Keeping Useful Business Cards Handy
April 21, 2012
Here us an idea that might help those of you who tends to lose business cards and phone number notes:
Buy the pre-sized magnets that fit the back of a business cards. When you get a business card that you KNOW you will need again, attach the magnet and “store” the card on your refrigerator or file cabinet.
You can keep some of your handier number available like you hairdresser, veterinarian, dentist, gyn, primary physician, and a few other “important” cards arranged on the front of your fridge. Then when you have
the time and inclination to enter the card information into your electronic address book (on your phone or computer), you know exactly where to find the card. Keep the card on the fridge for easy/quick access when you
need to make a call. There’s no rule that you can’t take 2 or 3 business cards, so you could keep one at
your dressing table and one on the fridge, or in medicine cabinet, or wherever it “fits” the card.
Happy Business Card Organizing!
Bridges
The Doctor of Organization
March 26, 2012
Here is a funny excerpt from Sandra Felton and Marsha Sim’s brand new book, SMART OFFICE ORGANIZING
…more Diagnoses by the D.O.(Doctor of Organization) Chapter 3, “Not Brain Surgery…but close”
Decisionalysis. Paralysis of the decision-making ability of an individual.
Clutterholic. Compulsively creates chaos in well- ordered areas.
Shelf Denial. Avoidance of acquiring enough shelving to hold the necessary equipment, resulting in the use of floor space as one large flat shelf.
Distractophelia. Condition of repeatedly losing focus in the middle of a thought or action, resulting in a trail of started-but-unfinished activities.
“Creating and maintaining an office that both looks good and works well definitely isn’t as difficult as performing brain surgery. But for many of us who
seem to have come up short in the distribution of organizing genes, it feels like it is.”
I thought these definitions were quite entertaining and I wanted to share them with you for a quick laugh.
Happy Organizing! Bridges
Jump Start Your Day
March 14, 2012
Your first activities in the morning influence how successful and productive your day will be.
Do two things as soon as you get started with your activities.
1. First thing in the morning, accomplish one important project. Plan that project the day before so you will be ready to go early on.
2. Then knock off the low hanging fruit, that is, do those obvious things that are easy to do and can be accomplished quickly.
When you jump-start your morning, you build momentum for the rest of the day!
Thank you Messies Anonymous for the great tip!
Happy Organizing! Bridges
Make Your Bed
December 2, 2011
I am a firm believer in making your bed everyday! I am usually making as I am getting out of bed. There is just a better feeling than walking back into your bedroom and seeing a nicely made bed. It does wonders for your spirit! I found a great article on creating an incentive to encourage you to make your bed by Sandra Felton! Enjoy…
CONTINUE TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS!
Sometimes we think of the bed as rumpled bedclothes that need to be straightened just because it is the custom in our country to do it. We think of it as a nuisance job that will only need to be redone the next day.
Instead think of it as the largest and potentially most beautiful piece of furniture in the house. Design your bed so that it is worth making up. Do you need a new spread or more pillows?
Obtain whatever inspires you to the point that your bed will cast a happy glow over your house. Viewed properly, making the bed can become a positive and creative pleasure.
Take control of your thinking and your actions will follow.
Happy Organizing! Bridges
A Simple & Organized School Year
August 15, 2011
I stumbled across this blog by Motherhood Your Way a ”Life…your Way Blog” and I wanted to pass it along. It offered some great suggestions on some routines and ways to keep organized with all of the paperwork that comes home from school every day. It also has some great pictures for show and tell. Please enjoy…
As the summer winds down and the school year quickly approaches, we turn our thoughts from sunscreen and swimsuits to pencil boxes and backpacks. But if we’re not careful, the avalanche of paperwork that tends to come home in those backpacks can quickly overwhelm us.
Here are a few things we did last year that really helped us stay afloat.
(While I’ve never home schooled, I imagine many of these ideas could translate well. If you’re a homeschooler, I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!)
Set Up A “Gear Station”
We used our mudroom as a place for the children to unload their things when they got home from school. There were spots for their backpacks and their shoes. And there were hooks for jackets and hats.
Happy Organizing! Bridges
What Happens To That T-Shirt After You Donate It?
August 9, 2011
I thought this was a great blog by Jeri’s Organizing & Decluttering News and I wanted to share it!
Do you ever wondered what becomes of the clothing those of us in the U.S. donate to charity? Pietra Rivoli explains it all in her book, The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy. I didn’t read this whole book, just the last three chapters — and it was a fascinating read.
You may have already known that much of the clothing donated to Goodwill or The Salvation Army winds up overseas, because there simply isn’t enough demand in the U.S. for the huge amount of clothing that gets donated. (And about 85 percent of the clothes we throw away goes into landfill, which is sad — since almost all of it can be reused.)
But much of what Rivoli explains was new to me, including this concept:
The global used clothing industry is … a fascinating study in the
market for “snowflakes,” as almost every item of clothing that enters the trade is unique. …The snowflake factor means that the most successful firms
in the industry are those with highly developed expertise in picking out special snowflakes, and with worldwide but personal relationships that allow them to match snowflakes with customers.Click here to read the rest of the blog…
Happy Organizing! Bridges
Menu Planning
July 21, 2011
I know this is a struggle with most of us and that is menu planning and grocery shopping. There are definitely systems out there to help you out or you can create your own. I think the most important element of the system is to plan your menu for the week. If you can do this, you are ahead of the game. You have to take into account the nights that you are running the kids around so you need to schedule dinners that are quick and easy to fix. You might also want to include a nice Sunday dinner where everyone plans to sit down at the table and eat together. Whatever your life style is, plan your meals ahead of time.
I found a great video from Lorie Marrero with Clutter Diet that I wanted to share with you. Hopefully, there are some great ideas and products that may work for your and your lifestyle. Click on the link below:
Happy Meal Planning! Bridges
Help Get Your Teens Organized
As a professional organizer working with the chronically disorganized, I see teens everywhere who could use some help in getting organized. It’s a skill-set schools tend to overlook, but one that parents know is crucial for success in every area of life. In the blink of an eye, those teens will turn into adults who find that just getting out of the house on time each morning, planning a meal, paying bills by due dates, finding needed items and working a job all require persistent organizing skills. Why are so many of us at a loss? It helps if we expose some common myths.
Take Ownership
March 30, 2011
This is an excerpt from Messies Anonymous:
Take ownership of your house one area at a time. When I lived a cluttered life, part of the reason was because I did not really think that I had the responsibility or the power to un-clutter.
Things in my house had the power. They could come and go as they pleased. And of course, they seldom left once they came in.
Now, I know I have both the power and the responsibility for maintaining clear surfaces. That means I can make a decision, right or wrong (and there will be some wrong decisions), to discard, move, or store any item or paper that is cluttering up my house.
You own the areas of your house.
Set a timer for fifteen minutes at a time, put on your battle attitude, and take ownership of the area you choose to work on. Do this day after day and battle by battle the war will be won!
Happy Organizing! Bridges
Finish What You Start
January 19, 2011
Just for today, do not leave a job until you have completed the job AND put everything away. See how it feels and maybe you want to try it again tomorrow?
Happy Organizing! Bridges
