You’ve decided to organize your files–that’s great! I’m so proud of you.

You purchased hanging folders for this project, right? Good. You’re on your way!

Open the box of hanging folders. Somewhere in the box is a plastic baggie filled with plastic tabs and paper inserts.

Take a close look at the tabs. They’re small–only 2″ across. You can’t write much on them. I’m going to tell you right now–they’re going to frustrate you to no end as you attempt to use them for your filing project.

I’d like you to consider NOT using them.

I know you paid for them. But, I’m going to ask you to spend a little more money on your files.

The ‘Cool Product’ that will make it easier for you to locate, retrieve and store your papers is…

Photo: SMEAD

What are the benefits to using 3.5″ tabs?

– they have more room to write on
– larger tabs means you can write larger on them or create labels with large letters for easy readbility
– find files more quickly with a larger tab

Whenever I work with a client on getting their papers organized/setting up a file system, I always recommend they use 3.5″ tabs. I pull a pack of these out of my ‘magic’ bag of organizing supplies, and people are amazed–most have never seen the 3.5″ tabs. They only know about the 2″ tabs that come in the box of file folders. Happiness abounds. Joyful categorizing and labeling begins. Another client’s life made easier with a Cool Product…

Thinking of switching to 3.5″ tabs?
 

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Have you ever shopped at Anthropologie?

According to their website, “Anthropologie remains a destination for women wanting a curated mix of clothing, accessories, gifts and home décor that reflects their personal style and fuels their lives’ passions, from fashion to art to entertaining.”

It’s one of the most beautiful stores I’ve ever shopped in. I feel like I’m stepping into another world every time I walk inside of one. Anthropologie (or ‘Anthro’ as some shoppers like to call it) sells more than just clothing for women. It also sells shoes, accessories, books, and decorative items for the home.

Back in late December, I hit an end-of-year sale at Anthropologie (Chelsea Market, NYC) with some friends. I picked up a few beautiful tops and a dress that I can’t wait to wear. While strolling thru the home decor department, I noticed an area that had office supplies. Office supplies? Never expected to see those at Anthropologie!

I couldn’t resist and the price was right! What did I bring home with me besides clothes? I brought home…

1950’s Floral File Folders
The packaging reads, ” Style before order, or order before style? Now you don’t have to choose. Paperwork is rarely fun, but it can be chic when combined with these stylish file folders.” The patterns are 1950’s-inspired British textile designs. Four designs and eight file folders in the package–labels, too by Galison New York. Can’t wait to start using them!

I’m always advising my clients to sort, purge and inventory their belongings before purchasing organizing supplies. My guest blogger, Moreen Torpy of De-Clutter Coach in Ontario, Canada thinks that sometimes organizing supplies that are supposed to help us are in fact cluttering our homes! Read on to see if you recognize some of the signs of this idea in your home…

Many times when I go into clients’ homes, I see they’ve purchased any number of organizing supplies and books. What they’ve actually bought is the dream of being organized, not the reality. This may seem a bit harsh, but stay with me for a bit.

Cubbies containing enough shoes to stock a shoe store isn’t organizing the shoes. It’s simply showcasing the quantity. Who really needs a hundred pair of shoes? My question is whether all this footwear is actually being worn, especially when there are large numbers of children’s shoes. Because kids grow so quickly, how do they even have time to wear all of them before they’re too small. In this case, the cubbies intended to organize are really contributing to the disorganization.

Empty bins stacked or not, intended to store off season clothes, are useless unless they contain something. Before buying bins, why not prune your wardrobe, holiday decorations, and anything else you intend to store, then decide what kind of storage is needed. Spending money on unnecessary bins adds to the clutter rather than reducing it.

Adding storage baskets to closets to hold clothing that hasn’t been worn in years isn’t the answer. I suggest weeding out items that aren’t being worn on a regular basis and reduce the number of storage baskets to de-clutter that closet.

Containers for gift wrap can be a trap. Paper deteriorates with time, so having a large supply, even if it wasn’t expensive, doesn’t serve in the long run. Carefully storing all that paper in containers made for gift wrap is often a waste of time, especially if you run out the day after Christmas to grab more gift wrap on sale to add to the collection. Decide on two containers, maximum. One for holiday wrap, and one for other occasion wrap. These will be plenty for a normal household.

And we can’t forget all those plastic food containers! Whether they’re fancy take-out ones or recycled ones (margarine, yogurt, etc.) or new ones, they’re still clutter if they’re not being used. A rule of thumb for food containers is to have only the number that will fit in your freezer. Logically more than that won’t be used because there’s no place for it. And I won’t even go into the containers with missing lids or the covers with no bottoms. The only thing to do with these is to get rid of them. It’s a well-known fact that they multiply behind closed cabinet doors. Beware the unattached pieces!

I’m not advocating adding anything to the landfill that can be diverted—just saying to think ahead and not bring them into your home at all. We can only repurpose so much in the existing space. To my mind, adding space to accommodate clutter is unproductive and wasteful.

So you have organizing supplies that have become clutter? What’s your plan to eliminate it/them? Please share your solutions—we’d love to hear from you.

© Moreen Torpy

We would be honored for you to reprint this article. If you do, please include the resource box below with the hyperlinks intact.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moreen Torpy is the De-Clutter Coach, a Trained Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker. Her new book is Going Forward: Downsizing, Moving and Settling In. See www.GoForwardDownsize.com for more about the book including where to purchase it, and www.decluttercoach.ca to learn about her organizing services and other books.

Do you watch TV? What’s your favorite television show at the moment?

The Voice?
Big Bang Theory reruns?
Dancing With the Stars?

Watching television can be a great way to relax, learn a new subject or be entertained. But, I’ll let you in on a little organizing secret:

Watching television can be a great way to get organized.

You’re probably thinking, “What? I can organize my house while watching TV? Hook me up!”

Well, I’m about to…

As I’ve discussed in past posts, in order to reach an organizing goal, one must have a plan in place and mini-goals set to eventually reach that goal. Some of these mini-goals or projects can be accomplished while watching television. Sitting down. In your bunny slippers. With a glass of wine in your hand–if you’d like.

Before you plop down on the couch in your pajamas with or without a glass of liquid inspiration, bring an organizing project with you. Here are 10 organizing projects you can do while watching television, getting you one step closer to the organizing finish line:

1. Empty your wallet and go through receipts, business cards, cash, etc.

2. Put your sock drawer (T-shirts/underwear/you get the idea) on your lap and sort/purge/organize

3. Put your kitchen junk drawer on the floor/coffee table to sort through, purge and reorganize

4.  Sort through, delete or update apps on your smart phone

5. Organize recipes into categories and place in plastic sleeves in a binder

6. Sort/Purge a stack of papers from your file cabinet/dining room table/pile on the floor

7. Group photos by event, person or chronologically and put into albums

8. Sort through old magazines

9. Sort/Purge expired coupons

10. Fold laundry and put away during commercials

SaveSave

Did you make New Year’s resolutions or set goals for yourself this year? I thought I heard you shouting from the rooftop, “This is the year I’m going to get organized!’

Did you create a plan for getting organized?  Have you mapped out some mini-goals for yourself? If yes, then great!

If not, that’s OK. No beating yourself up about it. Maybe you or a family member has been under the weather. Maybe ‘life’ has gotten in the way. Or perhaps, you just don’t know where to begin. You can start at anytime. How about TODAY?

No worries–take ‘baby steps.’

No one expects a baby to stand up one day and walk across the room. There’s a lot that goes on before a child meets that developmental milestone. They sit up, they crawl, they practice standing up in their crib. They take ‘baby steps’ towards mastering their actual baby steps.
You can take baby steps to reach your organizing goals, too.

Here are a few examples:

– Take a few minutes before bedtime to sort through and purge expired medicine.
– Sort and purge your piles of coupons while waiting for pasta water to boil.
– Schedule 15 minutes on your calendar to organize your sock drawer.
– Read a few posts on organizing blogs that pertain to your organizing challenge(s).
– Look at organizing ideas/products on Pinterest (don’t get sucked in, though!).

All of these teeny-tiny organizing projects and tasks are baby steps that will eventually get you to achieve organizing success.

I often tell my clients to visualize their organizing goal as an iceberg. Baby steps are equal to the act of chipping away at that iceberg. Some days you may feel like you’re chipping away with a hammer, other days, with a toothpick. Regardless of your tool, if you keep working at it, you will reach your goal, however challenging it may be.

You CAN get organized–I know you can. Just take a baby step–one little step in the direction of the organizing goals you have set for yourself. In the beginning, it may feel as if you’re not making much progress but let me assure you–every ‘baby step’ you take towards reaching your goal will get you one step closer to the day when you can proudly shout from the rooftop, “I did it!”

What baby steps will you take to achieve organizing success?

If you’re like many people, you recently made one or two New Year’s resolutions.

You’ve made a plan and you’ve set mini-goals for yourself to make those resolutions a reality–that’s great. Maybe that plan includes weekly organizing sessions. Maybe you’ll be organizing your garage in the Spring or you’ll be spending time every day going through your bulging file cabinets.

Whatever plans you have for reaching your organizing goals this year, follow this quick-tip to make reaching your goals easier on your mind and body.

Melting Wall Clock – Photo: coolclockshop.com

Are you a morning person?
A night owl?
Somewhere in between? (I call myself an Afternoon Person…)

If you’re not sure when your most ‘productive’ time of day is, try doing one simple organizing task before breakfast. Try another one on another day in the early/late afternoon. Try another one at 10pm. When did you feel you did your best?

Aim to work at an organizing task when your energy and concentration levels are high. Being alert at ‘task time’ will help you to accomplish your mini-goals faster, more creatively and consciously.

The saying may go, ‘The early bird catches the worm,” but if you’re not an early bird, then it’s highly unlikely you’ll be successful at worm-catching (and then organizing them afterward…).

Work with the natural rhythms of your body and brain. Your productivity will soar, your organizing goals will be met, and you’ll embrace the end of the year with an amazing feeling of accomplishment.

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Another product from SMEAD has arrived in my mailbox!

January’s product review is for the Poly Translucent Slash Jacket. It sounds like a great name for a punk rock band to me, but it’s not–it’s really the name of an office product.

The ‘Slash Jacket’ comes in ‘clear’ or a pack of assorted colors. SMEAD sent me one in a nice baby blue. It’s very pretty…

They are…
– translucent
– 3-hole punched for standard three-ring binders
– letter size
– acid free, archival quality
– closed on both sides and on the bottom

And they have pockets on both sides – great for storing lots of papers!

The ‘Slash’ part of this product is what makes it functional. Papers are kept safe and at the same time are easy to retrieve and put away. Try doing that with a full plastic sleeve–not as easy…

I wouldn’t use them for recipes but I could see using them in a binder of information that requires easy access such as...

– A Wedding binder – one side for ideas, one side for vendor contracts
– A Decorating/Adding On/Building a New Home binder – one side for each room of the house
– A binder for Students – one side for tests, the other side for important class notes

No need for a hole puncher. No little, punched-out circles all over your desk or floor. The Poly Translucent Slash Jacket is a perfect solution for organizing, storing and retrieving papers in a three-ring binder.

In my last post, guest blogger Audrey Cupo of a A Better Space encouraged you to evaluate the past and plan for the future.

Well, the future is here. Did you make any resolutions for the next twelve months?

According to the people at StatisticBrain.com, the top ten New Year’s resolutions for 2013 are:

1. Lose Weight
2. Getting Organized
3. Spend Less, Save More
4. Enjoy Life to the Fullest
5. Staying Fit and Healthy
6. Learn Something Exciting
7. Quit Smoking
8. Help Others in Their Dreams
9. Fall in Love
10. Spend More Time with Family

Did you see that? ‘Getting Organized’ is one of the top two resolutions people made in the new year. Looks like my colleagues and I are going to be very busy this year!

All kidding aside, many people say they want to get organized but are not successful at achieving their goal. Unfortunately, only a small percentage are. But why?

A few reasons:
– The goals they set for themselves are too vague.
– People get easily discouraged and give up too soon.
– They don’t have a way of measuring their successes however small.

They don’t have a PLAN.

That’s why I would advise anyone who has made a resolution for themselves this year to do two things first:
– Create a plan for reaching your New Year’s goal
– Set mini-goals within that plan

Planning out the path for reaching a goal can be as easy as doing a ‘brain dump’ on a piece of paper or on your computer. Create a list of all the steps you need to take to reach your goal. They don’t need to be in any order–you can fix that later.

If you’re a visual person like me, you might want to use a graphic organizer to help you with your plan. This is a great way to organize your thoughts. An example of one:

Courtesy of The Writing Bug

If ‘Getting Organized’ is one of your New Year’s resolutions, write ‘Get Organized’ in the big circle. In the next smaller circles write the room/area of your home or life you’d like to get organized. In the smallest circles (attached to the medium sized circles) list the tasks that need to be done to achieve your resolution to get organized. Create as many spokes and circles as needed. These are your mini-goals.

A mini-goal is a tiny step to complete on your way to reaching your ultimate goal. It helps you to break down the process into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Examples of mini-goals for getting your home/life organized:

-Every Tuesday, I will sort/purge/organize one drawer in my dresser until all drawers have been gone through.

-I will label an envelope ‘Receipts’ and once a week, I will empty my wallet of all receipts into that envelope. At the end of the month I will review all receipts.

-At the end of the day, I will spend 15 minutes making sure all items are in the home they belong in.

-I will create a ‘Donations’ bag in my garage and pledge to put all items to be donated in it. When I know I will pass the local thrift shop, I will put the bag in my car, drop off the donations and place the donations bin back in its ‘home.’

-I will inventory my pantry before heading to the supermarket.

Successfully setting mini-goals and reaching them are cause for celebration–don’t over look that. Every mini-goal milestone brings you a step closer to your goal and should be honored and celebrated!

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? What’s your plan?

Resolutions. Goals. Intentions. Call it what you will–this is the time of year many people start fresh and decide what they want to do, try, or experience over the next twelve months of their lives. Today’s guest blogger, Professional Organizer Audrey Cupo of A Better Space offers guidance on reflecting on goals of the past and planning for the future…

With the holiday season in full swing and the New Year right around the corner, many people begin to evaluate the past year and start thinking about the future.  People think about what they had intended to accomplish in the past year and note the things that just did not get done.  Then, they begin to look towards the New Year as a time to reset some goals and plan for the future.

It’s a time for reflection and planning.

For me, I love the prospect of a New Year.  It gives me the opportunity to take a look at what I accomplished (or did not accomplish) in the past year, both personally and professionally.  It gives me a chance to re-evaluate my priorities.  Are there things I wanted to get done but did not?  Are the things I intended to do this past year still important?

The New Year gives me a chance to plan for the coming year.  What do I want to accomplish THIS year?

I have always been an advocate of writing things down.  At this time, especially, I find this true.  I like to take some time and make a comprehensive list of projects and “To Do’s”.

That comprehensive list then gets planned out over the coming year.  I pick my priorities, one by one, and work on them.  When something is completed, I select another.

You might have set some goals last year and found you did not complete them as planned.  Why not start fresh?

Do you need to do some home improvement projects?  Do you want to lose weight and be healthier?  Do you want to get your finances in order or get out of debt?  Do you want to improve a relationship with a friend or family member?  The choices are endless.

Do yourself a favor.  Take some time in the next week or so and reflect on where you have been and where you want to go in your life.  Start planning now for the New Year by setting some goals and create a list of the things you want to accomplish.

If getting organized is on your list, seek out the assistance of a professional organizer who can help you to set those goals and get them accomplished.

Enjoy this holiday season and the opportunity for a fresh start in 2013!

Audrey Cupo is a full-time Professional Organizer and sole proprietor of A BETTER SPACE based in Bucks County, PA. She specializes in residential organizing and focuses on helping busy moms and women entrepreneurs with home-based businesses get organized with her in-home services and her “U Can Do It” product line. To sign up for her free newsletter full of great monthly tips, resources and product reviews visit www.4abetterspace.com and for more tips, check out Audrey’s Facebook page.

If you’ve read some of my past posts, you know that just about once a month, the office supply company, SMEAD sends me one of their products to review on my blog. I’m always excited to rip open the package to see what it is.

SMEAD has sent me what I think is a very efficient office/home office product–the Secure Pocket with Easy Grip.

Have you ever put a bunch of papers in a folder and had them fall out all over the floor? I think all of us at one time or another has had that happen. It’s no fun!

Enter the SMEAD Secure Pocket with Easy Grip. This pocket folder is designed to provide twice as much grip as other pocket folders. I’m not sure even a tornado could blow papers out of these folders.

These straps you see in the picture are strong! You’re going to need to eat a bowl of Wheeties or head to the gym before stretching these straps out! I tried pulling them before I had my breakfast and I had to exert more energy than I usually do when securing paper into a pocket folder…

It fits beautifully in a file cabinet and has Tyvek reinforcements on the side to make the place where you put the straps practically tear-proof. Yea–no raggedy looking edges! It also has a barely noticeable grippy material running across the top of the folder–this makes it easier to pull out of your file cabinet. Love this feature!

Just to test it out, I put some papers inside the Secure Pocket with Easy Grip. I placed the straps over the top of the folder, threw it up in the air and the papers didn’t fall out. I knocked the folder off my desk–no papers fell out.

With the SMEAD Secure Pocket with Easy Grip you’re practically guaranteed that your papers won’t fly out of the top and that you’ll get an upper body workout as well. Who could ask for more from an office product?