Living an Organized Life

June 29, 2005

Eco-makeovers

Recycling Paper in our Home

I just love my subscription to Natural Home & Garden magazine. As a professional organizer and interior decorator, the articles in this magazine combine the best elements for both -- in a natural living way.

The current issue features eco-remodeling (ecologically-friendly) and provides great resources to make your home more energy-efficient while preserving our natural resources. It amazes me that doing this isn't as expensive as we think it would be. Contrary, by spending money to save on energy and water, we save money.

There was one article in particular for recycling your paper that used paper in a remodeling way ... as wallpaper! Talk about creative uses for old paper, this beats any ideas I've ever had!

One wall treatment was to take paper grocery bags, crumble and scrunch pieces of them (to soften them), then tear them into little pieces. Prime sections of the wall surface with 2 parts water / 1 part white glue, then apply pieces of the paper, overlapping them and brushing with the glue mixture to remove air pockets.

You can also do collage wall treatments with old phone book yellow pages (although you don't need to crumble them).

They say the nice thing about this type of wallpaper is that you can patch it up anytime if it gets torn or marked up. Now, that's what I call recycling!

June 27, 2005

Data Pack Rats

Less is better

I find that a lot of people and businesses keep information they don't need, and keep it longer than they need to keep it. This can be a risk and is known as "information liability."

In Baseline magazine, an article called "When it comes to data, less is better" points out the need to minimize the amount of data that is kept for the purpose of cutting risks. They suggest:

"Go through all your processes and purge data that doesn't serve a business purpose."

This they call a "data audit" and suggest to classify public information and personal identifiers and separate them.

In my filing classification system, you'll find it is easy to classify information. Each classification connects it to retention schedule codes and legal citations for that class.

If you think you've been keeping information too long, consider a data audit and purging what you no longer need. It's just good practice.

June 16, 2005

Organizing Gifts

Gift of Organization

With Father's Day around the corner, think about gifts that help make dad's life a little easier.

Think about his hobbies, habits, work, day-to-day activities -- those things that he does or takes part in that may need some aspect of organization. It could be an electronic device that simplifies his life, or desk accessories that help him manage his paper and work, or some hand-made or custom item that allows him to store stuff.

Some decorative storage device that helps him store something is a perfect gift. Baskets and special containers are always a favorite for organizing items that clutter a space.

Check out some of the products available at www.organized-living.com/products.

Cluttered Desks

Why Be Tidy?

"Clean up for that raise" is the title of a June 10, 2005 news article that claims "More than half of all managers actually evaluate tidiness during annual reviews." This is taken from a Dymo Corp. (www.dymo.com) online survey of 2,611 people.

Well, that's an interesting statistic, and one that would motivate most employees, you'd think. Imagine an untidy desk holding you back from getting a raise? It should make a person think twice about working around their cluttered desks.

I guess a person would have to consider what they are going to do with the extra time they acquire from being more efficient. Now, that's a problem I'll vote to have!

June 14, 2005

Summer Getaways

The Difference Between a Nice Vacation and a Disaster-waiting-to-happen

I see a lot of people leaving or getting ready to leave for their summer vacations and feel it's time I post a link to an article I wrote on Planning Your Getaway:

http://www.organized-living.com/articles/plangetaway.html

There is also a good travel checklist at http://www.checklists.com/travel.html#travel

The thing is, when we've made necessary preparations for something, things go smoothly. And, I believe that's the name of the game.

June 11, 2005

Organize Online Part 3

Research Made Simple

In conclusion of the Organize Online series using the Internet to make life easier, I've compiled a list of resources that provide reference, aids, and/or services.

Housing rentals - we rarely need to pick up a paper with the classifieds anymore. The places on the Internet provide easy access and viewing of rental properties. Many realtor sites have rental listings now, and national sites like www.rent.com, www.forrent.com, and www.apartments.com provide rentals all over the U.S.
Domestic help - it is sometimes a difficult task to find domestic assistance, however the Internet has made this task a lot easier. For housekeepers, there's the nationwide Merry Maids service (www.merrymaids.com) and Maids Int'l (www.maids.com), to name a couple. And, to find a nanny, there's www.enannysource.com.
Legal filings - you don't need to make a trip to the court house for some court filings these days. Just search for the court in your area and check out their web site for their forms and online filing options.

In California, you can go to http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/ for help and online forms.
Pay tickets - you can pay your traffic tickets online now at most online courthouses. Again, check for your court house web site.
Traffic court - spending time at traffic school is no longer needed -- you now have the option to attend traffic school online. Just check with your court house for info on this.
Education - the Internet is abundant with educational institutions that provide online education with diplomas and degrees. In the U.S. there's www.classesusa.com with a selection of online degree programs. The EDU Directory at www.edu-directory.org will help you find an online continuing education program, and www.elearners.com will help lead you to online diploma programs.

If you need to look up a word while studying, just go to www.dictionary.com for definitions!
Transportation - if you're tired of traffic, you can try 1-800-commute at www.1800commute.org for assistance in finding others to carpool or vanpool with. Or, you can arrange a train reservation, or cab service online, too.
Travel - in part one, I listed making airline reservations online. However, if you're just driving somewhere and need a map or directions, you don't need to dig up that map or Thomas Guide anymore. Just go to www.mapquest.com and get your travel route. And, if you want to know the weather in any given location, just go to www.weatherbug.com for free, live streaming weather reports.
Space planning - you don't have to be an expert to plan a space. Try The Container Store's Plan a Space service at http://www.containerstore.com/plan/index.jhtml.
Bills - most utility, phone, and credit card vendors provide online direct payment, as well as checking your statement activities. Check with your vendor for info on this.

Well, these lists provide a small hint of what you can do on the Internet to save time and put information and resources at your fingertips. If you just found one thing in this series to help make your life easier, than I've accomplished my goal! Surf away!

And, comments to these blog posts are welcomed.

June 9, 2005

Organize Online Part 2

The Internet Pages

To continue this series on Internet resources to help save you time and make your life easier, here are some more things you can do using the Internet instead of your car ...

Buy / Sell - why pick up a paper to find that used item you want when you can find it online? Popular places to buy used (and new) items can be found at places like The Recycler, eBay (some items are "buy now" rather than auctioned), and Craig's List. These same places allow you to easily post items for sale, too, along with photos (in some cases).
Shop - there are boundless stores that have gone online with their products, and a person can save many hours of street shopping. A person can even put their gift registry online at a store (for weddings and other special occassions), and most large department stores offer this service.
Send flowers - Need to have flowers delivered? Try www.1800flowers.com or any of the many other Internet floral sites on the Internet.
Send greeting cards - There are hundreds of sites for free ecards (electronic cards sent to a person's email), but what if you want to have a card mailed to someone? At Hallmark, you can pick out a card, personalize it, and have it sent to a recipient. Follow the links to get to Cards & Stationary, and you'll end up with individual card selections.
Print photos - no need to go to a photo lab anymore if you have digital photos to print. You can upload them, order prints and have them sent to you. If you don't have digital cameras, there are places where you can have photo envelopes mailed to you that you send in to be printed. A popular one for this is PhotoWorks, and here is a link for their postage page mailer: www.photoworks.com/info/OrderForms.html.
Adopt a pet - as an animal activist, I strongly promote getting pets from shelters or rescue groups. Now, you can shop for your pet at the shelters online to see what animals need you to give them a loving home. For a large database linked to shelters nationwide, check out the Muttshack Foundation.
Mobile pet services - Most areas in major cities have mobile pet services that include mobile pet groomers and mobile vets. You could search the Internet Yellow Pages for these services nearest you (Yahoo has this kind of search and www.yellowpages.com).
Buy/Sell real estate - looking for property isn't the same as it was just a few years ago. At www.realestate.com you can search through many homes for sale in any area, and at www.forsalebyowner.com you can find homes for sale by owner, and get your property for sale listed in MLS.
Library books - save yourself time at the library and check for books online. The LA Public Library is a great example of finding books, having them sent to a library closest to you, renewing books, and doing research online. Ask your nearest library if they are online!
Wire money - Western Union now allows people to send money to someone without leaving home.

More Internet resources to follow, so please subscribe and get notice of our postings! Again, your comments are welcomed (just click on the comments link below this message!).

June 6, 2005

Organize Online Part 1

Let Your Fingers Do the Walkin

It dawned on me that I haven't really talked about the advantages of the Internet, in relation to living an organized life and making life easier. There are so many incredible resources on the Net to streamline our activities and help us save time, so I'm going to break it up into a 3-part series.

For those who don't have computers yet, there is always WebTV where you can access the Internet using your television and phone line.

Although many of these may already be known to some, I'll make reference to them anyway...

Banking - pay your bills and manage your money online. Your bank will help you set this up, but you'll need a financial software program ...Quicken (www.quicken.com) is a popular program for home or business use.
Grocery shopping - shop for food and have it delivered. Check with your nearest grocery store for this service. I believe Albertsons delivers (www.albertsons.com) and NetGrocer is nationwide (www.netgrocer.com). In some areas, there are Safeways and they deliver (www.safeway.com); and Vons (www.shopvons.safeway.com).
Shipping - register with UPS and get a UPS account (free) to get packages picked up at your front door and shipped out. www.ups.com You can also track your shipments online at UPS. The US Postal Service (www.usps.com) also has a free Courier pickup service (see tab for "Schedule a pickup").
Postage - don't stand in line to buy stamps ... sign up with Stamps.com (www.stamps.com). You can even get Priority Mail postage. The postal service (www.usps.com) will send you free Priority Mail envelopes, any quanity, with preprinted labels. Call 1-800-275-8777 to order.
Movie rentals - save yourself a trip to movie warehouses and sign up with NetFlix (www.netflix.com) or Blockbuster (www.blockbuster.com).
Movie tickets - save yourself time having to wait in long lines at the movie theater and purchase your tickets online. Movietickets (www.movietickets.com) is the most popular way to buy tickets online.
Get the news - save paper clutter around the house and read your local or national newspaper online.
Printing - avoid a trip to the printer by ordering online. You can email or fax your print job to most printers (Kinkos is nationwide at www.kinkos.com), or design cards or stationary online with places like Fine Stationary (www.finestationary.com). You can also order labels with places like Avery Labels (www.avery.com) or VistaPrint (www.vistaprint.com).
Reservations - there are many places that provide online reservations. You can book an airline flight; a hotel room; reserve a table at a restaurant; arrange for a spa visit. Although a phone call does the same thing, it's sometimes nice to see a restaurant's menu, or the way a hotel room looks, or which seats are available for your chosen flight.
Service quotes / bids - if you're looking for a handyman, carpenter, electrician, plummer, general contractors or other special services, you can find them with full information online (unlike the Yellow Pages) and get quotes. ServiceMagic (www.servicemagic.com) is one resource for finding these services near you.

All these things just help make our lives a little easier. I welcome your comments.

June 1, 2005

Keeping it Tidy

When does mess turn ugly?

During the time my daughter lived with me I had to deal with certain untidy conditions. I hate to think I fall into the perfectionist category, but I just like a room to look good when you walk into it. Makes me feel good.

However, when living with others, your standards may differ from other people's standards. For instance, it didn't seem to bother my daughter that she left untidy pillows when she left the sofa. This is not such a big deal, but the sofa was left to look like a band of wild toddlers bounced all over it. That "look" can be distracting from an otherwise tidy area.

I guess it's a habit to tidy up a sofa after leaving it. Takes a second, really. I would think if I said something, it would sound like a nag request, so I often just straightened out the sofa myself. Eventually though, this can make one resentful of the person displacing your style of living.

So, I think the solution would be to communicate your wishes to others you live with and hope they discontinue their untidy rituals. Or, resign to the fact you'll just do it yourself and don't build up hostility over it.

I'm fine now. My daughter moved out. I have a roommate now and he left his shoes in the living room ... once. Communication is a beautiful thing.