Category Archives: Organizing

Christmas Chaos!

11 Friday Oct 2013

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I’m bringing back the old Christmas of simplicity and heart-warming visits with friends all through a little thinking and planning ahead.

I’m the early Christmas shopper, but not the one who starts in January (I hate holding on to things for that long – it reminds me of clutter even if it isn’t).  I usually have a list of people and ideas completed by mid August, wrapped by Thanksgiving and enjoy visits with friends in early December.

August – I’ve kept a spreadsheet since 2001 which lists every person, every gift and the amounts.  This lets me see what I’ve done, get ideas for new friends, and make sure I don’t duplicate from the previous year!  I always have a dollar amount in mind as I do this and I keep the list with me at all times.   (Actually, I have it as an Excel spreadsheet saved to Google Drive so I can look at it anytime on my phone).

September & October – I don’t like taking time to shop so if I have to be in a store, I might as well take a look around and see if anything is available that ‘fits’ my list. (I have my list, but like to stay flexible in the event I find an even better idea for someone special.) It’s just a matter of doing two things at once.  My theory is that if I’ve prepared the list well in August and keep my eyes open in September and October I can catch some sales and spread the cost out over a few months too! January is so much better when there’s nothing on the credit card from December!

November – after I’ve purchased the gifts I put post-it notes on them with the name of the recipient and they go in the spare bedroom; this way I don’t walk in and feel overwhelmed because I can easily see organized piles with bright tags on each item!   At this point I can enjoy wrapping a few items here and there while watching one of my favorite programs – Duck Dynasty or Big Bang Theory. By the way, this is also a great time to address Christmas cards so you can just drop them in the mail in December – no pressure!

December – I don’t like crowds so the thought of being elbow to elbow with hundreds of harried people makes me feel anxious. Instead of putting myself through that, I’ve wrapped and tagged the gifts over Thanksgiving and they’re stacked in chronological order for delivery.

As December 1st has rolled in I’ve called some friends and have a few short visits on the calendar.  Whether it’s shortbread, Irish soda bread, candies, or jar gifts, I make a little batch each week when it’s convenient.  Since I’m not in a rush I can enjoy thinking of the people who will receive the home-made tokens.  When it’s time to hit the road, I just match my “kitchen gift” to the small item in a gift bag upstairs and I’m ready to go.

I want to look back on my life and remember the moments, not the Christmas chaos that rolls from one year into the other.  I want to cherish the people, admire the tree, take a treat for the dog, share some home-made Irish Cream and have a few laughs.

Just to get you started, here’s a Christmas List template for you to download. – Christmas List

P.S. – If you’re a spreadsheet person like me, you can keep a status column on your Christmas list and sort it regularly to stay on top of everything.  I sort by “purchase, wrap, bake, and completed”.    If you’re interested in having a customized template in Excel, feel free to email me!

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A Sinking Ship

02 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Business, Office, Organizing, Time, Work Space

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Drowning in Paper

Twenty years ago we were told our offices would soon be paperless, but here we are still sinking in it!  Instead of tossing the paper, we now scan it, file it electronically, AND keep the hard copies.  Here’s a couple of interesting facts:

  •  80% of papers and information that we keep, we never use (Agency Sales Magazine)
  •  The average employee in administration wastes two weeks per year retrieving misplaced information from messy desks and files. (The Wall Street Journal)

So we have all this information in two forms, but how much good is it if we can’t find what we need when we need it?   Are you looking for a preserver to save your sanity or a raft to stop you from drowning?  ?  Here’s an acronym for four simple steps to save yourself – R.A.F.T. 

REFER – this includes anything that is dependent upon someone else for the next step or needs to be delegated.  Gather all of your “refer” items and send them to the responsible person to handle.  If you do this in email, take those emails and color-code or label them as “Waiting for a Reply or Item” and then you can follow-up easily. (Gmail is great for this!)

ACT – these items you need to work on alone.  The first step is gathering your active items together and summarizing for deadlines and priorities. Once you have that done, I recommend looking at your desk to see if there are any papers that can be handled in 2 minutes or less! Getting rid of clutter is the first step and it’s so encouraging!

FILE – Don’t wait until your filing system is perfect, just start from where you are and use whatever system is logical for you until you have either time or help to refine or customize a system for you.

TOSS – You may want to contact a CPA or professional organizer about a records retention.  If not, there’s a lot of great information on the internet.  For everything else, refer, act, file or toss it!

Think you don’t have time to get the paper organized?  Than ask yourself, “Do I have more time next month to feel frustrated and more time to waste looking for things?”

Wouldn’t it be better to feel like this!  

Freed from Paper

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Homepreneurs & Solopreneurs

22 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by in Business, Office, Organizing, Personal, Time, Work Space

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More than half of all U.S. businesses are based at home and an estimated 6.6 million home-based enterprises provide at least half of their owners’ household income.  Together these “homepreneurs” employ one in 10 private-sector workers.

So how do we separate our home life from our business life?

Having a ‘separation of states’ for managing information (appointments, tasks, email, etc.) is a good beginning. If you can manage it, have a room designated as a home office and let your family know that if the door is closed, you’re not available at that moment.  You can even put a “Be Back in 1 Hour” sign on the door! If you don’t have a spare room, consider a corner of a room and use an attractive room divider so that you have private space to work and think.

Conversely, we need to integrate our work and home life with as little confusion as possible – which is why Google is so popular.  Personal calendars and business calendars can be linked and viewed independently or jointly (each calendar is a different color).  When adding an event, view the combined appointment calendars to reduce the chance of double-bookings.

Google also offers cloud computing and on-line collaboration.  If you’re working on a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, but have to leave the house, just upload it to the cloud and later you can access it from your smartphone to make changes and add content. Additionally, business and personal email accounts can be linked so you can ‘toggle’ on your phone to access each one separately even when you’re out of the office.

Cloud computing, email, calendars and smartphones have accelerated the trend of independently working from home.  But if we want to be successful, we must stay in tune with both the big picture and details jointly for home and work.

If you have questions, need assistance in setting up an account or would like more information about the benefits, feel free to email me.

If you have any tips or favorite planning applications, I would love to hear from you!

If you would like to receive my Blogs, click the “Follow” box on the left side of the screen above the calendar.  I always enjoy tips and feedback!

Forgetting something?

07 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by in Organizing, Planning, Residential, Time

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Calendars can have many purposes in addition to using them as reminders for anniversaries/birthdays or appointments, practices and lessons.

 Calendars are equally important for tracking home and car maintenance!

 When was the last time you tested the items that protect your home and family such as smoke sensors, fire extinguishers or carbon monoxide detectors?  How often do you change the filters in your furnace (which also saves you money)?

How many of us have discovered (after the fact) that our vehicle registration or inspection had lapsed?  It’s great to include oil changes and repairs so you have a record if you go to sell your car in the future.

If you use an on-line calendar, you can easily add these items with reminders to all your other events.

If you’re a pencil and paper kind of person, feel free to download these calendars.

Calendar Downloads – September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013

If you can’t fit everything on one calendar, have one calendar for events and appointments and another calendar for home and car maintenance.  Staple them together or put them in a file to check each month.

If you would like to receive my Blogs, click the “Follow” box on the left side of the screen above the calendar.  I always enjoy tips and feedback!