Got Clutter? Get Organized Today!

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noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:16:00 +0000

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What's your Favorite Organizing Tool? - New Poll

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:14:00 +0000

A recent attendee to one of my organizing seminars said her favorite organizing tool is several well-placed sticks of dynamite. I think she was kidding but it got me wondering what people think of as their essential organizing tool. As a professional organizer, I see lots of great specialized organizing tools featured in catalogs and in stores but I also see people using regular items to help keep themselves and their families organized.

So I'm wondering what your favorite tool is that keeps you - at least somewhat - organized. Do you have a family calendar? A notebook for all your "to dos"? A bin for storing Legos and Barbie clothes? Is it a can organizer for your pantry or a set of specialized clothes hangers for your closet?

Share your favorite product and look for my favorite weekly picks at http://www.orgtoday.com.

The "M" Word

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Money? Muchkin? Mesopotamia?

Nope, the "M" word for getting organized is MOTIVATION - where to find it and how to keep it.

I could get all yoga on you and suggest you search your inner self - visualizing the peace and tranquility that will come with calmly sipping coffee and reading the newspaper every morning rather than rushing around looking for keys, lunches, and backpacks.

Or I could inspire you with visions of Martha Stewart - tying raffia around neatly folded and stacked piles of bed linens rather than putting your kids to bed in sleeping bags because all the sheets in the house are in the laundry.

Actually, let's put pen to paper and figure out your motivation. Grab a clean sheet of paper - the back of an envelope will do if you think your only notepad might be at the bottom of the toy box - and a writing utensil. Crayons and eyeliner count if that's all you can find.

Write down WHY I WANT TO GET ORGANIZED at the top of the paper and list your reasons why you want to get organized. Don't prioritize or over-think this - just make the list as the ideas occur to you. Everyone's list will be different but you're probably thinking of things like "To have more time with my family" or "To make the mornings calmer" or "To be able to find things" or "To have a neat house so we can entertain guests" or "To have time for my hobbies" or "To be more efficient at work so I can build my business" or "To be prepared for meetings" or any other reason.

Now take another look at your list. You wrote those items because those are the goals you'd like to reach. That's the life you want to live.

Post the list where you can see it often. Add items to the list as necessary.

There's your Motivation.

For some practical ideas and tips for getting organized, visit http://www.orgtoday.com

Wordlock - If you can spell it, you can lock it

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:23:00 +0000

Here's a cool product for kids and for those of us who have too many numbers to remember anyway.

It's the Wordlock and it comes in a regular lock type, cable bike lock, luggage lock, etc. Instead of remembering that annoying combination of numbers, you simply set any five-letter word as the combination.

I think it's brilliant and much easier for the kids to use to lock up bikes or for use at the gym. The product is available at many stores and online. Check out the website at www.wordlock.com.

Paper Clutter - Sort it then Store it

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:10:00 +0000

OK sports fans, now that you've tried AFT'ing for a few days - and I hear a few of you are - you may be saying to yourself "Nice system, but am I really supposed to leave this pile of Action paper on my kitchen counter forever?"

Yes, you are.

Just kidding. You should be storing it in the laundry basket.

Seriously, it doesn't matter where you store it as long as it's rather out of the way and the designated spot for those items. Put it in a file, a basket, a tray or any other container of your choice but those Action papers are the only things that go in that specific spot.

The To File papers: Ideally you'd file them immediately however that's not always possible. Have a designated spot for the File papers and a scheduled time each week to file them!

Now you may be asking yourself if you really should have any Action papers if you're putting the action on the To-Do list. And the answer is: sometimes. If the action is "Call the vet - Porkchop yearly shots 555-9078" then you probably don't need the reminder from the vet. However, if the action is "Send email to group - vote on book selections for next book club." you need to send the email but perhaps you're also tracking the votes in which case you need a paper in the Action spot with the names of the books and the number of votes for each book. Another example is a form to be filled out. The To-Do list says "Fill out and return Whoopee Cushion survey" but you need to keep the actual survey in your Action spot until that task is completed.

All this may sound like a lot of work to setup but it really doesn't need to be complicated. I do a lot of things: run a business, homeschool the boys, serve on non-profit boards, volunteer, etc and I have a very simple stacking tray system of 1 Action tray, 1 Pending file tray (because I don't have a filing cabinet near my desk), 1 To Read tray and 1 Out tray. Technically there's also a To File tray but it's across the room. My system is simple and yet I can keep a lot of balls in the air.

So get out the laundry basket and start storing those papers!

Darcy
www.orgtoday.com

Action, File, Toss - The Easy Way to Sort Paper Clutter

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:21:00 +0000

OK, I'm not kidding about this next part. Really.

Every single piece of paper in your home or office can be sorted into one of three categories: Action, File, Toss.

Seriously.

Try it.

Take a nice, big stack of paper clutter and set it down in front of you. Pick up the first piece and decide if it's an Action (something you have to do like respond to an invitation, fill out a form, make a phone call, etc), a File (information you have to keep but don't have to take action like an insurance summary), or a Toss (junk mail, outdated information, most school papers, etc).

Actions go in one pile, Files go in another pile and Tosses go in the recycle bin. (If you're tossing school papers or artwork from small children be sure to recycle it UNDER something else lest it creep its way back into your house.)

Now file the File pile. Now is not the time to reorganize your filing system. Put that on your To-Do list.

Find your To-Do list and bring it to the Action pile. Pick up the top item in the pile and write on your To-Do list the action you need to take as well as a phone number, address, due date, and any other pertinent info that will help you complete the action.

For example, one Action piece is the reminder from the vet that your dog, Porkchop, is due for shots. Your To-Do list item should read something like "Call vet - Porkchop shots - 555-1908".
You can then recycle the paper assuming you don't need directions to the vet office, etc.

Another Action piece might be an invitation to your cousin's wedding in August. This particular piece of mail will generate a bunch of To-Do's, namely "Buy wedding gift for Jim and Tonya - by July 30", "Get babysitter for wedding - by July 30", "What to wear for wedding - by July 30", "Wedding on calendar - today", "RSVP for wedding - today", etc

But, you ask, where do I put the invitation? A couple of choices:

1. Recycle it. Unless you're sentimental or need the directions to the church or reception.
2. Put it in a Pending or Tickler file. If you need info for the wedding such as directions, create a folder or tray where those items live until you need them. You could have a folder called "August" or a stacking tray for "Pending" and know that items you need in the reasonably near future are in that location.

I'll cover more about paper filing systems in a later blog but I challenge you to use the Action, File, Toss (AFT) system for a week and you'll see that it does work to help control your paper clutter.

More organizing tips and info can be found on my website at www.orgtoday.com.
Get Organized Today!

5 Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy Schatz) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:38:00 +0000

What can you do in five minutes?

1. Get the mail.
2. Pet your cat.
3. Get a cup of coffee (might take you longer if you stop to chat with colleagues)
4. Read a blog post.
5. Eat a muffin.

Or...you can get started on some de-cluttering like:

1. Scan the Table of Contents of a magazine and rip out any articles to read
2. Remove all the trash and money from the kitchen junk drawer
3. Toss all the junk mail into the recycle bin
4. Recycle unnecessary papers out of one file
5. Pickup all scattered items in the family or living room and even have time to fluff pillows!

Most people don't start organizing projects because the whole project will require hours and hours. While this may be true in total, a lot can be accomplished in small 5 to 15 minute increments and you'll be surprised how much progress you'll make in those little bits of time.