Have Drawer, Will Travel 06/18/2011
Travel – both for business and for pleasure – is a huge part of my life (and in fact, right now I'm in South Africa as we speak!).
I get really excited about any tricks that will make it easier for me to get packed and ready for my next adventure, which is why I LOVE my designated "Travel Drawer", which provides a permanent home for all those things I routinely reach for as I’m packing my suitcase: travel toiletries, eye mask, adapters for international trips, etc. Because I travel very frequently, it’s worth it to me to devote an entire drawer in my bedside table for very convenient access, but if you don’t travel a lot, you may prefer to keep these things all together inside the suitcase that you will most likely use next (or a plastic bin set next to your luggage where you'll be sure to see and remember it).
As a trip approaches, you'll have other things you'd like (or need) to take with you, including e-tickets, gifts for people or things to return to them, a book you want to read, etc. Whenever you think of - or come across - something you want to remember to bring along, simply add it to the drawer, and Voila! - when it's time to start packing, you're already 3/4 of the way there.
Undoubtedly there will also be those items you want to remember but can’t transfer into the travel drawer right now because you need to use them between now and your trip. No worries - just make a quick note on a piece of paper, and slip IT into the drawer to remind you when you're packing.
Let's not get CRAZY here, but if you're also the type of person who sends or leaves a thank you note after you stay with someone... yep, you guessed it: keep a stash of notecards in your travel drawer so you'll have one handy at the end of the trip. You'll be an organizing LEGEND when your host finds a handwritten and heartfelt gratitude note left quietly on the guest room bed when you've only just left for the airport!
I get really excited about any tricks that will make it easier for me to get packed and ready for my next adventure, which is why I LOVE my designated "Travel Drawer", which provides a permanent home for all those things I routinely reach for as I’m packing my suitcase: travel toiletries, eye mask, adapters for international trips, etc. Because I travel very frequently, it’s worth it to me to devote an entire drawer in my bedside table for very convenient access, but if you don’t travel a lot, you may prefer to keep these things all together inside the suitcase that you will most likely use next (or a plastic bin set next to your luggage where you'll be sure to see and remember it).
As a trip approaches, you'll have other things you'd like (or need) to take with you, including e-tickets, gifts for people or things to return to them, a book you want to read, etc. Whenever you think of - or come across - something you want to remember to bring along, simply add it to the drawer, and Voila! - when it's time to start packing, you're already 3/4 of the way there.
Undoubtedly there will also be those items you want to remember but can’t transfer into the travel drawer right now because you need to use them between now and your trip. No worries - just make a quick note on a piece of paper, and slip IT into the drawer to remind you when you're packing.
Let's not get CRAZY here, but if you're also the type of person who sends or leaves a thank you note after you stay with someone... yep, you guessed it: keep a stash of notecards in your travel drawer so you'll have one handy at the end of the trip. You'll be an organizing LEGEND when your host finds a handwritten and heartfelt gratitude note left quietly on the guest room bed when you've only just left for the airport!
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Happy Earth Day from OFL! 04/22/2011
Reducing one’s negative impact on the environment has become a higher priority than ever, and the good news is that there are limitless options for getting started. The bad news: there are limitless options for getting started!
Going green can easily become just one more source of overwhelm as you try to integrate yet another thing into your already busy life. Our advice? Take the “Set it and Forget it” approach! Behavior modification is the most challenging aspect of any type of change, so look for the eco tips that don’t involve adopting new routines and habits. Fortunately there are tons of ways to take a one-time action that provides long term results.
Here are just a few simple examples of how to “Set it and Forget it” while you help the environment.
Low Energy Light Bulbs: we’ve heard of these for a long time, and they keep on improving. The latest innovation – LED bulbs – are a little harder to find than the compact fluorescents, but are even more efficient, and have the great advantage of being mercury free.
Low Flow Shower Heads and Toilet Tank Water Displacers: these help you save water every day, without ever having to give it another thought.
Purchase a Carbon Offset for your Car: when you can’t ditch your car, but want to make up for some of the damage from the toxic emissions, a carbon offset is a simple step to take. These can be purchased from a number of companies…we like Terra Pass for their user friendly program and positive track record.
You get the idea. Keep on the lookout for projects that can be completed in a day, but can help the earth for years.
Going green can easily become just one more source of overwhelm as you try to integrate yet another thing into your already busy life. Our advice? Take the “Set it and Forget it” approach! Behavior modification is the most challenging aspect of any type of change, so look for the eco tips that don’t involve adopting new routines and habits. Fortunately there are tons of ways to take a one-time action that provides long term results.
Here are just a few simple examples of how to “Set it and Forget it” while you help the environment.
Low Energy Light Bulbs: we’ve heard of these for a long time, and they keep on improving. The latest innovation – LED bulbs – are a little harder to find than the compact fluorescents, but are even more efficient, and have the great advantage of being mercury free.
Low Flow Shower Heads and Toilet Tank Water Displacers: these help you save water every day, without ever having to give it another thought.
Purchase a Carbon Offset for your Car: when you can’t ditch your car, but want to make up for some of the damage from the toxic emissions, a carbon offset is a simple step to take. These can be purchased from a number of companies…we like Terra Pass for their user friendly program and positive track record.
You get the idea. Keep on the lookout for projects that can be completed in a day, but can help the earth for years.
Back In An Hour 04/18/2011
No one loves a good old fashioned “clean-out” of a jam-packed closet or garage more than we do.
There’s something about yanking out all that stuff that’s been languishing in the in the corners and crevices that feels so good – like shaking up a snow globe!
But sometimes our zeal can lead us to create a much bigger mess than we can deal with before we run out of steam, or time (or both). So we either leave things looking as if a bomb has just gone off, or hastily shove stuff back in any which way – and maybe end up feeling worse off than when we started.
Avoid that pitfall by following a simple rule of thumb: never pull out more than you know you can put back within an hour. When you tackle that big job in segments, you can still shake things up and get messy for a while, but you also get the satisfaction of bringing that portion of the work to completion before you call it quits for the day. And there’s nothing like that feeling of accomplishment to have you eager to go back for more!
There’s something about yanking out all that stuff that’s been languishing in the in the corners and crevices that feels so good – like shaking up a snow globe!
But sometimes our zeal can lead us to create a much bigger mess than we can deal with before we run out of steam, or time (or both). So we either leave things looking as if a bomb has just gone off, or hastily shove stuff back in any which way – and maybe end up feeling worse off than when we started.
Avoid that pitfall by following a simple rule of thumb: never pull out more than you know you can put back within an hour. When you tackle that big job in segments, you can still shake things up and get messy for a while, but you also get the satisfaction of bringing that portion of the work to completion before you call it quits for the day. And there’s nothing like that feeling of accomplishment to have you eager to go back for more!
The Headset Perfected 04/13/2011
Plantronics Voyageur Pro Headset
Seeing Double 04/12/2011
Conventional organizing wisdom tells us to buy only what we really need, and to let go of any duplicate items in our homes and offices. And we agree – most of the time.
But sometimes investing some extra money and a little bit of storage space in a duplicate item is more than worth the payoff. For example, are you frequently toting your laptop back and forth from office to home? A second power cord will eliminate the need to unplug, pack up and transport the same one each time you take your computer to a different location. One power supply remains plugged in at your work desk, another lives in your briefcase.
How about your favorite go-to shade of lipstick? Is it always going from bathroom drawer to handbag and back again? A tube stashed in each location means you’re always ready for a quick touch-up.
Be very selective …we’re not talking about the “buy more just in case” rationale! But when having certain items at your fingertips really makes life easier, it just might make sense to double up.
But sometimes investing some extra money and a little bit of storage space in a duplicate item is more than worth the payoff. For example, are you frequently toting your laptop back and forth from office to home? A second power cord will eliminate the need to unplug, pack up and transport the same one each time you take your computer to a different location. One power supply remains plugged in at your work desk, another lives in your briefcase.
How about your favorite go-to shade of lipstick? Is it always going from bathroom drawer to handbag and back again? A tube stashed in each location means you’re always ready for a quick touch-up.
Be very selective …we’re not talking about the “buy more just in case” rationale! But when having certain items at your fingertips really makes life easier, it just might make sense to double up.
I Have an Idea 04/08/2011
Today is what we like to call Double Dose Friday – where here at OFL and at SimpleSexyStyle, we have different tips for you on the same subject. Today’s topic is especially appropriate, because both of these sites first came to life in an Idea Book – something we consider a must have for everyone.
An Idea Book is simply a notebook or journal, kept in the prime real estate of your work space, which gives you plenty of room to free flow notes and ideas...thoughts about building a business or designing a home, insights about yourself and your life, maybe quotations that you find inspiring. The only guideline is that when you write or paste something in it, you add the date so that you can watch the chronological progression of these ideas as they unfold in your life.
And while any book with enough writing space will do from a functional standpoint, we think it's also essential that you choose a notebook design that inspires you: something that says "There's magic in these pages." Because there is!
For the other half of your Double Dose, check out our SimplySexyStyle picks for idea books with flair.
An Idea Book is simply a notebook or journal, kept in the prime real estate of your work space, which gives you plenty of room to free flow notes and ideas...thoughts about building a business or designing a home, insights about yourself and your life, maybe quotations that you find inspiring. The only guideline is that when you write or paste something in it, you add the date so that you can watch the chronological progression of these ideas as they unfold in your life.
And while any book with enough writing space will do from a functional standpoint, we think it's also essential that you choose a notebook design that inspires you: something that says "There's magic in these pages." Because there is!
For the other half of your Double Dose, check out our SimplySexyStyle picks for idea books with flair.
List It Before You Lend It 04/07/2011
When we were little kids we learned that “sharing is caring”! And it really does feel great to help a friend out with a loan of a wonderful book, special party dress or a handy tool. What’s not so great is going to the shelf for that wonderful book, not being able to find it, and then remembering “Oh right. I lent that to….who was it again?”
Take one more load off of your memory with a “Borrowed” list. Start a list on paper, your PC, or in your cell phone of anything you have lent out – to whom and on what date. When the item is returned, simply cross it off. And if someone needs a little nudge about returning that DVD, you’ll know exactly whom to call.
So, share as freely as you like, just not before you put it on the “Borrowed” list!
Take one more load off of your memory with a “Borrowed” list. Start a list on paper, your PC, or in your cell phone of anything you have lent out – to whom and on what date. When the item is returned, simply cross it off. And if someone needs a little nudge about returning that DVD, you’ll know exactly whom to call.
So, share as freely as you like, just not before you put it on the “Borrowed” list!
There's an App for That 04/06/2011
We’re debuting a new feature on the site this week: Wordless Wednesdays. We'll showcase a fabulous organizing/productivity tool that pretty much speaks for itself…let the pictures do the talking.
The phone that changed everything...
The phone that changed everything...
Image: Apple
Trash or Treasure? 04/05/2011
Today’s tip is one we learned the hard way. During our hands-on organizing days, a bag of items that a client had carefully selected to send to charity got hauled off with the trash instead…not good! We’d clearly been tempting fate by letting our regular black trash bags double as donation bags.
We immediately switched to using heavy duty, clear blue bags - typically used for recycling - as our designated donation bags. Simple color coding and a few words of instruction to our team members were all it took to nip that problem in the bud.
Designate one location in your home – in the warm zone of a common space such as the garage, utility room or guest room – as the spot for collecting items to be donated. Stock the space with a few bags that are a different color from your trash bags (we love these blue ones – you may also find some in orange). Once the top bag is full, you can just pull another out from underneath it and keep the de-cluttering going. No more “treasure” in the trash can!
We immediately switched to using heavy duty, clear blue bags - typically used for recycling - as our designated donation bags. Simple color coding and a few words of instruction to our team members were all it took to nip that problem in the bud.
Designate one location in your home – in the warm zone of a common space such as the garage, utility room or guest room – as the spot for collecting items to be donated. Stock the space with a few bags that are a different color from your trash bags (we love these blue ones – you may also find some in orange). Once the top bag is full, you can just pull another out from underneath it and keep the de-cluttering going. No more “treasure” in the trash can!
Stick a Fork In It 04/04/2011
Not once in all our years of providing hands-on organizing services did we ever have anyone call us in a state of total overwhelm because they had no idea what to do with all the forks in their house. Nor did we ever visit a home where the clients kept all of the cutlery spread out on the kitchen counter or dining room table to remind them to use it later, either.
We have encountered the above scenario with SO many other items, though, that we couldn't help but wonder: why is it we're are all so smart when it comes to our cutlery, yet can't get it together with the rest of our stuff?
Let’s break this one down.
It probably wasn’t difficult to choose a permanent home for your forks, because several things were obvious: you use them for eating, and you use them all the time, so a drawer in the Hot Zone of your kitchen or eating area was probably a no brainer. But what happens if you go to that cutlery drawer for a fork, and this time there aren't any there? Are you wracking your brain for where they could possibly be, or do you just automatically check the dishwasher, the sink, or perhaps the kitchen table?
A fork has a “life cycle” of use: take it out, use it, clean it, put it away, repeat. And there's a consistent place or home for the fork at every stage of that life cycle, so when you need to get your hands on one, you’re clear what your options are. It's a system your body TRUSTS, and you have no trouble believing that you'll know exactly where to find a fork when you need one.
If you take a look at the things you have lying around that are creating clutter in your environment, chances are they're things that have their own life cycle of use, but have not been given a home for in each stage of that life cycle.
Today, start asking yourself a few simple questions about your stuff: How and where do I use this item? How often? What are all the different things that happen with this item during its cycle of use? The more you ask yourself these questions, proper homes will start to become more and more obvious.
One day, organizing your whole house may become as simple as emptying the dishwasher!
We have encountered the above scenario with SO many other items, though, that we couldn't help but wonder: why is it we're are all so smart when it comes to our cutlery, yet can't get it together with the rest of our stuff?
Let’s break this one down.
It probably wasn’t difficult to choose a permanent home for your forks, because several things were obvious: you use them for eating, and you use them all the time, so a drawer in the Hot Zone of your kitchen or eating area was probably a no brainer. But what happens if you go to that cutlery drawer for a fork, and this time there aren't any there? Are you wracking your brain for where they could possibly be, or do you just automatically check the dishwasher, the sink, or perhaps the kitchen table?
A fork has a “life cycle” of use: take it out, use it, clean it, put it away, repeat. And there's a consistent place or home for the fork at every stage of that life cycle, so when you need to get your hands on one, you’re clear what your options are. It's a system your body TRUSTS, and you have no trouble believing that you'll know exactly where to find a fork when you need one.
If you take a look at the things you have lying around that are creating clutter in your environment, chances are they're things that have their own life cycle of use, but have not been given a home for in each stage of that life cycle.
Today, start asking yourself a few simple questions about your stuff: How and where do I use this item? How often? What are all the different things that happen with this item during its cycle of use? The more you ask yourself these questions, proper homes will start to become more and more obvious.
One day, organizing your whole house may become as simple as emptying the dishwasher!
