthday parties that seem to multiple in kids' rooms.)

• Many families keep a bag just for library books.

How do you use bags in your home? Be sure to label the bags or use different colors/designs to quickly tell them apart. Then you can grab and go!

This was first published in The Neat Sheet newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Taking a Light Hearted Approach to Organizing

Another post by guest blogger, Janna Lufkin. Read her insightful take on being "too organized." (Is there such a thing?)

We hear a lot these days about “getting organized”. I saw the topic on many New Year’s resolution lists in January. It’s true, once you get yourself organized you quickly realize how much smoother your entire life runs.

However, I’ve seen the other end too – believe it or not, too organized! So much so that it makes it difficult to actually “live” in a home comfortably.

I think at one time, I fell into that category: a place for everything, everything in it’s place “QUICKLY” kind of approach worked best for me. But for my family? Maybe not so much.

For example, my daughter would come through the back door from a day at school, kick off her shoes, dump her backpack, lunch, etc. and be so excited to tell me about her day. I would listen (sort of) while whisking shoes into a bin, hanging up her backpack and cleaning out her lunch bag all in record time. In a flash, I had it done and would move onto my next task – usually dinner.

Fortunately, it occurred to me one day (hopefully not too late) that I was wasting valuable face time with her. I realized I was missing out on the big stuff – the important stuff - the stuff that really mattered.

We live in a relatively small home – a little less than 1900 sq.ft. and while it is ample space for three of us, in no time it can feel messy and disorganized if things don’t quickly migrate to their ‘homes’.

But how quick is to quick? Seconds from landing is probably too quick.

My solution: I learned to get things in order before I turned in for the night. I’d spend a few minutes, usually not more than 20 or 30, picking up, looking over schoolwork, making lunches, etc. Things were quieter then too and I found the time less stressful and even enjoyable. I knew that when I got up the next morning, things were organized and I could go about getting my day started quickly and easily.

Whether it’s getting your paperwork in order, getting your kids out the door in the mornings, grocery shopping, getting dinner on the table or cleaning up your house, take a step back and remember to actually “live” in your home. Your family will love you for it too.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

-Janna

A Valentine’s KISS = Keep It Super Simple

This month, enjoy time with your valentine…but why not also spend a little time getting organized for tax day on April 15th?

Preparing for taxes doesn’t have to be complicated, and often the simplest systems are the easiest to maintain. So this month, don’t forget another kind of KISS = Keep It Super Simple. Here are some KISS tips to help you organized before tax day:

• Gather all the tax documents arriving in your mail, like W-2s, bank and mortgage interest statements, into one folder. Keep the folder near where you open the mail and as soon as you get these important tax documents, drop them in.

• Collect all your receipts that may be used for deductions. I keep my personal deductions in a section of an accordion folder with my bills. I keep business deductions in a separate envelope in my office file cabinet. I have one client who uses clear plastic bags to organize her receipts, both personal and business. Throughout the year she finds a receipt, and puts it in the bag. It’s super simple, and it works!

• If you have to do the same preparation process for taxes each year, make a list of the steps. After several years of preparing my business taxes for my accountant, last year I finally made a checklist of what documents I needed to gather, what calculations I needed for my home office deductions, etc.  I know that using my checklist will save me time this year.

12 Months Organized a Quarter at a Time

Read about my cousin Janna's great system for staying on top of projects all year long.

January is National Get Organized month….but I’ll bet you have something that needs to be taken care of every month of the year. By splitting the year into quarters, you can rest assured that you will make every monthly deadline and do it with ease.

For the past 15 years I have made the bulk of my living as a photostylist and producer for catalogs, magazines and advertising campaigns. So come January I’m actually thinking April, May and June. By Valentine’s Day I’ll be gearing up for July and summer-themed shoots. Come spring, I’m working on the holidays and spend most of my summer thinking ‘Winter Wonderland’ and by fall, it’s spring colors and ideas that cover my desk. The sheer nature of the business requires not only lots of organization and coordination, it requires me to think at least 3 or 6 months or even a whole year ahead!

So, years ago I started to organize not only my work calendar this way but also my personal one. By thinking ahead to what needs to be done at least three months ahead assures me that I will be prepared.

Starting in January I’m thinking about the second quarter of the year, April, May and June. The big item for all of us is taxes! So, right after I’ve wrapped and stowed the last of the ornaments, I’m up to the office with that April 15 deadline at the top of my “to do” list.

Here’s how I begin to organize my year:  I start with the givens and put them at the top of my monthly list. Next, I add things that I want to accomplish by the end of every month, along with family obligations, vacations etc. And, like you I have my daily schedule. As a freelancer, it changes a lot so being flexible and prioritizing is key.

For example:

QUARTER 1:

January = April EASTER (4th), TAXES (15th)

• Organize, file and prepare for tax season
• Plus:
• Organize linen closet
• Clean out clothes closet
• Look for gifts for April birthdays (2)

February = May MOTHER’S DAY(9th), MEMORIAL DAY (31st)

• Find Mother’s Day gifts (3)
• Plus:
• Valentine’s Day dinner
• President’s Day Weekend
• Clean and organize kitchen pantry
• Buy May birthday cards/gifts (2)

March = June FATHER’S DAY (20th)

• Find Father’s Day gift
• Plus:
• Spring cleaning/ kitchen
• Buy June birthday gifts and cards (3)

QUARTER 2:

April = July INDEPENDENCE DAY

• Plus:
• 3 family birthdays (buy gifts)
• Clean and reorganize garage
• Garden clean-up

May = August BEACH VACATION!

• Make reservations
• Plus:
• 1 birthday (look for gift)
• Pick up daughter from college
• Plant containers and window boxes

June = September ANNUAL LABOR DAY RODEO

• Make reservations/buy tickets
• Plus:
• 2 birthdays (buy gifts)
• Garden!

You get the picture by now I’m sure. I’ll also add these items to accomplish monthly to my third and fourth quarters;

July: Think about back to school

August: Decide on and organize holiday make ahead gifts

September: Garden clean-up, organize shed

October: Organize for the upcoming holidays

November: Finish holiday shopping, work on cards

December:

• Week 1: Assemble “quick gifts”
• Week 2: Mail gifts and cards
• Weeks 3 – 4: Sit back, relax and enjoy

All too soon another year will be gone. If you adapt a quarterly calendar system and organize month-to-month by this time next year none of your “to-do” list will be undone.

-Janna

Make a Resolution to Back Up Your Data in 2010!

I had a really fun experience while visiting my mom over the holidays: we pulled out a number of old photo albums and I was able to show my daughter what Christmas was like when I was a little girl. As I was uploading my new holiday photos onto my computer, I wondered how she would be able to do this with her children someday. 

I love my digital camera and take a lot more pictures than I used to.  However, all of this convenience comes with some responsibility: you now need to make sure none of these memories are lost. I was reminded of the importance of this when my niece recently lost all of the photos from her first trip to Paris when the hard drive she had stored them on failed. Sadly, she did not have them backed up on any other device, so they were gone for good. In order to make sure your pictures (and other data) are safe and sound, you need a plan for data backup and recovery.

So in 2010, resolve to back up! To get started, here’s a guest post from Ian, my favorite “tech guy” (and husband).

The first step in creating a backup plan is making sure that it is painless. The more difficult it is to back up your data, the less likely you're going to do it consistently. Fortunately, there are many solutions available such as Time Machine if you have a Macintosh, or a Windows Home Server if you are backing up multiple Windows systems at home. Programs like these will automatically copy your data to another storage device (typically, another hard drive) automatically every night. They are pretty fool proof and you will be guarded against the possibility that the hard drive on your main system fails.

If you're doing something like this already, congratulations! You're doing much more than most, and this is a great first step towards guarding your digital life.  However, have you considered what would happen to your data in the event of a catastrophic event, such as a fire or a robbery?  Your photo albums aren't attractive items for thieves, but your laptop is. In our house, we've taken an additional step and have purchased an off-site backup service through a company named Mozy. For $4.95 per month, Mozy makes a complete backup of a single system's data every night while you're sleeping. Mozy also gives you the ability to recover any of the last 30 days worth of backups, so if you realize you deleted a file accidentally in the last month, you have the ability to recover it. Mozy also has a "try it before you buy it" policy, you can sign up for a free 2GB account to make sure you're comfortable with the service before trusting them with your backup. There are many other comparable services available, here is a link to a review of online storage services if you want to look at the other options available.

My backup plan really gives me piece of mind that I will be able to pass on my digital memories to my daughter. This year, resolve to back up your memories, and you’ll be able to enjoy them for years to come!

Ian Goodsell is a Senior Software Engineer by day, and tech guy for That’s Neat! Organizing by night. Check out his ramblings about technology and life at http://blog.iangoodsell.com/.

Time for a Toy Tune Up

This month is the perfect time for a tune up, a toy tune up that is! After the holidays it can be overwhelming to integrate the new toys into the mix. I try to take it slow, and put out the things my daughter really wants to play with right away. I put other items away for a snowy/rainy day, and then try to find a place for the rest. Inevitably this means some purging of old items, which is OK.

Last weekend my six-year old daughter and I purged her dress up clothes and purses, and her box of art supplies. I let her take the lead as my "client" and decide what she wanted to keep, what could be given away to another child, and what should head to the trash. She didn't get rid of a ton, but we worked together to clear room for some of the new special things. For example, her art table was a mess of old half-done projects and worn out supplies, so I said that if she wanted to use the new sticker maker and stack of coloring books she had to make some space.

It was also a good opportunity for me to see what items she really liked and what see didn't.  It is easy to forget that our kids' interest in their toys changes over time.

This may not work for all kids, but try to involve them in the process of what to keep and what to pass on/donate.

Set a timer for 20 minutes, pick one toy area, and see if a tune up helps you start the year off right!

Promises, Promises, Promises

Want to start the year off right? Enjoy this post by my cousin and guest blogger, Janna.

I promise if you adopt this simple, no-fail, multi-step program you will soon find yourself well on your way to a whole new…

Wow! Now that’s some promise.

How many ads with similar claims have we all recently heard? Ads that promise us a new body, a new job, a whole new whatever if only we would buy into their promises. And, why is it that this rash of similar messages always seem to crop up around the New Year?

Here’s my theory: these ads pray on our weaknesses. We all have them. And, right after the holidays many of us focus on these weaknesses and resolve to make significant changes. But why is it that our resolutions don’t seem to last? Personally I think it’s because we fail to understand that significant, positive changes are only successful if we adapt lifestyle changes. But to do this successfully, we must attack these tasks with know-how.

Well, I don’t know about you, but honestly the only one who would really know how to make changes for me – is me. And the only way they were going to work in my life is to work them into my life.

For me, to adapt real lifestyle changes, would mean organizing those changes and integrating them into my daily life. Hey, that’s what I’m good at – right?

Well, I decided to put it to the test.

For years I’d carried around an extra 25 to 30 pounds of weight. I’d lose some of it only to gain most of it back. It was one of my biggest hurdles. Then one day it hit me: I needed to organize a healthy lifestyle into my daily routine. Honestly, once I realized that’s all I had to do – apply what I’m good at to my problem – I could tackle it once and for all because it made sense to me.

First, I hired a professional trainer to get me started. Hiring a pro can often be the key to success in any situation. I made my appointments with her early in the mornings, that way I could work her into my day before my work day started. She gave me valuable information about nutrition, including how and what to eat and target percentages of fats, carbs and protein intakes for the day. She introduced me on to a great online program where I could input what I ate into a daily log that I keep on my computer. That’s easy - I’m in front of my laptop a good part of the day anyway.

But, the most valuable thing the trainer did for me was to tell me that I wouldn’t need her for long . We’d work together for a while (I met with her 2 days a week at first) and then she’d cut me loose.

Well she did her job – and I did mine. I hit the gym 4 – 5 times a week, still do. Early mornings work best for me. I gave myself a year to hit my new target weight but did it in 7 months. And not with a false promise but with common sense, good advice and a reasonable time line.

Since August I’ve kept it off and I plan to keep it off. And you know what? It’s easy. It’s easy for several of reasons: I adopted these changes into my everyday life; made lifestyle changes; and I did it because I applied something I’m good at – organizing - to my problem.

My point? Figure out how to organize the things you need and want to do into your daily life. The things you need to do will become second nature because you made needed lifestyle changes. And the things you want to do? They are your rewards for doing so.

BTW, I do have a 12-step (or rather – 12 month) process for you to ponder.

Stay tuned and Happy New Year!

-Janna

Get Organized in January!

Happy New Year! The National Association of Professional Organizers has deemed January national Get Organized month! What better time to make a fresh start and a plan to simplify, de-clutter and better enjoy life!

If getting organized is on your list this year, you aren’t alone. Once again in 2010, according to the Franklin Covey Resolution Survey, “get organized” is one of the top 10 resolutions.

Each January I take time to set goals and list what I want to accomplish in my business, and in other parts of my life (like what to tackle on the ever-growing household improvement list). Readers of my email newsletter, The Neat Sheet, may remember that last January I wrote about the importance of “resetting”—taking time to put things back in place or take care of regular tasks. My reset goal for 2009 was to set up a system to process and save my daughter’s artwork. While I improved in the processing of her artwork and projects, (i.e. saving vs. throwing out or sending to grandma) pretty quickly, it took me until last Fall to do the final sort of everything, and to find a good storage system. Once I accomplished this, I felt a great weight off my mind. And now saving and filing those masterpieces is super simple.

What about 2010? This year I want to focus on time: making better use of time to further my business goals, while also NOT forgetting to include time for myself.

I also plan to try and “sprint” to accomplish some personal and business projects that I’d love to get off my list this year. Taking a cure from my husband’s software development team, I’m going to “sprint” = focus on a specific goal for 2-3 weeks, then check in to see how I did. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I hope you will take time this January to set some goals to help you live a simpler, happier and more organized life in 2010. Best wishes!

Holiday Tips….2010??

Great post by guest blogger, Janna Lufkin. 

Yep, I’m already thinking about next year and nope, I didn’t roll out of bed at 4am December 26th to get to the post holiday sales by 5am. I can’t think of anything I’d rather not do! I think about December 2010 now, because I refuse to buy into the holiday hype and self-induced stresses many of us experience come the day after Thanksgiving.

But those old habits die hard. Often after the holiday hubbub is over, all we really want to do is ditch the tree, toss the lights in a box, stash the ornaments and slam the lid closed.

However, if you take a little time to organize your holiday collections, think about what you really need (should you have a burning desire to shop) and carefully put things away, come December 2010, you’ll have more time to enjoy the season and most importantly, each other.

Here are a few ideas to get you started…

• Ornaments: They add up don’t they? Many of them have special emotional meaning. But just as many come through ornament exchange parties, tied to the tops of treat plates, etc. My advice: hang onto the ones you and your family have special memories attached to; give away or donate the rest. When storing ornaments, wrap each in tissue (I’ve re-used the same tissue for years) and carefully pack them in a sturdy flip top box. Tip: If you have kids, wrap their special treasures in tissue and store inside their stockings. That way, next year when the kids are dying to decorate and help, you can hand them their stocking and keep them busy while you get the tree in the door.

• Lights: Roll each strand up like a ball of yarn starting with the female plug end and store in a sturdy flip top box. You’ll find that putting lights on your tree will be a lot easier by passing a ball of lights around the branches instead of a messy, tangled strand.

• Gift Wraps, Ribbons and Trims: I know, I know, there are some amazing deals out there. 50% – 75% off or more. Resist the urge. Instead, purge! Sort and store the wraps, cards and trims you have with your holiday decorations. Come 2010 if you need more paper, buy simple brown kraft paper and/or white butchers paper. It never goes out of style, can be used throughout the year, and it’s recyclable. With bits and pieces of the patterned wraps and ribbons you already have, plus a bit of creativity, you can have very simple yet stylish gifts under your tree.

• Gifts for next year: While it’s always a good idea to be on the lookout for special, meaningful holiday gifts, I’ve found shopping the sales right after the holidays may not yield that perfect gift. Often, by the time next year rolls around, tastes and interests shift and change and a good portion of the gifts I had purchased (because they were a good deal) are often not as relevant as they might have once been. Keep in mind that just because it was a good deal, doesn’t mean it’s the ideal gift.

That said, after-Christmas sales are a good time to pick up a few hostess gifts and small items to keep on hand for kids parties, etc. I store mine in a designated “gift drawer”. Whenever I need a quick something, I usually have it on hand.

December 2010 will sneak up fast. If you get organized now you’ll enjoy the season not stress about it.

-Janna

Holiday Help: Planning and Preparation Tips

Here are some of my favorite tips to help you have a more organized holiday.

• Holiday card list: Many families love to send an annual holiday card. Instead of going through your address book or saving envelope labels, create a list of recipients on your computer. The list can be a simple MS Excel spreadsheet of names and addresses. Alternatively, addresses can be input as a set of labels using the mail merge in MS Word. Keeping your card list electronically will save you time next year, and allows for easy edits in case someone’s address has changed.
• Gift list: Creating a list of gift recipients can help you stay organized and avoid  the last minute gift rush. Pick a date each year, such as the day after Thanksgiving or December 1st as the time to start working on your gift list. In addition to names and gift ideas, you may want to include a budget item next to each recipient. Ideally, create your list as a spreadsheet so you can easily update it. You can also keep a rolling tally of how much you have spent. With an electronic list you will have the template from year to year, and can also keep a list of what you give each year; this avoids the situation of giving Uncle Kevin the same tie or CD each year.
• Gift center: You bought the toy your child wanted when it was on sale in October, and a special gift for your mom during summer vacation, but where are they now? If you purchase gifts during the year, or can’t find gifts you know you bought, establish a dedicated “home” for gifts. Use a clear box, such as the Sterilite ClearView boxes as your gift center. Keep your gift center in a closet or attic, and each time you purchase a gift, add it to the box. When it’s time to think about holiday gifts, open the gift center and see what you have – you may discover that you already have gifts for several people on your list!
• Wrapping center: Wrapping gifts involves many different supplies such as wrapping paper, tissue paper, bows, gift tags, tape, and scissors. Searching for these items or purchasing duplicates can waste time and money. Keep all needed supplies in a wrapping center – a box, bin, or wrapping paper holder, such as the Rubbermaid Wrap N’Craft. If you like to buy wrapping paper or bows on sale after the holidays, having a dedicated wrapping center can help you avoid purchasing three rolls of the same kind of paper, but not having any gift tags.
• Holiday recipes: Many families like to make special recipes for the holidays. In my family it’s gingerbread cookies, spiced nuts, and fruitcake. To easily find your holiday recipes each year, keep them in a dedicated spot: a colored folder, special section of your recipe file, or in clear sheet protectors in a binder. Keep the recipes in a place that makes sense to you: with your regular cookbooks, or with your holiday decorations for example. If you also make special food gifts each year, keep these recipes together in a separate file. If you find a recipe for a candy or cookies in a magazine in September that you’d like to make, cut or print the recipe out and place it in your file. When you're ready to get cooking, you'll be all set.