Having trouble managing your daily influx of papers?  Don’t worry, we all do.  I mean, it’s practically impossible to have a day go by that we don’t bring some sort of paper into our homes…things from work, school, the store, extracurricular activities, the mail, kids, etc.  So many papers…patiently waiting for someone to take action on them.  No matter what type of paper you bring in your home you’ve got to do something with it right?  You’re either going to Keep It, Toss It, File It, Shred It or Recycle It right? But let’s be honest, what really happens to your paper?  Does it get thrown here and there or dropped in a hopeless stack of papers?  It’s ok…don’t worry.  There is hope!

What you need is a simple system for you to house your papers until you decide what to do with them.  It’s all about committing to tackle your papers everyday and giving them a temporary home until your ready to take final action on them.  Just watch this video where I show you how to create and use and action file.  Yes… an Action File.  A simple desktop filing system that gives your papers a temporary home and helps you to take action on them without letting them pile up.  Watch this video (it’s definitely worth watching for 10 minutes)!  I also recommend checking out my other blog post on how to create a Desktop Action File and How to Control Your Paper Piles.  Enjoy!

I can get really crazy when it comes to messy cords.  I see a box of mangled cords and I’m on a mission to get them wound up and under control…I’m all about the cord management!  One of my favorite products for controlling cords are Velcro strips.  I even did a video about these Velcro strips awhile back. These strips are great but what do you do if you don’t have any? Well, don’t fear. There is an easy and free way to control your cords.  It’s called a Figure 8…well, that’s what I call it.  Check it out in the video below to see how easy it is to do…I bet you’ll end up winding all your cords up after seeing this!

As if there weren’t enough uses for the ever-so-popular and wonderful binder clips…I’ve discovered another way to use them. I got this fabulous tip from another colleague, Lorie Morrero of Clutter Diet.  It’s simple, yet brilliant.  Here’s how I used it in my son’s closet on his hanging shelves:

Each shelf is labeled by type of clothing

You can see the binder clips labeled and attached to the shelves

Labeling my son’s shelves made it so much easier for him to know where to put his clothes after they’ve been laundered.  What’s great about these clips is that you can label them and use them on things like thin wood shelves in your clothes closets or on pantry shelves.  You can also use them to keep different types of looses files and paper supplies together.

And did you notice that his clothes are rolled up? That’s a BONUS TIP:  rolling your clothes is an easy alternative to folding them.  It is especially nice in shelves like these, making it easier to pull out what you need without messing up the rest of the stack.

So what do you think?  Are you thinking of ways that you could use labeled binder clips too?  Let me know….would love to hear your ideas!

Remember that commercial: “This is drugs. This is your brain on drugs. Questions?”

It was a pretty straight forward anti-drug advertisement demonstrating the awful effects drugs can have on you. Well…dare I compare multi-tasking to drugs? The more you try to do the more “jacked” up you get and the less productive you are. It can be a little dangerous too. Indulge me for a second while I share a story with you…

About a week and a half ago I decided to make a batch of boiled eggs. My daughter absolutely loves them and I thought I’d make about a dozen or so to get us through the week. You see, I’m a pro at making boiled eggs…especially after getting some pointers from lifehacker extraordinaire, Tim Ferris (seriously…you gotta check out my post and video on boiled eggs). Anyhoos…I was rocking and rolling that morning getting my daughter ready for school, packing lunches, straightening up the house and getting prepped for an all day organizing session. I even got dressed in record time (less than 30 min…yeah that’s fast for me) and cleared my email. Then I heard this strange sound…a popping sound. I thought it was nothing and started to walk away but decided I should go check it out. Then I heard another pop! And then I saw this:

Yup…I got so caught up in doing elevendymillion things at once that I totally forgot about the eggs. I mean seriously…have you ever seen burnt boiled eggs? All the water had burned off and the poor eggs were burning in the pot. I had egg splatter everywhere on the stove. And to add insult to injury…my brilliant idea was to immediately put the pot in the sink and run cold water. Bad move. Hot pot + cold water = exploding eggs. Oh yeah..two more eggs exploded and projected themselves over the counter and all over my dining table! I think I actually heard them screaming. And guess what? Instead of being ahead of schedule I ended racing against the clock because I had to clean up the mess. Way to go Vanessa! Nope…not one of my finer moments.

So, if you are a speed demon like me and get an adrenaline rush on the thought of multi-tasking, keep these things in mind:

- If you multi-task, the best you’ll ever be is “good” at things…you’ll never be “great”. By not devoting concentrated effort on a project or task you run the risk of making errors and doing less than stellar work.

- It can take up to 25 minutes to recover from an interruption (phone calls, emails, etc) when working on a task. (University of California at Irvine study).

- It’s estimated extreme multi-tasking costs the U.S. economy $650 billion a year in lost productivity. (New York Times in 2007, Jonathan B. Spira, an analyst at the business research firm Basex)

- Multi-tasking is just an excuse to procrastinate. There..I said it. And I admit it…I’m a recovering procrastinator. I justify putting off doing important, tough and not-so fun projects by doing a ton of little tasks because I think I’m really “getting things done.” Sure it feels great to check 15 tasks off your list but you still have to do that dreaded task…and instead of feeling elated by getting those 15 tasks done, now you’ll feel guilty for not getting the one big important task done first.

- Multi-tasking can be dangerous. Ummm…how many of you busy parents out there tried to drive while handing your kids a snack in the back seat, get the DVD player running for them because they’re screaming for Dora the Explorer, picked up the toys they dropped on the floorboard, fiddled with the navigation unit to make sure you get to the right destination and then tried to answer the phone or text? Uh huh…I know. It’s ok…I won’t tell. Let’s just try not to do that again, ok?

So there…that’s my two cents worth on multi-tasking and how it really doesn’t save you any time. Questions, comments, laughs? Bring em….I can take it ;o)

I’ve done a couple of videos for you featuring my favorite organizing principles to help you organize your space. They were: Sort Like With Like and Assign A Home. Here is the last of the featured principles of organizing…Contain Your Items.  You’ll be amazed at how containing your like items in one space can significantly reduce your clutter.  My favorite?  Using containers within containers.  Think: drawer = container….box in drawer to hold socks = container within a container…sweet!!!!!  It really is a beautiful thing.  Check it out…you’ll see what I mean ;o)

Ever gone on a trip and realized there aren’t enough outlets to plug in all your computers and electronics?  With today’s plethora of gadgets, you need to bring some backup support so you’re never without a charged up gadget again! Here’s what I use to on my travels…it’s a Belkin Surge Protector.  I never go on a trip without one!

Check out this video with a few ways to use magnetic dry erase board magnets in your kitchen.  I personally use mine to:

Manage my groceries (even though I primarily use grocery gadget),

Manage my weekly meal plan (which I bounce off of my 31 day meal plan…you gotta check this out),

And keep track of when I open perishable items like milk, creamers, cheese, deli meats, etc. so I have an idea of how long an item has been opened and if it’s going to expire or spoil soon.

Enjoy!

I did a quick tip video a couple of weeks ago discussing one of the key principles in organizing: sorting like items with like items. Another key principle in organizing is to assign a home…and that’s what today’s quick tip video is going to demonstrate for you. Assigning a home is key because it makes you really think about where things should go and more importantly, where they should be returned to once they are done being used!

 
Key Points:

1. Anything within arms reach is considered prime real-estate.  Put frequently used items within arms reach for convenience of retrieving AND putting things away. You don’t want to have to get out of your office chair to reach for the phone, files, records, pens and paper if these are things you use every day.  In the kitchen, I recommend keeping your coffee mugs, plates, bowls glassware and silverware within arms reach in the cabinets and drawers.  And in the bathroom, you’ll want to keep your facial cleansers, makeup and hairstyling products within arms reach as you are getting dressed each day.  It’ all about storing your frequently used items in places that are convenient for you to get to.  If they are inconvenient to get to, chances are they’ll be even more inconvenient to put away and then guess what?  A scary pile of miscellaneous items will start piling up on your counters, vanities and desktops!  NO!!!!!

2. Heavy items should be stored down low. For your safety and the health of your back, you want to put heavy items lower on shelves (maybe not so low that you strain your back when lifting an item). The last thing you want is a big ole, heavy food processor to land on your head as you’re pulling it off the top shelf in the pantry, or trying to move that huge, heavy box of tools down a ladder from the top shelf in your garage or attic.  Not fun and very dangerous!

3. Put less frequently used items up high (if not too heavy) or in other storage areas further away from your work areas. Again, you want to reserve your prime real estate for your frequently used items.  Store those less frequently used items in other areas.  For example, store out of season clothing on top shelves in the closet or under the bed.  Medical supplies like bandaids and ointments may be stored in lower drawers or cabinets away from your main area.  And specialty kitchen appliances and dishes can be stored on high or low shelves in kitchen and pantry.

4. Put em where you use em! You want to store items near where you use them.  The kitchen is a great example to demonstrate this point.  Put all of your coffee and tea making supplies next to your coffee maker; all your pots, pans, spices and cooking utensils near the stove; your glasses near the refrigerator; your bakeware and supplies near the oven; dish soaps and detergents near the sink and dishwasher.  This concept works in other areas of your home or office; makeup and hairstyling products near your bathroom vanity and mirror; DVDs and CDs in or near your media equipment; printer paper near your printer and so on.

5. Store items that are used together in the same place. This is reinforcing the concept of storing like items with like items. For example in the office, keep your printer, printer paper and ink in one location.  In the bathroom keep your hairstyling products, brushes, hair fasteners and blowdryers together/near one another.  In the bedroom dresser keep underwear, bras and socks close by or in the same drawer since those are items you are likely to wear everyday.

Like I said, the importance of assigning a home is to get you to really think about where your items should go so you are not wasting time and energy.  It’s also important to assign homes so that you know where things go and where you should return them.  Haphazardly putting things away in the first available space you see just lends your space to become a cluttered and confusing mess….which of course is what we are trying to avoid, right?

Now if you want to learn more, check out a post I did last summer on how to organize your space that is chock full of information. But if that’s not enough or you need a little more advice, click on my “Contact Info” tab at the top of this page and drop me a line…or feel free to leave a comment below.  Maybe I can help you find a solution.

My husband joked the other day that some of his lessons learned…aren’t! I’m sure we can all relate to that. It seems like sometimes we forget the lessons we’ve learned and repeat the same mistakes over again. Well, I’m proud to say that on my recent business trip I did not repeat my lessons learned. In fact, I was extremely proud of how well I planned and prepared for my first-time trip to the 2011  National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Conference in San Diego, California. I mean talk about pressure. As a professional organizer getting ready to meet with over 700 other professional organizers I had to be…well, you know…organized! Sheesh….I looked like a chihuahu!  Shaking with nervousness and excitement!

So what unrepeated lessons learned do I owe this proud moment of travel satisfaction? Well, several lessons actually…and ones that you can use as well. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Review your itinerary and hotel accommodations. I did this a couple of weeks before the conference so I had an idea of what I needed to pack and what I could leave at home (like my iron and blowdryer). Find out what type of transit services are available from the airport to your destination…taxi, shuttle, subway, etc. That way you’ll be prepared with cash to pay for the transit and to tip the drivers if needed.

2. Try on your business clothes a couple of days before your trip to make sure they fit and aren’t outdated. Good thing I did this as most of my business clothes were a tad too big and and not exactly stylish. Luckily I planned a day to do some shopping. Oh darn….

3.  Schedule a hair appointment a few days prior to your trip. You’ll be too busy packing to try and squeeze one in the day before. Plus, if you get a haircut a couple of days in advance you’ll give yourself some time to get used to your new harido ;o)

4. Create a packing checklist. Whether you use a sticky note, notepad or a travel app, start adding items to your checklist as you think of them. If you don’t want to reinvent the wheel, use a travel app on your smart phone so that you can create customized checklists for your each of your trips or events. This is a life saver!

5. Bring a travel surge protector to plug in your electronics. I use one made by Belkin that’s perfect for charging mobile phones, PDAs, MP3s, etc.  It now goes on every single trip I take these days! Hotel rooms never have enough outlets so why not bring your own?

Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger

Used my surge protector to plug in a Macbook, iPad, and 3 iPhones.

6. Coordinate your outfits and shoes. I love shoes but having a separate pair for each of my outfits takes up way too much room in luggage. So, try to coordinate your clothes (wear similar colors) so that you only need to bring 1-2 pairs of shoes that will match all of your outfits.

7. Take pictures of your outfits and accessories. Ok…this really isn’t a lesson learned because it’s the first time I’ve done it…but I loved it! I actually laid out all of my outfits along with the shoes and accessories I planned to wear with each.  I even took the pictures in order of when I was going to wear them!  Excessive? Perhaps, but it allowed me to know exactly what I was going to wear to each event saving me time, energy and frustration each morning. What’s even better?  I wore every single item (except one workout outfit) that I packed!  Can you believe that? That is by far my greatest achievement on this trip…not overpacking!!!

8. Use your cell phone camera to take pictures of where you parked and of your hotel room. You don’t have to rely on your brain to remember everything.  Just take a picture of where you parked at the airport so when you fly back so you’re not flagging down the security guy begging him to take you on a tour of the parking garage to find your vehicle!  You can also take a picture of your hotel room number in case you loose your card sleeve with the number on it.

9. Remember everything by using Evernote! I used Evernote to store everything regarding my trip: flight itinerary, boarding pass info, conference schedule, hotel info, shuttle service info, as well as all my notes from my conference workshops. The beauty of Evernote is that you can write a note, take a picture, save a document, make a voice recording or capture a screenshot and save it to your Evernote account which is securely stored out in cyberland. It also has an app where you can access the information anytime on your cell phone or iPad with internet connection. It’s genius!!!!

10. Take notes during your trip…to keep track of future lessons learned! Because inevitable there is something you either forgot or didn’t need. Jot it down on your travel checklist for the next time.

So, do you have any lessons learned that you’d like to share? I know you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve too and I would love to hear them. Until then, safe travels and may your lessons learned not be repeated!!!